| | Full Review | Ratings (252) |
Give your Rating |
| 3.5 great | buttgrinder | August 7th 20 |
My favorite part of this visual album experience was the Jake from State Farm ad I had to watch 12 times
12 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | Slex | August 7th 20 |
Can't wait for the logical conclusion of this style when Elvrum and Kozalek team up for a series of infomercials
8 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | SinNanna | December 29th 20 |
17 years after putting The Microphones name to rest in exchange for continuing as Mount Eerie (and a mostly similar sound honestly), Phil Elverum brings this seminal and career-defining project back to put out a pretty ambitious, 44-minute autobiographical song detailing its entire origin story and career trajectory. Wether its early Microphones releases going into excruciating detail about recording and equipment, dabbling into a bit of black metal on 2009's Wind's Poem, going ambient-folk on 2012's Clear Moon and even dronier on 2015's Sauna, you can always expect Phil to accompany his esoteric and nature-themed songwriting with ambitious undertakings, and as thus this album doesn't seem that out of the ordinary. However, it does need to be noted that this album is in no way an ideal release for newcomers to Phil's work, as Microphones In 2020's ethos is so significantly embedded in his past work, that an appreciation or knowledge of those releases is needed to at least some extent to really get something out of it. If I had to describe the sound of this LP more bluntly, it's like Phil taking a great 5-minute Microphones or Mount Eerie song and stretching it out to almost 9 times its size, with lots of droning repetition and patient movement shifts throughout. I do think those same two alternating guitar chords during the first 8 minutes provide a bit of a slow and kind of patience-testing start, but as someone who has enjoyed his music myself and even holds some of it quite close to his heart, I found the journaling of these lyrical details interesting to bite into.
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| 4.5 superb | charlopiano | December 16th 20 |
My god, what a glorious return in strength for The Microphones, this was incredible
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| 3.5 great | ajcollins15 | August 18th 20 |
Honestly, I could go on and on about this record. At first listen I absolutely hated it. One song that goes on for 45 minutes straight, it takes 8 minutes to get to the first word, and the real kicker?there are only two cords on the whole thing, two guitar cords. Also, it doesn?t make it any easier that I am new to the whole microphones band and therefor Phil Elverum as a whole. So, if you have never listened to his music or the bands music then I wouldn?t start here because for 45 minutes Phil will take you through the life of him as a child, the creation and life of The Microphones, the Creating and life of his solo material, and then a meta-analysis of what this album is, will be, and lead towards. However artistically this is something no artists has ever really done before. In general, it really seems he has created the genre of post-progressive, but there is an odd progression to it, but there is no sonic or lyrical climax to go with it. Several times throughout the track there will be build into distorted guitars and drums, loud ambient drones, or angelic piano cords. But they all fizzle out quickly and none of them really come back later. So, in conclusion it is really something. This album is bigger than the space it fits in?and that is something to really admire. Otherwise this is trash.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Erwann S. EMERITUS | August 14th 20 |
Beautiful. To be honest, his last couple of LPs left me unmoved, but this one reminded me how much I love his drony avant-folk work. Flowing remarkably well from quite simple guitar strummings, distorted electric riffs bring *that* specific vibe that transcends a sad work into a beautifully cathartic album. Phil just had to sing his lyrics and there you go: best 2020 folk hands fucking down. And I didn't even talk about that poignant video/photo montage.
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| 5.0 classic | bigguytoo9 | August 7th 20 |
It's just unreal, the video to go along with this is wonderful. What a lyrical story. 5'd for sure.
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| 4.0 excellent | eureka | August 6th 20 |
An epic, sprawling self-portrait - while it brings the common threads running throughout rPhil's work to the foreground, it is in a world of its own. A remarkable album, and a rstrong contender for AOTY.
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| 4.0 excellent | Brabiz | November 20th 23 |
| 4.5 superb | Rick64 | March 13th 23 |
| 3.0 good | Timmy | January 18th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | MrCoffee | November 21st 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | altfunk | March 5th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | EyeSock | January 15th 22 |
| 4.5 superb | Pvzuzu | January 13th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | butcrac | July 19th 21 |
| 5.0 classic | Thomm | May 17th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Phate72 | April 20th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | DadKungFu EMERITUS | February 16th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Polvo | January 11th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | El Olam | January 9th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | TwigTW | January 7th 21 |
| 4.5 superb | Cormano | December 27th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | hamid95 | December 25th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Alex C. | December 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Painless | December 12th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Troggy | November 28th 20 |
| 3.5 great | samsid | November 22nd 20 |
| 3.0 good | gnimas | November 1st 20 |
| 5.0 classic | H2okot | October 7th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | bokeh | September 26th 20 |
| 3.0 good | mikep87 | September 25th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Tb1114 | September 25th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Musta6 | September 21st 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Arlind | September 17th 20 |
| 3.5 great | jmh886 | September 2nd 20 |
| 2.5 average | haley | August 25th 20 |
| 1.5 very poor | DANcore | August 20th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Veldin | August 20th 20 |
| 3.0 good | uefest | August 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | ilia | August 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | JS19 | August 19th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | jaypeg | August 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Darling | August 18th 20 |
| 5.0 classic | furpa | August 17th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Rmazer | August 17th 20 |
| 1.5 very poor | qwenta | August 17th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Scoot | August 17th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Lassie | August 16th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Josh | August 16th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | August 13th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Corney | August 11th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Mser94 | August 11th 20 |
| 5.0 classic | Azazzel | August 10th 20 |
| 3.5 great | ian b | August 10th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jekub | August 9th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Yotimi | August 9th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | anat | August 9th 20 |
| 2.5 average | papudo | August 9th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | jtswope | August 9th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | espnil | August 8th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Pangea | August 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | gnombyX | August 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Greem | August 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Murat | August 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jake E. | August 7th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | bmelt | August 7th 20 |
| 5.0 classic | bSmith | August 7th 20 |
| 5.0 classic | Teo | August 7th 20 |
| 2.5 average | doofy | August 7th 20 |
| 3.0 good | Runeii | August 7th 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Sowing STAFF | August 6th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | luci | August 6th 20 |
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