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Album review thread [art vs the artist]

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[ Rynn ]
188 posts
Joined November 2020
[ Rynn ]

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

25th July 2024 (it took 4 days to realise I was going 22st, 23st, 24st lmao)

Stray Kids - 5-Star
K-Pop, South Korean, 2023


(Link to the rest of the album)

I've never really been a fan of K-Pop, and this album didn't really change that.

It was cool and I enjoyed it, but I didn't really get into it if that makes sense.

One of the reasons that I might not have enjoyed this album that much is that I'm still not fully sold on hip-hop musically as a genre (this album had a very strong hip-hop influence in the first half), and unlike with Kendrick Lamar, the literary aspect couldn't carry the music because my Korean isn't good enough to understand the lyrics.

I don't think this is that relevant though, because starting from track 8 Collision, the album strays away from the super sharp, biting hip-hop that it was before. Collision sounded more like a typical k-pop track, to the point that the overwhelming vibe that I got form it was that I was in a Korean hairdresser because this is the stuff they always play on the speakers lmao. These variations in style was welcome, but it didn't really change the fact that I still wasn't fully into it.

I think another reason for why I wasn't fully into it could be that I think with k-pop there's quite a lot of other aspects to it outside of just the music, which are stuff that I personally didn't engage with or care about. I feel like the dancing and the aesthetic appeal of the members of the group are a big part of k-pop, but I personally avoided watching the music videos while listening to this album because I had done so with every other album I've listened to. And it's not like I really care about them much in the first place. I think there's also an aspect of idol culture where you'd follow the group members as celebreties/idols, but again, this is something that I don't care about at all. With me being so far removed from the culture of k-pop, I feel like I'm really not the target audience for this type of stuff, which made it harder to enjoy.

And a final realisation that I came to was that to me it felt like the music lacked personality. It didn't really feel like an artist expressing themselves through their music, but something corporately produced, if that makes sense. I could be completely speaking out of my ass about this, idk how these tracks are written nor did I pay attention to any of the lyrics, but that was the impression I got from this album. Like the production was cool, but it didn't really feel like there was anything I could attach myself to.

In fact, while I was listening to the album I was enjoying it to the point I was thinking it would be a 5 or a 6, but now that I've finished it, it feels like a 4 because it didn't really feel like I got anything out of it.

So yeah idk I guess k-pop just isn't something I can really get into. I really liked the rocky Dreamcatcher songs that I've come across while playing osu, but that's pretty much the only k-pop that I've really enjoyed, and it's probably more to do with the fact I generally really enjoy j-rock.

I also wanted to mention that S-Class was my favourite track.

4/10
Pretty solid review, i can understand why you gave this album a 4/10 (i actually think thats quite generous for someone who isn't familiar w kpop lol). Stray Kids' music isnt for everyone, quite a lot of kpop fans aren't actually fond of their music as well. I also understand why you'd also pay attention to lyrics, but i personally pay attention to the music itself more than the lyrics.

As for the tracks (excluding the last 2 tracks as those were originally released as singles), I personally enjoyed this album, especially the 8th track Collision (i could talk abt this for 50 pages but yea), the instrumentals were amazing and the details really suits the lyrics of the songs. The vocal parts for the first track Hall Of Fame was pretty enjoyable for me too. A fan favorite for this album, TOPLINE was quite a surprise as it sounds more western-like compared to what we have in the industry so far.

I was actually kinda hoping you'd have a good impression on this genre considering the first half of the album sounds pretty kpop-y, especially with the more "loud music" side of the industry (and yes, Collision doesn't really sound kpop-y, at least to me) but recommending something from Stray Kids was probably a hit or miss for first impressions of kpop lmao.

a small note here, i actually dont like S-Class :3c (i actually hated it at first, but it somewhat grew in me).

I'm not a fan of hip-hop or rap in general, but Stray Kids' rap line is pretty strong, combined with 3RACHA's (Stray Kids' producer line consisting of the members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) weird style of music made Stray Kids' music stick well to me a lot.

Overall, for me it's a 8/10 (excluding the last 2 tracks), I tried my best to be as unbiased as possible and this rating is also based of the music itself and not counting other shit within the kpop industry :) glad i was able to hear your opinion!
Last edited by [ Rynn ] , edited 1 time in total.
Patatitta
1,200 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

me going on rateyourmusic every time I rate an album because I don't want give something critically acclaimed a low rating, only to see that rateyourmusic didn't rate it highly as well:



(I should really stop)
don't worry, the exact same thing happens to me LMAO, still. I don't really change my rating even if it's totally different than the rating on those type of websites, I just kinda go "well, fuck"
Achromalia
299 posts
Joined November 2016
Achromalia

Patatitta wrote:

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

me going on rateyourmusic every time I rate an album because I don't want give something critically acclaimed a low rating, only to see that rateyourmusic didn't rate it highly as well:



(I should really stop)
don't worry, the exact same thing happens to me LMAO, still. I don't really change my rating even if it's totally different than the rating on those type of websites, I just kinda go "well, fuck"
i think sometimes it could register as a feeling of "i hope i'm not insane for thinking this" and "am i missing the point?", mixed somewhat with possibilities like "i'm curious if anyone shares similar thoughts for similar reasons, maybe they could expand on what the impressions i've had in an interesting way with more clarity" or something...

