Recommend me some 2021 albums halp

[rayword45]

Day 826: Lei Light Eon by Iglooghost

Compared to Neo Wax Bloom this is way, WAY less energetic and hectic. It seems to be focused on creating soundscapes and atmospheres instead of herky-jerky bangers like that album, but there's often still too much going on for this to qualify as "ambient". I dunno, I'm not crazy for this one after two listens.

Best Track: Light Gutter
Rating: 5/10

[rayword45]

Day 827: Chemtrails Over The Country Club by Lana Del Rey

I remember right before she announced the title of this album, she had that whole controversy where everyone ended up accusing her of being a cop-dating racist and I had a good laugh. Then she announced this album title and I had an even bigger laugh.

Sadly, this album isn't good for a laugh. It's... pretty mediocre. Just average soft rock and ballads for the entire 45 minutes. Nothing sticks out good or bad, this is just middling. Good production at the very least, but I fail to see how anyone could be amazed by this stuff. I say good for the LGBTQIA+ community (or really, just the gay men) that they mostly ditched her for Charli XCX as their cis het woman icon.

Best Track: I hate school
Rating: 5/10

[rayword45]

Day 828: Zapper by NANORAY

Yay, something I actually like to come out of this year, this reminds me a lot of Machine Girl's earlier releases, except honestly I think this has a bit more kick and style (and weeb) to it. I need to get back to work, and also find more shit to listen to.

I think I'm heavily biased at the moment towards

A. Shit that makes me wanna go to the club (because I can't, even though most things I listen to that sound like club music are actually nothing like most of the clubs I go/went to)
B. Shit that makes me think of sex (this does not I promise you)

Best Track: Salmon Cannon
Rating: 8/10

[rayword45]

Day 829: In Ferneaux by Blanck Mass

Phase I was really good. Phase II lost me. This guy should stick to making songs under 10 minutes with actual titles.

Also, is Fuck Buttons good as dead? Is this guy just gonna keep trucking on solo while Andrew Hung scores for Jim Hosking or whatever? I'm okay with that I just wanna know.

Best Track: Phase I
Rating: 5.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 830: Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine by Brockhampton

Apparently nowadays all the kids on TikTok are saying shit "omg my Brockhampton phase ewwwww" and you know what? Fuck them. To this day, I still think Saturation II/III absolutely slap and are loaded to the brim with bangers, capture many different moods quite perfectly and most of all gave us some of the most enjoyable cuts to shout along to with your friends. Does that make me super white? Maybe (although most of the fans of this band that I've ended up meeting have been POC women) but I don't care.

However, I will say that since 2017 when these guys were the hot new thing (god, I can't believe it's been nearly 4 years since the summer of these guys and Flower Boy, take me back indeed) pretty much everything they've dropped has been garbage. There's been good cuts here and there but none of their album projects really stuck with me (iridescence actually got WORSE upon further listens) and I was wondering if they were running out of steam, or if the expulsion of Ameer Vann did something to throw the group chemistry out of whack, even though he wasn't that interesting of a rapper.

Anyways, this album is surprisingly good! I think waiting two years to drop it did them well, as it is a bit front-loaded but in general is surprisingly consistent, with only two or three songs really doing nothing for me or worse (typically when they lean more into that "boy band" sound they're trying to ditch) and some of the best cuts rival the best shit they did at their peak. I'm not amazed by this album, but I was expecting it to be a lot worse than it is. Also, having features permeate throughout for the first time ever was a VERY smart move. The features often dominate over the actual group members (wassup Danny Brown) but in reality, who cares if it makes for better music? And even when the track isn't good, sometimes the features give it a bit more value (I'm not a fan of I'll Take You On but Charlie Wilson definitely adds some much needed flair to it).

Okay, I really need to get to finishing this assignment due tonight.

Best Track: Buzzcut or The Light
Rating: 7/10

[rayword45]

Day 831: Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & London Symphony Orchestra

Yeah it's pretty and I enjoyed it throughout but I guess I'm just not smart enough to see why this is flooring everyone. I also definitely enjoyed it way more during the first half.

Okay back to work.

Best Track: This is just one long piece really, even if it's frontloaded
Rating: 6/10

[rayword45]

Day 832: CLAMOR by Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés

Finally something on the charts I really like! I usually find a language barrier hard to get past but I don't care if these lyrics translate to absolute garbage, everything from production to melody to how the album is structured is just perfect and leaves you wanting more. I want more.

Best Track: Tras de ti
Rating: 8.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 833: Never The Right Time by Andy Stott

I like the fully ambient tracks best here, and that includes the interlude. I like this quite a bit as a whole regardless, although some parts get a bit boring the whole space of the thing is hitting me well right now. FIND ME A JOB.

