Best Ever Albums

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 15:15:01 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/10/2015 19:15

Guys, I'm gonna have to abruptly end this ULL. You may have noticed the schedule for this is quite sporadic and how I have been listening to fewer albums with every passing day. Overall, I'm just not enjoying this ULL unlike the first one I did. If you would like to see a better ULL from me, then the first one would be the best recommendation. I guess that may have to do with me not being as big into music as I was back when I was first started. I mean, honestly, I'm more interested in films and anime and I want to invest my time more into them rather than music. I'm sorry that this has to happen, but I was just not enjoying it personally. But, I hope you did enjoy what I did on this ULL, even though I shot myself in the foot quite early on. Let's hope the next user who does this will have a lot more fun with this than I did.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 11:38:16 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/10/2015 15:38

Friday 10th July

4:23 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Communion by Years And Years

Another album added to the database; another electronica album. A pattern is starting to emerge here. The problem with these electronic albums is that they would be alright, if In Colour by Jamie xx wasn't the absolute peak of the genre in 2015 and/or possibly of this decade. Anyway, this is an average but also a boring house album. It has some nice sounds and it has potential to so overplayed at the nightclubs, but, aside from that, there's nothing else to add. Give it a miss probably.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Thu, 9 Jul 2015 18:56:18 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/09/2015 22:56

11:20 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Dream Sounds by Nagisa Ni Te

Back to stuff I've added to the database. This is an EP (albeit a long one) from Japanese psychedelic-folk band Nagisa Ni Te. Just to let you know that all the albums I added that are featured in this ULL are all on Spotify, either through the new releases and/or recommendations sections. This was a very interesting EP, because it doesn't go for one particular style of your typical indie band. It begins with the 10 minute Neil Young inspired epic with many changes in dynamic. However, the next song sounds like this indie pop band with a bit of dirt under their fingernails. And then it goes back to some Neil Young shit again - this track even draws comparison to the title track from On The Beach (well their name does translate to On A Beach so that makes me not only a racist, but also not very observant). Not that I'm complaining, but I guess that I was expecting something a little more out there and experimental. Heck, the 21 minute closing track isn't as crazy as some tracks with similar lengths are. It is a very pretty guitar noodling track, but I was left a bit underwhelmed by it a little. Maybe their albums are going to be a lot better than the EPs, but if they are going to sound like what I hear on this dragged out to 70+ minutes, then I don't really want to listen to their albums. I'm not mad; I'm just disappointed.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

Anonymous — Thu, 9 Jul 2015 16:43:43 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/09/2015 20:43

Great thread here! 😄 Keep up the good work.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Thu, 9 Jul 2015 16:16:41 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/09/2015 20:16

Thursday 9th July

Sorry for my absence today, I went out and had a sentimental but still a really happy day. Now it's time to resume progress. After I've finished listening to a recently leaked release (shh, it's a secret) I'll get back to listening to some albums.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Wed, 8 Jul 2015 13:08:19 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/08/2015 17:08

Yo, thanks for enjoying my ULL so far you guys. 😁

meruizh wrote:

Great ULL man. I wonder how do you listen to music normally? I mention this because you seem to put a hell lot lot of thoughts into each album, or is this mainly because you are making the ULL.

For me, even with a 100% focus on an album, it's really hard to figure out an album on the first listen. I need repeated listens to figure out the intention of the album.

I think it's mainly because of the ULL that I get to think about how I would arrange my thoughts. Most of my technique is just to waffle a lot until you get something that shows that you kinda know what you're talking about. Sometimes I rely on preconceived thoughts and dreams to build up my sentences. But, I guess you could say that with the excessive amounts of thoughts in my head is handy at points, it can be a bit impulsive and presumptuous. At least with my last ULL, I could get away with some of the albums because they weren't 2015 releases and we don't know if some of the 2015 releases in this ULL will hold up with time. Maybe it is better to give an album repeat listens to help rationalise your thoughts.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

meruizh — Wed, 8 Jul 2015 11:52:06 GMT

Author: meruizh

Posted: 07/08/2015 15:52

Great ULL man. I wonder how do you listen to music normally? I mention this because you seem to put a hell lot lot of thoughts into each album, or is this mainly because you are making the ULL.

