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Post by mookie on Nov 11, 2023 12:18:06 GMT -6
Any love for MSPAINT? Debut is basically nu metal with non dogshit lyrics. Also Militarie Gun's debut on was solid too. Yeah, MSPAINT is pretty board approved. They ended playing like 5 shows in Chicago this year, so most of us around here got to see them |
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Post by munkivelli on Nov 11, 2023 13:06:55 GMT -6
Any love for MSPAINT? Debut is basically nu metal with non dogshit lyrics. Also Militarie Gun's debut on was solid too. Probably going to be in my top 20 albums this year, but I admittedly haven't even started thinking about list yet. |
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Post by munkivelli on Nov 11, 2023 13:18:44 GMT -6
I am kind of a diy emo stan, so I don't know how these will play with the board at large, but a few recent releases that are moving up my charts...
Equipment - Alt.Account
Clipboards - Endless Days
...and a couple of solid EPs...
Aren't We Amphibians - Emergency, Exit
saturdays at your place - always cloudy
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Post by obmit on Nov 11, 2023 15:59:29 GMT -6
Lifeguard is from Chicago right? Saw them open for Horsegirl back in August (also hung out with Kevin Morby and Katie Crutchfield that night). They were great and I enjoy their EP. "Alarm" is a ripper.
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Post by reviewzz on Nov 11, 2023 20:47:51 GMT -6
Any love for MSPAINT? Debut is basically nu metal with non dogshit lyrics. Also Militarie Gun's debut on was solid too. MSPAINT album rules. |
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Post by reviewzz on Nov 11, 2023 20:54:07 GMT -6
For anyone with a pop-punk sweet tooth this one is reviewzz approved.
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Post by munkivelli on Nov 12, 2023 0:29:45 GMT -6
For anyone with a pop-punk sweet tooth this one is reviewzz approved. I also approve this message. |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 12, 2023 13:56:20 GMT -6
For anyone with a pop-punk sweet tooth this one is reviewzz approved. Yooooo this fucking ripped. I wasn’t a fan of whatever previous Origami Angel stuff I’d heard, but I loved this. Like a sugar rush that also unrelentlessly shredded. A+ running soundtrack too. |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 13, 2023 14:59:59 GMT -6
We're back for another week of 2023 album discussion! Today we have...  Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a JunkyardI heard this a couple times when it came out, and I was pretty nonplussed. I was a big fan of the Youth Lagoon project back in the day. I started listening to new releases in 2012/2013, and Wondrous Bughouse was a HUGE favorite of mine. I was proper obsessed, and I went back and loved Year of Hibernation equally as much. Youth Lagoon, believe it or not, was one of the first 7 or 8 concerts I ever went to (of my own volition). I was just so-so on the 3rd album and never liked any of his "solo" stuff. Time moved on, I got into other music, and - tho those two Youth Lagoon albums are special to me - they're not records I revisit super often.
All this to say, given the good reviews and fan enthusiasm about this record... plus my history with the project... I felt I owed it another shot. So I listened again last week and I was floored. Idk what changed. Maybe I was less distracted? Maybe I actually listened to the lyrics for the first time? Either way, I've been listening to it again and again over the last few days, and it's steadily climbing up my AOTY rankings. It's not an aesthetic exercise as much as his earlier stuff. Really, it's a collection of Good Songs, deftly and minimally adorned, that work exceptionally well on an emotional level. Favorites are "Idaho Alien," "Prizefighter," and especially "Trapeze Artist". I'm happy that I gave it a second chance.
Did you hear this record? What did you think? What records this year have grown on you most over time? |
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Post by neader on Nov 13, 2023 15:07:30 GMT -6
Yeah v good album
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Post by mookie on Nov 13, 2023 15:16:07 GMT -6
Definitely love the YL album, definitely grew on me too. Mercury is gorgeous and I absolutely love the chorus on that one
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Post by claypoolfan on Nov 13, 2023 19:34:01 GMT -6
Any love for MSPAINT? Debut is basically nu metal with non dogshit lyrics. Sir this band does not even have a guitar in it |
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Post by Tweet on Nov 13, 2023 19:55:11 GMT -6
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 14, 2023 11:10:42 GMT -6
Today or tomorrow I'm thinking of having a jazz corner around these parts, but for now I'll start with this...  Arooj Aftab / Vijay Iyer / Shahzad Ismaily - Love in ExileMaybe my biggest musical regret of 2023 is not seeing this trio live. I skipped them at Big Ears for another set, and I had a conflict with their NYC tour date. The logic was: I'd seen Arooj (in 2022), Vijay (in February), and Shahzad (in several different ensembles) before, so it shouldn't be a big deal. That, ladies and gentlemen, was a mistake. This trio is special. Such an austerely beautiful elegance to their music. It has the textural palette of an ambient record. The intuition and emotional payoff of a jazz record. And commands your attention as much with its silence as its bravado. This trio is 2023's best feat of alchemy, offering up some of the year's best music. This isn't gonna hit if you listen on the train, or while distracted. Really sit with it, hear it. It'll be worth your time. Have you heard this one? What did you think? What are your biggest live music regrets of the year? |
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Post by teekoh on Nov 14, 2023 13:00:35 GMT -6
Excellent record, excellent live show.
