Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1001: All Fiction by Pile

You didn't really think I was gonna give up on this thread, did you? I've been doing it to zero fanfare for years now already, why would I stop just because I reached a milestone nobody cares about?

This would've also been a pretty fitting 1000th review, due to my discovery of this band occurring fairly early into the thread's existence, my first review of them coming not too long later and my continued fandom of them nearly a decade later. I saw these guys live for the fifth time just a couple of weeks ago, at the second of two sold-out or nearly sold-out shows in NYC. It's so weird to see how much more successful they are after leaving Boston.

I mention this because this was the first time I heard any songs off this album, where they played about half of it mixed in with other older cuts (mostly off A Hairshirt of Purpose) and I STILL haven't heard them play Prom Song much to my chagrin. I must admit that the songs I heard worked better in a live setting than here. I also must admit I prefer this band when they're a four-piece, as the trio set up just didn't sound as full and bold. I know why, however, they reduced down so I get it. So weird to be in the know about things the general public doesn't.

Overall, this album is neither their strongest nor weakest effort. There are a lot of well-written songs but I don't think they're as consistently hard-hitting as those on Green and Gray nor do the peaks reach Magic Isn't Real's best heights. It's also not mixed and produced in a way that I think is complimentary to the album, but that's been an issue since around 2017 when they seemed to go more hi-fi. But these are mostly nitpicky because overall, this is still solid stuff, and I'd be excited to see them a sixth time.

I really need to bump more stuff from this year, sooner rather than later. I have a lot of catch-up to do.

Best Track: Nude with a Suitcase
Rating: 6.5/10

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Day 1002: Dogsbody by Model/Actriz

I have the same opinion on this as I do what currently seems like every time a new noise rock release gets massive hype by terminally online music nerds with autism. I can see this being fun live, but otherwise, I don't get the hype and outside of a few tracks, this is boring.

Melon ruined noise rock because everyone just wants more stuff that sounds like You Won't Get What You Want whereas I want my last millennium-styled stuff. There was plenty of stuff in the 80s and 90s that was dark like the aforementioned mega-cancelled album baldy undeservedly gave a 10/10, but even when that stuff was dark, like say, The Jesus Lizard or Shellac, it was still FUN. Not this self-serious moody crap.

Best Track: Amaranth
Rating: 5/10

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Day 1003: 10,000 gecs by 100 gecs



My opinion of this band's debut has not changed at all since initially reviewing it, no matter how many other zoomers tell me that I'm a boomer because I don't "get it" or whatever.

It's not a fully anti-hyperpop thing either, as I think that many other acts in that scene or adjacent to them have composed some great songs even if I have yet to be wowed by a full project. SOPHIE (RIP), Dorian Electra, Alice Gas, dltzk, all of these have produced songs in a similar style and vibe to cuts off that debut album that seemingly took the world by storm, but all of those are artists where I'd say they made actual good songs. And I've also been to several raves and parties where people played hyperpop including cuts from that album, and in that context I was having fun, but whenever I go back, sit down and listen to Stupid Horse or Money Machine I just think to myself "What a wonderful world!" ...Uh wait, sorry, what I meant to say is but whenever I go back, sit down and listen to Stupid Horse or Money Machine I just think to myself "is this supposed to be an irony thing? Am I really getting too old now?"

Well the answer to that second question is yes regardless of any musical opinions, but I have to admit, I came into this album expecting more meme-tier bullshit that would continue to bewilder me, but honestly this was a lot better than I could've possibly anticipated! People have made claims that they "ditched" hyperpop but this still has a lot of that vocal filtering and post-internet vibe to it, it's just less overt, and very slightly less at that. This is still more discernibly hyperpop in its sound than anything I've heard from SOPHIE or Charli XCX. Where it differs from the debut is that it seems less like "nightcore for people who hate anime" and it seems less desperate to deliberately annoy listeners with jarring pitched-up vocals, fuzzy low-fidelity instrumentals and generally bizarre production choices, and instead feels like a hyperpop-styled tribute to shitty mid-00s scene music, which is fairly fitting considering the fanbase this stuff tends to attract being is terminally online Gen Z LGBTQIA+ who wish they could've lived through the MySpace era but, unlike myself, weren't privy by their elementary school years to all the grooming, gross fetishization of mental illness, lame music and obnoxious capitalization gimmicks that were rampant in those years. Thanks fiffer!

