2023 Album Showdown Results: Spring Mix 1

To get everything to work out before mid-year and still give new music a chance to simmer, this week has a mix of Tier 2 and a few Tier 3 showdowns. Tier 3 are really tough, as all of those entries have passed previous showdowns to get there. My philosophy in dealing with those requires a measure of uncharacteristic ruthlessness. A small vocal affectation or inconsistency can make the difference. I refer often to a quote from M. Night Shamalayn in relationship to editing a script - you sometimes have to cut out your favorite part (or, in the case, album). It is helpful to remember that the goal at this point is to generate an airtight mid-year list, not necessarily denigrate otherwise amazing music.

Tier 2 Results

Kate Davis - Fish Bowl VS. Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

Kate Davis - Fish Bowl

Very tough choice, but as much as I love Jockstrap’s eclectic concept, it worked against them a bit in this case.  The best parts of I Love You Jennifer B. posed a real threat, but Fish Bowl’s musically informed consistency gave it the win.

Moonlight Benjamin - Wayo VS. Sault - Earth

Sault - Earth

Moonlight Benjamin’s voodoo blues is intense and compelling, but also heavy-handed in comparison to Sault’s stylistically hybridized R&B.  It’s interesting how, out of the five albums that Sault dropped last Fall, Earth is the one that has risen to the top - but I stand by it.

Tier 3

Riverside - I.D.Entity VS. Skald - Huldufolk

Riverside - I.D.Entity

Huldufolk’s contemporary take on Viking music is a musically inspiring family favorite, so it is unfortunate that it ended up in direct competition with a serious contender for Album of the Year.  This is why we have saves, folks…..

Johann Johannson - Englaborn & Variations VS. Frank Sinatra - Watertown

Johann Johannson - Englaborn & Variations

Sinatra is a musical conjurer.  Especially in his later career, he was able to imbue lyrics with meaning using little more than the strength of his intentions.  Johannson, however, was a true magician.  

Viewer’s Choice

Tier 2

Kate Davis - Fish Bowl VS. Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

Kate Davis - Fish Bowl

Moonlight Benjamin - Wayo VS. Sault - Earth

Sault - Earth

Tier 3

Riverside - I.D.Entity VS. Skald - Huldufolk

Riverside - I.D.Entity

Johann Johannson - Englaborn & Variations VS. Hrishikesh Hirway - Rooms I Used To Call My Own

Johann Johannson - Englaborn & Variations

2022 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2 Week 5

Erica Eso – 192 VS. Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

Rubinos is a creative force.  The amount of imagination per square inch on Una Rosa is going to make it a hard one to take down. 

FASTfast – New Color Bomb VS. Copeland, King, Cosma, & Belew – Gizmodrome Live!

Copeland, King, Cosma, & Belew – Gizmodrome Live!

Gizmodrome Live! has highs and lows, but ultimately it’s a lot of fun listening to these maestros go at it.  Belew always knocks me out.

M83 – Fantasy VS. Gunship – Dark All Day

M83- Fantasy

I have been dreading this showdown.  The stylistic connections between M83 and Gunship, however, are too strong to ignore.  Both projects have their roots in synthpop and masterfully play with nostalgia, and although M83 is a longstanding favorite of mine, Gunship had a presence on my 2020 Best Albums list.  They are also both outstanding, if flawed, albums.  I came to realize that Gunship uses nostalgia very overtly for a specific purpose, whereas M83 employs nostalgia as an entire discrete musical dimension.

 

The Meters – Rejuvenation VS. 100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs

 100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs

Another nearly impossible decision.  I felt a bit as if leaning towards 100 Gecs was a case of being enthralled by something shiny and new over the tried and true.  Their good humor won me over, however, as well as their manic 21^st century Mr. Bungle vibe on 10,000 Gecs.

Viewer's Results

 Erica Eso – 192 VS. Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

FASTfast – New Color Bomb VS. Copeland, King, Cosma, & Belew – Gizmodrome Live!

Copeland, King, Cosma, & Belew – Gizmodrome Live!

M83 – Fantasy VS. Gunship – Dark All Day

Gunship - Dark All Day

The Meters – Rejuvenation VS. 100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs

 The Meters - Rejuvenation

2023 Album Roundup Series: May Tier 2 Contenders

New round of albums going into May, including:

M83- Fantasy (2023) 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs (2023) Moonlight Benjamin - Wayo (2023) Kate Davis - Fish Bowl (2023) Erica Eso - 192 (2022) FAST-fast - New Color Bomb (2020)

Here's a link to the Kate Davis post

And here's another for Pete Townsend

And, of course, the ever-growing 2023 Radio playlist

2023 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2 Week 4

Hrishikesh Hirway – Rooms I Used to Call My Own VS. Frank Sinatra – Watertown

Frank Sinatra – Watertown

Hirway’s album made a big impression on me, but I just can’t let go of Sinatra’s masterful delivery on this late-career concept album.  Although it doesn’t boast the raw creativity of Pet Sounds, it feels sonically and conceptually similar enough to at least be regarded in the same breath.

Gospel – The Loser VS. Ghost – Meliora

Ghost – Meliora

While Gospel’s screamed vocals stand in somewhat perplexing contrast to their 70s era heavy prog instrumentalism, Ghost’s satirically satanic themes just aren’t enough to detract from the masterful song craft on Meliora. 

 

McKaya McRaven – In These Times VS. Brendan Eder Ensemble – Therapy

Brendan Eder Ensemble – Therapy

This was the head-scratcher this week.  Both of these albums succeeds incredibly well at what they set out to do.  The deal-breaker was purely subjective, as Eder’s ambient compositions came to have a deep connection with a run of snowy days last winter.

 

The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca VS. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention

The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

While both The Dirty Projectors and The Smile could be identified as contemporary art-rock, their styles are so distinctive enough to generate a bit of a clash.  As deep as both of these albums are, however, there is an exuberant liveness to the Dirty Projectors that sets them apart.

 

Viewer’s Results

Hrishekseh Hirway – Rooms I Used To Call My Own VS. Floating Points – Elaenia

Hrishikesh Hirway – Rooms I Used To Call My Own

 

Gospel – The Loser VS. Ghost – Meliora

Ghost - Meliora

 

McKaya McCraven - In These Times VS. The Weeknd – Dawn FM

The Weeknd – Dawn FM

The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca VS. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention

The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention

That "Gentle Giant Thing:" Free Hands and Flow

Review and discussion on Gentle Giant's 1975 album Free Hand, in memory of bassist and multi-instrumentalist Ray Schulman. Special discussion on the 2021 Steven Wilson remix.

A text post on Octopus

A text post on The Power and the Glory