|
User
Reviews 8
Approval 87%
Soundoffs 102
Album Ratings 2754
Objectivity 84%
Last Active 12-28-22 7:12 pm
Joined 11-17-15
Review Comments 2,029
| 9 Month Game of Catchup (April and May 2018)
Welp, it's my final edition of this. I definitely have more Sputnik stuff to do, though, so this won't be the last piece of catching up I have to do for sure. Anyways, one more time: | | 67 |  | A Perfect Circle
Eat the Elephant
-- April's Best Songs -- | | 66 |  | Saba
Care For Me
10. “PROM/KING”: Have you ever gone onto YouTube and seen a live “chill” hip-hop playlist in your recommendations setting? theneedledrop once pointed out these channels as “ambient music for this generation” and I can agree, despite not using them. When I think about the beat of “PROM/KING”, I've recently come with the comparison between the two because those beats are marketed in a nostalgic manner. Since “PROM/KING” is a flashback, the old, echoed pianos and drum beat in the background make a lot of sense. Then I think about the lyrics, a sad memorial of Saba's friend, John Walt, and how the negative experiences around Saba originally made the two friends closer. But then I realize the lo-fi touch makes even more sense now because a nostalgic beat really only signifies a memory, good or bad. The instrumental and vocal freakout at the end got pretty emotional, especially after so much intense story. Life's a mess, isn't it? | | 65 |  | Sectioned (Metalcore)
Annihilated
9. "Annihilated [Title Track]": There can truly be too much of a good thing something. Sectioned's new album falls under this category. I heard too much of this track redone, but I can't diss on the original opener like that. I mean, do you hear how HARD it goes in the intro? Fast, ugly, and gnashing, all band members the first half give their all to beat the hell out of your ears. Afterward comes the grimy, disgusting breakdown while the guitar rings from both sides of the speakers. The lyrics are a pure implosion at it's finest, “Tear up my map home, Draw up a new one on my skin”. I mean, damn! This is the type of “Annihilated” I like to have in my hardcore, but I need that variation to keep me interested. Just like an entry ahead of us. | | 64 |  | Nekrogoblikon
Welcome to Bonkers
8. “Thanks for Nothing, Moon”: And on a similar end, there's only so many variations of a particular concept that can work for me. Welcome to Bonkers is very much a mixed bag in this area, but that's not to say they didn't put out some bangers in the meantime. “Thanks for Nothing, Moon” starts with a nice 7/8 intro that displays a fine riff that brightens the verses. I find the “goblin” vocals here humorously cool as he's being pretty hateful towards a random thing, that thing obviously being the Moon. I guess everyone has their own triggers for epiphanies. Gotta love the chorus where the nasally, almost pop-ish vocals come in with electronic bloops in the background. I also find the ending hilarious where the vocalist starts talking about cheap hotels and prostitutes. I think the stories went kinda like that on much of Welcome to Bonkers, it just needed the quality instrumentals to match them, and here they sure did. | | 63 |  | Boss Keloid
Melted On The Inch
7. “Tarku Shavel”: I forgot how long it's been since I've had a proper post metal song on a list like this. I'm assuming it's either because I just don't listen to that much new post-metal or if it's because I'm missing a lot of underwhelming stuff. Anyways, if you need a proggy post metal anthem for 2018 so far, look no further than “Tarku Shavel”, a song that's hilariously self-centered and is basically a story with an ego trip. The thing is, though, is that the instruments and singer easily have enough confidence to pull of something like this to make it really cool. While I am impressed with the vocal melodies and guitar riffing in the first half, more of the quality lies for me in the second half. The math rock-like guitar picking starts to take the track in an unpredictable prediction. Right when the guitar chugging starts at the 5:45 minute mark, it spirals into a mischievous bout of ride accent play and guitar emphasis that's so satisfying to hear. | | 62 |  | The Wonder Years
Sister Cities
6. “Pyramids of Salt”: Properly for a pop-punk group, The Wonder Years's most anthemic like song becomes an album highlight. I can get the objections claiming that this, essentially, is the same song they've written with a couple of others on past albums. To that, I think, 'yeah, but it's a great concept with multiple angles to take a shot with, and why not try to mask those other attempts with something even better?” Focusing on the subject of failure for others, again, is a common one for Mr. Campbell, but he discovers more fascinating ways to admit his struggles, in ways that I personally feel connected with. I'll admit that the songwriting for the chorus is kinda simple, but it's the performances that lay that concern to rest. Dan Campbell is spectacular on this song with a beyond passionate vocal performance. I love the synth and bass lines in the background during the intro as they wait for the melancholic guitar and patient, tribal drumbeat to appear. | | 61 | | The Wonder Years
Sister Cities
With these qualities, one anonymous fan once put it, “No doubt, this is the song from Sister Cities that these guys will be headlining for years at concerts.” | | 60 | | Sectioned (Metalcore)
Annihilated
5. “Through the Trees”: With this song, a difference is set between “gimmicky” and “distinctive”. Especially in light of the rest of Annihilated, you gotta wonder about this outro's piano passage. Is it a dumb, failed idea? Well, I suppose it could have been without much context, but after 37 minutes of emotional drainage and another 3's worth of beatdowns, it's about damn time to relax. Sectioned sure picked the right way to do it and produce it. Before we get into that exact measure, though, let's discuss the first three minutes. The depressing lyrics just keep spiraling deeper and deeper into madness until the last, dying screeches of the last remaining, “Shimmmerrriiiiing Liiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!!” that our character has before he permanently battles himself. Then we get to that beautifully haunting piano passages with the extra wind swirls and guitar sirens complimenting the death of that light through the trees. Man, hardcore's a fun place. | | 59 |  | The Armed
