Did you like this one better than his recent Bob's Son? Cause I surely did, by a margin. Also, your reviews (here, in album comment sections, in your diary) are highlights of BEA, just so you know. Love that you put so much work into them. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
3.
Not in any particular mood, so I just picked 10 albums from the chart of the above user (in that case Mercury)
1. Time (The Revelator) - Gillian Welch
2 .Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
3. Nilsson Sings Newman - Harry Nilsson
4. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
5. Prowler In The Yard - Pig Destroyer
6. The Magnolia Electric Co. - Songs: Ohia
7. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard & Linda Thompson
8. Leviathan - Mastodon
9. Pink Flag - Wire
10. How I'm Feeling Now - Charli XCX
Oh boy. So I was planning yesterday night, I was going to tackle this album to see what I was getting into. Was somewhat turned off by it. Preplanning when I was going to listen to this. So I decided to listen to this after work. And, while I could admire and somewhat understand its appeal, this is not one of my favorites. As of now it is probably my least favorite of the this year end 100.
I feel like I should enjoy this a little more, but I'll try to explain why I feel the way I feel. For one, I wouldn't say I'm against the idea of atonal music. In a rock sense I enjoy Swans Filth or in a more contemporary sense Daughter's YWGWYW. Or in a harsh noise sense, I enjoy the hell out of Rakka as well as want to revisit Pulse Demon. But compared to those albums, this doesn't sound as addicting or engaging than those albums. But for another point, I would say structurally, it never feels complete. There are tones I do like. As well as I could see the raw instrumentation being a plus to other listeners. But me, nah.
There is other things that I could go into, like there are two thoughts that came into my mind. An example being the second track where that atonal chord doesn't make me go WTF in a oh shit way. More in a just shit. Or I think the third track oddly reminds me of the first Hylics game. But weirdly enough, and I might be pulling this out of my ass, but the way that game portrays its music has this lazy demeanor that sounds quite sincere.
So, not a highlight for the year. Grade:65 but more of a 60
(2)
Welcome kokkinos. You will get Mastadon
(3)
BEA's Top 100 Albums of 1993
(35) James-Laid
38 Sting-Ten Summoner's Tales
(62) Mariah Carey-Music Box
(64) Meat Loaf-Back Out Of Hell II (would have to listen to the first Back Out Of Hell album)
(65) The Auteurs-New Wave
(67) Buffalo Tom-Big Red Letter Day
68 Death-Individual Thought Process
(70) Urge Overkill-Saturation
(71) Midnight Oil-Earth And Sun And Moon
(73) Donald Fagen-Kamakiriad
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Did you like this one better than his recent Bob's Son? Cause I surely did, by a margin. Also, your reviews (here, in album comment sections, in your diary) are highlights of BEA, just so you know. Love that you put so much work into them.
TBH I think they are kinda even in my mind as of now. I liked the more jarring and radnom and i guess abstract qualities of Bob's Son more. But at the same time Purple Moonlight (forget 3rd word) has a smoother, more conversational sound which I loved. While being clearly similar and not jarringly different, I suppose as of now and 1 listen to both, they feel like unique albums. Water Gun to my eye and I had to choose I would probably pick Purple Moonlight *inaudible mumbled word* by a hair.
And thank you for your kind words. Made me smile and feel a bit more cheery. 😄
Now I'll go and listen to that Perfume Genius. _________________ -Ryan
A month or so ago I started this album, heard the first incredible track and stopped. I stopped because I was in the middle of doing other stuff and I knew I'd interrupt the album and for all albums that is a little bit of a no-no but for an album like this - a sort of intricately produced, personal, brilliant Art Pop album of some renown - that is a BIG no-no. So this morning I finally came back to it, listened intently the whole way and I was very impressed.
Honestly, I am unfamiliar with Perfume Genius' previous work. I've seen all his albums loved to the stars on this site over the last 8 years but never pressed play to any albums for some reason. Not sure why that is. I had different expectations. I thought that may have a few catchy and bright pop songs. None of those existed. I thought maybe the album would have some winking and some playfulness. None of that existed either.
