Rate the album you last listened to

[Rocket2Russia]

Henri Pousseur shockingly succeeds in constructing a highly engrossing 3 and a half hour journey over the entire Earth in 17 sections. Each track here is built with a layer of field recordings of an area overladen by various samples of music from the areas, sometimes combining cultures that fall into the same cross-sections to very intriguing results. On the purely sonic level, the work is titanic and will definitely provide at least one track that absorbs the listener utterly. It is to the album's undying credit that such a grandiose concept never becomes kitschy or offensive in its quick sampling of cultures; Pousseur definitely has an intimate knowledge of the places he discusses. Highly recommended.

9/10; changes me

[ClaptonsWig]

Circa Survive -- Blue Sky Noise (10/10)

Mowing the yard listening to this album, andoh god was I busy grooving along then to pay attention to the line. Needless to say, my yard looks like crap but I'm still humming along to this album. Great sound, Andrew has a great voice and one that's hard to replicate.

[killer_roach]

Torche - Harmonicraft
6.25/10

Some moments of sheer absolute brilliance diluted by an ocean of by-the-numbers sludge. The title track, "Reverse Inverted", and "Sky Trials" stand out to me, but most of the rest of the album is pretty pedestrian by Torche's standards, much less some other bands in the genre.

[killer_roach]

Beardfish - Void
9/10

So close to being a contender for AotY. Void takes a decidedly heavier turn than any prior Beardfish album, venturing scarily close to the territory of progressive metal at times. The first actual track (after the intro) "Voluntary Slavery" is a musical kick to the teeth, a song seemingly written for those who thought that "Green Waves" off of 2011's Mammoth was too soft. The next two tracks seem to exist to reassure the listener that no, Beardfish is not a metal band (yet), but are excellent selections in and of their own right (in particular "They Whisper", where they bring back the electric organ to a point we haven't heard from them in a couple of albums).

Where the album loses a bit of steam is in the seeming traditions of Beardfish's albums, the instrumental and the epic. "Seventeen Again", the instrumental, is a fun, breezy track, but nothing on the level of "The Ungodly Slob" or "Akakabotu" (from Sleeping In Traffic Part 1 and Mammoth respectively), and "Note", the sixteen-minute monster, shows the band flexing their muscles yet again but lacks the punch of "And The Stone Said I Could Speak" (Mammoth), the narrative qualities of "Roulette" (Sleeping In Traffic Part 1) or "A Love Story" (The Sane Day), and (although a bit unfair) the staggeringly broad scope of the half-hour-plus "Sleeping In Traffic" (Sleeping In Traffic Part 2).

Nonetheless, the album does what Beardfish does best - provide entertaining, quirky, and eclectic progressive rock for seventy-five-plus minutes, and the addition of a more muscular musical palette has helped keep their sound fresh. It just lacks the creativity from its commonly-accepted pieces to make it a truly fantastic album, but instead is just great.

[moderndaycatastrophist]

Glad I was able to make a useful thread.

Let's see last album for me was... ah that's right. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I love Rock 'n' Roll. Don't let the title track fool you, this album has other, better songs.

3.5/5 RYM rating.

[Lowlander2]

All-American Rejects - Kids In The Street


Amazing what happens when you actually try to make good music. Very atmospheric and inventive, gets a little too airy towards the end, but overall really solid stuff. AOTY.

9/10

[ClaptonsWig]

Circa Survive -- Violent Waves (7/10)

It's different, and not like previous material. It's got a good sound to it, but I was waiting for something big to happen. It gets you intrigued, but never really goes anywhere with it. I'm just hoping they don't pull an Incubus/Linkin Park and start going soft on us.

[GandWuser]

Uh Huh Her - Common Reaction (7/10?)

This album from the California duo features lush landscapes using synthesizers, harmonies,and sometimes an electric guitar. The album starts off good, but by the middle it gets a bit worn out, only to be picked up again by the end. While the songs themselves are good, the songs often feature somewhat abrupt endings and all tend to sound very similar to each other. Highlights include "Not a Love Song", which was the reason I bought the album in the first place, and a few other songs I am too lazy to look up right now.

[MagicMurderBag7]

The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter (10/10)

I freaking adored their last album, I And Love And You, and upon first listen I have to say this one is better. It's just fantastic! If it wasn't for Blunderbuss I'd call this album of the year. If you're looking for some folky alt, get this album!

[tinman22897]

Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 - R.E.M.

This is an excellent greatest hits album that shows their whole career. Everything is there that needed to be there, and it shows a drastic evolution in their music.

10/10 (R.I.P. R.E.M.)