2025 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1, Week 3

After two weeks, we finally see the first differences emerge between the prime results and the Viewer’s Choice.  These differences seem small and insignificant at first, but as we continue through the year, they could result in massive divergences, which I think is interesting. 

This also concludes our first cycle of showdowns!  Next week will be a bye week, with no showdowns but new Tier 2 Album of the Day posts!

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II VS. Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II

Close call between these two.  Noah Kahan’s songwriting and clarity of vision in his songwriting is really compelling.  However, I have been interested in microtonal music for a while, and although I have liked a lot of things I have heard, I haven’t really loved any of it in the long term.  Byrnes’ ability to use microtonal techniques in a relatively accessible songwriting format is fascinating, and worthy of further investigation

 

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac VS. Restorations – Restorations

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

Admittedly, this one is a bit of a blowout.  Although Fleetwood Mac doesn’t represent the pinnacle of what this lineup would accomplish as a musical unit, it does contain several high points that show where they were heading.  This showdown also reveals the dissonance I have experienced with including “classic” albums in the tournament.  For some, Fleetwood Mac is an incontrovertible favorite, and any album going up against it will have to prove itself against the inevitable nostalgia that it brings up.  Inarguably, though, it is a superior album to Restorations.

 

TU-Ner – TU-Ner for Lovers VS. The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

For me, the results of this showdown are bound to the site of listening.  TU-Ner for Lovers is most effective when serving as the backdrop for writing or working late in the evening, but doesn’t sell as well during more engaged activities.  Although Fallow does have potential in intellectually focused settings, it speaks most clearly in the car or when doing housework.  In those settings, its unique cross-pollination of extreme metal and synthwave is arresting.

 

Spellling – The Turning Wheel VS. Jhariah – Trust Ceremony

Spellling – The Turning Wheel

Another showdown with a debatable outcome.  Jhariah is outstanding, but his over-the-top energy works against him on Trust Ceremony.  All of his music seems like any part of it could function as a standalone climax or cathartic bridge.  This seems like it would be a compliment, but a string of back-to-back climaxes in the context a full album feels frantic.  When Trust Ceremony is over, I am done with it.  Conversely, Spellling had the feeling of an album with a lot to give.  Every listen is more revealing, and despite having its own moments of melodrama, I am curious to see what it is hiding.

 

VIEWERS CHOICE RESULTS

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II VS. Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II

 

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac VS. Restorations – Restorations

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

 

TU-Ner – TU-Ner for Lovers VS. The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

 

Spellling – The Turning Wheel VS. Jhariah – Trust Ceremony

Jhariah – Trust Ceremony

The Morse Code Part 4: Spock's Beard's Day for Night

 Part 4 of a six-part series on the early music of Spock's Beard.

2025 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1, Week 2

Week 2 is down, and although the Viewer’s Choice results still match the prime list, there were a couple of surprises.  These are always interesting.  I usually walk into a showdown with some kind of idea about what the outcome will be, but it is not unusual for first impressions to get flipped when albums are placed side-by-side.

Last week I mentioned the changes I made in this year’s tournament structure.  I keep a log of my listening so that by the time I get to constructing the brackets, I know which albums I have listened to the most.  The original concept was that the albums with the most listens should be my favorites.  This has grown increasingly problematic, however, for two reasons.

One is that certain albums only work in certain settings.  For example, an extreme metal album will probably not get many plays with the family is around.  An ambient album, on the other hand, can get a play virtually every evening while dinner is being served.  In that case, the plays have more to do with the opportunities available than my actual connection with the album.

Secondly, in recent years, I have found that albums that I struggle with get more listens than the ones I immediately connect with.  Repeated listens come from my attempts to make sense of them.  Ultimately, these albums may never connect.  The result is that, after much consideration, albums I don’t like as much end up with more listens in the log.  Again, not really the goal.

So, for Tier 1, I have adopted the use of RateYourMusic aggregate scores to construct the Tier 1 bracket.  As I stated last week, this results in several immutable genre clashes.  This will subside a bit in Tier 2, when there is some consideration for the stylistic commonality of albums in a showdown.

