ResetEra Album of the Week Club

[Deleted member 925]

any chance you could give a little background on why you picked Eden? you dont have to get too detailed, but i usually listen to a new album twice in a row and then look up info on the artist but I'd rather hear a bit from you if you'd want to

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So I didn't discover EDEN through Spotify or Apple Music from some algorithm, but from a recommendation at the local Reckless Records from some random guy. I didn't buy the vinyl right away but I did listen to the album and it blew me away. I wasn't familiar with Jonathon Ng or any of his music, but I found out he has a die-hard following for someone so young and with only one debut album. Mainly because he released so much material under The Eden Project before becoming EDEN.

The biggest thing that stands out with Vertigo is how finely tuned the production is. The album doesn't have a ton of layers for each song, but what is there is so lush and vibrant, it makes the songs sound way more grand. It kind of reminds me of Telefon Tel Aviv's 2004 Map of What Is Effortless, with the similar use of strings, textures and scattered and cut-up samples. Jonathon's vocals are also a bit unconventional for his sound, which is a giant mix of avant-garde/indie rock/pop. But it works so well and no one is really doing anything similar to his style.

 

[Deleted member 25606]

Have listened once, will give it a few more spins before sharing my thoughts, but I really am glad this thread exists even if it's too early to see how it does in the long run.

 

[Emergency & I]

LOVE this idea. Sad I missed the first round but will check out the album shortly. Thanks OP!

 

[Deleted member 25606]

LOVE this idea. Sad I missed the first round but will check out the album shortly. Thanks OP!

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As long as you listen and post your thoughts you can submit. All you missed out on is the first round of submission, EDEN was the first pick so your still pretty much here from the beginning.

Just make sure to watch the thread really.

 

[Emergency & I]

As long as you listen and post your thoughts you can submit. All you missed out on is the first round of submission, EDEN was the first pick so your still pretty much here from the beginning.

Just make sure to watch the thread really.

Click to shrink...

Definitely! Plan on listening tonight actually :)

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 25606]

Definitely! Plan on listening tonight actually :)

Thanks!

Click to shrink...

No problem, I really want to see this thread succeed. As an older person (I turn 42 Sunday) who is the rare exception that actually still seeks out new (both new as in release and new to me, though can be older music) music continuously, with how fragmented (though in a good way, I feel there is more music than ever and it has brought power to the people where you can be a poor person in your bedroom and still get your music out to the whole world through many of the services, both free and through purchase) all the services are, and more sub genres than you can shake a tambourine at, I feel this thread could give me some direction and focused goal orientated guidance, and help me get out of my wheelhouse (something we all need a push with sometimes regardless of age, experience, and open-mindedness) and listen to things I never would have came a cross and wouldn't have given a chance to including this first selection.

Plus the format of the thread and the requirements to actively participate can only help me develop my ear, critical thinking skills, music critique, and as a byproduct ability to express things further as we go along and I participate with both listening and forming my opinions, but also coherently sharing those opinions with others through actual communication, deepening the way I both listen to and think about the music I am consuming.

 

[ShadowAUS]

As per usual this is all my subjective opinion, I have terrible taste and am a terrible writer so feel free to disregard. Don't have a great deal of time to write this as I'm busy preparing for a vacation so this will be pretty short and disorganised.
Pre-Listen - Oh, Eden! Very cool, I haven't listened to Eden (TEP) since 'End Credits' came out back in 2015 so it'll be cool to hear how he's evolved since.

First impressions after 2 listens -
Let's get my major negative out of the way first. My very first impression looking at the Spotify page ended up being pretty correct; 52 minutes is a lot of Eden. Because of this 'vertigo' is a fairly tiring album to listen to, not just because it's pretty low tempo and well... depressed but because it's essentially 52 minutes of break up songs.