For me, even with a 100% focus on an album, it's really hard to figure out an album on the first listen. I need repeated listens to figure out the intention of the album.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

pa — Wed, 8 Jul 2015 11:26:16 GMT

Author: pa

Posted: 07/08/2015 15:26

great Ull Hazey 😁

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Wed, 8 Jul 2015 11:15:45 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/08/2015 15:15

Wednesday 8th July

3:48 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

I guess being in a state of being pseudo-stoned from last nights album kind of lingered into today's session slightly. Going back to an artist who I haven't heard in over a year. One of my friends who's not on BEA (yes I actually have friends) is sort of obsessed with Hendrix and has his technique for songwriting nailed down. He was an amazing guitar player before he took up music theory, and now that he has music theory under his belt, I bet he will be outstanding. But, enough personal life bullshit. The version I'm listening to is the US version, which is so much better than the UK version. The tracks used in the US makes it a more cohesive, trippy and explosive experience. The UK version is alright, but it doesn't have tracks like Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary. Plus, the UK version is a little bit tedious to sit through. The US version is more iconic and if you don't listen to it, you're missing out on the full Jimi Hendrix Experience. (ayyyyy) But, to each his own. My opinion on this hasn't changed and it's still a kick-ass album.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Tue, 7 Jul 2015 18:58:35 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/07/2015 22:58

11:37 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Los Sounds De Krauts by Colour Haze

Now let's end this Tuesday night with a first listen of Los Sounds De Krauts and waiting to see the Wednesday sun rise up and consume my soul. I feel like flying through the city of Babylon right now. I'm immersed yet detached from the real world right now. Like I'm experiencing the course of history in time-lapse. I don't feel like being a conventional person with this ULL and to give my actual thoughts on this. I'll keep on gaining and losing another hour of my life to this.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Tue, 7 Jul 2015 14:40:58 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/07/2015 18:40

6:40 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Jake Xerxes Fussell by Jake Xerxes Fussell

Now I'm getting to the albums that I really should've listened to when they first came out. Honestly, I didn't really see this as an essential 2015 listen for me, but I thought I'd give it a listen anyway. That sounds very contradictory... Anyway, I thought there would be something that I would find interesting. What I got were a collection of nice, inoffensive and intoxicating American folk pub sing-alongs. Filled with pleasant fingerpicking, slide guitars and lyrical passages about country life. They can either be ditties or ballads. And while this may not be the type of folk I would be into - I like my folk music to be solemn and introspective - this is harmless.

7:04 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence And The Machine

I fucking adore Florence And The Machine. One of the best artists to get commercial success in recent memory. Didn't catch all of their Glastonbury performance, but from what I saw, they owned the Pyramid Stage with flying colours. I loved their debut; Lungs, the moment I first heard it. It was a mystical, haunting and enthralling experience that I keep returning to after six years of it being released. However, while Ceremonials did have amazing singles and a cerebral production, I felt that was somewhat of a detriment to the album itself. Most of that album felt hollow and felt like it insisted upon the production instead of focusing on writing actual songs. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful brings us a more stripped down approach, and thankfully it works out for the best for them here. While the album does have additional accompanying instruments to distinguish itself, all the songs encompass a straightforward structure so it doesn't lead the album to become bloated like its predecessor. It's great to see that they can not only be a magical experience that can wow you, but that they can also pull off some excellent songwriting abilities. It may not be as ethereal as Lungs, but I appreciate them switching up their formula, as too much grandiose can be too much. So yeah, I really like this album.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Tue, 7 Jul 2015 07:48:09 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/07/2015 11:48

Tuesday 7th July

12:30 AM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Can I Go With You To Go Back To My Country by I'lls

Starting off the day with another album I added to the site. An Australian band that call themselves I'lls. Hmm, that's quite an interesting name and should be some kind of indicator of what kind of album this should be. This album is similar to Aero Flynn's s/t but it's more routed more in Ambient Techno (hell, the title sounds like it was lifted straight out of a Boards of Canada dictionary) rather than actual instrumentation, while it does have some guitar loops here and there. It also has a cleaner production and a lot more of a direct focus. But, I've just got to wonder: why are all of these artists trying to sound like Thom Yorke all the time? I mean, he does have interesting stuff, but if you keep this flattering imitation up, you're going to end up as b-sides for his next solo project. Anyway, this album is a short one, clocking in at 22 minutes, but it is a cool little listen if you do try it. I am aware that these guys also have longer albums in their backlog, so I will hopefully check those out later.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 16:15:41 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/06/2015 20:15

8:37 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Aero Flynn by Aero Flynn

Going back to the 2015 releases now. This is an interesting one because it's an album I just added to the site, so I have absolutely no idea what I'm in for when listening to this. I always love adding albums to the database, not because it heightens your reputation to the site, but because most of what you find for yourself is immediate and it's satisfies you knowing that you made the effort of looking, and this album and artist are no exception. However, this album is kind of hard to explain in terms of its genre. I know some of you won't care because music doesn't allow itself to conform under the hands of the artist, but I know some of you would want concrete answers: it's kind of like a mix of dreamy folk (considering that this guy is friends with Bon Iver) and dizzying IDM. So it's kind of like Thom Yorke, but not really. It's not quite as minimal as, say, The Eraser as there's more instrumentation and it has a fuzzier production. A lot of the songs seem to be ascending to some ethereal climax and then just disintegrates. There are some glitchy beats layered onto the album to give it that kind of intrinsic yet inauthentic dance routine. Going back to the production, it really has a knack at making you feel like your at a nightclub inside of broken computer data. This is really unlike anything I've ever heard before in terms of this year. This was a real treat for me and you guys should definitely give this a listen. To the same with any album here in this shameless plug chart!