 

Sheena Ringo – Kalk Samen Kuri No Hana VS. SlapSlap – Good Idea, Bad Execution

SlapSlap – Good Idea, Bad Execution

This was actually a HUGE upset.  In terms of concept and craft, Kalk Samen Kuri No Hana is arguably a superior album.  Despite its short run time, however, SlapSlap inevitably brings a smile to my face.  They are fantastic musicians with a unique concept of their own, but they don’t get bogged down by being overly serious.  Plus, there is an unofficial “best use of bassoon in a rock context” award that they clearly should dominate in 2025.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title As Of 12 Feburary, 2024 28340 Dead VS. LITE – Strata

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title As Of 12 Feburary, 2024 28340 Dead

I love LITE from a compositional standpoint, but their increasingly ambient style and deadpan vocals work against them these days.  Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s solemn dedication and explosive performances give them an edge here.

Magma – Udu Wudu VS. Karate – Make It Fit

Karate – Make It Fit

This was also a bit of an upset for me.  I was looking forward to watching Magma dominate in 2025, but when placed side-by-side with Karate’s no-frills post-punk songwriting it became clear that Make It Fit had more merit than I expected.

 

Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model VS. JayWood – Sling Shot

Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model

JayWood’s album is enjoyable and engaging, but also not particularly memorable from a melodic standpoint. Even at this early phase in his career, Elvis Costello’s work oozes memorability, giving him the edge here.

2025 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1, Week 1

Thanks to everyone for making this a solid first week of showdowns!  The response has been respectable, and the broader range of perspectives and opinions are definitely welcome.  Still, this week didn’t harbor any serious upsets, and the Viewer’s Choice results match my own.  I have a couple of ideas as to why that might be.

Although I have always included older “classic” albums in my listening habits, this year had an intentionally larger percentage of these albums – no less than 25%!  Its interesting to consider these albums alongside more recent releases, if for nothing else as a “control group” for more current listening.  For me, all these albums are “new” listening, but for many, some of these albums may be personal favorites that have not only the strength of their musical worth, but also the undeniable pull of nostalgia.  If anyone asked me to put anything up against Moving Pictures or Discipline, the contender wouldn’t stand a chance no matter how great the album might objectively be.

This is particularly pronounced in these early rounds due to the way that the tournament brackets are set up.  I have, in the past, assembled the brackets by tracking the number of listens each album gets, but this system is problematic for reasons I will address at a later date.  This year, I constructed the brackets entirely by each album’s aggregate score on RateYourMusic.com, with the highest rated album against the lowest, the second highest against the second lowest, etc.  These first showdowns have the biggest disparity between ratings, so theoretically, the early decisions should be relatively straightforward.  As we get further down the bracket, however, the difference between the scoring should be less, so the albums should be closer in quality.

Of course, any kind of objective numeric rating for an album is hogwash when it comes to subjective experience.  Nonetheless, it is still an interesting starting point.

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick VS. Alan Sparhawk – White Roses, My God

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick

There’s a reason why this Jethro Tull album is considered a classic.  Not only does it chocked full of amazing musical performances, it is also elegantly crafted.  The way the themes are introduced, reinvented, and recombined are worthy of close study and attention.  As interesting and adventurous as Alan Sparhawk’s first post-Low solo album is, it has a big hill to climb to overcome Thick as a Brick.

System of a Down – Toxicity VS. Amythyst Kiah – Still + Bright

System of a Down – Toxicity

This showdown was actually far more contentious than it might seem.  I somehow got through the early aughts without ever really considering System of a Down, but Toxicity immediately impressed me as a particularly distinctive take on so-called “nu-metal.”  It impressed me from the outset. Amythyst Kiah’s killer songwriting and bluntly authentic approach to blues, country, and indie rock, however, really grew on me over the course of the last month or so and very nearly caused an upset here.

 

Tinted Windows – Tinted Windows VS. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World

The Cure – Songs of a Lost World

Tinted Windows should be considered amongst the finest of power pop albums.  Its muscular and solid, but still has melodies sweet enough to win over fans of more polished forms of the style.  Like Toxicity, however, the vibe of this new Cure album won me over immediately and has continued to keep my interest.  Never mind the fact that former Tin Machine and Bowie guitarist Reeves Gabriels is now the official guitarist for The Cure – and that Robert Smith sounds utterly fantastic.

 

XTC – Black Sea VS. London Grammar – The Greatest Love

XTC – Black Sea

This is one that I know hits home with lots of listeners.  XTC has a fervent fanbase, and anyone who likes them sees this as one of their best.  I can see why.  The band’s energy is on fire, and the songwriting on The Black Sea is both detailed and accessible.  This one may rank alongside Skylarking and English Settlement as one of my favorites.  London Grammar’s lush, liminal atmospheres also perhaps had an unfair hill to climb in this showdown.  Not to worry, however, as they will return in Tier 5 this Summer for a second shot.