This is really my only major negative point though - I tend to enjoy the "Sad Boy with Guitar bought a synth and is experimenting with Quaaludes" "genre" that a lot of post-2014 internet indie-pop tends to take inspiration from. I feel this album really shines on tracks like 'Gold' and 'love; not wrong (brave)' which have that energy that I hear in Eden's older production (I went back and listen to 'End Credits' and 'i think you think too much of me' after 'vertigo') which I feel 'vertigo' as a whole tends to lack which leaves it feeling occasionally meandering. The production as a whole, even on songs that I feel drag the album down like 'start//end', is very well done and very polished while keeping some of that raw 'bedroom production' sound that I associate with Eden and his contemporaries like Stephen which takes a lot of skill to pull off. I also like some of the more experimental feel that some tracks dabble in though I feel it could have been taken further.

Overall for me the thing that bites this album the most is the length, 'icarus' is the only track longer than 4 minutes that really earns it and trimming down tracks like 'start//end', 'forever//over' and 'falling in reverse' would make it a much more enjoyable listen. On the other hand, 'Gold', 'love; not wrong (brave)' and 'icarus' are quite possibly the 3 best tracks Eden has ever released (though I haven't heard his entire post-2015 discography) and are definitely going in my permanent rotation.

6.8/10

Thanks to kitchenmotors for the recommendation!

---------

I'll change my nomination for next week to Chiaroscuro by Ocean Alley

 

[Fanto]

I've given it a few listens now. I'm not very good at giving like, full album reviews or being super critical, but I can definitely pick out some specific tracks that stuck out to me and try to explain why.

wings - I really liked the progression in this track, it evolves quite a bit in less than 3 minutes, the end is just super chill.
lost//found - This one took me by surprise, it's a really chill minimalist track, just him and a guitar, compared to a lot of the others which mix in more instruments and beats.
forever//over - This was another pretty chill one, the last like minute or so was especially dope.
falling in reverse - The last track, by now you can probably tell I like chill stuff, this was also pretty chill lol. It left me feeling cozy as the album closed out, good vibes.

I liked a lot of the other tracks too, good beats and chill vibes, these are just the ones that stuck out more to me I guess.

-------

I'll probably update my own suggestion tomorrow, I can think of so many albums that I would like to hear opinions on haha.

 

[Barls]

Just got through a first listen, will probably give it another go tomorrow. It has something that comes across as super familiar and that should fit in the ~2009-2012 indie/pop scene, but I can't quite place why. The first track (wrong) seems to me to be a strong Bon Iver influence, but after that, James Blake and Frightened Rabbit, kept coming to mind, although it's not really like either of those. I'll sleep on it and hopefully give it another listen tomorrow and update this post at that point.

 

[Eegah]

I was thinking about making this exact thread last night. Looking forward to following along!

 

[Fat4all]

eden - vertigo

This certainly feels like the kind of album you'd want to listen to all at once. It felt like a lot of tracks naturally bled into one another, sometimes without me noticing (there were at least two times I checked the track only to be 30 seconds into the next song). The songs can feel a bit samey at times, but on a second listen each track does have a few distinctions, either in the different backing effects or techniques used. The editing in general feels well done across the album. The lyrics don't do a whole lot for me but with this album that's not as much an issue, the music paired with the lyrics timing sort of carry most of the tracks.

The beginning few tracks of the album are maybe its weakest. Once it hits icarus it picks up pretty well, I feel like from that track on the songs start having stronger independence from one another and makes the last 2/3rds and easy listen. While most of the album is electronic like there's a few tracks that mix it up, giving it a more rock, pop, or folk flair depending. There's a good bit I like, the way it mixes it combines the lyrical pace and music gives it a good flow, some of the sameness hurts it a touch and the lyrics themselves are a bit so-so.

My highlights: icarus, crash, wonder, falling in reverse

My score: 7.5/10, would listen to again, Eden is now on my radar.

 

[Servbot24]

First song is giving me James Blake meets Imogen Heap vibes. Curious to see where this leads. Since kitchenmotors has a Sophie avatar I think that's coloring my expectations a bit. :P

Right away I'll say the vocals are a bit strained for me, but it's one of those things I'm conflicted on and can't identify perfectly. For instance I love Frank Ocean and Thom Yorke, and they both have very mopey and sincere vocal styles. So I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I'm not quite loving the vocals. There's just a grating quality to some vocals that are too overwrought.

