http://ariasullaquintanota.altervist...-1-600x400.jpg
Album title: Nessun posto è casa mia
Artist: Chiara
Genre: Pop
Nationality: Italian
Release date: February 24
Position in Discography: Third
Fear Factor: Moderate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes
Average RYM Score: 2.50
Talk about being hard to track down! I eventually found evidence of this, Chiara Galiazzo's third album, on RYM, but no idea as to its genre. It sounds like pop or adult contemporary, I guess. Pretty good voice, certainly, and the music seems ok too. I would say it's a competent pop album, though nothing in particular jumps out at me as being special or noteworthy. By the same token, there's nothing here that I hate or even dislike. The ballads are nice, if a little cliche, and I see now that she must be involved with that bane of my life, The X Factor, as she appears on two compilation albums dedicated to that show. I suppose I can't hold that against her. Yep: won the sixth season of the Italian version. Decent album. Not a lot more than that really.
Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed6.jpg

Expectation Index: 0

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...lbum_cover.jpg
Album title: Crystal Fairy
Artist: Crystal Fairy
Genre: Hard Rock/Alt-Rock/Sludge
Nationality: American
Release date: February 24
Position in Discography: Debut
Fear Factor: Moderate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes
Average RYM Score: 3.14
Well, if that doesn't sound like the name of a prog band, or at least a psych rock one, I'm a Dutchman! Pleased to meet you, Jakob, cos it's actually the debut album of a supergroup made up of members of The Melvins, At The Drive-In, and Le Butcherettes. Hmm. Not familiar with any of them. Kicks off well with a fast frenetic rocker, and is there punk in this too? “Necklace of Divorce” certainly sounds that way. I think there may be two vocalists taking turns, one a woman? The latter certainly reminds me of Siouxsie Sioux and Hazel O'Connor, with a bit of Robert Plant thrown in for good measure. I guess “Moth Tongue” is the sludge part of the equation and yeah, I guess if you're into these guys or their respective bands you might enjoy this, but I'm not, so I'm finding it hard to maintain my interest. Not that there aren't good tracks; there are. “Under Trouble” has a lot going for it. But it's just kind of hard for me to care.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed5.jpg

Expectation Index: 0

Not familiar with Melvins?! Then here! Every fan of rock needs to hear the Melvins! Every. Single. One.

Yeah. Like I'm going to listen to that. :rolleyes: Dream on.

I am not trolling you. I even went with a Melvins album that I thought you'd like better than some of their other classics. If you don't like it then it's because I miscalculated, not because I intended it. Seriously, scout's honor. I'm very much hoping you'd like Stag because it's an awesome album and everyone should have the privilege of liking the Melvins. Consider this a legit rec and not a shady one.

I ****ing promise. At the very least when I do bull**** you I try to be somewhat quiet about it so you won't notice.

No, I don't think you're trolling me. I'm just pointing out that the chances of me listening to a full album by a band I don't know and have no particular wish to get to know, while I'm in the middle of this, are about as likely as Frownland marrying Chula. Try a single track, maybe I'll take a listen, but don't expect me to give a full album a spin at this point.

And you were never a scout.

And I joined the scouts for a night. Never went back but that's not the point.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...h_American.jpg
Album title: Youngish American
Artist: Dams of the West
Genre: Alt-Rock
Nationality: American
Release date: February 24
Position in Discography: Debut
Fear Factor: Moderate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.77
On the whole, solo albums by drummers tend not to be a great idea. I don't know Vampire Weekend, but this is the debut of their drummer, and has garnered, it would appear, varied praise/criticism. It doesn't tell me here whether he, Chris Thomson, sings too, but I feel he may do, and if so, he's not a great vocalist. Actually, to be fair, he's not that bad – reminds me of one of the guys from The Alan Parsons Project – Chris Rainbow? Not sure. It's just the album itself is pretty much stultifyingly boring and I can't keep my attention on it. Oh wait: “Flag on the Can” is decent. The rest is pretty pedestrian and boring though. Also, why such a stupid name? Dams of the ****ing West, me arse! :rolleyes: And what's the deal with the picture on the album? Does not the top half of his body look too big for the legs???

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed4.jpg

Expectation Index: 0

https://img.discogs.com/y8dxM3EOKMF5...-2235.jpeg.jpg
Album title: The Roc
Artist: Daniel Herskedal
Genre: Jazz
Nationality: Norwegian
Release date: February 24
Position in Discography: Third
Fear Factor: High
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.34
On first glance, a jazz album by someone whose specialty is the tuba doesn't sound like it is going to win any favours from me, but I must admit it's pretty good from the off. The tuba seems to be less front and centre than I had expected, and mostly this runs on a nice piano line with accompaniment from the tuba. The latter certainly comes into its own though on “Eternal Sunshine Creates a Desert” (or is it trumpet? Some horn anyway, very nice) and I'm surprised that I'm enjoying this a lot more than I had expected. There are some nice Middle Eastern tones to this, such as on “Hijaz Train Station” and “There are Three Things You Cannot Hide: Love, Smoke and a Man On a Camel”. Indeed. In terms of what I think of as jazz, or rather, what I'm used to, considering how little I've heard, the meandering “The Krøderen Line” is the closest this album comes to achieving that, and it's mostly driven on piano with viola, maybe (I see one mentioned) with some lovely smoky horn work on it too. Can't say there's anything on this I don't like.

Check out more from this artist? Yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed9.jpg

Expectation Index: 10

https://img.discogs.com/2V9bgyTo3d46...-1821.jpeg.jpg
Album title: Ensen
Artist: Emel Mathlouki
Genre: Electronic/Downtempo/Folk
Nationality: Tunisian
Release date: February 24
Position in Discography: Second
Fear Factor: Moderate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.33
Nice kind of downtempo (what exactly is the dividing line between downtempo and trip-hop anyway?) sound mixed with Arabic flavour, slow and moody with a sense of brooding urgency. RYM notes the genre as “Arabic Pop”, but I don't hear pop here really at all. This is a lot more mature, and “Kaddesh” in particular has a very traditional, folky feel about it, quite stripped down musically, which allows her voice to take command, something it does with consummate ease. “Thamlaton” has a rising power in it, a sort of prayer or protest I would say, with hypnotic tribal drums which put me in mind of preparations for a battle. The last track certainly sounds like a chant, prayer or even mass of some sort. Good stuff, a long way from generic.


Check out more from this artist? Maybe
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed8.jpg

Expectation Index: 6