Trollheart Listens to Every Album on Wiki's List for 2017

Trollheart · 01-11-2018, 01:57 PM

Album title: The Assassination of Julius Caesar
Artist: Ulver
Genre: Synthpop/New Wave/EDM
Nationality: Norwegian
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Eleventh
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No but I have heard of them
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.45
Why did I think Ulver were a Black Metal band? Search me, but I did. I hear them get a lot of discussion around here, so let's see if it's warranted. Well it's pretty good all right, sort of a vaguely doomy edge to it. “Rolling Stone”, all nine minutes and change of it, is pretty damn intense and gets wild near the end. Oh yeah, this is pretty sweet. One of the best synthpop (darkwave?) albums I've come across since, I don't know: Beautiful Suicide?

Check out more from this artist? I will
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

**Frownland** · 01-11-2018, 02:03 PM

Ulver has started off as black metal but they pride themselves in diversity and have released a little bit of everything.

Trollheart · 01-11-2018, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Ulver has started off as black metal but they pride themselves in diversity and have released a little bit of everything.

Ah, so I haven't completely lost it. Thanks. I wondered why the name was so linked in my mind with BM. That's a hell of a transition though isn't it?

Trollheart · 01-11-2018, 04:25 PM

Album title: Revival
Artist: Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Genre: Electronic/Art Rock/Alt-Rock
Nationality: Australian
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Debut
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.84
This is pretty good so far. Not quite sure where to categorise it, though “Living Water” is terrible, just a bargain-basement pop song. The bouncy “Empire” more than makes up for it though. Kind of hear elements of Coldplay here, but don't let that put you off.

The vocal is very distinctive, almost feminine-sounding at times. “Lung” is heartbreakingly beautiful. Another great track is “Sleeping World”, some kind of mix of low-key pop and ambient, maybe. Really effective. Really nice stuff all round, other than that one song. Sort of gives me a Sigur Ros feel at times too, odd as that may seem. Also Tim Bowness. Who? Shut up.

Check out more from this artist? Oh yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 01-12-2018, 07:58 AM

Album title: WYW
Artist: Wear Your Wounds
Genre: Post-Rock
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Debut
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No but I've heard Converge
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A decent bit yes
Average RYM Score: 3.27
Now this could be an interesting one. Solo project by the vocalist and frontman for Converge. I like a lot of post-rock, but I don't like metalcore, so this could go either way. Okay well I know he's a singer but I have to say the first song doesn't totally impress me, whereas the second, with no vocals, and the third, with very faint and low-key ones, do. “Hard Road to Heaven” is kind of like a slow doomy piano, almost on its own, very ominous and dark, whereas “Cry of Your Life” is the closest I guess this comes to the metalcore of Bannon's parent band, with some fine guitar from Kurt Ballou. “Breaking Point” is particularly great too, really powerful and emotional, as its title would suggest. Back to the piano then for “Shine”, with a barely discernible vocal. I guess, for a guy who screams his head off with Converge, this is a major change, and it's good to see he can embrace such a shift in his vocal prowess. It works very well. I'm no fan of Converge, but I really like this. I like it a lot.

I did think – and I could of course be wrong here – that post-rock was exclusively instrumental, and I wonder is this actual post-rock? Though the music certainly sounds like what I would expect from that genre. The vocal, when it's used – and it's not that often to be fair – is low and indistinct enough almost not to be there at times, so I guess that's almost instrumental anyway. Either way, I really enjoyed this album. Not sure if fans of Converge will like it, but I did.

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

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 01-12-2018, 10:21 AM

Album title: The World's Best American Band
Artist: White Reaper
Genre: Blues Rock/Garage Rock/Power Pop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Third
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.25
Quite a grandiose claim to make, though I'm sure it's one made with tongue firmly in cheek. Even at that, what I hear on this album so far is nothing particularly illuminating or new. Just sounds like a lot of other indie rock bands I've heard and up to this point anyway nothing has stood out, though we are only three tracks in. It's not bad, just nothing special. Okay then, “Little Silver Cross” is pretty damn fantastic, and the next track too, with its Lizzy-inspired guitar riffs, has a lot going for it. Maybe this is getting better. They go all Quo then for “Crystal Pistol”, which is interesting, and the kind of heavy rock vibe remains for “Tell Me”. Yeah, definitely got better as it went on. Slow start, but a good progression from a meh album to a pretty decent one. Not sure I'd give them the award the title asks for, though!

