ZombieToyDuck
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 Lists
01.27.20 ZombieToyDuck's Belated 201901.07.19 24 Recs to Reach 1000 *FILLED*
12.26.18 Sleep Deprivation Saviors12.20.18 ZTD's 2018 Songs of the Year
12.18.18 ZombieToyDuck's 2018 AOTY list11.08.18 My Tentative AOTY List
10.23.18 2018 Bass Grooves10.08.18 Album Listening To Do List: Part 1
10.05.18 A Star is Born Analysis10.03.18 Just ZombieCasualConversations: October ♦
09.26.18 Convince Me to Cram 201808.06.18 A Guide to Junji Ito (Links Added) ♦
07.05.18 No Expletives! A Rec Competition...FINA06.20.18 Beers of the States
06.19.18 No Expletives! A Rec Competition Round 06.14.18 Future Classic Bands You Should Check
06.06.18 No Expletives! A Rec Competition Round 05.31.18 No Expletives! A Rec Competition Round
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POST PUNK OFF, A COMPETITION ROUND 5

RULES: A sister-competition to the "Con VS Unique Emo Crown". Two competitors rec 30 albums, 1 at a time, to 3 judges. A new round of recs will be presented once all three judges have finished rating/listening to both albums. This will continue until a total of 30 albums will be presented, 15 from each competitor. Winner will be determined by the highest AVG but tie breaker will be whoever had the best rec and each judge gets 1 vote for that.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NEW RULE: Competitors who fail to submit their recs within 1 day after each list's creation will have .5 deducted from their score for EACH day late ____JUDGES: Conmaniac, DeadlyNightShade, neekafat_____ COMPETITORS: UniqueUniverse, Tyler.,teamster_______ EMO COMPETITION: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?mode=1&listid=176039#comments
1Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

UniqueUniverse's rec
CURRENT COMPETITION SCORE: 51.9
Con: You competitors never learn do you? I mean I’ve tried to help you out the best I can by saying exactly what I like and didn’t like about each album, but sometimes I feel as though you aren’t even listening (are you even reading this now??). This is post punk drone, repetitive and gloomy while a baritone voiced man angstily and poorly sings about his strifes in a poetically beautiful way. The music itself isn’t bad, as there are at least 3 or 4 songs I enjoyed enough to look past the fact that they were repetitive drivel, but overall this album bored me. Can you already see how conflicted this album is making me? Production is probably the best thing about this record though, and the instrumentation is atmospheric yet poignant when needed. It’s just that I sometimes can’t get over the singer’s voice (and yes I’ve read his backstory its very sad). Last song is perfect though and after some re-listens,
2Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

I did start to see it grow on me but I would have to give this album a lot of time and attention which is something I don’t have for this competition. 3.5/5
3Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

Neeka: This album probably has one of the thickest and deepest atmospheres I’ve ever heard before, and yet I can’t help but wish that I liked it more. It seems to rely on its mood more than anything, and while there’s obvious talent and clever musicianship here, it feels like some possible melody and variety was sacrificed for the sake of keeping that unified dense sound, a choice I’m not sure that I agree with. The singer sounds like Lou Reed with his best impersonation of an English accent, almost to a comical point on songs like “She’s Lost Control.” Overall, this was a very solid album, one that I can see myself coming back to if only for its unique nature, though I do wish it pushed itself a little bit farther than it did. I feel bad giving Unique another one of these, but to me this is a definite 3.7/5.
4Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

CONTINUED
Tracking Ratings: Disorder: 7.5, Day of Our Lords: 7.5 , Candidate: 7, Insight: 8, New Dawn Fades: 8, She’s Lost Control: 7.5, Shadowplay: 8, Wilderness: 7.5, Interzone: 7.5, I Remember Nothing: 8 (AVG: 7.65)
5Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

Deadly: Entering your first listen of Unknown Pleasures it’s easy to be deceived into thinking you’re walking into an upbeat album. The opening track “Disorder” begins with a thumping bass beat that nearly impossible to avoid tapping your foot to, paired with a repetitive albeit energetic drum beat that carries the track in a rather uplifting manner. However, upon further inspection the lyrical content boasts a feeling of dissociation and wanting to belong. This deception is rather intentional as the album mimics a feeling of detachment as the album carries you into a deep hole of sorrow and hopelessness. The shift in song tempos only becomes more depressing as the album continues which is effective in encapsulating the range of emotions showcased throughout the album. The album rather thoughtfully pulls you back into a state of deceit one last time when “Interzone” kicks in with another pulsing bass beat paired with some tasty guitar licks and a drum beat reminiscent
6Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures

CONTINUED
of the opening track, though this is short lived. The album closes with one of the most gloomy and discordant closers I’ve ever heard. The spacey atmosphere, glass shattering sound effects, and crooning vocal delivery are effective in wrapping the album up to a chilling close. 4.2/5
7Talking Heads
Fear of Music

