2024 Album Showdown Results: Tier 4, Week 1

Tier 4 is what I consider the "sudden death" round.  Its comprised of all albums that were in rotation last December, any albums from last November that did not make the 2023 top 20, and a selection of albums from last year's Tier 5 that perhaps needed a second chance at life.  This two-week series is all that stands between us and our Mid-Year Top 12.

Curling - No Guitar VS. Mo Troper - Troper Sings Brion

Mo Troper - Troper Sings Brion

No Guitar is clearly an ambitious and largely successful power pop album, and its high points definitely align with my favorite characteristics of the genre.  During its relatively short runtime, however, Mo Troper’s tribute to Jon Brion not only aligns with those characteristics but often exemplifies them.  

Mong Tong - Tao Fire VS. Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Transcendence Bot

Death’s Dynamic Shroud - Transcendence Bot

Again, Tao Fire is excellent psychedelic ethno-electronica, and it maintains a consistent level of nuance and texture throughout its runtime.  Transcendence Bot matches its creativity, but with a much broader and creative scope.

Hermeto Pascoal - Planetario de Gavea VS. Sanam - Aykathani Malakon

Sanam - Ayhathani Malakon

Sanam’s debut album is an example of why Tier 4 exists.  Best described as a Middle Eastern reinvention of Larks Tounges in Aspic, it's a sleeper that deserves consideration for the Mid-Year Top 12.

Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond VS. Moor Mother - Jazz Codes

Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond

Arguably, Jazz Codes is a more artistically realized album than Chronicles of a Diamond.  Moor Mother’s music is often challenging, confrontational, and thought-provoking, and this album is an outstanding example of her music.  I have to accede, however, to the inarguable infectiousness of Chronicles of a Diamond.

J Dilla - Donuts VS. Massive Attack - Mezzanine

J Dilla - Donuts

An interesting “pick-one” showdown between two cult-classic albums.  Mezzanine is a crucial album in the emergence and evolution of late 90s trip-hop, and it certainly earns this status.  Its greatest asset is its seductive, mellow vibe, but it also lacks the underlying musical substance to hold up under the microscope.  In comparison, J Dilla’s swansong bursts with creativity and playfulness in spite of the less than ideal conditions of its creation.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being VS. Haken - Virus

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being

After several on-and-off encounters, Haken’s clean, intense take on prog metal has grown on me.  It does, however, stay within the lines of established prog-metal tropes, despite being expressive within the genre’s usual characteristics.  Of the Last Human Being is anything but limited.  It's a ranting treatise on the arc of humanity’s mark on the world, with avant-garde overtones that link it more closely to Frank Zappa than Dream Theater.  Weird though it may be, it harbors payoff for the listener willing to invest.

Viewer’s Choice

Curling - No Guitar VS. Timmy Sean - Songs From and Inspired By Noisewater

Timmy Sean - Songs From and Inspired By Noisewater

Mong Tong - Tao Fire VS. Nick Hakim - Cometa

Mong Tong - Tao Fire

Toe - For Long Tomorrow VS. Sanam - Aykathani Malakon

Toe - For Long Tomorrow

Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond VS. Moor Mother - Jazz Codes

Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond

J Dilla - Donuts VS. Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Toehider - I Have Little to No Memory of These Memories VS. Haken - Virus

Toehider - I Have Little to No Memory of These Memories