Undoubtedly, the practice of comparative listening is challenging and revealing, and it only becomes more so as we progress through the brackets. We’ll become attached to albums across repeated encounters with them, and they gain a certain sense of momentum. Making honest distinction later in the game really requires an openness to surprises and a willingness to admit when an upset arises. For me, this particular set of Tier 2 showdowns had several surprises that I did not expect to have to navigate. I think, however, they are the right choices. For me. At this time. Subject to change later.
Also, note that there are six albums in this post. As we get closer to the mid-year Top 12, this will become more common. Let’s proceed:
Andre 3000 - New Blue Sun VS. Mariusz Duda - AFR AI D
Mariusz Duda - AFR AI D
If you know me and my progressive rock leanings, you would probably be surprised as to how close this really was. I respect, appreciate, and genuinely like Andre 3000’s recent new age jazz album. It is synthetic yet evocative, rather like having lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. There is also inarguably a layer of interest that arises in its context - its a loosely improvised ambient album by a former top hip-hop artist, and with this in mind, its success at what it sets out to do is impressive. It suffers, however, from a periodically sagging pace and long periods of silence that the John Cage fan in me deeply respects, but that also tests my patience as an everyday listener. Mauritz Duda’s sonic treatise on the perils of artificial intelligence, however, is tightly composed, well-paced, and no less evocative than New Blue Sun.
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Dark Side Mix) VS. Inui - Murmuration
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Dark Side Mix)
On the other hand, I pity the fool who has to go up against Gabriel. Inui is doubtlessly an electrifying and unique recording, but Gabriel’s music has always been moving and immaculately crafted. Despite having some sense of redundancy with the rest of his back catalog, this late-period release is still miles beyond the average album.
Jaga Jazzist - Pyramid VS. Lyle Workman - Built to Last
Lyle Workman - Built to Last
This ended up being one of a couple of upsets. Pyramid is colorful and impressively performed. Its oddly synthetic aspects, however, caused it to rub up against other recent electronica in rotation. Built to Last is charmingly straightforward in comparison. It has similar compositional strengths, but its organic nature allowed it to stand out.
Nickel Creek - Celebrants VS. Fleet Foxes - Shore
Nickel Creek - Celebrants
This is probably the most contentious showdown in this cycle. I really love the Fleet Foxes and I think that this album is the return to form that Robin Pecknold hoped it would be. It is, as another example of their “Beach Boys of winter” aesthetic, the conceptual equal to Celebrants, but wins out strictly due to raw virtuosity. I get the sense that Nickel Creek could perform the majority of this album as a live trio, which is unbelievably impressive.
Kebu - Urban Dreams VS. Joe Howe - Debossed
Kebu - Urban Dreams
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being VS. 88Kasyo Junrei - ◯△☐
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being
This was a big, big upset. I’ve grown increasingly fond of 88Kasyo Junrei in the past year or so and am rooting for them to make it into a finalized favorites list. They encompass a broad cross-section of unapologetically Japanese culture and wad it all up into aggressive, psychedelic prog-punk. I really like and appreciate their work, and I really thought that throwing Of the Last Human Being against it would be a wash. At first, it certainly seemed like it would be the case, but as I said in my roundup post, music this weird doesn’t reveal itself initially. Repeated engagement has revealed a level of musicianship and color that puts it over the top. It also doesn’t help that its dystopian concept caught my attention, making the language barrier issues with ◯△☐ more pronounced. Rather like its difficult for an ambient album to progress past a certain point, non-English albums have a similar limitation that can be an obstacle to the finals, and much as I would like to say that I have studied translations of all the lyrics, I simply haven’t. On the Last Human Being grabbed me on this front, as well.
Viewer’s Choice
Birth - Born VS. Mauritz Duda - AFR AI D
Mauritz Duda - AFR AI D
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Dark Side Mix) VS. Inui - Murmuration
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Dark Side Mix)
Jaga Jazzist - Pyramid VS. Lyle Workman - Built to Last
Lyle Workman - Built to Last
Nickel Creek - Celebrants VS. Fleet Foxes - Shore
Nickel Creek - Celebrants
ISON - Inner-Space VS. Joe Howe - Debossed
ISON - Inner-Space
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being VS. Toehider - I Have Little to No Memory of These Memories
Toehider - I Have Little to No Memory of These Memories
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