Tonally/Visually Lonely (New & Improved!)

[Komorebi-D]

Foreword:

Hello again!

So yes… I have returned… for now… I think. I can’t really say yet. At the end of last year and the beginning of this one the idea was to delete the old and bring in a new one. Then the months got ahead of me and my intentions kept changing. Mostly, I’d chalk it up to going through the same throes I went with the old Tonally. I didn’t like my style anymore, the meta-style, self-eviscerating humour I liked when I started it had grown stale and the reviews had become too drawn out. With the latter, it became exhausting to write them and it resulted in me trying a whole bunch of things that never took off. So in a way, I guess, I have matured. And maturity, it's a funny thing, it really does grow on all of us eventually, like leprosy... or the idea of trying anal. So with that in mind I’ve made changes to my actual formula. I could go to the effort of explaining them to you now but you’ll probably get a picture as we go along (and that's if they let me keep this up after that last joke). So I hope you all enjoy and I can’t wait to hear from you all again. It feels good to be back.

P.S. Oh yeah! The “Visually” isn’t a typo. We doing movies, video games and other shit too now!

P.P.S. It might take awhile, but something is on the way.

P.P.P.S. It’s only gonna get worse from here. Have a blessed day.
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Some RYM paraphernalia:

2019: The 25 [RYM]
2020: The 25 [RYM]

[Repo]

[Komorebi-D]

In the meantime, while waiting for me to kick my own ass into gear and actually commit to something (and hopefully proof read too, that would be fucking swell future me), I thought I'd share some of the new records I've been loving the most this year and my thoughts on them:

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Sick! by Earl Sweatshirt

I'm not gonna do that hierarchy bullshit here, that's left for my big talking out my ass, list segments. So I'll just go down the calendar. First up it's Earl Sweatshirt's brilliant Sick!. It's kinda sad that the conversation has drifted away from this album, it's solid. But at the very same time, I sort of understand, it doesn't add a whole lot of new ideas like Earl's prior did. Instead, I feel like it acts as a really excellent blender for everything that's been for Earl stylistically. Plus, in terms of "COVID" albums, I'd say it's one of the superior ones. "2010" is amazing, hearing Earl back on one of these type beats is really something.

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Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road

Yeah. To say this was gonna be on here was a sure thing would be wildly understating things. It's fucking astonishing! I knew as soon as I heard the "Snow Globes" single that this was the record to beat this year but it was nothing compared what was to come. Imagine, if you will, you threw a myriad of my favourite names in indie rock of the 2000s (i.e. Sunset Rubdown, Arcade Fire, Illinois-era Sufjan Stevens Destroyer & etc.) into a melting pot, it exploded, levelling half the neighbourhood, you assess the wreckage, find a healthy chunk of what was left, throw it in a beaker with some breathtaking post-rock fixtures and just say fuck it and pepper it with a healthy dose of Philip Glass at the end. That's a ball park figure for you with this album in my eyes. Honestly. I mean their debut was one of my favourite albums of last year, it's not a stretch to imagine how high this one will end up.

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Time Skiffs by Animal Collective

I've been an Animal Collective fan for 10 years. 10 years! I can still vaguely recall being 14 and getting out of dubstep in an attempt to be popular because I saw a Dan Deacon music video & the one for "Fireworks" one night on Rage. It felt like mind was unfurling. I've waited 10 years and this is what I've been waiting for. This album. This motherfucking album. Holy fucking shit it makes me so happy! I lit one up and saw colours all night. It will probably go down as the best one I'll have all year. And it's a big reason why I think it's the boys in technicolour. It's so vibrant, saturated and textured. They're reflecting, like Earl, while also drawing out the core of their sound and elevating it to new heights. My god, it makes me so happy. Whether it's the bass on "Prester John", the nocturnal funk of "Cherokee", Deakin finally singing lead or Avey screaming again, I just feel so fulfilled. And to think there's talk of another one on the way, possibly featuring "Defeat (Not a Suite)". Man, I told you the Music Box material was where it was at and now look at us.

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Pompeii by Cate Le Bon

Another obvious pick but I mean c'mon! I've been a big fan of everything she's done since 2013's Mug Museum and she's only got better. However, I do have to clear up the fact that while I do prefer the weird grooves of her last album, I do think this is her best full-length yet. She's rounded out her sound, it's more expansive and vast than ever. Guitars supply the foundation and play more of a leading role than they have before. Dance-y and new wave-y in all the right places, while still retaining her beautiful artsy centre. It's fantastic and if you're still new to her stuff, this is a good place to start.

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Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief

I know the lovely folks at Pitchfork already compared this to The White Album, but this album really is a grab bag of ideas. And I adore those kinds of records. So much so that I believe it justifies every one of those 80 minutes. I mean if you found Big Thief hard to pin down after 2019's masterful U.F.O.F., just wait until you hear "Time Escaping" or "Flower of Blood", and if you want something that makes you remember why you got into them in the first place, there's singles like "Change" & "Certainty" just for you. Big Thief have a ton of bases offered up to you here and they cover each one. And rather exceptionally, I might add. I simply love the ass off this album and can't wait for more, even after this mammoth double album. Hopefully it's a shape of Big Thief to come too - if you will - and their best yet.

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Once Twice Melody by Beach House

AND! That's a third strike for the obvious category. But who could blame. Another huge double album but fuck me. It's good. Beach House have really gone miles to get out of the shadow of "all their songs sound the same" that's always cast down on them and, Jesus, do they make it look so effortless. They're just on their own plain and they're just looking back on everything with a dreamy-eyed sense of wonder. "Over and Over" is bigger than anything they've ever done, "Pink Funeral" is maybe the wildest and songs like "Many Nights" instantly wraps you in that sweet, sweet nostalgia. It's quite possibly their most ambitious undertaking and yet it's just so natural. Drop dead gorgeous up right up to the last second.
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Some RYM paraphernalia:

2019: The 25 [RYM]
2020: The 25 [RYM]

[Komorebi-D]

[Luigii]

Hell yes, my boy is back. It's been a while. Honestly I was a bit concern for you since I haven't seen you on the site. Then again I hit that hump during the end of last year and early this year. Curious to see where this goes in the future.

[Komorebi-D]

[Luigii]

[Komorebi-D]