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

Anonymous — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 14:18:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/06/2015 18:18

alelsupreme wrote:

calm doon john green mate

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

shoopadoowop — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 13:59:46 GMT

Author: shoopadoowop

Posted: 07/06/2015 17:59

Cool ULL man, gonna have to listen to some of these.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 12:53:19 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/06/2015 16:53

alelsupreme wrote:

calm doon john green mate

🤣

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

alelsupreme — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 12:12:04 GMT

Author: alelsupreme

Posted: 07/06/2015 16:12

calm doon john green mate

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 11:49:32 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/06/2015 15:49

4:02 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend

Thought I'd give a bit of a detour from listening to new releases to giving a re-listen to this album. There was once a time where I adored Vampire Weekend, but, ever since I had my musical dry spell that lasted for a few months, I lost interest in listening to many of my other favourite artists and music in general. But I think that I lost interest in these guys well before that happened. I still like Vampire Weekend, but it showed that they'll never be one of my favourite artists again. So why am I giving this album another listen? Well, I was thinking to myself: what would be the perfect soundtrack to a TV show that would gain a cult following on Tumblr? Then I thought of this album, and it seemed to match my fantasies perfectly. I mean, I still liked it when I first listened to it, but with this mentality in mind, my admiration started to blossom. Now, I know that Modern Vampires Of The City being associated with Tumblr might toxically hinder the album's enjoyment. Honestly, coming from someone who uses Tumblr, I don't really care. Enjoy the album however you like and don't pay any attention to some weirdo teenager who wants it to be the soundtrack to some life affirming and/or cynical teen drama set somewhere in the album's cover and have it get popular on an infamous social media platform. Though if my dream were to come true, buying the royalties for this album would cost a fortune...

Anyway, enough rambling, this has become my favourite album by them. I'm surprised that this has happened, because the s/t was on my overall for a long time and I had a bit of a Contra phase back when I was a massive fan. That's really odd, because if it wasn't for my deranged dream, I'd argue that my opinion hasn't changed a bit, but my opinion on the other albums have changed significantly. Maybe it shows a sign of maturity; a sign of moving on from adolescent fantasies where you acquired affirmation from peers to be accepted; not needing other people to complete you; finally seeing the bigger picture other than yourself placed all over the frame. Shows that fitting in and having safe choices and options in your life makes you a drone and you're searching for something that benefits others just as much as yourself. Maybe that dry spell was a sign to show me something. I don't know what that would entail, but I hope it's something for the better. Right now I'm content, and while it won't stay like that for long, there's some naive hope inside that wishes it did... Now that sounds like something out of that TV series. We've all come full circle.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 10:17:11 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/06/2015 14:17

Monday 6th July

2:28 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Sprinter by Torres

I always suspected that Torres was this kind of like a St. Vincent but with a more Cat Power-like directness in terms of melody. Coming from someone who isn't entirely familiar with any artist mentioned here, it isn't a fair assumption/comparison to make, and makes my statement appear like there's some kind of agenda or a status quo that any female that classifies herself as *insert genre here* must follow. I'm not saying that women can't redefine the standards of their respected genre (whether they choose to acknowledge it or not), it's just something that I haven't had much experience with. But I feel that 2015 is a great year for female musicians, and it is all the more reasons I find this year to be one of the best years for music in recent memory. And now I've just opened a can-of-worms that I feel like I'll regret opening later. Where was I? Oh yeah, Torres is awesome. The songs here are murky and brooding, but some songs have an irresistible drive and occasional quirkiness (especially on Cowboy Guilt) that give it a strong musical backbone and a sense of humour to it. Her voice has a haunting quality that complements the instrumentation perfectly. And the production makes it all come together. Not much else to say. This is great.

Re: HazeyTwilight's ULL 2nd Season (Director's Cut)

HazeyTwilight — Sun, 5 Jul 2015 17:03:29 GMT

Author: HazeyTwilight

Posted: 07/05/2015 21:03

9:27 PM

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Goon by Tobias Jesso Jr.

Giving a first listen to an album that's just managing to stay in the top 20 of the year at the time of writing. In fear of Death Grips overtaking its position. Honestly, I wish this was higher on the list. That's odd, because there isn't a lot to this album. Just mainly a guy and his piano, with the occasional guitar, drums, strings and brass for accompaniment. Not a huge fan of the formula, as it can lead to some pretty insincere and subpar material with little variety and predictable moments, but Tobias Jesso Jr. is a clever guy, so he tries to add more colourful chord progressions and there are some parts of the album where you're constantly guessing where each song is going. And it comes off as completely sincere and full of energy, even if it tackles themes of breakups. They are very common traps for similar artists fall into and I'd be lying if I said that Jesso Jr. didn't succumb to this a little. Though, apart from some lyrical inconveniences, this is a terrific album with a lot of personality behind it. In my opinion, this is the dark horse album of 2015 so far.