...maybe? that's my intuitive reasoning for why i might imagine it happening for me if i were to try rating albums/songs, though i generally don't refer to these sites bc that's just a lot more work than i care for when i can just enjoy playlists of music i like or at least sort them somewhere if they're not definitively suited to a playlist of favored songs/albums within some kind of stylistic profile
Kaeya x Diluc
4 posts
Joined May 2023
Kaeya x Diluc
my picks are:

Denzel Curry - King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2
Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
Chevy & HOYO-MiX - Inside EP


bonus non album pick:
Sliva Hound - boo Hoo (Silva Hound Remix)
Corne2Plum3
Global Moderator
1,715 posts
Joined November 2019
Corne2Plum3
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL

Kaeya x Diluc wrote:

Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
I was about to reject this but I'm a swiftie now so I can't 😭



Kaeya x Diluc wrote:

bonus non album pick:
Sliva Hound - boo Hoo (Silva Hound Remix)

This was a lot more pleasant than I thought it would be from the thumbnail

4/10
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
sametdze
312 posts
Joined July 2021
sametdze
if you're really a swifite review taylor swift's first album, appropriately titled "taylor swift" or something like that
reffty_gag
284 posts
Joined July 2023
reffty_gag

reffty_gag wrote:

goreshit - semantic of death and its meaning
*semantic composition on death and its meaning
Patatitta
1,200 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta

Achromalia wrote:

Patatitta wrote:

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

me going on rateyourmusic every time I rate an album because I don't want give something critically acclaimed a low rating, only to see that rateyourmusic didn't rate it highly as well:



(I should really stop)
don't worry, the exact same thing happens to me LMAO, still. I don't really change my rating even if it's totally different than the rating on those type of websites, I just kinda go "well, fuck"
i think sometimes it could register as a feeling of "i hope i'm not insane for thinking this" and "am i missing the point?", mixed somewhat with possibilities like "i'm curious if anyone shares similar thoughts for similar reasons, maybe they could expand on what the impressions i've had in an interesting way with more clarity" or something...

...maybe? that's my intuitive reasoning for why i might imagine it happening for me if i were to try rating albums/songs, though i generally don't refer to these sites bc that's just a lot more work than i care for when i can just enjoy playlists of music i like or at least sort them somewhere if they're not definitively suited to a playlist of favored songs/albums within some kind of stylistic profile
my personal experience with that sort of stuff

I'm just a REALLY big fan of lists like that and ratings, I know many people that are against logging sites like that one under the argument that numeric scoring of art is detrimental to the medium, which I understand but I also disagree with since I believe that it's a really good way to get what is the general opinion torwards any work (as long as the sample size is big enough, something that rym kinda struggles with tho), and also, I love just seeing the list and comparing and analyzing ratings it's so fun

going contrary to works as influential and popular as some of best rated albums of all time kinda sucks, you're forming an opinion a lot of people will criticize, that also forms the anxiety of "maybe I'm missing something/I did not understand what it was trying to say and it's a mitake on me" and also it honestly kinda closes off genres for you, for example, if you were to watch a film, don't like it, and then google it and see that it has bad ratings, that's ok, it's just a bad movie, but if that same movie is like the highest rated work in a genre you haven't really dabled much in, it's likely that you're not going to enjoy the rest of the genre either

although, if you have an unpopular opinion like that, and are able to actually stand your ground and be able to explain properly why you didn't like it in a way that makes sense, I have big respects for you
Last edited by Patatitta , edited 2 times in total.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
26th July 2024

Various Artists - Mikgazer vol.1
Shoegaze, Vocaloid, Japanese, 2012


Mikgazer my beloved

8/10
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL

sametdze wrote:

if you're really a swifite review taylor swift's first album, appropriately titled "taylor swift" or something like that
I'm gonna end up doing every taylor swift album aren't I
Kaeya x Diluc
4 posts
Joined May 2023
Kaeya x Diluc
Linkin Park - Meteora, Minutes to Midnight
Achromalia
299 posts
Joined November 2016
Achromalia
realizing new suggestions in this thread are going to be in the queue for longer than a month, assuming that the rate is strictly one album per day... :'(
Last edited by Achromalia , edited 1 time in total.
z0z
504 posts
Joined February 2018
z0z

