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skooma512 posted:They're doing it to promote their new album. They've released one of the songs already. I do hope they dip into stuff from Holiday and earlier as that's just hit after hit for me. The live vids of those songs blow me away. I think Distortion is nearly as good as anything Merritt's done previously (especially Drive On Driver and Please Stop Dancing, but barring "Holiday", just cause it's my favorite album of all time), although Realism wasn't brilliant. I'm glad you posted that, though, since I've completely stopped following music in the last couple of years and had no idea they were already releasing a new one. Plus it turns out they're playing Amsterdam in May, I may shell out the 20 euros for that. While I'm in this thread I'd like to complain about The Fiery Furnaces more or less disappearing in recent years. I think most people kind of lost interest in them after the one-two punch of Rehearsing My Choir -> Bitter Tea (even though both are brilliant), but I can't not be in love with them still. I wish they'd stop loving around with solo albums and limited edition vinyl-only stuff and just release a proper new album already, it's been two and a half years.
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Feb 19, 2012 16:55
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skooma512 posted:Listened to the new Magnetic Fields on Grooveshark. Just listened to it and I quite enjoyed it. It's not great, but more or less on the same level as "Realism" for me. Immediate standout is "Quick!" and the closing one is also really nice. I think it'll grow on me, too. I'm surprised you like "i" better than "Distortion", though, I think the latter is miles better.
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Mar 5, 2012 23:27
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skooma512 posted:It seems like with every album, I think more and more that the 90s were their golden age. I don't think anyone will dispute that, really. I guess personally I don't think the decline is that dramatic, though, particularly since I put "Distortion" up there with the 90s stuff and that's pretty recent still. I think in this album and the last one there's a bit of influence from the "Showtunes" album he did a few years back. Some of the songs seem a bit, 'mechanical' I guess I would say. I'm not sure how to explain it but I'm getting similar vibes from them as I did from that album. Like, the songs have a purpose and they serve that purpose well, but outside of that purpose they're not engaging enough. For example "You Must Be Out of Your Mind" is a great, great song and classic Magnetic Fields as far as I'm concerned, but then on the same album you've got "Painted Flower", which is more of an exercise in songwriting than anything else. It's silly to say this about the guy who wrote "69 Love Songs", though, since so many of those were deliberate genre exercises, and that didn't stop them from being wonderful. So basically yeah, I don't know. This did get me to listen to some 69LS songs which I haven't in a while. "Underwear". 
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Mar 6, 2012 19:59
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Slandible posted:They're even better live. I saw them last year in some little hole in the wall venue and was blown away by it. Some serious talent in that band. I also saw them in some tiny venue a few months ago and my ears haven't quite been the same since. But they are incredible, I honestly don't remember the last time I was so addicted to an album the way I was with 'Rips' earlier this year.
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May 24, 2015 11:25
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Toe Rag posted:To me the album is basically a mix of MPP and Centipede Hz. I feel like they made a whole album of "Lion in a Coma"s, all bouncy beats and fast, labyrinthian vocals. It's a nice album but the songwriting does feel a bit weaker than normal, maybe because there's relatively little variety between songs. And it gets a little repetitive. Standouts for me are FloriDada, The Burglars, Bagels in Kiev and Spilling Guts.
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Mar 12, 2016 22:24
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skooma512 posted:The Magnetic Fields are doing a new album and tour Fifty new songs from my favorite band?! I did not see that coming at all. There's no way they'll play the garbage country in which I live nowadays but at least I got to see them in 2010, so that box is ticked.
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Jul 14, 2016 08:45
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Finally had a chance to check out the new Magnetic Fields. I listened to it in one sitting and it's obviously a lot to take in, but my first impression is that it's Merritt's best album since 69 Love Songs. It feels like the most inspired and engaging songwriting he's done in years. The last two albums felt like a series of staid still lifes in song form (with a few notable exceptions), but this album definitely has a lot of heart. It's uneven, of course, and there are still some clunkers that remind me of the worst stuff on Realism ("Eye Contact", "Dreaming in Tetris"), but overall I think I really like it. "Rock'n'Roll Will Ruin Your Life" is the most immediate standout for me, as well as "Life Ain't All Bad", "Lovers' Lies" and "Cold-Blooded Man". But that's only after one listen. I'm looking forward to more.
