Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson - Children of Nature VS. TU-Ner - TU-Ner for Lovers
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson - Children of Nature
Another King Crimson-adjacent album gets knocked out. What gives? Well, both this album and The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior from last Spring are incredible listening experiences. They are, however, very VERY improvisational. Especially on TU-Ner for Lovers, the sense that the musicians involved really had no idea what they were about to do is particularly prominent. In the context of a King Crimson improvisation, this means that you can’t count on any clear structure or melodic consistency to hold things together. It is, instead, the collected experience, intuition, and chemistry of the musicians involved that give the music consistency, which provides the listener with many memorable moments, but also obscures the coherency of the overall experience. Children of Nature is hauntingly consistent and emotionally moving, if in a different tone than TU-Ner for Lovers.
Parannnoul - Sky Hundred VS. Restorations - Restorations
Parannoul - Sky Hundred
Despite having a few questionable production choices, Sky Hundred clearly aligns itself with the shoegaze paradigm in all the right ways, making for performances that brim over with expressiveness. Restorations, instead, goes for brute force when it comes to expression, which isn’t a deal-breader on its own, but the gravelly howling of the vocals hold me at arm’s length.
Lay Low - Brostinn Strengur VS. Noah Kahan - Stick Season
Noah Kahan - Stick Season
A closer match probably could not exist than between these two albums. Both are fantastically imaginative folktronica releases with outstanding performances and satisfying melodies. The biggest difference, in my opinion, is due to their respective cultural backgrounds. Lay Low is Icelandic, and her choice to render Icelandic poetry as lyrics for this album is a feature of Brostinn Strengur that, relatively speaking, probably rivals Noah Kahan’s lyrical travelog. As an American, however, I can more readily relate to Noah Kahan’s lyrics, not just because they are in my native language, but because they speak directly to familiar experiences.
Sobs - Air Guitar VS. Jhariah - Trust Ceremony
Sobs - Air Guitar
Jhariah is a challenging one. He holds a true musical depth close to his chest, as evidenced by the complexity of his arrangements and the density of his details. His flaw is in his pacing. 80% of Trust Ceremony sounds like it should be a musical climax. Despite all of its impressive compositional strengths, to my ears it's distractingly loud and intense, perhaps even frantic. Air Guitar is more measured and clever, as a lot of successful power pop-adjacent styles are.
Viewer’s Choice
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson - Children of Nature VS. TU-Ner - TU-Ner for Lovers
TU-Ner - TU-Ner for Lovers
Parannnoul - Sky Hundred VS. Restorations - Restorations
Parannoul - Sky Hundred
Lay Low - Brostinn Strengur VS. Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth pts. I & II
Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth pts. I & II
Sobs - Air Guitar VS. SPELLLING - The Turning Wheel
Sobs - Air Guitar
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