You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness

Twenty odd years ago, back when I was working at a big box store kind of thing, and I was working at the music section, I was one of the people responsible for restocking the pop/rock section, among other related duties. There were a few other sections as well, and most everyone there got along really well with one another. Every section had designated people who were responsible for it, and one of the sections that I truly and well despised back then was the alternative / indie section. Not only because when I started working there, it did not, in fact anyone really looking after it, which meant it wasn't particularly looked after and it wasn't really well stocked, but also because at the time I was still mostly into metal and EBM/Synthpop/Darkwave and all that shit. That'd soon change when thus guy I know came in from a different branch and started to really lift that section up, and eventually I started seeing things there that'd pique my curiosity. I'd also come to find out that quite a number of these bands shared a common identity, and very often, shared artists between many bands on their label - Constellation Records. 

Day 155 - Do Make Say Think 

I used to think I knew what these guys sounded like, apparently I knew jack shit. I absolutely loved this record and I'm certainly going to listen from more stuff by them. A 9/10 to start off this week was just what I needed.

Day 156 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor - ' "No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead" ', yes, with quotes and all just to piss me off even more.

This is one of those bands where the hype is so immense that I... I just never saw it. I tried, I really did, but for some reason I just find them to be boring. So I tried again, and I didn't enjoy everything here, sometimes it irritated the holy hell out of me, but there are some brilliant, brilliant moments that just save the whole thing. Ehhh... I'll give it a 7/10

Day 157 - Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - 'Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything'

This wasn't bad, but neither was it great. There's some good bits there, but I didn’t really enjoy the fuzz of the instruments and neither did I find the vocals to be that good either. It's a generous 6/10

Day 158 - Fly Pan Am - 'Frontera'

This one was beyond good. It was unexpectedly amazing, and the highlights are the songs 'Parkour' and 'Parkour 2' - the first of which has these post-hardcore screams, almost black metal-ish that are just so out of nowhere that I couldn't stop being blown away by what I was listening. One of the week's bets, I'll give it a 9/10 

Day 159 - All Hands_Make Light ' "Darling the Dawn" ' , motherfuckers can you please stop putting quotes in your album's titles? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? It would be much appreciated.

I didn’t love the voice, and when that happens, I rarely come to like what I'm listening to. That said... this is... huh. It’s different, good in spots but not great. Maybe a 6/10 

Day 160 - Black Ox Orkestar - 'Everything Returns'

This is a tough one, but more and more I find that there are things that are technically good, I just can't seem to enjoy. And this is one such case. But first, one thing : I tend to stay away from certain types of music - like Klezmer, Yiddish, Arabic, you know... stuff that has a cultural and religious meaning that I just won't understand. If I listen to it, I'll realize that, yes, this is something that's good, and important, and that probably has the weight of untold generations behind it, but... it's just not for me. Especially if, like in this case, the music does tend to get a bit more to the more sombre aspects of it. And what I found here, I found to be good - but I didn't enjoy a single second of it. The singer has a very good, very deep voice, and as I listened to his singing, I wondered just what it was I was reminded of, and I got a flash of Sopor Aeternus circa 'Dead Lover's Sarabande', and some of the lugubrious woodwind instrumentation reminded me even more of that band. Was this good? Yes. Did I like it? No.

I'll give it a 5/10 because it would be disrespectful to give them less than that, bbut I can't be moved to give it any more than that.

Day 161 - Esmerine - 'Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More'

I'd known the band by name for years. I probably even had all their stuff on one of my external hard drives once upon a time. And this caught me completely by surprise, it did. What we got here is something like the soudntrack to the saddest movie never made, quite akin to Clint Mansell's soundtrack to 'The Fountain'. They sound nothing alike, and yet they seem to share the same spirit. I really loved this one, and this week ends on a banger with the third 9/10.

Next week - Kranky. The label, not my mood...