Anyhow, it's also clear that we're going to get some very creative and varied compositions, which I LOVE. Anytime an artist goes for a wide variety of structures instead of the typical pop template song after song, I'm very much in. I'm only on track 3 but I've already heard several genre touch points ranging from indie rock to some more trap style beats, and of course pop/rnb melodies.

I would say that Wings is probably the standout song to me I have to be honest, I'm imaging if Lights were singing this it would be incredible. Really cool song that exemplifies the level of ambition, sincerity, and range of the entire record. You can tell that the singer has big ideas, and even if he doesn't always pull them off completely cleanly, I always applaud someone making a full effort. I hate artists that are too cool to care, and Eden is definitely not one of those.

Throughout the album he does a good job of spacing out new ideas to keep things interesting, such as the introduction of new vocals on crash which fit in well and help to break things up. The climax of Forever stands out for its quiet potency. Tbh Gold is one of my least favorite types of music, so this song is the first miss for me. Overly wrought vocals over a basic acoustic guitar strum is really hard to accomplish that only a few artists such as D'Anjelo could pull off. Even so though, I can take the song since it offers another minor stylistic flavor to the album that keeps things constantly moving.

This also really seems like an album that will reward several listens. The melodies don't quite sink in at first blush (I think the vocals are probably at fault more than the writing), but as I gave it a second listen everything really started coming into place. The production is always looking forward which combine with the well-varied compositions can put you on your heels at first, but the comprehension of the pieces settle into place as you make sense of the landscape.

All in all I really enjoyed it and I think it was an awesome way to kick off this thread! To kitchenmotors I would give Lights - Siberia a try if you haven't already - it's very different than this album but I kept thinking about it while listening to vertigo, so maybe there's something there.

 

[LazyLain]

Fun idea for a thread, and I did just get a new pair of headphones... I'll join in.

Regarding album submissions, are EPs alright?

 

[MisterR]

I'm in. Listening to this weeks album now. This should be really fun.

 

[The Doomed One]

I hope that in this thread I can give my honest impression of the chosen album without fear of being ganged up on, as when I dared to write that I hate the new Tool album.

Anyway, I want to say that my "review" is based on my preferences and impressions, so I hope no hard feelings from the guy who recommended this.

I hate music like this, sadboi teens that sing about their love catastrophe after the first breakup. And that's what this is, 50+ minutes (probably due to contractual obligations) of synth-pop crying. "start/end" started and I thought it was never going to end, it stretches to over 5 minutes of directionless moaning. His voice is hard to pin down, whether it is trying to reach a "balls in vice" Mariah Carey heights, or as it opened with "wrong" it sounded like a drunk guy at a bar slurring words.
I checked out at "icarus", I would have lost my sanity had I tried to power through the whole thing.

If you want electronic music done well, I change my last week's suggestion to this:
Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

 

[Brass Body Dave]

Man, I am not enjoying Eden at all. It feels inauthentic, false, and manufactured. There's no sense of reality to it, I don't believe a word coming out of this person's mouth when they sing. It's just not doing anything at all for me.

I think the biggest negative, even though this is how you make money, is that Eden needs to experiment more, to find their own voice instead of trying so hard to fit into what "pop music" is turning into. It robs you of your soul and you end up making generic music for false feelings. I know that sounds like such a rundown of this album but it just felt inauthentic to me.

 

[LazyLain]

I hate the new Tool album.

Click to shrink...

You sit tight while I go gather the Tool Army to come and beat u up.

...Kidding. (Maybe.)


Anyway, just got finished listening to this week's album. Bluntly, I didn't personally care for it. Under the crude grading system I hastily came up with, it gets a 61/100. And that might even be generous since I might've been soft on it... I'll see how I feel and readjust my score appropriately if I get around to giving it another listen.

