[baystateoftheart]

Seed #18:

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Summerlong by Rose City Band

Nominated by: Repo
Genres [RYM]: Country Rock, Neo-Psychedelia

Seed #24:

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Far Enough by Cable Ties

Nominated by: Purplepash
Genres [RYM]: Post-Punk, Indie Rock

Instructions:

If you have not already, please listen to both albums in full before voting. Share your thoughts and/or your vote in this thread. This poll will be tallied in no fewer than twenty-eight days. See Tournament Spreadsheet for the full bracket.
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[Fischman]

I found things both intriguing and offputting in both. Cable Ties by a nose.

[kokkinos]

Summerlong goes for a mix of styles that may be far from groundbreaking, but it manages to sound quite refreshing nonetheless. When it leans towards country with a few delicate psychedelic touches, it's an album I could listen all summer long. When the latter take over, it loses me a bit, but overall it keeps the balance more often than not.
Far Enough is surprisingly tolerable considering its unmistakable punk background.
Summerlong gets my vote.
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[RoundTheBend]

Summerlong is a revisit of a vibe I dig, but done better. I dig.

[baystateoftheart]

I really like both of these albums. Summerlong is a laid-back country rock album that perfectly embodies its cover and title. It's smooth and relaxing and consistently very good. Quite fitting for the Mellow Zone and earns a 3.5/5. Far Enough is in a totally different headspace, and I love the raw (post-)punk energy from start to finish. The songwriting is good to great, a well-balanced blend of personal and political that is #relatable in its portrayal of the angst of being in your mid 20s today. Instrumentally and vocally, the record is very good throughout. It gets a high 3.5/5 and my vote, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Cable Ties.
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[EyeKanFly]

This was an interesting match-up, and I enjoyed each in their own way.

Cable Ties almost seems like it would've fit better in 2021, since post-punk has been EXPLODING lately. Though perhaps it would've gotten lost among all the other fantastic post-punk/indie albums that have released in the past 6-7 months.

That said, Rose City Band's album really grew on me. It felt a little derivative, like they were drawing a bit too much influence from Grateful Dead. But that said...there's not really much else like it right now without going into full on jam-band status. At least nothing that's getting to my ears. Were it not for the modern (and extremely well-done) production, I would've thought this album would've fit nicely in the 1969-1974 era of psychedelic country rock. And I think that was a surprise for me in this contest.

Both albums were new to me for the contest. I went for Summerlong mainly because I feel like there's not much else like it right now. Thanks for the rec Repo, and Purplepash as well, great nomination.
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[baystateoftheart]

Far Enough defeats Summerlong 9-7 to advance to the sweet sixteen.
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