Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

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Jirin
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Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Nominations are in, there are 20 nominations this year.

Rules are simple, you have all of January to listen to as many of these albums as possible, and rank all the ones you heard from best to worst. The competition uses a win-loss algorithm so not ranking an album will count neither for nor against it.

You do not need to have nominated an album to vote. Votes should be PMed to me, not posted in this thread.

Albums nominated are:
The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool! (StevieFan13)
dvsn - Morning After (bootsy)
Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel - When The Morning Greets You (Romain)
Vagabon - Infinite Worlds (Jirin)
Lil’ Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1 (notbrianeno)
Brockhampton - Saturation II (JWinton)
London Grammar - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing (bonnielaurel)
William Basinski - A Shadow In Time (Brad)
Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology (DaveC)
Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet (acroamor)
Sylvan Esso - What Now (Kingoftonga)
Somi - Petite Afrique (Gillingham)
Moon Duo - Occult Architecture, Vol. 1 (spiritualized)
Kevin Morby - City Music (Rob)
Blanck Mass - World Eater (Nassim)
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (antonius)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest (Sweepstakes Ron)
Gang of Youths - Go Farther In Lightness (drewcannon3)
Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life (SpankyRevolution)
The Clientele - Music For The Age Of Miracles (Miguel)
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spiritualized
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by spiritualized »

Ok
I am sorry if this is going to be a bit messy, but I will listen to all these and rate them out of 10.
I will modify my post throughout and post a final list at the end... hope this is ok ?

Stat

The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool! (StevieFan13) - (8.5)
GREAT record to start with ! How did I not hear from these before ? A mix of Hole and Plasticine without the cynicism and the naivity. Short 3-chords punk pop songs, definitively adding this one in my list of best of 2017. Thanks Steviefan ;-)

dvsn - Mornings After (bootsy) (1.5)
Sadly, this will not do at all. Starts horribly with trap beats and falsetto R&B. Sorry Bootsy, our tastes will rarely converge, but when they do (classic 90s rap), it feels great :)

Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel - When The Morning Greets You (Romain) (8.0)
Another great release - first part of the album is simply mind-blowing. Psychedelic pop without all the clichés - the songs are really catchy and short. I actually prefer this to the fuzzed out Tame Impala.

Vagabon - Infinite Worlds (Jirin) (7.0)
Slightly interesting, run-of-the mill indie pop. OK, I guess, ticks all the right boxes but not worthy of EOY.

Brockhampton - Saturation II (JWinton) (6.0)
Decent West Coast influenced hip-hop - very little trap / R&B, although there is some.

Lil’ Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1 (notbrianeno) (5.0)
I love the "samples" from this record (or are they his compositions) - all the songs start great (mainly guitar based) - but the god-awful singing is off key. He doesn't even rap ?

London Grammar - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing (bonnielaurel) (6.0)
I am getting a bit underwhelmed by these soulful, sultry, overstretched female acts which seem to invade the pop/rock/soul horizon these days. Cigarettes Before Sex / Lana Del Rey / Lorde, all of this was done before and well done by the likes of Mazzy Star. Sure, it flows by nicely - but that's about it.

William Basinski - A Shadow In Time (Brad) (7.5)
Slightly downgraded from my initial listening experience. Excellent ambient background - but the musical phrase in the second track is soooo repetitive it starts getting to one's nerves after 10 mins. Definitely top drawer though.

Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology (8.5) (DaveC)
Great record, excellent discovery - dream pop with great singing, add a little krautrock and you have Modern Kosmology. She made an art-folk/rock album which is fresh and unpretentious. Move over Bjork, you found your match. It's melodic and catchy unlike what the ice queen has released for a number of years.

Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet (acroamor) (7.0)
No change from my initial rating. SSFAP is rather good and starts strongly, with a too-liberal use of auto-tune, which I loathe. A shame really, as she has a lovely voice. The second part of the album is sub-par.

Sylvan Esso - What Now (Kingoftonga) (6.0)
Another slice of art pop anyone ? Female vocals over elaborate synth beats. The genre has been done to death now. By no means is this bad, this is just...uninspiring.

Somi - Petite Afrique (Gillingham) (6.5)
Now here is a decent approach to the female songwriter work. Smooth, hushed but powerful, it starts with a personal version of Sting's Englishman in New York which makes the listener pay attention to what Somi has to say or sing. The album drags a bit though.

Moon Duo - Occult Architecture, Vol. 1 (9.0) (spiritualized)
My own nomination. Total discovery, I think Spotify suggested this and it was suited my tastes to the hilt. They hail from California and one member plays in Wooden Shjips, another favourite of mine. 7 songs only, none under 4 minutes long, you're in for the long psychedelic haul. "The Death Set" starts like BRMC meant to go on, but with a slightly more electronic tinge. Suicide & Alan Vega are clearly an influence here. The shorter songs are more uptempo, choosing a rock-oriented base with heavy synth bass and guitar solos. The singing is not forced, just simplified, without any frills. White Rose is mind blowing. Yes it's repetitive, but it's good repetitive, krautrock style. Definitely, even after a few listens, one of the best of the year.

Kevin Morby - City Music (7.0) (Rob)
Some interesting songs, but overall rather average, especially when compared to his masterpiece "I Have Been To The Mountain"

Blanck Mass - World Eater (8.5) (Nassim)

Really quite impressed after a second listen to "World Eater". It's like industrial Aphex Twin. Very heavy electronic sound. I love it.

Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (7.0) (antonius)
Better than my first listening experience, I’m left wanting more from Aimee Mann. Too downtempo, but she is one heck of a great songwriter

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest (8.0) (Sweepstakes Ron)
Great record from Charlotte G. Mostly written by her, it really has a strong Air influence, which lifts her catchy melodies.

