The Random Album Thread
 

EDIT: I'll put suggested random album pickers here:

https://www.randomlists.com/random-albums?qty=1
http://rateyourmusic.com/misc/random






I hope this hasn't been done quite like this before.

It's a simple idea. Pick a random album through some means of your own choosing. Listen to all or part of it. Then write a bit about it. Not necessarily a review. A short reaction is fine.

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I simply went to Spotify and typed a few random letters into the search bar. My fingers hit "osf", so this came up and I listened to it:

the moon and the nightspirit - osforras
https://open.spotify.com/album/6YTGI5PoXfufQz11T66Kki
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/89/4d...3a9cfe1390.jpg

As the cover maybe kinda gives away, it turns out to be some sort of dark, acoustic folk music with some women singing in a manner that reminds me of some greek vocal folk I once heard. The music feels quite Middle Eastern tinged, or perhaps like something from the Balkans. I could of course Google it and solve the mystery, but for now, I'm fine with being pretty confused about where in the world this is from. Although, maybe the music and the spelling of the band's name makes me guess Turkey or some other country close to it. That would be my shotgun-to-the-head guess right now.

The music is generally fairly energetic. Sometimes going for a bit more somber feel. I am reminded of Warzaw Village Band during some moments.

Yeah... pretty cool so far actually. I'm saving it to my Spotify library for now so I can check it out again.

So it doesn't have to be an album we haven't heard right? Or is the point to listen to something we haven't heard?

I was thinking something you haven't heard before. Forgot to make that clear.

But I guess you could also randomly find something form your collection that you haven't heard in ages.

Fair enough. I think either or works well, I was just wondering. I like the idea of talking about something I haven't heard so I may go that route.

Cool idea tho. Could be interesting.

I think it's a good way to just find something unexpected. Depending on how you choose it, you might find something you'd never ever have thought to hear. And possibly something absolutely terrible. It's risky business.

This seems a lot like the defunct Random Album Club from last year but I still like the idea.
You can generate a release at random from RYM using this link btw: https://rateyourmusic.com/misc/random

That's cool! I may use this actually. Stay tuned for mine. May be later today.

Second try:

"Aigner Gabriele - Klassik anders, vol. 2"
https://open.spotify.com/album/2CaqD4alIajJHsCW8O0xNl
http://www.gabriele-aigner.at/filead...sikanders2.jpg

Typed in the letters "aig" and got this album. Some kind of vocal jazz. The mix of jazz drums, piano and cello is neat, but the singer is a bit of an acquired taste. I can hear that right away. I'm feeling kind of annoyed after a few minutes of her caterwauling.

Second track sounds like some kind of show tune. Hmm... Not so sure what to say about this. It's not likely to survive this first encounter.

Gonna stick with it for a couple more songs, then either save the album on Spotify for later or forget about it.

I vaguely remember that thread. I think everyone had to listen to the selected album there, like in the album club. This thread is more geared towards people just finding an album and taking a listen on their own. Then other people can listen if they want when someone says they found something special or whatever.

That RYM link is useful. I forgot how to do that.

Yeah this idea seems much more relaxed. Sort of an extension of the albums you're digging / not digging thread but it's all in one thread. I actually may use this thread instead tbh.

Yeah I get that. I think it's better this way tbh

Now I just hope some people are gonna actually post something. I'm gonna do some more, but it's not far from my bedtime.

I will be. I'm at work atm but I'll see if I can whip something up for the time being. Stay tuned.

Conduits - Conduits

Pretty funny that this thread was made because I was actually looking for an excuse to talk about this album so here we go. Nea actually sent this my way after I talked about Distant Satellites by Anathema and I gotta say, while I don't really know what I was expecting, this album is quite good. I love the harmonies throughout and the music in its own is very much a distinct taste but not too difficult to get into.

I certainly enjoyed my time with this album considering I'd never heard it before. And don't worry, I don't think the album is necessarily very similar to Anathema. Nea just sent it my way as a result of that. Still worth giving a shot though.

The random aspect will probably get me more interested in reviewing than otherwise. Not making much time to review the albums I already own but haven't listened to in a good stroke. More interested in exploring stuff I haven't heard. We'll see what I can come up with.

First try using https://rateyourmusic.com/misc/random

https://img.discogs.com/TQjDVloEIj8K...-2905.jpeg.jpg
Astma - Koniec Antropocenu (2016, Poland, [Abstract, Techno, Noise, Experimental])

Apparently this is a limited release of only 50 copies. I don't dislike it, but techno never really holds my interest.

I have to listen to Shadows Fall now

Random RYM album generator selection (went through about ten trying to find one on Spotify):

https://img.discogs.com/IAZdAkZMF7rv...9-8097.png.jpg
Body Tools - Locusts & Lions / Brave

Industrial techno that you've heard before but still catches some nice grooves and textures. Both of these tracks are about 3 minutes too long and the ambient moments are very flat. 3/5

Because I don't have RYM, I used a random album generator, and this is what came up first:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...m_the_Edge.jpg
James Arthur - Back From The Edge (2016)

I ****ing love this thread right now because I've only just started this album and I'm absolutely loving it. James Arthur is a fantastic vocalist and the music that accompanies him in this album is doubly fantastic. I'll be listening to this album a lot I'm sure. I've been looking for something like this for a while. Something easy to listen to but still very very good. Sweet!

