This post documents the final set of Tier 3 showdowns! At this point, we have narrowed down over 120 albums to just 12, with the final list revealing, but not finalizing, itself. There is one more round of refinement to address in the coming weeks. Prepare for Tier 4!
Tier 4 could be considered the “sudden death” round. Here, we will reintroduce a few previous albums that, due to their timing, may have not gotten a fair shake. Half of this tier is composed of all the new music that was introduced at the end of November but did not make last year’s Top 20. Often, great albums get lost in the shuffle as attention is focused on the finals during the last month of the year. They are given a second chance in Tier 4.
Also, the top rated albums that were introduced in last year’s Tier 5 will fill out the Tier 4 bracket. As you will see in the coming months, there is a “speed-dating” aspect to Tier 5. Over the course of a couple of weeks, we will need to familiarize ourselves with 24 new albums that will go up against the 24 eliminated albums from Tier 1, with January’s music having the clear advantage of familiarity and momentum. New music that needs time and investment often doesn’t have the luxury of either, and the inclusion of these albums in this year’s Tier 4 is intended to open up some space for this music to reveal itself.
But I am getting ahead. Here’s Tier 3:
Todd Rundgren - 2nd Wind VS. XTC - Black Sea
XTC - Black Sea
Some interesting juxtapositions arise when comparing these albums. Whereas Black Sea documents the distinctive live chemistry that XTC had in their early years before submitting to the potentials of the studio-as-instrument, 2nd Wind shows Todd Rundgren trying to capture a similar liveness by recording in front of a live audience in a setting intended to maintain the clarity of studio recording. While one might argue that Rundgren’s songs are more compositionally advanced, XTC’s songwriting was definitely coming into its own on Black Sea, but with lightning-in-a-bottle energy that is largely flattened out on 2nd Wind
Karate - Make it Fit VS. The Marvelous 3 - The Hey! Album
Karate - Make it Fit
Although The Hey! Album is a pristine example of late 90’s power pop, its cookie-cutter stylistic boundaries and production work against it in comparison to Make it Fit. At their best, Karate has always been unflinchingly sincere and subtly virtuosic, and this most recent release succinctly captures that dynamic.
Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth pts. I & II VS. Mount Eerie - Night Palace
Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth pts. I & II
Night Palace is great, and an album that clearly reveals itself upon multiple listens. It's thought-provoking and intimate, and is probably better appreciated when “lived with” rather than “listened to.” Brendan Byrne’s wide-eyed and enthusiastic experimentation with microtonality, however, is impossible to ignore. Most microtonal artists showcase the disorienting oddness of their work over its actual content, but Byrnes sets the comprehensibility of the music first, using unique flavors to infuse his music with deeper emotional potential.
Bill Rieflin, Trey Gunn, & Robert Fripp - The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior VS. Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Midnight Tangerine
Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Midnight Tangerine
King Crimson, and by association, its many side ProjeKCts, is the prototypical “progressive rock” band. They are distinguished from many of their contemporaries, however, by their avant-garde aspects. The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior predicts the 2000 iteration of King Crimson as a set of improvised b-roll tracks that came out of the sessions for Bill Rieflin’s solo album, Birth of a Giant, and leans very hard into abstractions. The high level of musicianship is a given, but what is far more impressive is the level of instinctive interaction between the three of them. It's like listening to a musical discussion between Foucault, Chomsky, and Merleau-Ponty. Its experimental scope, however, does result in some meandering that requires significant focus. Midnight Tangerine is not without its own adventurousness, but its emphasis on somnambulistic melancholy is much more engaging and accessible. Interestingly, this liminal tone is shared by The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior to an extent, leading me to imagine what would happen if Rieflin, Gunn, and Fripp collaborated with Death’s Dynamic Shroud, adding their distinctive instrumental voice to Midnight Tangerine’s introspective atmospheres.
Steven Wilson - The Overview VS. David Gilmour - Luck and Strange
Steven Wilson - The Overview
At this stage in his career, David Gimour owes us nothing. As a guy who took part in some of the most musically creative rock albums in the style’s history, one could hardly blame him for simply enjoying a simpler life in his retirement. With this in mind, Luck and Strange could arguably be seen as lacking ambition. Gilmour doesn’t tread much new ground here - the songs border on the predictable and his voice shows wear. His guitar playing, however, is simply phenomenal, and is easily worth the price of admission. Steven Wilson, on the other hand, can in no way be accused of having a lack of ambition. The Overview is his most progressive outing in decades, and he realizes the huge scope of the album with almost otherworldly ease.
Ghost - Skeleta VS. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
Ghost - Skeleta
This one was easily the most problematic choice of this entire tier - maybe of the whole season. Although there are dedicated fans of The Cure who have expressed disappointment with Songs of a Lost World, its atmospheric, sensual reinterpretation of the band’s gothic roots, I have no such association. I absolutely love its meditative tone and abrasive edges, and I have since its introduction in January. Allowing Ghost to advance in its stead is a huge upset, but kicking and screaming, Skeleta has won me over with its pervasive melodicism and songcraft. There is not a moment on the album that is bereft of a memorable hook, and as a fan of 80s AOR, I probably have more of a nostalgic connection with its “Bo Burnham meets Asia” approach than I do to The Cure’s somber tone.
Viewer’s Choice Results
Field Music - Limits of Language VS. XTC - Black Sea
XTC - Black Sea
Elvis Costello - This Year’s Model VS. Squid - Cowards
Elvis Costello - This Year’s Model
Noah Kahan - Stick Season VS. Mount Eerie - Night Palace
Noah Kahan - Stick Season
Bill Rieflin, Trey Gunn, & Robert Fripp - The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior VS. Timecop 1983 - Night Drive
Timecop1983 - Night Drive
Steven Wilson - The Overview VS. Prince - Controversy
Prince - Controversy
System of a Down - Toxicity VS. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
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