May 2016 résumé
This is no best-of list, it is just a bunch of records I've heard, that were RELEASED this month. Not the ones I've heard this month, but ones that were RELEASED this month that I've heard. Therefore, as the time goes, I'll be adding more items on the list, since I listen to stuff constantly. By the way, the names occasionally written under the comments are titles of songs that I recommend. If there are none written, it's either because I didn't like enough of them or because I can't point out a highlight. And now a 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 |
| 1 |  | Julianna Barwick
Will
This year's Have You In My Wilderness that is, unfortunately, not even half as interesting. 6/10 |
| 2 |  | Marissa Nadler
Strangers
...Oops, sorry, my fault, this is this year's Have You In My Wilderness that is, somehow, a little depressing. 7/10
Divers Of The Sun, Hungry Is The Ghost, Janie In Love |
| 3 |  | Seratones
Get Gone
And the award for best Bluesy-Psychedelic-Rock album of the month goes to...SERATONES. 8/10 |
| 4 |  | Kvelertak
Nattesferd
Kvelertak's newest release features a lot of nice instrumentation and a cool throwback vibe. But I guess I was just indifferent towards the production and pasting. To me it seemed kind of flat and uninteresting. And I also find the tunes to be pretty dull occasionally (when the main guitar riff isn't popping up). Though I do recommend this album, if you like some good Heavy Metal. This one's just not for me. 6/10
Nettesferd, Bronsegud, Ondskapens Galakse |
| 5 |  | Tiny Moving Parts
Celebrate
How does one make an album with instrumental performances that good and yet when it all comes together it sounds annoying as hell. 5/10 |
| 6 |  | Nothing
Tired of Tomorrow
Man, was this album hollow of ideas. Though it does get up from its knees after that completely wasted opening. But it still is a little heavier version of any kind of any of your local gutless Power-Pop-Punk semi-functioning revival band that breaks up after a couple gigs. With the exception that this, besides from quite admirable heaviness, is also way better played (and it sounds alot like that Into It. Over It. album that dropped earlier this year). But whenever any sort of intriguing moment kicks in, the vocals just drag the whole thing down. Nothing indeed.4/10
Vertigo Flowers...I guess |
| 7 |  | My Epic
Viscera
Jeez, it's been a very long time since I've heard something as overblown and bloated. 4/10 |
| 8 |  | Oddisee
The Odd Tape
Very cool and smooth Jazz-y Hip-Hop album. That's all I have to say. 7/10 |
| 9 |  | Death Grips
Bottomless Pit
Technometal-Punk-Electro-Dance-Rap-Freakrock-Dubstep-Deephouse-Psychedelic-Experimental-Pornofolk-Blast-Kittens-Noisepunk-PostPreMidPunk-Electrogrunge-Technopunk. 6/10
Giving Bad People Good Ideas, Trash, Three Bedrooms In A Good Neighborhood, Bottomless Pit |
| 10 |  | Alaskalana
Marisma
If you can withstand the first minute or so of humming sounds, you'll get actually quite nice experimental, beat driven...something (still not sure if calling it Rock is correct). Though still quite amateurish in its core, in that I mean that it sounds that the author just wants to sound as edgy and experimental as possible. (no offense...and sorry for the 'that' tautology). Not sure, if I'll be going deeper into this (seeing that there is an album and some sort of remake album on the way), because at the end of the day this ain't really my cup of tea. 6/10 |
| 11 |  | Shit Robot
What Follows
A pretty boring Electronica album. Though I know that this style has its fans and they will probably dig this record too, but it is just not for me. So, I call it 'Average', but I understand that it probably doesn't deserve that rank. 5/10 |
| 12 |  | Fotu
Lightweight / Reflect
Quite decent Instrumental 2-tracks EP that even if doesn't intrigue, won't do harm as well. 7/10 |
| 13 |  | Torn Hawk
Union And Return
Why am I still trying to get into Electronica, it obviously doesn't work...6/10 |
| 14 |  | Kaspar Hauser
Kaspar Hauser
A good release for a beginning band (I suppose they are a beginning band), I'd maybe just like to have something done with that overly echoic recording style. Outside of that, as I said, it's just good. A solid Shoegazy Noise-Pop EP. Go support the guys. 7/10