Check out more from this artist? Might
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Again, might

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 01-12-2018, 11:15 AM

Album title: The World We Built
Artist: The Wild Reeds
Genre: Indie Rock/Folk
Nationality: American
Release date: April 7
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.22
Very pleasant, nice sound. I like the vocal harmonies, and the tracks are all good, but I just haven't heard anything that's made me turn my attention to this. I'm also writing one of my stories as I listen, and to be honest this is just kind of passing by. I don't think it's bad or anything, not by any means, but I've been able to leave it playing in the background without needing to suddenly concentrate on any song or write about any particular aspect of the album that impresses me.

Check out more from this artist? Probably not
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 01-12-2018, 11:31 AM

Album title: Eclipse
Artist: EXID
Genre: K-pop/EDM/Trip-hop/R&B
Nationality: Korean
Release date: April 10
Position in Discography: Third
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little
Average RYM Score: N/A
One thing I can nearly always say about K-pop albums, and that is that they are generally short. This is another of what they call a “mini-album”, what I would term an EP, and it has six tracks in all. Ah sure what can I tell ya? As I've said before, hear one K-pop album and you've pretty much heard them all. This doesn't do anything to change that attitude I've developed over the last four months of listening to Korea's main musical export. One point of comic relief is that one of the girls is called Hani, and when she sings on her own on one of the tracks she's credited as, you guessed it, Hani Solo!

Other than that though, nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? I'm sure I will

Actual Rating:

Paedantic Basterd · 01-12-2018, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Ah, so I haven't completely lost it. Thanks. I wondered why the name was so linked in my mind with BM. That's a hell of a transition though isn't it?

They've also done trip hop and psych pop.

Trollheart · 01-12-2018, 01:01 PM

Album title: Love Honey
Artist: Ai Otsuka
Genre: J-Pop/Electronic
Nationality: Japanese
Release date: April 12
Position in Discography: Eighth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.43
An interesting point about Ai Otsuka is that almost all of her previous albums have been titled Love something, such as Love Fantastic, Love Letter, Love Piece etc. I do have to admit it's a lot more impressive immediately than I had expected, and I really like the first track. I guess as she's been going since 2004 she knows at this stage what she's about, and I read she composes and plays her own songs, as well as produces them, so not a product of the Japanese version of the K-pop factory then. She also learned to play piano from, um, four years old, so she's no blow-in. We'll have to afford her some respect, then.

Okay well some of this is pretty straight forward pop, after the opener, but there are some nice ballads too, bit of electronica, although I do have to say I'm a little disappointed. After the promise of the first track I had expected better, but it seems to be all pretty basic and generic. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Pity. Last track has a nice smoky jazzy feel to it. Bit late though.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? If I have to

Actual Rating:

01-11-2018, 01:57 PM	#1531 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: The Assassination of Julius Caesar Artist: Ulver Genre: Synthpop/New Wave/EDM Nationality: Norwegian Release date: April 7 Position in Discography: Eleventh Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No but I have heard of them Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No Average RYM Score: 3.45 Why did I think Ulver were a Black Metal band? Search me, but I did. I hear them get a lot of discussion around here, so let's see if it's warranted. Well it's pretty good all right, sort of a vaguely doomy edge to it. “Rolling Stone”, all nine minutes and change of it, is pretty damn intense and gets wild near the end. Oh yeah, this is pretty sweet. One of the best synthpop (darkwave?) albums I've come across since, I don't know: Beautiful Suicide? Check out more from this artist? I will Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-11-2018, 02:03 PM	#1532 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Ulver has started off as black metal but they pride themselves in diversity and have released a little bit of everything. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

