I've been on this website for a couple years now but only now discovered this little section. Well, I'm not very efficient at compiling charts, its a very unreasonably overwhelming experience for me. But I still love doing them, albeit by wasting way more time than it requires. So, since I've already annoyed everyone around me with my constant rants about the stuff I listen to, I guess I'll make this the designated place to post all the long convoluted thoughts that go through my head while listening to music, which are alot. and vastly exaggerated. and sometimes unreliable (those fucking Grower albums).
Ok, so..
I've been on this website for a couple years now but only now discovered this little section. Well, I'm not very efficient at compiling charts, its a very unreasonably overwhelming experience for me. But I still love doing them, albeit by wasting way more time than it requires. So, since I've already annoyed everyone around me with my constant rants about the stuff I listen to, I guess I'll make this the designated place to post all the long convoluted thoughts that go through my head while listening to music, which are alot. and vastly exaggerated. and sometimes unreliable (those fucking Grower albums).
Ok, so..
Awesome! Looking forward to this. Check out Komo, Luigi, & Mercury's diaries! I think you'll love them. Peace!
Awesome! Looking forward to this. Check out Komo, Luigi, & Mercury's diaries! I think you'll love them. Peace!
Let the ranting begin!!! lol.
Yeah, I browsed through alot of these threads to fully understand what the section was about. Good to know that someone will be checking this out haha!
October is usually the time of the year when I start thinking about my year end charts, so I revisit the albums I listened to during the year and some others I was apprehensive about, but seem worth checking out. So I'm just gonna start with that.
Awesome! Looking forward to this. Check out Komo, Luigi, & Mercury's diaries! I think you'll love them. Peace!
Let the ranting begin!!! lol.
Yeah, I browsed through alot of these threads to fully understand what the section was about. Good to know that someone will be checking this out haha!
October is usually the time of the year when I start thinking about my year end charts, so I revisit the albums I listened to during the year and some others I was apprehensive about, but seem worth checking out. So I'm just gonna start with that.
Welcome aboard my good man. This is the place where we can vent on albums we love, are indifferent and for my case at some point hate. But it will be a fun ride.
@Tilly It still feels honored to be mentioned with this site.
During the first quarter in 2017, I really was convinced that this was gonna be the year of Folk because each of these albums had delivered (and with Fleet Foxes and AltJ on deck for later, both of whom i was really anticipating) and while neither of them had really reinvented the wheel or anything, they were all highlights in each of the months so far.
First of all, I think albums released in January get an unfair amount of attention because its such a dry month for new releases and albums which would otherwise go unnoticed (at least by me) get picked up. Which brings me to Julie Byrne's Not Even Happiness! It is a good album and it still holds up to a certain extent. It has some great melodies (Melting Grid and Follow My Voice are Hauntingly beautiful) and I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up on critics' year end lists, because its not a bad album at all, (not sure if it deserves that Best New Album tag from Pitchfork though), but after repeated listens it doesn't have much else to offer to keep me coming back to it!
Memories Are Now was my AOTY to beat for the first few months. After more listens though it began playing like 2 separate EPs, with the first half drastically more interesting and charged than the second half. The album has really interesting productions; Animal Kingdom Chaotic, Simon Says and the Title Track are great songs that I frequently go back to, and they will probably find a place in my year end songs list, its just not a very strong album on the whole. I really hate how badly the album aged for me and it actually does make me sad, because like I said, for a couple months it was really the Album to beat.
Semper Femina received such immediate acclaim when it arrived, that i maybe went into it with more expectations than the other albums. AND IT CAME THROUGH! Unlike the other two albums, this was more of a grower for me. Maybe it was because after 2 acoustic folksy albums, I was sort of tapped out on subtle guitar plucks and breezy melodies, but this one took its time to come around. First of all, Albums which are not about heartbreak or love automatically get a +1 from me. On top of that, Laura's approach to the album's concept is so inspired and in as many tracks as the other two, it felt like it has so much more to dig into (unlike Memories) and the productions are so layered and the tracks don't sound like they're mixing into each other(unlike NEH). The more I fell out of love with the first two albums, the more i started loving this one, until it became the only album I really needed to keep coming back to. It feels like the representation of a fully fleshed out idea; which is probably what makes it so intriguing to delve into, in its entirety.
I know its kind of unfair to the albums to compare them with each other so intricately, but the albums kind of registered as a trilogy of female folk albums in my head with the releases so close together, so it happens automatically anytime I listen to one of them. Not to mention Not Even Happiness plays like an album an artist would release before growing into their Semper Femina.
During the first quarter in 2017, I really was convinced that this was gonna be the year of Folk because each of these albums had delivered (and with Fleet Foxes and AltJ on deck for later, both of whom i was really anticipating) and while neither of them had really reinvented the wheel or anything, they were all highlights in each of the months so far.
First of all, I think albums released in January get an unfair amount of attention because its such a dry month for new releases and albums which would otherwise go unnoticed (at least by me) get picked up. Which brings me to Julie Byrne's Not Even Happiness! It is a good album and it still holds up to a certain extent. It has some great melodies (Melting Grid and Follow My Voice are Hauntingly beautiful) and I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up on critics' year end lists, because its not a bad album at all, (not sure if it deserves that Best New Album tag from Pitchfork though), but after repeated listens it doesn't have much else to offer to keep me coming back to it!
