The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 401

EMAROSA - 131

1. Hurt - This song reminds me of another band, but I can't quite place it! I like this one. Solid opener.
2. One Car Garage - Kinda the same vibes as the first song but with a little more immediacy. The vocalist sounds great.
3. Sure - Not really feelin this one as much.
4. Miracle - I think this band kind of reminds me 30 Seconds To Mars.
5. Cloud 9 - The more this goes on, the more these all sound a little too similar.
6. Helpless - I kinda get some Glassjaw/Head Automatica vibes from this one. I'm into it.
7. Porcelain - This one is a different sound too. So far I'm liking the bottom half of this more than the top.
8. Never - This song reminds me of a heavier version of the band Lydia.
9. Young Lonely - Not into this one... Especially after the last 3 or 4 tracks.
10. Blue - Meh.
11. Re - This is a pretty awesome closer! Has the hardness of previous tracks but also the mellow/ambiance of the second half of the album. Diggin it.

Overall: I probably won't ever come back to this. It's really not what I generally gravitate to. But I really liked tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. Not bad!

Thanks for the recommendation, @anonimito!

 

Thanks for giving it a chance! I hear a bit of Lydia, too. Their new single, "Givin' Up" reminds me of track 6, so you may dig their new style.

 

I think the back half of 131 is way better.
Also, when I first started listening to the new song I hated it immediately, just the same old band-goes-poppy hate, but omg is that song catchy. It’s fantastic.

Edit: video is really fun too. Love the colors.

 

Something I thought would be fun to get this thread hopefully rolling into the new year would be to recap some of my favorite records I have heard in 2018. I decided over the last month or so that I would not make a top 10 or designate an AOTY because it is so difficult for me to choose just one. So for the rest of the year, I will be giving a brief highlight to some of my favorite records that I have heard. If you have heard of the record, please don't hesitate to give your thoughts or if you haven't then check it out and maybe it will end up on your EOTY list. Also, if you like the idea, then please share some of yours as well! I know I would love to hear things I may have missed or give records I didn't enjoy at first listen a second chance.

Without further delay here is my album of the day!


Windrunner: MAI

Most if not all of us have heard about bands from the U.S., UK, Australia, etc. but how about from Vietnam? I think this might be the first band I have ever heard from that area of the world but the funny thing is they play music that harkens to the areas mentioned previously. Windrunner play a blend of metalcore that mixes the best of Architects and Northlane that could be considered a subset of djent or progressive metal. The guitar playing is amazing and on par with some of the best I have heard in the genre, while their female lead vocalist, Duong Bai, shifts seamlessly between beautiful melodies to gut wrenching screams. Yes, she is not the best but with time I am sure she will find what works for her. Also, the mixing feels a bit off, especially with the vocals but it still doesn't take away from how incredible this band is.
Lastly, I just want to point how beautiful the artwork is!

@disambigujason and I have been talking about this release for some time after listening to the singles and I was finally able to absorb the full album last month and it did not disappoint.

RIYL:
Architects
Northlane
Progressive Metal

 

Great idea @Nate_Johnson!

 

Yea cool idea @Nate_Johnson ! I’d been thinking about doing a more involved write up for my EOTY, even just for myself to look back on, but I think I’ll mirror this idea a bit and post my thoughts here.

The windrunner record is a lot of fun, definitely scratches the architects itch. Nate and I found them on a YouTube promo account called DreamBound that put out a lot of really cool post-hardcore and metal. Tends to be a bit more diverse and experimental than the stuff you’ll find on altpress and whatnot.

 

When I’m looking to scratch the Architects itch, I listen to Architects!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Album No. 2:



Tony Anderson: Chasm

As I have gotten older I have really come to appreciate atmospheric, ambient and classical music. Especially after meeting our very own @anonimito and fostering my love for it. Tony Anderson falls into a little bit of all those categories. Known best for scoring movies but in his free time, he does occasionally write stuff for himself. This album has a been 5 years in the making and came after Tony struggled with anxiety and depression. I am so glad he finally finished it and there is only one word to describe it: breathtaking. I find myself at peace listening to it and put in on when I too am in a very dark place. It centers me and takes me far away from the worries of the world. It feels so simple with slight electronic beats and hints of strings but it is so textured and dense. I discover something new every time I listen and each song takes me on a journey away from my troubles. There are no vocals and that is another part of me that has changed in my musical taste in that I don't need vocals all the time to get me through an album and it can just speak for itself with how beautiful it is.

I can't say enough how fantastic this album is.

RIYL:
Ambient
Atmospheric
Instrumental

 

It's so great that you've been enjoying ambient music more! It's a fantastic album!

 

I love this idea. It's a good way to come back and reflect on what albums you liked or didn't like this year and why. Also it might convince people to listen to an album they missed, more so than just a list of album titles.

