You must listen to the album above you

[mickilennial]

With 2020 almost in the bucket, I’ve decided to give us a fresh thread in regards here.

Ultimately, while I think the concept of the original You must listen to the album below you thread is structurally sound, it ultimately did create a lot of confusion and we did have to explain how the game worked functionally a few times. More than a few times, actually. So I think this thread will be more straightforward and have more of a consistent momentum. As with other games the concept is simple and requires only that you listen to the album above you and write a review (of any length) in your post and provide an album of your own.

With that said, I suppose we'll begin.

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The Balladeer by Lori McKenna

[LedZep]

Take everything I'm saying here with a pinch of salt, cause I'm not well versed in country at all. Except for a few classics, some popular pop country and several alternative country/Americana albums, I've barely heard anything.

This was a fine country album. Not really up my alley but the execution was good. It's all a bit too dramatic and overblown, but the lyrics were quite heartfelt at several places. Especially Marie, that story about two siblings was great and had a very happy ending.

"Well, our big brothers are a Godsend
We grew up and married good men
God blessed us all with children
We're a pretty tight family
The baby angel's framed in my writing room
And I stare at him some afternoons
He must've known he had a job to do watching over
Me and Marie"

Sweet song. The album's relatively short (37 minutes) and consistent in its sound. I didn't really feel it that much, but if you like modern country with a slightly more folk and alternative approach this is a solid rec.

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Let's continue with 2020

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Source by Nubya Garcia
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[LedZep]

Also a slight problem with this game is the timing. If 2 people listen to the same album and review it in roughly the same time, what happens then?
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[mickilennial]

Source by Nubya Garcia was, ultimately, a good record.

The production was quite nice and I enjoyed most of the arrangements on this record, showing a vibrant canvas of melody and timbre. However, what it lacked the most for me was consistency. Songs like “Pace”, “Stand With Each Other”, and “Inner Game” feel rather disjointed and I don’t mean that in a way that is comparable to interesting free or avant-garde expressionism. They are lacking and because of their lacking they disrupt the flow of the record and for most of these songs… that’s quite awful considering they pieces stuck between the beginning and conclusion. This is a shame because songs like “Together Is a Beautiful Place to Be” deserve more than lackluster build-up and follow-through.

The record is still good despite this issue, but that’s mostly how I feel about it.

[LedZep]

Yeah, edit button and occasionally listening to an album someone else has already reviewed. It’s not too bad I guess. That’s assuming that we have more than 2 active participants of course
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[LedZep]

I've instantly put everything aside when I saw Gowi's pick (even KMD's Black Bastards from the other game). That one has been on my to-do list since February, and somehow it kept getting buried in the queue. And I'm so glad I got the chance to play it. I've never heard of the 90s prog/US power metal band Psychotic Waltz before this comeback album. And if this is the "worst" they have to offer (judging by ratings and reviews on several sites), I'm surely gonna love the better rated albums.

I dig The God-Shaped Void, especially the combination of highly melodic riffs and choruses with the intricate, prog-inspired playing. It's like combining the best of both worlds. The addition of flutes on a few songs was cool too. Now the negatives. The songwriting is consistently good, but the album does lack some variety. It's not reinventing the wheel, and oftentimes it sounds very close to other prog bands (at times it's very reminiscent of Nevermore, The Fallen sounds like it features James LaBrie on the higher pitched vocals). I guess it could've been slightly punchier too, I wouldn't mind some faster and more aggressive songs to break the rhythm of mid-paced prog bangers. All in all, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes bombastic, catchy prog. It might sneak onto my 2020 chart near the end after another listen or two. Although I have enough metal as it is.

To break the 2020 streak, here's a 50s gem:

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Prélude Au Sommeil by Jean-Jacques Perrey
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Yann]

Prélude Au Sommeil by Jean-Jacques Perrey
This has triggered my curiosity and I was happily suprised. This is like the creepy side of the fifties, a bit like these old TV documentary soundtracks, or TV interludes. It could have been called Prélude to Death, really (rather than to Sleep-"sommeil") .. And this album cover! Really in accord with the content.
But this is a good album! I guess today we call that ambient. It also made me think of Rock Bottom, by Robert Wyatt. I wonder what AfterHours would think of Prélude.

To stay in the mood, in a different decade:
[album title is in french, but all songs are in english, the singer is Canadian, I think]

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L'Amour by Lewis

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

Been awhile since I had listened to that one, and I enjoyed it more than from what I remembered. It's got a good new agey flavor to it that has become something that I enjoy quite a bit in the last few years. I also don't remember how seemingly improvisational it feels. Especially on one of the shorter tracks like "Summer's Moon" it definitely has a feel of someone who just walked into the studio and sat down to play. Certainly the engimatic nature of the artist and the album has contributed a lot to people's like of it (which I know I'm always a sucker for too), but it's also great music in its own right. I'll start putting this on more often.

Let's take another trip down the private press/obscurity Rabbit Hole.

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Don't Worry by Eric Lou Root

[LedZep]

Wow this is excellent! Psychedelic, droney, hazy dub is exactly what I needed right now, and I didn't even know it. Not at all what I expected based on that album cover. Loads of incredible textures, sparse vocal samples that are almost drowned in psychedelic waves. Some claim it's the beginning of hypnagogic pop. I've listened to the shitty youtube version cause I couldn't find anything better, but the lofi setting was rather fitting actually. Still, is there a good version anywhere online Chief?

Here's a little piece of Croatian progressive pop/art rock/jazz rock/indietronica/whatever. The lyrics are cool, but not crucial. Mostly funny, nonsensical or metaphorical stuff, but the music is where it's at.

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Porto Morto by Porto Morto

Edit: here's bandcamp link
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

This album is completely improvised on both sises and it was recorded by a teenager in his bedroom in the 80s. It wasn't even meant to be released, so I think that's as good as it gets.