AsleepInTheBack
Ben
Staff

Reviews 99
Soundoffs 73
News Articles 1
Band Edits + Tags 35
Album Edits 58

Album Ratings 2454
Objectivity 79%

Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70

Review Comments 10,210

 Lists
05.02.24 sleeplog24(5)04.05.24 sleeplog24(4)
03.19.24 Headphones? Headphones!!! ♦03.03.24 sleeplog24(3)
02.01.24 sleeplog24(2)01.18.24 Rating Art Is Dumb
01.14.24 Good Music Books?01.02.24 sleeplog24(1)
12.30.23 a sleepy 2023 ♦11.26.23 rec me: YOU!!! (December 2023: Final Ch ♦
10.31.23 REC ME: pOst-hardcOre (November 2023: C ♦10.01.23 REC ME: WEED 🥦 (October 2023: Chapte ♦
09.09.23 CUM on REC me NOISE (September 2023: Ch ♦07.30.23 REC ME: experiMENTAL (August 2023: Chap ♦
07.02.23 FUNK ME: rec (July 2023: Chapter 7) ♦06.01.23 REC ME: FOLK (June 2023: Chapter 6) ♦
05.01.23 JohnnyoftheWell recs me (May 2023: Chap ♦03.31.23 REC ME: BLACK METAL † (April 2023: Ch ♦
More »

EMO CROWN 2 - Rnd 2: Back 2 Basics

RULES: The judges of this competition will be DeadlyNightShade, sincerelyaural (so far as she has wifi), Frivolous, LandDiving, AsleepInTheBack. The competitors are as follows: Conmaniac, UniqueUniverse, Artuma. Each competitor will present 1 album per round. The judges will then rate the albums out of 5, using .1 increments. A new round will begin after the judges have completed ratings. 30 albums will be presented in total (i.e. 10 from each competitor, or 10 rounds). The winner will be determined by the highest average, but a tiebreaker system will be used if necessary; each judge will have one vote for the best rec.
1Mineral
EndSerenading

Round 2: Get that pleb revival drivel out of my face. Recs from the 80s and 90s only pls.
2Bob Tilton
Crescent

Art's Rec

Asleep: Crescent makes wonderful use of space - of building up tension patiently and bringing it crashing down, of shifting time signature and intensity at a whim - all in service of creating a dark and foreboding bubble of sad things that really does make me feel when it gets under my skin. It does that frequently, but I wish it did that more as it does have a few dips in quality here and there. Overall it’s a wonderful old school UK deep cut. 3.6/5.

Deadly: Moody and Impassioned vocals elevate the listening experience when paired with dim atmospheric instrumentals on Crescent. Love the downtrodden and deep basslines, they give the songs depth and help to create an effectively gloomy atmosphere while being balanced well with bright guitar riffs. The moments where instrumentals take over tracks give proper breathing room from the vocals and add to the overall ambience of the album. 4/5
3Bob Tilton
Crescent

Frivolous: This album is at its best when it’s firing on all cylinders. While the music between those moments isn’t bad, it’s nowhere nearly as invigorating as the times when the band lets loose all their pent up fury. 3.5/5

Jack: There’s something inexplicably creepy about this album. It sounds so...thin? The vocals, when not unhinged and wailing, have me postulating that they’re teetering on the edge of losing control. Could’ve ended up exhausting, but there was enough creative songwriting choices and inventive melodies to warrant a skerrick of investment the whole way through. 3.6/5
4Julia
Julia

Unique's Rec

Asleep: Sounds like the manic, dying breath of some lumbering machine, pained and distraught in an utterly human way whilst also sounding pretty fucking cold and inhuman as it chugs along until it has nothing left to give. It’s beefy and bassy and brutal and I think I love it. A pretty unique rec from Unique. 3.9/5.

Deadly: With some beefy bass riffs like in the intro to “Peripherals” scattered in the mix, this is definitely up my alley. The noise rock elements also bring a lot of appeal to me as I tend to like that stuff. There’s even a few moments where this opens to bright guitar moments which are refreshing breaks from the deep discordant areas of the album, ie. “Trigger Happy.” 3.7/5
5Julia
Julia

Frivolous: Long, winding tracks chock-full of brutality are the name of the game here. There’s some great moments jam-packed with noise here, but unfortunately a lot of the tracks end up feeling a bit bloated (Scarification in particular). This was still pretty fun to jam overall though. 3.3/5

Jack: That introductory riff is scalding; it takes dynamite to the floodgates and the record follows suit through the opening. For what it’s worth I think the addition of an eight-minute centrepiece that refuses to remit is perfect -- it is a bridge between two halves, as perilous and terrifying as both the place it left behind and the place that lies ahead. The guitar tone is coruscating; the vocals are sufficiently course; the atmosphere, austere and hostile. Good rec. 3.9.
6Pedro the Lion
It's Hard To Find A Friend

Con's Rec

Asleep: An aesthetically pleasing bundle of sad sack songs that never quite clicked with me on the emotional level that I think they were meant to. Dare I say it feels a little forced? Arguably a bit harsh. Regardless, it’s certainly nothing objectionable and at times it’s exceptionally pleasant. 3.2.

Deadly: Vocals on this tend to be rather depressed and slow which although make for an easy listen, after a while sorta bored me. Though instrumentally this was pleasant and I enjoyed the album, as a whole I wasn’t thoroughly impressed and can’t warrant a high rating. 3.3/5
7Pedro the Lion
It's Hard To Find A Friend

Frivolous: While this album is certainly soothing, it never does anything to rise above that. Even the sudden buildup on “When They Really…” barely changes the volume of the song afterwards. Some of the lyrics are enjoyable, but overall it’s not a particularly memorable listen. 2.9/5

Jack: This one isn’t as good as Control, but in terms of languid, despondent, sleep-walking emo albums, that’s a fairly high bar to overcome. Pedro The Lion are a fairly lucky band in that, without doing anything spectacular, the disparate elements always seem to fall together beautifully: Bazan’s voice, the hollow and linear guitars, et al -- they seem to work in harmony as if by chance, by “miracle” every time. I respect the other two ratings, because I don’t feel this is an album (or band) that is meant for obscure music website competitions; the songs grow on you as slowly and gradually as they transpire, but it ends up worth it. 3.8.
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