By far the biggest detractor was the lyrics. At best they just didn't do anything for me, at worst they had me rolling my eyes. Vocals overall weren't my cup of tea either, but they had their moments.

The standout tracks for me were crash and forever//over.

 

[pokeystaples]

Servbot24 does the album have to be currently available? I have a pick but it doesn't release until tomorrow.

 

[Servbot24]

Servbot24 does the album have to be currently available? I have a pick but it doesn't release until tomorrow.

Click to shrink...

It does have to be available, but since yours wouldn't qualify til next week it will be fine to suggest now.

 

[Cipher Peon]

I absolutely adore this idea and I'm in! I listen to a ton of albums at work and I've been needing some new stuff to find.

Vertigo - EDEN
My number one impression of the album is that whenever EDEN "tones it down", they go way too far. And it's all of the time.

I'm cool with slower songs, but the pacing is glacial and I don't really know what to do with it. It's too soft to jam to along to and too one note to be emotionally engaging. Doesn't help that every emotion has to be the BIGGEST on the planet and every musical idea is stretched to infinity. Makes every song feel like a long slog and background noise for being at the club long after everyone else left.

Man, I am not enjoying Eden at all. It feels inauthentic, false, and manufactured. There's no sense of reality to it, I don't believe a word coming out of this person's mouth when they sing. It's just not doing anything at all for me.

I think the biggest negative, even though this is how you make money, is that Eden needs to experiment more, to find their own voice instead of trying so hard to fit into what "pop music" is turning into. It robs you of your soul and you end up making generic music for false feelings. I know that sounds like such a rundown of this album but it just felt inauthentic to me.

Click to shrink...

I agree with the disconnect with authenticity. I don't need music to be authentic, far from it, but when the music seems to try really hard to be emotional and striking... I'd like it to feel that way.

Spoiler: Individual Song Opinions

wrong: Starts off the album on the wrong foot
take care: Better! Like the jams in the background
start//end: Awful start, but picks up
wings: Unlistenable. Glad that it tries to be faster paced, but its kitchen sink approach is a huge misfire for me.
icarus: By far my favorite song of the album. It starts out pretty mediocre but only gets better as it goes on. I'd appreciate the dreaminess of it a lot more if every song wasn't going for the same thing, though.
lost//found: The perfect example of my problem with the album.
crash: I like the complimenting vocals.
gold: The intro is unbearably sluggish, but when the electronica kicks in it gets better.
forever//over: Unbearably boring. Feels like every other song.
float: I appreciate that the song has more energy than the previous songs.
wonder: I ran out
love; not wrong (brave): of things
falling in reverse: to say

In conclusion: While individual songs can kind of stand on their own and be enjoyable on their own merits, their weaknesses compound when listening to them in an album. To me it feels like EDEN has one note and by god they're going to make you sit there and listen to it for what feels like hours until you get what they're saying. The musical equivalent of a gallon of full of room temperature seltzer water.

My nomination is Danger Days: The True Lives of Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance

 

[Deleted member 25606]

So after a few listens I kind of feel like others though not completely. Not going to break down songs other than to say Icarus is the standout, I did take notes but the problem with each song is the same. And it's a shame, there is a really talented individual in there with a great album I want to listen to maybe even with Icarus on it, but nothing to say.

I hate to say this especially since I have gone off on others for saying things like this, but with a few more years of maturity and a couple of actual bad breaks/tragic moments to give material that rises above manufactured heartache after heartache I think he is definitely capable of making an album I really want to listen to, but this isn't it.

Side note: Best thing about him his distinctive voice but it's being wasted/sounding horrible by trying to do the same things everyone else in this sort of music does, stop painting by the numbers and use that distinctive voice to do something actually distinct, stop trying to fake notes your voice cannot and was not made to hit, if there was a moment or too i almost did turn it off (and I listened three times because if I participate in this thread I want to participate not dismiss anything not in my comfort zone) was every time he used a falsetto, that was genuinely bad.