Achromalia wrote:

realizing new suggestions in this thread are going to be in the queue for longer than a month, assuming that the rate is strictly one album per day... :'(
albums do take a significant amount of time to listen to
Achromalia
299 posts
Joined November 2016
Achromalia

z0z wrote:

Achromalia wrote:

realizing new suggestions in this thread are going to be in the queue for longer than a month, assuming that the rate is strictly one album per day... :'(
albums do take a significant amount of time to listen to
no you're right, that's understandable, it's just a grievance toward the delayed gratification of actually seeing what someone thinks about the music you've submitted. it may become harder to really remain interested or keep in touch with the thread by the time the 36th day arrives, at which point you may have moved on or may not even be present/active anymore to see it

it's inconvenient for new submissions, but i imagine it could be quite a burden on the listener if the thread's premise is carried like an obligation rather than an interest-- and even with interest in others' submissions, it could be exhausting or time-intensive when you may have other priorities to address

that does not keep it from being something lamentable to the submitter ^^;;
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
27th July 2024

samlrc - A Lonely Sinner
Post-Rock, Brazilian, 2024


Holy moly

I've never listened to anything like this before, and damn.

I'm not even sure how to smoothly talk about this lol.

I think if I had to describe it briefly, it would be the musical equivalent of a short, artsy indie game which feels kinda lifechanging when you finish it.

I'm not too sure what the album was about, but my interpretation was that it's about I guess a journey of one's self told through the metaphor of sheep and wolves and some religious ideas.

The protagonist starts in a place of low self esteem and hatred referring themselves as a "sheep" and a "sinner", although it's never made clear exactly how they are a "sinner", making it feel like it is coming more of an internal place than they committed murder or something. The way they talk about themselves as a sheep makes it feel like they're someone insignificant, someone weak who doesn't have agency and can be taken advantage of.

Now that I look at the lyrics again the third track Sinner looks like it's depicting an abusive relationship, so these negative ways the protagonist describes themselves is probably due to this.

After lying down and giving up in Flowerfields as a sacrifice to the wolves, the album has an insane tone shift with Storge, my favourite track in the album. Like I actually shit my pants when this happened, this might be the first time I felt scared listening to an album in this thread lol. Storge feels like the protagonist suddenly flipping a switch getting angry, refusing to be a sheep and wanting to become a wolf themselves. What's interesting is that this isn't empowering, just angry and aggressive, like the protagonist is crying out at the world.

Sleep Theme feels like the abuser trying to control the protagonist to prevent them from running. A small detail that I wanted to mention here is that the vocals are done stylistically differently to when the "sheep" was speaking, making this feel like another person.

Then the last two tracks have a more positive, uplifting vibe, like the hope at the end tunnel of the abuse and negativity and hate, like the protagonist has learnt self-love/self-acceptance. Interestingly, For M. has lyrics written down that I don't remember ever being sung, so idk what that's about.

But what really elevates this album is the music. It's so packed full of different emotions, you can just close your eyes and kinda feel this album. And the way the songs are written it's like they're telling stories within themselves. The singing portions only make up a miniscule portion of the songs, so most of it is just music to which you can let wash over you to bathe in the emotions, and make your own interpretations of.

For an example I want to talk about a moment in Storge in particular, at 33:02 there's this really aggressive moment with loud metal guitars, which at the same time feels like anger and claustrophobia, like this anger is something to be scared of. And then it changes into something else, still the same drumbeat and similar guitars but more shoegazy this time, which feels like an explosion of vulnerable emotion, like the anger ran out and now the protagonist is just crying out with pure emotion, like this is the true nature of the anger that the protagonist is feeling.

It feels rare when you can just close your eyes and album can just wash over you with it's music and make you leave the mortal plane, but this album did.

It also feels like there's an incredible amount of detail and care put into everything, from details in the songwriting and production, even to details in the visual aesthetic of this album. I usually try to avoid any visual component, but the artstyle, the little image for each song, the colours, it all felt like a part of the larger piece of art that was the album, byeond just being a cool album cover or something.

Uh yeah good album you should listen to it

10/10

I wonder what the stuff about the flowers were about, it's a large part of the visuals and is mentioned in the first half as something the protagonist is cultivating, but I'm not sure how to interpret it.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
28th July 2024

ZUTOMAYO - Hisohiso Banashi
J-Pop, Yakousei, Japanese, 2019


(Link to the rest of the album)

So I was originally planning to cover something else today, but I wasn't too sure if what I wanted to talk about was appropriate so I DMed some mods but they haven't gotten back to me soo...