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums - Part 12 of 12: The All-Japan Demo

Coming back around for the second year in a row! Featuring:

LITE - Strata (2024) Sheena Ringo - Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (2003) Melt-Banana - 3+5 (2024) Kohachiro Minyata - Shakuhachi: The Japanese Bamboo Flute (1991)

And the playlist

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums - Part 11 of 12: The Hip Hop Show

A collection of albums from hip-hop, rap, and funk artists, including:

Tyler, the Creator - Chromakopia (2024) The El Michaels Affair and Black Thought - Glorious Game (2023) JayWood - Slingshot (2022) Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded (1987)

And the list...

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums: Part 10 of 12 - The Metal Post

This is the post for the metalheads out there, including music from:

Opeth - The Last Will and Testament (2024) The Tongue of Eden - Fallow (2024) Devin Townsend - Powernerd (2024) System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)

The 2025 playlist

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums - Part 9 of 12: The Jazz/Ambient Continuum

This post explores the space between "jazz" and "ambient" as idealized genres, including:

Count Basie and Quincy Jones - One More Time (1959) Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8 (2018) Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn - Pigments (2022) Colin Stetson - The Love It Took To Leave You (2024)

And for your listening enrichment:

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums: Part 8 of 12 - 80s Adjacent Artists

An interesting collection of albums from and about the 80's (well, mostly); The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (2024) Timecop1983- Night Drive (2018) Clarence Clarity - Vanishing Act II: Ultimate Reality (2024) Missing Persons - Spring Session M (1982)

Current playlist

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums: Part 7 of 12 - Prog Stuff

What can I say? I like the prog.

Circe Link & Christian Nesmith - Arcana (2024) Meer - Wheels Within Wheels (2024) Soft Machine - Bundles (1975) Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick (1972)

Glerg.

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums: Part 6 of 12 - Deep Listening

Its time for some weirder stuff, including:

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,380 Dead (2024) Nick Millevoi - Digital Reaction (2023) TU-Ner - TU-Ner for Lovers (2024) Magma - Üdü Ẁüdü (1976)

And you know....that thing....

Overview of 2025 Tier 1 Albums: Part 5 of 12 - Guitar Pop Rocks

Guitar-based songwriting is the name of the game for this post: Karate - Make it Fit (2024) Tinted Windows- Tinted Windows (2009) Hotline TNT - Cartwheel (2023) Elvis Costello - This Year's Model (1978)

And the growing playlist grows...

Overview of 2025 Tier 1 Albums: Part 4 of 12 - Viewer's Recs

These are all suggestions from my Patreon subscribers. Cool stuff, including:

Clutch - Blast Tyrant (2004) Restorations - Restorations (2024) London Grammar - The Greatest Love (2024) Noah Kahan - Stick Season (2022)

And, of course, the 2025 playlist

2025 Overview of Tier 1 Albums: Part 3 of 12 - The Floyd Factor

This post posits that these artists have a level of aesthetic overlap with Pink Floyd. What say you?

David Gilmour - Luck and Strange (2024) Brandon Byrnes - Transfigured Earth I & II (2024) Gazpacho - Bravo (2003) Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975)

The current playlist

2024 Tier 1 Overview: Part 2 of 12 - Genre-Bending Albums

Another round of fun and thought-provoking music from artists that create in the spaces between:

Amythyst Kiah - Still + Bright (2024) Spellling - The Turning Wheel (2022) Jhariah - Trust Ceremony (2024) Prince - Controversy (1980)

And an updated Dr. Spin's radio list.  Most recent artists get moved to the top.

2025 Tier 1 Albums Overview: Part 1 of 12 - Quirky Pop

Kicking off 2025 with the annual Tier 1 festival of albums. Now with more classic albums and returning favorites: Field Music - Limits of Language (2024) Alan Sparhawk - White Roses, My God (2024) SlapSlap - Bad Idea, Good Execution (2023) XTC - Black Sea (1980)

And an all-new playlist for 2025!

2024 Viewer's Choice Roundtable Review!

 Its up - with only minor editing to ensure authenticity...

2024 Favorite Albums: The Viewer's Choice List!

 Painstakingly curated throughout the year, this list is sure to include your new favorite album:

And here's a playlist of some outstanding tracks from each album: