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Day 1050: EXCELSIOR by Slauson Malone 1

Freeform like last one
But somehow more pop-friendly
Not as good, but aight

Best Track: this really should just be listened to as one continuous piece, even if it was probably slapped together from fragments written and recorded at various different points
Rating: 6/10

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Day 1051: Void by KEN Mode

If anything is surprising to me, it's that this ISN'T my favorite sludge metal-noise rock hybrid album of the year, as that would still have to go to the facestomping awesomeness of Congratulations by EYES.

Whereas Congratulations was a much more straightforward attack and sort of down-to-basics approach to this kind of "atonal shreds and over-the-top screams" style of music, this album is more clearly the product of a band that's been around for long enough and has released enough music to perhaps not want to make something so forthright. The majority of the album is still pretty much what I've come to expect from this band, mind you, but you also have the long, droning post-metal experiments with These Wires and A Reluctance of Being, and the almost jazz-y detour of We're Small Enough. While my favorites are definitely the more traditional screams-and-riffs cuts, these add a much-welcome sense of variety to the mix.

Perhaps contradictorily, what I find myself a little bit disappointed with here compared to the last two albums from this band is how safe a lot of this feels to me. Null frequently felt like it was on the brink of collapsing onto itself with how frenzied and crazy the songs felt, and Loved felt much more aggressive to my ears despite the songwriting maybe being a little more approachable. This is still a very solid, enjoyable album, but it's missing that spark. Perhaps it's because this is actually basically the second half of Null as the two were purportedly written and recorded together during the pandemic, as that would potentially explain the more familiar feeling this has.

Don't mind how negative this review is, I still enjoyed this a lot and would recommend this album, but I'd also recommend the previous two KEN Mode albums first. Solid, not a misstep or anything, just an unfortunate victim of my high expectations.

Best Track: He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer
Rating: 7.5/10

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Day 1051: Lahai by Sampha

Mid.

Best Track: This is a duplicate day bc my stupid ass reviewed that yeule album twice. At least the scores were nearly identical.
Rating: 6/10

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Day 1052: Blanket by Kevin Abstract

Midder.

Best Track: Genuinely can't pick one, this album is just so nothing to my ears. It makes me wonder if 2017 was lightning in a bottle, if the group effort really made that much of a difference or if nostalgia for that summer paints my current-day relistens, because I still think SATURATION II/III mostly hold up.
Rating: 5/10

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Day 1053: Action Adventure by DJ Shadow

Middest.

Best Track: lmfao why did i even listen to this i KNEW it was gonna suck
Rating: 3.5/10

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Day 1054: Quaranta by Danny Brown

Slightly less mid.

This will get slightly more actual words written about it, because that's a strong case of damning with faint praise. This is a solid album, but "solid" is a pretty muted reaction to what has been one of the most hyped albums of the entire year. Did Warp hold this back in hopes that Danny would improve upon what they gave him? And on the flip side, did they not realize that holding this back would only increase expectations?

I was fully expecting to like this more than Scaring The Hoes, at least more than the non-Peggy parts, but for all that didn't work on that project, it felt entirely fresh and experimental whereas this almost feels like a case of "phoning it in". We've been waiting 4 years now for the next solo project, and this feels less inspired than uknowhatimsayin? which itself already felt too safe for my tastes.

Maybe repeat listens will reveal something more to me, but otherwise this is a decent 34 minutes of music and nothing more, which makes that 4 year gap all the more unrewarding.

Best Track: Jenn’s Terrific Vacation
Rating: 6.5/10

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Day 1055: Se bueno by TURQUOISEDEATH

Man, I really wish I enjoyed this more than I have upon giving it a couple of listens.

It's certainly an ambitious work of art, one that experiments with a lot of different genres while maintaining a cohesive sound throughout. It's also clearly had a lot of polish put into it before release while still feeling freewheeling and loose. For a debut album this seems very self-assured, like it knows exactly what its going for and nailing it with confidence. It pays homage to its influences but doesn't sound like a ripoff of any of them, and despite clocking in at nearly an hour it doesn't overstay its welcome or ever really get boring.

So why don't I like this more? Really, I don't know. Perhaps it comes across as too "online" for my tastes? But so do tons of other favorites of mine such as Nanoray, as do the obvious influences that I've enjoyed more than this like Sewerslvt. Maybe it's that aforementioned polish causing the whole thing to feel "safe" to the point where it feels muted to me? Maybe, but I don't think this is any safer than a lot of other albums I've enjoyed more. I dunno, something just isn't clicking for me and I'm really disappointed that it isn't because I feel like I'm missing out as a result. Oh well.

Best Track: Sinking Into You
Rating: 5.5/10

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you should listen to that new Paramore album This Is Why

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Day 1056: Perfect Picture by Hannah Diamond

Add another one to the list of albums that I'd describe with some variation of "well-crafted, tight, doesn't overstay its welcome, no obvious filler, but I'm just not wowed by it even though I enjoy a good chunk of these songs." Hopefully most variations of that are less verbose.

