2017-2018 Midseason Albums List

I was going to wait and try and spend a few more days reviewing some of these records, but per it's already May 9th, 9 days past the Midseason mark, and the fact the 2nd half releases are already coming, I think it makes sense to finally publish, even if only 60 or 70% of these records have been taken-in well enough.

I.e. Some of these titles could go down or up quite a bit come even the 3/4-year update in a few months. Although more likely down just based on new stuff coming, etc.

But I can say with good certainty, this year seems like a more deep year than 2016-2017 already. The top 10-15 records are almost all records I would foresee listening to some if not regularly the rest of this year, but also in the years to come.

I do think it was clear when The Family Crest and Kindo dropped last month, it kind of accelerated the Year and really came up a nice back and forth between 2 records. And having listened to both quite a few times, Crest seems likely to have charged ahead by quite a bit, and may be very hard to beat come November.

Now the counter to the deeper or deep year thought is, just on the surface, there's not a length-ly list of obvious titles to expect from now until Halloween. Bend Sinister, Dream the Electric Sleep, The Sea Within, and then likely albums from Ours, Neverending White Lights, Vennart, Sculptured, Soundscape and Foals. And of course a long list of hopefuls/possibles but hardly any certainty about.

Of course there likely will be any number of records that will show up from either artists I've never heard of, or had no clue were working on a new record (The Tea Party? Arch/ Matheos? The Gathering? Menomena? Opus Dai? Gatherer? etc etc.....unfortunately the likes of dredg I wouldn't expect until 2019 unless a single or possibly an EP).

Podcast and/or Video should be coming soon (hopefully), including the 2nd half anticipation of course.


1. The Family Crest - The War: Act I


2. Kindo - Happy However After


3. Grimus - Unmanageable Species


4. Typhoon - Offerings


5. The Gloomcatcher - Blade in the Belfry [EP]


6. Long Distance Calling - Boundless


7. Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back to the Moon


8. Kimbra - Primal Heart


9. Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs


10. In Vain - Currents


11. The Dear Hunter - All Is as All Should Be [EP]


12. Esperanza Spalding - Exposure


13. Kai Danzberg - Pop-Up Radio


14. Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pacifisticuffs


15. The Faceless - In Becoming a Ghost


16. U2 - Songs of Experience


17. Tax the Heat - Change Your Position


18. Between the Buried and Me - Automata I [EP]


19, StellaRoma - Revel and Ritual


20. Inferi - Revenant


21. Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer


22. Field Music - Open Here


23. Josh Rouse - Love in the Modern Age


24. God is an Astronaut - Epitaph


25. Umbrellaman - Volcano Beach [EP]


26. Harakiri - Alchemy Choir


27. Umphrey's McGee - It's Not Us


28. Nicholas Krgovich - In an Open Field


Haven't Listened

The Dang Ol' Tri'ole - Dang!
Gleb Kolyadin - Gleb Kolyadin
Jeremy Messersmith - Late Stage Capitalism
The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl
Yossi Sassi and the Oriental Rock Orchestra - Illusion of Choice

May
4: Ihsahn - Ámr
18: Dream the Electric Sleep - The Giants' Newground
25: Spock's Beard - Noise Floor

June
8: Bend Sinister - Foolish Games
15: Chromeo - Head Over Heels
22: The Sea Within - The Sea Within

Summer
Josh King - Into the Blue

Between the Buried and Me - Automata II
Foals - TBA
Neverending White Lights - TBA
Ours - Spectacular Sight
The Red Paintings - TBA
Sculptured - The Liminal Phase
Soundscape - TBA
Vennart - TBA

Videos: CDs and Vinyl (April 2018)

Neither of these videos are short (16 and 19? minutes), but I covered a good amount of ground. I can say, there is an EDIT function in the software I'm using on this laptop, which it's more of a "trim' on the beginning or end of the videos unfortunately. But it may hold some hope for editing these in the future.

No clipping on the laptop-filmed video, so the RSD video with Joyce may have been per my volume levels or how close we were.

I am starting to think the laptop may be the way to go unless I am literally out-and-about filming. It just works better at this point and even the quality of the video seems better.

Oh and I need to actually write a Grimus-featured history entry I think per this video. Not HUGE I don't think, but just an overview like I did in the video.


The Family Crest - The War: Act I
Kindo - Happy However After
Grimus - Unmanageable Species
Grimus - Emergence
Grimus - Egretta
Grimus - Panikon



The Family Crest - The War: Act I [2 LP]
Marillion - Living in Fear 12"

RECORD STORE DAY 2018:
Jeff Buckley - Sin:e [4 LP Boxed Set]
Snarky Puppy - Sharktank 10'
Steven Wilson - How big the Space 12"
Porcupine Tree - In Abesentia
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
(dredg song SANG REAL I couldn't remember.)

Kai Danzberg - Pop-Up Radio

Grimus - Unmanageable Species (2017-2018)

edit 2:
Physical CD
 

Streams 

iTunes

1 Heart To Break 3:31
2 You End I 3:19
3 Dysfunctional 4:11
4 Albatross 4:29
5 Piblokto 4:32
6 Carelessly 3:15
7 Sunrise 3:22
8 TV and Booze 3:19
9 Illusions Have No Flaws 4:45

edit: 2nd video/single "Piblokto"



 I'm adding this here, but it's a bit hard to be fully confident without some research or more details, especially considering it seems this is being initially released at a Concert



But from the info I found and the article linked below, the concert and album is coming on Friday, February 23rd. I wonder if they will put it up on Bandcamp or 1 of the streaming sites (like the single below is) with more clear details.

Grimus of course are from Romania and their music is vaguely similar to Ours and some other bands I enjoy. I really enjoy all their albums, namely their last one from 2014 Emergence.

The 1st single "Carlessly" is below.



Article (in Romanian,but translated per Google)

The winter of 2018 brought a new material signed by Grimus, "Unmanageable Species". Recorded and mixed in Germany in August 2017, the disc will be released on February 23 through a concert to be held at Fratelli Studios in Bucharest. All nine tracks are in English, produced by Jan Kerscher.



Track List?

Heart To Break
You End I
Dysfunctional
Albatross
Piblokto
Carelessly
Sunrise
TV And Booze
Illusions Have No Flaws

Grimus - Fregate [1B] (2017)

New single from Grimus which I thought I read had a guest vocalist, but now I'm not sure.

The actors in this video look familiar, mainly the guy, Cristian Grosu Jr.

Not sure if this is a sampling of what's to come in 2017 or not, but it's nice to hear something new from




Maybe in another life I make more sense in another country
Like two frigates sailing over the water
In Wing beats in sync

Grimus - Culoare (cu Alexandra Ungureanu)

New song from Grimus! new album coming?

I loved their last album Emergence from 2014.

Dream the Electric Sleep - Heretics (2013-2014)

1. Heretics 04:50
2. Elizabeth 08:22
3. Utopic 06:38
4. To Love Is To Leave 08:01
5. The Name You Fear 06:09
6. It Must Taste Good 08:31
7. I Know What You Are 06:42
8. Fist To Face 04:15
9. Lost Our Faith 02:05
10. How Long We Wait 09:28
11. Ashes Fall 08:07

I'm again not going to go into great detail as this is another case of a record/band I slept on this past Season, but knew about, and didn't finally give the attention it probably deserved until now. And I still need to give it more time, of course, but I will only add the vague amounts of observations about it in this initial posting. Maybe an edit coming later?..I know how I habitually do that.

But this band from Lexington, KY and their new album Heretics is definitely a nice blend of modern progressive rock, some retro or classic rock, and post rock.

I did read a fair amount about them among progressive rock forums and rateyourmusic.com this past season, which is how I even knew and became curious about them. I recall 1 or 2 reviews saying there was a lot of good moments on this album, but it was a bit lengthly. Which I wouldn't disagree with, but I don't find it drags as much as I suspected it would.

The singer, sounds like a few different singers I enjoy, but like the singer from Grimus, he sounds probably most like Jonah from The Velvet Teen and maybe even more, Evan Konrad of Bed of Stars and whose sung with Neverending White Lights.

Favorites: probably the track "Elizabeth" stands out the most. Rather epic and a climax that really works well.