I will start with the very first album that I heard from this year and stayed among my favorites through it all. That album is Fall Out Boy - MANIA.



This album was actually supposed to be a 2017 album but got reworked because they weren't happy with how it turned out. Then when it got released in January, the streaming services had the wrong track order for a while. A weird rollout.

The album came at a time when I got a news that left me broken. Its fun catchy hooks helped me through that hard time.

If you are not a fan of their poppier post-hiatus sound, this album probably won't change your mind, even though I think it is easily their best album since Folie à Deux. There is even a song (Wilskn) that is reminiscent of that album. Patrick sounds better than ever, especially on songs like Heaven's Gate and Church. Really the only song I am not a fan of is Sunshine Riptide, but it still has some redeeming qualities.

Recommended tracks: Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea, Last of the Real Ones, Hold Me Tight or Don't, Wilson (Expensive Mistakes), Church, Heaven's Gate, Bishops Knife Trick

 

Album No. 3:




Editors: Violence

If you took the best parts of artists such as David Bowie, Muse and Coldplay and put it in a blender with a dash of electronics you would get the Editors newest album released earlier this year. This is the British groups 6th studio album and almost didn't see the light of day because the band was on the verge of breaking up. It mixes together so perfectly elements of alt rock, electronics and new wave. I was introduced to this album by @Patterns in Traffic during a time when the CMCS was slowly coming to a close and we were throwing albums at each other to check out that we didn't get a chance to recommend. At first it was enjoyable but then after some time away I came back and loved it more than ever. It has this fantastic mix of darkness which comes from the new wave influence contrasted with alt rock that gives it a huge sound that you can tell was meant to be played in stadiums and festivals.
The hardest part of the album to get through on the first couple of listens are the ballads but by be the end you will be singing along and hitting play all over again!

RIYL
David Bowie
Muse
New Wave
Alt Rock

 

Yeeeeah! So glad you're still enjoying this. Every time I go back to it I'm more impressed. It's definitely making my EOTY list. I remember thinking this album was a bit weird and difficult the first couple times I listened, but I was drawn to give it more listens and all of a sudden there were hooks everywhere

Highly recommended!

 

Album No. 4:




The Black Queen: Infinite Games

The Black Queen is what you get when you mix the talents of Dillinger Escape Plan and Nine Inch Nails and it is every bit amazing as you would expect it to be. Greg Puciato of DEP fronts the band and there are no longer hints of tortured screams but a soft comforting vocal tone that was hinted at in DEP's last record, One of Us Is the Killer. The remaining two members give us a mix of new wave and electronics that could fit comfortably on a Nine Inch Nails record. I have always loved the darker side of new wave with bands such as Depeche Mode and The Cure and this sits perfectly next to them while also giving us a fresh twist to the genre. As I mentioned previously, I have really gravitated towards atmospheric music and this has the perfect amount of it where you can hear how layered this music is with a great pair of headphones.
@ugman_2000 and I have been talking about this record for a quite a while and he was lucky enough to see them in a live setting and I am extremely jealous!

RIYL:
New Wave
Nine Inch Nails

 

Great idea @Nate_Johnson bumping this thread again to look over some highlights from this year. I’ll try to post some of my favs from this year in here to this week.

I fully endorse that Black Queen rec above too, what a band. I could definitely see a number of you in this thread enjoying them.

Getting to see them blast out their industrial tinged synthwave tunes in a dark and dingy boat was incredible and the perfect setting for that.

It’s between them, Smashing Pumpkins and Architects fighting it out for my favourite gig of the year.

 

I won’t be doing what Nate is doing, but I am building and assessing my top 20 albums of 2018 now. I’ll post the final list here when I’m done

 

I’ll look forward to seeing your final list. I think I can prob guess a couple of them

I’ve got my top 10 roughly down, although I keep switching out a few around the 9 and 10 positions.

 

I'll post mine soon, I don't even think it's 10 albums though

 

I love this time of year though with everyone’s AOTY lists. It always flags up albums I’ve either missed or forgot to return to. I just got reminded about Robyn’s great album that came out the other month.

 

1. Thrice – Palms
2. Sevendust – All I see is War
3. Underoath – Erase Me
4. Atreyu – In Our Wake
5. Royal Tusk – Tusk II
6. Reserving this for the new AFI EP

I think that its lol. Listened to a lot of non 2018 stuff.

 

I need to check that album out and the Royal Tusk one as well.

 

I had never heard of them until yesterday lol. Was told I should listen from a guy at work and that album jams. Listened to it like 5 times since then.

 

Check out the previous one as well. Very good.

 

It autoplayed after Tusk II on spotify and it's not as loud or heavy, so I changed it back to Tusk II lol. I'll give all 3 a shot though, I was just infatuated at the time with the new one.

 

I think the new album from that band Hawthorne Heights will be on it. Just a feeling.

 

Oh, that was this year? I'd add that to my list too.