Uhh ZUTOMAYO is pretty epic yeah hottest osu player take ik

I think out of all the albums I've listened in this thread so far this is probably the one that has the most history for me. I remember my interest in music properly started with anime OPs and EDs. I'd have a playlist of all the OPs from anime that I'd watch in a youtube playlist and I'd just listen to them on shuffle. FMAB OPs, Code Geass OP 1, OPM OP, AoT OPs, all that good stuff. At some point I started playing around with spotify, and while I was making a playlist I ended up checking out the songs that spotify suggested to add to the playlist. I remember, very specifically, that one of these songs was Kansaete Kuyashiiwa by ZUTOMAYO. I wasn't too impressed with the song at first, until I clicked on their page and had a listen to two songs. Byoushinwo Kamu and STUDY ME. Those two songs solidified ZUTOMAYO as my favourite artist until I eventually found Lamp sometime later, at the time when I was properly starting to branch out of anime OPs and starting to explore other music. Back then, it was ZUTOMAYO, YOASOBI, Yorushika and Polkadot Stingray, the big four for me. And ZUTOMAYO was my favourite. Like this album, Hisohiso banashi, was probably the first full album I listened to, as well as my favourite album (again until I discovered Lamp). And revisiting this album now was really a blast from the past.

Throughout the first four songs, this album was a straight 10/10. Absolute banger after absolute banger, with chaotic, fast paced, maximised instrumentals. It felt like listening to Unhappy Refrain all over again, with a similar style and energy. This honestly surprised me, had my tastes not changed in five years? Was this straight up just the most banger album ever made?




Uh I'm tired I'll finish this later bye

8/10
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 2 times in total.
Polyspora
413 posts
Joined September 2019
Polyspora
dead
lostsilver
3,502 posts
Joined November 2022
lostsilver

Polyspora wrote:

dead
this bump was probably needed
Last edited by lostsilver , edited 1 time in total.
reffty_gag
284 posts
Joined July 2023
reffty_gag
so dead that i want to dig a grave for this thread
Patatitta
1,200 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta
bro come on it's been 4 days, this thread has lasted way longer than most others on the same topics so I have faith in them, I've had my thread dead for more than 4 days, they just have more shit to do in life other than this


lostsilver wrote:

Polyspora wrote:

dead
this bump was probably needed
no, normally it isn't, it will be bumped it naturally when they finish an album
Karmine
874 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine

Patatitta wrote:

lostsilver wrote:

Polyspora wrote:

dead
this bump was probably needed
no, normally it isn't, it will be bumped it naturally when they finish an album
It's needed because it's ILLEGAL to give up the thread, he HAS to continue even if he doesn't want to or he'll be EXECUTED.
Polyspora
413 posts
Joined September 2019
Polyspora
high quality irony over there friends
Laxxer
1,975 posts
Joined February 2016
Laxxer
I was so close to having mine reviewed nooooo pls continue!!!

(Yes I know I'm hypocritical since my photoshop thread died after a few reqs 😆)
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
title is wrong now, i did not listen to an album every day 😭
KeikiEnjoyer
240 posts
Joined July 2020
KeikiEnjoyer
was gonna ask for an album but isn't this thread supposed to be in music hall?
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL

KeikiEnjoyer wrote:

was gonna ask for an album but isn't this thread supposed to be in music hall?
When I first made this thread I said that mods could move it to there but no one did

I made it in OT because I feel like it'll get more traffic here and there's been similar threads here
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
KeikiEnjoyer
240 posts
Joined July 2020
KeikiEnjoyer

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

KeikiEnjoyer wrote:

was gonna ask for an album but isn't this thread supposed to be in music hall?
When I first made this thread I said that mods could move it to there but no one did

I made it in OT because I feel like it'll get more traffic here and there's been similar threads here
ahh icic

pls review Dream and Reality by TUMENECO, might have to dl it on doujinstyle because it's not on youtube nor any streaming platform
[ Rynn ]
188 posts
Joined November 2020
[ Rynn ]
uhh ive been thinking that this thread somehow fits on the music subforum better?
Patatitta
1,200 posts
Joined February 2020
Patatitta
being moved to music hall would kill the thread, threads like this need the activity OT has to work
z0z
504 posts
Joined February 2018
z0z
few people go to places in the other category other than gd and ot
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
3rd August 2024

Braden Ross - Digilogue
Glitch Pop, American, 2023


(Link to the rest of the album. Also link to the spotify playlist because Kolon Dee suggested me to listen on spotify, presumably because it makes the cuts between the songs seem less jarring than on youtube, but idk I didn't listen to it on youtube)

Yeah it's been a few days but I'm back

Acroba you know that guy

Yeah this gave me the overwhelming impression of Acroba, like this sounds like something he'd make if he started to fuse his music with dariacore (there's probably a better genre to refer to but idk anything about hyperpop pls help).

Another thing was that because of the aesthetic and subject matter especially in the first three tracks, this felt like the most 2023 album ever.