Memories Are Now was my AOTY to beat for the first few months. After more listens though it began playing like 2 separate EPs, with the first half drastically more interesting and charged than the second half. The album has really interesting productions; Animal Kingdom Chaotic, Simon Says and the Title Track are great songs that I frequently go back to, and they will probably find a place in my year end songs list, its just not a very strong album on the whole. I really hate how badly the album aged for me and it actually does make me sad, because like I said, for a couple months it was really the Album to beat.
Semper Femina received such immediate acclaim when it arrived, that i maybe went into it with more expectations than the other albums. AND IT CAME THROUGH! Unlike the other two albums, this was more of a grower for me. Maybe it was because after 2 acoustic folksy albums, I was sort of tapped out on subtle guitar plucks and breezy melodies, but this one took its time to come around. First of all, Albums which are not about heartbreak or love automatically get a +1 from me. On top of that, Laura's approach to the album's concept is so inspired and in as many tracks as the other two, it felt like it has so much more to dig into (unlike Memories) and the productions are so layered and the tracks don't sound like they're mixing into each other(unlike NEH). The more I fell out of love with the first two albums, the more i started loving this one, until it became the only album I really needed to keep coming back to. It feels like the representation of a fully fleshed out idea; which is probably what makes it so intriguing to delve into, in its entirety.
I know its kind of unfair to the albums to compare them with each other so intricately, but the albums kind of registered as a trilogy of female folk albums in my head with the releases so close together, so it happens automatically anytime I listen to one of them. Not to mention Not Even Happiness plays like an album an artist would release before growing into their Semper Femina.
Animal Kingdom Chaotic
Melting Grid
Wild Fire
Simon Says
Nothing, Not Really
The Valley
Memories Are Now
Soothing
Follow My Voice
----------x----x----------
Nice! Psyched to follow this blog of yours. Definitely a great start! 😁
I really, really like that Julie Byrne album and think it holds up rather well. Has a timeless quality to it and the songs feel like old friends. Just heard of Jessica Hoop because of her association w/ Sam Beam and, I'm psyched to check her out. Will probably start with her first album because that's how I usually roll. Laura Marling's always amazing it seems. Will have to check out her latest when I get the chance. Peace!
Damn, this was a cool look at three records that came out in January. I do agree that records that are released early in the year get left behind. Hell, I would argue records in the first quarter of the year will get neglected unless it receives universal acclaim. Can't wait to see other records to get mentioned here.
Nice! Psyched to follow this blog of yours. Definitely a great start! 😁
I really, really like that Julie Byrne album and think it holds up rather well. Has a timeless quality to it and the songs feel like old friends. Just heard of Jessica Hoop because of her association w/ Sam Beam and, I'm psyched to check her out. Will probably start with her first album because that's how I usually roll. Laura Marling's always amazing it seems. Will have to check out her latest when I get the chance. Peace!
aaah thanks! Y'all are too nice! 😨
and yeah I think it was more about a lack of any attachment to Julie's songs for me. I can totally justify people loving the album too! Its a sincere piece of work either way. 👏
Haha, I like to approach an artist from the start as well, but that usually happens when someone has an established longer discography. With newer artists, I like to do their current album and if I like it, work my way into their discographies.
But first, a little background: Living in India, I grew up largely listening to Bollywood music, and it was around when i was turning 14 (2008ish) that I realised there just wasnt enough there to keep me satiated. So, I started branching out into English music. Inevitably, I started out with the current pop music, then gradually growing and expanding into albums and indie genres in the 2010s. So, I still feel like a newbie of sorts because I am still discovering artists which have been iconic (or I guess iconic by indie music standards) for decades.
...which brought me to Cocteau Twins a few months ago, when I pressed play on Lorelei for the first time and it has since established itself into my psyche as one of the most emotionally overwhelming songs of all time. I remember the first time I listened to M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming in 2011 (you'll notice its the #1 album on my all time chart), and it was the first proper Shoegaze/Dream Pop album I'd heard. I dint even know what Shoegaze was, or that it was the genre of the album at the time and I spent so many months trying to find more albums that sounded like that, because it literally is the greatest sound humans have created through music (More on that later hopefully), but It took me a while to stumble on to the treasure trove of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, etc. And while I did come across the name Cocteau Twins, I wanted to take my sweet time with these new artists so I decides to keep them for later. Turns out, I had saved the best song for last, in a way, because listening to Lorelei literally transports me back to a late night all those years ago, when I was driving, listening to M83's Wait, goosebumps all on my arms, thinking "holy fuck, this is the best fucking piece of music I have ever heard. I HAVE to find more music that sounds and feels like this. There HAS to be more music like this." And while MBV, Slowdive and Ride were all fucking divine, Lorelei just feels like coming full circle to that night. When that first distorted note starts playing with that (now all too familiar) feeling like you could physically swim in this music, to the godlike fucking breathtaking vocals which sound like everything that is good and pure in this world... Its an otherworldly experience every damn time.
I guess, this comment under their Last.fm page says it the best:
Damn, this was a cool look at three records that came out in January. I do agree that records that are released early in the year get left behind. Hell, I would argue records in the first quarter of the year will get neglected unless it receives universal acclaim. Can't wait to see other records to get mentioned here.
They actually came in jan29, feb07 & March, but close enough I guess to register together in my head.
also, so its probably something more specific to me that albums released early in the year get more attention than later in the year, because Im always so pumped when a year starts to listen to all kinds of new albums and with there being less releases in the first quarter, I jump on everything in sight haha! 🤣
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