Elderly Woman is a fantastic singer/songwriter cut disguised as a grunge tune. Daughter too. It's a shame you didn't like it much overall (it's one of my favourites), but I can understand why.
(1)
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
As Days Get Dark by Arab Strap
I've had as much fun with this as you could hope to have with a self-deprecating indie album. Much more fun than new Julien Baker, for sure. Now I wasn't 100% paying attention to the lyrics, and yet I'm sure Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton are geniuses. The one liners, the crazy stories, it's almost an indie version of hip hop storytelling. Production was good, but I wasn't head over heels, and the reason is the lack of diversity. The whole album is one big lull if I'm being honest. And that's not completely a negative, if you're in the right state of mind I could imagine this being the selling point, but I'm currently not in that state of mind. A nocturnal experience for sure, and a good introduction to the band. 7.5/10
(2)
Let's go with another one you're not likely to find appealing Bay. The Number of the Beast is a good introduction to metal in general.
(3)
Leftovers list + some 2021
Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza
Still Corners - The Last Exit
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
Bismuth - The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef
Faceless Burial - Speciation
John Talabot - Fin
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
Soda Stereo - Dynamo
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Flamengo - Kuลe v hodinkรกch _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
This is one of those albums where if this was released earlier in time, I would have been more glowing for it. Like if this was in the late 60's when Silver Apples released there album, I might have lost my shit. But on an individual level, this was quite great. I do say the second half for me was what made me realized why this is regarded as on of those albums. Frankie's Teardrop being a harrowing and musically quite creepy. And the other track having those flourishes that made it odd. Also would say that this is pretty hypnotic. I think what prevents me from giving this glowing praise is that while I do enjoy the first five songs as well, I wished it had those ominous flourishes within it's synthetic sound so when Frankie comes out, the pay off becomes more jaw dropping. Or in simpler terms, hooked me in way quicker. Other wise, Led was correct that I would enjoy this. Grade:85
(2)
Led listen to Dynamo
(3)
BEA's Top 100 of 1977
(3) Television-Marquee Moon
(6) Steely Dan-Aja (R)
(7) The Clash-Self Titled
(9) Billy Joel-The Stranger (R)
(10) Kraftwerk-Trans-Europa Express
(11) Bob Marley and The Wailers-Exodus
(14) Talking Heads-77
(15) Electric Light Orchestra-Out Of The Blue
(16) Iggy Pop-Lust For Life
18 Ramones-Rocket To Russia
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
I expected to really enjoy this, because that's how I feel about Powerslave. And The Number Of The Beast did not disappoint. The relentless energy, great musicianship, good vocals, and variety of lyrical topics are all positives, and it's more or less filler-free. For negatives, the lyrics aren't consistently good, and at times the music is at least cheesy-adjacent. But this is another very good Iron Maiden album, and I'm going to start it at a high 3.5/5.
195. AM - Arctic Monkeys
224. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
236. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & The Dominos
260. Hotel California - Eagles
267. Machine Head - Deep Purple
270. Room On Fire - The Strokes
274. Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull
280. Crime Of The Century - Supertramp
303. Screamadelica - Primal Scream
307. Foxtrot - Genesis _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
1.
Slowthai - Tyron
You might have already guessed it based on my picks for the hip hop tournament, but I have a soft spot for UK hip hop, so I can't help being biased. This is an album of two halves. The first half keeps the same mood as his debut album, though instead of being a natural progression, it feels more like a minor setback, production wise it lacks the brilliance and the punch -the explosiveness if you will- of it, it rarely steps out of the comfort zone of the modern rather generic trap with the occasional nod to grime's heyday that never fails to put a smile on my face - of course having a Dizzee inspired delivery helps immensely in that regard, not to mention featuring the legendary Skepta as a guest. The second part is what the fuss is all about. We get to see a completely different side of him, much softer, arrogance steps aside and gives way to introspection. If the first part is close to punk, the second is R & B. The lyrical content is closely related to the events of the last two years. The story is well known by now, hIs highly acclaimed debut was followed by the infamous NME awards incident and the resulting backlash, so he moved from "next big thing" to "his career is over" in the blink of an eye. Overall, I find it hard to rank this in comparison to his debut, both have elements that the other is missing, for now I consider them about equal (this is a grander artistic statement, but his debut was a much more focused attempt, he was really firing on all cylinders, a man on a mission) and I can only guess time will tell.