Enigma, Dole Inside |
| 15 |  | Grave Miasma
Endless Pilgrimage
Brutal and grotesque, but mostly slow in progress and with an odd pasting. 6/10 |
| 16 |  | Heavy Times
Dancer
Imagine if this was played in the 80s on the dancefloor...yeah, folks wouldn't have liked that. It's still more passable for that period than today. 6/10
Midnight Highway |
| 17 |  | The Echocentrics
Echo Hotel
Quite solid Country-Rock album that is not just a bland mashup of acoustic guitar and vomit, as it is unfortunately so popular nowadays. This has a handful of pretty tunes, good instrumentals and interesting features, so if you like a relaxing yet sharp record, go ahead and listen to this. 7/10
Staring At The Ceiling, Echo Hotel, Death Of A Rockstar, Has Regresado Viejo Amigo, Garagebands |
| 18 |  | Andy Shauf
The Party
Very smooth and tender textured Pop-Rock that may not be as exciting at first, but will most definitely make an impression on you for that pretty and tender atmosphere that I'd compare to a 1960s hotel lobby with chamois chairs and classy folks hanging around. The style of the album is not exactly trying to impersonate that era, but they just remind me of one another (for some reason...I don't know why). 7/10
Early To The Party, Twist Your Ankle, Begin Again, Eyes Of Them All, Alexander All Alone |
| 19 |  | Sylvaine
Wistful
Meditation in stillness, aesthetics and boredom. 6/10 |
| 20 |  | Pup
The Dream Is Over
This album has all the right to get as much hype as it does and maybe even more, because it indeed is so verstile, heavy, catchy and smart as I hoped, and with easily best guitarwork on a Punk album this year, hands down. Even the tracks that are (arguably) the weakest have at least a couple of moments that are downright fantastic. 8/10
If This Tour Doesn't Kill You I Will, DVP, Sleep In The Heat, Can't Win, Pine Point |
| 21 |  | The Hotelier
Goodness
A lot like PUP, but with much more Pop-Punk appeal and with barely half as memorable songs. 6/10
Settle The Scar, Soft Animal, End Of Reel |
| 22 |  | White Lung
Paradise
Heavy and catchy as fuck with a powerhouse of a vocal performance. I might be only a tiny bit lukewarm on the way the drums are pasted in. Don't get me wrong, they are great, it just feels that if they were a little louder, it would give the record even bigger punch than it already has. The actual problem this album has is that the songs in the end end up sounding a little similar to each other. 7/10
Dead Weight, Kiss Me When I Bleed, Hungry, I Beg You |
| 23 |  | Wolf Parade
EP 4
Mostly consisting of vaguely memorable semi-interesting tunes that might be alright-ish as fillers in some leghty album. At the very least, it's nicely produced and well performed. 5/10
C'est La Vie Way |
| 24 |  | Gorguts
Pleiades' Dust
How do Gorguts do it? I mean, how do they not do a single underwhelming release, even if it's just an EP? 8/10 |
| 25 |  | yrs
Through Time & Space...
I wanted to like this record, really. But the prooduction is simply not anything, it makes the vocals drown completely behind the music, which sounds completely flat (especially on the drums). Still, it has its moments, but not enough to make it anwhere near enjoyable or engaging at all. 5/10
Black Hole//Hatchback, Kissing The Hornet's Nest, Holds, Coordinates Unfortunately Known |
| 26 |  | Big Thief
Masterpiece
No masterpiece at all. 6/10 |
| 27 |  | Brodka
Clashes
Possibly the most enigmatic and whimsical album of the year. Every single song is packed with fantastic musical moments and gorgeous vocals. Melodies that carry the tracks on here are simply put beautiful and the instrumentation and production compliment them in every way. Dare I say, this is the best Pop album of the year. 8/10
Mirror Mirror, Horses, Santa Muerte, Funeral, Hamlet, Dreamstreamextreme |
| 28 |  | So Hideous
Laurestine Orchestral
That strange moment, when the orchestral reimagination of an album is better than album itself... 7/10 |
| 29 |  | Royal Tusk
DealBreaker
Basically, it is every single Pop-Punk/loud Pop-Rock cliché wrapped into a package of wannabe catchy idyll. 5/10
Curse The Weather, that hook on Cold On Me, So Long To Buildup |
| 30 |  | Islands
Should I Remain Here, At Sea?
