2024 Album Showdown Results: Final Tier 6 Results and Upcoming Attractions

This post documents the remaining Tier 6 showdowns, two from this week and a couple of stragglers from the previous cycle.  The divergences here between the prime results and those of the Viewer’s Choice is pretty striking, but it's these differences that make running the parallel brackets so interesting (not unlike divergent endings in the old Choose Your Own Adventure books…).

Tier 7 will continue this week and into the next, with the prime results being posted in short-form videos published in the microblogging portal of your choice.  Tier 7 results produce the preliminary Fall Top 12, a list that will be finalized after the group’s top contributor replaces one album on the list with one favorite eliminated album from Tier 6. 

After finalizing the Fall Top 12, the group will need to select saves for the finals.  A Google Doc of eligible Tier 6  albums will be made available on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and close on Friday at noon on Nov. 22.  All participants will select six favorites from this list, and the most-voted for albums will advance directly to the finals.

Finals will begin on Friday, Nov. 22.  Completing all showdowns by the end of the year will require EIGHT showdowns a week for five weeks.  That’s a lot.  The good news is that the majority of these albums will be ones that we are already familiar with.  The bad news is that they will all be good.  I don’t want folks to get overwhelmed, so I see a couple of options to help with the pacing.

• Option 1: Four showdowns twice a week in the same Friday and Monday pattern that we have sustained all year long

• Option 2: Two showdowns four times a week Friday through Monday.

I will release a poll in the group alongside these results to get a sense of what works best for everyone.  

One last thing, if you want to participate in the finals, now is the perfect time to jump on board.  Previous participation is not a requirement.  Contact me through my Patreon account for details on how to be involved.  The more people pitch in, the more rigorous the final list will be.  

Kofi Flexxx - Flowers in the Dirt VS. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Open Me: A HIgher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit

Kofi Flexxx - Flowers in the Dirt

Given its relatively subdued tone, it is easy to overlook the genius moments throughout Open Me. Flowers in the Dirt has many similar moments, but with a defiant tone that I find appealing.

Alcest - Les Chants de l'Aurore VS. Cloakroom - Dissolution Wave

Cloakroom - Dissolution Wave

Dissolution Wave has been a serious sleeper this season.  There’s a part of me that fondly remembers participating in the 90s Dallas music scene, and this album activates a sense of nostalgia for live bands from that era.  Musically, Alcest is arguably the superior group, but their languid vocal delivery makes for a confusing expressive rift in the album’s emotive capacity, allowing Dissolution Wave to take this one.

Kalandra - A Frame of Mind VS. The Decemberists - As It Always Was, So It Will Be Again

The Decemberists - As It Always Was, So It Will Be Again

I have a lot of personal affection for the heavy-folk-lite-prog of Kalandra, their more recent album lacks some of the psychedelic elements that made their debut so distinctive.  Additionally, the Decemberists can simply write great, singable tunes with tear-jerking lyrics, which is hard to beat in this year’s showdown environment.

Debashish Bhattacharya - The Sound of the Soul VS. Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukat - Chasing the Phantom

Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukatt - Chasing the Phantom

So tricky, as these are both outstanding contemporary examples of traditional music from different culture-groups  Debashish Bhattacharya is inarguably brilliant, and The Sound of the Soul is an excellent, low-commitment introduction to the sounds of Hindustani classical music.  Situations like this, however, can boil down to personal preference, and I just love the wicked intensity and structure of Balinese gamelan.  Dewa Alit’s unique tuning approach and the fiery virtuosity of Gamelan Salukat make my hairs stand on end, and I have to recognize that.  Chasing the Phantom goes on.

Viewer’s Choice 

Madlib - Sound Ancestors VS. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Open Me: A HIgher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Open Me: A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit

Alcest - Les Chants de l'Aurore VS. Mandy, Indiana - I’ve Seen a Way 

Alcest - Les Chants de l’Aurore

Kalandra - Frame of Mind VS. The Decemberists - As It Always Was, So It Will Be Again

Kalandra - Frame of Mind

Debashish Bhattacharya - The Sound of the Soul VS. Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukat - Chasing the Phantom

Deabashish Bhattacharya - The Sound of the Soul

2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 6 Part 5

Leprous - Melodies of Atonement VS. Birth - Born

Leprous - Melodies of Atonement

Born is a beefy chunk of retro-prog, for sure, and one packed with technical, patinated playing.  I don’t necessarily walk away humming their songs, though, while Melodies of Atonement’s more pop-inspired aspects have an earwormish way.  It also doesn’t hurt that those tunes are imprinted with Einar Solberg’s vocals.

Azmari - Maelstrom VS. Altin Gun - Ask

Azmari - Maelstrom

Both of these European cross-cultural ensembles are equally seductive and inventive.  Of the two, however, I would venture to say that Azmari is the more musically adventurous.

Mo Dotti - Opaque VS. The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

Its the tunes, plain and simple.  Mo Dotti’s are excellent, especially within their shoegaze frame, but The Beth’s melodicism and energy wins out.

