Sacul's top 50 albums v3. #20-#1 speedrun any%

[wolfking]

Blackbird is really the first album where AB started differentiating themselves from Creed more, with the more expansive tunes like the title track, and the heavier and darker fare like "Come To Life". 

I love the underrated and heavy Coming Home also.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Blackbird is really the first album where AB started differentiating themselves from Creed more, with the more expansive tunes like the title track, and the heavier and darker fare like "Come To Life". 

I love the underrated and heavy Coming Home also.

For sure.  And then "White Knuckles" and "Ties That Bind" are nice as well, though closer to the "Bullets" trajectory. 

[Sacul]

Ok today's a big day here in Argentina, so let's get these out of the way now:

Honorable mention

Ed Harrison
Neotokyo



This album's bandcamp page describes it as "Atmospheric, brooding cyberpunk electronica with orchestral elements", and it fits quite well I'd say. It's a long-ass album that takes you into such a cinematic journey, and it's pretty damn consistent for the most part. But the funny part is that... this was composed to accompany a videogame mod. These songs have no right to go as hard as they do considering that!

Recommended song: Nimbus

[Sacul]

Honorable mention

BADBADNOTGOOD
III



Such an interesting group - they play jazz, but like it was hip-hop. Or something other than jazz. Their teachers hated them but I absolutely adore what they've done here. They began by making very interesting covers of famous songs, sometimes adding some original compositions, but III consists purely of originals. It's a very atmospheric sound, purely instrumental, with some nods to the contemporary music they love. Unique stuff.

Recommended song: Confessions

[Sacul]

Honorable mention

Lana del Rey
Norman Fucking Rockwell!



I never cared for Lana's music until this album, which is just way better than her previous stuff. Seriously, this feels like a very mature album, with introspective lyrics, passionate singing with no gimmicks, a very lush sound, and super catchy melodies. My favorite album of 2019, from who I least expected it.

Recommended song: Mariners Apartment Complex

[Evermind]

Honorable mention

BADBADNOTGOOD
III



Such an interesting group - they play jazz, but like it was hip-hop. Or something other than jazz. Their teachers hated them but I absolutely adore what they've done here. They began by making very interesting covers of famous songs, sometimes adding some original compositions, but III consists purely of originals. It's a very atmospheric sound, purely instrumental, with some nods to the contemporary music they love. Unique stuff.

Recommended song: Confessions

You sent me something from this album, and not only I still listen to it, I got a couple of friends into this band with this one. Very good effort, this.

[twosuitsluke]

Ok today's a big day here in Argentina, so let's get these out of the way now:

Honorable mention

Ed Harrison
Neotokyo



This album's bandcamp page describes it as "Atmospheric, brooding cyberpunk electronica with orchestral elements", and it fits quite well I'd say. It's a long-ass album that takes you into such a cinematic journey, and it's pretty damn consistent for the most part. But the funny part is that... this was composed to accompany a videogame mod. These songs have no right to go as hard as they do considering that!

Recommended song: Nimbus

This sounds interesting. Not fully sure it'll be my thing but gonna give it a try.

Honorable mention

BADBADNOTGOOD
III



Such an interesting group - they play jazz, but like it was hip-hop. Or something other than jazz. Their teachers hated them but I absolutely adore what they've done here. They began by making very interesting covers of famous songs, sometimes adding some original compositions, but III consists purely of originals. It's a very atmospheric sound, purely instrumental, with some nods to the contemporary music they love. Unique stuff.

Recommended song: Confessions

This was the first BADBADNOTGOOD album I heard, and it's pretty damn good. I really like the one they did with Ghostfaced Killah, it's probably my favourite.

I know Lana Del Rey is not really my thing, so gonna skip that.

I've also dug out my Dad's old copy of In the Court of the Crimson King record thanks to this thread, will be spinning later with my son 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I kind of want to listen to NFR again.  It was getting hyped to death all over the internet when it came out, so I decided to check it out, having only heard an odd song or two here and there, never a full album.  I was pretty disappointed and didn't get it.  But she has some qualities adjacent to other music I like, so I tried to keep her on my radar, and eventually found a few songs I like.  I'm still not really a fan, but I'm working on it.  Maybe the album next year will win me over. 

[Sacul]

No more posts today, here in Argentina we're having a blast. But tomorrow the actual list will begin

You sent me something from this album, and not only I still listen to it, I got a couple of friends into this band with this one. Very good effort, this.

I know Lana Del Rey is not really my thing, so gonna skip that.