Oh, would you look at that! Seems like one shoud not try to make two albums at the same time... 4/10
Innocent Man, Christmas Tree |
| 31 |  | Islands
Taste
...when one has barely enough ideas for a semi-mediocre EP. 3/10
Outspoken Dirtbiker...for those occasionally smart lyrics (escpecially at the beginning) |
| 32 |  | Skepta
Konnichiwa
Skepta sounds aggressive and cool, inbetween the filler boring tracks. 6/10
Skepta, Crime Riddim, Numbers, Man |
| 33 |  | Vektor
Terminal Redux
Vektor, in their hunt for perfection in chaos (which they brilliantly handle), unfortunately, overstay their welcome on some songs. However, even though those overblown and completely mind bending moments exist within the album, most of the time all of the songs justify their lenghts completely, which is a huge problem for many other metal bands, who are so desperate to sound epic and gurgantuous that they forget to pack their two hours long albums with actually good ideas and not bland and/or forgattable interlude moments; in that aspect, I applaud Vektor for handling the situation. 7/10
Cygnus Terminal, LCD, Pillars Of Sand |
| 34 |  | Avatar
Feathers & Flesh
It's been a long time since I've heard something as ridiculous as this. Oh, wait, I did, in January there was Avantasia (which is like a slightly softer version of Avatar). But seriously though, this album is so perfectly scosciously not serious. God dammit, it's about a bird who wants to fight the whole world, how serious do you think the band was? This album contains an awful lot of beautifully heavy hooks and great melodies that keep you going on, despite the album's length (over an hour). This is one hell of a ride, damn yes! 8/10
Regret, The Eagle Has Landed, Tooth Beak And Claw, One More Hill, Pray The Sun Away, Sky Burial |
| 35 |  | Gregory Porter
Take Me To The Alley
I don't know what it is, but this album did not grip me at all. Either it's Gregory himself or the music that is just a little underwhelming sometimes, because it simply sounds so quitely and dizzy. Though I guess the performances are solid, it didn't do anything for me. 6/10 |
| 36 |  | Modern Baseball
Holy Ghost
A great Emo-Punk record, but also maybe great only compared to all the others this year so far. I think the moment this album got me was on the second half of it when it becomes much more Punk than Emo and also heavier. 7/10
Wedding Singer, Apple Cider I Don't Mind, What If |
| 37 |  | Jessy Lanza
Oh No
Where the hell does all the praise come from? This album has by far some of the laziest Electronica beats and production nad on top of that some oddly silly lyrics and some of the most annoying vocals of the year (jeez, and I was so critical on The Anchoress). And all of these negative parts might sometimes come together into something strange and batshit insane, but that's not the case with this album. This record just feels boring and lifeless due to poorly put together music and, again, excruciating vocal style. 3/10 |
| 38 |  | Holy Fuck
Congrats
Here's a strange thing, every song ends on a high note even if it started off as something calm and a little bit boring. Simply put, nevermind what the tracks kick off with, it ends up wowing me anyway most of the time. Still, as mentioned, some songs start off not as interestingly as they could and these progressions may also sometimes begin deep into the second part of the song. And this makes it very hard to pick a highlight. I can't give the album an 8. So be it 7/10 |
| 39 |  | ANOHNI
HOPELESSNESS
I can see that the vocalist can work with some sort of range, but I just don't like that voice. It is a little annoying, honestly. Outside of that, the record features somewhat interesting Electronica music. The beats are almost always atmospheric and nicely produced, so much in fact, that I'd much rather listen to an album with them only, rather than with that voice that just does nothing for me; plus, the vocals also barricade any way to pointing out a highlight for me. 6/10 |
| 40 |  | Havoc & The Alchemist
The Silent Partner
Meh... 6/10 |
| 41 |  | Eagulls
Ullages
Eagulls return with an emotional and semi-touching album that has a myriad of great moments as well as countless problems. 6/10
My Life In Rewind, Skipping |
| 42 |  | Six Feet Under
Graveyard Classics IV: The Number Of The Priest
