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 Lists
01.10.20 paps runs through his favs real quick (12.07.19 just gonna put this here to remember
07.17.19 On Hip-Hop07.08.19 June 2019 resumé
07.03.19 Actual User Appreciation Thread06.30.19 JULY19 Songs of the Day
06.26.19 Unknown Post-Punk #406.13.19 Papa's Wifey's List of Favs
06.08.19 May 2019 resumé06.07.19 Sputnik R.I.P. list
06.03.19 mid-year metal rundown05.29.19 another one of those bm threads
05.27.19 Unknown Post-Punk #3 05.23.19 looking for an album/band
05.22.19 stuff my cat seems to like05.08.19 recent black metal demos and lo-fi nons
05.05.19 April 2019 resumé05.03.19 Sput's 2019 Random-Album-Review 2019 Ga
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February 2018 resumé

Gee, I'm really late on this. Score guide: 10/9 - 5; 8 - 4.5; 7 - 4; 6 - 3.5/3; 5 - 2.5; 4 - 2; 3 - 1.5; 2/1 - 1
1White Lies
Five


Miracles do happen. Most of the time, when a band goes full pop, I experience a gag reflex, but with White Lies it more or less makes sense. They were never reall not-pop to begin with and their command of melody is still top notch, so hearing them fully embrace the softer sound is nothing particularly unexpected. In fact, they managed to excel at it. 8/10

Time to Give, Never Alone, Finish Line, Jo?, Denial, Fire and Wings
2Beirut
Gallipoli


It's a shame that so much intriguing instrumental and production oddity and peculiarity went on some more-or-less lackluster song-writing. There is great potential here, but it just fails to grab my interest time and time again. But I did enjoy the vintage summery atmosphere. 6/10

Gallipoli, On Mainau Island, Family Curse, Light in the Atoll, Fin
3Michael Chapman
True North


I don't know, this is just not my kind of slower singer-songwriter music. 6/10
4Copeland
Blushing


Sowing 5 checklist: dreamy? check. pop-y? check. soft vocals? check. vapid song-writing? check. mostly forgettable? check. 5/10
5Bayonne
Drastic Measures


...Sowing should have probably been all over this. 6/10
6Spellling
Mazy Fly


A rather odd record that is pretty difficult to pin down. I certainly walked away from it feeling enchanted and charmed, but more so for its atmosphere than its song-writing often. That is not to say that it doesn't have outstanding tunes, but they are often just a little too peculiar and acquired taste. Also, it really picks up in the second half. 7/10

Golden Numbers, Real Fun, Afterlife, Dirty Desert Dreams, Secret Thread, Falling Asleep
7Drenge
Strange Creatures


Drenge more or less find the balance between making generic rock songs and having some spice. Every cut here is just peculiar enough to pique my interest, but never enough for me to truly fully enjoy it. 6/10
8Saor
Forgotten Paths


Saor once again prove that they too can make music that is just, just great enough, but never reach any real height with it. It is absolutely epic, gargantuan and enthralling, but plays into all the same old familiar notes. 6/10
9Thronum Vrondor
Ichor (The Rebellion)


Incredibly crushing, but not overstaing its welcome. If you like shorter black metal, look no further. If you like your metal to be more gargantuan riffs that spread over the lenght of the whole song without really changing much in terms of chords or progression, look further. 8/10

A Symbol of Acrimony, Ceremony of Atonement, Ichor (The Rebellion), Deity, Doom Upon Doom
10Autism
Have You Found Peace?


Maybe I am missing this modern post-metal thing, but this is an utterly uneventful album. 5/10 (but I did like the sax inclusion. always like it, when metal bands incorporate sax)
11Emarosa
Peach Club


A band I never cared for makes a change I care for even less. 4/10
12Panda Bear
Buoys


While I do enjoy the oddball musicianship (as is common with Animal Collective projects), the song-writing was nothing short of drab and uninteresting. 5/10
13Xiu Xiu
Girl with Basket of Fruit


I... I don'T get it. 4/10
14LCD Soundsystem
Electric Lady Sessions


Just a nice, decent live album of already nice, decent songs. 6/10
15Yak
Pursuit of Momentary Happiness


Quite unexpectedly, Yak have released a solid-ass rock album. No punk in sight, but a lot of psychedelic rock'n'roll influences. A great deal of melodic gems that'd be a mistake to pass over. 7/10

Bellyache, Pursuit of Momentary Happiness, Words Fail Me (BEST SONG OF THE MONTH, EASILY), Interlude, White Male Carnivore, Pay Off vs. the Struggle, Layin' It On the Line
16Yeruselem
The Sublime


An intriguing enough musical concept, but way too repetitive. Like, the songs at some point just start sounding absolutely the same. 5/10
17Downfall of Gaia
Ethic of Radical Finitude


A slightly more ethereal kind of black metal. Perhaps the post-metal influences helped with that. Anyway, this is actually something pleasant to tune out to. A seal of approval from an old man, here. 7/10

The Grotesque Illusion of Being, Guided Through a Starless Night, As Our Bones Break to the Dance
18Hilltop Hoods
The Great Expanse


One of those bloated hip-hop acts (like Macklemore and the like) that make you doubt people's disdain for bloated hip-hop, because you somehow find yourself enjoying it. 6/10
19Kankyo Ongaku
Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient...


