2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2, Week 4

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

I walked into this one with a sense of curiosity.  Kebu and Joe Howe represent very different iterations of synthesizer music - both of which I love.  Joe Howe’s transgressive, disorienting, glitchy style is intellectual without pandering, playing with the listener while simultaneously challenging them to keep up.  Despite teetering on the cliche, Urban Dreams has a clear thematic strength that hits me in the Vangelis, and a surprising accessibility that keeps it in play.

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

024 Album Roundup Series: May Tier 2 Contenders

Pour this honey in your auditory system and see what happens:

Fleet Foxes - Shore (2020) Mauritz Duda - AFR AI D (2023) Lyle Workman - Built to Last (2023) Inui - Murmuration (2023) Joe Howe - Debossed (2024) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being (2024)

Text posts about seeing Ben Butler and Mousepad

And you should already be acquainted with the ever-growing 2024 playlist

2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2, Week 1

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

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. 

2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2, Week 3

I promise that I haven't forgotten about Week 1. I'll get it posted in the next day or two. For now, here's what happened last week. Several very difficult showdowns have made me think about the strategic tagging of potential saves.

Naoki Sato - Godzilla Minus One OST VS. Hans Zimmer - Dune 2 OST

Hans Zimmer - Dune 2 OST

The traditionalist in me would very much like to see Godzilla Minus One take this one.  Sato’s score is subtle and crafted as a thematic extension of Godzilla’s previous musical traditions.  It's hard, however, to overlook the sheer creativity and vision of Zimmer’s work on Dune 2.

Adventures of Jet - Muscle VS. J Robbins - Basilisk

Adventures of Jet - Muscle

By far the most contentious showdown of the week.  These albums really are on equal footing in many ways.  Adventures of Jet (and by extension, Bobgoblin) has gotten a lot of love from me in recent years, and it is tempting to let Robbins through simply to give someone else a chance.  Muscle, however, just nudges past in terms of detail (but not quality). Basilisk has been marked as a possible save.

Tigran Hamasyan - StandArt VS. Hermeto Pascoal -  Planetário da Gávea

Hermeto Pascoal - Planetário da Gávea

Another difficult choice, especially since Hamasyan’s take on jazz standards is one of the first albums in its style that I have really connected with in a very long time.  Hermeto’s spontaneity and playfulness is alluring, however, and even more so when appreciated in a hammock on a beautiful Spring afternoon.  

Troper - Troper Sings Brion VS. Timmy Sean - Songs From and Inspired By Noisewater

Mo Troper - Troper Sings Brion

Runner up for most contentious showdown.  Stylistically, this showdown almost feels like Lennon VS. McCartney.  Noisewater  is beautifully detailed and polished, and it certainly holds up under repeated listens.  Brion’s twisting harmonic changes resonate with me strongly, though, and Troper’s rendering of these unreleased demos convincingly recalls Brion’s 2001 masterpiece Meaningless in a way that is both unique and moving.  It moves me in my gut, and I can’t ignore when that happens.

Viewer’s Choice

Nick Hakim - Cometa OST VS. Hans Zimmer - Dune 2 OST

Nick Hakim - Cometa

Adventures of Jet - Muscle VS. J Robbins - Basilisk

J Robbins - Basilisk

Tigran Hamasyan - StandArt VS. Hermeto Pascoal -  Planetário da Gávea

Tigran Hamasyan - StandArt

Mo Troper - Troper Sings Brion VS. Timmy Sean - Songs From and Inspired By Noisewater

Timmy Sean - Songs From and Inspired By Noisewater