Do you know what my biggest fear is? To listen to a Six Feet Under album and accidentally like it. And I almost got a minor heart attack when the first track Night Crawler kicked off with a semi-decent instruments and I thought that I'm officially mental. But then Chris Barnes started singing and I could breathe out in relief that this is still that same piece of trash as always, with poorly produced music and godawful vocals. Screwdriverinyourears/10 |
| 43 |  | Gutter Instinct
Age Of The Frantics
I don't know, you guys, maybe it's the guitars that are blended together or the oddly produced drums that sometimes sound extremely punchy and loud and other times are drowned by everything surrounding them, but I had a quite hard time getting into this album. Though at the end of the day I do think that it is at the very least a good Metal record, I am pretty sure that a slightly better production and mixing would improve it significantly and make it sound less noisy. 6/10
Leper Beholder, Age Of The Fanatics, Death Cult |
| 44 |  | Digitalism
Mirage
Nice beats within the semi-catchy music, but the album is just soooooo loooong. At this point it might seem that I am some sort of length hater, but that's not true. It's just that if you have very little to offer, don't make an album over an hour long. Thankfully Digitalism have a lot of ideas, not enough to fill out this album though. 6/10
Go TIme, Utopia, Power Station, Indigo Skies, Shangri-La, Blink |
| 45 |  | James Blake
The Colour in Anything
Going into this, all I knew was that a lot of people liked this for some reason. But upon listening deeper I discovered that James Blake loves nazily, boring R'n'B-ish vocal style and is apparently also a big fan of repetative, disorganised and incomprehensive music. 4/10 |
| 46 |  | Young Magic
Still Life
As still as you can get and as stale as you can get. 5/10 |
| 47 |  | The So So Glos
Kamikaze
Pop-Punk done right! The only thing that keeps me from giving it an 8 is the fact that almost none of the songs can be defined as a highlight. In retrospective it is just a collection of tracks that are really good, but none particularily outstanding. It is still a great album, basically like a mixture of this month's PUP and White Lung. 7/10
Dancing Industry, A.D.D. Life, Sunny Side, Kings County II: Ballad of a So So Glo, Cadaver |
| 48 |  | Hooded Fang
Venus on Edge
Your monthly dose of "WTF and why do I like it so much?" No seriously, this album has a fantastic Noise vibe and an ood production (in a good way). Every song has an unusual punch to it and the band pulls off one of the most unique sounds this year, some sort of electronic-sonic Post-Punk that is however played with instruments and made to sound electronicly (I said the production was odd). This is a fantastic release that has no problem getting deep under your skin, despite its experimental nature. 8/10
Tunnel Vision, Shallow, Dead Battery, A Final Hello |
| 49 |  | Mark Pritchard
Under the Sun
Brian Eno's The Ship younger, more hip and cooler brother, but still part of the same family. 5/10 P.S.: That was a metaphore of two albums sounding so alike that I called the brother, it's not a note that Brian Eno and Mark Pritchard have some relation, I doubt they do. Just a disclaimer. |
| 50 |  | Gold Panda
Good Luck And Do Your Best
I've listened to a lot of Electronica lately and very few of those sat well with me. I'm beginning to think that the problem is in me and not the music. 6/10 |
| 51 |  | Tiger Army
V•••-
A strange case of an album that is sort of Punk, but not really. What is it? Not Pop Rock, not Pop Punk, not Indie Rock, not Post-Punk. Possibly some mixture of all of those, but mostly failing to be good in any of those ways, just middle-of-the-road. Although one would think that with that cover art it is going to be a brutal Hardcore Punk or something, but paradoxically the best parts are the softest. 6/10
I Am The Moth, Happier Times |
| 52 |  | Caliggy Jack
SPQR
I think this is certainly a listenable album, but what really irritated me are those tunes that build up (more or less) and then suddenly stop only to give way to something different, and also the instrumentation doesn't come together that nicely (for once, the drumming sounded as mechanical as it can get). All of that makes the record sound absolutely incohesive. And what about those passages that try to sound like an electronic remix of some metal record? So, I don't know, I gave it a shot, I didn't get into it, that's it. 5/10
