Microphones In 2020 (studio album) by The Microphones

From seb7 01/31/2023 04:45

shockingly more personal than a crow looked at me. feels like a true look into phil's head and is emotionally very interesting, but lacks the actual musical ideas that some of his other works do

From mdbaxter 03/08/2021 22:16

Good but as this is my first exposure to The Microphones et al I feel like I'm missing something. I like the sound but the lyrics are a little meaningless to me. Some interesting thoughts on life and its meaning if there is one. I'm guessing I'd enjoy the history a bit more if I was familiar with the music.

From pjohnsongolf 12/28/2020 17:40

I have a strong feeling that in retrospect this will be viewed as a masterpiece.

From HoldenM 12/15/2020 21:55

I totally get not being into this album, but it's the kind of record that is deceptively simple. Phil Elverum makes what he does look easy, but there's not a dull moment on this thing. Not to mention that I'm already in the bag for The Microphones/Mount Eerie. I've loved The Glow Pt. 2 for years, but ever since A Crow Looked at Me, I've been totally smitten, and Microphones in 2020 is a genuinely great piece of music and songwriting. I've only listened to it once, but this could be a surprise AOTY for me.

From Vatsal 11/14/2020 07:24

The album is just 1 song. The album is rated 79. The song is rated 86. The album is just 1 song. Hmmmm...

From Mattdup279 08/15/2020 04:10

this is super pretentious but luckily so am i

From makerofbuckets 08/12/2020 03:48

While some people will most certainly see this record as self-indulgent drivel (probably rightfully so) as a moderate fan of Phil’s work this was an incredibly satisfying listen to me. It seems like he’s using music to cope with difficult emotions of nostalgia and time and he reflects on these ideas in an artistic and poignant way. Reminds me a bit of some of Mark Kozelek’s best music, backed by beautiful nylon strings with occasional moments of heavy distortion and beautiful vocal harmonies. Phil’s self awareness and fascination with nature gives the pretty repetitive song much needed character. Not an album I’ll return to often by any means, but it doesn’t have to be tight or catchy when it clearly isn’t trying to be. The length accurately reflects the monumental themes and colossal scale within Phil’s lyricism, and it’s refreshing to hear something this open and honest.

One song that takes 8 minutes to end the 2 chord acoustic monotony before the singer starts sharing his thoughts over the same until it ends 45 minutes later. Has its moments when you think you think it may awaken from its slumber only to fall back into more noodling. Very few people will get through this, never mind want to hear it again

A meditative masterpiece that will surely stand the test of time.