Only Love
4. “Middle Homes”: I so thought that “Luxury Homes” was gonna be the highlight of Only Love. It's awesome with a great, chaotic hook and a funky verse beat. As I was going through my album interests, though, there was something about “Middle Homes” that hypnotized me into it. Turns out that “thing” was everything. Nothing could have possibly make it any better than producer Kurt Ballou. The dude's a metal legend at this point, and here he exemplifies that skill even further. He takes the electronic, kind post-punk amp sound and adds some retro-ized artsy fuzz to it. It makes the guitars sound so heavenly. Even the droned, baritone vocals from the frontman sing their way through some familiar self-doubt, “I'm not sure where I've landed”. While the vocalists' performances are really good here on their own accord, the vocal effects (probably added by Ballou) add so much more uniqueness to the grimy bass and guitar playing. | | 58 | | The Armed
Only Love
None of that's even to mention the drummer Ben Koller as he satisfyingly fumbles his way around the toms and hi-hat. The ending doesn't disappoint the rest of the beauty, with a gorgeous guitar melody and an oddly trippy lead out on vocal layering. Similarly with many songs I've loved in the past, I get the same impression that not enough people have let this sink into them as a month highlight, in which I request you do so! By the way, this is a wonderful and somewhat fitting driving song. | | 57 |  | Toundra
Vortex
3. “Cruce Oeste”: Oof, this song. “Cruce Oeste” is one of those rare, lucky occasions where I get a masterclass of a bold song from a relatively safe and underwhelming album. Now I've obsessed over this song for weeks and for those also had this get to them, you wouldn't blame me. It first starts with that crunchy guitar production. The first ten seconds of the intro already has some top-tier, Russian Circles type sound to it, and it's been a while since I've heard anyone who's done that post-rock/tinge of metal mixture so well. When it cools down you see some highly impressive drumming. It doesn't really sound like much, but accenting the hi-hat that quickly with an alternating bass pattern takes some skill to do. Plus it sounds really nice. Each segment flows into one another so smoothly, unlike a lot of the featured album actually. After enough time, the song takes off in an awesome, intense fit with fantastic guitar playing. | | 56 | | Toundra
Vortex
I'm so glad I've come across that rare gem from a genre that I have quite a soft spot for. I'll use it anywhere, but I see a voyage on a violent ocean paired up with this song. Just listen to the opening riff, you'll feel it. | | 55 |  | Hop Along
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
2. “Prior Things”: After “Look of Love”, I didn't think there was any way the album was gonna hit higher than that, especially considering the quality had been hitting a serious stride since “One That Suits Me”. Then that quirky string section opens up and I'm now entranced. As far as vocals go, I feel like Hop Along's odd pairing of the acoustic guitar with the string section makes the awkwardly recorded vocals even more aesthetically pleasing. Even with those pieces intact, I love the periodically flashy basswork and electric guitar flourishes. The lyrical songwriting is pretty clever, too, specifically the line about this, “When you create those silences? Well never mind, I don't want to see / I know it's got nothing to do with me”, which is relatable social stuff that I constantly put up with. I admire the twinkly keyboard dash on the last reprise of the chorus because it's kinda a text painting for independence from the guilt of others. In other words, “Just be yourself, man.” | | 54 |  | Panopticon
The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
1. “The Moss Beneath the Snow”: So, in a two-part, two-hour album sense, I feel that a proper connection between both sides of the Panopticon coin would be justly. I mean, it's pretty jarring to hear something go from a black metal epic in part one's closer towards something like “The Wandering Ghost”. Both are absolutely fantastic songs, but I need some time between them. Austin Lunn is all like, “How about I take this “time” of yours to do something creative, magnificent, and totally outside my box.” Enter “The Moss Beneath the Snow”, a... post metal? post rock? black metal? number that builds up and explodes over the course of its majority. It's a completely different high from the one we heard just a track ago. If part one's closer was a message about the protection of nature, this one was a display of its power. I don't have to much to say on compositional sides of things, but if the wilderness sound effects didn't make the song atmospheric enough, | | 53 | | Panopticon
The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
why not add some masterfully produced guitar howls? It's not like the listener is drooling already. After all that power, fast forward to a realized and settled acoustic guitar passage, finally ready to submit itself into the upcoming album. I absolutely love the how different each of the layered guitars sound here. One is echoed, freelanced, and taken a hold of the reigns as the other guitar sits its calmer self in the background, strumming rhythmically away. In reference to the harrowingly sung lyrics, I still try to figure out what these “winters” that are going to destroy whatever Mr. Lunn is looking after could mean. I'm thinking he's talking about general civilization, fitting for him being a cited anarchist, but that's a discussion for later. | | 52 | | A Perfect Circle
Eat the Elephant
-- April's Best Albums -- | | 51 |  | Inferi
Revenant
