Best Ever Albums

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

latenighttv — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 12:08:47 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 06/25/2014 16:08

Enjoyed taking part in this! There's a part of me that thinks I played it very safe with my nomination while another part of me thinks I took a fair bit of a risk. All I know is that, when it came to nominating an album, it stood out a mile, maybe because of how divisive it might be.

It's also the kind of album that can force a tie-breaker against all of the odds, but then completely collapse in that tie-breaker. Anyway, thanks to all who voted for it / said good things about it on this or the “What album...” thread.

SilverWalrus, your post above was kinda fun but I ain't sure anyone would ever find song titles like 'Mermaids', 'The Same Deep Water As Me' or 'A Strange Arrangement of Colour' on an Oasis or Arctic Monkeys album.

Jazzy and piano-led, the last of those three is possibly my absolute favourite from the album. It's only two and a half minutes long and has got a pretty nice fan video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLGxYZE_Ko

Excellent tournament so far. I've only heard about a dozen of the albums but have enjoyed pretty much all of them ('Opus Eponymous' striking me as one I will definitely revisit).

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:44:17 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/23/2014 22:44

TIE

11-11

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Listmeister — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 11:31:20 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 06/23/2014 15:31

I just learned I don't care for deathmetal. That's good to know. Meanwhile, I Am Kloot embodies what I love about Britpop. It's Pulp + Pet Shop Boys with a bit of All Stewart and the Seahorses thrown in.

Vote to Kloot. I wish I could vote twice in this one.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 00:36:19 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/23/2014 04:36

I guess I'd have to be considered someone who doesn't quite get death metal, but I found The Red In The Sky Is Ours to be enjoyable enough for a genre I can't really get into, certainly not bad at all. On the other hand, I Am Kloot pretty much condenses every element I don't like in British indie rock into one wholly concise mess. The songs stink of hollow anthemia, the guitars are pretty and jangly but are never cutting or interesting, and it falls back on a mess of bar room and pseudo-Britpop cliches. I bet these guys worshiped Oasis and I could totally see them influencing Arctic Monkeys. The songs are almost as soulless as they are dickless. Sorry to hate on them latenighttv, but I couldn't stand that album, easy vote for me.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

NickVolos — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 15:13:29 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 06/22/2014 19:13

SuedeSwede wrote:

Neither were great, but vote to I Am Kloot because I really didn't enjoy its opponent

Exactly this.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Skinny — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 11:09:51 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 06/22/2014 15:09

I remember I Am Kloot, went to see them live a couple of times because a friend was a fan. They didn't do much for me then, and they do even less for me now. At The Gates isn't really my cuppa either, but they get my vote here.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 10:34:11 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/22/2014 14:34

The easiest vote for me in this initial round.

I like I am Kloot well enough. But it's pretty standard indie rock fare. The sort of album that's perfect for the Paste magazine/Starbucks/Adult alternative set. I like this kind of stuff and am happy to drink my Starbucks coffee & read my New York Times while it soothingly & inoffensively plays in the background. I'm a BAWP, after all.

Meanwhile, At the Gates eats middling indie rock bands for breakfast. And is HUNGRY afterwards! *burp* 😈

edit: Wow! I'm surprised this is neck & neck. 🤔 I guess there is a bias against metal at play here.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

latenighttv — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 04:43:08 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 06/22/2014 08:43

Liked the At The Gates album myself and hope to go back and get it rated eventually.

Seeing as this is delicately poised might as well do some promo 😁

So yeah, the I Am Kloot album is my nom... for me it's 12 excellent songs beautifully produced / brilliantly executed.

The album is lush and textured; the songs shimmer, or as the allmusic review says, I Am Kloot “explodes with scuzzy epic rock guitars and jagged basslines, adds ornate backing instrumentation, and fleshes out its songs until they bleed anthemic charisma and emotion”.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/i-am-kloot-mw0000139354

I guess these are the qualities that have kept me coming back to it since I bought it back in the mid 2000s. The slower tracks maybe crowd out the more uptempo ones so will post 'Life In A Day' below. Great bassline, rolling, shuffling drumfills, and a fuzzy guitar assault every now and again to push the song over the edge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CMgXe0qN9g

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Norman Bates — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 09:21:31 GMT

Author: Norman Bates

Posted: 06/21/2014 13:21

Goodsir wrote:

The Red In the Sky Is Ours is quite good, and I Am Kloot was just mediocre. Vote to the Gates.

Something like that, less empthically, for both.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 00:46:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/21/2014 04:46

I'm still not totally sure how articulate what makes this At the Gates record so appealing. The mood is fascinating: mysterious primordial past, apocalyptic prophecies scrawled on the walls of ancient ruins...that sort of thing. The songs are structured in sometimes convoluted ways that really shouldn't make sense, but somehow just flow, intuitively and naturally.

When not aggressive or bizarre, the guitar riffs can be really gorgeous, The final minute of Within for example (5:30 or so onwards): 3 note phrase repeats on one guitar, while tremolo picked notes go up and down on another, then the pretty violin comes in, then extra layers of harmonized guitars, the violin stars breaking away with some faster runs, then fadeout. Brilliantly effective, especially in context with the rest of the song.

Link

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 22:04:05 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/21/2014 02:04

Voted for I am Kloot

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

mickilennial — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 20:45:39 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 06/21/2014 00:45

The Red in the Sky is Ours. It’s one of the most important death metal releases in the history of the genre which specifically inspired and shaped the Gothenburg scene of melodic death metal in the early nineties. While I listen to Slaughter of the Soul a bit more (not sure why), this record is great. I Am Kloot does absolutely nothing for me on top of being nothing particular new, interesting, or really engaging.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 20:04:01 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/21/2014 00:04

The Red In the Sky Is Ours is quite good, and I Am Kloot was just mediocre. Vote to the Gates.

Re: [CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

SuedeSwede — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 20:02:23 GMT

Author: SuedeSwede

Posted: 06/21/2014 00:02

Neither were great, but vote to I Am Kloot because I really didn't enjoy its opponent

[CLOSED] +1500: Round 1: I Am Kloot VS The Red In the Sky...

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:50:17 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/20/2014 23:50

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I Am Kloot by I Am Kloot

Link

Nominated by latenighttv

VS

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The Red In The Sky Is Ours by At The Gates

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Link

Nominated by yourself

Only vote if you have listened to both albums. Thank you.