Play-In: Wendy Eisenberg v. Cult48

[baystateoftheart]

Seed #31A:

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Auto by Wendy Eisenberg

Nominated by: PossiblyMichigan
Genres [RYM]: Art Pop, Experimental Rock, Singer/Songwriter

Seed #31B:

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Catalog 1 by Cult48

Nominated by: Jimmy Dread
Genres [RYM]: no genre votes yet

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 fourteen days. See Tournament Spreadsheet for the full bracket.
_________________
Add me on RYM

[craola]

genre tags on that Cult48 (evidently not tagged on RYM): electronic, idm, techno, ambient, experimental
_________________
follow me on the bandcamp.

[Fischman]

Eisenberg definitely had her charms, but as of now, I'm adding Cult 48 to The Cult and Blue Oyster Cult as a Cult artist I like.

[Luigii]

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

You know, there was a part of me where within the first 1/4 of the album I wanted to note that this is heavily inspired by Boards of Canada. But even if the album continued in that similar style in the other 3/4's my grade would still be high. But man 14 out of the 16 tracks are really great. And where I referred the first four tracks hitting that Boards itch, the rest of the album does stuff that feels out of character from that particular playbook. Don't know where this would place within my 2020 year end list but it would be really high. I think if anything, the only thing that holds this back would be wanting that thematic beginning to end that an album like Geogaddi had. But this was an awesome find, and is one of the main reasons to love this site. Jimmy Dread, you did really well.

Grade:95

Wendy Eisenberg will probably be tomorrow.

[baystateoftheart]

Alone is quite a nice record. It holds my interest instrumentally, Eisenberg's vocals are good, and the songwriting is personal and reflective. Not all of the songs work, but it's never unpleasant. 3.5/5.
_________________
Add me on RYM

[Luigii]

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Sorry for the near two days of waiting. Thought I was going to get this done sooner, but work tends to drag me where I don't want to listen to music. And at the beginning of this album, I was thinking Cult 48 would have the full sweep with this round. But after finishing up Auto, that record makes a compelling argument. I was undermining the art pop/experimental rock because as this album went on, I was more enamored in the soundscapes. Honestly, the sound fits the album cover where this goes into a nocturnal haze. Some songs had that nod towards dark jazz like Bohren's discography. But then this album has other bags underneath its sleeve. Like the rock twist in Futures or how another track as it was going further in its play time dabbles into bossa nova. Which also segways into how the performer can switch moods on a dime or how there are songs where lyrically feel dark or odd as hell.

While I don't think this album will go further on. I would like to be wrong. But this is one of those cases where I would love to see this to be the underdog compare to the goliath of Fiona Apple's album. I do prefer this over F.T.B.C. I think I also prefer this over Punisher. Though I need to revisit that album. So this bracket ended up being way more neck to neck.

Grade:90 but it is more closer to a 95

[baystateoftheart]

Catalog 1 is easily my favorite of four tournament discoveries so far. I can see where people are coming from in comparing Cult48 to Boards Of Canada, or even in thinking this anonymous collective is secretly BoC. Although that reminds me of the time it was widely believed that Your Old Droog's first EP was secretly Nas lol. Anyway, this is varied, unpredictable, and well-crafted electronic music from start to finish. A captivating listen, and the vocal samples are used to great effect. There are bits of IDM, ambient techno, and progressive electronic (the progressive electronic tracks being my favorite). I'm thinking after one listen that my primary genre vote on RYM will simply be "electronic", because I'm not sure if any subgenre covers the majority of this. But if anyone has a better idea, please let me know. 4/5.
_________________
Add me on RYM

[kokkinos]

Both of those albums were ridiculously far from my comfort zone, which is a good thing of course, it gives me the chance to try something different. Just as it was the case with the previous match up, there's no way I would listen to them outside this game.
Catalog 1 was - as expected - a very difficult listen, it flew right over my head, no idea what this was about, I'm amazed that I managed to resist the temptation of pressing the skip button and actually made it through. I'm glad that most of you enjoyed it, but I can tell without any hesitation that this is too cool for me.
Auto was also uncharted territory, but it managed to keep my attention through its entire running time without any trouble. The vocals were borderline annoying, but everything else makes for a majestic ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat, it slowly but surely draws you in and you can't resist, her guitar can really work wonders.
So, another easy decision, Auto gets my vote.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[Purplepash]

How is everyone listening to Cult48? Excuse my uselessness but I can't find it on spotify or youtube.

[Jimmy Dread]