10. 6.5/10: There's a little melodic death metal band out there called The Black Dahlia Murder. They came out with an album six months ago, and it wasn't exactly one that I cared for. In fact, I hardly dig their stuff at all, yet who says even the mediocre level of bands can't bring positive influences? In which case comes along somebody like Inferi. They're set out to thicken song progressions and polish the songwriting standard for melodic death metal. Inferi succeeds with this in a few key ways. For one, they added unique tones to some of the songs (the harps on the opener “Within the Dead Horizon”, the proggy guitar lead on “Malevolent Sanction”). Also, at least some sort of atmosphere is built in the album's majority, it's not just “we go thrashy and brutal” like their peers. Inferi knows how ridiculous some of their music is, so they clearly try to have fun with it despite some bumps on the road. “Condemned Assailant”, by the way, sounds like the perfect soundtrack for the cover. | | 50 |  | Sangre de Muerdago
Noite
9. 6.5/10: I'm genuinely impressed with you guys. You hyped up an album that's totally out of many's comfort zones. Kinda-exotic European folk made a pretty good splash in the critic pool, even getting Steve Von Till from Neurosis to like him. While I'm slightly disappointed in the album's ability to keep its instrumental cuts more interesting, they've expanded their sound into surprising directions. Starting with the closer, “O Amor” is ritualistic and like a hymnal with what I think is a nyckelharpa droning in the background like an organ. “O Descanso” is a flute-led ballad that reminds like of the 70's prog days with the mixing in mind. Hell, “Roubando O Vino Do Fauno” has some trip-hop production mixed in there. If I had to pick a favorite, though, I think “Longa Noite de Pedra” is an outstanding epic with a great flute piece at the end. I think the poetic origin of Noite's lyrics works quite well in Sangre de Muerdago's favor because of the “folklore” aspect in the instrumentals. | | 49 | | Sangre de Muerdago
Noite
Also check out the names of some of these instruments these guys use. The aforementioned nyckelharpa, a bodhran, crickets, and a hurdy-gurdy? It's literally a dial-turn accordion/violin crossover. Weird. | | 48 | | Saba
Care For Me
8. 7/10: Rap needs to step up their game this year. I get that last year isn't easy to match up to with the Brockhampton breakout and Tyler, the Creator's personal triumph, but I really haven't heard much I've dearly cared for. CARE FOR ME isn't much in competition to those guys, but it's a start. The whole album is a dreamy memorial of Saba's late cousin John Walt and the harsh memories that Walt has helped the artist face against. Among those struggles can be Saba's women troubles (“BROKEN GIRLS”), fame (“LOGOUT”, “GREY”), and associative anger (“CALLIGRAPHY”, “FIGHTER” (two of my favorites)). Some have criticized the guy's rapping voice because it doesn't really sound that passionate, but I think it's more melancholic and collective than lazy. Not only that, but the dude certainly has his emotionally charged vocal moments (“LIFE”, “PROM/KING”). | | 47 | | Boss Keloid
Melted On The Inch
7. 7.5/10: Honestly, I really overrated these guys at first listen. I basically thought of them as a better version of a band up ahead that just wasn't the case. Nonetheless, I'm happy we're getting metal with an attitude and lit-up fire that cares about songwriting diversity. To begin, the opener “Chronosiam”'s upbeat mood and odd vocal melodies in the verse remind me of Styx. I don't know why Styx specifically, but there's a satisfying classic rock touch that keeps that song interesting. Half the album (songs 3-5 specifically) opens up with funk, even reggae flavored percussion and guitar elements. It's especially awesome in track #5 “Lokannok” when it truly tests its metal heaviness right after the funky bass riff in the intro. Stuff like that makes most of this album a blast to get into. It's a pretty flawed blast, but it's one you'll appreciate having. | | 46 |  | Kindo
Happy However After
6. 7.5/10: I'm shocked that I've never paid proper attention to these guys until after the interest in this album. They're a lot of what I would've wanted a couple of years ago (major mix of genres with modern production, including progressive rock and jazz) and their fairly decent popularity makes my dismissal of them all the more baffling. While a few parts of Happy However After are messes (moreso in the first half), I can see tons of potential with going back to visit their more well-received records. The blues-buffed number “Return to Me” brings plenty of enticing toward the singer's pop-influenced lyrics and melodies. The nostalgic Christmas vibe of “Colder than December” provides a somewhat sensual experience with the breezy saxophone and fluttering pianos. The longest song and closer “City of Gods” happens to be my favorite, however, as it boasts a jam-worthy flare not quite found as potently on its surrounding tracks. My drummer's heart also goes out to | | 45 | | Kindo
Happy However After
“Let Me Be” for being so strange and varied in percussion. | | 44 | | The Armed
Only Love
5. 8/10: On the other end of the stick from Sangre de Muerdago, we have a group that has an oddly low popularity on Sputnik. They're a very famous band on a few major music outlets (Noisey, Metal Injection, Metal Sucks, etc.) and on Only Love, they've even added famed Converge drummer Ben Koller alongside production magician Kurt Ballou. Even without my expected popularity spike, The Armed has put out a helluva great album with some innovating bits and pieces that could bolster their career. Only Love is not only being an electronically brutal metalcore force, but they like to put a neat artistic spin on their more low-key tracks. That spin I see is in vocal repetition. Songs like “Middles Homes” from before, “Role Models”, “Nowhere to be Found” put an experimentally pleasing quality into the equally ambitious music like something Swans may use. As I've said before, I still thoroughly enjoy tracks like “Luxury Themes” and “Witness” despite my stronger enjoyment for the calmer songs | | 43 | | Hop Along
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
