At 5/24/14 11:49 AM, Jackho wrote: Got listening to Surf's Up. I kind of find it hard to put my thoughts into words when it comes to music. I don't feel like it's suitable to give music a numeric rating either which makes things harder.

When I give something a numerical score it isn't a score on its "objective quality", but a scale of how much I enjoyed it as a whole. I can definitely understand what you mean, though. Sometimes feelings just don't translate well into numbers.

Liked it although it's no surprise I still prefer Pet Sounds, at least as of right now. It seems to go even farther from the old cheery surf-centered stuff which makes the title seem a bit odd, though I assume that's intentional and not some bullshit move by a marketing campaign or something. Toward the end it doesn't sound much like Beach Boys at all, in like Lookin' At Tomorrow and A Day in the Life of a Tree, the latter being fairly bizarre all round even if it fits with the environmental theme. Even the title track sounds more like Pet Sounds than a callback to their real beachy stuff, which I assume it's supposed to be.

I guess the title is a double entendre of sorts, and it's saying that the surf-related tunes that they're known for are "up", as in finished. The track Surf's Up is also a track that was intended to be on Smile and got reworked to be put on this record, so who knows how long that idea existed or if it was even the intention.

I'd been wanting to try more of the later Beach Boys albums for a long time since I love Pet Sounds, it's just that they've released like 30+ albums and I can't imagine it's all this good, couldn't be arsed wading through all of it when I've got other shit to listen to.

Yeah, that's one of the biggest problems with the Beach Boys. While they released some absolutely fantastic records, they didn't really seem to have any quality filter and majority of their releases are pretty lackluster because of it.

While we're sort of on the topic, where do you guys stand in the eternal Pet Sounds vs. Sgt. Pepper's debate?

Pet Sounds all the way, but I'm one of those guys that has an irrational disdain for The Beatles so whatever.

The album of the week gets to be chosen by @Slint! different decade, genre, include the @ list, etc. you know the drill.

At 5/26/14 10:05 AM, Oolaph wrote: The album of the week gets to be chosen by @Slint! different decade, genre, include the @ list, etc. you know the drill.

Woo. I'm really sorry I only pop up for this, but been pretty busy lately, haven't even been on Minecraft so you can see how serious I am.

Anyway, this week's pick is something I've been meaning to show you guys for a while now:

Pinback - Summer In Abbadon

Now I know what you're thinking if you went to check out the wikipedia page on this: "urr le indeh rawk" etc.
I was also slightly put off by this (I have no grudge against indie per se, but there's so much shit dismissed as indie I get to be cinical about it) when the album was suggested to me, but still I gave it a try. I can tell you I listened to this with no expectations at all, ready to dismiss it as fast as I could so I could get on with my backlog.

And oh boy. On all my indeh rock albums, this is one of those that stands way above the rest. It's incredibly well crafted and they have a terrific sense of melody and make every single song work fantastically.
Only a few songs hit the right chord at first though, but about the second time I listened everything clicked.
Sure there is ONE song that's a little not as good as the rest, but I'm not telling you which one.
I hope you guys can appreciate this hidden gem as much as I did, since I feel this is a 9/10 for me.
And if you don't you can go suck a dick because you have shit taste.

p-pls respond

At 5/26/14 06:57 PM, Slint wrote: p-pls respond

ye i'll respond, respond by fixing ur post 'cause YOU SCREWED UP AND FORGOT THE @ MENTIONS

In all seriousness I've never heard of Pinback, but the fact that they were on Touch and Go is enough to make me look forward to trying them, every album I've listened to that went through that label has been quality stuff. I'll probably give this record a spin tonight after I go through some of my backlog.

For the tagged people: this week's album is Summer in Abaddon by Pinback, pls participate it's lonely in here

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At 5/26/14 07:53 PM, Oolaph wrote: ye i'll respond, respond by fixing ur post 'cause YOU SCREWED UP AND FORGOT THE @ MENTIONS

At 5/26/14 07:58 PM, Slint wrote:       

I'll be getting on that on my way back from work. Feels like ages since we did AOTW, but that's probably because everybody (myself included) has been neglecting the thread.

Glad to hear that it's something more up my street with the generic guitar, bass and drums setup, even if it's indie. So I'll probably give this a couple listens as it's a bit too long for me to listen to all of on one bus journey.

Well I gave To Be Kind a listen (and the AOTW but that's for another post), and I'm a bit a stumped on what to think. I hadn't heard of Swans before this so I had no idea what was coming my way.