But I'll confess, it'll end up the hopefully soon to come Season Ending Countdown, but definitely higher than I would have put it a week ago. I feel bad though, like with iamthemorning's album, I slept on it all season, and thus I didn't get to experience it during this/its season of release, but so be it.. As I said aboiut Belighted, definitely better late than never.

Also given they are from Kentucky, I wonder if they ever do any touring, even in the Mid/Upper Midwest? because seeing them live might be a little more realistic than seeing iamthemorning sadly.

11/1/13 - 6/20/14 (Albums Countdown/List SO FAR)

Haven't heard/heard enough to really rank/mix in.
Wolfmother - New Crown
Bigelf - Into the Maelstrom
KXM - KXM
Being - Anthropocene

----------------------------------------------

Pharrell Williams - G I R L
St.Vincent - St.Vincent
Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope
Crippled Black Phoenix - White Light Generator
Warpaint - Warpaint
Hannes Grossman - The Radial Covenant
Fire Garden - Sound of Majestic Colors
Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No
Bed of Stars - Tell Me If It's True [EP]
Mastodon - Once More Around the Sun
The Aston Shuffle - Photographs
Pat Metheny Unity Group - Kin
Cloud Caverns - Gypsy Loft
Agalloch - The Serpent and the Sphere
Toria - Octave
Chromeo - White Women
Three - Sugarlife/You Are the Alien
The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra - Zombie Mouth
Cynic - Kindly Bent to Free Us
Moron Police - Defenders of the Small Yard
Jeremy Messersmith - Heart Murmurs
Hotel of the Laughing Tree - Mammoth Skin Pt. 2 [EP]
Casey Crescenzo - Amour and Attrition

Umphrey's McGee - Similar Skin


I'm not as blown away as I initially thought I would be, but I still am enjoying a lot of this. The heavier and proggy parts probably most. "Bridgeless" and 'Hindsight" which end the album, maybe most. The Joel-vocal songs maybe stand out most on a lot of levels. "Little Gift" being one of those. This record does continue their pattern of every-other-album being good being much better than Death By Stereo.

I guess I'll see how much better or growing it does for me, although I still have only listened to it about 3 or 4 times at this point.


Archive - Axiom

Nice,. trippy/trip-hoppy, moody soundtrack to a film of the same name. The title track has this section about 3 or 4 minutes in that is ear-wormy. This band continues to make impressive music, this album being no exception.


Genders - Get Lost



Katherine Paul (ex-Forest Park) was how discovered this band. She is the drummer and sings some (background) I guess. I really like the blend of elements and influences from this band/on this album. Psychedelic, power-pop, dream-pop, etc.


Brice Plays Drums - ProgTagonist



"Sisyphus" being my favorite. The closing piece is Yes-inspired apparently, although it reminds me more of The Grateful Dead actually (not in a bad way though). I do like how they changed/did some different things with Jazz and Middle Eastern element on a song like "Alyosha" and "Ramses."


Fjokra - Thoughtsteps [EP]


"Infinite Loops" is the best song I've heard in 2014 thus far. Catchy, textured, dynamic, and lyrical. It is kind of like the sequel to Kevin Gilbert's "Shadow Self" in some ways. This EP is rather addictive though. "Love, Thrust, Burn" and "That Old Time Nook" among the other parts that I keep going back to.

Grimus - Emergence


"Satellites" is maybe my favorite track. The title track, "Morning Stars" 'Legends" "The Hell I'm In" "Weird Disco" "Peregrine" ..more or less the whole record. I like that they have what sounds like 2 or more lead singers, although Bogdan Mezofi, their longtime lead singer still is featured and while he does remind me of some other singers like Jimmy Gnecco of Ours, his vocal lines and the melodies still really work on their own level.


The Family Crest - Beneath the Brine


Coming a bit out of nowhere, Great chamber folk-rock of sorts with the instrumental layers, vocal harmonies and memorable sections/melodies that make this record work beginning to end. The title track is probably still my favorite.


Anathema - Distant Satellites


"Ariel" the title track, the Self-Titled track, "The Lost Song" suite, and more or less the whole record. Don't mind the synthy/pop stuff, nor even the Radiohead inspired music, mainly because Vince is singing and not Thom Yorke.