I still can't call myself a fan of these guys, but I'm so impressed by how much I don't hate this that it makes it even funnier to me that there seems to be some backlash against this album for "selling out" according to some purists. Although it's still pretty annoying in it's terminally online abrasive production, a few of these songs are an actual blast of fun. This is certainly no masterpiece, as you can only go so far when you're aping music that already sucked 15-20 years ago and almost all of their best ideas are used up within the first half of this very short album, but it's not that bad! Sometimes, that's enough for me.

Best Track: Doritos & Fritos
Rating: 6/10 (yup, better than that Model/Actriz album)

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Day 1004: whatever the new Rebecca Black was called

Is this better than Friday? Yes!

Is this as good as people online claim? No!

Is it at least decent? Yes!

Best Track: deez nuts
Rating: 6/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

I hated the first 100000000000000000000 gecs album so much that I'm not even going to bother listening to the new one

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1005: Scaring The Hoes by JPEGMafia and Danny Brown

Perhaps the greatest album title of all-time? Not sure.

Before I listened to this album, my friend was raving about it and I said "I bet Danny just raps circles around Peggy". Boy howdy I was wrong! Despite the crossing of fanbases and somewhat similar aggressive appeal between these two artists, Danny REALLY isn't mean for this type of production, and he gets drowned out behind the beats a lot.

That's my only complaint. It's a significant one, but I like just about every one of these tracks otherwise. Hmmm...

Not better than Atrocity Exhibition or Veteran to my ears. Probably not better than LP! either.

Best Track: Fentanyl Tester
Rating: 7.5/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

I'm interested in your thoughts on Mildred by Grim Salvo

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1006: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek

The other day, someone asked me why I'm so fond of eating ass. They also called it my "gimmick". Now I personally believe that those vehemently against the intimate act of analingus are boomers and prudes, but the first part was a question worth asking as I proved myself to be unable to articulate my thoughts in the heat of the moment. It's one of those questions like "why do you enjoy eating this dish other than that it tastes good?" or "why didn't you leave your ex earlier than you did?" that truly has many little facets which colorfully illustrate the passion associated with your response, but when asked on the spot, you're more likely to flub up your words than not.

So if I try to put this into writing, will it work any better? Well, let's go over some facets of this whole thing that stack together:

1. The intimacy - As I mentioned, I consider analingus to be one of the most intimate of the sexual acts. In the show Brockmire, a character once said "only a degenerate and a fool would eat a stranger's ass" and whether or not I agree with the sentiment, I cannot say that claim is without merit. Beyond the perceived chance for diseases unique to assplay, which I'd be the first to tell you are grossly overstated, there's a level of trust and communication that must be mutually achieved by both parties for the anal licking to be pleasurable for both parties. One must trust that their partner has good hygiene, is not ashamed of the act, trusts the other person highly, actually gets the enjoyment they state they do out of the act, the list goes on!

Millions of people around my age have had casual sex with someone they never talked to again after the fact, and sometimes the finer details can be truly revolting, yet I think casual ass-eating is an incredibly rare occurrence, as it should be! A relationship with regular analingus containing mutual enjoyment is one with some desirably close connection. Bonus points if both parties are both giving and receiving.

2. The taboo - The taboo isn't really much of a thing these days. A woman on a first date once asked me to say something kinky I do and when I replied with this topic, she immediately shot back with "dude, everyone eats ass these days". I'm getting left in the dust, aren't I?

But regardless of changing social norms around oral sex, there is still definitely SOME level of taboo associated with the act itself. How often is analingus mentioned in media, be it TV, movies, music or whatever, in comparison to fellatio and cunnilingus? How much is a man shamed for not eating pussy? How much is a man shamed for not eating ass? The taboo may only be existent as a relic of perception, but as long as we THINK that it's a deviant act, then there's some deviance attached. Or at least some level of not giving a fuck.

3. The physical sensation - I can't articulate this one. You just need to see what it feels like to have a wet tongue scrape your ring, what the sensation of thousands of taste buds bumping subtly up and down between your cheeks truly is like, or what it's like to see your partner's face hidden by your gluten when both of you are nude and vulnerable. Words just can't do it justice.

There's definitely more than just these 3 factors, but this is what I was able to come up with in the nick of time. Will this short diatribe convince anyone of the virtues of having their ass orally pleasured? Maybe, but probably not. Either way, I'm glad I have this written down somewhere. It's a good thing to have to refer back to down the line when this topic inevitably comes up again, in whatever context it does.

Anyways, this album was pretty good!

