Will have my thoughts up for @WolvesAreCircling182 ’s picks either tomorrow or Tuesday, when I’m near a computer!
I’ll be listening to Exotic Animal Petting Zoo - Tree of Tongues and @Dog with a Blog will be listening to The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
@Contender i probably wont have thought up until tomorrow. its a day late but ive been busy and i need one more listen with it
I was recommend the following by nfdv2: Second album review to follow. The Mountain Goats-The Sunset Tree I had never heard of this band, nor this record before but immediately upon first listen I said "oh boy, another cliché emo band" with nasally vocals and a lo fi/stripped down sound. John Darnielle, the main force behind the band, goes so far as to have the classic thick horn rimmed glasses. With that being said, the band wears it influences on it's sleeve and pays them tribute going from Bright Eyes through Wilco and ending with Death Cab For Cutie. They do this surprisingly well and show you the true talent of the band but at the same time never separating themselves from the pack. I love the inclusion of piano on many of the songs and the lack of drums almost entirely fits the overall tone. There are many others instruments that are injected perfectly such as strings and horns that never feel out of place and shows their true songwriting talent. The main issue I have with the record is not being able to connect with it. I had to do some research in order to pick apart some of the song lyrics as they tended to be very abstract and found many of them dealing with his relationship of growing up with an abusive step father. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good record but the other bands I mentioned will overshadow them. Favorite tracks: This Year, Dilaudid, Magpie, Love Love Love and Pale Green Things.
Partner: @skurt Album: Hug of Thunder - Broken Social Scene I’ve been a longtime but passive fan of Broken Social Scene, so I was excited to see this rec hit my inbox from @skurt . Their self-titled was handed to me by an odd church mentor during my junior high years. It was my first significant exposure to indie rock - serving as a soundtrack to some of my most despondent moments as a teenager. I remember being particularly taken by the tone-tossing between the serene and the cacophonous. They left an impression on me but I rarely returned to them over the years. The opening tracks of this record feels like the band is emulating U2 without losing their indie rock feel. However, they never stray to far into 80’s revival trend - only borrowing the few quirks of the movement that accent their sound well. Though the first half of the album sees the band opening up their unmistakably chaotic highs to anthemic spaces - “Hug of Thunder” shines best when they air out and explore their softer side. This is best demonstrated by the smooth and hypnotic atmosphere implored by the title track, ‘Towers and Masons’, and ‘Please Take Me With You’. Remarkably, there are long moments of anticipation for their patent climatic orchestral bridges teased in the structure of these songs. These false starts are a welcome tool to their songwriting prowess as it adds a momentum and urgency in contrast to the downtempo nature of these songs. Overall, this felt like the most focused and heartfelt effort from Broken Social Scene. Serving as kind of a refined example of what makes them who they are.
I’m so excited to hear what @mescalineeyes assigns me and also mortified by fear of rejection of the albums that I choose
I was recommend the following by @nfdv2 : David Maxim Micic-Who Bit The Moon If someone were ever to say to me "Metal can't be happy", I would instantly hand them this album. David Maxim Micic is a guitarist/keyboardist who studied at the Berkley school of Music and has served time in the band Intervals and of whom I adore. My favorite genre of music is progressive metal/djent just because of the amazing sounds they are able to craft from the guitar. This album sits right in between Joe Satriani and artists such as The Contortionist, Tesseract and Skyharbor with some Jazz peppered in. I take back what I said earlier about this being an album, this is an experience. The best way to describe this album is floating through the galaxy and with every new song there is something amazing to discover and breathe in. This is an instrumental album and I know that will instantly turn a lot of people off but this is one of those where you find a really good pair of headphones, sit in a chair with a cup of coffee and just soak it in. The way he is able to use the keyboard to emulate vocals in tracks like Damar and Beaver Moon is just breathtaking. I discover something new every time I listen to it and I have listened to it at least a half a dozen times. I cannot thank @nfdv2 enough for recommending this album. As a person who listens to heavy music on an almost daily basis, this is one of those albums that comes along and challenges the boundaries of genres and shows it really doesn't matter. 10/10 Favorite Tracks: Someone Else's Hat, Beaver Moon, 687 Days(wow this track!), Damar, Who Bit The Moon
I'm a total asshat and have not written my review on this past week's yet because I suck and my weekend was nuts. Will have it up late, but still up! my apologies to @EmmanuelSCastle. I have heard them though! @ChaseTx message me when you like how many albums you prefer each week.
The second album @Zac Djamoos gave me was Athletics- Who You Are Is Not enough. This was another record I misjudged based on the band name. I assumed they'd be a punk band of sorts, but I was way off. The record begins with I(the record is I-V) It has an intense build reminiscent of Sigur Ros and Explosions In The Sky. I wasn't sure at this point if they had vocals or not. The vocals came in and were good and fit the music well. By track III, I was almost wishing they were an instrumental band just because there were some extremely intense moments. Some of the moments would build into these moments so big I had to turn the volume almost to max! When the sixth track kicked in, I started having some deja vu. I then realized tracks 6-10 were the same record, just instrumental! Everything I had wanted! I'm so excited to check out the rest of their music. Perfect music for winter drives! Favorite tracks: "I" "III"
This week @dadbolt gave me Ledges by Noah Gundersen I tend to like Alt folk/Americana so this was a good rec on his part, I'm not sure I had a favorite song or anything more in depth to add but I enjoyed this
It’s not broken...? It doesn’t send notifications for edited in mentions and only a certain number can be included to avoid spam.
@St. Nate I am looking forward to swapping recommendations. Send me a DM and we can get started on ideas!