We're approaching the end. A couple thoughts: since there are no themes this roulette, it's been a crapshoot for some people each round, but every single round there have been at least a couple entries that have blown my mind. And there have been albums every single round that I haven't been crazy about, or have straight-up disliked. So, we're getting to the point where the top players are obvious, but those at the bottom have still been sending me some great stuff. That's why I didn't have eliminations, because personally points don't matter to me, it's just a fun way to observe who's been consistently sending stuff I like. So please don't dwell on the overall standing too much. You've all sent amazing stuff.
* * *
1. Tom Waits - Closing Time1973; folk/blues
sent by Tomislav95You've shown me some good music this roulette, with one exception. You really blew my mind with The Antlers and (so far) my favorite Riverside album, and gave me a great Mew album, as well as showing me Dredg. But this? This is your finest submission yet, Tomi. I've gone misty-eyed and actually shed a tear every time I've listened to this album. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but it all sounds like a boozier, sadder Randy Newman and Cat Stevens. His voice just drips with emotion and honesty. The piano has this delightful bell-like quality that reminds me of an old upright piano I practiced on for hours on end in college and I love everything about it. Every song sinks its teeth into my brain and heart. I won't go into every song or this would be the length of a novel, but "Martha." This song makes me cry, it is a perfect song lyrically, musically, even the sound of the piano could not be better. The sadness, the longing... I've stopped playing entire albums this round just to come back and play this song over and over again. The whole album hits me in the heart something fierce but that song just makes me weak. The combination of his voice and the melodies he chooses is so unique, I don't know if anybody else could make it sound so heartbreaking if they tried. And let's not forget the gorgeous "Midnight Lullaby" with that dreamy ending, "Rosie," how sad "Ol' 55" is, hell even the upbeat "Ice Cream Man" gets my toes tapping as a nice reprieve from my emotions, and "Grapefruit Moon" and "Closing Time" are perfectly placed to close the album. Heavy metal fans, eat your heart out. This is *real* heaviness, and it doesn't need a single distorted guitar to do it. This is the album I was hoping to receive from the very beginning of the roulette - when I was describing my love for Randy Newman, one of my favorite songwriters, I wanted to hear this. Of course it has flaws, but its flaws make it perfect. I love his seemingly untrained, normal voice, I can picture him sitting in dim light with a cigarette with his heart just bleeding all over the place. (Plus, he likes stouts, apparently. My kind of dude.)
10/10Favorite tracks: All of them - but specifically Ol' 55; Midnight Lullaby; Martha
* * *
2. Yes - Going For The One1977; progressive rock
sent by StadlerHow dare you. Yes, along with Genesis, are two classic bands I have tried time and time again to enjoy, and last year I wrote them off for good after going attempting to go through a big list of their songs (and failing). Then you come along and make me listen to a whole Yes album. So why do I enjoy this so much? Jon Anderson has a quality to his voice that just rubs me the wrong way, and Yes's radio hits actively annoy the hell out of me. But this is the only time I've ever listened to an entire Yes album. The title track really doesn't do much for me, it's a bit jaunty and exactly what I expected out of Yes. But wait, there's more - "Turn of the Century" turns the record on its head and piques my curiosity by ditching the rock sound in favor of some fun synth playing and lovely guitars. It's a total 180 from the title track, in the best possible way. "Parallels" does, as you said, suffer from what surrounds it - it is a good song with some huge, tasty organ playing, but it's a slow build to the end, where it really culminates in this wall of prog rock, big organs and vocal layers and a tasty guitar solo to cap it off. But the last two tracks - "Side B" for your generation
- are where it's at, and where my opinions on this band shifted on the first listen. "Wonderous Stories" is to this record what "Funny How Love Is" from Queen II. Absolutely fucking beautiful, unlike anything else on the record, rich keyboards, and melodies that radiate joy and positivity. "Awaken" sounds exactly like what I expected Yes to be, but in a good way. Steve Howe is good, but Rick Wakeman is a fucking genius, and when Jon Anderson comes in after the 10 minute mark, it's game over. I have issues with his voice, but it's that part right there that made me go back and replay this album, because I knew it was on to something. "Awaken" is monstrous, with a super epic finish, I can't get enough of the way the vocals are timed in that end part, and... I just keep coming back for more. And I think over time I'll get more used to Jon Anderson, but you've managed to do the impossible and rekindle my interest in Yes, big time. I really wish you could've seen my 180º turn on this in real time. I fully expected to hate everything about this, but now I want to go down to the record store and snatch up this record - and more. One of your best submissions, and I'll no doubt still be discovering things in this album well into the future. How dare you.