Nauseam, B3at Number Three |
| 53 |  | Oak Pantheon
In Pieces
And here's my favourite Black Metal record of this month, hands down. It has a very high risk of falling into that typical category of Metal, where every song feels the same, but it just doesn't. The tracks on here are all perfectly constructed and well produced. The striking heaviness and melancholia of the record is complimented by some great guitarwork. The vocals are a little drowned, but that does not irritate. 8/10
Dawn As A New Day, Climb, Float, Pavor Nocturnus, Burden Of Growth |
| 54 |  | Paper Tiger
Blast Off
A slightly more uplifting Badbadnotgood with a slightly worse rapping. 6/10 |
| 55 |  | Ethereal Riffian
I AM. Deathless
The music's good, I really admire that shamanistic vibe, but the vocals are just not up to par. 6/10 |
| 56 |  | Cloud Person
Apparatus
I might suggest the band to try to play it a little harder, because so far it doesn't really sound that convincing. 6/10 |
| 57 |  | Jameszoo
Fool
Soundtrack to those days that were supposed to be fun and full of interesting stuff, but you couldn't get through it, because you just didn't get enough sleep last night. 6/10 |
| 58 |  | Sanzu
Heavy Over The Home
Quite derivative to a certain level, but still good. I really like the technicality and savage nature of the album. The production is great, the vocals yell all their lines out with passion. I don't really have a lot to criticise, other than the factthat Gojira is soon releasing their newest effort and I'm afraid that this album is going to pale in comparison. 7/10
Phenomena, Ubiety, Tailor, Awaken, The Chill |
| 59 |  | In Mourning
Afterglow
A lot of intereting stuff on here. I just can't really get into it as much as I want, for some reason. I'm trying, I really am, but it's not working. 6/10 |
| 60 |  | Thrice
To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere
There is a certain problem with chorus driven albums, that is that mostly everything that is not a chorus is often left unfinished by the band or just feels out of place and uninteresting. That's a case on a lot of the tracks on here. Though Thrice's choruses are usually long and explosive as heck, so I don't really have that many complaints. 6/10
Hurricane, Blood On The Sand, Black Honey, Whistleblower |
| 61 |  | Serene Paralysis
Less Than Three
Great music with quite good vocals, plus a potential to be kickass in the future, but the production killed it dead. 6/10 |
| 62 |  | Mutual Benefit
Skip a Sinking Stone
Dreamy and sweet with a fair portion of melancholia. It does get a little dull towards the end though. 6/10 |
| 63 |  | Omega Monolith
Fungus
A long build ups for extremely underwhelming and boring pay offs. 5/10 |
| 64 |  | Autechre
elseq 1-5
I'm normally not into Electronica, but the rating this album had at the time encouraged me to check it out. And so I did. And boy, was I welcomed by the most earscrewing noisy oddity of a record. I absolutely hated nearly every moment, but I withstood it, because I already paid for this so I thought that I won't let this album win over me. I will not rate it, because I am sure that I probably don't get the whole "concept" and if I give it what I actually feel it deserves (2/10), nearly 99% of all the people who listened to it will proclaim me an idiot and ask the most obvious question: "Why did you even listen to it, dumbass? You obviously don't get the genre." and stuff like that. (and also the system won't let me give it 1.5) As I already said, I withstood and won. I listened to the whole thing, TWICE! And now I'm sitting in my chair, which is soon about to form some sort of cavity in form of my butt, and I think to myslef "I won! I'm broke now are significantly fatter, but I won!" |
| 65 |  | Bladee
Eversince
Bladee comes through with an album of songs that may have lethal outcome to someone with even slightly sensitive ears or any taste in music. 3/10 |
| 66 |  | Yuna
Chapters
On her latest LP, Yuna presents us a few tracks worthy of an attention, but also a myriad of expendable and forgettable tunes. 5/10
Best Love, Too Close, Best Of Me |
| 67 |  | Fox 45
Ashes Of Man
Fox 45 are one of those Black Sabbath idolising bands who not only rehash the old familiar sound, but also try to bring something completely new up. Whether they succeed or not is open for interpretation. But one thing's for sure, this album has a lot going on and all of its content is a stellar, heaviness-filled, killer Psych-Rock. 8/10