While I enjoyed the music and the first couple of songs, it then dawned on me that this album is 10 songs and 2 hours long, which inevitably meant it became background music after a while. I couldn't quite fathom the fact that the 4th song is 34 minutes long, even though I've listened to a bit of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

I'd zone back in every now and then and quite like what I was hearing, though it seemed to drag on quite a lot. I can't imagine this is the sort of album that I could fully comprehend after just one half assed listen though, so I may have to give it another shot. I just don't tend to often have 2 hours available to listen to a single album.

At 5/26/14 01:23 PM, Slint wrote: Pinback - Summer In Abbadon

Just the album I was listening to when I entered this thread. It's a good album, although I probably prefer Autumn of the Seraphs - on the other hand I find Information Retrieved interminably boring.

I'm always hearing bits I 'recognise' from others like Modest Mouse, Beck, SFA and even Supergrass; although it can probably be largely attributed to not listening to much other Indie Rock. I'm not sure there are any tracks in particular that stand out to me, but it's pretty consistently pleasant.

At 5/28/14 10:13 AM, Ejit wrote: Autumn of the Seraphs

I'll be listening to this soon.

I'm always hearing bits I 'recognise' from others like Modest Mouse, Beck, SFA and even Supergrass; although it can probably be largely attributed to not listening to much other Indie Rock.

Honesty I do listen to all those artists but I can't find anything related to either of them.

At 5/28/14 02:19 PM, Slint wrote: either

any*

Okay, Pinback - Summer in Abaddon.

I only listened to this once, and it was just a moment ago, so this isn't going to be the most in-depth "review" I've made. Gonna be pretty knee-jerk here. I liked this album, I didn't think it was incredible, but it was definitely enjoyable. The instrumentation was very tight and concise, I really liked the guitars bouncing off of each other on Fortress, and bit where the guitar mirroring the vocal melody on that track was nice too. I don't have any complaints about the production, but nothing really stood out to me about it either, so that's all good and fine. tbh I was multitasking so I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics, so I can't really comment on them. No lines stood out to me as being subpar or cheesy at all, so I guess that's good.

Overall it's a very relaxed album, I almost get a lazy vibe from it. A perfect 'napping on the couch because you're not in the mood to do anything' album.

Listened to the AOTW about 3 or 4 times this week, personally I enjoyed it quite a lot. It's definitely an album I'll be keeping as an available offline playlist on Spotify for some time.

While I agree that there wasn't a whole lot that stood out, it didn't come across as the kind of album that was trying to do so in the first place. I think lazy is a pretty good word to describe it. Nonetheless I'll definitely be listening to it some more in future as I did thoroughly enjoy it. Namely Fortress and Syracuse.

Good pick Slint!

Right-o, got offered first refusal and I'm going to bloody do it n'all. Different genre, decade so assuming this should be okay.

XTC - Nonsuch

This is perhaps my favourite album by XTC, who I expect many of you will know. Generally considered a nu-wave/alt. rock band, I think Nonsuch is a good embodiment of this, and maybe slightly underrated despite a good initial reception. Part of its appeal is due to a few standout tracks, but also to moments of lyrical sincerity that nontheless stop thankfully short of the pretty notoriously overzealous Dear God. Wrapped in Grey, which is essentially poetry, stands out in both of these respects. A few tracks probably do compare less favourably with some of the others, but still they tend to be pretty catchy and enjoyable I think.

Musically, I wouldn't suggest it's as good or refined as some of their later albums - particularly English Settlement, which seemed a bit well-known as a choice but I would recommend anyway - but I definitely find it charming in its own right. I'm only catching up, but given that The Beach Boys were chosen for an AOTW a couple of weeks a go it seems worth mentioning that Brian Wilson appears to have had a very big influence on writer/singer/guitarist Andy Partridge - on this album, particularly notable in Humble Daisy. Andy Partridge's son, as a matter of interest, is a much-loved (presumably) Newgrounds contributor: http://happyharry.newgrounds.com/ .

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At 6/1/14 09:39 AM, Snuff wrote: Good pick Slint!

At 6/1/14 12:51 AM, Oolaph wrote: Overall it's a very relaxed album, I almost get a lazy vibe from it. A perfect 'napping on the couch because you're not in the mood to do anything' album.

Glad you guys like it. And I agree with that whole lazy thing. But for me it's sort of like a perfect Summer album, it's relaxing. But to me it can be a lot more if I feel like it.

Really wasn't too big on XTC. Unfortunately it was just a bit too long for me and I couldn't manage to get through that much of it. Just didn't sit with me at all, which is a shame because I'd heard the name of the band but never listened to them and heard good things.