3.
Best 2021 albums based on BEA rankings
1. J.T. - Steve Earle & The Dukes
2. South Loop Summer - Hospital Bracelet
3. The Last Exit - Still Corners
4. On All Fours - Goat Girl
5. SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound - Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
6. Not Your Muse - Celeste
7. Carnage - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
8. An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins
9. Little Oblivions - Julien Baker
10. Haram - Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
Dynamo by Soda Stereo
So I played Gustavo Cerati's Bocanada again the other day, and it's such an excellent album. Turns out Soda Stereo is a band in which he started, which means the timing for this pick couldn't be better. This is the group's most popular release and it bears little resemblance to Cerati's solo album. However I can definitely see how someone playing alt rock, shoegaze and neo-psychedelia of Dynamo could end up making an art pop/rock and downtempo masterpiece that is Bocanada. The mood is kinda similar, it's all dreamy and fanciful "Cocteau Twins if they were an alternative rock band" vibe. However I did not enjoy it on the songwriting front as much, despite it having some amazing ideas. I guess that understanding the lyrics would've helped somewhat, but I'm not sure if that's the main issue. It's just that the sounds they're creating have already been explored and done much better by others, and at the same time none of the songs were exceptional. It isn't a rip off or a bad album by any means, but it isn't exactly a standout in the genre either. Loved the wide array of instruments used though. 7 or 7.5/10
(2)
Haram should be right up your alley. Which sounds really weird as a sentence but yeah.
(3)
Leftovers list + some 2021
Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza
Still Corners - The Last Exit
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
Bismuth - The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef
Faceless Burial - Speciation
John Talabot - Fin
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Flamengo - Kuลe v hodinkรกch
Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
1.
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Haram
I was about to listen to this album anyway, so great pick, thanks. What's immediately obvious is how thick this album is. Clocking in at just below the 40 minutes mark, you get the impression the material would easily justify an extra 10 or so minutes without dragging at all. It's not easy to digest, after two listens I am barely scratching the surface. This has to do with more than one aspects of the album. The production follows a distinct and cohesive direction throughout, but the more you listen, the more layers unfold in front of you. In terms of sound and style, it feels closer to Armand Hammer than The Alchemist, for which credit is due to the latter and is arguably the single decisive factor in the success of this collaboration. Billy Woods never feels like the star of the show, their chemistry is as at the very least as good as ever, though I think it could be even higher than usual, which is another achievement of the production. Their rapping may be somewhat inaccesible at first, especially if you are not familiar with their previous work. They have this almost spoken word delivery, but still wouldn't call it conversational, far too emphatic to be classified as such. The lyrics are as usual surrounded by a veil of thick mist, I guess they will slowly reveal their meaning. All of the above mean that this has extremely high replay value, which is another big plus. Too early to call it album of the year, but I wouldn't be shocked if it ended up playing a major role in the ensuing debate during the following months, great stuff.
2.
I nominate
Bismuth - The Slow Dying Of The Great Barrier Reef
It didn't exist in the database, which made me curious enough to check it out myself, better than I'd have thought, there were very few moments it approached unlistenable territory - but then again my expectations when it comes to anything metal related are ridiculously low, so my evaluation should be taken with a grain of salt.
3.
Best 2021 albums based on BEA rankings
1. J.T. - Steve Earle & The Dukes
2. South Loop Summer - Hospital Bracelet
3. The Last Exit - Still Corners
4. On All Fours - Goat Girl
5. SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound - Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
6. Not Your Muse - Celeste
7. Carnage - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
8. An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins
9. Little Oblivions - Julien Baker
10. As Days Get Dark - Arab Strap
It didn't exist in the database, which made me curious enough to check it out myself, better than I'd have thought, there were very few moments it approached unlistenable territory - but then again my expectations when it comes to anything metal related are ridiculously low, so my evaluation should be taken with a grain of salt.