As far as live music regrets, I’m bummed I missed Sumac a few weeks ago cuz I was sick. Really want to see them.
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 15, 2023 10:44:25 GMT -6
Guess what? It's Jazz Day here at this 2023 Discussion thread! I'm gonna post a handful of my favorites and a brief descriptor of why I love them, and what fanbases they'd most likely appeal to.  Asher Gamedze - Turbulence and Pulse Internal Anthem's best new signing of 2023. A gifted drummer, Asher is a focal point of the booming South African scene. His 2020 record Dialectic Soul is perhaps the decade's best jazz record, and this - his proper full-ensemble follow-up - is a worthy successor. It keeps the gospel-esque rootings of DS, but imbues them with a restless, compelling motion. Check out "Can't See The Sun" to hear Asher and bassist Thembinkosi Mavimbela flex their rhythmic chops. And the melodies here are stirring earworms. "Alibama" is the hit in that regard. The rhythm section running ragged while the horns play a lilting tune that recalls Ayler's simple, powerful melodic ear. FFO: Spiritual jazz, Coltrane's Love Supreme freer era pre-Ascension, William Parker Quartet, bass and drums-forward mixing, post-bop that isn't afraid to get a little weird and a liiiiiitle free |
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Post by teekoh on Nov 15, 2023 10:50:50 GMT -6
That one’s a banger. Probably going to be in top 10 since you heathens make me assign value to such things.
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 15, 2023 12:09:50 GMT -6
Jazz album of the day #2...  Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Dynamic Maximum TensionBig band music in 2023! Darcy James Argue is one of the genre's go-to arrangers, and this is the first release from his big band project in like 7 years. Shit sounds cool as hell. This isn't some dated, backwards-looking-ass swing-era fetishism. This thing is alive. Gorgeous melodies, piercing counterpoints, and some seriously cool soloing. Feels spontaneously enough to be firmly categorized as jazz, yet the arrangements are so tight, punchy, and - well - cool that it never loses focus. Look, it's a long listen so I don't fault you for not trying the whole thing. But check out "Dymaxion," "Ebonite," "Mae West" (feat. Cecile McLorin Salvant), or "Tensile Curves" (a thirty-four minute "answer" to Ellington's “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue". FFO: The Atomic Mr. Basie, Ellington at Newport, Mingus' Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, jazz that pushes forward without striving for freedom or fusion |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 15, 2023 13:06:01 GMT -6
Jazz Day Pt. 3...  The Circling Sun - SpiritsAn ensemble from New Zealand, of all places, making some of the best spiritual jazz of the year. I only kinda liked the record on first listen because it was sooo heavily leaning on the sonic palette of those early Pharoah Sanders albums with Lonnie Liston Smith. But then I kept coming back to it, and it quickly bored its way into my brain. This shit is good. Just listen to the perfectly titled track "Bliss". Hand drums and simple bassline melody tethering us to earth, while the sax and piano go ecstatic over the top. And you'll get moments of that all throughout the album - "Bones", "Plume", the title track. They may not be smashing boundaries or anything, but this is perfectly distilled, uplifting cosmic jazz. A perfect way to spend 50 minutes. FFO: Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith, Sun Ra's "Island in the Sun" or Sleeping Beauty, Abdullah Ibrahim, outer space |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 15, 2023 13:35:06 GMT -6
Jazz Album #4... probably of 6? We'll see:  Linda May Han Oh - The Glass HoursI love when the bandleader is a bassist. Idk. They just seem to make the best records. Linda May Han Oh, one of the best bassists and composers on the scene, is no exception. This is a jazz record for any of the minimalist heads among us. Basslines in constant motion, scittering drums and piano accompaniments, and sax lines that weave through the tracks like a sleek river, rather than an overblown deluge. Not to mention the largely wordless vocals that punctuate each track's melodic core. If you hear one track on this record, make it "Chimera" - it perfectly exemplifies all the above qualities, and resolves into a gorgeous soundscape. I listened to this record back when it came out and immediately bought a ticket to see her in March. It was that good. FFO: Philip Glass, Vijay Iyer, Meredith Monk, Julia Holter |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 15, 2023 14:51:03 GMT -6
