That "Gentle Giant Thing:" Free Hands and Flow

Review and discussion on Gentle Giant's 1975 album Free Hand, in memory of bassist and multi-instrumentalist Ray Schulman. Special discussion on the 2021 Steven Wilson remix.

A text post on Octopus

A text post on The Power and the Glory

2023 Album Showdown Results: Tier 2, Week 3

Meule – Meule VS. Alvvays – Blue Rev

Alvvays – Blue Rev

Meule is a pretty incredible project, but a significant aspect of what they do comes off best in a live setting.  The complexity of their interactions is obscured in the process of recording.  Alvvays is straightforward, killer songwriting.  Not a dud in the bunch.

Tegh & Adel Poursamadi -Ima VS. Johann Johannson – Englaborm & Variations

Johann Johannson – Englaborn & Variations

I am a very big advocate for the dark ambient/world crossover of Ima, but Johannson is magical, even on his debut album.  The responses of his compositional peers on the Variations are also compelling, if not quite so distinctive. 

 

Parannoul – After the Magic VS. The Adventures of Jet – Part 3: Coping With Insignificance

The Adventures of Jet – Part 3: Coping With Insignificance

Part 3: Coping With Insignificance really grew on me, now that I have finally recovered from the identity shift from Bobgoblin to Adventures of Jet (over twenty years later).  This one may gain momentum as we go forward.

 

P.O.S. – Chill, Dummy VS. Tyler, the Creator – Igor

P.O.S. – Chill Dummy

I’m not sure if I really “get” Igor, although I like it.  P.O.S. has the home court advantage here, as a long-standing favorite that has never failed to make an impression.  I love his incisive intellect and musically creative instrumental side, and although this album leans a bit more towards hip-hop standards, it still stands way above the average.

 

Viewer’s Results

Meule – Meule VS. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

Tegh & Adel Poursamadi – Ima VS. Johann Johannson – Englaborn & Variations

Johann Johannson – Englaborn  & Variations

Parannoul – After the Magic VS. Nordic Giants ­– Build Seas, Dismantle Suns

Nordic Giants – Build Seas, Dismantle Suns

P.O.S. – Chill, Dummy VS. Tyler, the Creator – Igor

Tyler the Creator - Igor

2023 Album Showdown Series: Tier 2 Week 2

Interesting things are staring to happen when we get to Tier 2.  First of all, the Viewer’s Bracket has started to diverge.  Some of those showdowns may not look anything like the prime bracket, and I find that to be VERY interesting.  Secondly, from Tier 2 on, albums that do not move on to the next bracket will actually be removed from consideration for Album of the Year, and not just punted to a later bracket. There is still a level of redundancy here, however – between now and the Mid-Year Top 12 posted in June, viewer can exercise six “saves” that will be entered directly into the finals in December.  This should catch any albums that were just too good to pass up.

Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever VS Ziemba – True Romantic

Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever

Soccer Mommy’s Daniel Lopatin-produced follow up to Color Theory stretches the boundaries of the project’s sound without changing its central mission statement: infectiously singable sounds backed by disarmingly rich instrumental accompaniment.  Hard Win.

Riverside - I.D.Entity VS. Charlotte Wessels – Six Feet Under v. 1&2

Riverside – I.D.Entity

I.D.Entity reminds me that I came to love progressive rock in the 80s, when 90125, Power Windows, and Clutching at Straws defined the genre.  This reinvented idea of progressive rock is often maligned by purists, but it resonates strongly with me.  Another hard win.

Broken Bells – Into the Blue VS. The Who – A Quick One

Broken Bells – Into the Blue

This win was a bit more hard-fought, and made more complicated by my recent reinvigorated interest in Pete Townshend.  I finally decided that I was assessing Broken Bells’ success by the Who’s potential as it is represented on A Quick One.  Its an amazing album, but doesn’t represent what the band would eventually evolve into.

Skald – Huldufolk VS. Pink Floyd – More OST

Skald – Huldufolk

Every time I listen to More, I am convinced that it is unstoppable – that is, until I get to the second half, which comes off like a collection of loose, jammy ditties.  Again, a pivotal album, but not one that represents the band’s best work.  I have a lot of respect for Skald and their dedication to reinventing traditional Nordic culture and showing its relevance for the present day.

 

Viewer’s Results

Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever VS. Soup – Visions

Soup – Visions

 

Riverside – I.D. Entity VS. Sault – Today and Tomorrow

Riverside – I.D. Entity

 

Broken Bells – Into the Blue VS. The Who – A Quick One

Broken Bells – Into the Blue

 

Skald – Huldufolk VS. Rammstein – Sehnsucht

Rammstein - Sehnsucht

Pete Townshend's White City: Poetry and Ethnography

 A look back at Pete Townshend's 1985 concept album White City: A Novel

2023 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1 Week 6

HHY & the Kampala Unit – Lithium Blast VS. Sault – Earth

Sault – Earth

This is more like a punt than a showdown result.  Sault's Earth is simply more immediate than Lithum Blast.  With its gospel choir and West African drumming components, Earth also represents one of the more cohesive entries in Sault's 2022 5-album drop, so its also a compelling representative of that pool of albums.  I need more time with the denser but no less compelling content of Lithium Blast, which will be back this Summer.

Viewer’s Choice: Sault – Earth

Fleetwood Mac – Tusk VS. Alvvays – Blue Rev

Alvvays – Blue Rev

Tusk has some very, very high points that are made even more compelling due to their nostalgic weight.  IN comparison, Blue Rev is chock full of powerfully written and brilliantly executed songs that are both familiar and novel.  It invites repeated listening, whereas Tusk gets bogged down in unevenness.

Viewer’s Choice: Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

 

Accordo dei Contrari – UR- VS. The Meters – Rejuvenation

The Meters – Rejuvenation

A central tenet of composition is that if a piece of music remains at the same level of intensity and volume, it loses its effectiveness.  As incredible as the musicianship is on UR-, the sense that the band is going full-throttle in lurching asymmetrical time signatures wears thin.  The Meters are way more accessible and fun, and have a similar level of musicianship that is simply executed in a different style.  

Viewer’s Choice: The Meters – Rejuvenation

 

clipping. – Visions of Bodies Being Burned VS. Sault – Untitled (God)

clipping. – Visions of Bodies Being Burned

clipping. is just on a different level.  The somewhat disturbing subject matter of the lyrics might be a turn-off for some, but their adventurous and often avant-garde reinvention of hip-hop conventions wins out for me.

Viewer’s Choice – Sault – Untitled (God)

2023 Album Roundup Series: April Tier 2 Contenders

Six new albums for your earholes, including:

The Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009) Makaya McCraven - In Our Times (2022) Parannoul - After the Magic (2023) Hirshikesh Hirway - Rooms I Used To Call My Own (2022) P.O.S. - Chill, Dummy (2017) Gospel - The Loser (2022)

J&K Swag for the Arts

2023 Album Showdown Results: Tier 1, Week 5

 Sault – Untitled (God) VS. Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

An argument could be made that Una Rosa’s eclecticism makes for a disorienting listening experience, but Rubino’s raw creativity, emotive vocals, and cultural flair wins out for me.

Viewer’s choice: Xenia Rubinos – Una Rosa

Brendan Eder Ensemble – Therapy VS. The Weeknd – Dawn FM

Brendan Eder Ensemble – Therapy

Very tough one, made no easier by the genre clash involved.  Brendan Eder’s ambient neoclassicism is both soothing and emotionally bracing, however, and emerged as the soundtrack to snowy days this winter.

Viewer’s choice: The Weeknd – Dawn FM

The Samurai of Prog - Anthem to the Phoenix Star VS. Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B

Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B

Well-crafted, stylistically diverse songs win out here again.  There is also a “prog-by-numbers” aspect to Anthem to the Phoenix Star that doesn’t sit well with me in 2023.

Viewer’s Choice – I Love You Jennifer B

The Who – A Quick One VS. Weyes Blood – And In Darkness, Hearts Aglow

The Who – A Quick One

Very, very tough choice.  From an objective production standpoint, Weyes Blood would be the clear winner, but that metric is doesn’t take into account the differences in production standards between the 60s and 2023 (which are vast).  I am convinced that no one had any idea how to record Keith Moon’s drums back then -  a point that actually reinforced my choice.  There is no question that every note on A Quick One was made by human hands.  No Digital Audio Interface, and probably relatively little studio trickery.  Just four guys playing their butts off and essentially creating rock in the process.

Viewer’s Choice – A Quick One