Season2 Rnd11: Annihilation Recommendation Nation
"tacos you never give below a 3.3 or higher than a 4.3" |
| 1 |  | David Thomas Broughton
The Complete Guide to Insufficiency
FOLK or SINGER SONGWRITER
no album over like 80 minutes plz
handicaps:
Ovrot - USED
Frivolous - .1
Aberf - USED
Chortles - .1
FullOfSounds - .1
granitenotebook - .1 |
| 2 |  | Phoebe Bridgers
Stranger In The Alps
FullOfSounds
A great collection of ethereal and melancholic folk jams. Phoebe’s style is kind of like Julian Baker meets Elliot Smith with a country twist (a common association apparently). The album is quite opaque with with its themes and is quite lyric driven which could be seen as a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. I’ve never been much of a lyric buff myself but the emotion resonated and the songs’ structure were nice enough for me to enjoy this considerably.
Highlights: “Funeral” and “Scott Street”
3.5 |
| 3 |  | Linda Perhacs
Parallelograms
Frivolous
This was a gorgeous nature-y folk experience. If you have a thing for that hippie kind of sound, you should love this. Linda’s vocals aren’t showy or overly distinct but that seems to be more of an asset than an issue here. Her strength is HOW she uses her vocals, she doesnt rely on their uniqueness as a crutch. The delicate folk tunes were great as is but were made even better when paired with more experimental tracks. This elevated the album above being a one trick pony and bumped the score up for me.
Highlights: “Paper Mountain Man” and “Parallelograms”
4.0 |
| 4 |  | Emma Ruth Rundle
Some Heavy Ocean
Aberf
Emma Ruth Rundle plays an endearing style of dream folk with swirling atmospherics and reverbbb. Emma’s vocals are solid and go with everything pretty well. The highs of this album are superb but felt that when the album wasn't totally engrossing me it didn't quite go above any of the other recs here.
Highlights: “Oh Sarah” and “Run Forever”
3.4
*ELIMINATED :(* |
| 5 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell
granitenotebook
I suppose i was bound to listen to this sooner or later given that Sufjan is practically a sput initation artist. So this record lived up to some of its hype. The songs are all put together wonderfully and it’s more than just “man and guitar.” Each song feels really homey and earnest. Judging by the cover and story of the album, id assume that was the intention and i’d say Sufjan succeeded.
Highlights: “Should Have Known Better” and “Blue Bucket of Gold”
3.7 |
| 6 |  | Douji Morita
A Boy
Ovrot
Ahhh a baroque japanese folk rec. As you can imagine i have no idea what’s being said so can’t judge lyrics but it sounds nice so who cares. These songs were like little tragic folk tales in music form. The violin on each track made them feel more epic and grand. The album is dark but not in a sinister sense. It’s more just the hues i’d associate the record with. Never been much of baroque music kind of guy but fuck it this was nice.
Highlights: “君と淋しい風になる” and “G線上にひとり”
3.5 |
| 7 |  | Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Archelirion
Bert Jansch’s debut self titled album is a trip down a twangy contemporary folk road. It may not be much of a layered epic but it’s earnestness and charisma make for a great time. What is most exciting about this album is actually Bert’s technical prowess on the guitar. It all came off so effortlessly without being showy and had me moving my body to the hooks.
Highlights: “Running From Home” and and “Strolling Down the Highway”
3.6 |
| 8 |  | Richard Youngs
Sapphie
Chortles
A minimalistic folk album about losing your dog. The record makes use of extended song lengths, repetitious songwriting, and a small hint of slowcore. The songs’ simplicity brings with it a certain intimacy i haven't got from a record in a while. Richard’s vocals are not for everyone but they really struck a chord with me by the middle of the album. My only minor complaint is the first song drags a tad by its conclusion; The remaining two however felt just right despite their length. A real joy to listen to this.
Highlights: “A Fullness of Light in Your Soul” and “The Graze of Days”
4.1 (4.2) with handicap
*ROUND WINNER* |
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