anciients: yeah, this is just an improvement on heart of oak in every way. more intensity, more cohesive songwriting, generally just better songs. ibex eye is probably the best thing they've done up to this point but the first three songs here are all great too. the last few tracks don't stand out as much but it's all good stuff and i look forward to relistening to this a ton
dysrhythmia: i basically got this because of my obsession with el drugstore lately and while they're comparable in some ways i do find this inferior. mostly for one reason. there's not really any hooks here. plague ship has tons of these little hooks, generally a few per track, that make relistening to it a blast and almost a necessity with how they get lodged in your head. this is missing that. but that being said it's still a good listen and one that feels like it needs more listens to open up. internal / eternal and when whens end are the two standouts right now but i really feel i'm missing something with the three tracks between them
novembre: i kind of expected this but. this album is a bit samey to the point where a lot of the songs fail to stand out. australis stands out for being the opener, and i already knew umana so it stands out by default. easter has a break in the middle that's the most obnoxious thing so it stands out, and oceans of afternoons has that sax bit to stand out. and agathae is fantastic and train is absolutely wrong about it, best song on the album easily, love the way it builds from this folky track to an intense metal freakout by the end doing so slowly enough to feel cohesive as it does. i couldn't tell you what any of the other tracks sound like and i wouldn't be able to tell you what most of the songs i did mention sound like, but it's still an alright album.
all three of these feel like they need more listens tbh which i will continue giving them