And now Jazz Album #5 - which concludes Jazz Day at the 2023 discussion thread. I decided to save the last one for another day / its own post. So closing out we have...  Benjamin Jephta - Born Coloured, not Born-freeA six-song suite that clocks in at just over half and hour, this record packs a tremendous punch in its brief runtime. Jephta, a bassist/composer from South Africa, puts together here a record that manages to fuse the hip-hop/electronic-tinged edges of the genre with the deep-rooted, warm sound of the cosmic South African scene. Seriously, check out "Gadija" - especially Pt. 2 - it'll bowl you right over. Frenetic and slick drumming like out of a Makaya McCraven record, with the sax energy of Shabaka, and a keen ear for melody. My favorite track is the closer, the Resurgence section of the title piece. Probably the best melody of jazz in 2023. With the bass and piano laying down a beautiful foundation and the horns lilting over them? It's equal parts plaintive and triumphant. It damn near moves me to tears. Do give this record a chance. FFO: Makaya McCraven, Shabaka, "Naima", some Brandee Younger stuff Some other folks who put out great jazz/jazz-adjacent record this year: -- Christian McBride's New Jawn: post-bop with a little William Parker chaos -- Irreversible Entanglements: probably my favorite album yet from this incredible Moor Mother-fronted project -- Scree: ensemble with mad Bill Frisell vibes -- Rob Mazurek + Exploding Star Orchestra: spaced-out fusion from the trusty Chicago outfit -- London Brew: huuuge ensemble playing free-fusion pieces inspired by Bitches Brew-- Kassa Overall: underground hip-hop fusion with some incredible moments and some meh moments -- Alabaster DePlume: should spend more time with this. One of the best sax tones in the world - less tuneful than earlier records tho. -- Maurice Louca's Elephantine: Egyptian-inflected free jazz. Great stuff. Check out "Moonshine Pt I" -- Bex Burch: Ambient-leaning jazz from International Anthem And I totally forgot about James Brandon Lewis's incredible 2023, so that's another post I'll have to make this/next week. Cheers! |
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Post by Tweet on Nov 15, 2023 17:19:06 GMT -6
Need to go back to the Asher album. That Benjamin Jephta album has been on my list since it came out but I still haven’t spun it
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 16, 2023 10:48:40 GMT -6
Another day, another great album / prompt to discuss:  Lankum - False LankumIt can be hard to do something new with folk music. I don't mean, like, hey-ho singer-songwriters, and what not. I mean like, deep-rooted, no-clear-author traditional ballads. "Go Dig My Grave" is one of those songs. Fragments of it appear as early as 1611, more fleshed out versions by 1790, and it was recorded as it appears here by folklorist Jean Ritchie in 1963. But holy fucking shit does Lankum turn it on its side. Wtf is this - like doom-folk? Trad apocalypticism? All I know is it's awesome, and only the first track on the absolute best folk-tinged record of 2023. A lot of trad folk material is dark as hell, and Lankum conveys that underlying anxiety with the eerie string arrangements and harmonies that accompany their beautiful melodies and vocal leads. Even more straight-forward readings like "Newcastle" are endowed with a melancholic heaviness. Almost a weary beauty. The whole album is a long listen - 70 minute or so. But it's worth your time, as one of the year's most conceptually interesting and emotionally moving records. Have you heard this record? What did you think? Enthralling or sleepy? What 2023 records surprised you with their creative conceptual approaches? |
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Post by obmit on Nov 16, 2023 13:14:02 GMT -6
We're back for another week of 2023 album discussion! Today we have... Youth Lagoon - Heaven is a JunkyardI heard this a couple times when it came out, and I was pretty nonplussed. I was a big fan of the Youth Lagoon project back in the day. I started listening to new releases in 2012/2013, and Wondrous Bughouse was a HUGE favorite of mine. I was proper obsessed, and I went back and loved Year of Hibernation equally as much. Youth Lagoon, believe it or not, was one of the first 7 or 8 concerts I ever went to (of my own volition). I was just so-so on the 3rd album and never liked any of his "solo" stuff. Time moved on, I got into other music, and - tho those two Youth Lagoon albums are special to me - they're not records I revisit super often.