9.5/10Favorite tracks: Turn of the Century; Wonderous Stories; Awaken
* * *
3. Nils Frahm - Felt2011; electronic/classical/experimental
sent by homeNo vocals, only tasty instrumentals. I like that. I've said before how much I hate lyrics that just seem to be there to give the singer something to do, and this avoids the problem entirely. It's damn pleasant, and says so much with so little. You haven't sent me anything I've straight up disliked, but your prog rock submissions pale compared to this (along with Ólafur Arnalds and Sleep Party People). One of my favorite things in music is hearing the human elements, such as the sliding on guitar strings (Opeth does that very well), but the only thing I like more is when I can hear a pianist move the pedals - or am I actually hearing the hammers on the felt-covered strings? "Less" keeps me coming back for more, because in between those lush piano notes, there's the ambience of the noise the mic is picking up and the pedals being played. I love the addition of, I believe, xylophones. Melodic percussion instruments pair so well with piano and I like how they're used here. But then there are the more experimental moments like the second half of "Unter" which are haunting and mysterious. I can't say enough good things about the last track, "More" because it plays off of "Less" and literally adds more without straying from the mood of the album. This album flies by for me, and I want to replay it each time. So far, home, you've sent me a few albums that have taken over my nighttime music sessions, and I love that. This is almost a 10/10, but I've found that this kind of music is primarily nighttime music, and for reasons I can't explain, it loses the impact when I've tried to listen during the day. A small but noteworthy observation, not necessarily the fault of the album, but perhaps a consequence of being such a minimal work. Regardless, this is amazing.
9.5/10Favorite tracks: Less; Old Thought; More
* * *
4. Type O Negative - October Rust1996; gothic/doom metal
sent by Puppies_On_AcidI'll be honest: on my first listen, I hated this album. Hated it. It was sludgy, filthy, the singer sometimes went so deep with his voice it made me uncomfortable... I was really put off. I kept coming back, and every day I latched onto a few more things, and by the end of the week I was loving this album without even trying. The 90s vibe of the keyboard effects and piano speaks to me on a personal level, and Peter Steele's voice grew on me super fast after getting used to its creepy vampiric sound (but when he goes up, he sounds totally different, in a good way). I don't have anything like this in my collection. I love the vibe these songs put out, a very melancholy, gray atmosphere, but with this sense of longing, like in "Love You To Death" or "Red Water (Christmas Mourning)", the latter of which is absolutely the highlight of this album: a soaring, brilliant keyboard melody that I can't get enough of. "Be My Druidess" was one of the songs I couldn't stand at first, but by now I'm really digging it. It's a filthy, nasty song... but it's also very pretty in a way. I wish I had found this years ago, because it seems like very cathartic music for going through a dark period. "Haunted" is 10 minutes but never overstays its welcome, and seems to represent very well what the band is about. There are some songs I could do without, particularly in the second half, but dude, I am really impressed with this album and how quickly I changed my views on it. It was tough at first, but "Red Water" and "Be My Druidess" are two of my favorite songs of the round. This album is a nice blend of several moods and styles of music I dig, it's unique, and I love it. This is the coolest thing you've sent since Sieges Even.
9.0/10Favorite tracks: Be My Druidess; Red Water (Christmas Mourning); My Girlfriend's Girlfriend
* * *
5. Markéta Irglová - Muna2014; alt pop/gospel/spiritual
sent by SaculSacul, you've sent me some incredible albums this roulette, and this is no exception. I dig your taste in music. I'm not a religious person, but I greatly enjoy songs about seeking answers or comfort in something, anything, especially when the emotion is this palpable. I went back and forth on how to score this. I think your last two submissions nailed the mark perfectly - particularly with Radiohead - but here there are a couple songs I'm not as keen on, so logically it just ranks a bit lower. However, when the songs are good, they are amazing. "Without A Map" gives me chills, "Remember Who You Are" has a great message with rich, lush vocals. "Fortune Teller" brings some necessary uptempo music but it's not loud, and I enjoy the rhythm section because of that, just like in "Time Immemorial" - beautiful, somber vocal melodies. It's unintrusive but changes the whole song. Markéta has a beautiful voice - is she playing the piano too? I've gone through this album five times and it gets better each time, so she's officially on my radar. Some of my favorite lyrics of the round are here on this album, because they're not trying to be 'cool' or force rhymes - their strength comes from how honest and sincere they are. This is also my favorite cover art (I love
Six Roaming Owls birds, and the colors). I'm a staunch atheist but damn if this didn't take me to church.
8.5/10Favorite tracks: Time Immemorial; Without A Map; Remember Who You Are
* * *
6. Árstíðir - Árstíðir2009; indie
sent by EvermindThis is enjoyable from start to finish, but there's never a particular moment that stands out to me. Wonderful singing and playing. Good campfire music, probably - the vocal harmonies are lush and the guitars don't hog the spotlight but play enough charming patterns to keep my interest. This is a good example of how the language barrier doesn't impact my enjoyment of the music, in fact, the Icelandic songs are some of the best here - the sound of the rolled Rs and Icelandic language pairs so well with the violin and crooning guitars in "Heiðin" for example. Like I said, there aren't really any big moments that stand out, but listening to it, it's such a pleasant experience, and would make for good music to play by a campfire, it's calm and relaxing. A lot of the songs sound similar, but it doesn't negatively affect the album - like I said, calm and relaxing is a good thing. Excellent use of violin and piano across the board. Maybe I'm biased, too, but splitting the languages between Icelandic and English here makes digesting the album so much easier. I first took in the English tracks, then went for the Icelandic ones, and listening to the album from start to finish got a lot easier (I tend to do this with lots of albums like this). I've managed to appreciate this a lot more when I have it on as background music for cleaning or doing other tasks. I can turn up the volume and pick out the nuances. You've sent so much good music so far, Evermind - you've only had one misstep but have more than made up for it with excellent prog and gentle tunes like these - although I'd like to see if you have any other intelligent prog up your sleeve like Karmakanic and IQ.
8.0/10Favorite tracks: Ages; Vonarneisti; Næturylur
* * *