What Are We Been Listening To? - February 28th, 2020

What Sam Has Been Listening To

Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (2020)

Maybe it’s because she silently became a critical darling over the course of the 2010s, but for some reason, I’m a Grimes fan. Her most recent release conveys the giddy anxiety of a budding romantic relationship in an increasingly gruesome postmodern society but is nowhere near as overall solid as her 2014 album, Art Angels. There are some certifiable bangers here that land alongside annoying filler cuts.

Xenobiotic - Mordrake (2020)

This album is phenomenal. A great deal of tech death (especially of the progressive variety) comes across as needlessly wanky and not nearly as songwriting-focused but Xenobiotic easily surmounts these fears and goes above and beyond on their sophomore album. A delectable blend of Opethian melody, Gorgutsian brutality and Slice The Cakeian cinematic grandeur.

Sightless Pit - Grave of a Dog (2020)

I think this album is a little stronger than Adam’s review(link) would suggest, but I’m mostly on board with his criticisms. This brand of music tends to struggle with engaging composition and Sightless Pit has still managed to craft some engaging tunes with their respective sonic disciplines. The freshly-minted noise supergroup achieves the all-important noise “vibe” on their debut and that’s worth something in of itself.

Lantlos - Melting Sun (2014)

Did you know Alcest’s Neige joined forces with several prominent European post-black musicians for a satisfying post-rock release in 2014? Neither did I. This record successfully ticks all of the important crescendocore boxes with a particularly tuneful focus on atmosphere and I’d recommend it to all fans of the style.

Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headspace (2005)

The legendary Scottish IDM duo has a flawless discography and each entry hits slightly different notes. This record covers the ground treaded by peak Nujabes nicely and infuses the duo’s usual eclectic beats with enticing lo-fi flourishes. The simple yet effective guitar loop that kicks off “Chromakey Dreamcoat” is a perfect example of relaxed bliss and the remainder of the tracklist hits similar highs.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

I unironically love this seminal release quite a bit. For better or for worse, Jeff Mangum and his band of rip-roaring troubadours captured the fleeting feeling of wistful childhood innocence with an enduring collection of tracks that feel immediately vital. It continues to offer a rollercoaster of conflicting emotions even to this pretentious metalhead.

Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness (2008)

Speaking of legitimate 10/10s from the depths of 4chan… Deathconsciousness is a masterful release that heralded a new era of internet music. Dan and Tim are masters of the build and their adept blend of genre-hopping madness and long-form, climax-focused writing is a testament to the limitless promise of musical discovery in the new millennia.

Haken - Affinity (2016)

In preparation for a stacked prog tour hitting Boston this coming Sunday (see below), I’ve been revisiting the discography of the best band modern prog has to offer and it has not disappointed. I used to consider this the weakest entry in their impeccable catalog. With the benefit of time, I think I’ve come to appreciate this alluring homage to the goodness of the 80s and it might even stand as one of their stronger releases. Also, the subtle tracklist concept--where the tracks become progressively more modern-sounding until reaching contemporary prog with closer “Bound by Gravity”--is another fascinating layer to chew on.

Haken -  The Mountain (2013)

The Mountain might just be the best prog album of the 2000s. The 4 centerpiece songs are fine examples of the heights the genre is capable of and every note oozes purpose. Haken has always been a ludicrously “fun” band with a serious edge and this album balances that fine line perfectly. I could honestly go on for hours, but trust me when I say this release is without fault.

On a somewhat unrelated note, this album was thought up as a tribute to classic 70s prog and it more than lives up to that lofty goal.

What Adam Has Been Listening To?

Lifetaker - Night Intruder (2020)

Antifa German grindcore?? Hell yeah! With a tad of sludge metal thrown in there, this album is addictively heavy, destructively brutal and endlessly rewarding. By cramming 14 tracks in 28 minutes, Lifetaker gives this polished piece of grind exactly the right touch of intensity, aggression and death metal guitar to keep this debut from getting bogged down. This is an absolutely awesome upcoming band that I will definitely continue to listen to as the year goes on.

Sightless Pit - Grave of a Dog (2020)

Once again, I listened to the album which I reviewed this week a lot, so it appears here. Therefore, I am not going to delve super deep. But simply, Grave of a Dog is a predictable experiment by veterans that manage to both flourish and wither within a quick runtime.

Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (2003)

I love me some singer/songwriter, but I’ve never before dived into Sufjan Steven’s work. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Michigan is an ambitious, beautiful, and contemplative release that perfectly slots into the genre. I already love this album, and I’m sure it's going to be listened to by me for a long time.

The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum (2011)

The Dear Hunter is a staple of the writers at PMMetalGuide’s listening rotation, and The Color Spectrum is just another block in their fantastic tower of a discography that the band holds. Comprised on 12 four song EPs, each named and themed around a different color, Casey Crescnezo explores so many different genres and styles that makes each EP unique and organically fresh on each listen.

Haken - Affinity (2016)

We love prog here at PMMetalGuide, and Haken is a favorite group. While our more recent listening has come prior to our attendance of their opening performance for Devin Townshend (with The Contortionist just before them) in Boston this coming Sunday. Affinity is phenomenal, even though it pales in comparison to their first three releases, but still provides top-tier modern progressive metal with an 80s spin. 

Xenobiotic - Mordrake (2020)

If Rings of Saturn was actually good, they would be nowhere close to the songwriting savants that are Xenobiotic. In all seriousness, if you take the best parts of modern tech death and modern deathcore, you would get Mordrake. Extremely intricate melodic lines mixed with crabcoring chugs makes for a uniquely unexpected jaunt of metal that usually doesn’t fit my fancy. 

Fluisteraars - Bloem (2020)

I have already listened to this album four times today, even though it was released not 24 hours ago. I silently hoped that this record would be better than their labelmates’ release, which came out slightly earlier in the month, and wow, were my expectations surpassed. This record is truly phenomenal, even though it is remarkably short, and continues to uplift Fluisteraars’ name as one of the strongest voices in underground atmospheric black metal.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

Listen, I’m not perfect. Yes, I like this album, much more than I should, in fact. Perhaps the most groundbreaking indie folk album of all time, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a perfect combination of sadboi psuedomasterbatory Anne Frank fan-fiction, unbelievably addicting indie rock hooks, and, for the time, astonishingly influential songwriting techniques that still hold up more than 20 years later.

Brutus - Nest (2019)

I heard Brutus’ first album Burst when it came out, and I was floored. Their album from last year didn’t initially impress me tho, and I kinda let it get lost in the aether of too many albums.However, my wonderful editor played “Fire” on his radio show recently, and ever since then, I have been thankfully jamming out to the groups music again. Nest is a great post-hardcore album for people who like punk and shoegaze more than they like post-hardcore.