The N&G Listening Club V1 - Archive only

whatwhatsaywhat said:
why not??
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Criticisms are appreciated. If it must be negative then specifics are preferred. Actual, notable characteristics could be brought out with specific reasons for not liking them. Your last post against offers me nothing consider or even to try to agree or disagree with. It’s fine to say you don’t like it but as a participant in a listening club there’s an increased onus to tell us why in terms that can be related to or countered.

If you dislike it as much as you represent i would even question if you bothered to listen to it prior to posting your criticism. I feel it is against the spirit of this thread to even post in it if you have not listened to the music in question as a result of it being recommended. I would hope that if someone posted something here for us to listen to that I had previously heard and disliked that I would try it again knowing that my mind, ears, and tastes do change over time and that sometimes having someone else demonstrate what they like about something gives me newfound appreciation for it.
 
debianlinux said:
I would hope that if someone posted something here for us to listen to that I had previously heard and disliked that I would try it again knowing that my mind, ears, and tastes do change over time and that sometimes having someone else demonstrate what they like about something gives me newfound appreciation for it.
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I can confirm this. As evidenced by @GritNGlitter and @Bohnjaggs convincing me to give Tennis a chance. And I've come around to some other artists I previously thought I didn't like. NOT Father John Prissy Pants though! Don't @ me, @Tyr ! ;)
 
Fine...ball park music are derivative to a fault, and part of a post-custard era of music that never does anything other than aim to please triple j listeners who are comfortable listening to past hits and memories that don’t push boundaries, don’t challenge the listener, and are pleasant but not entirely unpleasant - as I said, they’re...fine, I guess?

As are hungry kids of hungary, another perfectly fine but bland example of triple j appropriate music from the early 00s, or the likes of boy and bear too

I don’t have any issues with them whatsoever, but I don’t have anything overly enthusiastic to report about them; they’re the epitome of pleasantly nondescript

But each to their own! That’s the beauty of music; everyone’s taste is different and has different levels of enjoyment with different sounds

Love a good listening club, so interested to hear the next choice, as I don’t know it at all
 
My first cursory listen as background music at work gave me Coldplay/DMB vibes. This is not a bad thing to me, but makes me wonder how this one is gonna be received. I like what I’ve heard so far. Hopefully, after I’ve listened some more, I’ll actually report back.
 
chris_d_cole said:
Good morning friends! I hope Monday doesn’t have y’all too down!

My pick this week is...
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Listen To The River - The Collection

The Collection is lead by singer/songwriter/composer David Wimbish. Though they used to be a 25 piece chamber pop band, they’ve now slimmed down to a more economical and svelte seven members and lean more indie pop. On ‘Listen To The River,’ Wimbish fuses his melody driven songs with lyrics reflecting the searching, longing, and doubts of his various losses at the time of writing. He separated and divorced from his wife while making this record and he also dove headfirst into a deconstruction of the foundational Christian beliefs he had held for his entire life. Because of this, the lyrics are full of questioning who or what God is and what the purpose of religion or spirituality? What is ‘capital T Truth’ and does it even matter? Maybe Love can exist apart from the Divine. Maybe we’ll all be alright.

Wimbish draws on various faith traditions for his inspiration, using Biblical language while also injecting his lyrics with the spirit of Rumi’s poetry and crafting an entire song around Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha.’

The album contrasts the personal longings and spiritual wanderings of Wimbish with hooky and infectious melodies. Wimbish has said he was listening to a lot of Adele, Sia, and Beyonce when he started writing these songs. And these certainly are quality pop songs, with gang vocals and handclaps, fully capable of inducing singalongs. Joyous, chaotic, whimsical and contemplative, ‘Listen To The River’ is enjoyable on many levels. I really love this album and hope you guys enjoy it!
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I am really enjoying this! It has just the right amount of hand claps. And the piano!!! I read a bit about how his marriage ended and he moved and started anew. This album has that "i've shed my old skin and look at me now" feel to it! Taste Like Wine is my fave so far. I am not paying a ton of attention to the lyrics yet. I'm not religious at all so I'm hoping the lyrics don't turn me off.
 
Lee Newman said:
My first cursory listen as background music at work gave me Coldplay/DMB vibes. This is not a bad thing to me, but makes me wonder how this one is gonna be received. I like what I’ve heard so far. Hopefully, after I’ve listened some more, I’ll actually report back.
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I get the Coldplay comparison but I like it so far ... It also reminds me a bit of Fun. and maybe something like Ra Ra Riot. Definitely one of my favorite picks so far. Thanks, @chris_d_cole.
 
Playing serious catchup on this thread (though it's nice to have a stack of new stuff to listen to)

Pom Poko

Wasn’t convinced from the get-go. Spiky angular – reminded my a little of a lot of the electro-Indie kicking around in the late-00s, but punk-ier maybe. Well put together but NFM, especially when I was at work and not so much in the mood for it.

Antaractica 81:03

A bit trickier to find a stream of this - slightly proggy, atmospheric indie rock,. Pleasant enough, but didn't grab my attention much

Paul Pena – Paul Pena

Loved this. Country tinged bluesy soulfulness. Digging for a decent copy of this now, as I can totally imagine this soundtracking a late night session with mates.

Ball Park Music – Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs

Ben Fold Five, with a late 90's pop-punk vocalist? Enjoyable frippery, with a hatful of energy and a touch of the Belle & Sebastians to the vibe. Quite pleasant in a throwaway.

Now, onto the next one!
 
I’ve been sick and very busy at work this week, so a I haven’t been around to discuss the album I picked!

But I’m glad y’all seem to be enjoying it! I don’t really hear the DMB or Coldplay similarities, but Ra Ra Riot is definitely one I’d compare The Collection to.

What sets them apart as a band for me is the arrangements and all the different instruments they throw into any given track. It gives some of the songs this controlled chaos feel that I love. You’ll be listening to a somewhat basic folk-pop song when a brass swell comes out of nowhere or a sweet clarinet line is played making the sound that much more full.

They’re going on tour starting next month and they are such a fun and immersive live band. I definitely recommend going to see them if they’re coming to your city :)

 
i'm surprised this is a recent release given how much it sounds like a mid-00s indie folk baroque pop record - lots of elements of sufjan stevens and all those other religiously-minded indie band sounds, plus the likes of the middle east to some degree too

i like it, it's an easy listen

reminds me quite a bit of a band like winter people's "a year at sea" or skinny jean's "dolce doggerel" record in terms of it's doing a throwback thing and doing it well

it's VERY dated in terms of how retro it feels in thrall to a certain aesthetic
 
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I am struggling with this one. I expected it to be a natural fit because I have undergone many of the themes present. It’s not bad, I can’t really pick on it. I just keeping having a very present sense of “get the fuck over yourself” while listening to the songs. Also, I strongly concur with the Coldplay sentiment.
 
Listened to it twice now and just not particularly grabbed by anything. I couldn't really fault it, but with no prior emotional connection to the band or anything I just don't think I'm really in the mind state this week to really care about something like this.

Agreed that it sounds older than it is, The Middle East is a good comparison.
 
Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend. I am currently on vacation in Canada and am lucky enough to have wifi at this moment so I can post this.

For those of you that don’t like long songs or albums, I’m sorry... for my pick for this week’s album is:

Swans - The Seer

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After a string of albums from 1983 to 1996, where they experimented with a variety of styles from no-wave to post-punk, Swans went on hiatus. In 2010, they returned with the album, My Father will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky. This new age of Swans focused heavily on post-rock, and this time saw them put out some of their best albums ever, including 2012’s The Seer.

Besides being amazing, this album has a personal significance to me. It was one of the first times where I just sat through an album and absorbed the entire thing without any distractions. And it gave me a whole new appreciation for music.

This is not an easy listen at almost 2 hours in length. I found the best way to listen to this is to just find a time when you got a couple hours free, relax, and not focus too much. There are not many lyrics, but to me, the instrumentation is more than enough for me to interpret it in my own way. It almost plays out like a movie, and it tells a story, at least to me.

If you can get through the whole thing, I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and discussing the album and it’s meaning.

Have a good week!
 
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