But at the end of the day it's not bad, and on a skill talent level I would still say it's a good pick by kitchenmotors , not bad taste by any means, I just would like more lyrical weight and non-traditional use of an excellent voice.

Also Servbot24 I chose tool kind of reactionary because this first pick was so quick with startup but now that there is time and rythym and the fact that the Fear Inocolum thread keeps hitting the first page anyways I would like to change my pick to one of my top 3 albums of all time, White Zombie's La Sexorcisto:devil music vol.1

 

[TheGrue]

Really like the idea of this thread as hopefully I will get some exposure to things I have not heard before (like this week's album). I'm into pretty much any genre of music, so totally open to anything that anyone might suggest. Also glad to see another person near my age (Matthew77) who feels the same as me about music in that I always want to be opening myself to new things (I will turn 47 in December). Sometimes I get lazy and forget about seeking out new music for a little bit and this thread will help with that.

Took a listen to the EDEN album and here were the notes I jotted down as I listened (this will be my style for this thread as I am interested in just kind of reacting to an album at first listen):

4 songs went by before I realized I wasn't just listening to one long song
lost//found is the first song I felt good about as a whole..feels like someone being sad in a bathtub and just kind of singing about it...I actually like it
Singer's style of forced desperation is not my style, but do enjoy the accompanying music in all of these tracks.
Enjoy some of the weird effects in the songs like when he faded his vocal back in the middle of the other vocalist's lyric. Did the trick of stopping all sound to make things jarring a few too many times
forever//over stood out to me a bit as he lost his forced singing and the song felt genuine...also liked the mixing in of conversation
float - oh no...we're back to the previous stuff. Even worse, he's brought out his sample of glass breaking foley work.
falling in reverse - was going to say he saved the best for last, but then the glass came back. Now that I'm at the end, I do think he saved the best for last, in spite of the glass.

 

[pokeystaples]

EDEN – vertigo
I gave it 3 spins. 1 play through and 2 focused listens. The first play definitely felt like 1 longish song. Less than an album it feels more like a mood put to wax, unfortunately that mood is one that I've heard many times over. EDEN does very little to shirk the feeling of been there done that on the almost hour long album. The album opener, wrong, feels less like an intro and more like a promise that there will be no surprises going forward. This is not to say there are no high points. The production on take care, icarus and float are all outstanding and EDEN's voice is incredibly distinctive. Overall a solid pick, but I don't see myself going back to it.

My pick: The Highwomen (self-titled)

 

[Wired All Wrong]

EDEN - vertigo

I like chill music, the album I chose for this thread has a laid back vibe, but this is way too slow for me. At first I thought the album would kind of be like one long track since the first few songs transition seamlessly into each other. Was hoping it was kind of building up to something, but that never came. It stays pretty much the same energy level throughout with a few spots here and there that slightly pick up the tempo. Like others here I felt like some of songs are too uninteresting to be as long as they are. I like the tone of the guys voice, but not a huge fan of the way he sings. I feel like I'd have to be in a really specific mood to get the most out of this album.

I am glad you picked something like this though kitchenmotors. It's not something I would have ever listened too on my own and even though this particular album wasn't my thing, I'll definitely give something like this a shot in the future.

Favorite track is float.

 

[Sabot]

I listened to this at work, so this may have affect my impressions.

EDEN - vertigo

Album ended stronger than it began, for the most part I'm not too into it. It moved more or less at the same pace the entire album, sparsely placed outbursts of emotion that are inevitably plunged back into a depressive morass. Grayscale the album cover and it's a perfect representation of how I felt listening to it. The album definitely had dynamics, but they were so predictable and repetitive that they didn't actually have any. Too many songs started minimal, built a tiny bit, then dropped everything to do a guitar only breakdown. It's slow pop music for breakups, I was just kinda bored. Music enjoyment is subjective! One person's downer is another's upper. No hate, look forward to next week's album!