I'm unsure if my unexplosive reaction to this means I'm too straight, not hipster enough, not /mu/-poisoned enough or some combination of the three. Still regret missing her concert a month and a half back because I forgot I had free entry due to being sleep-deprived at New York Comic Con when it was happening, as the hype makes me think I'm gonna have to pay next time. Oh well.

Best Track: (insert Charli XCX song title here as a joke)
Rating: 7/10

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Day 1057: Madres by Sofia Kourtesis

Like the last album I reviewed, I wasn't immediately floored by this release. I enjoyed every track on it to at least some degree, but I wasn't in love with the album as a whole. Where this one differs is that repeat listens of Miss Diamond had no effect on my opinion whatsoever, whereas extra time spent on this collection of songs revealed something else to me.

Unfortunately, I don't know what that revelation might be or how to put it into words except "this is better than I initially gave it credit for". Really, I think I just have come to appreciate the fact that not a single song here feels superfluous, along with how well-done the sequencing is. Also, those vocal bits are truly ethereal, with some parts reminding me of the first time I ever listened to Kelly Lee Owens whose 2020 release remains my favorite of that year (and not just because I ate ass to it). Is this as good as Inner Song? No, but I wouldn't say it's comparable to that at all - instead I'd just say this is a strong, confident release that deserves more than just a passing glance.

Best Track: How Music Makes You Feel Better
Rating: 8.5/10

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Day 1058: Everyone's Crushed by Water From Your Eyes (Album Choice: robertsona)

It only hit me a few weeks ago that I saw these guys exactly 362 days ago from today, when they were the second opener for the second time I saw Palm. RIP to that band, gonna miss them as they made two of my all-time favorite albums, one of which is my top 2022 release. That being said, considering how long it took them to write enough content for said 2022 release despite using a chunk of stuff, or at least two songs that they ended up using as singles, that was written and played live around the time of their most popular and most mid album (2018's Rock Island) perhaps it's for the best and we'll get to see some even better solo work from them down the line. Or perhaps they'll all fade into obscurity, who knows?

But this isn't me reviewing Palm! My predominant recollection of the Water For Your Eyes set in 2022 was that it was extremely abrasive and surprisingly heavy for a two-piece with no drummer or bassist. I thought they were cool but I was more into the way their soundscapes filled the room and made my skin vibrate than anything songwriting-wise, as the songs dragged on and on and on. I double-checked and they played 4 songs over a half-hour. That might work if you're a stoner metal outfit or ambient musician or something, but these guys are supposed to be hipster pop.

As a result, this really went against my expectations, as it's 9 songs and just barely over a half-hour total, with only two songs reaching past the 4-minute mark. And also, it definitely IS hipster pop with elements of noise, instead of what sounded like a noise/drone experiment with the slightest consideration to composition. Despite not being nearly as crushing as they were on stage, this actually manages to sound fuller due to the programming and mixing allowing for the minimal drum programming and low-end to come through past anything noisy here.

So I clearly enjoy this band more recorded than live, but what do I think overall? Well, I like it. A pretty good amount at that. The first few tracks are easily my least favorite and initially left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth as it gave me the impression that this project was drenched in irony, but that was a misreading and those songs were earnestly lame. Starting around track 4 this thing picks up a LOT and for such a short release they manage to cover a lot of ground - walls of feedback are all over this thing, but some songs are straight indie pop, some are more rhythmic and dance-y (though I would hate to see the crowd at one of their shows try to dance), and hell the last song sounds like fucking Man Or Astro-man? or something. And as a bonus, the longest track here, which is the penultimate cut so I assume intended to be the emotional climax/closer, is fucking gorgeous.

Now if only those first 3 songs were better.

Best Track: 14
Rating: 8/10

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Day 1059: It's the End of the World, But It's a Beautiful Day by Thirty Seconds to Mars

At first I wanted to review the absolute worst album of the year according to the RateYourMusic bottom charts, but the #1 spot was taken by Tom McDolan and I do not currently have the desire to listen to a racist. Then #2 was Sixixnineine and I do not currently have the desire to listen to a pedophile. Then I just didn't feel like listening to whatever 3 and 4 were and #5 was Lil Pump 2 which I already determined was fairly bad but not totally irredeemable. Nothing with Pump Rock x Heavy Metal could ever be a flat 0-1/10 that song is just too good.

Regardless, I have way too many memories of this band and their fans from my younger years, and absolutely none of these memories are positive in any way whatsoever. Also, my excuse for not listening to Pedophile Ronald McDonald is no longer valid considering that I forgot that this was Jared Leto's project... Hey, with all the 4+ word band names from this era, a mix-up is unsurprising.

Anyways, for the most part, I don't think this is THAT much worse than their peak popularity stuff, but it's still pretty fucking bad lol. For the most part it's incredibly bland electropop, but there's something about the way it's performed and/or produced that makes it quickly grow irritating. There's like 2 or 3 tracks that I'd go as nice as saying "that was nothing more than a mid pop song" but the majority of this just pisses me off, even though it shouldn't merit such a strong reaction since it's also so damn uninteresting.

