Many other music critics pride themselves on the sheer amount of music that they go through. As a voracious, possibly pathological consumer of music, I can see the appeal. I also, however, am a person who uses music as a soundtrack to life. This requires “living with” an album for a period of time to allow it to attach to experience. If you look back through this blog, you can see that for a long time, I struggled with balancing my hunger for new music with the potential for creating future nostalgia, a situation which led to this convoluted showdown bracket structure that you’ve chosen to follow along with.
It's my goal to provide every album I listen to with the opportunity to become my favorite, but the system is imperfect. For example, in the Summer, I have to acquaint myself with a whole lot of new music very quickly in order to set up the brackets for the Fall. If these albums get eliminated, they really don’t have much of a chance to speak. Similarly, I like to continue to listen to new albums in December, but realistically, this music doesn’t really have the chance to take root within its given calendar year. Putting them into consideration for Album of the Year seems unreasonable.
This is the reason for Tier 4. By this point, it's pretty much a given that any album from this year that makes it this far is quality, but pulling albums from these two resources as a final check before finalizing the mid-year Top 12 inevitably results in some upsets - as you will see below.
This also results in some very divergent showdowns in the viewer’s bracket, as both last year’s Tier 5 and surviving finals titles may not be the same as the prime. Also, style matching is a ballpark estimation, and is sometimes impossible given the surviving titles.
88Kasyo Junrei - Genma Taisai VS. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up Here
88Kasyo Junrei - Genma Taisai
I’ve been trying for a while with Black Country, New Road, and although I like (perhaps, at times, even love) them, the melodrama sometimes takes a toll. 88Kasyo Junrei leaps over the language barrier with catchy tunes and a quirky identity.
clipping. - Dead Channel Sky VS. Master Boot Record - Personal Computer
clipping. - Dead Channel Sky
Do not, under any circumstances, sleep on Master Boot Record. Personal Computer is an impossibly great and consistent album, but one in which the focus is so narrow as to squash variety. The songs are pretty interchangeable, but they are all great. Dead Channel Sky is a full-album experience, and while I have made a lot of fuss about Dahveed Diggs’ incomparable vocal talents, the more experimental and avant-garde moments on the album keep its overall narrative fresh.
Opeth - The Last Will and Testament VS. Blood Incantation - Elsewhere
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
This is a huge, huge upset that I did not expect. I’ve been a staunch advocate of The Last Will and Testament all season, and I absolutely maintain that it is a brilliantly conceived and executed album. If not one of Opeth’s finest, certainly a big step forward in their progression. Absolute Elsewhere, however, made a similar impression on me last December, and I have been sleeping on it ever since. In many ways, it is at the very least the technical and conceptual equal to The Last Will and Testament. Absolute Elsewhere gets the edge with me personally, however, from its cosmic space-rock tone and unhinged performances.
Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death VS. Cate le Bon - Pompeii
Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death
I know that a lot of critics love this Cate le Bon album, but its pervasive mid-tempo pacing challenges my interest. Conversely, Witchy Activities and the Maple Death is a serious contender for my Album of the Year. Shutout.
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels VS. All Traps on Earth - A Drop of Light
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels
This showdown rests largely on how experimental and challenging you like your progressive rock. While technical, avant-garde prog certainly resonates with me, I have always leaned towards projects that employ the progressive rock paradigm to expand on accessible song structures. A Drop of Light is electrifying and complex - certainly worthy of respect! Its pervasive twists and turns, however, require significant attention from the listener. There is inarguably a payoff from that investment, but Meer’s reimagined neo-prog approach puts singability, and therefore this showdown’s win, within reach.
Basie and Quincy Jones - Basie One More Time VS. Glass Beams - Mahal
Count Basie and Quincy Jones - Basie One More Time
The temptation here is to say “well, its Basie” and give One More Time the win on its own recognizance. It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss Mahal. It’s “Wallpaper funk goes to Persia” tone and androgynous anonymity carry a lot of weight that shouldn’t be ignored. It is, however, clearly an EP, and it finishes way before it feels like it is done saying what it needs to say. Besides - its Basie!
Viewer’s Choice Results
Soft Machine - Bundles VS. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up Here
Soft Machine - Bundles
Missing Persons - Spring Session M VS. Master Boot Record - Personal Computer
Missing Persons - Spring Session M
Dream Theater - Parasomnia VS. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
Dream Theater - Parasomnia
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac VS. Cate le Bon - Pompeii
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels VS. All Traps on Earth - A Drop of Light
Meer - Wheels Within Wheels
Count Basie and Quincy Jones - Basie One More Time VS. Kofi Flexxx - Flowers in the Dark
Count Basie and Quincy Jones - Basie One More Time
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