VdGG isn't really my all time favourite anymore, but I still adore them. Anyways, so far nobody is right. Here's #2.
2. Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye (2002)
Looky here, y'all were just talking about this one. Anyways, two Toby Driver releases on this list, both coming in at #3 and #2. Not bad at all. The man is truly a musical genius and one of my greatest inspirations as a musician. So while Bath is notable for being the most listened to album I own, this one here I rarely listen to at all anymore. It's the definition of a mood album. But when I'm in that mood I literally refuse to listen to anything else, and this can last like a week sometimes. No other album really does that for me.
Anyways, I pretty much called Bath my favourite metal album last writeup. So what gives? This is metal, right? Well some say so. However, I believe it is 100% unclassifiable in genre, but has a few metal moments here and there. Not really a full metal album. This is really the only album I have no idea what to name it in genre. Anyways, why is it so good? The amount of effort, work, and care put into each track is just phenomenal. It can create a shivery dark atmosphere, builds, lulls you into a trance, smashes you out of said trance, and transcends a huge list of genres that most bands would take a career to cover, all of which can be done in the course of a single track. However, does it sound like a musician gone mad trying to shove as many different genres as he can into one piece of music? No, each piece makes perfect sense in every way. It takes a certain gift to do that.
So far to those who haven't heard, it probably seems like it's a lot like Bath. This isn't exactly true. At the time of this album, Kayo Dot was simply a continuation of maudlin of the Well. And Bath (along with LYBM) was their last album before this. However, this is like motW split into a completely different direction. While before it combined genres, yet had an overall sense of direction and you can kinda feel where each song is going, this album is unpredictable. In Marathon, just as you feel comfortable being lulled away into the almost psychedelic atmospheres, the song will come crashing down on you with all fury. You can never feel secure really. The ending spoken word section is also incredibly well executed and effective. Then there's A Pitcher of Summer, a song almost like chamber pop gone horribly wrong (in all the right ways of course). The Manifold Curiosity wanders probably more than any other tracks, but it definitely works to the song's advantage. It takes you in, builds in a post-rock like way into a nice clarinet(?) solo. Then the last 4 minutes is probably the most insane thing ever put to music. Wayfarer is one of the most beautiful things out there, making heavy use of strings and nice acoustic guitar. The Antique has a long 6 minute intro that very slowly builds into finally you're battered relentlessly with heaviness for a while, then gently lowered back out of the album with one of the most beautiful ending sections out there.
I know track-by-track reviews are kinda lame, but I felt it was necessary here as the album has so many different sounds to take in a general description would be near useless. Along with SOABDCS by Harmonium, this is the most beautiful album of all time. But this one contains a dark, almost creepy kind of beauty whereas Harmonium's album is bright and wonderful for the most part. This one also fuses that beauty with pure aggressiveness in points. So while I'm rarely in the mood to take this beast of an album in, it is impossible not to appreciate the absolute perfection at work here. And once I reach that mood... dayum.
Topic: LieLowTheWantedMan's Top 50 Albums/EPs V.2! AHHH IT'S OVER (Read 23734 times)
