Recommend me some 2022 albums +1000th album halp

[rayword45]

Day 1042: Isn​’​t It Now? by Animal Collective

I'm gonna piss off some friends of mine with this one.

Mid.

Best Track: no
Rating: 4.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 1043: Softscars by yeule (Album Choice: Anon E. Mouse)

Friend told me to listen to this in order to hype me up for her upcoming concert for which I do not yet have tickets. I'll probably go, but I'm banking on some of her terminally online stans giving away their tickets for free on Reddit like I've taken advantage of for other musicians with fanbases that consist largely of zoomer shut-ins with poor social skills and an allergy to sunlight.

This is a lot noisier and more abrasive than her album from last year, which I liked but didn't love. Outside of that, I'd say it's highly unlikely that this would change anyone's opinion of the artist if they're coming from a place of having listened to said prior albums. It's pretty solid, a few duds here and there and rough around the edges but I like it. Bonus points for the Aphex Twin reference in the closer title.

I want to write more but I'm busy. Now back to to the rat race.

Best Track: joe mama
Rating: 7.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 1043: Javelin by Sufjan Stevens

there were actually several other albums i intended to review first that i have listened to but i just wanted to jot this one down so i can pre-emptively get it out of the way

yes aperson, i am mayo

Best Track: joe mama
Rating: 9/10

[rayword45]

Day 1044: Softscars by yeule

Just haikus for now
Getting this over with fast
Dece but overhyped

Sad I missed her live
But PFT signed my book
So worthy trade-off

Best Track: Softscars
Rating: 7/10

[rayword45]

Day 1045: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski

Also pretty good
But also overrated
I preferred the synths

Best Track: idk whatever the TikTok kids say, they're making her concerts cost a million dollars
Rating: 6.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 1046: Again by Oneohtrix Point Never

Now THIS is awesome
Up there with his oldest best
Not a second bored

Best Track: Ubiquity Road
Rating: 9/10

[radioamor]

Originally Posted by rayword45

Day 1046: Again by Oneohtrix Point Never

Now THIS is awesome
Up there with his oldest best
Not a second bored

Best Track: Ubiquity Road
Rating: 9/10

I've been a little conflicted on this one. I can observe the mastery on display within the album but it simultaneously feels like a feature-length jamming session. I will agree that it seems like Daniel is channeling his early 2010s self, which I vastly prefer over his recent efforts (I haven't been on board for much after R Plus Seven, although his score for Uncut Gems fucked me right up). Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Maybe I'll listen to it again (heh) until I brute force myself into thinking it's a masterwork.

[rayword45]

Day 1047: Voir Dire by Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist

Let's try something different.

I've listened to this album 3 times now, no word on whether or not I'll listen more times. Anyways, I'm not going to give any sort of opinion here. Instead, I want you to guess which song was my favorite and what rating I'd give this. Let's see how predictable I am!

Best Track: *************
Rating: X/10

[rayword45]

Day 1048: Echoes by Fire! Orchestra

On the other hand, I'll try to actually write some stuff for this one, although it's not gonna be very in-depth. I've already made it clear over the years that these guys (along with the non-orchestral trio Fire!, who I may like more but not sure really) scratch a certain itch for me that most jazz I listen to doesn't. Why? I dunno, maybe it's because I'm a hipster, or maybe it's because I dig their use of abrasive, noisy passages that eschew melody in favor of chaos.

This is by far their most ambitious album yet, clocking in at nearly two hours across two CDs and running nearly twice as long as their next longest album. In some ways, that works in their favor as the sprawl of it all really allows you to enmesh yourself in the atmosphere they're trying to paint. In other ways, it feels a bit overkill, and I found myself losing a bit of attention towards the end when it felt like it was getting a bit repetitious. The technical and compositional side of things remains as impressive as ever, although I found most of the vocal additions to be superfluous albeit not enough to detract from anything really, and I found myself enjoying the interludes as much as the long ambitious pieces.

I dunno, I liked listening to the album, I think it's very well done, but I can't see myself returning to it that often, certainly not as much as something like She Sleeps! She Sleeps!. I'm gonna give this a good rating because I feel like it matches what I felt on my first go-around, but maybe this will change down the line. That is, if I ever decide to dedicated a full two hours to this behemoth again.

Best Track: Echoes: Cala boca menino probably?
Rating: 7.5/10

[rayword45]

Day 1049: Paths by G Jones

Pretty solid wonky stuff, and probably the perfect length because I feel like if this was any longer it'd get annoying but as it is it's all killer no filler. Also makes me excited at the prospect of seeing him live again.

Welp, onto the next one.

Best Track: Maybe
Rating: 8/10

[rayword45]

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

[Lambdadelta]

Lil Kevo 303 - The Taste of Food is My Reason for Living

[rayword45]

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

[rayword45]

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

[rayword45]

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

[rayword45]

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

[rayword45]

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

[rayword45]

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

[ToonE156]

you should listen to that new Paramore album This Is Why

[rayword45]

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