4. 8/10: After a good, thoughtful while, it's a clever move to reference a dog as this album title. Because a major theme of Bark Your Head Off, Dog is power abuse, I initially asked, “A dog? Rather than all the food web kings, you choose a dog to symbolize power?” Later I realized that all that dog can do to show dominance without getting itself trouble is bark. Same goes to our authorities or, in this case, so-called “authorities”. I believe what the majority of this album says is, “When social politics, even in history (“One That Suits Me”), memory (“Fox in Motion”, “Look of Love”), and casual life (“How You Got Your Limp”), tries to put you down, just worry about yourself.” Much of the “social politics regarding this record is indeed directing towards the men's world ideology, but none of this album feels like a buzzword. Much of this is the songwriters' feelings, so you don't have to agree with her; she knows that. Past the themes and lyrics, there's a lot going on musically. | | 42 | | Hop Along
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
My favorite aspects include the 90's alt rock production on “What the Writer Meant” keeps the guitars and drums fresh and interesting, the folk bite on “Look of Love”, and the superb ghost note work on the drumming of “Not Abel”. All that, and I've come to love Frances Quinlan's voice. It fits the odd instrumental combinations wonderfully, and I can get down with her being on a year-end list. | | 41 | | The Wonder Years
Sister Cities
3. 8/10: Remember last year's Goths by The Mountain Goats? Someone has very clearly been taking notes on them with the first track. Tribal, four-on-the-floor drumming on the verse? Yep. Chant-like choruses? Mm-hm. Aquatic (or, unfortunately wannabe aquatic) production? Definitely. The first one doesn't occur much more after that song, but the rest of the album is categorized by those same, powerful choruses and the production that The Wonders Years are (infamously) known for. Overall, Sister Cities is an amazing pop-punk album marred by some production issues, particularly with those damn bookends. What's in between is almost all gold, though. The gorgeous ballad “Flowers Where Your Face Should Be” is an excellent example of Dan Campbell using the tender side of his vocals to draw up some passion in the quieter segments. On the other hand, you have “The Ghosts of Right Now”, an explosively grievous song about his dying relative. | | 40 | | The Wonder Years
Sister Cities
An important thing to note about that track was that Mr. Campbell had to travel away to Oregon to see his relative. In fact, he's reportedly done a lot of traveling within the past couple of years and as a result, he's had to travel considerable distance from his friends and family for long amounts of time. He doesn't just resort to grieving in his distances, however. Mr. Campbell knows he can use them to grow personally and to get even closer to the people he's around. That's the whole, intriguing idea of Sister Cities, so instead of being sadboi rock, it's now hopefulboi rock. | | 39 |  | King Goat
Debt Of Aeons
2. 8/10: This write-up is going to end up being pretty familiar to Boss Keloid's Melted on the Inch. You have the same apolycatic-esque lyrics, riffs that go hard, fantastic production density, and great songwriting diversity both lyrically and instrumentally. Three things differentiate King Goat from them, however. The first aspect can be assumed just by looking at both album covers. Debt of Aeons is obviously a darker, murkier experience than Melted on the Inch, but because that never qualifies as a superior quality, this part doesn't matter too much. It's just a noticeable difference. Second, King Goat's vocalist happens to be more “operatic”. Now this part actually matters because, despite my appreciation for the confidence in Alex Hurst's singing from Boss Keloid, the “holy” qualities from King Goat's singer makes the combination between the doom metal instrumentals and his singing a more fascinating achievement. Finally, Debt of Aeons is arguably a more important metal album. | | 38 | | King Goat
Debt Of Aeons
I can't remember the last recent time I've found a doom metal album this smartly written and consistently sleek. While Melted on the Inch just seems like a solid post metal entry, Debt of Aeons crafts a wonderful album out of the wretched doom/stoner metal trend going on right now. This gives me hope that bands can follow King Goat's direction of making doom metal actually interesting and insightful again. | | 37 | | Panopticon
The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
1. 8.5/10: I'm curious now. Is this black metal/americana blend thing something that Austin Lunn is used to doing? I'm only asking because I haven't heard anything like this anywhere else. It's a genius idea: mix the rebellion against tradition with tradition itself. Well, not exactly mix; they coexist and unbelievably have some of the same qualities. It could be helped by the distant production on both sides, but they have an identical soul. Yes, that heavy, slamming intro of “Sheep In Wolves Clothing” actually feels of the same mindset as the fragile “The Wandering Ghost”. Is it the middling culture of Kentucky's music scene? Maybe, but I know there's a genuinely passion in Mr. Lunn through both genres. It's fairly clear through Part 2's themes that Mr. Lunn does not only tend to be an environmentalist, but one that's against authority affecting said environmentalists. I went through a comment thread arguing whether Austin Lunn's anarchistic views had anything to do with his music. | | 36 | | Panopticon
The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness
It's a good question, but I think that ideology is quite present in his music, at least on this it is. In the vein of Hop Along, he uses his music and stories to symbolize his messages rather than a desperate, corny attempt to shove them in this album. Wow, the more I talk about this behemoth of a record the more I love it. I sure hope that phenomenon isn't a one-off this year. | | 35 | | A Perfect Circle
Eat the Elephant
-- May's Best Songs -- | | 34 |  | Violet Cold
Sommermorgen (Pt. II) - Joy
