Trollheart

Album title: Jump on Board
Artist: Texas
Genre: Indie Pop/Alt-Rock/Pop Rock
Nationality: Scottish
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? I've heard two albums
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Not as such
Average RYM Score: 3.22
Well, the last Texas album I heard was 1999's Hush and honestly, I feel like I've just picked up where I stopped. They've had four more albums since then, not including this, and they may as well never have been away. Right from the off that sultry, seductive voice is back in control, and it's just great song after great song. Hard to pick out a standout as they're all really really good so far. Maybe “Can't Control”, but it's a hard call. Actually “Tell That Girl” (chosen as a single, and with good reason) is a contender too, then the smoky blues of “Sending a Message” might just about floor you, steam rising from the microphone.

And the quality just keeps strong with “Great Romances”, followed by “Won't Let You Down”, and then “Midnight” and ... hell, total excellence right up to the last beat. Not a bad thing to say about this album. Can't recommend it highly enough, which of course means you'll all ignore it. But that's your loss.

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

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Awesome Mix Vol 2
Artist: Various
Genre: Rock
Nationality: Various
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: n/a
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? n/a
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes
Average RYM Score: N/A
Hell, I don't even have to listen to this to know how good it's going to be! ELO, Fleetwood Mac, Sweet, George Harrison, Cheap Trick, Cat Stevens ... if you wanted a snapshot of some of the best music of the seventies, you could do a whole lot worse. In terms of well-known songs this has to be one of the best stacked soundtracks I've ever seen. I heard reports that the movie wasn't so great (haven't seen it, big surprise) but the soundtrack deserves, though I hate the word, the epithet it has here: awesome.

Check out more from this artist? n/a
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? n/a

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: You Are We
Artist: While She Sleeps
Genre: Metalcore
Nationality: English
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Third
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.25
I don't know: the more metalcore I hear the less I seem to like it. This one kicks off decently enough, and it's interesting that it's an English band; don't think I've experienced a metalcore band from good old Blighty yet. I can kind of hear progressive metal touches here, especially in the opener (which is also the title track) and is that a children's choir in “Steal the Sun”? I think it is. This isn't bad stuff. “Hurricane” in particular impresses me, and Bring Me The Horizon's Oliver Sykes does a good job on “Silence Speaks”. Not bad, to be fair: not bad at all.

Check out more from this artist? I just might
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Haven't quite given up on it yet

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Wow, Marvel must have paid out a big penny to be able to use these songs. I'm pretty sure George Harrison didn't come cheap (for those curious, he was able to buy back the rights to My Sweet Lord).

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Trollheart

At this point, Marvel probably has more money than God anyway.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

They're owned by Disney so if God ever needs a bailout he just needs to do a voice over cameo in Frozen 2.

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Trollheart

Album title: Hypnotic
Artist: Wilkinson
Genre: Electronic/EDM/Drum'n'Bass
Nationality: English
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Second
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.92
Well I don't get it: two sources claim this is Drum'n'Bass, but on the second track I clearly hear guitars and synths, so what gives? Seems much more like basic EDM to me. Anyway, I guess another producer who doesn't sing on his music, so we have various vocalists, but this isn't my jam and I don't know any of these people. Third track is slower, kind of marching beat with that annoying high-pitched sample I hate. Decent electronic dance music, not really my thing, but if you're into it you'll probably enjoy this.

“Brand New” is very annoying; just totally repetitive and nothing much in it that I can see, while “Only the Innocent” is a totally different kettle of kippers, but yeah it's still annoying. I'm just generally not into this sort of music, so my rating will reflect that, but for what it is this is probably a decent album. “Heaven” is a decent track but this isn't something I'd listen to.

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

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: Meeting of the Waters
Artist: Animal Collective
Genre: Experimental Pop
Nationality: American
Release date: April 22
Position in Discography: Ninth EP; nineteenth overall
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? More than I would wish to be
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.31
Everything I've heard from these guys to date I have either hated or shrugged at their popularity, so I'm not expecting much from this latest EP. And as it begins there are some basic sounds, (after some moments of just silence) then someone strumming an acoustic guitar, birdsong, someone moaning – you know, the usual thing AC seem to do and that people seem to wet themselves over. Not me. I don't like this stuff. I don't get it. If it was up to me, I'd never listen to another AC recording for as long as I lived, but it's not, and here we are. At least there are only four tracks on this, though I see to my dismay that the opener is over thirteen minutes long! This will be fun.

Apparently this was all recorded live in the Amazon rainforest. The ambient sounds are cool, but to be honest I'd rather listen to a recording from the forest than this music, such as it is. “Men of Oil” does at least have some more structure, and some singing, and to be fair it's not bad. Kind of an acoustic guitar thing with sort of soft tribal percussion. Next one appears to be purely experimental – effects, effects and more effects but not much of what I'd call music really. Yeah, all this has managed to do is increase or at least confirm my contempt for Animal Collective and reinforce my disbelief that they're so highly regarded. But then, as I've said multiple times, what do I know?

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

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Hey, stop picking on my hometown boys


Actually, they're kind of an acquired taste, like Beach House. Meriwhether Post Pavillion (named after the amphitheater in nearby Columbia, Md) is a very good experimental album and considered their masterpiece. I have a feeling Frownie or Occult might like them.

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Frownland

Nah they suck.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.