https://paulcarroll.site/rssA feed for anyone who wants to know what albums I'm liking.http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationpython-feedgenhttps://paulcarroll.site/static/favicon.pnghttps://paulcarroll.site/rssenWed, 22 Jan 2025 15:57:58 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/189(prog, rock) Nice prog rhythms! I loved the progressions and the '80s flair. I did not love the lyrics. I don't notice the lyrics when I start listening to an album... I have to spin it a few times. In this case, gradually waking up to the lyrics was a problem because they were so dumb. "I went out into the street Wasn't here for a long time Everyone's divided Extreme right or extreme left That's the only choice" Ugh, that's brutal. But don't pay attention to the lyrics and you'll discover some nice soun...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/189score__1Sat, 27 Jan 2024 04:01:02 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/190(classical, folk) Great fiddle music. Nothing experimental about this one, and I don't have too much to say other than the execution is very good. As someone who played the violin for many years, I wish that my control of the bow had been this precise. She accelerates it to create these moments of tension and release. A few of the tracks reminded me of the *Braid* soundtrack, which I loved. I was impressed to discover that Hanneke had composed everything and that these songs weren't crusty classics. They sound ...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/190score__2Sat, 27 Jan 2024 04:10:48 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/191(black metal, metal) Brainy black metal. Great syncopated rhythms, especially on my favorite track, *The Promethean Spark.* Grand orchestral backdrops: I love the contrast between violins and the shrieking black metal voice. Speaking of which, the vocals are good but not really notable. Reminds me of *Thy Catafalque* in its iconoclasm, but the last few tracks are a little flabby/uninteresting. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/191score__2Sun, 21 Apr 2024 21:56:14 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/192(metal, doom) Doom metal. Quieter than their previous excellent albums. Similar in style, but the volume is turned down--everything is subtler. I miss the drama of their earlier work, but the quality of execution is extremely high. When they reach an emotional climax, like in the opening track or in "Í hamferð," it's compelling. So many albums try to sound like this and just end up bad. Hamferð is so beautiful within the slow tempo, and the complex rhythms hold attention. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/192score__2Sun, 21 Apr 2024 21:59:17 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/193(metal, death metal) This album is apparently a throwback to an era of Swedish death metal that I was not alive for, which maybe explains the muddy production? I assume that's a stylistic choice? Anyway, the songs are a little samey, but there are some bangers. The album is tight and doesn't overstay its welcome. I actually thought the slower songs like "Serrated Jaws" were a bit better: the band can lean into its heavy sound, and the vocalist is quite good. I love the way that he says "go for the killll." The fast...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/193score__1Wed, 08 May 2024 13:58:22 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/194(black metal, metal, post-rock) The band name is dreadful, and the album actually doesn't do much for me either, but "Deathdreamer" is a superb track: a structured rolling beat, great organic sound, and a good build to the conclusion. The rest of the album is just ok. There are superb moments, but the quiet atmospheric parts don't do much for me. They feel formless: no tension. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/194score__1Wed, 08 May 2024 13:59:11 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/195(metal, death metal) Atmospheric, doomy death metal. I think I just like this band. Not as compelling as the sequel, [*Air Not Meant For Us*](https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/181), but the sound is mature and polished. The little flares of electronica, the plodding heavy guitars. Even the spoken word stuff is working for me, though maybe I have just gotten used to it. Prefer the sequel if you haven't listened to that, since it has better flow and melodies, but this is good too. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/195score__2Wed, 08 May 2024 13:59:55 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/196(dance, spacey, electronic) An album that is two hours long is inevitably going to have some flab, and I wouldn't say that every track thrilled me. In fact, many of the tracks took some time to grow on me; I found them a bit dull at first. The album would be better if the beginning and end of each track were trimmed down by a minute. They're painfully slow to get going. I'm guessing that this is useful if you're deejaying a show, but for someone just listening to the album, it's less nice. Still, the album convinced me i...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/196score__2Sat, 01 Jun 2024 15:22:23 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/197(rock, metal, death metal) Metal/rock with great flow. Music like this sounds effortless to create, but it must not be because I can't find much of it. Simple melodies, languid pace, with energy provided by creative rhythms and syncopation. Slightly doomy, but also with purer, "normal" vocals. It doesn't feel like it comes from another planet, as some doom does. Human, not hardcore. The first half of the album is superb; the second, not quite as memorable. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/197score__2Sat, 01 Jun 2024 15:23:41 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/198(artsy, metal, rock, slowcore, doom) First track is absolutely superb: a rock masterpiece. I love the wailing voice, the lyrics (rare for me), the pauses, the western- style guitar. But I just didn't find the rest of the album that engaging. I normally like doomy or slowcore music, and this sounds like a doomy, darker version of Low, which suggests I would really like it. But I didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if I came back to this album in a year and loved it, but for now, scoring a 1. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/198score__1Sat, 01 Jun 2024 15:27:54 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/199(artsy, experimental, black metal, metal, classical) Nobody else makes music like these guys. The weird classical/metal mix is still interesting, and although I wasn't as captivating by this album as I was by [*Griseus*](https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/164), I can still strongly recommend. "Drama rising out of quietness" is what I wrote about *Griseus,* and that's still the case here. Quiet instrumental sections, light classical, swelling into something with a compelling rhythm or melody, then subsiding back again. It feels dreamlike. "Somb...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/199score__2Sat, 13 Jul 2024 16:27:46 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/200(dance, noise, electronic, experimental) I don't enjoy it quite as much as [*World Eater*](https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/58), but it's excellent. Industrial somewhat artsy dance music. "Hush Money" is one of the best tracks that I've heard in a long time. Great atmosphere, triumphant swells, and with an odd carnival-like bridge. "No Dice" is a similar dancey track with a nice slow beat. The frenetic tracks like "Death Drop" and "House vs House" are good but didn't captivate me quite as much. I need to seek out more music like ...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/200score__3Sat, 13 Jul 2024 16:31:19 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/201(post-metal, post-rock) Mostly instrumental post-metal/post-rock. I love the first track. It reminds me of some kind of depressed/fatalistic Explosions in the Sky. I usually dislike spoken-word stuff but the Scottish voice sounds musical and haunting. The rest of the album didn't captivate me as much, though I do like the opening to "On the Far Side of Morning." I think that I was looking for more melody, or syncopation, or something to hold my interest. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/201score__1Sat, 13 Jul 2024 16:32:57 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/202(ambient, artsy) A spare ambient album that worked pretty well for me. Can't give a higher recommendation because I don't think there were any standout tracks or things that I couldn't stop listening to, but I was engaged all the way through. Understated, but with moments of structure and warmth. All the tracks are named after colors, and although I think the names could be randomly reassigned and nobody would be the wiser, I appreciate that "magenta" gets an ominous, grinding track. Who likes magenta? vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/202score__1Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:45:48 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/203(metal, death metal) Solid death metal with a fantasy element that isn't overdone. Short EP. Nothing especially sharp or memorable. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/203score__1Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:46:47 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/204(ambient, spacey, electronic, experimental) This is my favorite Four Tet album in a while. The music is still too smooth and dancey for me when I compare it to his earlier, more jagged stuff, but some of these beats are great. "Mango Feedback" has an early-Four-Tet feeling to me in the beginning with its Eastern flair, and its quieter interludes could be taken out of an Aphex Twin album. There aren't as many ultra-dreamy, sleepy tracks, which I'm a bit tired of. There are a couple of ambient tracks, which I don't think that Four Tet is v...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/204score__2Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:49:44 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/205(prog, metal, death metal) Can't give a higher score because no specific tracks stood out to me, but I liked this album. Smooth metal with lots of clean vocals. Nice progressive metal touches. I found myself wishing that it were more extreme or riskier in some way...weirder rhythms, melodies, something. As it is, it falls out of my head too fast. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/205score__1Sat, 21 Sep 2024 21:19:10 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/206(experimental, metal, noise, death metal, prog) One-track death metal masterpiece from 1996. Showcases a lot of what I like about progressive metal: different melodies contrasting with each other hold my attention. Just when you're sinking into a rhythm, there's a tempo change or addition of some new counterpoint. Because this is all one track, there's terrific flow. Great pivoting between clean and doomy vocals. I have to admit, I find the central "story" a bit silly. You can look it up on Wikipedia if you're curious; it's just a little ov...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/206score__2Sat, 21 Sep 2024 21:21:13 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/207(metal, death metal) This album is silly, but it leans into its silliness so hard that I enjoyed it. The self-serious intro in the movie narrator voice, the made-up name of a fantasy country (Aquilegia?), and then the unrelenting intensity. I'm not sure it's good, but I wanted to make a note of it so that I can find it again someday. If you listen to this, make sure to check out "Last Line of Defense." When I realized that it was an extended made-up quote from a mythic warrior, I started laughing at work. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/207score__1Sun, 06 Oct 2024 02:58:31 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/208(artsy, electronic, experimental, dance, noise) The most engaging album that I have found in a while. It's kind of experimental, kind of R&B, deeply personal. It's a stylized album, but the emotions in it actually do get to me? "Crystalize" has wildly triumphant moments emerging out of a chaotic soundscape. "High Beams" is simpler, more pared back, and deeply cool. The album does a great job of keeping the listener slightly off-balance. There is structure here, but it's organic and complex. Highly recommended. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/208score__3Sun, 06 Oct 2024 02:59:56 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/209(experimental, black metal, metal, doom) Nobody else sounds quite like Shores of Null...there's a stark kind of folkiness to the metal that really works for me. "A New Death Is Born" is a great example. The singer belting out "far beyond your loneliness" is both empowering and bleak. He has an attractive clean voice that contrasts nicely with the screeching. The bridge is eerie: multiple layered voices. It strikes a great balance between beautiful and devastatingly harsh. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/209score__2Sat, 23 Nov 2024 05:06:18 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/210(rock, metal, death metal) Perhaps not quite as good as the 2023 album, but still with some cracking stuff. The second half of the album especially works for me. I think in [*The Wishing Tomb*](https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/197) they do some edgier stuff with rhythm and trimmed down some of the cheesiness and excessive atmosphere. But this is still really good. Somewhere between a 1 and a 2 for me. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/210score__1Sat, 23 Nov 2024 05:08:02 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/211(dance, electronic) I was surprised and pleased to see this get re-released with an extended mix. Deadmau5's last ten years of material has its ups and downs. Some of it I love and some of it I find almost unlistenable. But I still think peak Deadmau5 was the one that was around when I was in high school. The older tracks have a simplicity and balance...they aren't infected by dubstep yet or guest vocalists. Jaded is one of those old tracks, and it's been re-released with an extended mix that is terrific. It feels...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/211score__3Sat, 23 Nov 2024 05:11:04 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/212(electronic, dance) Can't believe I've written a review for a Caribou album before! I love his work. This isn't my favorite of his albums. Outside of the first and the last track, I'm not clicking with much. But those tracks are terrific, with a warm but propulsive energy. The extreme girlishness of "Broke My Heart," then the inspiring if vague "Got To Change." Good stuff! What can I say about the tracks in the middle though? Many of them feel more like fragments than anything fully developed. "Over Now" is prett...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/212score__1Sat, 14 Dec 2024 04:18:20 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/213(metal, death metal) Heavy, progressive melodeath. I love that it has kickass melodies but also this progressive element that keeps it unpredictable. This trick has worked on me in so many albums, but In Vain does a great job of interspersing faster, gruffer sections in the "metal voice" with slower countermelodies that have "clean vocals." They also mix in ambient or jazzy sections with a saxophone. Ambient stuff is so poorly done on most metal albums, but here it's not too long and feels right. "Blood Makes the ...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/213score__2Sat, 14 Dec 2024 04:18:54 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/214(metal, death metal, doom) This album is so cool. So bleakly heavy and doomy: spare and trimmed down to its black core. The tracks are slow, but they're not as simple as they appear. The time signature and rhythms shift under the listener's feet. "Atheon Anarkhon" is a masterclass; the rhythm and the chords never resolve exactly where I expect, but they always feel right. There's a beautiful melody, too, though the melody isn't the focus; it just brackets the smothering atmosphere. I feel like Endonomos is completely in...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/214score__3Sat, 14 Dec 2024 04:44:13 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/215(electronic, folk) Very similar to [*Faþir*](https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/109), which I liked so much in 2020. But this time, perhaps because I've changed or because the band is changed, it didn't make quite as much of an impact. The music feels more pared-back and spare this time, with some nice touches of horn. What I loved in 2020 were the weird atmospheric tracks that felt like a perfect meld of folk and computers. There aren't as many tracks like that on *Moþir*. It sounds a little more acoustic, a l...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/215score__1Sun, 12 Jan 2025 04:09:22 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/216(spacey, electronic, post-rock) I loved Tycho when I was in college, so I'll always listen if there's a new Tycho album. *Infinite Health* is standard Tycho stuff: swirling, atmospheric, pretty, not especially challenging. Simple beats. I don't find it as interesting as I used to, but I think that there are a few good tracks. "Devices" is nice. I'm less sure about "Totem," but it has a strong upbeat energy. Some of the quiet tracks are so quiet that I'm not sure that Tycho is aspiring to be more than background music. vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/216score__1Sun, 12 Jan 2025 04:10:29 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/217(emo, metal, death metal, doom) Death/doom metal. Sad vibes, similar to Counting Hours but perhaps the hooks aren't quite as compelling. I had a difficult time choosing between a 1 and 2. The album feels really consistent, which usually means that I should give a 2, but the tracks are samey and there weren't too many standout moments. In the end, I settled on a 1. Still, I love the opening track, especially the chorus, which feels heartfelt. It also wasn't relentlessly depressing as this genre sometimes is. The chord progress...vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/217score__1Sun, 12 Jan 2025 04:11:31 +0000https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/218(power metal, metal) Such a pleasure to listen to this while playing Slay the Spire. Really earnest, great flow. I'm not really a power metal person, but this band has won me over with two high-quality albums. Try "Dawnbreaker" or "Victim" or "King of Nothing." vpcarroll15@gmail.com (Paul Carroll)https://paulcarroll.site/music/music/218score__2Sun, 12 Jan 2025 04:12:22 +0000