10. “Time to Tango”: Violet Cold offered a ton of stuff and then some this month. I suppose this is what you get with a two-hour trilogy and with that comes many songs to qualify for this list. “Time to Tango” edges out as the winner of these tracks because, well, this is like if a post-rock “Midnight City” was done by an Azerbaijani. There's a great, catchy electronic melody leading the charge through the bridge accompanied by nice, foreign post-rock fuzz and that 80's drum production you hear through a lot of Parts 2 and 3. Like many tracks on Sommermorgen, this one also bursts into a joyful trance of ringing guitars and crashes. Unlike some tracks on Sommermorgen, this ending was well deserved and worth it. | | 33 |  | Elder Brother
Stay Inside
9. “Earthbound”: Remember my praise of Citizen's “Discrete Routine” from last year? Yeah, this track is really quite similar to that. It starts slow and patient until it turns into an emotional cavalcade. A significant amount of that magic comes in the well-produced instruments. Both guitars and drums sound reministically bombastic even initially. Despite the “bombastic” tag, there's nothing here that seems wanky either. In fact, the lyrics are the opposite of that. The protagonist is trying desperately to identify his place in his relationship with his partner and his place in society. This desperation is efficiently carried out by Elder Brother's vocalist, who gets gradually more frustrated with his position. Is it cheesy? I can't argue that, but I enjoy is track more than enough to not care. | | 32 |  | Tropical Fuck Storm
A Laughing Death in Meatspace
8. “Antimatter Animals”: Even after the somewhat disappointing “You Let My Tyres Down”, I still had faith that Tropical Fucc Storm had an undeniable creativity that could possibly propel the following songs. Here comes “Antimatter Animals” with a funky, quirky attitude. The hilarious part of this song is how that wonky mood is in literally every aspect with band members. Everything sounds like it has a frame rate issue and it's freaking awesome. The guitars are wickedly jolted, the drums are awkward as hell, and the lyrics are cleverly weird and off-kilter. Gotta give props to that freakout at the middle of the track, which just adds more quirkiness to the adventure. After about four minutes, I've had enough of some of these guy's shenanigans, but here they bust out a badass chant with a hard punk beat behind it. Only Tropical Fucc Storm would do it. | | 31 |  | Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek
7. “The Mark Kozelek Museum”: If there's anything this song indicates, it's that Mark has obviously improved in making his sound more accessible towards his head. All the guitar loops featured in his “museum” feel personal and insightful; that's only something a singer-songwriter can do if they lot of experience in themselves, which Mark has. This also shows some of his best storytelling capabilities as he talks about his fame in both humble and self-conscious ways. It's a few stories connected to that fame, and one is just as entertaining and intriguing as the last. The sad story about the girl in Mark's dream leaves a lot to think about in relationships, the story of his hecklers followed by the guitar was satisfying (even with a little bit of humble bragging), and the connection between him, Ariel Pink, and diarrhea is thankfully far from the quality of diarrhea. Towards the ending, I like how Mark looks back over his inspirations followed by a lot of guessing and wondering. | | 30 | | Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek
It's something you do after nine minutes of storytelling. | | 29 | | Tropical Fuck Storm
A Laughing Death in Meatspace
6. “Two Afternoons”: Cool thing about A Laughing Death in Meatspace is that “Antimatter Animals” isn't even my favorite song from there. “Two Afternoons” wastes no time getting to where it wants to go with its heavy guitars, funky bass and tombeats. Vocalist Gareth Liddiard has a satisfyingly tense attitude, which fits extremely well with the guitars. I noticed how some of the guitar and bass playing resembled that of harsher surf punk, which cooperates really well with the beach-themed (seemingly a beach from hell) lyrics. The obviously highlights of the song are when Liddiard shrieks before the jam sections. It's totally unexpected from the rest of the album and it's unexpected how he's going shriek, which makes it all the more fun. Lyric wise...I have no clue what this is about. I'm guessing it's about a dude increasingly getting more paranoid. It kinda makes sense since the music gets tenser and the singer eventually raises his freakiness by ten levels. God, I love this madness. | | 28 |  | Thy Catafalque
Geometria
5. “Balra a Nap (English: To the Left of the Sun)”: Apart from one deviant up ahead, May hasn't been a good month for metal songs. A couple of contenders just missed the cut for me this time around including Svalbard's opener “Unpaid Intern”, but there's something oddly seductive about Thy Catalfalque's ninth track that keeps me coming back for more. I believe this song is the female vocalist's first performance on Geometria since “Hajnali Csillag”, and her futuristic, robotic vocals with the industrial production makes for a unique experience. What's even weirder about that futuristic vibe is that begins with a medieval-sounding guitar riff, yet everything's still balanced out and inclusive. I kinda expected the song to fizzle out in interest past the halfway point, but it actually gets better as it goes on. A murky instrumental section gets sandwiched in between icy, cool guitar passages. Then 80's synth fiddling leads the next part, | | 27 | | Thy Catafalque
Geometria
promptly going into a bass lead with some really cool drumming. Looking back at it all, it's a strange track with tons of contrasting elements, but it flows and jams in a way only avant-garde metal musicians can make it. | | 26 |  | Parquet Courts
Wide Awake