Bend Sinister - Animals


Another great record from these guys. "The Best of You" is wonderful. The sad synths in "It Will Never End" always get me, like I don't want the album to ever end, lol.


EDIT: A 20 minute video may be put in here sometime soon as I made it last night, but don't have the time right now to edit/upload it yet.

Grimus - Emergence (2014)

https://www.facebook.com/grimusworld
https://twitter.com/grimusworld
http://www.grimus.ro/


I saw this band's name like a week ago on rateyourmusic in 1 of the Ours albums reviews.

They're from Romania.

Emergence is their 3rd LP, their 2 previous 2011's Egretta and 2008's debut Panikon along with this new album that dropped in March, I have been taking in over the last week and I can say I am enjoying them more and more with each listening.

But this record Emergence, more than the other two initially.

Hmm, I guess I don't have heaps of details to dissect it yet (perhaps more-so in the midyear report?), but it's one of those records you hear track-after-track and enjoy more or less every song. There aren't any obvious standout songs at this point, I think because for one, none of the songs are incredibly long. But also it just seems to work as greater than the sum of its parts.

Now, I'm filling in on KFAI tomorrow night and was looking to pick out a track to play, and I suppose I'll just include the songs I've narrowed it down to some 3+ times hearing the album.

"Emergence"
"The Hell I'm In"
"Weird Disco"
"Morning Stars"
"Legends"
"Satellites"
"Haze"

I am leaning towards Satellites as that track sort of has what a progressive rock fan may enjoy I suppose.

Their sound on this album specifically seems to remind me of a number of bands: Strata, Ours, Muse, The Antlers, The Velvet Teen, Klimt 1918, In Reverent Fear and others, but the more I listen to them and this record, their songwriting still works really well, the similarities are more charming or not distracting.

Their sound includes vocal harmonies, piano, dynamics, different guitar textures, what I would guess is at least 2 different lead vocalists, although both their Facebook and Wikipedia pages only list Bogdan Mezofi as the vocalist. But it's obvious, especially between their 1st record and this new one (and their last record), there are at least 2 kinds of voices. Perhaps Bogdan is that versatile? I have my doubts, but if he is, he's pretty amazing. Regardless, he has a very good voice, even as much as he can sound like the likes of Eric Victorino, Judah Nagler and especially Jimmy Gnecco at times. It doesn't exactly sound *exactly* like them, nor as if HE'S TRYING TO SOUND LIKE THEM, which some singers sadly come across like they are (even if they aren't actually trying to).

Anyway, this band and this album are kind of my biggest obsession right now. I suppose I'll see how this and they hold up throughout the year/future, but it almost feels like one of those bands I've been living under a rock and have finally discovered. Except they are pretty obscure. Probably going back to when I discovered someone like Kacica in 2008/2009. I may find myself almost attaching myself to them.

I can't say for sure, but I just sense they are the kind of band I will think of in pretty high regard. I mean Emergence I am enjoying the most, but the other 2 records I found myself turning my head a handful of times as well with.

And they are from Romania, thus they may have their limits in exposure.Are they prog? maybe in a way, but also not really. I think at-heart, their sound is college/indie/alternative rock, but with some left-leaning song writing. They even use samples and some other less common traits (most I recall on Panikon, their debut).

Actually 1 of the bands I saw compared to them, or their singer Bogdan, sounds like the singer I guess from the band Placebo. Which may be kind of true, but I honestly haven't listened to enough Placebo to know or maybe even care really.

Also one last note for now, there of course is ANOTHER band called "Grimus" (I believe this one and likely the other one are pronounced like the Purple McDonald's Playland/Commercials/Happy Meal character, but I can't be certain at this point), whose a deathcore band from New Jersey. I have no idea which band exactly came first, but like Revere and more recently Gatherer (or even to an extent The Dear Hunter/deerhunter of course), I wish the band I didn't like would just change their name. But that would be too difficult of them I guess, lol.




1. Tunguska
2. Emergence
3. High
4. The Hell I'm In
5. Weird Disco
6. Morning Stars
7. Planemo
8. Legends
9. Satellites
10. Crashing to Earth
11. We Don't Live Here
12. Vitriol
13. Peregrine
14. Pale Hands
15. Haze
16. Priveşte-mă

Amazon Link