I've also dug out my Dad's old copy of In the Court of the Crimson King record thanks to this thread, will be spinning later with my son 

Trust me, this album is very different from her previous stuff, which just sucks imo. Give the recommended song a try, it's a lovely tune.

Aw, that's wonderful, hope he likes it!

I kind of want to listen to NFR again.  It was getting hyped to death all over the internet when it came out, so I decided to check it out, having only heard an odd song or two here and there, never a full album.  I was pretty disappointed and didn't get it.  But she has some qualities adjacent to other music I like, so I tried to keep her on my radar, and eventually found a few songs I like.  I'm still not really a fan, but I'm working on it.  Maybe the album next year will win me over. 

It took a while to grow on me tbh, I was very skeptical about it but it won me over. I tried listening to her early work and it's so lame

[Sacul]

50

Gazpacho
Demon



Gazpacho are only prog in the same sense as Anathema are considered part of the genre - people don't know how else to classify them. I prefer the term "Atmospheric Rock" or "Art Rock", although that latter one might seem a bit pretentious. They've always emphasized lovely melodies, surreal, mysterious atmospheres, and evolving their sound in subtle ways with each record, rather than playing dozens of notes per second in the most obtuse of time signatures. Although their discography is ridiculously consistent, and with plenty of stellar tracks, I feel this album is their best one so far, as it balances quite well between the epic and the quiet, the guitars and the piano, with O's unique vocals permeating through everything with tenderness.

Recommended song: I've Been Walking, Pt. 1a

[lonestar]

I've grazed Gazpacho a few times and enjoyed them, but it's been ages since I've spun them. Maybe it's time for a deeper dive.



Funny you mention Anathema, they just made my list lol

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Hey, a band I can talk about a bit now!  I listened to the second half of the "I've Been Walking" suite and my overall feeling is pretty much the same.  If you aren't in my roulette, read my writeup for the first half of that song in the first round if you want more details.  The chamber string or violin parts are my favorite in it. 

This is an area of music I very much like though.  The broad category really is what you could "alt-prog", that started loosely in the late 90s.  There are many branches of it, but they all tend to be very distinctive from the classic prog, neo-prog, or even the 90s prog revivalists like Flower Kings, Spock's Beard and such that have more continuity of sound with the 70s bands.  With the alt-prog artists the musicianship is often (though not always) reined in a bit more, though there is still a lot of more subtle complexity to song structures, time signatures and such.  But they tend to take more influence from alternative music scenes, alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk, gothic rock, post-rock, grunge and so forth.  The branch started by former doom bands like Anathema, Katatonia, The Gathering and such is my favorite one, but Gazpacho and others are kind of adjacent to it. 

[HOF]

I’ve never spent enough time with any Gazpacho albums to form a strong opinion of their music. I remember sampling one of their recent-ish albums and finding it a bit hard to get. For the longest time I thought they were a Marillion cover band (I was kind of disappointed to learn they were not!). But a fun fact is that one of the members of Gazpacho introduced Steve Hogarth to his current wife (Pretty sure they’ve played at Marillion weekends before, which is probably how I first heard of them).

I would say that Hogarth Marillion are probably pretty foundational in terms of modern prog acts that draw more from alternative music and non-70s prog influences.

[Sacul]

The chamber string or violin parts are my favorite in it. 

Then you'll probably love Space Cowboy from their last album, such a monumental track.

I would say that Hogarth Marillion are probably pretty foundational in terms of modern prog acts that draw more from alternative music and non-70s prog influences.

Yeah I should probably explore Marillion a bit more, I liked what I heard but not as much as to revisit it.

[Sacul]

49

No-man
Together We're Stranger



Steven Wilson's project with Tim Bowness has always been fascinating to me, for how they've radically changed their style through the years while keeping a sort of consistent sound. Sort of. This one caught them in the more quiet side of things, closer to Ambient sensibilities and Post-Rock soundscapes, with Tim singing some of his most heartfelt lyrics, this time about breakup and solitude. Such a lush, gorgeous record.

Recommended song: Back When You Were Beautiful

[HOF]

I'll have to check this one out. In the last couple years I've managed to become more of a Tim Bowness fan than a Steven Wilson fan. But I've only heard a little bit of No-Man.

[twosuitsluke]

I thought I'd listened to some No-Man, but I guess I was confusing them with Blackfield. I'll give this a go, why not.

Edit: That album was a really nice relaxing listen. I'll add that to a playlist to revisit 

[Sacul]

I'll have to check this one out. In the last couple years I've managed to become more of a Tim Bowness fan than a Steven Wilson fan. But I've only heard a little bit of No-Man.