It felt like Braden was trying to do something narratively but honestly idk exactly what, this doesn't seem popular enough for people to come out with their takes where I can easily access them, and the album itself didn't feel very clear.

Honestly for me this album is carried by it's interesting instrumentation/arrangement, like uhhh it was kinda epic idk what to say

Also why does this so listened to on spotify while having no presence anywhere else like wtf, millions of plays on spotify but only thousands on Youtube to 160k on the most viewed video, and google searching makes it seem very unknown. Very weird. He did mention making tiktok songs or something, maybe this is the tiktok song effect?

7/10
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
Kolon Dee
169 posts
Joined August 2021
Kolon Dee

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

3rd August 2024

Braden Ross - Digilogue
uhhh idk what genre lol i wanna be more specific than "pop", American, 2023


(Link to the rest of the album. Also link to the spotify playlist because Kolon Dee suggested me to listen on spotify, presumably because it makes the cuts between the songs seem less jarring than on youtube, but idk I didn't listen to it on youtube)

Yeah it's been a few days but I'm back

Acroba you know that guy

Yeah this gave me the overwhelming impression of Acroba, like this sounds like something he'd make if he started to fuse his music with dariacore (there's probably a better genre to refer to but idk anything about hyperpop pls help).

Another thing was that because of the aesthetic and subject matter especially in the first three tracks, this felt like the most 2023 album ever.

It felt like Braden was trying to do something narratively but honestly idk exactly what, this doesn't seem popular enough for people to come out with their takes where I can easily access them, and the album itself didn't feel very clear.

Honestly for me this album is carried by it's interesting instrumentation/arrangement, like uhhh it was kinda epic idk what to say

Also why does this so listened to on spotify while having no presence anywhere else like wtf, millions of plays on spotify but only thousands on Youtube to 160k on the most viewed video, and google searching makes it seem very unknown. Very weird. He did mention making tiktok songs or something, maybe this is the tiktok song effect?

7/10
thanks for the review!

from what i understand on this album, he dropped out of school to pursue his music career but he got a lot of negative impressions, and because of this, he gets demotivated from continuing but has no choice but to move on, he also says that he's doing this for himself, his family, and because he likes to make music

I'd called this album's genre: Glitch Pop (glitch hyperpop)

which is similar to this album's genre:
hypochondriac - brakence
(another album recommendation)
Last edited by Kolon Dee , edited 1 time in total.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
5rd August 2024

Lamp - Genso
Shibuya-Kei, Japanese, 2008


(Link to the rest of the album)

It's nice to just say I really like Lamp and give an 8/10 rating without writing 1000 words

8/10
I AM VERY SMART
14,936 posts
Joined December 2022
I AM VERY SMART
How about this for comparison?



Youtube
TeeArctic1
69 posts
Joined December 2014
TeeArctic1
I'd like to submit this one from one of my favourite artists currently - Fieh's III. I dunno, it's just neat
I don't think the entire album is avaliable from youtube unless watched in a playlist, but I'll link to the first song on the album on youtube and the entire album on Spotify


MaxIsABigKaiju
283 posts
Joined May 2022
MaxIsABigKaiju
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Tarkus (the song, not the album)
silmarilen
5,581 posts
Joined February 2010
silmarilen
pearl jam - ten
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
25th August 2024

Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Industrial Rock, American, 2007


(Link to the rest of the album)

Hi

Thread not dead this time hopefully

So yeah I took a break from listening to an album a day (and OT as a whole) for a while. Not because I was busy or anything, but because I kinda fell off the wagon, and once I fall off it's really hard for me to get back to doing what I was doing before. But I managed to jump on again so here I am.

I don't want to get super introspective about how my brain works in this thread, this is something I've been tackling and I will continue to tackle as I keep living my life. So instead I'll get back on topic and say that yeah this album was epic.

(The reason I skipped Company was because I didn't feel like sitting through an entire 2 hour musical with a story and everything when I was trying to get back into this thread (although this album did end up being like that lol). I'll get to Company later.)

When I first started this album I wasn't really into it. I hadn't been listening to music for a while, and this style of music is not entirely my cup of tea. The dark synth instrumentals and overall vibe were really reminiscent of Massive Attack (I guess this is the stuff that Karmine is really into (hi Karmine)), but unlike Mezzanine it wasn't as super epic and atmospheric and it was sounds that I'd heard before so they didn't really grab me like Mezzanine did.

