Divaman: Folk Discovery M7

Divaman 05.22.20	OK, I'm all out of tree puns. Listen and vote.
manosg 05.22.20	1 is a great pick. Expected no less from Friday.
Friday13th 05.22.20	Weird coincidence, the album art is even the same shade of green. 1 actually has a different original album art you can see on rym.
bgillesp 05.22.20	Very excited for 1
Minushuman24 05.22.20	I shouldn't be surprised, but each of the songs off of Leave Ruin end up winning me over by the end of each song.
nuklearmoose 05.24.20	Sorry for being absent a few weeks, been a hectic time. This Strand of Oaks album is special to me, each of the songs stories bring me in, with personal and vulnerable lyrical content. It's quite different from his work today, however each time I to go back to this album I hear different things that bring the album closer to me.
Divaman 05.24.20	Gave them each a listen yesterday, and they're each, in their way, beautiful albums. Won't be an easy choice for me this week.
Friday13th 05.25.20	@nuklearmoose Cool, I can hear what you're talking about "vulnerable lyrical content." It sometimes crosses over into cringey, esp. on track 6. TMI...tmi.
DoofDoof 05.25.20	bookmarked - like Strand of Oaks (though I never tried this album) so the Trees brigade have their work cut out
nuklearmoose 05.25.20	I mean, it still revolves around themes of guilt which are all over this album. He did write about some weird things back then, but when you read the lyrics of the song other than "touching myself/herself" etc, its pretty sad, especially considering the characters in the song.
Jethro42 05.26.20	On reflection now
Friday13th 05.26.20	@Jethro42 granted! https://youtu.be/z6WSLG5r-wE
Jethro42 05.26.20	@Friday; That's what I expected from you obviously...A top 5 Gentle Giant song, assuredly!
Minushuman24 05.26.20	This one is a bit hard
SlothcoreSam 05.26.20	Strand of Oaks for me, but only just.
Divaman 05.26.20	0-1 The Trees Community - Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
Divaman 05.26.20	I agree, Sloth, tough call here. The Trees Community - a group of happy Christian hippies harmonizing in the courtyard of a NYC Church in the seventies. Strand of Oaks - more traditional dark Americana. Very lusty (and occasionally rapey) vibe throughout. I liked both albums a lot, but at the end of the day, I'm always a sucker for the vocal harmonies. My vote goes to The Trees Community.
Divaman 05.26.20	1-1 The Trees Community - Diva Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
Deathconscious 05.26.20	Bump
Friday13th 05.26.20	I'm definitely voting for my own pick. The Trees Community is really the best of both worlds in terms of classic beauty and modern innovation. I ordered the CD from their website which comes with some cool unreleased material. Just wish they made more music than this sole masterpiece. 2 is good and I thought the piano was a fitting touch. Definitely above average for the style. Ultimately though, I didn't think it does enough musically to differentiate itself from the countless similar indie folk artists that have popped up in the past 12 years or so. The lyrics are also hit or miss.
Divaman 05.26.20	2-1 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
Jethro42 05.27.20	Strand of Oaks has not much to offer, except for a few instrumental parts. I find it to be kind of poor in the songwriting department. None of the songs exactly appeal to me. Nothing new under the sun. The Trees Community is pretty warm except for the creepy Aaaaaaaa a la Island (CH) Pictures. There are folk, psychedelic moods, and Yes, Renaissance (band) nods and winks, and some Middle East soundscapes, and brillant vocal harmonies all around. I vote The Trees.
Divaman 05.27.20	3-1 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
Jethro42 05.27.20	Oh, and some The Trees passages remind me of Henry Cow and/or Slapp Happy and Henry Cow. It's always hard for me to enjoy this kind of stuff, but on here, it works very well.
Divaman 05.27.20	There are one or two times it gets a little sour. (Unfortunately for me, it was always when my wife was in the room, so I got one of those looks again.) But mostly, it was pretty and melodic, with some very creative harmonies.
wham49 05.27.20	I definitely know that look Diva, Unfortunately it is starting to pile on for 2 But I am going with 1, and loving the choice
bgillesp 05.27.20	Dang it another round where I really like both. But if you no my taste 1 takes the win without much question
Divaman 05.27.20	4-1 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
Divaman 05.27.20	5-1 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp Strand of Oaks - Slothcore
bgillesp 05.27.20	Amigo the Devil is still my favorite so far, but I have 3 others tied just barely below it for 2nd right now. Looking forward to the next rounds
neekafat 05.28.20	so this first one is the polar opposite of black metal right
Minushuman24 05.28.20	I was really excited for The Trees Community, and largely it lived up to that hype. It's a strange listen, but very worthwhile. I'm not much of a fan of the chanting on some of the songs, nor am I huge on harmonious choir vocals, but the psychedelic folk vibes really drag this up for me. 3.5 Favorite Tracks: Psalm 42 and I Will Not Leave You Comfortless This feels like such a contrasting album compared to The Christ Tree, its a more earthy indie folk record. Some nice emotional lyrics that don't hold any punches, I'm typically a fan of that, specifically on "New Paris". It's not setting the world aflame, but I quite like it. 3.6 Favorite tracks: Leave Ruin and New Paris So I'm gonna give it to Strand of Oaks this round
Divaman 05.28.20	5-2 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp Strand of Oaks - Slothcore, Minushuman
Divaman 05.28.20	Remember gang, vote by 12AM ET tomorrow (Thursday)
neekafat 05.28.20	"Very lusty (and occasionally rapey) vibe throughout. I liked both albums a lot"
DoofDoof 05.28.20	the Trees thing I didn't really get - my vote goes for Strand of Oak Trees - 2 Strands of Oak - 3.5
neekafat 05.28.20	Yeah both are great but Strand of Oaks is much more my thing (and less arty, more emotional) so my tipsy vote is for 2
garas 05.28.20	'The Trees Community' was pretty interesting and exciting listen all the way through meanwhile the other is another typical singer-songwriter project which I always find kinda boring. I vote for the 'Trees.
garas 05.28.20	"Bela Bartak" And that's a typeo, the correct name is Béla Bartók*.
aydross121 05.28.20	Trees sounds cool but a bit amateurish for my tastes. Oak is more traditional but concise. Vote 2
NorthernSkylark 05.28.20	My vote goes to Leave Ruin.
Divaman 05.28.20	6-6 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp, garas Strand of Oaks - Slothcore, Minushuman, Doof, neeka, aydross, NorthernSkylark
nuklearmoose 05.28.20	I gotta go with my own here, Trees was decent, but Leave Ruin has stuck with me for a long time.
Divaman 05.28.20	6-7 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp, garas Strand of Oaks - Slothcore, Minushuman, Doof, neeka, aydross, NorthernSkylark, nuklearmoose
Friday13th 05.28.20	Damn, the comeback! I’m sweating.
Divaman 05.28.20	Yeah, looked you had it easy. Now you're in big trouble.
Friday13th 05.29.20	Welp, looks like we are reaching the end of the road. I really thought I had this one lol
bgillesp 05.29.20	Oh man, didn’t expect that
Deathconscious 05.29.20	Its 1 for me.
Friday13th 05.29.20	yipee
Friday13th 05.29.20	Right now it’s still the 28th, 11:28 pm Central Time. Tie, Diva?
Divaman 05.29.20	Crap! I just got back, and I hadn't closed it off yet, so yes, it's now 7-7, and we need a tie-breaker. I assume budgie is still angry - the last I heard, he said he wasn't going to vote - so if he doesn't we need another voter. I'm leaving it open until I wake up tomorrow afternoon, at least. 7-7 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp, garas, deathconscious Strand of Oaks - Slothcore, Minushuman, Doof, neeka, aydross, NorthernSkylark, nuklearmoose
neekafat 05.29.20	why is budgie angry
Divaman 05.29.20	Because he got his vote in after I had closed voting last week and I wouldn't count it.
neekafat 05.29.20	I mean I'm angry too but
NorthernSkylark 05.29.20	So, no winner yet?
Deathconscious 05.29.20	Lol is he actually mad about it?
Divaman 05.29.20	I couldn't tell you for sure. All I know is he said that if I didn't let his vote count he wasn't voting anymore, and this week he didn't vote.
Divaman 05.29.20	I've got a couple of calls out to guest judges. As soon as I can get one to listen and vote, we'll be good to go.
Trifolium 05.29.20	I'll be able to first thing tomorrow morning but it totally is bedtime for me now zzzzzz
Trifolium 05.30.20	Wow these albums were almost polar opposites. The first one was a shape shifting, adventurous and restless piece, whereas the second one was more quiet, introspective and trance-inducing. A weird, fresh and new sounding one that is old and a comfortably recognisable sounding one that is new. Depends on mood really, I liked them for totally different reasons, but I'd rate them 3.4 and 3.3 respectively after one listening session, so my vote goes to The Trees Community for now.
Divaman 05.30.20	Is that your actual vote, or just the way you're leaning? (The "for now" is confusing). Because as soon as I know that it's your actual vote, this match is over.
Trifolium 05.30.20	It is the actual one! The one and only. Did not mean to be so ambiguous about it. These are the hard facts.
Divaman 05.30.20	Excellent! Thank you Tri, for helping break the tie. The winner of the match is Trees Community. And Try, the 8th match of the first round is up, so you're welcome to jump in and vote on that or all forthcoming rounds if you ike.
Divaman 05.30.20	8-7 The Trees Community - Diva, Friday, Jethro, wham, bgillesp, garas, deathconscious, Trifolium Strand of Oaks - Slothcore, Minushuman, Doof, neeka, aydross, NorthernSkylark, nuklearmoose Winner: The Trees Community
Trifolium 05.30.20	Nice, I'll certainly join, seems like a nice discovery competition!
Friday13th 05.30.20	I never doubted for a second! ;)
NorthernSkylark 05.30.20	it came down to 0.1 GJ trif!
neekafat 06.02.20	Man #2 is seriously exactly what I was hoping to get out of this comp, gorgeous, moving, and chill asf indie folk
Jethro42 06.03.20	Yes 2 has grown on me quite a bit at the end of the day.