Trollheart

Album title: Watercolor
Artist: Porter Ray
Suggested By: Frownland
Genre: Hip-hop
Nationality: American
Release date: March 10
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? I think I heard one song previously
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.04
Love the atmospheric background when this starts, and the rap is very low-key and restrained, and the next song is the one I mentioned I heard above, “East Seattle”, which really impressed me. “Past Life” speeds things up and increases the intensity with some fine synth and powerful percussion. Call me ignorant, and I am, when it comes to hip-hop, but do they ever play their own music or is it always samples? Just wondering. Anyway, pretty good stuff so far. I wouldn't rate it as top material just yet – parts of it are slightly boring me – but “Arithmetic” is cool, though the bit at end is weird: sounds like an old gospel song played on a phonogaph or a wax cylinder or – oh, I see now. It's his wife (?) singing over the phone. Yeah, well, cute and all, but this kind of thing annoys me on hip-hop albums, viz, I don't care.

“Lightro (Looking For the Light)” is another good one, but I do find my attention wandering a little here. Nice sound to “My Mother's Words”, a very soul-ish backing I feel, and basically I'd say this is a good hip-hop album, but I wouldn't go mad about it and I wouldn't be too pushed about hearing more. Good for what it is though.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: Greatest Hits
Artist: Remo Drive
Suggested By: Qwertyy
Genre: Emo
Nationality: American and Canadian
Release date: March 15
Position in Discography: Debut
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.41
Ha ha! Big joke, guys, calling your debut album Greatest Hits! Unfortunately, the humour wears off pretty quickly as soon as the singer opens his mouth: by god I hate him. Awful, whiny voice and he doesn't seem to have any presence at all. Still, we'll give him a chance I guess. Oh God, the second track ends with a (very stilted and wimpy) drum solo. Not liking this more as it goes on. All right, I can't stand this ****er's voice. I'm outta here.

Check out more from this artist? Absolutely not
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Don't know

Actual Rating:

Lowest. Rating. Ever!
(and it deserves it).

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

well ****

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Music Blog / RYM / Last.fm / Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

Neapolitan

Actual score in reality:


Thanks Qwertty, I'll be playing these guys in plug.dj. Can't wait.

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Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

glad somebody enjoyed it

time to step my game up

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Music Blog / RYM / Last.fm / Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

Trollheart

Thread is not titled "Neapolitan Listens to Every Album on Wiki's List for 2017" so score remains as is. As Occulthawk would say, hot garbage. Sorry man: maybe if that guy took singing lessons, but even then it wasn't much to talk about. BLNT.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: Dopamine
Artist: Mila J
Genre: R&B
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Fourth EP
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.17
Can anyone explain to me how something with thirteen tracks gets called an EP and not an album? That, and the fact that I can't find a picture for this album that works, aside, there's a beautiful and dirty ballad to open, and “No Fux” has me interested already. Like the next one too. Sure, she's using Autotune, but I'm gradually (very gradually) getting over my hatred of that, and so far this is pretty damn sweet. Still, I have to say the reverse of the title of the fourth track is true and “I do (not) Love You” - hate this song, just terrible. Hopefully it's just a blip, and given that it features vocals from someone called I. Rich (seriously?) I'm going to temporarily blame its crappiness on him.

Yeah, next one is much better (without the Rich one) although the warped stuff at the end is very annoying, but at least it comes right at the end and doesn't ruin the track. Odd though: this started off really well and I thought I'd be raving about it, but now I'm losing interest as it devolves into a fairly basic pop/r&b effort. Hopefully it'll pick up again but at the moment I'm certainly swinging towards the opposite opinion to the one I had expected to be espousing. Yeah, I'm just waiting for it to end now. What a turnaround! It's like the first two tracks were from a totally different album, and it just went downhill at a gallop after that.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Sight of Day
Artist: Mostly Autumn
Genre: Progressive Rock
Nationality: English
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Twelfth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? Oh yes; intimately
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Very much so
Average RYM Score: 3.44
How, you ask, can I estimate a rating so high before even hearing the album? I've never even attempted that before. Well, this is not only in my wheelhouse, it's my wheel. I've been a fan of Mostly Autumn for about fifteen years now; in fact, there was a time when I would literally listen to nothing else. I made a playlist of all their songs and had to actually force myself to stop listening to them, as I had so much else to listen to. I've loved every album they've put out, though I have lost touch a little with them. The last one I listened to properly was 2008's Glass Shadows, and if that date seems significant, you'll note that that is when I joined MB, after which I ended up being far more involved in reviews, journals and listening to so much music that I didn't really have the time any more to devote to one of my favourite bands.

But unless this is a major paradigm shift for them, I can already predict that I'm going to love this. If nothing else, it's an album I am, for once, totally looking forward to listening to and reviewing, and that I have really high hopes of being on my AOTY list. After the poor crop of the last few albums I've had to listen to, this is going to be a welcome respite. I'm sure the rest of you will hate it. So be it. I don't care. This is one brief moment in this whole thread where I can revert to who I used to be, and relax and just listen to a favourite band without worrying that they'll disappoint me. I am, when all is said and done, and always will be, first and foremost a prog head. I make no apologies for this.

Let me warn you, though, if you don't like prog rock you won't like the first track, running as it does for over fourteen minutes and going through many changes over the course of its run. I, of course, love it. As usual, there's a mixture of prog, folk and some good old rock here, with some fine ballads, such as “The Man Without a Name”, which allows Olivia Sparnenn-Josh to take vocal duties from normal frontman Bryan Josh, her husband. “Changing Lives” and “Only the Brave” are good examples of where the band rock out, kicking up the tempo nicely. They're not going to impress any metalheads, but it's a nice change. Another epic in “Native Spirit”, which runs for just over ten minutes, with some powerful orchestration, and I'd go so far as to say “Raindown” is one of the best ballads they've done since “Carpe Diem” off 2005's Storms Over Still Water, with added pathos as it comes in the wake of, and may be a tribute to, the passing of longtime member Liam Davison, who died last year. As expected, a superb album and a fine addition to their discography. Now all I need is to catch up on the last few albums!

Check out more from this artist? You know it
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Always

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Whiteout Conditions
Artist: The New Pornographers
Genre: Power Pop/Indie Pop
Nationality: Canadian
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.22
Is this, then, a pun? Whiteout Conditions/Without Conditions? Or are they referring to a snowstorm, also know colloquially as a whiteout? Do I care? Well the opener is very catchy; gives me a sense of early Cars. Ooh! Second track is excellent too! Really like this so far. Also a poppier Prefab Sprout. No problems so far. There's a great energy to this music without making it sound derivative and ... you know what? I don't know why in particular I like it. I just do. “Second Sleep” is great and “Colosseums” bops along like a good thing, really pleasant.

“We've Been Here Before” may be my favourite on the album, and honestly, that's saying something, cos this is far better than I had expected. I love the sort of dreamy nature of the music on this track, and the double vocal works really well. Really impressed with this, big surprise.

Check out more from this artist? Yep
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Hah, we might convert you yet. New Pornos are a modern favorite of mine too. This will probably end up in my top ten of 2017 when I finally get to that year.

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