BUMP!! Way overdue for this but since I fired off my final round to Puppies' current roulette, got eliminated from home's, and just have Indi's to focus on, I can finally focus enough to share my thoughts on a couple post-roulette submissions. First, Train sent me a playlist of 20 songs. A couple of these I was already familiar with, but it's mostly all new stuff. Train probably thinks I forgot all about it or didn't even listen to it, but I went back today since I've had a slow afternoon at work. Next up is Puppies!

No scoring, just sharing my thoughts.
1. Stateless - Ballad of NGB - This has a nice beat. Kind of a low key vibe, big 19th century parlor energy from the string parts
2. Ulver - It Is Not Sound - Mhmm... I like the ambient, soundscape-ish Ulver more than this. Although, that said... the crazy Gentle Giant keyboard madness at the end is awesome and the best part of the song. I'm just glad I wasn't left with blue balls after waiting for it to blow its load for a few minutes.
3. Manchester Orchestra - Virgin - I sorta like the album A Black Mile to the Surface, it's kind of a mood. I kind of like this song but kind of don't like the kids singing at the end. I'm conflicted. If you can't tell, I'm still kinda sorta maybe ehhh possibly iffy on this band. I think.
4. Low - Always Trying to Work It Out - Oh this is awesome. Love the production in this one and the cool effects. Smooth vibe. Really nice tune.
5. Tides From Nebula - Dopamine - romdrums sent this to me last fall, I believe. Great tune, one of my favorites of this bunch, too. Huge chill energy. Bumping this group up on my list of bands to check out, should've done that months ago
6. Raketkanon - Anna - I dig all the room the song has to breathe before the distorted riffs kick in; minimal chords and singing over that simple and crisp drum beat is pleasant. The riff and song are groovy but man I dig that first minute or so most of all.
7. Foetus - Aladdin Reverse - This is a Kubrick film condensed and translated into 7 and a half minutes of what the fuck. I did not enjoy this at all.
8. Dreamarcher - Coal - Was having fun until the disemboweling starting a couple minutes in. Thankfully it was short-lived. After that it's enjoyable, but sticks around a bit too long for what it is. Nice rhythmic stuff though.
9. Latitudes - Part Island - Wow that was epic. One of my favorites of the bunch. Huge mood. Loved the soft bits so much, but the heaviness added so much. Killer cover art on this one. Kinda like Agalloch in that it just finds its groove and stays in the pocket.
10. In the Silence - Ever Closer - Ooh. Cool textures on this one... nice beat... This one rocks. Relentless head bopper, love the rapid machine gun style bits on the guitar, song carries a melody but maintains aggression and momentum, I like that.
11. LENIO - Weight On A Scale - Pretty cool stuff. Having a real hard time categorizing most of the music on this playlist - including this one. That said, while it's fun when it's on, it immediately falls out of my memory when it's over.
12. Grimes - So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth - One of my favorite records of February! Loved this album, loved this song.
13. The Black Queen - Secret Scream - I was expecting some really heavy grimy metal and was pleasantly surprised here. Very poppy, honestly this and Grimes are a very nice much-needed break from the other stuff going on so far, so this one stands out in a big way. Infectious beat and hook, drippy synth stuff happening, big mood, fun song!
14. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Mouth of Ghosts - I've heard about this band for years. I have never listened to them. I was expecting balls to the wall, straight sludgy super aggressive metal. Instead I was greeted with softness and a f'ing glorious piano bit over an active rhythm section and an album cover that is more reminiscent of fox capture plan's Fragile. I'm so confused. JESUS CHRIST this just keeps getting better. WOW. Big impress. Such react. Seriously, wow. I am so stupid. I don't know why I expected like... Five Finger Death Punch or something.
15. ef - Hiraeth - I forgot about this band and I'm mad at myself about that. I came across their debut like, a week after it was released, completely by chance, and it was *awesome.* One of my favorite post-rock records. Then I just completely forgot about them. This is a good track but with much more edge than is on that first record. Seems like I've missed an evolution.
16. BADBADNOTGOOD - Can't Leave the Night - Smooth. This is a vibe track. Not much to say about this, it's just dope from start to finish. The few songs I've heard from BADBADNOTGOOD have all been wonderful. Making notes...
17. Sleep Token - The Offering - Whoa. That's kinda weird. Not sure what you'd call this. I guess that means it fits perfectly on this playlist. This is another one of those pieces that is good, but I struggle to think of when I'd come back to this. It's a vibe that I don't really get down with but I can in the right mood. This has a groove I like, though.
18. Her Name Is Calla - A Modern Vesper - Oooh that beat! And that soft section after up until the end! COOL!
19. Pendulum - Different - dat fresh beat doe. Yeah this track is tight, love the frantic tempo and that watery high-pitched synth melody that comes in every so often. Really cool!
20. Mew - The Wake of Your Life - Oh I like this. More than a lot of the stuff on Frengers and ATGHK. This has a bit of that 80s rock energy right down to the keyboards in the beginning. I would probably put this up there with The Zookeeper's Boy as one of the better songs I've heard from Mew. The vocals are more to my liking on this song, too.