4. “Total Football”: Maybe Parquet Courts didn't think of themselves this way, but “Total Football” puts itself in an eerily similar position to “Come Together” by The Beatles. Both open up the album and focus on how we are better as a group rather than as individuals. Most coincidental of all, they drop a Beatles reference in the song! Shocking thing is, this song is about as good as the classic. Moody, fiesty, and not one to waste time, this is modern rebel punk at its very finest. There's tons to love about it. The bass diddling during the verses, the weird guitar picking and synth creeks during the chorus, and the vocalist's overall attitude give this song more than enough life to be a highlight on an honestly messy album. Not only is “Total Football” absolutely awesome but it's quite hilarious at times, especially the lines “Have your hurt Caucasian feelings left you so distraught?” and the totally deserved “Fuck Tom Brady!” diss at the end. | | 25 | | Parquet Courts
Wide Awake
Thought post-punk didn't get better than this in May? Wait until the next song on our list. | | 24 |  | Iceage
Beyondless
3. “Under the Sun”: When talking about album highlights from Beyondless, there's a fair amount of conversion being held about “Painkiller”, “Thieves Like Us”, “Take It All”, and the title track. Alright, to be fair, the last two are excellent songs in their own right, but if there's anything that feels like a triumph from Beyondless, it's “Under the Sun”. This song starts off unexpectedly slow and patient, marking the protagonist's “heights of the low” and “wallow in the mire”. The fumbly drumming and on-singer's-command guitar work add a nice distinction to the first parts of the song. I find a lot of folk influence in the production and instrumentals, too, which lets the outta-nowhere string sections later in the track make sense considering it's not interrupting a pure post-punk track anyways. When that string section does come, though, my God isn't it beautiful. Speaking of God, the protagonist seems to have morally ascended so high at this point that he drops an excellent, | | 23 | | Iceage
Beyondless
lasting final line about how he can take God's place, “Lord, do you need a savior? Have you lost the steering wheel again?” | | 22 |  | Jon Hopkins
Singularity
2. “Echo Dissolve”: Singularity was a difficult album to push through. Yeah, it's artsy and creative at times but I feel like its classical/IDM/ambient crossover thing wasn't majorly doing anything for me, especially on some songs that were just way too long for their own good. “Echo Dissolve” actually serves as a thickened interlude for the following “Luminous Beings”. Now, considering Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno's “Chain Home” from last year, I can be a huge sucker for classical piano if a) it's just at the right time on the album for it or b) it's top notch material. As you'd guess, this song completely matches both qualities and much more. The song length was actually a fantastic decision. It feels fully fleshed out, yet it's just trimmed enough not to drag. Every single noise associated with this makes a huge difference. The splashes add a natural, flickered life to the background and even the low, static humming adds more to that purpose. | | 21 | | Jon Hopkins
Singularity
However, nothing here matters more than the how the lead piano sounds and, unsurprisingly, it sounds like heaven. It's not even amazing in an it's-good-for-this-genre kind of way, like, I love this on its own. | | 20 |  | The Body
I have fought against it, But I can’t any longer
1. “Nothing Stirs”: Lingua Ignota... That's a name that slipped under my radar last year. Perhaps it was the peculiarly unsettling album cover of ALL BITCHES DIE that kept me at a distance, but maybe not anymore after her passionate showcase of talent on “Nothing Stirs”. Her performance is a major part of what propels this song above the rest in the IHFAI,BICAL catalogue. An initially frail voice in desperation suddenly gets more angry and insane. For those that have heard it before, you gotta have a recognition for the spine-chilling progression this moment offers. After the climax fizzles out, she ends her tirade on a fittingly disgusting note. Despite how much I applaud Kristin Hayter's performance on this track, I can't deny the masterful atmosphere and mood construction by the instrumentals and production. Take, for example, the introduction. It sounds like a haunting lo-fi hip-hop beat with bass boosts and rattling hi-hats. | | 19 | | The Body
I have fought against it, But I can’t any longer
It's an odd style, but The Body have hinted that sort of sound throughout the album, so it totally makes sense in that context. Chip King's rooster vocals give you an idea of the utter destruction that's about to come. During Kristin Hayter's part, a string section appears near her “March on” chant, and it's glorious. It's gloriously paired with extremely depressing lyrics. When it all explodes into bombastic drums and dramatic violins, it's catastrophically spectacular. I like the trumpet lead out on the outro, too. If you wanna feel exhausted and wiped out, this will do it more than the majority of tracks you're gonna hear all year. | | 18 | | A Perfect Circle
Eat the Elephant
-- May's Best Albums -- | | 17 |  | Beach House
7
10. 7/10: 7 maybe slightly overhyped, but I can appreciate a successful bounceback album any day. Supposedly at the end of the record, Beach House themselves included an essay toward the creative processes and goals behind this release. One statement from them you can definitely hear in the music is, “Basically, we let our creative moods, instead of instrumentation, dictate the album’s feel.” What else could come up with the synth sounds on “Lemon Glow” and “Black Car” (even when the former has iffy lyrics) or the 90's dream pop focus on “Lose Your Smile”? Thematically, the album seemed to have been driven by that same creative direction. Half of it is written in mind of past/current women's issues, and the other is of the conflicted mind, particularly beauty in darkness and love in trauma. | | 16 |  | Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids
An Angel Fell