It's quite a nice album, hope you enjoy it. The previous one, Returning Jesus, is also excellent, but it's a bit more sparse in production and arrangements, feels like a homage to Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis, while still making their own brand of slow Ambient Pop songs.

I thought I'd listened to some No-Man, but I guess I was confusing them with Blackfield. I'll give this a go, why not.

Edit: That album was a really nice relaxing listen. I'll add that to a playlist to revisit 

Oh yeah it's very chill, with some sad lyrics to complement it

[Sacul]

48

Fishmans
宇宙 日本 世田谷 (Uchu Nippon Setagaya)



This is a small Japanese band that for some reason became very hyped up out of nowhere a few years ago, for their 1996 album Long Season, which is basically one long and epic song. While I adore that record, I'll admit I'm a big fan of their follow-up, which was also their last studio album. Super lush and smooth production, lovely and minimal percussion, dreamy guitars and strings, and very delicate, emotive vocals - it is very influenced by Downtempo and Trip Hop music, but with a style of their own.

Recommended song: WEATHER REPORT

[Buddyhunter1]

That's a lovely album, thank you for sending it to me last year. I still like Long Season better, but there's some great songs on this one.

[Sacul]

That's a lovely album, thank you for sending it to me last year. I still like Long Season better, but there's some great songs on this one.

Have you checked out their live album 98.12.28 男達の別れ? They perform some songs from this album and the entirety of Long Season at the end, and it's amazing. It's also their very last show, as the singer passed away a few months afterwards :'(

I've just realized these last 3 albums are pretty melodic, chill, and with emphasis on atmosphere. The next one, will be radically different

[Zantera]

Fishmans rule. Their live album is one of the best live albums ever made as far as I'm concerned.

[Buddyhunter1]

I listened to the Long Season performance from it but I didn't check out the rest. I don't really listen to live albums much.

[Zantera]

I listened to the Long Season performance from it but I didn't check out the rest. I don't really listen to live albums much.

That's a shame, as far as i'm concerned it's their best release by a margin.

[Sacul]

It's a great show, but I'm really not that much into their stuff previous to Long Season, and that's the bulk of the performance I'm afraid, so I rarely revisit it.

[Sacul]

Ok change of plans, the loud albums will have to wait for a bit more, in the meantime...

47

Nils Frahm
Felt



I deeply love Nils' work, he's written some of my favorite songs ever. but I've always felt (heh) that his albums are quite inconsistent. This one is the closest he's come to a pretty rounded effort, and it's quite well balanced. Story goes that he was practicing late at night on his piano, and had to use a felt in order to quiet the sound and not disturb his neighbors. He then fell in love with its sound, and placed microphones deep inside the instrument, close to the strings and the hammers. The result is a deeply intimate atmosphere, delicate and organic textures, and some synths that blend so well you almost don't notice. It's a bit lo-fi at times and there's even some whistling on a few songs. A very relaxing yet moving listen.

Recommended song: More

[Evermind]

Saw the thread title and thought "must be Nils Frahm".

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I think the first time I was consciously aware of Nils was when I saw Ad Astra and checked out the score, on which he had a number of pieces.  Other than those, the ones in 425's roulette, and maybe an odd one here and there I'm not too familiar with his work, but what I've heard has been quite intriguing. 

[senecadawg2]

Saw the thread title and thought "must be Nils Frahm".

Yes, me too. And I happened to be listening to this just a few minutes ago. Great stuff.

[Zantera]

I didn't comment about your previous picks yet since I got so caught up in Fishmans so I'll put some quick thoughts:

Gazpacho - big fan of them. Not to play the "I was into them before they got cool"-card but I actually did! This was way back around 2009 or so, they were one of those bands a friend of mine found through Last.fm and "artists you might like" based on Porcupine Tree/Anathema and similar bands. So I remember listening to Night and Bravo a lot (and the other early albums) back then while playing Pokemon. Good times. Demon is a fantastic album and it's probably my second favorite after Night. I don't know, Night just has something special to me. Maybe sentimental value being really the first one I got into. But their discography since has been very solid IMO. I feel like they are still under-appreciated but they're not a very flashy band. They're not a "hear this song once and you get blown away"-type band, it's more of a slow burn. But if you are willing to give them your time I think you do get rewarded for it.

No-Man - another under-appreciated band, I think mostly because SW doesn't sing it tends to get a bit forgotten. I was a big fan of Schoolyard Ghosts and Together We're Stranger. The title track on TWS is just really beautiful stuff. Overall dig their chill vibe. A bit similar to Gazpacho they are not really a band that grabs you by the throat and demands your attention, it's more of a slow rewarding tranquility.

