The sheer intimacy established between the artist and listener in this release is gobsmacking. From the very start, we are given raw lyricism that disarms us in a way that feels terribly organic, which juxtaposed against the artificial and robotic-sounding production creates a hypnotic contradiction that I know I'm going to enjoy revisiting again and again.
It's mind blowing to me how the same exact band that released the most groundbreaking post-punk record of last year has now released the most groundbreaking baroque pop record of this year. Rarely does a musical artist completely reinvent themselves from one release to the next, and it is even more seldom that the artist to do so proves themselves equally in control of their craft in both musical arenas. Yet with "Ants From Up There," Black Country, New Road has accomplished exactly ... read more
It's heartbreaking to hear that Anderson is clearly still a very talented and technically capable musician who has relegated himself to merely chasing his past glory rather than taking the harder step of continuing to break creative ground. Such is the fate of many veteran musicians, but it's still tragic every time I come across it. This album has nothing new to say. And that's an artistic sin, in my book.
![宇多田ヒカル [Hikaru Utada] - BADモード [Bad Mode]](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/445210-bad-mode.jpg)
Yet another high bar for pop music has been set by arguably the best modern pop artist alive. Hikki lives.
Raw production values and reverence for classic screamo mesh seamlessly with the melodic post-hardcore-influenced passages, topped off most surprisingly with chamber music strings that add a layer of refinement to the otherwise-chaotic brew. The album shines as yet another example that heavy music is currently one of the most exciting and boundary-pushing sonic arenas today.
It's a beautiful and exciting album when it works. The problem is that it doesn't work with every song. Sometimes it's predictable and bland. Not often, mind you, but just often enough to warrant the rating I'm giving it. Still my favorite 7 of the year thus far.
What a way to begin the new year! Technically a very late 2021 release, this record was locked behind an esoteric subscription service until this week, now being made available for mass consumption via Spoitify and other streaming services. Best plunderphonics project I've heard in a very, very long time. Kind of a miracle of collage music composition, really.
Arguably Cynic's most beautiful record to date, and in the wake of both Reinert and Malone's untimely deaths, it's very likely that this will be the last Cynic album. If that ends up being the case, I can't think of a more fitted and creatively realized finale for this, one of the most important heavy music acts of the past thirty years.
Been a fan of Toby's since the early days, and it's pretty amazing how his projects continue to evolve and push boundaries all these years later. Kayo Dot might not be completely shattering the music world with their latest like their earliest classics, but their presence as a force that still must be reckoned with in 2021 has been rendered undeniable by this release.
Every song on this record sounds the same, sounds the same.
Very good, but not as good as I had hoped it would be. Pretty pleasant instrumental rock, though. Definitely one of the stronger 7s of the year for me.
It's a really enjoyable, not so ambitious entry from one half of Blu & Exile of last year's "Miles" fame. Not everything these guys do has to be as epic and earth-shattering to be worthwhile, and this is a primary example of that.
If Nu-Metal attempted to do djent but ended up just sounding like mediocre metalcore. Actually, not "if." That's precisely what has happened, here.
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