Doominati, Necromancing The Stone, Snake Oil |
| 68 |  | Messa
Belfry
After that 'Backwards Radio Station' impression intro, the album offers very little in terms of variety, it's mostly stale and boring Doom Metal. However, it does have some sort of appeal to it that makes it a little more digestible and shows potential for a future work. 6/10 |
| 69 |  | First Fragment
Dasein
When the music is so versatile that even an audio recording of a spit is somehow blended in the music and it makes perfect sense. 7/10 |
| 70 |  | Katatonia
The Fall of Hearts
It sounds good enough, but the vocal just don't work at all. 6/10
Serein, Sanction, Passer |
| 71 |  | Ariana Grande
Dangerous Woman
Where does all the praise come from? This is just an autotuned, repetative, irritating and desperat to seem catchy Bubblegum. 4/10 |
| 72 |  | Electric Citizen
Higher Time
Well, I surely did not expect this. This is extremely well put together album with catchy tunes and good instrumentation. There are low points on here, but thankfully there's not a whole lot of them to make it a global issue. 7/10
Evil, Golden Mean, Higher Time, Ghost Of Me |
| 73 |  | Fear Like Us
Succour
Aussie Garage Punk band that manages to combine powerful, catchy and heavy without falling into completely harmless territory the way it happens so oftenly these days. 7/10
Dire, Who Killed Reza Barati?, Dry Riverbed |
| 74 |  | Architects
All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
Remember that silent emo guy/girl from your high school? The one that had one hobby alone, listening to some repetative semi-depressing emo music and draw some dark pictures. Well, he/she grew up now and got into something a tiny bit heavier, but is basically still teh same. The useless crybaby nihilist. 6/10 |
| 75 |  | Hesitation Wounds (LA)
Awake For Everything
This album is full of striking aggression on instruments and vocals that unfortunately often merges the overall music into samey and repetitive experience. 6/10 |
| 76 |  | Eric Clapton
I Still Do
No, you don't by the sounds of it. 5/10 |
| 77 |  | Aloha
Little Windows Cut Right Through
The exemplary precedent of gutless Indie Pop. 5/10 |
| 78 |  | Body Sculptures
A Body Turns to Eden
An album that encourages to go to sleep, but at the same time, you know the dreams will be beautiful. 6/0 |
| 79 |  | Bent Knee
Say So
Bent Knee are as beautifully disordered as you can get. However, despite some pretty melodies, great vocals and nice lyricism, the music gets quite obnoxious at some point, exactly because of how disordered it is, because of how much can sometimes happen in one single song. 7/10
Black Tar Water, Counsleor, Nakami |
| 80 |  | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
Finally, here we are. Possibly the most anticipated record of the year is here and, well, it does not disappoint as much as it could have had. Radiohead continues to experiment with their sonic sound, this time Ambient and some sort of Darkwave or something. The album most definitely is slightly depressing at times and melancholic, but not too much to make it sound bland or boring. It somehow manages to keep its head up high and continue to charm with every song. But here lies the problem. Almost every song has very little in terms of memorability. But eventually each track gets better and give you a satisfying tune for those first couple of forgettable moments. 7/10
Burn The Witch, Daydreaming, Glass Eyes, The Numbers |
| 81 |  | Death Angel
The Evil Divide
As far as this sort of Metal goes, it's not bad. I mostly found myself enjoying it quite a bit. But did it impress me to the point of me wanting to praise it? No. 6/10 |
| 82 |  | West Means Home
Something From Nothing
What did I even expect? Emo Pop-Punk revivalism at its most generic, yet tiny bit nostalgic. 6/10 |
| 83 |  | Olga Bell
Tempo
This is an odd situation. Upon first hearing, I hated this thing, profoundly I did. But I found myself coming back to it repeatedly, but still feeling a certain distaste. I guess I just have an urge to listen to it multiple times and make myself like it. I'll give it a 6/10, but only because there is something weird about it that makes me want to experience it again, though without a joy. |
| 84 |  | Mop Mop
Lunar Love
A magnetic record reminding people of all the beauties of Ethnic Funk and Jazz. 7/10
Adhara, Spaceship: Earth, Omega, Supreme |