Favorite song: Falling in Reverse

Here were some very rough notes of each song I wrote down as I listened. I'm not usually so picky about performance and pronunciation, but nothing else really stood out for me about the album so I didn't have much to focus on. Some of my favorite albums of all time have very light pronunciation, I just think him hitting those hard consonants would have given a lot more life to the album.

 

[plngsplsh]

My overall impression of my first listen to EDEN's vertigo is that it doesn't do anything for me. There is not a single song, line, or phrase that resonated / stuck with me.

The songwriting / singing

Too abstract, lifeless, and whiney for my taste.The songs sound like they were written by someone who wants to sing about deep feelings without wanting to reveal anything about themselves and their lifes. Overall they feel more like first sketches and ideas for songs (lyric I feels lost, looks for way to move on; lyric I yearns for a girl; etc.) that were never fleshed out with detail. They remind me of the helpless, illiterate idiot I was when I was sixteen scribbling dishonest musings on spiral-bound notepads, feeling all deep and all, but expressing nothing after all than my desire to being a writer of some kind, which is okay I think - I'm at peace with that person now, so no hard feelings.​

The production

Too much effects make it seem like someone's showing off every electronic music production trick up their sleeve. If you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. I liked the transition to the first verse in crash, though: the distorted / autotuned voice and the beat.​

 

[THErest]

Okay, just finished it.

First, I am not musically savvy when it comes to critiquing an artist's work. I dabble in various genres without going too deep into any one, although I listened to rock exclusively in my formative years.

My first impression on the very first track was "Sounds like Bon Iver. I could just play that instead".

Indeed, EDEN here comes off, to me, with my limited experience as a listener, as a safer, more pop-oriented, more long-winded Bon Iver.

He overstayed his welcome, especially with the extended, quiet, intimate stretches. Great voice, but 2/3 of the album is him sounding like he's holding back tears, which is okay sometimes, but maybe not for a whole hour.

Lyrically, he reminded me of so many Facebook friends reposting sad/hopeful/somewhat-religious quotes to keep us all informed of their struggle and how they get through it (by reposting the aforementioned vagaries).

When the production kicks in more, it's hit (weakly) or miss. For instance, the stomp stomp claps of love; not wrong (brave) did absolutely nothing for me. However, that same song shifted to a more rock sound for a little bit, and I thought, for a moment, it might be interesting if this dude fronted a rock band instead. Maybe.

 

[Mi goreng]

great thread idea, i'd love to join in on the fun

i'm not in the most ideal listening position right now but i've given EDEN a spin and... yeah first up, not my thing. don't wanna be too negative but first reaction is i'd say it sounds like something a 'normie' friend would listen to with its whiney vocals and pop hooks -- though the Sophie avatar hasn't thrown me for a spin, i can also see that if you like her music you could like this. i find it difficult to assess something like this i spose, it's just not really to my taste. i do love electronic music, especially the more adventurous stuff (someone linked the new Blanck Mass up there, tis good) but yeah, this one feels like nails on a chalkboard to me, sozzles.

my nom for next week is

Rezzett - Rezzett (Trilogy Tapes) - my AOTY from last year

https://rezzett.bandcamp.com/album/rezzett-lp

 

[LaneDS]

I gave the album a couple shots but couldn't get into it- a lot of the posters here have touched on why (mostly stemming from the vocals/lyrics... really put me off on it and couldn't make it more than a few tracks in). Still love the idea of the thread but there are clearly going to be things people just bounce off of and aren't able to find anything to connect with.

 

[plngsplsh]

Servbot24 and everyone else: How do you feel about picking two or more albums per week, at least in the beginning? Maybe it's just me, but one album per week seems kinda limiting.

 

[Deleted member 25606]

Servbot24 and everyone else: How do you feel about picking two or more albums per week, at least in the beginning? Maybe it's just me, but one album per week seems kinda limiting.

Click to shrink...

I'd be for it.

 

[Sabot]

I'd like to keep this low committal personally. Requiring a higher upkeep will just shrink the active users down, and I'd rather cast a wide net so we get more varied selections.