There was also the fact that I was kinda preoccupied with my listening device situation. The mystery earphones I had been using for years broke a few days ago, so I've been using the default Samsung ones that come with a phone. The thing is these sound noticeably shittier, so I was grappling with the idea that all the music I'd listen to these would sound shitty. I considered starting this thread when I got better headphones and I looked into the equipment that xch00f suggested a while back, but 400 USD feels like a hella pricetag just to listen to some music, and why should I get a seperate DAC, can't I just plug in my headphones into my computer, does it really make much of a difference? and like I'm just listening to everything on Youtube which I have no idea is good quality or not so would this high end equipment really benefit my listening situation? I figured it wasn't really worth it when I was this unsure of everything. I did find another pair of headphones though. They sounded about the same in terms of quality as the Samsung ones, but the sound felt "fuller", I'm guessing because these were over-ears so the base was a lot more powerful, like if you push your in-ear headphones deep into your ears.

Back to the actual album, even though I wasn't really feeling it at the start, I got really into it at around Capital G. This was also when I started reading along with the lyrics through random youtube comments that had them posted. And when I started getting into it this album became amazing. It felt like such an intense experience jamming along to all these industrial sounds. Reading the lyrics also made me realise that they were actually really interesting. And although I wasn't sure if there was a story or anything beyond themes of "America bad" and "Christianity bad", the track
The Great Destroyer and the following tracks convinced me there was something happening.

The Great Destroyer felt like some sort of peak in the story, specifically the part when he went "I am the great destroyer" and proceeded to destroy things I presume, that part was crazy. I'm guessing there's a narrative reason for this peak, but from a more emotional standpoint it felt like this was some huge outlet of all the anger of the previous tracks, anger from being critical at things, and the anger from the music as well. The music just sounds angry and intense in general, and it was like 40 minutes of this continuous anger and intensity was washed away by this track.

Another Version was the first time this album wasn't angry and intense, like the destruction and intensity lead to catharsis and calm, like the world was reborn anew from whatever was happening before. Idk, I really like when albums put effort into bringing you through a journey like this, it really makes it feel like listening to the album as a whole was really worthwhile, over just listening to the tracks individually.

I looked up the album after I listened to it, and apparently there's a lot of story? Like reading the wikipedia summary is kinda wild, my experience of the story was super bare bones because I wasn't researching and following along with it actively like I did with the Lamar albums. What's really interesting though is how relevant this feels with current day, with Trump and his supporters being so evangelical, and Project 2025 looking like the end of society or something (from what I've gathered from coming across it on reddit), it adds a incredible dimension to this album, where you can relate it to current events in a new, unintended way even though it was supposed to be related to current events 7 years ago.

In the end though, even though I really enjoyed this album and am glad that it's the one getting me back into music and made me remember how much of an experience music can be, it's still not really my cup of tea musically. I don't really feel like I'd want to ever listen to it again, even if I could with the story laid out in front of me so I can experience the album in a new way. I'm putting this at like the top of 7. Could be an 8 if I change how I rate albums.

7/10

Also Karmine, I'd be interested why you recommended this album specifically. I looked at Nine Inch Nails' RYM page, and apparently this album isn't rated that highly, but The Downward Spiral seems to be looked at as one of the best albums of all time.
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Laxxer
1,975 posts
Joined February 2016
Laxxer
We are so Barack
Karmine
874 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine
Glad you liked it, and yeah it's a concept album maybe I should have mentioned that.
I suggested this one because I really like it (I think it's the first album I listened from NIN) and think it would be good for this thread due to it being a concept album. The Downward Spiral is great and people's favourite because it's relatable (stuff about depression etc), like most people it's the one that had me go from "yeah I like this band" to "fuck this guy knows what's up".
Last edited by Karmine , edited 1 time in total.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
26th August 2024

Snail's House - Ordinary Songs
Future Bass, Japanese, 2016


(Link to the rest of the album)

What a nice album to listen to in the morning.

I didn't know that the time of day could change how I enjoyed music, but I guess it does.

It's probably just an extension of how my mood can change how I enjoy music.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the latter half of the album would be a lot better to listen to at night lol.

The album overall felt very light, from the soft instrumentals and chords to the fact that it just felt like a few nice songs wrapped up together instead of some epic concept album.

There was a surprisingly pleasant amount of variety with the songs.

I got the sense that a lot of these songs were fairly experimental with their sounds, and although that lead to the asmr-like aid for your heart, there were also a few awkward sounding ones that I couldn't really get into, like Look at me ~❤️

Overall it was very nice though, it was very good at creating this certain comfy vibe with many interesting songs, even though not all of them hit.

7/10
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
27th August 2024

Stephen Sondheim - Company (2018 London Cast Recording)
Musical, American, 2019


(Link to the rest of the album)

(Yes this was released in 2019, not 2018 lol)

(Also I'm saying this is American because Stephen Sondheim is American)

Spoilers because this is a musical and has a story
This is my first ever time listening to an entire musical as an album, without having actually watched the musical first. I was interested in what it would be like to just listen to a musical album without any visuals.

And...