Best Track: Dove Stone
Rating: 7.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 834: Harlecore by Danny L Harle

I saw this had a high number of ratings and I was thinking to myself "hmmm.... where have I heard of this guy before?" Halfway through the album, I remembered that this guy was tied to [adult swim] somehow. Then right around when I finished my first listen, I remembered that this guy's was used on the Nazi show they had for 6 weeks! I'm not gonna bother googling to figure out if this guy has any weird political affiliations, I've already listened to this whole thing.

And my opinion? God, that was ANNOYING. A few tracks were bouncy fun that made me think of club nights, but the majority of it just agitated me to no end. I don't doubt that this guy could definitely make some bangers, but the whole aesthetic of this album reminds me of hyperpop, and I dislike the vast majority of hyperpop. I tried to give this and started skipping whenever a track was getting on my nerves, and that was more than half the songs. Ugh.

So close to graduation. So far from getting a job. So scared of the future.

Best Track: For So Long
Rating: 4/10

[rayword45]

Day 835: Autoditacker by Mouse on Mars

I did the stupid thing and go for the highest rated release on RateYourMusic when I should've looked for Bill Maher's favorite albums of all time! Then I could've realized that his favorite from this band is... half as long. I've listened to this 3 times now.

And, uh, I like this a lot actually. Some of these songs sound kinda... 90s, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, but always 90s. It's pretty varied stuff too, from ambient shit to stuff that would make any good club wanna dance to to stuff that I'd dance to alone and look like a weirdo to... I'm losing track here. Okay whatever this is majority good to me.

I'm a zoomer with the physical health, body and soul of a boomer I guess.

Best Track: Autoditacker
Rating: 7.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 836: WOW by Mouse on Mars (Person who called it a 5/5: you know it already)

bperson I don't understand this was not as good as the last one, sure there were some bangers but some of these tracks actually sucked/were kinda annoying. It's still more good than bad but just, like, barely.

Also what's with all the dumb interludes (I think like 1 of those was good)

Welp, time for class.

Best Track: Pun
Rating: 6/10

[freedg]

My Heart, an Inverted Flame - Plague Notes, Unnamed, Unknown, A Finger Dragged Through Dust
electronic, metal, synth doom, drone, psychedelic, sludge

underscores - fishmonger
indie pop, hyperpop, electronic, indie rock, pop rock

still crisp - REPRESENTED BY PUPPETS
big beat, electronic, bass, chill, dubstep, funk, hardcore, hip hop, house, techno

[aperson]

Originally Posted by rayword45

Day 836: WOW by Mouse on Mars (Person who called it a 5/5: you know it already)

bperson I don't understand this was not as good as the last one, sure there were some bangers but some of these tracks actually sucked/were kinda annoying. It's still more good than bad but just, like, barely.

Also what's with all the dumb interludes (I think like 1 of those was good)

Welp, time for class.

Best Track: Pun
Rating: 6/10

Every day I become more convinced your problem is low quality audio listening rig!!!! You can even still hear all the frequencies I can't with your babby zoomer ears too!

[rayword45]

Day 837: Sweep It Into Space by Dinosaur Jr

Well, this is a bit better than their 2016 album (which I like less now versus then) at least. Like... Maybe 2 percent less middling?

This took them 5 years to make? What the hell? When the reunion started they were cranking shit out significantly faster and those albums were all way better. Whatever.

Best Track: not gonna bother
Rating: 6/10

[rayword45]

Day 838: AAI by Mouse on Mars (Album Choice: William Mah- eh...)

Once again old man, I'm not quite sure I understand your refrigerator taste. I'd say this was better than WOW but still had a lot of filler in there. Still, because it didn't seem quite as dated I'd ALMOST put it on par with the other one I listened to.

Best Track: No, seriously, FIND ME A JOB
Rating: 7/10

[aperson]

pdp iii - pilled up on a couple of doves

[rayword45]

Day 839: Yasuke by Flying Lotus

I actually liked this one a lot more than Flamagra, shorter songs do this man well!

Best Track: eat my ass
Rating: 7/10

[rayword45]

Day 840: In the Corners of a Sphere-Filled Room by Pile

Well, y'all all know or SHOULD know how much I love this fucking band. I still think they're the absolute greatest thing to ever come out of my hometown of Boston. This album is a real departure from their norm though, with no actual verse-chorus-verse songs or pop-friendly structures to be found. Instead, this is a mix of what mostly seems like jams or demos mashed together and fucked with to create a sort of ambient/post-rocky experience.

Do I like it? Yeah, I do, but not as much as I usually enjoy these guys, and I expect I'll be returning to it a lot less than I STILL return to Special Snowflakes or Don't Touch Anything or Pets or Worms. I applaud Rick for being experimental as all heck but I want an album of songs.

Best Track: Do you like waffles? Yeah we like waffles. Do you like pancakes? Yeah we like pancales. Do you like Fre
Rating: 6.5/10