Hello lovely people, it's James,
and today I'm here to do my
16th music recap of the year, covering releases from September 1st to the 14th. As you can tell I'm kind of behind on this,
and there's also only like seven I have to touch on because I definitely fell way behind in my listening.
I didn't have a chance to hear the new Pig Destroyer, the new noname, the new Low, the new Infernal Coil -
Although it did see them live and they were really good - or the new Yves Tumor. But regardless let's get into the stuff
I actually found the time to listen to. So first is Sonnborner by Nadja, released through Broken Spine Recordings on September 4th.
This is I think their
25th album, and it's drone metal at its most expansive. It weaves in and out of clean and heavy sections, all of which kind of
further the sense of melody
within a genre that sometimes leaves that by the wayside. The guitars are fuzzy and sometimes undefined and the way the almost
Agalloch-esque vocals fit over them is really interesting.
This echo-y vocal style is a very cool addition to over the kind of plodding instrumentation.
If you're not into the slower side of doom metal and drone in general,
it may be tough to get through the opening
30-minute track that makes up the majority of the album - though the rest of the songs
take up more of a stoner rock territory very much worth the listen, even if you're not into that first track.
I don't think Sonnborner is a favorite of Nadja's for me personally,
but it's still definitely worth the listener for fans of the band or fans of drone or stoner rock as a whole. The next
four were all released on the 14th. First is Further Still by Bosse-de-Nage.
This is their fifth album and it -
it was released through The Flenser - and it sees the band move further away from the blackgaze style of some of their early releases
to a more energetic combination of post-black metal and crust punk.
The momentum of the album is
established quickly on the opening track "The Trench" and never really lets up, outside of the middle track "Dolorous Interlude",
which sounds exactly how you would expect
given the title. The incredible drumming really gives the tracks a constant forward
motion that makes the album really fly by despite its length. The tremolo guitars
and audible bass add a lot to the foundation placed by the drums, and at times the songs presented here almost remind me of mid-career
Oathbreaker, with a fast pace and prominence of the very haunted vocals that are present here.
This is a great step for for the band and definitely an album worth checking out.
Next is Existential Void Guardian by Conan, released through Napalm
Records. This is their fourth album and it's just
heavy doom metal, the type of heavy only Conan can conjure and are kind of known for, which makes it stand out
amongst the sort of like tsunami of doom metal
we've gotten this year -
Which I'm not complaining about. It's overall a bit shorter than your typical doom metal album at only like 35 minutes,
but this shortened length shows that Conan can do more than most doom metal bands with less of the runtime.
The songs are hard-hitting and full of great riffs, "Amidst the Infinite" standing out as probably my favorite track on the record.
There's also "Paincantation", which basically feels like a powerviolence song but oddly fits, and overall
this is just a great album as you would expect from the band.
Next up is On Dark Horses by Emma Ruth Rundle, released through Sargent House.
This is her fourth album, and it's Rundle at her best:
guitar-forward folk songs with building atmospheres of dream pop surrounding them.
If you've heard her other records,
you kind of know what to expect, but that's not to say this album is a carbon copy of her previous works.
Its subtle differences kind of make it stand out as her most polished record, and these subtleties come in both of the instrumental
arrangements and the overall performance. The songwriting is as compelling as ever and Rundle's voice is haunting and beautiful.
It's definitely a standout album of the year,
and one I highly urge you to pay attention to. And the final full-length album I have to touch on is Palms by Thrice, released
through Epitaph Records, and this is their 10th album. I don't really have much to say about this,
I just had to touch on it because it's not that great.
I don't know why Thrice make butt rock now. I don't - I'm not expecting another Artist in the Ambulance,
but I just want music that is good. Finally. I have 2 EPs to touch on, both released on the 7th.
First is Private Room by Counterparts,
which is kind of an EP that functions as a collection of b-sides from the band's previous two albums.
Its runtime is less than 7 minutes, but each of the three songs would feel very much at home on Counterparts'
previous records. Counterparts are one of the most recognizable names in melodic hardcore for reason, and this EP is just another
solid release from them. And finally is what is probably my favorite release of those two weeks, and that is Hex of Infinite Binding EP
by The Mountain Goats, released through Merge Records. This is a surprise new EP from John Darnielle's massively prolific project.
Most of the tracks are based around Darnielle's voice and guitar,
complemented by woodwinds and piano to create an ethereal feeling that fits really well with the lyrical themes of depression and existentialism.
This formula is somewhat dropped by the third track "Hospital Reaction Shot",
which introduces drums, strings, and electric guitars into the mix for slightly more upbeat song,
but still very much occupying the same lyrical and thematic spaces as the other three tracks
The final track "Tucson Fog" is another
stylistic departure from the front half of the EP: a more straightforward folk song sort of in a similar style to
The Mountain Goats' album All Hail West Texas. Overall,
this is just a wonderful EP and a great addition to the discography of what I would argue is one of the best songwriters of
the decade. So that was my 16th music recap of the year.
If you have any thoughts on the albums I mentioned, let me know in the comments below, as well as any albums that I missed
during this time frame that I should catch up on, because I know there were quite a few. If you liked the video,
please click the like button and subscribe if you want to see more. Thanks for watching and I'll talk to you again soon!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét