Welcome back!

Hi all,

Happy December 1st, the date marking the joyous return of my annual semi-functional musical advent calendar! I can promise you that this year it's gonna get real crazy here. You see, friends, thanks to my friend Stefan I've come across this amazing blog. The reviews on this site are balls to the wall hilarious, in large part thanks to the prominent swearing, but they are generally super interesting, heartfelt, eye-opening reviews, of stuff I would never have heard otherwise. The most featured genres on this website for "audiophile motherfuckers" are jazz, classical, electronic and hip-hop, preferably a mix of all of the above on the same album. The results are frequently amazing, and (spoiler) some of my favorites from this site have indeed ended up on my year-end list (you'll probably never guess which though). So, huge shout out to this anonymous friggin genius.

So while I realize that my lists have often seemed slightly schizophrenic in previous iterations, that trend is not going to get any milder this year. As always, I'll start with some honorable mentions, the first batch of which follows below. Then, as a bonus due to special circumstances this year, I'll dedicate a post to my first impressions of The 1975's new album A Brief Enquiry Into Online Relationships. This has been one of my most highly anticipated albums this year, since I really enjoyed both their previous album, and many of the singles they've dropped so far this year. Due to its November 30th release date, and the fact that I had to start working on my year-end list some time before that, I felt that rather than "saving a spot" for The 1975 or making a rushed decision on the eve of December 1st, I'll simply exempt them from eligibility and make a separate "premature evaluation" post. Should be fun.

Then there'll be some more honorable mentions, then the top 10 comes. I'll try to be less verbose this year and rather focus on finishing this thing before Christmas. Yeah, we'll see how that goes.

OK, that's enough for now, enjoy the ride!

Really pretty cover. I really like it. The picture, the colour palette,
the style of painting. Makes we want the vinyl.

Hjerteslag - Nattseileren

First out is Norwegian band Hjerteslag's third album Nattseileren, keeping it real. These guys from Bergen play jangly, dreamy pop/rock. It's not particularly new or different, it's just really enjoyable. I saw them live last year, in support of their previous album Vannmann86 (featuring the lovable "Sang til Sonja"), and they really know their shit. They put on a hell of a show and are energetic as fuck. On a good day they sound like early R.E.M., and I mean not just in that the arrangements and playing style sound the same (which is true for, like, the majority of indie rock), but that they capture the same spirit that R.E.M. had on those classic IRS albums. Furthermore, the lyrics are frequently beautiful. The Bergen accent and delivery evokes John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen (who spearheaded the Bergen revival that started conquering Norway about 10 years ago) and the themes evoke Jokke & Valentinerne (the most celebrated 'gutter poet' in Norwegian rock). So, biggish words there. Don't expect something breathtaking on first listen, though. This album's finer points stand out on repeated listens, slowly revealing the little details, when you (or, the Norwegians among you) notice a particularly striking lyric, or hear a certain melody while you're in a certain vulnerable emotional state. The album might be a little front-heavy (best songs coming first), or it might just be because I haven't played the whole thing many enough times. 

Also a cover I really like. Like the wordless music within, the album art speaks
for itself, a beautiful composite image accompanied only by a name.

Jon Hopkins - Singularity

This one is from Albumaday, and I don't think I could put it better than he did. I'd link his review here, but I can't friggin find it. I sent him the following message using his Contact page: "A fucking search function on your site! That's all i ask for! Sincerely, Huge fan." So, dig it up yourself if you're interested, I can't find it. Anyways, Singularity. This is mind-meltingly good electonica. Jon "the wizard" Hopkins is a veteran in the game, and I'm no connoisseur, but surely this must be his peak so far. It flows so awesomely well, balancing pulsing high-octane dancefloor jams with hypnotic, minimalist piano pieces. A completely immersive experience. I think the title track and "Luminous beings" are my favorites, but put on that shit in full. Appreciate how, sandwiched between two sparse, meditative piano pieces, an unassuming track like "C O S M", containing not a single melody, barely a beat, and having no discernible direction still can convey so much emotion. Tell me you're not moved after listening to that beautiful, beautiful electronic mess. Other recommended Hopkins-related pastimes would be watching him recreate and even add to the magic live, or absorbing the very on-point music videos for "Emerald rush" and "Feel first life".

Beach House have some pretty awful album covers. So I guess for being them this
one isn't so bad, but it's still not very good. It looks better from afar than up close.

Beach House - 7

You've heard this shit before. Six times, to be precise. Beach House have stuck to their formula, they carved out their own niche and basically invented a genre. But whereas their previous albums (2015's Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars) started to sound trapped in this style and out of ideas (I find these albums pretty boring and they haven't aged very well either), the aptly titled 7 finds a Beach House sounding rejuvenated and excited again. Now, this is Beach House we're talking about here, and they're certainly still unmistakably Beach House. Victoria Legrand's gentle vocals drape this album in a velvety blanket, and the synths and guitars are as thick and reverbed as we've come to expect. But there are new touches here that keep throwing your ears off. Slightly grungier guitars, brasher drums, slightly higher tempos. And all these jarring elements go really well with the aforementioned dream-pop staple elements. "Dive" is the best example and a clear highlight on the album.

This genre is often really beautiful, it just too often veers into the territory of boring. But while 7 is very much of the same genre, it is possibly least Beach House's most beautiful and least boring album yet. While there are many good songs on all of Beach House's albums, their impact is sometimes diminshed by too many too-similar sounding songs surrounding them. Thus 7's success lies in its adding just the right amount of variation to a winning, but aging, formula.