2022 Album Eliminations: Tier 2, Week 4

This week’s elimination results:

Alice TM – Little Bodies in Orbit VS. Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point
Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point

Parliament – The Mothership Connection VS. Tom McGuire & the Brassholes – Tom McGuire & the Brassholes
Tom McGuire & the Brassholes - Tom McGuire and the Brassholes

Amythyst Kiah – Wary & Strange VS. Marillion – An Hour Before Its Dark
Amythyst Kiah – Wary & Strange

This week’s contentious showdown was definitely Tears for Fears VS. Alice TM, and its an example of a weird phenomenon that this structure sometimes brings to light. I had Alice TM pegged as a dark horse favorite early this year, and I have a history of resistance to some of Tears for Fears’ other work. I put The Tipping Point against Little Bodies in Orbit knowing that if it were to go on, it would have to prove itself.

And it did. Big time

My usual criticism of Tears for Fears centers on the way in which they often dance with overly clean, nearly sanitary production, resulting in lack of edge that borders on "Adult Contemporary." The Tipping Point has a LOT of edge, however, in its devastatingly personal content that sees singer Roland Orbazal wrestling with the tragic death of his wife. As much as I really love the unique vibe of Alice TM’s album, and it has no lack of personally revealing lyrics, several of the songs on The Tipping Point are emotionally moving in a way that I could not ignore.

Once I accepted that perhaps The Tipping Point is superior to Little Bodies in Orbit, it really opened up for me, and I quickly came to appreciate aspects of the album that I had ignored up to that point. I might not have had this revelation if I didn’t force myself to think about it in relation to another outstanding album.

Album Eliminations 2022: Tier 2, Week 3

 This weeks eliminations went down like this:

Brendan Eder Ensemble - Cape Cod Cottage VS. Nejira - Blume
Nejira - Blume

Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend VS. The Anchoress - The Art of Losing

The Anchoress - The Art of Losing

Mononeon - Put On Earth For You VS. Common - A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2

Mononeon - Put On Earth For You

Getting into these later tiers assumes more and more difficulty.  I have to very often eliminate  REALLY great albums for the sake of the process, so to be clear, I am not in any way saying that eliminated albums are poor.  Most often, its a matter of details or, admittedly, how I am feeling that day.  

All three of these were tough, especially the Mononeon VS. Common.  Mononeon's enviable artistry and unique vision edged him out over Common, but only slightly.  In fact, I see Common as a potential year-end Top 20 entry, so it feels a bit premature for A Beautiful Revolution pt. 2 to be out of the game.

So, this year I am formalizing the "save" process.  I will cite six "saves" from tier 2 and 3 eliminations this Spring, which I will narrow to three the week of June 1.  I will do the same for the Fall.  These saves will form a final round with the December roundup entries.

This "apples and oranges" process is often problematic, I know, but it produces satisfying results in the end.  Having some level of redundancy makes me feel like I gave all albums the best chances possible.  

Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace: Remembering Taylor

A look back at a high point in the Foo Fighter's catalog, 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, with special mention of the contributions of Taylor Hawkins.

2022 Album Roundup Series: The Albums of April

New music in rotation for April, 2022, including:

Mononeon - Put On Earth For You (2022) Tears for Fears - The Tipping Point (2022) Tom McGuire & the Brassholes - Tom McGuire & the Brassholes (2019) Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend (2021) Nerija - Blume (2019) Marillion - An Hour Before It's Dark (2022)

Relevant Links:

Post on Mononeon Series on early Marillion

2022 Album Eliminations: Tier 2 Week 2

Tier 2 eliminations continue with just two showdowns this week.

Beauty Pill – Sorry You’re Here VS. The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World

Beauty Pill – Sorry You’re Here

Soccer Mommy – Color Theory VS. Crying – Get Olde Second Wind

Soccer Mommy – Color Theory

These were both pretty straightforward for me, although mention should be made on An Empty Bliss Beyond This World.  As an examination on dementia, it is profoundly effective.  It’s also deeply disturbing.  I have a lot of respect for it, but I don’t think I’d listen to it for fun.  Beauty Pill is often equally as unsettling when they addresses suicide, but nevertheless maintains a level of accessibility.  That edged The Caretaker out.

Mononeon's Readymade Identity and Supermane

An introduction to Mononeon and his killer 2021 album Supermane

Relevant Links A bit I wrote a while back on the Death of the Album

2022 Album Eliminations Tier 2 Week 1

Tier 2 begins this week! The albums that passed through Tier 1 are now taking on new music from Feburary and March, heading towards a mid-year Top 10. Here’s how things played out:

Men I Trust – The Untourable Album VS. Damon Albarn – The Nearer the Fountain, The More Pure the Stream Flows
Men I Trust – The Untourable Album

ABBA – Voyage VS. The Buggles – The Age of Plastic
The Buggles – The Age of Plastic

Fire-Tools – Eternal Home VS. Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3
Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3

Ben Kweller – Sha Sha VS. Sharhabil Ahmed – The King of Sudanese Jazz
Ben Kweller – Sha Sha

The most contentious showdown this week was Fire-Toolz vs. Liquid Tension Experiment. Fire-Tools is a project that I find really, really intriguing, but a combination of the album’s overall length and the ridiculous chops of the Liquid Tension Experiment tipped the scales in their favor.