Awesome list! My two top albums that sort of stood above anything else were Eunuchs - Harbor Century and Geordie Greep - The New Sound. But some of what i’m seeing in this vid sounds appealing. Might have to append the list soon.
“Sky full of hope” by “Fractal Sextet” has to be my favourite album of this year! Like their previous album it has a hypnotic, bottomless ambience which always draws me back (kinda reminds me of Gamalan music). The layering of different simple melodic & rhythmic loops into these complex compound segments is second to none.
Listening to this right now - really cool, definitely has a bit of that Ronin Rhythm sound, which I am a sucker for. Though it feels like there's more of a post-rock aesthetic in the harmony and use of effects, whereas a lot the Ronin Rhythm stuff is more jazz-rooted. Also, it's cool to hear Yogev Gabay actually play something; I'm only familiar with him through his TH-cam content.
You're in luck - I just updated my site with a lot of all my yearly top album lists going back to 2017 (might go further back if I can dig up some files off my old laptop). The link's now in the description.
this is the most esoteric top albums video i've ever seen and i am fascinated by how much you know about things i've never seen or heard -- so cool. great video! will definitely be checking out some of these. my favorite album of the year is absolutely "The Fearless Flyers IV" by the group of the same name. technically an EP, but short-album-length regardless, so i count it. alt-jazz would be the most fitting genre label, and it's some of the most satisfying, tight, and funky jams i've ever heard. four world-class musicians at the top of their game; i never get all that excited for anything and i'm so pumped to see them live next month. would absolutely recommend!
Joe Dart and Cory Wong? Oh yeah, that'll be a fun listen. I'm already a big Vulfpeck fan, though I feel like this kind of music doesn't necessarily create compelling albums - I rarely listen to studio Vulfpeck, but the three times I've seen them live were some of the best experiences of my life. I'm sure the show you're planning on going to will be just as excellent. Edit: Oh also, random suggestion, but you should check out Old School Funky Family - their album 'Tonus!' is one of the rare cases where vintage funk/R&B translates well to studio recording. It also has a great cover of Dean Town if you're into Vulfpeck.
@ i’m not a huge fan of vulfpeck albums either, but this and the recent “Dot” project by Vulfmon seem to circumvent this by being short. the lack of lyrics helps with the one i mentioned, too, because they’re rarely all that good, so a focus on the musicianship ends up making a better record.
Wow, your analysis and visual structure is incredible. I'd only heard the hoplites record, but I'm only 3 albums into the video and I've already put on planet pearl because your description intrigued me so much. As far as releases from this year I loved go, my top 3 are Cameron Winter's Heavy Metal (a singer-songwriter record with some odd instrumental decisions), Geordie Greep's The New Sound (experimental rock/bossa nova), and Magdalena Bay's Imaginal Disk (neo-psychedelia record with some 90s pop influences). I look forward to keeping up with this channel a bit more regularly, you got a sub from me! Great stuff!
Thanks for the sub and for the recommendations. I checked out Cameron Winter - he's got a really unique vocal style. Kind of reminds me of Thom Yorke, where the singing kind of sounds sloppy or almost drunk, but actually, every choice in its performance is very intentional. However, unlike Thom, Cameron seems to have a sense of humor, which I think is important for kinda of minimalist indie-folk which, at least personally, struggles to hold my attention. This album is not really up my alley, ultimately, but I enjoyed what I did listen to a surprising amount. I think I know someone who would actually love this though, so I'll definitely recommend it to them. Geordie Greep, oh boy. This is one of those albums that, on paper, I should absolutely love, but I really just cannot get into it. I had the same issue with all the Black Midi stuff. It's technically proficient, but I don't find the composition all that interesting. It seems to lack a unifying aesthetic; a lot of the elements seem kind of random or arbitrary, particularly the vocals, which seem like they're coming for a completely different dimension from the rest of the instruments. Maybe if I really sat with it for a while it would start to make more sense. Someone please tell me what this album is supposed to be aiming at. Magdalena Bay - I'm not usually a big pop guy (Pearl and the Oysters notwithstanding), so I'm not surprised I haven't heard this one. But damn, I actually like this a lot. It has a kind of psychedelic vibe, but not in the usual way, where elements of the standard psychedelic rock style are grafted on to pop - it's more like it takes pop elements and twists them using the same attitude or approach which created psychedelic rock when applied to rock in the first place, way back when. And while it's a pretty bright sounding album, the songs I've checked out all have this kind of weird, sinister dark quality simmering underneath them. I'll definitely be downloading this - thanks so much!