01-11-2018, 04:25 PM	#1534 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: Revival Artist: Vancouver Sleep Clinic Genre: Electronic/Art Rock/Alt-Rock Nationality: Australian Release date: April 7 Position in Discography: Debut Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No Average RYM Score: 2.84 This is pretty good so far. Not quite sure where to categorise it, though “Living Water” is terrible, just a bargain-basement pop song. The bouncy “Empire” more than makes up for it though. Kind of hear elements of Coldplay here, but don't let that put you off. The vocal is very distinctive, almost feminine-sounding at times. “Lung” is heartbreakingly beautiful. Another great track is “Sleeping World”, some kind of mix of low-key pop and ambient, maybe. Really effective. Really nice stuff all round, other than that one song. Sort of gives me a Sigur Ros feel at times too, odd as that may seem. Also Tim Bowness. Who? Shut up. Check out more from this artist? Oh yes Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-12-2018, 07:58 AM	#1535 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: WYW Artist: Wear Your Wounds Genre: Post-Rock Nationality: American Release date: April 7 Position in Discography: Debut Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No but I've heard Converge Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A decent bit yes Average RYM Score: 3.27 Now this could be an interesting one. Solo project by the vocalist and frontman for Converge. I like a lot of post-rock, but I don't like metalcore, so this could go either way. Okay well I know he's a singer but I have to say the first song doesn't totally impress me, whereas the second, with no vocals, and the third, with very faint and low-key ones, do. “Hard Road to Heaven” is kind of like a slow doomy piano, almost on its own, very ominous and dark, whereas “Cry of Your Life” is the closest I guess this comes to the metalcore of Bannon's parent band, with some fine guitar from Kurt Ballou. “Breaking Point” is particularly great too, really powerful and emotional, as its title would suggest. Back to the piano then for “Shine”, with a barely discernible vocal. I guess, for a guy who screams his head off with Converge, this is a major change, and it's good to see he can embrace such a shift in his vocal prowess. It works very well. I'm no fan of Converge, but I really like this. I like it a lot. I did think – and I could of course be wrong here – that post-rock was exclusively instrumental, and I wonder is this actual post-rock? Though the music certainly sounds like what I would expect from that genre. The vocal, when it's used – and it's not that often to be fair – is low and indistinct enough almost not to be there at times, so I guess that's almost instrumental anyway. Either way, I really enjoyed this album. Not sure if fans of Converge will like it, but I did. Check out more from this artist? Yes Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-12-2018, 10:21 AM	#1536 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: The World's Best American Band Artist: White Reaper Genre: Blues Rock/Garage Rock/Power Pop Nationality: American Release date: April 7 Position in Discography: Third Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No Average RYM Score: 3.25 Quite a grandiose claim to make, though I'm sure it's one made with tongue firmly in cheek. Even at that, what I hear on this album so far is nothing particularly illuminating or new. Just sounds like a lot of other indie rock bands I've heard and up to this point anyway nothing has stood out, though we are only three tracks in. It's not bad, just nothing special. Okay then, “Little Silver Cross” is pretty damn fantastic, and the next track too, with its Lizzy-inspired guitar riffs, has a lot going for it. Maybe this is getting better. They go all Quo then for “Crystal Pistol”, which is interesting, and the kind of heavy rock vibe remains for “Tell Me”. Yeah, definitely got better as it went on. Slow start, but a good progression from a meh album to a pretty decent one. Not sure I'd give them the award the title asks for, though! Check out more from this artist? Might Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Again, might Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-12-2018, 11:15 AM	#1537 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: The World We Built Artist: The Wild Reeds Genre: Indie Rock/Folk Nationality: American Release date: April 7 Position in Discography: Second Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No Average RYM Score: 3.22 Very pleasant, nice sound. I like the vocal harmonies, and the tracks are all good, but I just haven't heard anything that's made me turn my attention to this. I'm also writing one of my stories as I listen, and to be honest this is just kind of passing by. I don't think it's bad or anything, not by any means, but I've been able to leave it playing in the background without needing to suddenly concentrate on any song or write about any particular aspect of the album that impresses me. Check out more from this artist? Probably not Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-12-2018, 11:31 AM	#1538 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: Eclipse Artist: EXID Genre: K-pop/EDM/Trip-hop/R&B Nationality: Korean Release date: April 10 Position in Discography: Third Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little Average RYM Score: N/A One thing I can nearly always say about K-pop albums, and that is that they are generally short. This is another of what they call a “mini-album”, what I would term an EP, and it has six tracks in all. Ah sure what can I tell ya? As I've said before, hear one K-pop album and you've pretty much heard them all. This doesn't do anything to change that attitude I've developed over the last four months of listening to Korea's main musical export. One point of comic relief is that one of the girls is called Hani, and when she sings on her own on one of the tracks she's credited as, you guessed it, Hani Solo! Other than that though, nothing to see here. Move along, move along. Check out more from this artist? No Check out more from this genre or subgenre? I'm sure I will Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-12-2018, 01:01 PM	#1540 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Album title: Love Honey Artist: Ai Otsuka Genre: J-Pop/Electronic Nationality: Japanese Release date: April 12 Position in Discography: Eighth Estimated Rating: Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No Average RYM Score: 2.43 An interesting point about Ai Otsuka is that almost all of her previous albums have been titled Love something, such as Love Fantastic, Love Letter, Love Piece etc. I do have to admit it's a lot more impressive immediately than I had expected, and I really like the first track. I guess as she's been going since 2004 she knows at this stage what she's about, and I read she composes and plays her own songs, as well as produces them, so not a product of the Japanese version of the K-pop factory then. She also learned to play piano from, um, four years old, so she's no blow-in. We'll have to afford her some respect, then. Okay well some of this is pretty straight forward pop, after the opener, but there are some nice ballads too, bit of electronica, although I do have to say I'm a little disappointed. After the promise of the first track I had expected better, but it seems to be all pretty basic and generic. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Pity. Last track has a nice smoky jazzy feel to it. Bit late though. Check out more from this artist? No Check out more from this genre or subgenre? If I have to Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018