Jejeje I love both ideas! But let’s suggest anything! and, you know? When Chester passed away, I found Tyler Joseph so suitable for the role.
This album is a bit of a ride, but a draining one - I guess I have that experience with many albums I hear for the first time like this. There's a variety of references and styles going on, but all of it gets compressed down into this fuzzy, lo-fi alt-rock / pop-rap package that Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda would feel too at-home in. I feel like there was a potential depth and a richness in the sonics that's been sanded away for the sake of immediacy. Perhaps it's an interesting approach to incorporate all of these styles, but the ways these ideas get used and treated aren't exciting to me - the curveballs are obviously surprising , but, then, they're also simply baffling a lot of the time. An example is the industrial techno direction of "1993" being paired with songwriting that, to me, doesn't complement that sound / vibe at all. The hip-hop elements similarly come out of nowhere, most notably the brazen Cypress Hill / House of Pain thing going on for "Bury Me Alive". I'm not familiar enough with Oliver Tree to understand if there's some kind of joke going on or if this is a usual thing for him, but the production is at least fun to listen to and he rides the beat well enough. Part of what ties everything together is the consistency of the vocals, constantly treated with distortion, constantly whiny in the delivery, and constantly self-deprecating in the lyricism. I keyed into that okay at the start, but it just keeps going and becomes more and more grating throughout the whole album with no breaks. Some of the cuts that I still kind of liked were "Me, Myself & I", "Jerk" (I like the drum & bass remixes better, but the original is okay, and I appreciate how different they are) and "Hurt". The intro / opening verse in "Hurt" reminds me of the verses from Metric's "Black Sheep", and I would call it my favourite moment on the whole album. I really sat up for it and started to wonder where it might be heading, but, then, it turned into another Oliver Tree song when the drums came in.
What can I say about Oliver Tree's "Ugly is Beautiful". I'm not practiced at dissecting the anatomy of music, so I wouldn't be doing it much justice if I tried too hard, but I've always felt like his music was delightfully simple despite the effort put into the layers. That, if you liked it, the chords to say, "Cash Machine" were accessible, for example. Yet, the song is very satisfying anyway. This is just a hunch. The all-dressed naked heart and eccentricity carry hard and are meant to. For me, at least. I love all of this album. Even the edgy bits, like "Bury Me Alive" and "Joke's On You!" When I'm really feeling it, I'm emulating the candor to each song with every breath and it is strangely fun. I'd even wager that it's an interesting exercise! The reason, though, that I wouldn't even knock the height of this album's cringe (Probably JOY), is all the moments that feel genuinely vulnerable on the other side of the spectrum. Even JOY's bridge, counteracts my upturned eyebrow when I started to really judge it. It feels like he's breaking the 4th wall here to say "Don't take yourself so seriously" if this feeling ever resonates with you. So, while this album sometimes barrels hard into some tricky tropes, I feel it executes even the most played out or difficult ones and lands perfectly. "Me, Myself, & I" into "1993" was the perfect 1-2 to establish that range. It opens honest, soulful, and awkward, and anxious, and immediately turns around with a "F*ck it!, let's go!" That "1993" instrumental hits. My girlfriend had it as her ringtone/alarm for a while, too, hah. "Cash Machine" is a tired "consumerism bad" trope, but despite this, it's still good. I think the thing it offers to that arena that's interesting is the way he paints the idea of trying to buy society out of its problems cluelessly in the 2nd verse. "Let Me Down" and "Miracle Man" speak to me on a personal level. I feel like, whatever is going on in both those tracks, I know those heartaches on a deep level and have never heard them put in a way that... call me out in a sympathetic way? Weird. Fun fact, there's a Blink 182 remix of "Let Me Down" that sounds exactly how you'd think, probably! "Bury Me Alive" and "Alien Boy" are just pure fun. He really leans into his exaggerated and weird candor in ways that paint such interestingly multi-faceted feelings. The anxiety in "BMA"'s pre-chorus, the full-throated shouting of the verses like he's under fire, and the dazed "Death ray! Golden Age! We don't want - Better Days!". I love it. And "AB" is such an infectious flex. I already explained why "Joke's On You" works just fine for me, too, but just to double-down.. despite it being the edgiest song on the album to me, something in the delivery and the bridge that keeps this track on its rails. "Again & Again" and "Waste My Time" are favorite pick-me-up songs of mine. Very fun to sing and belt out both of them. "Jerk", "Hurt", and "Introspective" unwind the album's weird feelings back down in some of this album's most vulnerable lyrics and ideas for a great send off with "I'm Gone". The reflective mission statement with "Hurt" strikes a loud chord with me, too. Aside from his breakout, he has been at this since the early 2010's. Here's a cover he did of Radiohead! Thom approved!, so I read. Fun coincidence I mentioned in another thread, too - Spoiler: Substance Use I heard this album for the first time, front to back, while on LSD. It has to be the happiest music-related coincidence I can recall. Totally understand all of that assessment. It is kind of exhausting and will musically blue-ball you if you dare to expect more because something suggests it. I wonder if it's intentional sometimes.