@ThePopDescriptivist I'm really happy you enjoyed the mag bay! It's one of those magical moments that maintains its accessibility while still pulling pop from its usual mold, it had a decent amount of mainstream appeal while still appealing to people looking for more. It does a similar type of thing for me as a lot of mid to late period ween, especially with the disruptively loud guitars and general aquatic feel. As far as the greep goes, a lot of what makes that one work for me is the way it captures this tension. The elements can definitely feel sorta aimless, but as far as I'm concerned it pairs great with the lyricism. The record deals with the sort of "manosphere incel" type person, and I love the way it contrasts the smoother jazz passages (portraying a man who wants to be seen as put together) contrasted with the messiness of his emotional state and his inability to talk with women despite his wealth and success. I do think that Greep is still sorta finding his style as a vocalist, so I'm with you there, but for me the package all comes together well. I'll definitely keep bringing you recommendations if you like, I'm probably a bit more inclined to pop music than you are, but there's a handful of really out there artists I follow closely. I did really enjoy planet pearl, I'm gonna be listening to this a lot. I'm working on learning jazz piano right now, so I'll definitely be sitting with this at the piano playing licks and stuff over it. I also shot the idm one over to a friend I've got, he's a big squarepusher fan so I think it'll be up his alley.
I'm really glad you're liking Planet Pearl - over the past couple days I've also been learning a lot of it on piano. It's full of some really great jazz techniques, got me thinking a lot about harmony. If you want my chord charts, shoot me an e-mail. And yeah, definitely send me recommendations every once in a while if something comes up.
Second time in a week I've been told to check out both Oplites and Aseitas, so I guess it's finally time to do so. Have you heard the Car Bomb album Mordial? It's not from 2024, but it's a damn interesting rhythmical ride (especially since they don't use metronomes/clicktracks, which sometimes makes analyzing the metric modulations a bit difficult - and sometimes there's just an abrupt tempo change). As for my list of 9 favorite albums from 2024, this is probably it - but not ranked: Leprous - Melodies of Atonement Frost* - Life in the Wires Opeth - The Last Will and Testament Louis Cole - nothing Heriot - Devoured by the Mouth of Hell Vola - Friend of a Phantom Whom Gods Destroy - Insanium Toehider - Space Famous Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
Thanks for the list! Of those 9, the only album I digested was the new Opeth. In my opinion it's a lot better than their last couple albums - a welcome return to harsh vocals, and the songwriting feels more inventive. But I've never been a fan of the whole 'vintage prog' thing Mikael has been aiming at recently. If they just turned the dial on that slightly I think I'd be more into it. Maybe something along the lines of Storm Corrosion, which was proggy without sounding like it was born in le wrong generation. I'm curious what you liked so much about that Louis Cole album. I gave it a cursory listen, but it didn't grab me. Maybe it's just whiplash from my normal Louise Cole expectations - though usually I feel I can appreciate an artist trying something radically different. I also will definitely be checking out that Vola album; I'm not really familiar with them, but I ended up listening to some of their older stuff recently due to a project I'm working on with the Metal Music Theory channel, and I was pretty impressed. As for Mordial, I'm well acquainted. I've been into Car Bomb since Centralia, and while Mordial is objectively pretty good, I feel like it's slightly less consistent than their other albums. A lot of the riffs feel kinda of un-groovy to me, perhaps from trying to cram as much complexity into each track as humanly possible. I know they sort of have a reputation for doing that, but I think a lot of their earlier tracks actually have an elegant simplicity to them. Something like 'The Sentinel' for instance is basically one motif repeated in like a dozen different ways (differing arrangement, tempo, rhythmic structure, etc.). A lot of the arrangements on these earlier albums seem to more carefully incorporate complexity on top of simpler underpinnings. So while there's a lot of great riffs on Mordial ('HeLa' and 'Vague Skies' come to mind) but they feel disconnected in a sea of harder-to-follow elements. Eh... maybe I'm just getting old and my brain's groove-muscle is getting weaker.
Some great deep cuts as always. Haven’t listened to any of them besides that Oranssi Pazuzu album but will definitely give them a spin. For what it’s worth my favorite record this year was Restart Game by we broke the weather, hard to categorize but it’s definitely in that weird proggy landscape. Criminally underrated band imo
I checked out 'Restart Game' - hard to categorize is right! Sounds like a mix of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Modest Mouse, O'Brother, Porcupine Tree, Vanishing Twin... But sometimes the eclectic sound is a weakness; it's harder to produce a sense of musical consistency if you're jumping around between styles. And some of the riffs, like the main one on 'Marionettes' seem a little too 'thinky' for what this broad psychedelic/prog/post-rock style generally seems to support. On the other hand, the track 'Cycles' is really good, it feels more sure of its own identity. Overall, probably not something I'd listen to again, but for what it's worth, I still clicked 'follow' on Bandcamp. Thanks for the recommendation!
@ that’s fair. I just really like the sound palettes and unique sensibility they bring to the table. Glad I could put someone else onto the record though!
@ nah it’s truly engaging and super unique to the other breakdowns of albums and music reviews on yt. I would love to see u both show off more of these types of albums but also give input on more popular and well known albums/ all time great albums and use this same styler
I haven't listened to much new music. But Ulcerate's Cutting the Throat of God and their previuos work Stare into Death and Be Still (2020) are mastepieces imo, specially the last I've mentioned. I watched them live this year, yeaaa. Also Tigran Hamasyan's The Bird of a Thousand Voices and Colin Stetson's The Love it Took to Leave You.
I thought Ulcerate's 'Shrines of Paralysis' was pretty decent (not a masterpiece or anything), but I felt that 'Stare into Death' spent too much time rehashing the same concepts. Also not crazy about the production on these albums, though I understand the appeal of the high-density/low-definition kind of approach. I'll probably get around to checking out the new one nonetheless. Tigran Hamasyan, on the other hand, I am a big fan of, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize he had an album out this year - thanks for letting me know! I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow afternoon lol.
My top 6 albums/eps of 2024 are: 6. Stasys - The Pilgrimage (Ep) 5. Tigran Hamasyan - The Bird Of A Thousand Voices (Album) 4. Delta Sleep - Blue Garden (Album) 3. Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth I & II (Double Ep) 2. Frontierer - The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept (Ep) 1. GUM, Ambrose-Kenny Smith - Ill Times (Album)
I haven't thought about Frontierer in ages. I liked Orange Mathematics, but I felt like Unloved was pretty much just a rehash of the same material. I also think their mix butchers the drums' high end, which makes the rhythm needlessly hard to follow. I checked out this one and it's actually pretty good, I kind of appreciate the short length, makes it more digestible. Brendan Byrnes is great, and I thought Transfigured Earth was a pretty solid album, just barely shy of the quality that I need to put it on the year-end list. It's a blissful listen with a great sense of texture and atmosphere, but the one thing I feel it lacks is memorability. The songs all kind of blur together in my mind; I don't think I could sing you a single riff from the whole thing even right after I listen to it. It's actually kind of remarkable that he makes microtonality so accessible that it has this problem. Like an alternate reality where Western music uses exclusively 27edo and this is a bog standard psych/pop/new wave album from the 80's. Someone else mentioned the new Tigran album, which I somehow didn't know about prior to making this video, and I finally got around to listening to it. It's fucking great. Would I have put it on the list? Not sure. But the most impressive part about the album for me is how Tigran aims for a really new aesthetic even on top of his usual experimental approach, incorporating lots of ambient electronica, which is not a direction I would have guessed he'd go in. He's swinging for the fences, and regardless of whether the album's a masterpiece or merely good, I have a huge amount of respect for him to take that kind of chance when he's already got a successful, well-established style to fall back on.
@@ThePopDescriptivistYou should check out the ep from Stasys. Also check out the ep metamorphosis by ennoia. They’re both idm eps with lots of cool sounds.
Damn, these are both excellent picks. I don't have my finger on the pulse of this genre so much as for metal and jazz, so it's easy for me to miss releases like this. Stasys in particular reminds me of Yosi Horikawa, both in terms of nature-y vibes and the type of syncopation they prefer using. Also a touch of Bonobo in there with the sound palette. Thanks for recommending them!
It was hard for me to choose between the Stasys or ennoia ep. I liked The Pilgrimage a little more, so I decided to put that in my top 6. Which one did you think was better? I liked the melodies and grooves more in The Pilgrimage, but I also liked the experimentation with rhythm in Metamorphosis.
Awesome list! My two top albums that sort of stood above anything else were Eunuchs - Harbor Century and Geordie Greep - The New Sound. But some of what i’m seeing in this vid sounds appealing. Might have to append the list soon.
“Sky full of hope” by “Fractal Sextet” has to be my favourite album of this year! Like their previous album it has a hypnotic, bottomless ambience which always draws me back (kinda reminds me of Gamalan music). The layering of different simple melodic & rhythmic loops into these complex compound segments is second to none.
Listening to this right now - really cool, definitely has a bit of that Ronin Rhythm sound, which I am a sucker for. Though it feels like there's more of a post-rock aesthetic in the harmony and use of effects, whereas a lot the Ronin Rhythm stuff is more jazz-rooted. Also, it's cool to hear Yogev Gabay actually play something; I'm only familiar with him through his TH-cam content.
You have the best music taste ever. Please just automate my spotify library please.
You're in luck - I just updated my site with a lot of all my yearly top album lists going back to 2017 (might go further back if I can dig up some files off my old laptop). The link's now in the description.
@@ThePopDescriptivist
Smiling poop emoji!!
this is the most esoteric top albums video i've ever seen and i am fascinated by how much you know about things i've never seen or heard -- so cool. great video! will definitely be checking out some of these. my favorite album of the year is absolutely "The Fearless Flyers IV" by the group of the same name. technically an EP, but short-album-length regardless, so i count it. alt-jazz would be the most fitting genre label, and it's some of the most satisfying, tight, and funky jams i've ever heard. four world-class musicians at the top of their game; i never get all that excited for anything and i'm so pumped to see them live next month. would absolutely recommend!
Joe Dart and Cory Wong? Oh yeah, that'll be a fun listen. I'm already a big Vulfpeck fan, though I feel like this kind of music doesn't necessarily create compelling albums - I rarely listen to studio Vulfpeck, but the three times I've seen them live were some of the best experiences of my life. I'm sure the show you're planning on going to will be just as excellent.
Edit: Oh also, random suggestion, but you should check out Old School Funky Family - their album 'Tonus!' is one of the rare cases where vintage funk/R&B translates well to studio recording. It also has a great cover of Dean Town if you're into Vulfpeck.
@ i’m not a huge fan of vulfpeck albums either, but this and the recent “Dot” project by Vulfmon seem to circumvent this by being short. the lack of lyrics helps with the one i mentioned, too, because they’re rarely all that good, so a focus on the musicianship ends up making a better record.
Wow, your analysis and visual structure is incredible. I'd only heard the hoplites record, but I'm only 3 albums into the video and I've already put on planet pearl because your description intrigued me so much.
As far as releases from this year I loved go, my top 3 are Cameron Winter's Heavy Metal (a singer-songwriter record with some odd instrumental decisions), Geordie Greep's The New Sound (experimental rock/bossa nova), and Magdalena Bay's Imaginal Disk (neo-psychedelia record with some 90s pop influences).
I look forward to keeping up with this channel a bit more regularly, you got a sub from me! Great stuff!
Thanks for the sub and for the recommendations. I checked out Cameron Winter - he's got a really unique vocal style. Kind of reminds me of Thom Yorke, where the singing kind of sounds sloppy or almost drunk, but actually, every choice in its performance is very intentional. However, unlike Thom, Cameron seems to have a sense of humor, which I think is important for kinda of minimalist indie-folk which, at least personally, struggles to hold my attention. This album is not really up my alley, ultimately, but I enjoyed what I did listen to a surprising amount. I think I know someone who would actually love this though, so I'll definitely recommend it to them.
Geordie Greep, oh boy. This is one of those albums that, on paper, I should absolutely love, but I really just cannot get into it. I had the same issue with all the Black Midi stuff. It's technically proficient, but I don't find the composition all that interesting. It seems to lack a unifying aesthetic; a lot of the elements seem kind of random or arbitrary, particularly the vocals, which seem like they're coming for a completely different dimension from the rest of the instruments. Maybe if I really sat with it for a while it would start to make more sense. Someone please tell me what this album is supposed to be aiming at.
Magdalena Bay - I'm not usually a big pop guy (Pearl and the Oysters notwithstanding), so I'm not surprised I haven't heard this one. But damn, I actually like this a lot. It has a kind of psychedelic vibe, but not in the usual way, where elements of the standard psychedelic rock style are grafted on to pop - it's more like it takes pop elements and twists them using the same attitude or approach which created psychedelic rock when applied to rock in the first place, way back when. And while it's a pretty bright sounding album, the songs I've checked out all have this kind of weird, sinister dark quality simmering underneath them. I'll definitely be downloading this - thanks so much!
@ThePopDescriptivist I'm really happy you enjoyed the mag bay! It's one of those magical moments that maintains its accessibility while still pulling pop from its usual mold, it had a decent amount of mainstream appeal while still appealing to people looking for more. It does a similar type of thing for me as a lot of mid to late period ween, especially with the disruptively loud guitars and general aquatic feel.
