Fourth place match results, part 2 of 2Part 1 (6th place) here:
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5TH PLACE: LordCost
The Tea Club – Quickly Quickly Quickly (2012)First impression: This sounded good, although I was a little distracted and much of it didn't grab my attention. Further listens needed.
Final opinion: This definitely feels like a grower, and there’s quite a lot to take in. It’s melodic, but the tunes are often slightly unusual. And it’s very proggy/art-rock-esque, so the songs are all rather sweeping, covering lots of different ideas. I’m not surprised I didn’t really take it in on first listen, as it can quite easily drift by in the background. I like it though, lots of really good stuff. Definitely a 70s prog influence, but as you noted in your submission, a modern twist too. Kind of reminds me of bands like The Flower Kings in that way, but bringing in other influences like Pain of Salvation and Radiohead. I’m not sure why you were worried about the vocals, I think they suit the music very well. I was undecided on whether to give this a 7.5 or 8.0, but it’s got better with each listen so I feel it appropriate to give the higher rating!
Score: 8.0
Aereogramme – Sleep & Release (2003)First impression: This is certainly very dynamic, but for some reason it didn’t grab me too much on first listen.
Final opinion: There’s something quite exciting and dynamic about this album, but at the same time it doesn’t really grab me all that much. There are some great moments for sure, and I like that the album covers so much ground in terms of styles and moods, but those great moments are few and far between and most of it strikes me as good but nothing special. Overall it’s an interesting blend of post-hardcore and Smashing Pumpkins style alt-rock, but what I find quite exciting is the way it moves between a lot of different ideas and influences. I’m sure some people would find the gear-shifts between tracks fairly off-putting, but I quite enjoy them actually. They keep the album unexpected and are done in a way that doesn’t jarr too much. But it’s held back from a higher rating by the individual songs themselves only occasionally doing it for me.
Score: 7.5
Variety score: 2.5/5Like TAC, there are some obvious differences between these two albums, but overall and in the context of my tastes, they’re not all that distinct really. Two dynamic, proggy rock albums. One goes a lot heavier and is more serious, while the other is lighter and more airy, but they’re both guitar-driven rock albums with similar energy levels to each other.
Total score = 8.0 + 7.5 + 2.5 = 18.0Dude, thanks again for taking part and sending me lots of good, interesting music. And especially thanks SO MUCH for Arcane Roots!
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4TH PLACE: Luke
Chthonic – Bù-Tik (2013)First impression: This is a lot of fun although maybe not as unique as I might have expected. I dig it though.
Final opinion: Yeah this is very enjoyable, but it’s a bit… monotone maybe? Props to you for sending Taiwanese black/death/thrash metal (as as you’ll see below, it was good for your variety score) but as much as I enjoy the album, I also find it just slightly disappointing. All the tracks are great, but they’re all basically the same, so on further listens the album gets less interesting as it goes on. Related to this, they also don’t really make any interesting use of the authentic Taiwanese folk instruments they use. There’s the odd short interlude, but otherwise stylistically this could be any western metal band. This wouldn’t bother me if the album had more variety, and the sameyness wouldn’t bother me if there was something more unusual and unique about the style. But the combination of both slightly brings down what would otherwise be an excellent album.
Score: 7.5
Tony Sly – 12 Song Program (2010)First impression: This isn't at all what I was expecting, but what an absolute gem of an album.
Final opinion: I’ve never really listened to No Use For A Name, but I’m aware of Tony Sly as a punk/hardcore frontman who died due to possible overdose (it was mainly references in the latest NOFX album that prompted me to find out about him). I had no idea that, like Frank Turner, he moved completely away from that and into folk music for his solo work. Obviously this is very American where Turner is very English, and it’s also a lot mellower than most of Turner’s stuff, but otherwise I hear a lot of similarity. Also occasionally reminiscent of Ben Folds’ ballads, only guitar- rather than piano-based. This is very moving, and clearly deals with his own personal struggles in a very sincere way. And even though it’s all pretty laid-back folk music, there’s quite a variety of moods and ideas that keeps it fresh throughout (the short run-time helps too). When it finishes, I just want to put it back on again. It’s really, really lovely stuff.
Score: 9.0
Variety score: 4.5/5This doesn’t warrant a full 5.0 because it’s certainly possible to be more different than this, but these are still pretty much as different as I would have expected in this roulette. The Chthonic is entirely riff-driven and pretty much non-stop heavy, where the Tony Sly is never remotely harsh, all very delicate and moving. You nailed the theme of the round, without a doubt, though as it happens you’d have achieved fourth place anyway on album ratings alone.
Total score = 7.5 + 9.0 + 4.5 = 21.0I honestly nearly eliminated you in round one because I was really unsure about being able to manage 11 participants (needlessly, it turned out), but I’m so so glad I brought you through. Such variety of great music I wouldn’t have got from anyone else!
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Topic: ariich’s new album roulette, v. totally mad (The End Again: post-roulette Train) (Read 78915 times)