Tyler.'s rec
CURRENT COMPETITION SCORE: 53.3
Con: Talking Heads impressed me with this one. Having heard Remain In Light, I was left confused and a bit disgruntled, yet I know of their CON-potential with classics like Psycho Killer. I was pretty pleased to find out that this album was a straightforward, funky, eclectic listen, and it cleansed the bitter taste that Joy Division left in my mouth. First two songs are insanely fun and intoxicating, and while the middle/end started to slow down a bit for me, ‘Heaven’ and ‘Drugs’ are also easy highlights. Was a fun listen, not too gloomy post punk and just enough New Wave, but I need to give this one a bit more time because it’s right now at the “huh I should maybe jam this again” instead of a “I REALLY wanna jam that again” so I’ll throw it a 3.7/5.
8Talking Heads
Fear of Music

Neeka: Fear of Music is certainly an interesting listen. Shifting between batshit insane (“I, Zimbra” and “Animals”) and been-there-done-that (“Paper” and “Electric Guitar”), even its weaker tracks are very enjoyable. That majority of the tracks here are built on the concept of taking good ideas and stretching them as far out as you can, and even when this does work, that solid root foundation is still there. Things do tend to get a tad tiresome here and there, and the fact that the ridiculously-good opener is the best song on the album is more than a bit disappointing, but overall this was a fun listen, and something that I could definitely see growing on me in the future. 3.8/5
Track Ratings: I, Zimbra: 8.5 +, Mind: 7.5 -, Paper: 7 +, Cities: 8 +, Life During Wartime: 7.5 +, Memories Can’t Wait: 8 -, Air: 7.5 -, Heaven: 8.5 -, Animals: 8 +, Electric Guitar: 7.5 +, Drugs: 8 -
9Talking Heads
Fear of Music

Deadly: From the beginning of Fear of Music the listener is bombarded with a barrage of funk and spastic instrumentals that will set the tone for a rather unpredictable album. The peculiarity of the twangy vocals, funky bass beats, and experimental guitar riffs gauge the listener for an entertaining listen. Although there is plenty to love here I could agree with Neeka that the highs of the album are never really met consistently. 3.7/5
10Arctic Flowers
Weaver

teamster's rec
CURRENT COMPETITION SCORE: 48.2
Con: Female fronted post punk? About damn time, and man are these vocals amazing, slightly emo/pop punk in nature and incredibly impassioned while still maintaining that gothic tinge. The instrumentals to back it up are also incredible, this is basically everything Stellarscope was trying to be with their opener (punk-post-punk) and I adore it. It’s energetic, dark, and is unique enough to conjure up some highlights. The opener was an easy favorite for me but the closer ‘Impasse’ features some climactic duel vocals which perfectly caps off this album. If I had one criticism it’s that this album sounds like a band on the edge of an imaginary cliff, and they are too scared to jump off to reach that full-throttle, high energy potential. You can hear glimpses of it throughout, but they never make that leap. Frustrating, sure, but still very enjoyable. 4/5
11Arctic Flowers
Weaver

Neeka: Featuring some killer riffs and solid female vocals (about time, I was getting a bit sick of the post-punk sausage fest), Weaver is an extremely easy listen. From it’s almost-too-short runtime to its quick and to the point tracks, it’s all a breeze, but maybe that’s for the best -- it almost seems to start running low on ideas by the end of it all. So maybe it does get a little bit tasteless by the end of it, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have an incredibly clean-sounding and formidable young punk band here willing to give something different a go; hopefully in the future they’ll just push themselves a bit further. 3.6/5
Track Ratings: Magdalene: 8 -, Tell My Horse: 7 -, Ex Oblivione: 7 +, Anamnesis: 7.5 +, Cold Air Dead Hand: ?, Byzantine: 8 -, Weaver: 7.5 +, Dirges Dwell: 7 +, Impasse: 7.5 -
12Arctic Flowers
Weaver

Deadly: On this rec, teamster stepped outside the box of his competitors but with a risk well worth taking. Weaver stays true to its punk roots with aggressive riffs, hard-hitting bass lines, pummeling drums and angst-ridden vocals that range from apathetic to ballsy. Although typical for the genre, these vocal performances are brought a unique sound being that this is a female fronted band. Overall, I would say these vocals are the standout element that set the Arctic Flowers away from their contemporaries. From the opening riffs in “Magdelene”, the breakneck bassline that opens “Tell My Horse”, to the hostile vocals and clobbering drums beats in “Anamnesis”, and the atmospheric “Cold Air Dead Hands” it’s hard to find many flaws here. The only real flaw would be the band seem to be just shy of mastering their craft.
Nonetheless, this was a refreshing album that was wildly amusing and never truly loses its potency. 4.3/5
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