Instead this is a gorgeously performed and most notably brilliantly recorded album with so many details and so many beautifully intermingled musical ideas all coming together for this touching and personal album. I think the sound design and the way this album has its own unique space is amazingly impressive. The songs themselves are amazingly written, and the songs flow together so well in and of themselves, but its the production that takes this from a 80 to a 85-90.
Not exactly the same musical style, but the album this reminded me of a little here and there is Julia Holter's Loud City Song. They both have a cavernous sound, that gives me the idea of being in the personal mind space of the brilliant artists. Idk. Its a gorgeous album and one I'll be revisiting just after I finish listening to No Shape, Too Bright and maybe Put Your Back N 2 It (gotta make up for lost time).
never heard of it until i researched it a little. looks interesting and I'm not sure why I somehow never heard of James or this album. The only album of your set of 10 I think I've heard is that Death album and I just wasn't wanting to choose a Death album. Too many notes. JK.
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3.
Top 10 albums of 2020 per RYM that I have not heard (excluding some stuff I just know i don't want right now namely long hip hop albums or death/black/extreme metal. I will eventually delve into these, but for now I am being a bit choosy)
1. Shore by The Fleet Foxes (#24)
2. NO DREAM by Jeff Rosenstock (#31)
3. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches (#30)
4. Ohms by Deftones (#34)
5. Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs by Klô Pelgag (#49)
6. Dwellers of the Deep by Wobbler (#58)
7. Vice Versa in Such Things by Avenade (#68)
8. Untitled (Rise) by Sault (#72)
9. We Are Sent Here by History by Shabaka and the Ancestors (#81)
10. Inlet by Hum (#82) _________________ -Ryan
What a way to start. I 've always had an odd relationship with metal music. In high school many of my classmates I was hanging around with were metalheads, so I got exposed to way too much metal and almost hated it. Since then, I've made some baby steps towards this genre. Yeah, most people slow down with age, I go the other way around. Not that I actively look for new metal bands or something, but when I happen to stumble on it I can approach it with a more positive attitude. Anyway, enough about me, let's focus on the album. Before even beginning with the listening process, the expectations are already raised. With such a title and an album cover, it better be something of epic proportions. My biggest concern with this kind of albums is usually the vocals. Here there are two main vocalists plus a couple of guests. For the most part they doesn't cross the "unlistenable" line, though there were some instances where it was clearly on the annoying side (most obvious example would be Aqua Dementia). The sad thing is that it's a concept album - a loose one though, Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" is the main theme of the album, but not all tracks proceed along those lines - and if you can't connect with the vocals it's harder to follow the concept. Musicianship, on the other hand, is top notch without being only about style (another common complaint in such albums). No crazy solos, no need to show off. This balance is the key to their (critical and commercial) success, a typical sound with aggressive riffs and powerful drumming, but they manage to fit many progressive elements in seemingly straightforward 3-4 minutes hit songs, which all do contribute to the overall atmosphere. Hearts Alive is the central piece of the album, it's as if everything that came before paves the way for this both in terms of music and lyrics. Not sure it totally justifies its length, but a great piece nonetheless. Joseph Merrick is a fitting closer, just a calm moment after all the mayhem that preceeded it. However, I have to give the nod to Blood and Thunder as the standout track. It establishes itself with the first riff and the first line ("I think that someone is trying to kill me") and it never lets go. I noticed that most of you guys assign a numerical rating, so I'm gonna say 70/100 - which is better than it seems, I am generally conservative/insecure when it comes to ratings.
3.
I quite liked the first album, so I 'm gonna continue with albums from Mercury's chart
1. Time (The Revelator) - Gillian Welch
2 .Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
3. Nilsson Sings Newman - Harry Nilsson
4. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
5. Prowler In The Yard - Pig Destroyer
6. The Magnolia Electric Co. - Songs: Ohia
7. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard & Linda Thompson
8.Pink Flag - Wire
9. How I'm Feeling Now - Charli XCX
10. Sweet Tea - Buddy Guy
Right, I'm gonna jump in. kokkinos, check out Thin Lizzy.
I'm gonna be picking from RYM's best funk albums (1979-1990).
1. Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti - Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti
2. Sun Ra - Strange Celestial Road
3. Earth, Wind & Fire - I Am
4. Dino Dvornik - Dino Dvornik
5. James Blood Ulmer - Free Lancing
6. String Connection - Workoholic
7. Djavan - Lilás
8. Franco Micalizzi - Stridulum
9. Teena Marie - It Must Be Magic
10. Tim Maia - O Descobridor dos Sete Mares _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
1.
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
A more "standard" listening with no alarms no surprises. The album that brought Thin Lizzy into the spotlight and resulted in their commercial breakthrough. It's a classic, guitar-driven hard rock 70's album. Nothing more, nothing less. Not a huge fan, but enjoyable nonetheless. I'm sure I would evalute this differently if I was around back then. Contains two of their biggest hits - Jailbreak and particularly The boys are back in town - with Cowboy Song not far behind either. However, If I had to pick one highlight, the guitar solo in Romeo and the Lonely Girl seals the deal. Rating-wise, I would contemplate between 65 and 70, I'm gonna say 70/100.
3.
Continuing with Mercury's chart
1. Time (The Revelator) - Gillian Welch
2. Nilsson Sings Newman - Harry Nilsson
3. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
4. Prowler In The Yard - Pig Destroyer
5. The Magnolia Electric Co. - Songs: Ohia
6. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard & Linda Thompson
7. Pink Flag - Wire
8. How I'm Feeling Now - Charli XCX
9.. Sweet Tea - Buddy Guy
10.Old Chestnut - Ned Collette
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Okay after listening to 4 Perfume Genius albums in a row and loving each (with a relative rank of his 2020>2012>2014>2017) I listened to Sault. Instrumentals were solid throughout, especially love the afrobeat stuff they did, and there is really just one song that reminded me of Off The Wall=era MJ which was great. And while I also liked the strings and stuff when they used them, I was bummed they moved away from the afrobeat for long stretches to incorporate those sounds. The vocals are consistently meh, none of the singing or vocal performances or performers impressed me. Some of the songs were nearly unbearable namely You Know It Ain't.
Musically, as in instrumentally I'd give it a 8/10 and vocally and song quality is a 5/10. I'll split it with a lean in the direction of the music, and say its 65/100.
3.
Top 10 albums of 2020 per RYM that I have not heard (excluding some stuff I just know i don't want right now namely long hip hop albums or death/black/extreme metal. I will eventually delve into these, but for now I am being a bit choosy)
1. Shore by The Fleet Foxes (#24)
2. NO DREAM by Jeff Rosenstock (#31)
3. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches (#30)
4. Ohms by Deftones (#34)
5. Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs by Klô Pelgag (#49)
6. Dwellers of the Deep by Wobbler (#58)
7. Vice Versa in Such Things by Avenade (#68)
8. We Are Sent Here by History by Shabaka and the Ancestors (#81)
9. Inlet by Hum (#82)
10. Ummon by Slift (#92) _________________ -Ryan
So compared to the last album, this was better. Would say the best moments of this album is when the songs get fuller. But I wouldn't say it was an all time favorite. I would say what prevents this from getting a higher grade than say an 80 would oddly be where while this was pleasing and a good half of this album actually being welcoming, sometimes I end up feeling somewhat bored by it. Like I ended up drifting from listening to this to lets say look at YouTube. So while I did enjoy this and I could see people who like calm folk music, I think that is what the genre is, you'll probably enjoy it. But I feel like I have heard similar sounding albums that did more stuff or appealed more to my taste.
(2)
We Will Always Love You, Mercury.
(3)
BEA's Top 100 Albums of 1993
38 Sting-Ten Summoner's Tales
(60) Mariah Carey-Music Box
(64) Meat Loaf-Back Out Of Hell II (would have to listen to the first Back Out Of Hell album)
(65) The Auteurs-New Wave
(67) Buffalo Tom-Big Red Letter Day
(70) Urge Overkill-Saturation
(71) Midnight Oil-Earth And Sun And Moon
(73) Donald Fagen-Kamakiriad
(74) Lovesliescrushing-Bloweyelashwish (R)
(75) Death-Individual Thought Process
Had to edit that list. Also while we are at 75, I need to add one more record before the update for my canon ranking.
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LedZep
Mercury
Skinny