Honestly it was pretty boring. First, the lack of visuals do lessen the experience considerably. There were many moments in the album where I didn't really have any idea what was happening, or where it was clear where there was supposed to be something happening on stage but there was just... nothing.

It was kind of like a concept album in this way where the whole album was trying to tell a story but it's not exactly too clear what's going on. But unlike good concept albums that I've listened to, this one fell flat in several different ways.

First, this was a comedy album, the album cover literally says it is. I could tell that there were many instances there were making jokes, but the only time where I found something actually funny was during Getting Married Today, where the vicar was singing in this holy voice going singing about how ass this wedding is. Outside of that, nothing was really funny. I feel like a lot of this would have been a lot funnier with the actors doing funny things on stage and with an audience vibe, but listening to this as an album I didn't have access to any of that. Another thing about the humour was that it felt like basic middle aged humour for lack of a better way to describe it. It's clear that the target audience is not me, but like western middle aged office workers. Maybe if I was of that group and shared experiences of what it was like to be married or to be single with married friends and was used to that sort of humour instead of modern youth/gen-z/millennial type humour, I would have found the humour more engaging.

Next, I didn't enjoy the actual plot of the album. First, the plot wasn't super clear. I usually don't mind this because it's general pretty standard for concept albums and it's generally fun to try and come up with your own interpretation. However, in this case it didn't really feel like this album was trying to be particularly interesting or smart or want you to piece it together yourself and engage with it deeply, it just felt like I was missing things because I didn't have the visuals. And the story that I actually experienced wasn't that good either. Like the story is pretty uninteresting, or at least presented without anything interesting about it. The characters are mostly just names with voices, the conflicts are kinda weak and boring, and it doesn't really feel like there's a strong line connecting the story together, it just feels like the characters just sing about stuff. Take the song Being Alive for example. It starts off with Bobbie going "marriage bad" but then she suddenly goes "marriage is bad but I want to be married anyway because it'll make me feel alive". I guess it's interesting in a way because through most of the musical it's poking fun at marriage but at the end it tries to make a statement of how everything it was comedically poking fun at can actually be looked at as a positive thing, but it doesn't feel like any sort of build-up or emotional weight or anything, she's just like "actually marriage good" and then because that's the finale the whole cast comes on stage bit by bit and bows to the audience and everyone claps. Again, maybe I'm missing a lot from not having the visual aspect of this musical, but this isn't a musical thread, this is an album thread.

Finally, the music. Although it definitely had that "musical" vibe and was kinda interesting in how it'd reuse and play with ideas as a musical, but I couldn't really get into it. Overall it felt pretty flat and didn't really have much emotion. With other musicals they really ham up the variety in the music and try and really play into certain emotions, but here it didn't really feel like anything was happening. Not sure what else to say about the music, I didn't really do anything for me.

Although that was my impression of the musical, I have a feeling that I'm missing something. I am of the belief that if you don't like something but everyone else does, rather then the thing being bad and you're the only one that can see it, I think it's way more likely that you're missing something. And with the other albums that I've rated pretty lowly I can see how other people can like it, but I don't really see it for this. A good part of that may be that I didn't have the youtube comments to read while listening to this musical, so now that I've had my say I'm going to a bit of research on what other people think about this musical, brb.

Ok I'm back. It actually seems pretty critically acclaimed, but not universally loved, some people like it, some people don't. I think in the end I'm really just missing out on that visual element and with that I would've gotten the full picture, it's kinda like I'm listening to a video game OST when I've never played the videogame. Because of that I can't really give a proper review on it as a musical, but this isn't a musical review thread, this is a thoughts on a different album a day thread, and I didn't really enjoy this one.

4/10
Karmine
874 posts
Joined November 2015
Karmine
Rigged, a musical got more than 0/10.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL

Karmine wrote:

Rigged, a musical got more than 0/10.
Nah musicals are epic yes I like musicals yes I did musicals in high school
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
Duck o-o
1,367 posts
Joined November 2021
Duck o-o
ayo can i change my requests (if i have them cos i forgor ;-;, i think rite of spring?)

if so i wanna change it to dis cos its pretty recent release

reffty_gag
284 posts
Joined July 2023
reffty_gag
Frederic Chopin "Etude op. 25"

Porter Robinson "Nurture" album
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL

Duck o-o wrote:

ayo can i change my requests (if i have them cos i forgor ;-;, i think rite of spring?)

if so i wanna change it to dis cos its pretty recent release

ok
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
30th August 2024

Sweet Trip - A Tiny House, in Secret Speeches, Polar Equals
fuuuuck genres are so annoying im just going to say dream pop idk, American, 2021

(VOLUME JUMPSCARE WARNING, the first track starts off really soft and goes really loud suddenly)


(Link to the rest of the album)

Seeing Kanye West coming up in the list of suggested albums, I knew that I needed to tackle this conundrum at some point. Because of this, instead of tackling it with a Kanye West album, I wanted to start off in a more controlled environment, which is why I chose to listen to this album.

