Play-In: 下山 [Gezan] v. Moor Mother

[kokkinos]

This matchup has already been discussed in great detail, not much to add really.
Klue was brilliant. Maybe not exactly what I expect from music, but it has to be one of the must-listens of 2020, this effortless blend of so many different styles makes for such an interesting and refreshing listening experience that few 2020 albums can match.
The thing is Circuit City happens to be one of those few. It's just as good and is much much closer to my tastes - ok, my recent massive exposure to jazz has affected me more than I could imagine. Then again, I think this should be accessible even if you aren't that much into free jazz, the lyrics should provide some tangible context to appreciate all the madness.
Circuit City gets my vote.
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[an-outlaw]

Circuit City is some very good music.
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Yesterday is not you, it is a resource to be looked back on.

[Luigii]

Well that wraps up my play off choices. I admire a lot of Circuit City but there is a quality about it that feels hard to pin point. Its a very fascinating album with its free form approach but it becomes a bit hard to connect. Though there are some lines from this are pretty memorable. So Gezan ends up being my winner for this round. An excellent album but not my absolute favorite record for the play offs.

Circuit City:80
Klue:90

[baystateoftheart]

Circuit City is the one album in the play-in round that I had already heard. Top-class free jazz with good to great poetry from Moor Mother that fits the music well. Not much to say months removed, but I'll revisit if/when it faces a tough competitor for my affections. 4/5.

Klue has some interesting instrumental explorations, noise rock and otherwise. I can't say they all work for me, but it's a solid hit rate. However, at first listen I really dislike their frontman's voice and vocal phrasing, which is something that rarely happens for me with vocalists in any language. The non-vocal elements are exciting enough to make it a pretty good album despite that, but it's not a personal favorite like Circuit City. 3/5.
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[Purplepash]

Wow! I did not expect to find a new favourite album for the year (although I guess that is maybe the ultimate goal of a project like this) but Klue tickled so many musical pleasure centres in my brain, and didn't stop tickling them from beginning to end, with a few jaw dropping moments along the way. It's been a few years since I've loved a first listen this much.

[Repo]

Tough matchup! Both pretty awesome. Both powerful in their own ways.

Going to take multiple re-listens.

[Repo]

Circuit City. Powerful stuff!

[baystateoftheart]

Circuit City defeats 狂 [Klue] 14-11 to advance to round one.
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