2025 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1, Week 3

After two weeks, we finally see the first differences emerge between the prime results and the Viewer’s Choice.  These differences seem small and insignificant at first, but as we continue through the year, they could result in massive divergences, which I think is interesting. 

This also concludes our first cycle of showdowns!  Next week will be a bye week, with no showdowns but new Tier 2 Album of the Day posts!

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II VS. Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II

Close call between these two.  Noah Kahan’s songwriting and clarity of vision in his songwriting is really compelling.  However, I have been interested in microtonal music for a while, and although I have liked a lot of things I have heard, I haven’t really loved any of it in the long term.  Byrnes’ ability to use microtonal techniques in a relatively accessible songwriting format is fascinating, and worthy of further investigation

 

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac VS. Restorations – Restorations

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

Admittedly, this one is a bit of a blowout.  Although Fleetwood Mac doesn’t represent the pinnacle of what this lineup would accomplish as a musical unit, it does contain several high points that show where they were heading.  This showdown also reveals the dissonance I have experienced with including “classic” albums in the tournament.  For some, Fleetwood Mac is an incontrovertible favorite, and any album going up against it will have to prove itself against the inevitable nostalgia that it brings up.  Inarguably, though, it is a superior album to Restorations.

 

TU-Ner – TU-Ner for Lovers VS. The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

For me, the results of this showdown are bound to the site of listening.  TU-Ner for Lovers is most effective when serving as the backdrop for writing or working late in the evening, but doesn’t sell as well during more engaged activities.  Although Fallow does have potential in intellectually focused settings, it speaks most clearly in the car or when doing housework.  In those settings, its unique cross-pollination of extreme metal and synthwave is arresting.

 

Spellling – The Turning Wheel VS. Jhariah – Trust Ceremony

Spellling – The Turning Wheel

Another showdown with a debatable outcome.  Jhariah is outstanding, but his over-the-top energy works against him on Trust Ceremony.  All of his music seems like any part of it could function as a standalone climax or cathartic bridge.  This seems like it would be a compliment, but a string of back-to-back climaxes in the context a full album feels frantic.  When Trust Ceremony is over, I am done with it.  Conversely, Spellling had the feeling of an album with a lot to give.  Every listen is more revealing, and despite having its own moments of melodrama, I am curious to see what it is hiding.

 

VIEWERS CHOICE RESULTS

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II VS. Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Brendan Byrnes – Transfigured Earth I & II

 

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac VS. Restorations – Restorations

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

 

TU-Ner – TU-Ner for Lovers VS. The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

The Tongue of Eden – Fallow

 

Spellling – The Turning Wheel VS. Jhariah – Trust Ceremony

Jhariah – Trust Ceremony