Floating Points - Cascade VS. Disasterpeace - Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar

Disasterpeace - Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar

Huge, huge, HUGE upset here.  Floating Points has been behind some of my absolute favorite music for the past two years, which probably casts a bit of an unfair shadow on Cascade.  It is an absolutely brilliant EDM album - probably one of the best I’ve heard in years - but it just doesn’t break genre barriers in the way that I am used to hearing from Floating Points.  The arresting compositional craft of Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar, coupled with its inherent nostalgic qualities, gave it a surprising edge.

Viewer’s Choice

Leprous - Melodies of Atonement VS. Bill Fisher - How to Think Like a Millionaire

Bill Fisher - How to Think Like a Millionaire

Azmari - Maelstrom VS. Glass Beams - Mahal

Azmari - Maelstrom

Mo Dotti - Opaque VS. The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field

Floating Points - Cascade VS. Disasterpeace - Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar

Floating Points - Cascade

King Crimson Then and Now: Can You Beat Beat playing Beat?

A look back at King Crimson's 1982 album Beat, as well as the current retrospective tour by the band of the same name, with a special emphasis on the band's identity.

Link to text post on King Crimson's Discipline & Red Link to text post on Yes' particular identity considerations

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Dr. Spin's Radio

2024 Album Roundup Series: October Tier 6 Contenders

The last batch of tunes for Tier 6, including:

Floating Points - Cascade (2024) Mo Dotti - Opaque (2024) Debashish Bhattacharya - The Sound of the Soul (2024) Azmari - Maelstrom (2024) Leprous - Melodies of Atonement (2024) Kalandra - Frame of Mind (2024)

If you're here, you should be a Patreon member.  You just should:

And, as promised, the ongoing Dr. Spin's Radio playlist for 2024

The Morse Code Part 3: Spock's Beard & The Kindness of Strangers

This is the third in a six-part series on the early releases of Spock's Beard. In this installment, we'll take a closer look at the band's 1998 debut album, The Kindness of Strangers.

If you dig this, support the channel by subscribing to my Patreon below:

2024 Album Roundup Series: October Tier 6 Contenders

More great and interesting music to check out, including music from:

Wesley Fuller - All Fuller, No Filler (2024) Jack White - No Name (2024) Chrystabell & David Lynch - Cellophane Memories (2024) Alcest - Les Chants de l'Aurore (2024) The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Open Me: Open Me: A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit (2024) Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue (1985)

Here's a text post about Lynch and the Chanteuse

And, of course, the Dr Spin's Radio playlist.

2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 6, Part 4

Chrystabell & David Lynch - Cellophane Memories VS. Bill Rieflin - Birth of a Giant

Bill Rieflin - Birth of a Giant

Cellophane Memories is must-have for any David Lynch enthusiast.  It sheds light on a different corner of his universe and, as is usually the case, unearths new perspectives as much as it conceals others.  It is, however, niche listening for the patient Lynch fan.  One could argue that Birth of a Giant holds a similar place in the King Crimson timeline, but the performances are more overtly charismatic (especially those of Robert Fripp).  Additionally, as a Tier 1 survivor, time has been kind to the album as repeated listenings have revealed deeper musical structures.

Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue VS. Peter Gabriel - i/o (Bright Side Mix)

Peter Gabriel - i/o (Bright Side Mix)

Both of these albums are flawed masterpieces from top-notch artists, but i’o’s high points outshine those found on Metal Fatigue.  It looks like very soon, we will need to decide which mix of i/o, the bright or dark side, will represent Peter Gabriel in the finals.

Jack White - No Name VS. Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Jack White - No Name

Although I have had reticence with Remember That You Will Die this year, the album has grown on me significantly.  Jack White’s surprise release, however, recaptures the energy that defined him in an arresting way.  

Wesley Fuller - All Fuller, No Filler VS. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

Wesley Fuller - All Fuller, No Filler

Big upset here,, especially as The Lemon Twigs were darlings due to the incredible artistic success of Everything Harmony last year.  That album may have hurt A Dream Is All We Know to a degree, because the likelihood that they would recapture the magic of that album was low and objectively comparing two albums released that close to one another is just plain difficult.  There is a sense, however, that A Dream Is All We Know was an attempt to nostalgically recapture an aesthetic rather than reinventing a well-trod style.  Fuller is a retro-rocker as well, but his playful nature and wry sense of melody is nearly irresistible.  

Viewer’s Choice Results

Chrystabell & David Lynch - Cellophane Memories VS. Bill Rieflin - Birth of a Giant

Bill Rieflin - Birth of a Giant

Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue VS. Peter Gabriel - i/o (Bright Side Mix)

Peter Gabriel - i/o (Bright Side Mix)

Jack White - No Name VS. Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

Jack White - No Name

Wesley Fuller - All Fuller, No Filler VS. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

Wesley Fuller - All Fuller, No Filler