All this to say, given the good reviews and fan enthusiasm about this record... plus my history with the project... I felt I owed it another shot. So I listened again last week and I was floored. Idk what changed. Maybe I was less distracted? Maybe I actually listened to the lyrics for the first time? Either way, I've been listening to it again and again over the last few days, and it's steadily climbing up my AOTY rankings. It's not an aesthetic exercise as much as his earlier stuff. Really, it's a collection of Good Songs, deftly and minimally adorned, that work exceptionally well on an emotional level. Favorites are "Idaho Alien," "Prizefighter," and especially "Trapeze Artist". I'm happy that I gave it a second chance.
Did you hear this record? What did you think? What records this year have grown on you most over time?Glad you came around to this one, it's easily one of my favorites. Given all of his struggles these last few years it's really quite impressive that this album even exists. Dunno if I'd say it's his best, I still adore Bughouse the most, but it's a great addition. All of the singles were great but I gotta give some love to the closer Helicopter Toy. |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 17, 2023 9:45:39 GMT -6
Today I wanna talk about a very Board Approved album...  Bully - Lucky for YouArguably the best rock record of the year, and a big favorite round these parts. This album rules. I'd kinda fallen off the Bully bandwagon in recent years, but I just love the way Alicia's songwriting reached for fucking GIANT vocal hooks. Like finally - someone who's actually fuckin' singing! Sonically, it's not breaking new ground or whatever. But it sounds great. The big crunchy guitars. The way the bassline pummels through the intro to "Hard to Love". And hooks for days and days and days. It also has one of my favorite musical moments of 2023 - and probably my most cathartic. Speaking of "All I Do" - The drop of the first verse into the chorus, right from "I wanna feel the way I used to!" That shit is so good. Instant goosebumps into headbanging / screaming the chorus. A winner. Did you hear this one? Did you like it / hate it? What is your most cathartic musical moment of 2023? |
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Post by Tweet on Nov 17, 2023 9:51:29 GMT -6
It lit
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Post by mookie on Nov 17, 2023 10:19:55 GMT -6
I thought the Bully album was fine, but really not in the best of the year or anything  Another I want to draw attention to is Euphoric by Georgia. It's been a really good year for dance pop, and this is up there with Jessie Ware and Romy as the best of that genre in the year. Georgia had another great album in 2020, but obviously there was no tour for that one. She's only played NYC and LA on tour for this one so far, so hopefully that changes this festival season. The whole album is co-written and produced by Rostam too, which is a huge plus. Title track is still probably my favorite on the album: |
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Post by doso on Nov 19, 2023 20:34:38 GMT -6
"I wanna feel the way I used to!" That shit is so good. 1000x Yes. Probably gonna be my #1. |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 20, 2023 12:41:34 GMT -6
Doing a double-header here today, as I group these albums together conceptually even tho they sound nothing alike. First up...  Ratboys - The WindowAs you may remember, I'm a proud, long-time member of the Ratboys Street Team. They're one of the best rock bands in the world, and they've been for the last several years. Very very few groups can pump out catchy, biting, joyous pop-rock jams as consistently and as well as they do. Their latest is another high-quality entry in their discography. At first, I wasn't head-over-heels. Long-burning single "Black Earth, WI" was a heater, and the rest were really good Ratboys tunes. But, I kept going back for more listens until each track felt like a familiar companion. Doing dishes? Listen to Ratboys. Walking to the train? Listen to Ratboys. At the gym? Listen to Ratboys. It isn't their absolute best (that would be Printer's Devil), but The Window basically became my musical comfort food of 2023. And it's damn good. Did you hear this one? How did it compare to their previous records? What were your "comfort food" listens of 2023? |
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Post by monasterymonochrome on Nov 20, 2023 13:20:10 GMT -6
And album #2 is...  Rose City Band - Garden PartyAs you may remember, I'm a proud, long-time member of the Rose City Band Street Team. They're one of the best rock bands in the world, and they've been for the last several years. Very very few groups can pump out catchy, country-fried and liquified, joyous post-Dead jams as consistently and as well as they do. Their latest is another high-quality entry in their discography. At first, I wasn't head-over-heels. Long-burning single "Moonlight Highway" was a heater, and the rest were really good RCB tunes. But, I kept going back for more listens until each track felt like a familiar companion. Making dinner? Listen to Rose City Band. Walking home at little buzzed? Listen to Rose City Band. Doing the crossword? Listen to Rose City Band. It isn't their absolute best (that would be Summerlong), but Garden Party basically became my musical comfort food of 2023. And it's damn good. Did you hear this one? How did it compare to their previous records? What were your "comfort food" listens of 2023?
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