 

[pokeystaples]

I'd like to keep this low committal personally. Requiring a higher upkeep will just shrink the active users down, and I'd rather cast a wide net so we get more varied selections.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. More than one album a week will feel like work rather than a fun activity. I don't think I would be the only one to drop off.

 

[Servbot24]

Servbot24 and everyone else: How do you feel about picking two or more albums per week, at least in the beginning? Maybe it's just me, but one album per week seems kinda limiting.

Click to shrink...

I had considered that but decided to keep it at one to start. Depending on the number of qualifying submissions I might choose 2 albums.

 

[RepairmanJack]

Just got through my second listen, and I'd say overall I enjoyed it, but can't see myself coming back to it. There just wasn't much distinguishing on track from another. It mostly seemed like one long depressing song. Which I would completely say is my thing. But a lot of times I honestly didn't get much actual emotion from a lot of the songs. It felt like a pretty steady monotone vibe throughout. I feel like my standout tracks(Gold, Crash, Float,Wonder) all mostly stood out specifically because they felt distinguished within the album or had a strong feel of emotion. There was the occasion or two where I felt like the distinguishing of the track actually detracted from my enjoyment of it, which was mostly with "love;not wrong".

I think I'd give it somewhere around a 6/10 or so. I could easily listen to this, it just isn't particularly memorable or impactful enough for me to want to come back to.

I don't know if I'll field any picks, I have no faith in my music taste/selection. I'll just hang around to listen and review.

 

[LazyLain]

For my nomination, I'll pick something a bit older...

Cocteau Twins - Treasure

 

[Fanto]

I'll switch my pick for next week to: Mr. Bungle - California

 

[plngsplsh]

My pick shall be an album that I myself have never really listened to: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of The Moon.

There seem to be enough full album uploads on youtube to make this readily available.

 

[Zoantharia]

Great thread, OP. A little late, but here's one for consideration for week 2. I first listened to it a few months back and it's been at the back of my mind since:

Nouon - KUU

 

[MilkBeard]

I like the idea of the thread. I work from home so I'm always listening to music while I work and need more to listen to.

That being said, I'm not always going to give super-focused listens to the choices, but would like to listen to them as palate cleansers from when I've burnt out on my own playlists.

As such, I won't give any big criticisms of the music but I might comment a little bit on how I felt. And music can be super personal to people so I am definitely keeping that in mind.

-
So, I listened to vertigo just now. The more emotional aspect of all the songs doesn't really do it for me, but there are some harmonic parts that are enjoyable to listen to. I kind of like the production and sounds on icarus, when the beat kicks in and some of the sound effects in general. I do think the songs end up sounding a bit too similar throughout, though.

This is not really my style of music in general, though, so I'll just keep it at that.
-

Probably won't offer anything and just listen to whatever is chosen each week.

 

[Ledbetter]

Listened to vertigo 3 times. I wasn't familiar with EDEN's work, or even with the electronic/R&B (?) music world in general. As someone mentioned before, the first track really gives Bon Iver vibes, the rest of the album reminds me of James Blake a little.

My first issue with this album is that it's unnecessarily long, it would benefit by removing a few tracks and by making the longer songs shorter. Especially in the beginning, where the first tracks sound a bit samey until it gets to icarus. On the second half, the songs start to diverge and even without active listening, you could differentiate when it goes from one song to another. I haven't look up the lyrics (as English is not my native language, I always found kind of hard to understand most songs' lyrics) and I usually look them up when I feel the music, which in this case doesn't happen a lot.

In general, an OK album, saved by that second half where the vocals and the instrumentation feel more according to the emotion I think EDEN wants to share.

Standout tracks: crash, gold, love; not wrong (brave).

Thanks to kitchenmotors for the recommendation.