Best Track: The drum and bass ones
Rating: 7.5/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1007: Lil Pump 2 by Lil Pump

It's a strange feeling when you have little-to-no expectations for something, those expectations are met if not exceeded, and yet you still have a lingering sense of disappointment over the whole thing. I'm not sure the last time this has happened as I know it has happened before, but this album is a phenomenal example of such an occurrence for myself.

Unlike a lot of people, I've never had super strong opinions one way or the other on Pump. His albums and mixtapes have always been wildly inconsistent, his lyrics are a joke and his repetitive delivery is equal parts monotonous and generic, BUT Gucci Gang is a great party track, one that has no pretentiousness to it. It bangs you over the head with its intent and drills its vibe into the newly formed crack into your skull, to the point where I cannot imagine anyone falling in-between loving its infectiousness and loathing the whole stupidity of it all. From my own viewpoint, he has a handful of songs with the same quality of dumb fun, and then a whole bunch of bullshit.

So nobody's really cared about him for the past several years or so, and now he's come back newly sober. His whole persona was Xanax, MDMA and lean so I imagine a bunch of white teen fans ripped up their Harverd Dropout posters in a rage, but I'm glad that he's moving onto healthier lifestyles and I've never subscribed to the idea that you need drugs to reach peak creativity. Taking into account the fact that this dude is nearly 3 years younger than me, and almost a year younger than queen Ice Spice, his newfound cleanliness from substance abuse should be celebrated, not mocked or mourned. Ah well, so goes the culture.

My first exposure to anything from this album was two different friends, on two separate days, showing me the absolutely GLORIOUS Pump Rock x Heavy Metal. When I say this is going to be the song topping everyone's year end charts, I mean that. You HAVE to listen to this song yourself to really understand the magic behind it. This form of gold is achieved once in an artist's lifetime, and the mine has been struck, demolished and paved over for new gentrified developments.

Even with that though, I was fully expecting this album to be in line with past efforts. And you know what? I was 100% correct, this is no better and no worse than the vast majority of his prior output. It's just as mindless, just as monotonous, just as unabashedly idiotic. Claims that this album is uniquely bad amongst his output are even more ridiculous than claims that it's uniquely strong, what the fuck is the differentiator?

Ultimately, this is everything I was expecting, but part of me was really hoping for a whole album of "metal" songs. I knew it wouldn't happen, but a boy can dream, can't she? At the very least, the album is solid proof you don't need drugs to make music, because if you asked a group of people to pick which of his albums were made while sober, I don't think you'd get a lot of correct guesses. There's really nothing about this album that differentiates it from his output made while fried off a cocktail of illicit drugs, which is... Good? Bad? Whatever it is, it's extremely consistent I guess.

Seriously though, he's younger than Ice Spice?

Best Track: you know it
Rating: 3.5/10

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Day 1008: No Highs by Tim Hecker (Album Choice: choof but not really)

Y'all know I love this guy. Y'all also know that my least favorite album of his is what's usually considered the best, which is Incels. I mean Virgins.

Anyways, of all his prior albums I think this new one is closest to Virgins indeed, but I like this more. It's neither my favorite nor least favorite of all the Hecker releases I've heard. In fact, it's smack dab in the middle. Good? Yes. Mind-blowing? Nah, not really.

Best Track: Anxiety
Rating: 7.5/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1009: Nature Morte by Big Brave

On the other hand, here's something else I listened to a couple times through on my bus from Boston back home to NYC. If y'all remember how much I love KEN Mode then, assuming you listen to at least 5 seconds of their music, it should be no surprise that when you mix sludge metal, my favorite type of metal, and noise rock, the music that shaped my childhood and teen years, I will jizz all over the place and onto your mom's face.

With a band name like that, I thought this would be something similar to Big Black but it's actually damn near the opposite, where Albini's band that I wonder if these guys named themselves after is fast-paced, treble-y to the point of seeming to have intended discomforting effects and concise, this is a slow, atmospheric combination of drone-infused, Panopticon-esque post-metal and the noise rock I'm so sexually attracted to.

I'm not sure this qualifies as "sludge metal" but who gives a shit about labels? You know what this qualifies as? GOOD FUCKING MUSIC. At first the clean yet harsh (almost shrill) female vocalist raised my brow, but I came to really appreciate what she brought to the heady, doom vibe of the whole thing. All the songs are brooding and take their time to develop, but never ever boring to this pair of ears.

This is the best album I've heard to come out this year yet. I'm sure I'll hear many more albums that are just as good or better, but I won't be surprised if this ends up in my top 10, maybe even top 5.