Nils Frahm - Enjoyed him in parts but I guess to your point about inconsistency I haven't heard an album that really clicked with me. He is talented though for sure.

[Sacul]

I think the first time I was consciously aware of Nils was when I saw Ad Astra and checked out the score, on which he had a number of pieces.  Other than those, the ones in 425's roulette, and maybe an odd one here and there I'm not too familiar with his work, but what I've heard has been quite intriguing.

Yeah, I can recommend you his live album Spaces, which takes many of his songs to a whole other level, played with such an intensity it's ridiculous. I almost included it here but to me Felt is a tad more consistent as a whole.

Saw the thread title and thought "must be Nils Frahm".

Yes, me too. And I happened to be listening to this just a few minutes ago. Great stuff.

I didn't comment about your previous picks yet since I got so caught up in Fishmans so I'll put some quick thoughts:

Gazpacho - big fan of them. Not to play the "I was into them before they got cool"-card but I actually did! This was way back around 2009 or so, they were one of those bands a friend of mine found through Last.fm and "artists you might like" based on Porcupine Tree/Anathema and similar bands. So I remember listening to Night and Bravo a lot (and the other early albums) back then while playing Pokemon. Good times. Demon is a fantastic album and it's probably my second favorite after Night. I don't know, Night just has something special to me. Maybe sentimental value being really the first one I got into. But their discography since has been very solid IMO. I feel like they are still under-appreciated but they're not a very flashy band. They're not a "hear this song once and you get blown away"-type band, it's more of a slow burn. But if you are willing to give them your time I think you do get rewarded for it.

No-Man - another under-appreciated band, I think mostly because SW doesn't sing it tends to get a bit forgotten. I was a big fan of Schoolyard Ghosts and Together We're Stranger. The title track on TWS is just really beautiful stuff. Overall dig their chill vibe. A bit similar to Gazpacho they are not really a band that grabs you by the throat and demands your attention, it's more of a slow rewarding tranquility.

Nils Frahm - Enjoyed him in parts but I guess to your point about inconsistency I haven't heard an album that really clicked with me. He is talented though for sure.

Yup, agreed on Gazpacho, I almost put Night instead, but tbh both are amazing albums.

Those two No-man albums are great, ans Returning Jesus has some gems on it as well.

Spaces has some of my very favorite live performances ever, I can highly recommend it. It's also a very relaxing album for the most part, so I tend to listen to parts of it when I need to fall asleep.

[Sacul]

Oops, had a busy day yesterday, so let's get this out of the way:

46

dredg
El Cielo



A band many in the forum will love or recognize at least, dredg have this very interesting Alternative Rock sound of the early 2000s that's pretty dense and layered but with enough intrincacy in the arrangements to attract Prog fans as well. Inspired by a Dali painting and sleep disorders, El Cielo is a very dreamy yet intense listen, with guitars that wouldn't be out of place in a Post Rock album, a pretty unique singer, and lots of memorable and catchy riffs and melodies.

Recommended song: The Canyon Behind Her

[nick_z]

Fantastic album. I'm never sure which one between El Cielo and Catch Without Arms is my favorite dredg album. I mean, they are pretty different records (despite the fact that - obviously - you can tell it's the same band  ). I guess it depends on the mood.

Back to El Cielo - it's such an experience of an album. Sure, there is a bit of pretentiousness to it, but it's almost inevitable with something like this. I find your description of the sound spot-on and I agree on the recommended song. What a closer that is. Love the "brushstroke" interludes too (An Elephant in the Delta Waves could easily be a Dead Can Dance song!).

I remember being mildly freaked out reading the letters included in the booklet, recounting various experiences of sleep paralysis...

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Catch Without Arms is one of my favorite albums ever, but their other albums are all excellent as well (maybe not their last, I put it off for a long time due to its reputation and have still only heard it once).  "Sorry But It's Over" always felt a little like if Opeth had listened to some post-rock. 

[nick_z]

Man, I listened to Catch Without Arms SO much when it came out in 2005.

I remember thinking at first - the songs are amazing, but this is a little more streamlined than El Cielo, so it might not have the same longevity...I'll get tired of it soon. Well, I kept listening, and I didn't get tired of it  Great, great album. Such brilliant arrangements, and fantastic guitar and drum work.

Again, I truly can't decide if I like CWA or El Cielo better. And, again, it doesn't really matter