9. 7/10: I'm pretty sure not many people paid attention to this oft-acclaimed spiritual jazz album. It's certainly an interesting one and not one you tend to hear often. Adding some elements of cool and avant-garde jazz, this record takes you on a voyage through a few traditional themes and sounds. “Land of Ra” happens to be my favorite of these adventures, starting with a ritualistic chant that goes into a great sax solo after a sax hook and some cool electric guitar licks. Congas are pretty common throughout the album, too. Some examples are “Land of Ra”, “Papyrus”, “Message to my People”. Oddly enough, all three tracks are highlights of this album. “Papyrus” is an intriguing “mall jazz” piece that focuses on neat hooks and chill vibes. “Message to my People” throws in a bit of blues with the electric guitar riff. This isn't to say the album doesn't like to freak out either. It happens for a short part of “Land of Ra” and the finale of the title track is pretty insane. | | 15 | | Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek
8. 7/10: So... has Mark Kozelek ever been this self-indulgent? I've only listened to Common as Light... and it wasn't near as “Mark Kozelek” as this was. The reason why I'm asking is because this was just the right amount “Mark Kozelek” I can properly take (even on a one-and-a-half hour record). The album starts out with a pretty impressive opener in “This is my Town” where he hilariously says that the table, “is ooooooooooooooonnnnnnnn me.” among other things that lets Mr. Kozelek appreciate his hometown through several different events. The longer songs like “The Mark Kozelek Museum”, “My Love for You is Undying”, and “The Banjo Song” actually contain the most interesting stories and well-written guitar loops on the entire record, so a good bit of the length doesn't actually feel bloated like I thought it would. While the second half is a major step down in quality from the first half, I really enjoy the shorter cut “Sublime”, one of the only tracks that has a drumming feature here. | | 14 | | Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek
It's also got a good appropriately sublime vibe. | | 13 |  | Violet Cold
Sommermorgen (Pt. III) - Nostalgia
7. 7.5/10: After my oversight of Anomie from last year, I thought my end-of-the-month catchup on certain albums could use a little respect-giving. Violet Cold is a one-man Azerbaijani (where do you ever hear that?) project that's dedicated to fairly basic roots of shoegaze and post rock with a bit of black metal thrown in every now and then. As Sommermorgen's trilogy progressed, so did its heaviness. Part III is a record filled with atmospherically dark guitar tones, black metal production, and even some blast beat-like drumming (“Weltschmerz”). Despite its significant increase in harshness from the other two Sommermorgen parts, there's still some obvious beauty found in some of the piano and natural pieces (can be found in “Ein Hauch Von Ewigkeit”, “Blutezeit”, and “Revelation”). As with every part, I got kinda climaxed-out by the time the two-hour trilogy was over, but I was glad to see a good change in sound from the other two parts in Nostalgia. | | 12 | | Elder Brother
Stay Inside
6. 7.5/10: There's something about the opener “Greatest Hit” that sparks an important interest for what's to come. It's a different interlude than your average alt-rock band offers, so what else are we about to hear that's unique? Well, it's actually most of what follows, starting with that awesomely produced number in “No Reason”. What also gets introduced in that track is the vocalist's wispy, airy vocals that add a cool distinction to the often faster, more dense alt-rock instrumentals. I'm mainly curious about some of the guitar's songwriting here because some of the riffs sound right out of a math rock record (“Sway” and “I Don't Miss You” especially). That curiosity's heightened when the drumwork is exceptionally good a majority of the time. I've concluded that it's because these guys know how to write great alt-rock tracks, but high-energy cuts aren't the only products that Elder Brother gives us. | | 11 | | Elder Brother
Stay Inside
Some of the slower, more ballad-like tracks like “Battle” and “Earthbound” are some of the best here. Sure many of the lyrics can seem quite basic at times, but they're often quite good (“Unnatural History”, “I Don't Miss You”). | | 10 | | Tropical Fuck Storm
A Laughing Death in Meatspace
5. 7.5/10: Ya know, despite some of my complaints with this album's ideas, I'm more than happy that it has let this band shoot up to the impressive popularity they're currently at. Especially after hearing some of the creative, artsy punk these guys put up, you'll think they deserve it, too. A Laughing Death in Meatspace (which is a badass album title by the way, goes with the name as well) is a project that skillfully blends aspects of punk and blues together into one weird-tasting sandwich. I love the “chanty” punk characteristics that Tropical Fucc Storm kept, especially on the outro of “Antimatter Animals” and the title track. Oh yeah, I can't forget about “Soft Power”, which is just as wild as it is awesome. Speaking of being wild, that's one of this album's main selling points and boy do they sell it well. It first starts at the ending of “You Let My Tyres Down” with the insane guitar solo, then to the breakdown of “Antimatter Animals”, | | 9 | | Tropical Fuck Storm
A Laughing Death in Meatspace
then it just gets more and more out of control from there, and I can't not appreciate that about this record. Who cares if I have no clue what most of this is about, I love being puzzled. | | 8 | | Violet Cold
Sommermorgen (Pt. II) - Joy
4. 8/10: I realize that I've praised the Sommermorgen trilogy for plenty of things, but I just don't feel that there's anything special about Part I (Innocence). There's not much going on in the variation department and all the climaxes just feel the same to me. Thankfully this was massively improved upon in Part II. Here, the guitars become more relevant and tasteful and the synthwork is put to much better use. Think of it as an album right in between Parts I and III. You still have much of the calm, dreamy atmosphere of Part I but mixed with some of Part III's intensity, and you ultimately have an album better than both of those evident by how well all of this was done. Just like on “Time to Tango”, the 80's, retro-like production help to keep the featured music distinct (highly noticeable on “Love Performance” and “Penguins Commit Suicide”). There's also some faster, more upbeat stuff on here like “Schone Dummheit” and “Altitude” that help diversify Violet Cold's moods. | | 7 | | Iceage