| 85 |  | Chance the Rapper
Coloring Book
This album has a lot going for it. The features are mostly good, Chance's ambitions go all into the right directions, music is really nice and I like the gospel components of the album. But the excitement the album evokes is unfortunately quite situational. Not every song's structure works completely, not every feature is good and not every song is interesting, though every one has a place to be. 7/10
All We Got, D.R.A.M. Sings Special, Blessings, How Great, Finish Line/Drown |
| 86 |  | Tides From Nebula
Safeheaven
I honestly thought that this is going to be just another faceless, bland, overproduced and boring repetative Heavy Rock album that there's been so many of lately. And to a certain extent it is. However, what differenciates Safeheaven from all the others is the power and the emotions with which the music is played; all the grandiosity of Electronic influence is present. I had an urge to listen to this album while staring at the stars in the night with some sort of cosmic cinematic projection of suprnova. 8/10
Knees To The Earth, All The Steps I've Made, Traversing, We Are The Mirror |
| 87 |  | Ashbringer
Yūgen
Another one of those metal albums full of ambitions and even good material, but ones that do not know that a long runtime is not necessarily a mark of good quality. 6/10 |
| 88 |  | Band of Skulls
By Default
Oh, look h´who became generic. But you know what's the weird thing? Even though it is generic, some songs still manage to keep some sort of taste in themselves. 5/10
Back Of Beyond, Tropical Disease |
| 89 |  | Car Seat Headrest
Teens of Denial
Hip and refreshing sound of Teens Of Denial really makes you feel like you are in the middle of the 90s or early 00s when bands like Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel and such were only beginning. Though at times it does leave itself hanging and unfulfilling its potential, those moments are thankfully brief and rare. 7/10 |
| 90 |  | Foxtails
o tempora! o mores!
Note for the future: if the description of an album says that it is an Emo-Screamo Punk from a band that never released anything else before, don't listen to it. What did I even expect? 4/10 |
| 91 | | Young Dolph
Bossed Up
Actually, I will say this, Young Dolph in a smaller doses is pretty okay. 6/10 |
| 92 |  | Young Dolph
Bosses & Shooters
As mixtapes go, you can't really expect much consistency and definitely not cohesiveness. Maybe that's why I'm not feeling this one. 5/10 |
| 93 |  | Suns of Thyme
Cascades
This album has a certain looseness and sense of relaxation to it. Though at time it does make the music sound somewhat bland, mostly it is pretty solid instrumentally. I really like that mood, reviving the Psychedelic sound from the past. But again, it does have moments where it just feels a little lazy. 7/10
Intuition Rebound, Schweben, Val Verde, Aphelion, In Dreams Awake |
| 94 |  | Cambrian Explosion
The Moon
Hell yes! That's how I like it! Blasting riff-based Psychedelica. It's just a shame that it is so short. But hey, for what it is, it's perfet. 8/10
Looming Eye, Mugen = Mugen, Crust of Theia |
| 95 |  | Catfish and the Bottlemen
The Ride
"Hello and welcome to 'No, That's Not Arctic Monkeys' show." 5/10 |
| 96 |  | Big Big Train
Folklore
I don't know, it just sounds to me like just another generic Prog-Rock album. I does have really pretty melodies and I can't deny the arrangement, but it all comes down to one simple fact. Outside of a few nice moments, the album has practically nothing to offer, what I wouldn't find anywhere else (or even on the previous Big Big Train records). 5/10 |
| 97 |  | Forest Swords
Shrine: Original Dance Score
Ehm, am I missing something? 5/10 |
| 98 |  | A Pregnant Light
Rocky
This EP is basically one song. One long, underproduced, somewhat boring song, but with a heavy subject. 6/10 |
| 99 |  | Boring Bathtimes
Souls in a World of Dense Air
This album has a lot of intriguing experimental moments, but all-in-all it just falls flat on every aspect and becomes just that, boring. 5/10 |
| 100 |  | Farflung
5
A heavy as hell Psych Rock that will blow your mind out, unless you like your Psychedelica to be somewhat relaxed and loose, in which case stay away. 7/10 |
| 101 |  | Muscle and Marrow
Love
Look, I see the appeal, but the music just strikes me with some kind of fatigue, rather than megalomaniacal melancholy. 6/10 |
|