Well now I'm excited ๐คฃ Btw great review of Haram, personally it's tied for Billy Woods' second best project. Everybody's on top of their game. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
The Slow Dying Of The Great Barrier Reef by Bismuth
Cool drone metal from this UK duo (Joe Rawlings on the drums, Tanya Byrne on the synths, the bass and the vocals). There's no guitars, which is almost unprecedented for a metal band. 2 tracks, the title track is a 32 minute monster followed by a 6 minute Weltschmerz (which is coincidentally my friend's DJ pseudonym). The title track is a long buildup/climax/long outro type. It's kinda predictable, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. Ominous synths, incredible sounding bass, clean vocals which then explode and become tortured shrieks over a funeral doom blast beat. Tanya Byrne is a versatile vocalist, that's for sure. Interestingly, the length of 32 minutes wasn't felt at all. The second track is much more to the point, groovy and a good counterpart to the opener. I expected the album to be more unique because it doesn't feature guitars, but the compositional elements weren't too interesting which is a wasted opportunity considering they went for a 32 minute track. 7.5/10
(2)
Carnage is the best of the bunch
(3)
Leftovers list + some 2021
Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza
Still Corners - The Last Exit
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
Faceless Burial - Speciation
John Talabot - Fin
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Flamengo - Kuลe v hodinkรกch
Parannoul - To See the Next Part of the Dream
Sadaf - History of Heat _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
personally it's tied for Billy Woods' second best project. Everybody's on top of their game.
Too early to tell, I definitely need more listens to make up my mind, but I tend to agree, I suspect it's gonna be up there for me in the long run as well.
1.
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Carnage
I can't say I'm a huge Nick Cave fan - there are two albums of him that I have a relatively clear and vivid perception, which are Murder Ballads and Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus, the rest of his discography is one big blur. Still, I was eager to give this a try, as I had almost convinced myself that his work outside the Bad Seeds would appeal to me much more. You know what, the first track actually did, you find yourself in a dark and fierce environment that instantly captivates you. The emergence of the first warning sings marked the second track. It followed the same direction and continued the build up of a grim atmosphere, but didn't grip me as tight. Then, instead of expanding, the album started drifting, by no means was it bad, it simply tried something different and as a result lacked the intensity I expected. It went from "take no prisoners" to "a minimalist's approach to grandeur", if that makes any sense - probably not. Also, a couple of tracks gave me some real The National vibes, a pleasant surprise for sure. Despite the above, I would rank this near the very top of his catalogue, which shows how lukewarm my feelings towards his work are. Sad but true.
3.
Best 2021 albums based on BEA rankings
1. J.T. - Steve Earle & The Dukes
2. South Loop Summer - Hospital Bracelet
3. The Last Exit - Still Corners
4. On All Fours - Goat Girl
5. SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound - Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
6. Not Your Muse - Celeste
7. Forever In Your Heart - Black Dresses
8. An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins
9. Little Oblivions - Julien Baker
10. As Days Get Dark - Arab Strap
I'm thinking I've had enough of 2021 for the time being, so let's say three more picks and then I'll think of something new.
RoundTheBendI miss the comfort in being sadProfile Ground Control
idk why but this is my favorite Joni album. perhaps I dig the sappy fretless bass sound. I had also forgotten I had already listened to it... hehe. I really wish I could dig Joni more though. Her voice is fantastic. I feel like her music is mostly vocally driven which is typically not my cup of tea... I think this is what takes it from great to being a favorite, which is my loss for sure.
2. Take it off the top ๐ - Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza
Thanks for the trips into your loves, Luigii. I'm also simultaneously revisiting years from 2010 until today in a different side project, so cool to see you guys doing 2021 stuffs.
3. Now it's time for Gowi (oddly enough I had listened to 2 of these since I made the list "naturally"/since been removed):
3. In And Out Of Control by The Raveonettes
7. Diana by Diana Ross
14. Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris
19. Sun by Cat Power
22. Nightfall In Middle-Earth by Blind Guardian
24. Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements by Stereolab
28. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood by Neko Case
30. Rainy Day Music by The Jayhawks
32. The Sunset Tree by The Mountain Goats
33. The Photo Album by Death Cab For Cutie
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