Beyondless
3. 8/10: Looking back at the best songs list for May, I see miles more punk on there than I usually do. So, as a result, it's been a helluva good month for that genre. Iceage has been leading the pack in both lists and much of the reason for that is because I absolutely dig Iceage's style. There's a mix of the old and the new with Beyondless. You have some major elements of twentieth century folk here and a little modern alt rock there with some tidbits of bluesy sections. This isn't to mention that nearly every song in the second half is gold. “Take It All” is an adrenalized take on a person who constantly feels stepped on, yet again coming in with a brilliantly utilized string section. “Thieves Like Us” is a stumbling, fun number about a drunk person with some of that old-timey keyboard magic. Perhaps most well-received is the title closer, a self-conscious termination of the album that realizes our un-infinite distances with some blues touches. | | 6 | | Iceage
Beyondless
Like most of the record, the production and guitar work on this is a stellar job well done. | | 5 | | Thy Catafalque
Geometria
2. 8/10: I'm pretty sure I've gotta listen to Meta by now because, much like Iceage, there's something about Thy Catafalque's style that I just can't get enough of. To begin our introduction to Thy Catafalque's 2018 shenanigans, we meet “Hjanali Csillag” a song admittedly not in line with the rest of the record, but the psychedelic hype is there. Seriously, there's some amazing avant-garde jazz work on here with great production, nice synthwork, and frantically awesome drumming. Despite the intensity change on upcoming tracks, none of those positive qualities change or lessen throughout. The next track “Szamojed Fresko”, blasts out in a blazing fire the instant it begins. Afterwards, some mathy industrial black metal ensues with riffs that slay for days. This, with many tracks mixing the psychedelic grooves from earlier, is what you can find on the rest of the album. But that's not all you find. Some songs have folk origins in them (“Tenger, Tenger”), | | 4 | | Thy Catafalque
Geometria
others focus primarily on its black metal sound (“Lagyresz”, Enek a Buzamezokrol”) and one song even sounds like some awesome 90's video game music with a sax solo (“Gote”). | | 3 | | The Body
I have fought against it, But I can’t any longer
1. 9/10: I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Type This Album Title Any Longer isn't exactly a “sad” album. There are no tears being shed, no one's mourning or grieving over a particular event or person. This isn't anywhere near Carrie and Lowell or Hospice on the “I'm about to cry” factor. What it is, however, is possibly one of the most depressing pieces of work I've ever heard. Nothing worth any feeling is spared here; it's 100% positively miserable. Anything good left was dying by the tractor-engine sounding “Last Form of Loving” and it formally died on “Can Carry No Weight”, where those feelings are seeing the last flickers of light. From then on out, it's maddening chaos, and even by the last words of the lengthy ending monologue, no one's ever coming to save you. Dark stuff, I know, but there's enjoyment found here, trust me. In fact, enough enjoyment to call this my AOTY so far. Almost every song here completely rules and has something noteworthy to offer, | | 2 | | The Body
I have fought against it, But I can’t any longer
and it was one of the hardest albums this year to pick favorite tracks from. “Partly Alive” is an accurate representation of this record's sound and atmosphere. Fuzzy production, vocals that you gotta have a thing for to even remotely like (which I absolutely do), and damned songwriting on the sampled synths. As you'll see in “The West Has Failed”, a couple songs outside of “Nothing Stirs” share that hip-hop influenced percussion that carries a specially heavy weight to it. “An Urn” is an especially strange song that mixes some retrofied electronica leads with extremely bombastic production even for this album and an intense female vocal performance in the outro. “Blessed, Alone” serves as a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing, a innocent track slowly torn apart by that depression found earlier in the album. The last depressing sendoff from The Body themselves is in “Sickly Heart of Sand”, a barren desert of emptiness that actually is anything but. | | 1 | | The Body
I have fought against it, But I can’t any longer
The track with the most vocal features also sends the most goodbyes, all hopeless and given up. This album is what morbid beauty should really be. I'll leave this with an RYM reviewer's comment that couldn't some up the album's effect any better, “An absolutely filthy album, guaranteed to make you feel guilty of ever laughing, smiling, or being happy and encouraging you to feel like complete shit in the most phenomenal way possible.” | |
BlazinBlitzer
06.20.18 | Also, thank you Papa Uni for telling about the reload trick on these lists! Doesn't make me feel quite as cheap when I first release them lol. | Papa Universe
06.21.18 | man, I should probably check out Saba finally. especially since now I found out that it is probably highly emotionally charged | Papa Universe
06.21.18 | ffffeatured! | BlazinBlitzer
06.21.18 | Woohoo!! Imma be raving now!
Anyways, Saba gives deeply personal look into his childhood and young adult years. It’s kinda similar Good Kid Mad City if more nostalgic and lo-fi in the production and instrumentals. I would try listening to the full album before sampling “PROM/KING” because it’s a great semi-finale for the record. | Papa Universe
06.21.18 | well, I like me some touching personal hip-hop, so on we go | Papa Universe
06.22.18 | bump | BlazinBlitzer
06.22.18 | Thnx for dat! |
|