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Mar 16, 2017 12:01
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Cyril Sneer posted:The new New Pornographers album was a bit of a letdown too - especially considering three of the first tracks - Play Money, Whiteout Conditions, This is the World of the Theater - were fantastic. Would have loved if they'd explored these sounds more, rather than falling back into typical NPO stylings. Whenever they release a new album my first times listening I'm always like "Eh, more of the same" but then the songs just have a way of burrowing into my brain eventually, in a good way. It's been happening with this one too the past few days, I'm starting to like it more and more although I agree the first few tracks are the best (especially Theater) and it sort of dawdles in the middle before picking up again towards the end. Surprisingly I also don't miss Bejar's songs as much as I thought I would even though he's one of my favorite songwriters and my two favorite NP songs are his.
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Apr 24, 2017 08:12
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skooma512 posted:Trip report from Magnetic Fields Program A. They're playing it in order, right? It kind of makes me chuckle that they're actually going to open a show with "The Day I Finally...". Anyway since you brought them up I will just go ahead and say that "No" is one of the best songs Merritt's written and '92 -> '05 is the best stretch of the album (with the entirety of disc 2 right after, except skip "Happy Beeping").
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Apr 28, 2017 15:41
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fits posted:emily haines new solo album dropped last week and is extremely good, in my opinion Been listening to this the past few days and yeah it's so good. Maybe even better than her first one. I like her solo stuff way better than Metric.
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Sep 29, 2017 18:57
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I like Emily Haines' solo records better than Metric. It took her a long time to make a followup to her debut (like ten years?) but they're both really good.
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Sep 21, 2018 20:32
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UnknownMercenary posted:Ex Hex's new album is available on NPR First Listen I'm getting addicted to this album the same way I did the first. It's not as immediately infectious as that one and at first I thought some songs needed their bpm buffed, but after eight listens I totally get it. "Another Dimension" specifically was one I thought was screaming out for a speed boost but now it's easily my favorite. I love this band.
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Mar 23, 2019 11:36
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The Purple Mountains record has been my most played in the past month, I was really happy Berman was back and making music again. I think it's easily one of his best. The lyrics were obviously explicit about his misery but you got the sense that he was trying to work through it and come out the other side. Maybe it's just the sometimes-upbeat tone of the music that made me think that.Wraith of J.O.I. posted:hope he found some peace Yeah.
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Aug 8, 2019 10:14
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Nihonniboku posted:Just music that is unapologetically rock, that still makes you want to dance. Maybe Preoccupations, or Ex Hex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keq2JOyZ6KI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqRI5uN3fEE
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Jul 21, 2020 15:16
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The New Pornographers might be up there. Mass Romantic -> Electric Version -> Twin Cinema. Also Bjork if we stretch the definition of 'indie' a bit (in the UK her records came out on One Little Indian, in the US on Elektra). edit: Wait no, it's Joanna Newsom. Sway Grunt fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Sep 23, 2020 |
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Sep 23, 2020 18:25
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Morse Code is fantastic. "Higher Beams" is easily one of my favorite TNP songs.
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Oct 12, 2020 11:47
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captainOrbital posted:Any other TNP records to which I should listen in specific, or just gently caress it pick at random? They're all good but the first three are almost perfect. I think going chronologically is fine in this case. I bought Mass Romantic on a whim in 2005 having not heard them at all before. I have never in my life fallen in love with a band quicker. It took like ten seconds. That title track just hits like a train - and it's such a perfect statement of intent. Still my favorite opening track to an album I think.
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Oct 29, 2020 21:09
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I stumbled on some band called Empath (via their drummer, who was in Perfect Pussy) and their album from last year is sneakily becoming one of my favorite records that I've listened to this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVVeL1nKucc Love that lo-fi fuzz. Reminds me of a No Age, but this is more joyous and fun.
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Dec 24, 2020 10:50
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Sometimes I forget how good Low is, and then I put on a Low record and I remember. I don't know how I so consistently underrate this band. I should listen to them more often.
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Aug 1, 2021 19:10
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Trig Discipline posted:The new Low album is out and I'm in love with it. I like it too, probably better than Double Negative though they're similar, at least sonically. The only thing is it's mixed so drat loud. With headphones on the vocals in particular are right up in your face. I turn down the volume for this album more than any other I can think of and still feel like I'm being shouted at. Sway Grunt fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 20:50
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Been thinking recently about some artists that seemed to have disappeared over the years and who I've missed. One of them were The Russian Futurists, who in the early-mid 00s put out some of the most perfect bedroom pop I've ever heard. But it turns out they actually released a new EP in 2019 and I just completely missed it. And it's a free download on Soundcloud.  Extremely good imo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBVLuwBpr0
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Sep 29, 2021 18:07
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Trig Discipline posted:Oh man I had forgotten all about them! They're so good. I meant to post a thread about artists that have disappeared and you miss but it turned out the two I was going to post about have shown some signs of life recently so now I have nothing for the OP. But I do have new music from artists I like, so that's good. (The other one was The Fiery Furnaces.)
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Oct 2, 2021 13:21
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I don't think the new Animal Collective has been posted yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5iJ9wt4paY I wasn't crazy about Painting With but everything they've put out since has been great imo and I like this song too. From this and watching their recent set at Pitchfork I feel like they've finally become the chill jam band they've sometimes threatened to be in the past. Also Panda Bear looks miserable in that video.
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Nov 4, 2021 11:15
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There's probably some sequence of Deerhunter albums that fits the bill but I'm not sure which three it is. New Pornographers, though: Mass Romantic -> Electric Version -> Twin Cinema.
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Dec 14, 2021 21:28
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Cate Le Bon's new record is real good too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRGTX9R7mZ8
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Feb 5, 2022 15:28
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Spoon are a sneaky band for me, I never really rate them that high or think about them often but they're super dependable in that I can always put on any one of their records and enjoy it quite a bit, then kinda forget about them again. That's gotta be worth something even if they'll never be a favorite of mine. Just a solid band. Meanwhile I'm surprised by how much I like the new Big Thief album cause until now I always wanted to like them more than I actually did. I'm only familiar with their two 2019 records other than this one and I liked them well enough, but this one's grabbed me so much more immediately. It feels more energetic and somewhat looser, and teeming with a lot of life. "Little Things" and "Simulation Swarm" are the ones that instantly stand out to me after two listens.
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Feb 11, 2022 11:06
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Speaking of Springsteen, I listened to Apologies to the Queen Mary last night for the first time in a little while and man that album is nuts. Banger after banger. One of the best album intros with those thundering drums, and the Hungry Ghosts -> I'll Believe in Anything one-two is  . Honestly it's probably one of my favorite albums ever, definitely top 50.
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Jul 4, 2022 17:13
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Am I tripping or is Trompe Le Monde the best Pixies album?
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Feb 13, 2023 18:06
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It kinda sounds like Matt & Kim bought a distortion pedal.
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Mar 19, 2023 08:31
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Nihonniboku posted:I swear I just saw someone in this thread talking about the new album by The New Pornographers, but maybe that was reddit. Anyway, I just listened to it, and it's probably the first bad album, which is a pretty good track record given that they've been making music for nearly 25 years. But the album was frankly boring. It sounded like their heart just isn't in it anymore, it didn't sound joyous and bombastic like all of their other stuff, they just seemed tired. Makes me a little less excited to see them live again in May, but they have enough great stuff in their catalogue, and they always put on a great show. It's on the mellower side for sure. But so was Challengers, and that one grew on me eventually so I'm hopeful the same happens here. What I'm definitely not keen on with this one is the mix on Carl's vocals, his voice sounds kinda swampy and muffled on most songs. I'm not sure what they were thinking there.
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Mar 31, 2023 16:13
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I think that's probably a coincidence, it looks like they've been playing Testament to Youth in Verse on this tour. When I saw them many years ago I definitely remember Carl singing a couple of Bejar songs. The new album has grown on me a lot since release, as I hoped it would. I still don't like the mix on the vocals though.
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May 20, 2023 19:27
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Hey it's my favorite song of all time.
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Sep 17, 2023 11:28
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skooma512 posted:But shout to Mezcal Head by Swervedriver from 1993 1993 also had the album where the quote in your avatar is from! And Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements. 2005 also had Apologies to the Queen Mary. But every year is a good year for music tbh.
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Jan 20, 2024 07:10
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