2025 Album Showdown Results :Tier 1, Week 4

Colin Stetson – The Love it Took to Leave You VS. Devin Townsend – Powernerd

Devin Townsend – Powernerd

Inarguably, it is folly to downplay Colin Stetson’s vision.  His maximal-minimalist approach to saxophone technique, composition, and performance is otherworldly and hauntingly effective – but it does have its limits.  Throughout The Love It Took to Leave You, Stetson explores those limits, sometimes at length, and this makes the album seem a bit overlong.  Powernerd, in contrast, feels compact, direct, and memorable.  Its situations like these that make me wonder what a collaboration between these two would produce.

This was in contrast to the Viewer' Choice vote, which went for Colin Stetson. Completely justifiable.  In all others for this week, we are in agreement.

 

Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8 VS. Field Music – Limits of Language

Field Music – Limits of Language

Another really tough call, as Space 1.8 is far more engaging than I initially gave it credit for.  Field Music kinda has home court advantage here, however, as I’ve been following them for years and am looking for a reason to get them back into my ears more regularly.

 

Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia VS. Timecop1983 – Night Drive

Timecop1983 – Night Drive

As I’ve said elsewhere, I think that Tyler, the Creator is, as he states, creative.  His delivery style, however, doesn’t land too well with me.  Drive’s archetypical synthwave approach gets my vote here, despite being a bit more languid than I had expected.

 

Clutch – Blast Tyrant VS. Gazpacho – Bravo

Gazpacho – Bravo

This was actually a minor upset.  My initial impression of this Gazpacho album fell a little flat, while I’ve been on board with Clutch’s gutbucket rock from the get-go.  But Bravo clicked for me this week, and I’ve been wanting to delve into it a bit deeper.  Clutch will get the pause for now.

2025 Album Showdown Series: March Tier 2 Contenders

 Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the music of Spring - Tier 2!

And the playlist!

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.