Best Track: A Parable of the Trusting
Rating: 9/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1010: Ignore Grief by Xiu Xiu

I'm seeing this guy perform in 8 days! This album was enjoyable! Not exactly a melodic one, so fans of that Twin Peaks referencing album may be disappointed, but it fully achieves the creepy ambience it intends to develop and the stereo design is some of the best I've ever heard in terms of making the whole thing sound three-dimensional.

I like this more than the Lingua Ignota album baldy gave a 10.

Best Track: your father
Rating: 8/10

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Day 1011: 12 by Ryuichi Sakamoto

I've listened like 10 times now and I'm still not sure how much I truly like it.

Best Track: nah
Rating: 6.5/10

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Day 1012: Berdlycore Chapter 3 by xaev

I remember last year I really, really hate chapter 2 of whatever the fuck this series is. Now with an artist name change, here we have more of the same but slightly better. It's still some of the most slapdash, hit-or-miss stuff I've ever heard, and it can be VERY annoying when it misses, but there were some enjoyable cuts with some genuinely dope melodic passages.

My god this dude only turned 18 last July? I'm fucking old goddamnit.

Best Track: do you actually care?
Rating: 5/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1013: Nemesta by ТДК

Man, finally some good fucking noise rock from this year. I wish black midi sounded like this, THIS is what I expect when I hear "Brutal Prog" as a descriptor.

Best Track: Avtomontyora
Rating: 8/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

Day 1014: Congratulations by EYES

We're on a hot streak here! I saw this as one of the higher-ranked noise rock albums for the year, but it also having the subgenres "screamo" and "metalcore" turned me off from it before I listened to a second of it. That was a fat ass mistake, as this fucking SLAPS. This is way more sludgy than those aforementioned descriptors would make me think, it is indeed angsty and angry as you'd expect but it doesn't make me cringe like some Rise Records bullshit.

This stuff can get pretty same-y, not just this band but pretty much all bands with a similar sound, but it works here because they keep things brief and tight (the whole album clocks in under a half-hour) and the whole thing never relents with the in-your-face aggression. Compared to the much more popular Chat Pile, the vocals here work better for me as do the riffs. Compared to the much more cancelled Daughters, this seems way more interested in just being face-shredding rather than "dark" and "spooky" and all that crap, which fits the sardonic album art.

I'm gonna have to listen to this a bunch times more to see if it's a new favorite like KEN Mode's Loved or if it loses its luster with repeat listens. With the first few go arounds though, this may very well be the best thing I've heard all year thus far.

Best Track: Bbbbbbbliss
Rating: 9/10

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Day 1015: Rat Saw God by Wednesday

Yesterday was a very special day for me, in that it marked exactly 900 unique musical acts that I've seen live, and Pinback gave a fantastic performance which was a nice coincidence since it's really hard to control that due to counting opening acts. Any act I've seen more than once only counts once, and a lot of local acts I saw during high school and college are excluded because they have no RateYourMusic page. Crazy to think that when I started this review crap, I was 2 years away from seeing a concert on my own dime. How time flies!

Anyways, this album has been getting quite a bit of hype. I find it hit-or-miss. I like the fuzzy, shoegaze-esque guitar tones but the country vibes are less my thing. Ah well, onto the next one!

Best Track: not sure and don't feel like checking
Rating: 6/10

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Day 1016: Quest for Fire by Skrillex

I'm a tad bit late. Many have heralded this as a "comeback" of sorts for good ol Sonny Moore. Or actually, more like an "artistic redemption".

I understand those arguments completely. I do not agree with them. This is definitely less cheesy than classic Skrillex but nothing bangs as hard as Bangarang, pun intended, and it's very inconsistent stuff. Really, I just think people like it more because it's not 2010s style dubstep and they're haters.

Best Track: XENA
Rating: 5.5/10

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Day 1017: Live at Bush Hall by Black Country, New Road

I have to admit I was a bit too mean to the ant album and have mildly come around to it. I still think it's more overrated than Pete Davidson's looks but I think it's a middling album, 5.5-6/10 stuff. The debut is still wack.

My biggest complaint about this band was always the singer, but now that he's gone, what do we get?

About one half cringe tracks, one half okay tracks and one half good jams, although at least now the vocals are better across the board. Still prefer the awfully named Jockstrap.

Best Track: lichendies
Rating: 6/10

Re: Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp
 

check out water from your eyes' album when it comes out friday