As far as the greep goes, a lot of what makes that one work for me is the way it captures this tension. The elements can definitely feel sorta aimless, but as far as I'm concerned it pairs great with the lyricism. The record deals with the sort of "manosphere incel" type person, and I love the way it contrasts the smoother jazz passages (portraying a man who wants to be seen as put together) contrasted with the messiness of his emotional state and his inability to talk with women despite his wealth and success. I do think that Greep is still sorta finding his style as a vocalist, so I'm with you there, but for me the package all comes together well.
I'll definitely keep bringing you recommendations if you like, I'm probably a bit more inclined to pop music than you are, but there's a handful of really out there artists I follow closely.
I did really enjoy planet pearl, I'm gonna be listening to this a lot. I'm working on learning jazz piano right now, so I'll definitely be sitting with this at the piano playing licks and stuff over it. I also shot the idm one over to a friend I've got, he's a big squarepusher fan so I think it'll be up his alley.
I'm really glad you're liking Planet Pearl - over the past couple days I've also been learning a lot of it on piano. It's full of some really great jazz techniques, got me thinking a lot about harmony. If you want my chord charts, shoot me an e-mail. And yeah, definitely send me recommendations every once in a while if something comes up.
@@ThePopDescriptivist oooh I'd love that, do you have your email listed on your channel?
Yeah, it's in the channel's about section (for some reason any time I post an e-mail address in a comment TH-cam automatically deletes it).
Yes! Eden Trough! My fav album of the year for sure (though it’s tied with Doechii’s)
Second time in a week I've been told to check out both Oplites and Aseitas, so I guess it's finally time to do so. Have you heard the Car Bomb album Mordial? It's not from 2024, but it's a damn interesting rhythmical ride (especially since they don't use metronomes/clicktracks, which sometimes makes analyzing the metric modulations a bit difficult - and sometimes there's just an abrupt tempo change). As for my list of 9 favorite albums from 2024, this is probably it - but not ranked:
Leprous - Melodies of Atonement
Frost* - Life in the Wires
Opeth - The Last Will and Testament
Louis Cole - nothing
Heriot - Devoured by the Mouth of Hell
Vola - Friend of a Phantom
Whom Gods Destroy - Insanium
Toehider - Space Famous
Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
Thanks for the list! Of those 9, the only album I digested was the new Opeth. In my opinion it's a lot better than their last couple albums - a welcome return to harsh vocals, and the songwriting feels more inventive. But I've never been a fan of the whole 'vintage prog' thing Mikael has been aiming at recently. If they just turned the dial on that slightly I think I'd be more into it. Maybe something along the lines of Storm Corrosion, which was proggy without sounding like it was born in le wrong generation.
I'm curious what you liked so much about that Louis Cole album. I gave it a cursory listen, but it didn't grab me. Maybe it's just whiplash from my normal Louise Cole expectations - though usually I feel I can appreciate an artist trying something radically different.
I also will definitely be checking out that Vola album; I'm not really familiar with them, but I ended up listening to some of their older stuff recently due to a project I'm working on with the Metal Music Theory channel, and I was pretty impressed.
As for Mordial, I'm well acquainted. I've been into Car Bomb since Centralia, and while Mordial is objectively pretty good, I feel like it's slightly less consistent than their other albums. A lot of the riffs feel kinda of un-groovy to me, perhaps from trying to cram as much complexity into each track as humanly possible. I know they sort of have a reputation for doing that, but I think a lot of their earlier tracks actually have an elegant simplicity to them. Something like 'The Sentinel' for instance is basically one motif repeated in like a dozen different ways (differing arrangement, tempo, rhythmic structure, etc.). A lot of the arrangements on these earlier albums seem to more carefully incorporate complexity on top of simpler underpinnings. So while there's a lot of great riffs on Mordial ('HeLa' and 'Vague Skies' come to mind) but they feel disconnected in a sea of harder-to-follow elements. Eh... maybe I'm just getting old and my brain's groove-muscle is getting weaker.
