After a week of end-of semester concerts and field trips, I finally have a moment to pause and retroactively post the results for the first week of Tier 2. In this case, the viewer’s choice results matched my results exactly, so I am excluding the usual coda for this post to minimize redundancies.
Madlib - Sound Ancestors VS. J Dilla - Donuts
J Dilla - Donuts
Sound Ancestors is fantastically imaginative and often infectiously groovy, but it veers towards intellectualism in the back third. In truth, I think this variety is appealing, but Donuts maintains a similarly cerebral thread without losing its playful nature. Respectable, especially since J Dilla essentially created the album from a hospital bed.
Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Transcendence Bot VS. L’Rain - I Killed Your Dog
Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Transcendence Bot
L'Rain's pervasive stylistic and conceptual juxtapositions both help and hinder this album. Conversely, Transcendence Bot is both tremendously varied and cohesive. The only thing that hinders Death's Dynamic Shroud is their overwhelming productivity. While I am still catching up with last year's three album drop they keep releasing compelling new music! Oversaturation is a possibility in the long run, but for now they can do no wrong.
The Strokes - The New Abnormal VS. The Guess Who - Plein D’Amour
Runner up for most contentious from this week. The New Abnormal beautifully captures the essence of millennial pop in a nostalgic and novel way. The Guess Who, however, despite receiving a side-eye for sketchy album art and identity issues, have crafted a compelling studio pop album that Jellyfish fans are justifiably raving about.
Toe - For Long Tomorrow VS. Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling
Toe - For Long Tomorrow
Most contentious award goes to this one. Although they diverge in style, In terms of creativity, these albums are pretty evenly matched. Although both have an exploratory aspect, the distinction here is that Crumbling meanders more broadly, requiring more intention to follow. The liveness of For Long Tomorrow provides a level of crisp momentum that I find appealing.
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