Gang of Youths - Go Farther In Lightness (6.5) (drewcannon3)
The National, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen all have a part to play in influencing this Ozzie band. It’s long, too long. It soars like stadium anthems but somehow lacks intimacy, almost feeling forced. Good discovery though.

Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life (SpankyRevolution)
The Clientele - Music For The Age Of Miracles (Miguel)
Last edited by spiritualized on Mon Jan 29, 2018 8:20 pm, edited 15 times in total.
Jirin
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

My favorite new discovery so far is Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel. I actually had this on my list earlier in the year but back when I tried to listen to it, it wasn't on Spotify yet. There's something cool and 60s psych-rock about it.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by DaveC »

My favourite discovery so far is Vagabon: A slightly more polished Lady Lamb with a rather more extensive musical palette.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Petite Afrique is every bit as good as Lagos Music Salon if not better.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by acroamor »

I'm gonna follow spiritualized's lead.

1. Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet (acroamor)
My nomination, so I suppose I'm biased but one of the best albums I've heard recently. From the shoegaze haze of "Diving Woman" through the one-two emotional gutpunch of "Till Death" and "This House", few albums have charmed me as fully as this. I saw Japanese Breakfast (along with Jay Som) opening for Mitski in 2016 and was immediately blown away by her sound.
2. Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life (SpankyRevolution)
I really hate the way this album has been received, as if a change in sound means that this album is inherently inferior to Post-Nothing and Celebration Rock. It's not the screaming demon that they've been in the past, but there's nothing wrong with maturing your sound.
3. William Basinski - A Shadow In Time (Brad)
Absolutely gorgeous atmospherics. Wouldn't sound out of place in the newest season of Twin Peaks either.
4. Brockhampton - Saturation II (JWinton)
I feel like I haven't listened to this album enough to give a fair judgment, but I'll leave it here for now.

The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool! (StevieFan13)
dvsn - Morning After (bootsy)
Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel - When The Morning Greets You (Romain)
Vagabon - Infinite Worlds (Jirin)
Lil’ Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1 (notbrianeno)
London Grammar - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing (bonnielaurel)
Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology (DaveC)
Sylvan Esso - What Now (Kingoftonga)
Somi - Petite Afrique (Gillingham)
Moon Duo - Occult Architecture, Vol. 1 (spiritualized)
Kevin Morby - City Music (Rob)
Blanck Mass - World Eater (Nassim)
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (antonius)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest (Sweepstakes Ron)
Gang of Youths - Go Farther In Lightness (drewcannon3)
The Clientele - Music For The Age Of Miracles (Miguel)
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by spiritualized »

Jirin wrote:Votes should be PMed to me, not posted in this thread.
Damn

I just saw that.

You think tactical voting will be a problem ?
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by StevieFan13 »

spiritualized wrote:
Jirin wrote:Votes should be PMed to me, not posted in this thread.
Damn

I just saw that.

You think tactical voting will be a problem ?
Hey, besides people voting for their picks, I can't see anything going too wrong.
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Rob »

You could also save your writings for the results. That's what I do.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

You can post your reaction to albums in this thread if it will spur discussion, just the final list accepted will be the one you PM. Or you could post your discussion of the albums without attaching any numbers to them. I just want to preserve suspense. :)

I'm not too worried about tactical voting because frankly, it hasn't been much of a problem in any other of the voting games played by the same people. Also with the win-loss formula it would be less effective.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by bootsy »

spiritualized wrote:
dvsn - Mornings After (bootsy) (1.5)
Sadly, this will not do at all. Starts horribly with trap beats and falsetto R&B. Sorry Bootsy, our tastes will rarely converge, but when they do (classic 90s rap), it feels great :)
Wow I didn't even see this until now. It's fine. I didn't think and don't think a lot of people on here are going to like this album very much. People on here seem to frown upon today's R&B (Alternative R&B) unless it's Frank Ocean/The Weeknd/SZA. I probably didn't really think this choice through with the audience in this forum and probably should have chosen something else but hey I like it and that's all that matters to me. :D
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by notbrianeno »

bootsy wrote:
spiritualized wrote:
dvsn - Mornings After (bootsy) (1.5)
Sadly, this will not do at all. Starts horribly with trap beats and falsetto R&B. Sorry Bootsy, our tastes will rarely converge, but when they do (classic 90s rap), it feels great :)
Wow I didn't even see this until now. It's fine. I didn't think and don't think a lot of people on here are going to like this album very much. People on here seem to frown upon today's R&B (Alternative R&B) unless it's Frank Ocean/The Weeknd/SZA. I probably didn't really think this choice through with the audience in this forum and probably should have chosen something else but hey I like it and that's all that matters to me. :D
Wasn't a huge fan of this album, but def a fan of dvsn and the toronto r&b sound in general, which I always appreciate seeing brought up here!
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Currently have ballots from myself, bonnielaurel, bootsy and DaveC.

No clear favorite yet but a couple albums that have been in top half on each ballot.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by spiritualized »

Jirin
What is the deadline for the vote ?
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Jan 31st
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Now have six lists, adding lists by Romain and jamieW
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Only a few more days to vote. Votes will be accepted through Saturday as that’s when I’m likely to have time for the results rollout.
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

Have five more ballots, currently have votes from:
Myself
bonnielaurel
bootsy
DaveC
Romain
jamieW
Rob
antonius
spiritualized
Nassim
Brad
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Re: Best Moderately Acclaimed Album of 2017 - Voting

Post by Jirin »

If anyone else was planning to vote and needs extra time please notify me. Otherwise will score votes tomorrow morning.

At this point a clear favorite has emerged.
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