Absolute serenity. 7/10
20Motorpsycho
The Crucible


Okay, so to an unprepared ear, this will sound extremely bloated. Three songs that last 8, 11 and 21 minutes respectively. That is a lot. Thankfully, Motorpsycho are a capable bunch and this is not an endurance test. It is actually too much delicious cake. Way too much, way, way too much. 6/10
21Sleaford Mods
Eton Alive


May this be the only thing that is different between me and zakalwe: the appreciation of Sleaford Mods. I don't. 5/10
22Telekinesis (USA-WA, Indie Rock)
Effluxion


Pleasant enough, simple enough indie stuff. 6/10

Cut the Quick, How Do I Get Rid of Sunlight?
23Dream Theater
Distance Over Time


Not as underwhelming as their material usually gets, but still with a solid sprinkle of boredom. 5/10
24Avantasia
Moonglow


And for good measure, right when Dream Theater release something more-or-less vapid, Avantasia is here to save the day and make symphonic dad metal great again. Yummy yay hooray! 7/10
25Feels
Post Earth


Okay, so the band knows how to bring it sometimes, but by god is it tiring and tedious by en large. 6/10

Deconstructed, Sour
26King Apathy
Wounds


Thränenkind is still a better name, fellas. The music is still decent, though, even if samey. 6/10

The Scars of the Land, Cleansing, He Missed the Stars
27The Moth Gatherer
Esoteric Oppression


Not at all as boring as many of their contemporaries, but no lasting impression either. 6/10
28Nasheim
Jord Och Aska


Similar problem as Motorpsycho, a lot of good stuff, but way too long. Even though I am more fond of black metal, hence why this is a more appealing over-indulgence to me. 7/10
29Golden Daze
Simpatico


Post-Bon Iver-ian folk-pop pop-folk. 6/10
30BUS
Never Decide


An alright stoner psych album. 6/10
31Weval
The Weight


Man, they really do sound like 12-year-old girls sometimes.
This project I've been on the lookout for ever since their debut full length that enthralled me with its utter serenity and perfectly calming nature at times. I am glad the band isn't giving up on that spa-salon kind of influence, because this sounds just as relaxing and caressing. 7/10
P.S.: "The Weight" has been lifted thanks to this record... I like puns.

Roll Together, Someday, Heaven Listen, Same Little Thing, Silence on the Wall, Heartbreak Television,
32HEALTH
VOL. 4 :: SLAVES OF FEAR


Well, certainly not something you hear every day (every other day, maybe). But is it automatically good, just because its production is off-the-cuff, or because its musicianship is nothing short of frantic and its influences all-over-the-place? It certainly left an impression on me. Not necessarily a good one, but I did spend a long time thinking back about this record, so it does stick in your memory, even if you don't particularly enjoy it. 6/10

Black Static, Loss Deluxe, Slaves of Fear
33HEALTH
GTA: Online Arena War


So since I listened to VOL.4, I figured why not listen to this as well... and well, it's a soundtrack music. 6/10
34Rotting Christ
The Heretics


shoutout to Dewinged
A great mix of black metal, paganism and maybe even some melodeath. Why such a low average, folks? 7/10
35Vanum
Ageless Fire


shoutout to Dewinged
A little samey (comes with the territory), but still solid-ass metal. It is very professionally made, but there is that special roughness to it that just, just keeps it from turning stale and computer-generated. 7/10
36Be Forest
Knocturne


shoutout to Dewinged
So, so spacey. Actually, spacey to a point of being virtually the same song after song. 5/10
37Ossuarium
Living Tomb


shoutout to Dewinged
Somehow pretty unremarkable. How is that even possible? I mean, you have the instrumental finesse, you have the crushing atmosphere and you have the heaviest production, but none of it comes together into any really cohesive, engaging listen. What a weird and boring trip. 5/10
38Cass McCombs
Tip of the Sphere


It's as if Ben Howard went even longer, but at the same time managed to learn the art of song-writing. 6/10
39Modeselektor
Who Else


An okay collection of 8 EDM tracks in various levels of musical curiosity. 6/10
40Kaleikr
Heart of Lead


Not necessarily the most original black metal album out there and definitely not one that'd grab you with any particular trait, but it is fun while playing. 6/10
41Seer
Vol. 6


An album that tries to be pretty much every metal genre ther is. It goes black, it does death, it goes thrash and heavy, sludge and doom. If you want to hear a melting pot of metal genres, look no further. 6/10
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