 

[dark_prinny]

Subbed 😎

 

[EchoSmoker]

Finished vertigo. I'm not familiar with EDEN at all, or listen to much R&B but overall I thought it was decent and I'm glad I gave it a chance. I couldn't finish it in one sitting though, and got bored at points. Maybe that's a problem with me and not the album, but lookin through the thread tells me I'm not the only one feeling this. I think it overstayed it's welcome, remove a few tracks and it would've been a much better package imo. The album as a method of self-reflection helps me appreciate the work more, even if it's not my thing.

My standouts:
- take care
- start//end
- gold
- love; not wrong (brave)

Thank you kitchenmotors for the recommendation!

 

[Kyuuji]

Vertigo was my first foray into EDEN and it took awhile to get used to the rather frenetic style. For much of the album I feel these parts stay loose, but there are moments where they coalesce and something clicks. The opening of take care, Icarus and crash are the standout points for me in that regard, and equally tracks that I've gone back to in the time since listening. The production being a mixed back doesn't stop the highs from hitting though, and they were enough to see me through to the end. I'd like to see where this artist is in a few years time as there's hints of something special in there.

Standout track:
Crash I have a lot of time for and is where it really gets into some emotion that's validated by the track. It will be in my rotation for awhile moving forward.

 

[DNgamers]

Cool idea for a thread! I'd love to be "in" for week two!

 

[astro]

I had considered that but decided to keep it at one to start. Depending on the number of qualifying submissions I might choose 2 albums.

Click to shrink...

When is the deadline for this first round? I have time to listen to this and review this evening.

Great idea for a thread!

 

[jefjay]

I'm a bit mixed on Eden. Some of the tracks are a bit too minimalist for my tastes. But the songs with more of a chill yet hectic beat I quite enjoyed. Songs like love not wrong really stood out.

 

[Servbot24]

astro

I've been on a trip this week and just got back, so deadline to submit or update your submission is

September 12, 5 PM Central

For your submission to qualify you need to have participated with the current album of the week.

 

[Servbot24]

Week 2's results are in! Our next album of the week is one of the most popular albums of all time, so it will be interesting to see how you all feel about it:

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1973

submitted by plngsplsh


Please have a listen to the album and post your thoughts! Remember to be respectful even if you don't enjoy it.


Everyone who gives this at least one full listen and adds their thoughts to the thread will qualify to submit for next week. If you would like to submit for next week, feel free to post your submission at any time in large text.

Standing submissions below. If you are on this list, you still need to participate in a review week in order for your submission to qualify next week. If you post a new suggestion, I will update it for you on the standing list:

ElectricBlanketFire : American Football - LP3
Komo : Mac Miller - Swimming
Brass Body Dave : City Morgue - Hell or High Water
Ledbetter : Whitney - Forever Turned Around
Fantomas : Mr. Bungle - California
PassiveObserver : Swings - Detergent Hymns
Kyuuji : Maribou State - Portraits
denx : Autechre - Exai
ShadowAUS : Emily Scott Robinson - Traveling Marcies
Matthew77 : White Zombies - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Pt 1
Servbot24 : Milton Nascimento - Clube da Esquina 1
Wired All Wrong : The Loving Paupers - Lines
Fat4all : Jonathan Coulton - Solid State
LaneDS : Future Islands - Evening Air
Sabot : The Notwist - Shrink
Oliver James : Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast
EchoSmoker : Caravan Palace - Miracle
BOTW is a 7/10 : Silverstein - This Is How the Wind Shifts
The Doomed One : Warcrab - Damned in Endless Night
HiLife : SAINt JHN - Ghetto Lenny's Love Songs
Kumikomical: Nouon - KUU
LazyLain : Cocteau Twins - Treasure
Mi goreng : Rezzet - Rezzet
pokeystaples : The Highwomen - The Highwomen
Cipher Peon : My Chemical Romance - Danger Days

If you submitted an album or changed your album and it's not listed above, please tag me with a correction.

 

[RepairmanJack]

This will be interesting. Even though my dad was a huge Pink Floyd fan I don't think I've ever sat down and listened to the whole album through. Looking forward to it.