Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

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Brad
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Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

Welcome to the round 1.11 of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018!

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums.

Good-spirited comments are encouraged, but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = June 5th at 10am EST.

Here's a link to the bracket for the entire tournament:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?t ... 9%20(2018)

Match-ups:
1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House


Make your granny shake her head and say "those were the days"!
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Bang Jan
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Bang Jan »



4 | Elbow | The Seldom Seen Kid
2 | Swans | The Seer

7 | Foals | Total Life Forever
5 | Beach House | Depression Cherry

1 | The Residents | Not Available (My nomination)
6 | The Bees | Free The Bees

3 | Sweet Trip | Velocity: Design: Comfort
8 | The Distillers | Sing Sing Death House

Favourite song of the week: The Residents | Never Known Questions
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hectorthebat
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by hectorthebat »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House
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StevieFan13
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by StevieFan13 »

Elbow- The Seldom Seen Kid
Beach House - Depression Cherry
The Bees - Free the Bees
The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House (my nomination)
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Nassim »

1. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever
DaveC
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by DaveC »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
2. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Residents - Not Available
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by jamieW »

Great:
The Residents - Not Available

Very good:
Swans - The Seer
Foals - Total Life Forever
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Good:
Beach House - Depression Cherry
Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort

Okay:
The Bees - Free The Bees

Not for me:
The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House (Unfortunately, this genre has always been a weakness of mine. :( )
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Honorio
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Honorio »



4. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (2008) vs. 1. Swans - The Seer (2012)
3. Foals - Total Life Forever (2010) vs. 2. Beach House - Depression Cherry (2015)
5. The Residents - Not Available (1978) vs. 6. The Bees - Free the Bees (2004)
7. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort (2003) vs. 8. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House (2002)

Favourite song from every album:
One Day Like This | Lunacy | Spanish Sahara | Space Song | Part Three: Ship's A'Going Down | I Love You | Dsco | Seneca Falls

Favourite song of the week: Spanish Sahara
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Romain
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Romain »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
2. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Jirin »

The Seldom Seen Kid 84 - The Seer 75
Depression Cherry 72 - Total Life Forever 70
Free The Bees 82 - Not Available 78
Velocity: Design: Comfort 84 - Sing Sing Death House 81
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FrankLotion
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by FrankLotion »

1. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever
3. The Bees - Free the Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort
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notbrianeno
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by notbrianeno »

Sorry I've barely participated :?

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

My picks:
1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House

Great week!
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PlasticRam
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by PlasticRam »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
I feel like that
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spiritualized
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by spiritualized »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (8/10) vs. Swans - The Seer (9/10)
2. Foals - Total Life Forever (8/10) vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry (5/10)
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Rob »

Didn't have much time to listen this week. I heard every album at least ones, but only Total Life Forever and Depression Cherry twice, whereas I usually listen to each album two times. This is also a week were two listens frequently seemed essential, as there are some out there and weird albums here. But not the ones I rank #8 and #7.

8. The Distillers – Sing Sing Death House
There are probably thousands of punk albums out there. This is one of them. This one is good, but there is nothing here to make me remember it more than the best of the genre.

7. The Bees – Free the Bees
I could say something similar here as I did with The Distillers. There are millions of albums to listen to, so why should I listen to Free the Bees. That’s a bit unfair though, because these guys make more memorable tunes. Nonetheless, this is overly familiar territory. The band’s major talent is also their major problem: they can play in a variety of styles and do so happily without ever faltering. This keeps things fresh, but also explains why none of their music comes close to the masters of the genres they emulate. They lack the dedication for that. A good listen nonetheless; it’s just that there is a clear leap from this week’s number 7 to the number 6.

6. Sweet Trip – Velocity: design: comfort
It took me a while to get into this album. The first three tracks or so didn’t go anywhere special for me. But then something starts to build. It is an album that almost feels like a true continuous work, where each new song adds something to what came before, all working towards some sort of crescendo. Too bad I only had time to listen to it once. There is something here.

5. Foals – Total Life Forever
Glad I decided to listen to this one twice, as it revealed itself more to me the second time. There is a quiet here that almost seems to want to hide the catchy aspects of the songs. It’s easy to let this wash over you, only to finally find that this river is actually transporting you to another place. Yannis Philippakis’ vocals seems to alternate between the voice of Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes and Dan Smith of Bastille for some reason.

4. Beach House – Depression Cherry
One of those frustratingly uneven albums. Whereas the preceding Teen Dream and Bloom flowed like gentle rivers, here rocks bar the way at every turn. Not everything here is great, but when it is, like on Space Song or PPP (which sounds oddly like John Lennon’s Happy Xmas near the beginning) it is Godly.

3. Swans – The Seer
There is little dog on the cover that still looks nasty. I always liked that cover a lot. The album is a bit like that little beast: dangerous, unsettling, but perhaps not as threating as it looks at first glance. This is great music making. Expert playing with tons of atmosphere. Like Velocity:design:comfort I wish I could have listened to this one again to let it all sink in, but for now it already impressed.

2. Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
Although it pains me to vote against the awesome artistry of Swans I still give slightly the edge to Elbow. A more conventional band, sure, but not too conventional. I always like Elbow because there is a certain warmth there that few artists give. Part of the appeal is the voice of Guy Garvey that is just so inviting. But it is also in the music, which is inventive, expansive, but also makes you feel welcome, which is an unusual combination. One Day Like This may not immediately seem like a daring song, but I think few bands could pull it off without looking silly. Elbow did it and for a moment they seem your best friends.

1. The Residents – Not Available
Another one I would have liked to hear a second time, but it hardly matters in the end, because this is impressive. I gave these guys a shot before, with their Meet the Residents and liked them, but never really went back to them. Not Available proves that I really should dive back in sooner rather than later. This is the real looney bin, but let’s not forget that genuine craziness can’t really disguise pain. A unique record.

A simple overview of my votes

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House

Usually I can rather easily decide on my choices, but the first two match-ups here are pretty much ties.
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

Just over 15 hours left to vote!
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Sweepstakes Ron
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Sweepstakes Ron »

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
2. Foals - Total Life Forever vs. Beach House - Depression Cherry (I liked Foals much more than expected, but I always gotta stand by Beach House)
3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort vs. The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House (a real tough matchup here)
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Kingoftonga
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Kingoftonga »

Traveling this week so my listening was truncated. But:

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid vs. Swans - The Seer
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

slight delay this morning (family matters)... results soon!
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

17 voters this week:
Bang Jan
Brad
DaveC
FrankLotion
hectorthebat
Honorio
jamieW
Jirin
Kingoftonga
Nassim
notbrianeno
PlasticRam
Rob
Romain
spiritualized
StevieFan13
Sweepstakes Ron

Winners:
1. Swans - The Seer over Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid 9-8
2. Beach House - Depression Cherry over Foals - Total Life Forever 11-4
3. The Bees - Free The Bees over The Residents - Not Available 7-6
4. Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort over The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House 8-4

Round 1.12 up soon!
Last edited by Brad on Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bang Jan
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Bang Jan »

Brad wrote:3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees over The Residents - Not Available 7-6
???
"The first word in this song is discorporate. It means to leave your body."
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

Bang Jan wrote:
Brad wrote:3. The Residents - Not Available vs. The Bees - Free The Bees over The Residents - Not Available 7-6
???
Thanks Bang Jan!
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FrankLotion
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by FrankLotion »

Wow some of these were close, I thought Elbow would win for sure!
Brad
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 2018 - Round 1.11

Post by Brad »

FrankLotion wrote:Wow some of these were close, I thought Elbow would win for sure!
Yeah, so much support for Swans was a pleasant surprise (I voted Elbow, but think both are really good).
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