Maybe my disdain for this is a subconcious reaction to the fact that I'm fucking listening to Jared Leto.

I don't really want to write any more.

Best Track: the closer was... almost okay
Rating: 2/10

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Day 1060: Census Designated by Jane Remover

I wanted to like this, and maybe I would've if these songs weren't all way longer than they needed to be... But honestly probably not, for every element of this album that I enjoy or at least think is cool and/or creative, there's another thing that's just irritating. If you condensed these songs all down to half length then you'd just be barraged with annoyances twice as fast, and if you cut out said annoyances entirely you'd basically just have a completely different genre of music. Credit where credit is due, this is at the very least a very realized and very individual expression of one's artistic desires.

Gonna stop here because the more I write the more likely I am to be murdered by some terminally online late zoomer with 2000s envy.

Best Track: Lips
Rating: 3.5/10

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Day 1061: The Greater Wings by Julie Byrne

It's pretty, but it's pretty dull.

Best Track: is she related to David?
Rating: 5/10

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Day 1062: Objects Without Pain by Great Falls

And here we have another album where I can clearly tell that it is absolutely a triumph for the artist in terms of nailing the exact sound they wanted to make, while also not "clicking" with whatever they're going for from a personal, subjective standpoint at all. There's so many elements in here that should be exactly what I love - aggressive noise rock that doesn't let its (very obvious) artsy side overtake the whole "rock" part of it (or the noise part), sludgy guitars that fill your whole skull up with their tone, structural experimentation that comes off as refreshing and innovative while remaining unpretentious to the core, et cetera et cetera.

This really is just a weird one to score, and as a result I feel as if it's almost folly to say much more. This album isn't for me, but it's definitely well-done enough that I'm positive that someone who is a bit more in love with this band's specific style/genre mishmash/tone/atmosphere/whatever would be able to praise this much more

Best Track: poop on my butt
Rating: 6/10

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Day 1063: Microworlds by CloZee

This is a very solid collection of songs that is decent enough listened to while working on headphones but is very obviously going to be much more enjoyable heard blasting from a dark stage. I feel as if CloZee could make something more home-listener oriented if she wanted to, but I mean, this is still pretty good? And since the money is in touring I assume that's her focus, so I'm just glad this seems at least modestly coherent as a singular work.

Best Track: Antares
Rating: 7/10, but her closing performance at EZoo 2022 was an easy 9.5/10, and shame on all the basic Asian bros and basic Asian bitches who went and saw Midtin Garrix play the exact same setlist he had been using for at least a year prior. When I saw him perform an identical or nearly-identical set in May 2022 it was like a 5/10. I laugh even harder at the Asians who saw that Garrix set, then bought tickets for his official EZoo afterparty in Brooklyn for over $100, including a handful who had already paid $60-80 for other afterparties. Keep in mind that's BEFORE Ubers are factored in - which, going from uptown Manhattan down to Brooklyn, would cost like $80-90+ due to surges after EZoo gets out. When a group of like 30 Asians told me about their plan and tried to get me to join in, I told them how bro played the same set at EZoo as he did in DC that May, and told them that a quick Google search indicated that his Brooklyn show was going to be the same set they had just watched less than 2 hours prior. They all said that I was wrong, and riddle me this: what, WHAT, did they bitch about the next day? Well actually, they bitched about a multitude of annoyances that were the fault of Brooklyn Mirage, a place that I always shit on for their various sketchy, unethical and/or mafia-esque practices, but what was the only complaint they had that was Garrix's fault?! I'm sorry if I've already told you this story, but right now I'm just writing this because it's mad funny that the rating section is the longest part.

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Day 1064: Space Heavy by King Krule

For the record, I listened to this when it was still relatively new, didn't write anything, listened to it again a few days ago, and still didn't write anything and now don't have the motivation to. Upon first listen I gave it like a 5 but I think that was too harsh and bumped that to a 6.5/10.

This on the other hand, I listened to when it was still relatively new, didn't write anything, listened to it again a few days ago, still didn't write anything and didn't have the motivation to, and just gave it a THIRD listen and still didn't feel like writing anything. But after three listens, I'm counting this as an entry because fuck everyone else this is my thread I make the rules.

Best Track: the 2020 album was better
Rating: 6/10

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Day 1065: SAVED! by Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter

This is a well-crafted, deeply emotional piece of art that deserves all the praise it's been getting, although it definitely is a step down from the more obviously personal and harrowing Sinner Get Ready. However, there are times when the tape effects get a bit too over-the-top for their own good and man, I just can't imagine listening to this more than a few times a year. I respect this more than I enjoy it.

Best Track: I Will Be With You Always
Rating: 7/10

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Day 1066: Ley by Approaching Mountains

This was great for curing my headache at work today. And good on the train. So it's good.

Best Track: yes
Rating: 8/10