I didn't know it was just for users. That's lame.

Yeah, I had to sign up and I didn't really feel like doing that right now. It's all good, I still found a way to do it.

I probably have a RYM profile that I made to use for the same thing way back in the old random album club thread.

Don't wanna bother with that, but my Spotify method is working fine, so that's no problem.

Searched for the name "weird" in the hopes something interesting would come up. Skipping a familiar artist like Weird Al, I came upon this album.

Three Weird Sisters - Hair of the Frog
https://open.spotify.com/album/7HDdOHG67isjISuLVucPFH
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....LL._SY355_.jpg

Pretty benign folk music. Three women singing. They've got good voices and sound like they're probably middle aged, which gives some nice weight to their voices. Feels a bit like Vashti Bunyan. Not very weird at all, so that's a let down, but pretty good. I like the more moody tracks the most. I'm adding all their albums to my Spotify lists so I can listen to them properly later. I might like this a lot if I live with it for a bit.

8/10 or whatever. I'm doing scores now? Apparently.

then log in

'was

Getting an album with 1 high rating in the randomizer is very exciting

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/ep...oco_da_tavolo/

I don't have RYM, so I'm using this random album generator: https://www.randomlists.com/random-albums?qty=1

^^ Can't speak to its album depth or genre variations.

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Hayley Kiyoko - Expectations


Genre: Snyth-pop
Year: 2018
General Pace: slow/chill

The Skinny: Kiyoko is an actress and musician who has put out a few EPs, but this is her first full-length album. In looking over her bio, all I recognize is The Vampire Diaries and the crime-show spinoff CSI: Cyber.

Best Song: "What I Need." Mall-happy and/or clothing-shop-in-a-department-store-so-that-you-buy-more-shirts banger that has shades of Ariana Grande.
Worst Song: "Mercy / Gatekeeper." I was actually able to predict the lyrics at one point and the rest of it was all over the place.
Most Varied/Interesting Song: "Molecules." Much more my style. Nice balance between vocals and instrumental, and the beat is catchy.

Summation: I'm not a synth-popaholic or anything, but I loves me some electro beats + female vocals, so I was interested in checking out this album. The album cover is boss -- photo-realistic mixed with art or was filtered to look that way, I can't really tell which is which, in a good way. While Expectations does contain content and themes of struggle that are personal to Kiyoko, I was hoping that the music itself would be a bit darker, more ambiguous, or edgy, I suppose, based on the album cover, although that's probably my own biases working themselves in. Overall, the pace is simply too slow for me. Lyrically, it's super basic. While I won't revisit Expectations, my takeaway is that Kiyoko is making music because she wants to, so I can respect the artistic work ethic.

It'd be cool if all of the mentioned random album generators were added to the OP.

Anyway, came up on this one. Might not listen to the whole thing but the first track is nice vaporwave that seems a little more focused and meticulously produced than most vaporwave albums out there.

PACIFICO CORP/国際 - インタラクティブ百科事典
https://pentium2.bandcamp.com/album/--13

EDIT: Well that went downhill fast.

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1093735801_16.jpg
ZACHT AUTOMAAT - WE CAN'T HELP YOU IF WE CAN'T FIND YOU

Muchos buenos. Bookmarkin this page.

I really am liking this thread idea. I'll do another one tonight or tomorrow.

I'll do it later. Gotta leave for work in when I'm done with my breakfast.

The other link I posted is not varied much at all, so I went ahead and signed up for RYM just to use the random feature. Pulled up a few where I couldn't find full albums and some were just singles releases. I also skipped a few just because I wanted to, which I know I shouldn't do. I'm trying to not get in the habit of skipping albums just because I think I won't like it, no matter the genre, which I almost did with this pick. But that defeats the purpose of randomness, so here we go:

Fred Eaglesmith - Drive-In Movie



Genre(s): Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Year: 1996
General Pace: Slow to moderate, downbeat, wonky, twangy.
Lyrics: Some interesting turns of phrase, some traditional heart-pang issues, and a lot of odes to Americana, or maybe it's Canadiana, because Eaglesmith is Canadian.

Listenthrough: If you didn't know Eaglesmith loved trains and automobiles before hitting the play button, you certainly will by the end of Drive-In Movie, with such lyrics as "I was born on a Greyhound bus, momma was a diesel engine," "49 tons of diesel locomotive couldn't drag me back to you," and "I wish I was a freight train." Tracks three to five deal with relationship woes, and those make for his least interesting material on the disc IMO, even with some of the backing vocals provided by Lynn Miles. Outside of that, Drive-In Movie is small town, throwback reflective type of stuff: Station Wagons, hookers, women on parole, soda machines, and winding, deserted roads with old-time gas stations. It's all there.

Best Song: White Rose is the best-produced.

Summation: I have to say, as much as the train and automobile themes felt somewhat semi-forced, this album would've been a lot more fun and creative if he continued down that road through its entirety. Just to see what he would've come up with, lyrically. If you want something that evokes a go West (to British Columbia? I suppose), wide-open, dusty road, good-natured outlaw experience with a little heartbreak on the side, this might be for you.

---

I looked him up on Wikipedia after I wrote this and found this:

That was pretty much my takeaway, so I'd say he got that across in this album like he intended.

Scumbo - Scumbo

https://i1.sndcdn.com/avatars-000235...q-t500x500.jpg

https://soundcloud.com/scumbomusic

Genre: Many of the songs tagged as #indie on Soundcloud. I'd say it's non-genre specific. Has electronic beats mixed in, although not all songs are exclusively electronic.
Year: 2002
General Pace: Mid-tempo, chill/ambient (beat-oriented), spacey/spooky atmospheric, experimental.

Listenthrough: Had to splice the album together by individual song on Soundcloud. The album starts off with "Apricots," which had a very pleasant beat to it, even if it was lyrically repetitive. Then Scumbo spends some time being spacey and experimental until you get to track 14, "Traveling with Satan." It's here where Scumbo tries to sound like an actual band. Why isn't the rest of the album like this? Initially, I thought this was a solo project.

Best Song: "Apricots."
Worst Song: "Riddle." Awful.
Most Varied/Interesting Song: Many of the tracks try to be varied and experimental. "Apricots" is a more complete track insofar as the electro parts of the album go, but "In The Corner" had the most interesting beat, even if it only showed up in about 15% of the song.

Summation: In general, I found some of the beats to be pleasing, but Scumbo spends too much of its time not exploring them. Additionally, there was a lot of half-singing to make the singer's voice lighter, which is an affect I tend not to like. The mixing needs a lot of work, too, as it often sounded like both the backing vocals and some of the electronic parts were in a different room, or coming almost entirely out of the left speaker. Made for a jarring experience.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ally_Woken.jpg
Jem - Finally Woken (2004)

I'm already loving this album and I'm only 2 tracks in. It's described as trip hop, electronica, and folk-electronica. The vocalist is also fantastic and it uses other voice tracks throughout to make a really neat effect. What a fun way to start the day.

Ended up listening to the whole thing. ****ing fantastic. Easily something I will dive more into. This was a fun one to discover.

Böse - Space Jam



https://bosenoise.bandcamp.com/album/space-jam

Genre: Jam Band, Psychedelic Rock
Year: 2014
Place of Origin: Opole, Poland
General Pace: Sluggish-heavy

Listenthrough: As far as a jam album is concerned, this was not pretentious and wanky. There are only four songs, all of them instrumentals. The first three are roughly 18 to 19 minutes long, so an attention span was required. That was easiest to do with "Blast Off," which starts the album off proper. Some nice riffs, more of a metal sound. Has enough reverb for my liking. Could've gone a little harder in some places, particularly track 2, "The Brightest Star." But it's a jam album, so there are no rules.

Asia - Aqua

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....iyL._SS500.jpg

Genre: AOR, Hard Rock
Year: 1992
Place of Origin: England
General Pace: Soaring, uptempo, progressive sound with some obligatory slow ballads.

Cool album cover. The music focuses on soaring melodies, and while Asia incorporates the use of guitar solos, they don't overpower the songs in which they appear. "Who Will Stop the Rain" and "Someday" had the nicest compositions, but this is just not the kind of music I've ever been able to get into, and this album didn't change my mind.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ad_My_Lips.png
Sophie Ellis Bextor - Read My Lips

holy **** this is fantastic. her vocals are legit amazing and it works really well in this kind of genre. definitely worth a look if you're into some pretty good female vocals and pop. I think Goofle would love this.

Deerhoof - Milk Man



Genre: Noise Rock, Indie Rock, Art Rock, Experimental, etc.
Year: 2004
Place of Origin: San Fransisco, CA
General Pace: Downtempo to mid-tempo indie(ish)/experimental.

Knowing 100% of zero about this band going in, the female lead (Satomi Matsuzaki) was a bit of a surprise based soley off the name of the album and the album cover, which on RYM was only the subject's face. Matsuzaki sings in a minimalist, dreamlike, whisper-like tone, aligning herself squarely with the band's overall art-pop sound. Milk Man is also a little loungey here and there, but not in a predictable way as it remains experimental throughout.

• Production is clean.
• Deerhoof is doing their own thing; they're not trying to sound like anyone else.

While on the weird, indie side of my musical spectrum, I didn't mind it.

Shout Out Louds - Optica

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4L._SY355_.jpg

Genre: Indie Pop/Synth-pop
Year: 2013
Place of Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
General Pace: Mellow-moderate

Worst Song: "Sugar." Nasally vocals. Would not have chosen that as the opener. Vocals smoothed out after that, though.
Best Song: I liked the last two minutes of "Glasgow" the best. Honorable mention: "Hermila."

The electronic parts of Optica are reminiscent of '80s-sounding pop, but the rock parts of this group sounded like any other indie band out there, sorry to say. It's not until track 9, "Hermila," where the band allows cracks in their veneer in order to let the audience in, if only briefly, but by that point I had simply lost interest. Overall, pretty safe and bland stuff.