Maybe I'll try some of their other stuff and some point down the line.

At 6/5/14 04:20 PM, Vnzi wrote: I got new headphones so I can actually LISTEN to my music, which is downright wonderful.

Now I can really enjoy me some Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

I can never decide if I like headphones or speakers more. On one hand I really enjoy the isolation and feeling of being "in" the music that headphones give you, but you can't really beat the percussive nature of a good speaker set-up.

At 6/5/14 08:45 PM, Oolaph wrote: I can never decide if I like headphones or speakers more. On one hand I really enjoy the isolation and feeling of being "in" the music that headphones give you, but you can't really beat the percussive nature of a good speaker set-up.

I prefer speakers for sure. I like having some space ya know. For more detailed listening though, headphones are king. I just hate wearing them for extended periods of time. Hurts my ears.

I doubt there are any fans in here but Say Anything's new album Hebrews arrived at my door today and it's easily one of the greatest albums I've heard all year.

Would highly recommend to anybody who likes that sort of thing.

At 6/7/14 03:37 PM, Snuff wrote: I doubt there are any fans in here but Say Anything's new album Hebrews arrived at my door today and it's easily one of the greatest albums I've heard all year.

Would highly recommend to anybody who likes that sort of thing.

Holy fucking shit I didn't even know they released something.

Listened to XTC - Nonsuch today, and it was nice. The melodies were memorable and worked well, and I enjoyed the varied instrumentation. They did a good job of including new instruments and sounds to keep things interesting without the sound losing focus or direction. I enjoyed the airy and twangy tone of the rhythm guitar, you don't hear that sorta thing used enough these days. I agree with Snuff on the length being a bit much, though. They do a good job of changing things up and keeping things from feeling samey, but I can't help but get the impression that there are a lot of filler tracks in here. I feel like trimming down the tracklist would've helped this album out a lot.

Favourite tracks: My Bird Performs, Dear Madam Barnum, Wrapped in Grey
Least favourite tracks: Then She Appeared, Omnibus, War Dance

At 6/7/14 07:29 PM, Makeshift wrote:

Holy fucking shit I didn't even know they released something.

Yeah but that's because you're not a real boy

and you suck

At 6/5/14 03:26 PM, Snuff wrote: Really wasn't too big on XTC. Unfortunately it was just a bit too long for me and I couldn't manage to get through that much of it. Just didn't sit with me at all, which is a shame because I'd heard the name of the band but never listened to them and heard good things.

Maybe I'll try some of their other stuff and some point down the line.

Shame. Certainly don't let it put you off, it's not their most approachable album but I worried the others might be a bit well-known.

Definitely agree that getting rid of a few of the tracks wouldn't hurt.

At 6/8/14 03:01 PM, Spooky wrote: Having consistent problems with the website since yesterday onwards. I was having trouble getting my music to scrobble and now I can't access the page. Hope they get this fixed today.

oh thank god, i thought it was just me

At 6/8/14 03:47 PM, Natick wrote:

At 6/8/14 03:01 PM, Spooky wrote: Having consistent problems with the website since yesterday onwards. I was having trouble getting my music to scrobble and now I can't access the page. Hope they get this fixed today.

oh thank god, i thought it was just me

status.last.fm

This week's album will be picked by @Snuff! Different genre, different decade, don't forget the @ list, yada yada.

In that case I guess I'll have to go for Whenever, If Ever by The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die.

This album caught me pretty much completely off guard, as I was just expecting sort of typical 'emo revival' stuff, but I've been listening to it for a fair few months now almost every day and I just don't get bored of it.

Tracks like Ultimate Steve and Fightboat just never get old. It's a hell of an experience in just 35 minutes, with a fantastic outro that pretty much sums up the whole thing. So I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

One of the best albums I've heard all year.

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@Ryanson
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@Sense-Offender
@Sinerider
@Snuff
@Spooky
@Viper
@Vnzi

At 6/9/14 07:04 AM, Vnzi wrote:

At 6/9/14 06:18 AM, Snuff wrote: In that case I guess I'll have to go for Whenever, If Ever by The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die.

Looks interesting, might actually review this if I get the time away from Tom Waits and Animal Collective.

I'm hoping that not too many people have already heard it, it's a great thing to listen to first time around.

At 6/9/14 07:20 AM, Snuff wrote: I'm hoping that not too many people have already heard it, it's a great thing to listen to first time around.

I listened to it when it came out but I don't think I've played it since, so I'm more than happy to go back and get a refresher on this.