Loving your comments guys!! For me, is like a well-known territory, as this rings totally to me like a hyped-up (if possible=TOP's Vessel, which I love. The production carries super good all the album, I think is really well crafted, but it's true that it comes back on and on to the same places with the vocals and drums, which I understand it can be a bit repetitive. For me the best tandem is 1993 - Cash Machine, those are really punchy IMO. (ironically, Cash Machine seems to be done for an Apple ad). When I read your Black Sheep's reference @minuteforce I thought 'Oohhhhhh exactly, wouldn't have been cool to go that direction?') All in all, is a cool album (maybe a bit exhausting to get to final track) but it's fun fun fun for me. THX @ScatterMatter PS: For next week of randomness, I'll throw two (maybe we can make a poo,l of randoms and pick up from there) Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind (3eb) Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Yeah, with most of the album, you can make easy comparisons to make to Twenty One Pilots, grandson, K.Flay and acts of that ilk
Ohh Indeed, K. Flay is somewhere there in that plane. (btw, I loved her on Mike's "Make It Up as I Go")
Last thing or two about Oliver from me, indicative of the track to track experience, he has changed his sound between 3 albums so far. The other two are stabs at country and electronic dance pop. While I don't personally love them as much front to back, they have some gems and iirc are less exhausting. More fun is had with sticky feelings and unique love songs emerge on "Alone in a Crowd." Though, you can probably guess how much of his foundational musical fingerprints stay. For wildcard week... honestly, nothing is coming to mind except another obscure (not nearly as simplistic and zaney) pop album. I think I'll hold my sell on that one and just vote on someone else's suggestion this time around. Thanks for giving Oliver a shot with me this week, guys! I've been curious about Arctic Monkeys in the past. And there's an air about Third Eye Blind I feel we haven't seen in the club yet. Definitely thinking on these.
Damn, I'm really running late on this one, but I'm always slow with new unfamiliar material I will say that from what I heard (didn't get enough time for multiple listens), it's very upbeat, motive-centered music, often presented as short condensed songs centered around a main catchy guitar riff/electronic loop, coupled with a simple forward driven pop-beat, and overall kinda theatrical vocal performance. It's fun, it's catchy. Sometimes reminds me of TOP (as mentioned), but a few tracks also brought me back to acts like The Killers or The Bravery (especially the intro track). I like it, although the over-the-top vocals sometimes nagged me a bit. Not sure if I'll post a more throughout review, but I'll probably give it a few more spins, as I'm a bit obsessive with not rushing music discovery ^^'
I was afraid the vocals would be grating. I realize I let my bias really weigh in on selling this meme-like act and album. Not a bad thing but niche to say the least. I get that! As far as pacing goes, don't let my efforts to create a pace make you anxious. I thought I had to, but really, we can run this thing super leisurely. Weeks aren't going to be seamless all the time. Probably not even most of the time. Since we've only had two suggestions from one member so far, I'll try to sell this one. Glass Animals' "How to Be A Human Being". It's psychedelic pop concept album where each track is based on a character inspired by real people the band met on tour for their debut album, "Zaba." It's a less trying pop album than "Ugly is Beautiful", I promise that much. This album single handedly evolved my taste in music and has a really interesting range of sound and emotion, too. Glass Animal's philosophy on music and life is a very admirable one, imo. If you're familiar with their major radio breakout "Heat Waves" but are not aware of their more ambitious, less commercial material then I highly recommend it. I'm still gonna lean away from my suggestion this week since you guys humored me with Oliver, but I thought I'd describe that one and see.
@ScatterMatter I've enjoyed a lot this discovery for Oliver Tree! If I need to sell Arctic Monkeys' debut album to you, I'll tell you this: Raw guitars, complex drumming, teenage riots, despair, fury, fun.
I'll go for a different type of suggestion this time Hidden Orchestra - Archipelago Beware, this is essentially an instrumental album, 1 hour long. While this may be demanding for focused listened, it goes very smoothly as study/work music. I love the journey, personally.
So! We have: Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Glass Animals - How to Be A Human Being Hidden Orchestra - Archipelago This will be hard
I'll throw in my suggestion for a wild card pick. Another instrumental album suggestion. Mort Garson - Mother Earth's Plantasia I love to understand history, culture, and context with music I listen to, so if you'd like to read, here's my full pitch. This is 30 minutes' worth of Moog synthesizer compositions from one of the early Moog pioneers. This is like 10 years after the Beatles, the Doors, and co. had all utilized Moogs on their recorded works, as well as the paradigm-shifting Moog recordings of Wendy Carlos' Switched-on Bach. But Garson was prolific in his own right, even if his name isn't as mentioned now. He's rumored to have dropped $15,000 (equivalent to $140k today, adjusted for inflation) or more on one of the first commercially produced Moogs after meeting Bob Moog by chance. Garson then composed and recorded what are believed to be the first sound recordings to ever feature a Moog. He used a Moog to score the July 20, 1969 moon landing broadcast. Skip forward a bit, and then he puts this out in 1976. But the records were only distributed to people who bought a certain mattress from Sears or shopped at the Mother Earth plant store in Los Angeles, apparently. So it very much flew under the radar. It's a very warm, lovely, nascent kind of synth album, and I love the melodies. It's not trying to set out to test the limits of the Moog, or reinterpreting classical music; it's just very uplifting, unpretentious, and pleasing rather than cerebral. It was reissued in 2019 and built a cult following. I guess you could say I'm among the number! I discovered it after I visited the Moog factory and museum in Asheville, NC, in 2022 and was enraptured. "Warm earth music for plants...and the people who love them." I think it's great. That's all I got.
You can't do much better at selling an album than giving the above context, now I'm legit very curious about it
The instrumental albums sound like a nice pallete cleanser and make interesting use of the "wildcard". I like that. I also always like the idea of getting glimpses at history through music. It adds more to appreciate when I hear elements in today's music. I honestly could go for any of these albums, with a healthy curiosity giving Mort an advantage. Edit; Reflecting a little on the idea of selling a nomination, I wanted to say I'll continue to encourage the idea where it applies but it's not required of course. It's situational. So far, it seems participants will be approaching a genre week with varying experience and interest with different goals. Suggesting something you've never heard but heard about is just as valid as feeling like you have a gem to "sell". I think! Let me know if I'm not seeing something there.