Some great deep cuts as always. Haven’t listened to any of them besides that Oranssi Pazuzu album but will definitely give them a spin. For what it’s worth my favorite record this year was Restart Game by we broke the weather, hard to categorize but it’s definitely in that weird proggy landscape. Criminally underrated band imo
I checked out 'Restart Game' - hard to categorize is right! Sounds like a mix of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Modest Mouse, O'Brother, Porcupine Tree, Vanishing Twin... But sometimes the eclectic sound is a weakness; it's harder to produce a sense of musical consistency if you're jumping around between styles. And some of the riffs, like the main one on 'Marionettes' seem a little too 'thinky' for what this broad psychedelic/prog/post-rock style generally seems to support. On the other hand, the track 'Cycles' is really good, it feels more sure of its own identity. Overall, probably not something I'd listen to again, but for what it's worth, I still clicked 'follow' on Bandcamp. Thanks for the recommendation!
@ that’s fair. I just really like the sound palettes and unique sensibility they bring to the table. Glad I could put someone else onto the record though!
OMG i love this editing style !!!
Glad you like it, I really had no idea how it would turn out. I just figured it would give my viewers something to look at while I ramble.
@ nah it’s truly engaging and super unique to the other breakdowns of albums and music reviews on yt. I would love to see u both show off more of these types of albums but also give input on more popular and well known albums/ all time great albums and use this same styler
Muuntautuja was also my number two of the year!
I haven't listened to much new music. But Ulcerate's Cutting the Throat of God and their previuos work Stare into Death and Be Still (2020) are mastepieces imo, specially the last I've mentioned. I watched them live this year, yeaaa. Also Tigran Hamasyan's The Bird of a Thousand Voices and Colin Stetson's The Love it Took to Leave You.
I thought Ulcerate's 'Shrines of Paralysis' was pretty decent (not a masterpiece or anything), but I felt that 'Stare into Death' spent too much time rehashing the same concepts. Also not crazy about the production on these albums, though I understand the appeal of the high-density/low-definition kind of approach. I'll probably get around to checking out the new one nonetheless.
Tigran Hamasyan, on the other hand, I am a big fan of, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize he had an album out this year - thanks for letting me know! I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow afternoon lol.
My top 6 albums/eps of 2024 are:
6. Stasys - The Pilgrimage (Ep)
5. Tigran Hamasyan - The Bird Of A Thousand Voices (Album)
4. Delta Sleep - Blue Garden (Album)
3. Brendan Byrnes - Transfigured Earth I & II (Double Ep)
2. Frontierer - The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept (Ep)
1. GUM, Ambrose-Kenny Smith - Ill Times (Album)
I also listened to the Djrum album and I thought it was pretty good too.
I haven't thought about Frontierer in ages. I liked Orange Mathematics, but I felt like Unloved was pretty much just a rehash of the same material. I also think their mix butchers the drums' high end, which makes the rhythm needlessly hard to follow. I checked out this one and it's actually pretty good, I kind of appreciate the short length, makes it more digestible.
Brendan Byrnes is great, and I thought Transfigured Earth was a pretty solid album, just barely shy of the quality that I need to put it on the year-end list. It's a blissful listen with a great sense of texture and atmosphere, but the one thing I feel it lacks is memorability. The songs all kind of blur together in my mind; I don't think I could sing you a single riff from the whole thing even right after I listen to it. It's actually kind of remarkable that he makes microtonality so accessible that it has this problem. Like an alternate reality where Western music uses exclusively 27edo and this is a bog standard psych/pop/new wave album from the 80's.
Someone else mentioned the new Tigran album, which I somehow didn't know about prior to making this video, and I finally got around to listening to it. It's fucking great. Would I have put it on the list? Not sure. But the most impressive part about the album for me is how Tigran aims for a really new aesthetic even on top of his usual experimental approach, incorporating lots of ambient electronica, which is not a direction I would have guessed he'd go in. He's swinging for the fences, and regardless of whether the album's a masterpiece or merely good, I have a huge amount of respect for him to take that kind of chance when he's already got a successful, well-established style to fall back on.
@@ThePopDescriptivistYou should check out the ep from Stasys. Also check out the ep metamorphosis by ennoia. They’re both idm eps with lots of cool sounds.
Damn, these are both excellent picks. I don't have my finger on the pulse of this genre so much as for metal and jazz, so it's easy for me to miss releases like this. Stasys in particular reminds me of Yosi Horikawa, both in terms of nature-y vibes and the type of syncopation they prefer using. Also a touch of Bonobo in there with the sound palette. Thanks for recommending them!
It was hard for me to choose between the Stasys or ennoia ep. I liked The Pilgrimage a little more, so I decided to put that in my top 6. Which one did you think was better? I liked the melodies and grooves more in The Pilgrimage, but I also liked the experimentation with rhythm in Metamorphosis.