I have a bit of a history with Sweet Trip, I have been a fan of Velocity : Design : Comfort and You Will Never Know Why, two of their other albums, for quite a while now. However, even though I knew this album existed and found out about it very soon after it's release, I never got around to giving it a listen.

And now a bit about Sweet Trip, because who they are is very important to my experience of this album, as well as the discussion I want to have. Sweet Trip has consisted of multiple members over their existence, but the two most important in our are Roberto Burgos and Valerie Cooper. Burgos is the main songwriter/instrumentalist for the band, with Cooper being the primary female vocalist. Sweet Trip entered a hiatus in 2013, but would come reform in 2019 with just the two of Burgos and Cooper to release this album.

But you read the title, "Art vs the artist". I will admit this title is a bit misleading, because I don't want to discuss the debate of whether we should separate art from the artist. I am of the camp that it's better not to, as the context behind the art is essential for the art itself, and that knowing the context can lead to a deeper and more profound understanding and appreciation of the art. Or at least for me, I can't separate the art from the artist when I know about the artist.

However, this can also be a double edged sword in the enjoyment of art, as what if the context behind the art is bad? This is the question I wanted to explore with this album.

In 2021, Burgos SAed Cooper in a hotel room. This event came from an unrequited love that Burgos had for Cooper, a love that has been described as an "insane, creepy, pathetic, unrelenting, longtime obsession" by Cooper's husband, Daniel Cooper. Cooper had been married for 15 years at this point.

In addition to that, A Tiny House, in Secret Speeches, Polar Equals is about the feeling of love, specifically the love that Burgos felt towards Cooper. A literal love letter for Cooper. Although both were involved in songwriting, Burgos wrote all of the lyrics. Cooper sung these lyrics, lyrics about Burgos' love for her. She did not know about the true nature of the album until "late in the process".

And it was with this knowledge that I went into this album.

Firstly, although I like it less than the other two albums I've mentioned, the music in this album is good. It feels like an evolution of their third album You Will Never Know Why, but with a lot more of an experimental influence from the likes of Velocity : Design : Comfort, while still keeping itself very grounded. Each track drips with feelings of love and adoration, like For Lovers by Lamp. The album is slow but methodical, dreamy but focussed, and loud or soft when it needs to be. There are moments in this album that are beautiful.

But the album is unable to fully click for me. I will admit a bit of this was because of how sleepy I was while listening to it, the album wasn't really high energy enough for me to feel awake. But the main reason was how fucking creepy all the lyrics sound knowing the context behind them. Especially with tracks like In Sound, We Found Each Other where it's so painfully obvious that's it's written by Burgos and addressed to Valerie, and tracks like Eave Foolery, Mill Five, an anagram of "Valerie, Love of My Life", which Cooper didn't even know about until internet people found out about it, serving as the "In Secret Speeches" part of the album cover. The cool little glitchy effects that are reminiscent of the stuff in V:D:C I would have said feel out of place in this album about love, but with this context they take on this horrifying quality, like this album is corrupted, the love is corrupted.

In the end, I did enjoy the album, but it felt tainted by the story behind it. I think in this case, the positive aspects and negative aspects of the album get added together, and my ultimate enjoyment is the result of the sum of them. When going into the album I thought that maybe the negative context behind this album might make it interesting in maybe a morbid kind of way, and I guess it kind of did because thinking and writing about what I thought about it was interesting, but mostly not, it just ended up being unpleasant.

However, I do think I would still be able to enjoy Velocity : Design : Comfort and You Will Never Know Why, because neither of those albums are directly about these feelings and this situation (I think). They feel kinda separate from all the stuff going on between Burgos and Cooper, and they were made way in the past, before a lot of this bad stuff happened. Maybe this is what people mean by "separating art from the artist". But I don't think I was entirely wrong in my previous statement of being unable to separate the art from the artist. I think that going forward these two albums will have an asterisk over them, maybe not enough to significantly impact my enjoyment, but it will be forever there.

6/10

I'm probably going to do You Will Never Know Why soon in this thread to further explore this before Kanye West. I'm choosing this album because it's a lot more straightforward and approachable so I can focus on this idea, while Velocity : Design : Comfort has some crazy shit going on that might complicate things.

And on a positive note, 1989 by Taylor Swift is getting upgraded to a 5/10, Taylor Swift stays winning in this thread
Last edited by DM FOR MUTUAL , edited 1 time in total.
DM FOR MUTUAL
598 posts
Joined March 2021
Topic Starter
DM FOR MUTUAL
rip listening to a different album every day
Laxxer
1,975 posts
Joined February 2016
Laxxer
I will get banned if I say what I want to say
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