Releases of the week 12/01/2019 - 18/01/2019

Featured Release

James Blake - Assume Form (Alternative R&B, Art Pop)

"After dropping two new songs yesterday — the subtle trapper “Mile High” and the haunting “Lullaby For My Insomniac” — James Blake reveals today the entirety of Assume Form, his fourth full-length to date and follow-up to 2016’s The Colour In Anything. It’s available to stream in full below via Apple Music and Spotify.
The album spans 12 tracks, including last year’s excellent “Don’t Miss It”, and features guest spots from Travis Scott, Metro Boomin, Rosalía, André 3000, and Moses Sumney. Blake previously contributed to the most recent full-length efforts from Oneothrix Point Never and Travis Scott, as well as on singles from Kendrick Lamar, André 3000, and Moses Sumney.”

Source: Consequence of Sound

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Other Notable Relases

Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow (Indie Pop, Synth)

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Future - The WIZRD (Hip Hop, Trap)

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Deerhunter - Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared (Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock)

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Toro Y Moi - Outer Peace (Alternative R&B, Synth Funk)

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Feel free to discuss or feature any and all other releases in the comments below

Discussion Points

Have you listened to any of these releases?
What are your thoughts?
What are you looking forward to listen to?
What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

// All feedback on this format welcome below.

Every year we try to put together a 'best of' list that is devoid of the same 200 albums that make up all of the other music lists on the internet. We do this by intentionally excluding popular/mainstream artists from our submission pool. Our cutoff is generally no more than three tracks with a million plays on spotify, though we do fudge it a bit especially for artists that only have regional success or put out something really great. The popularity limits are more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule.

I used last year's results as a test post on tildes, if you want to see what the final results will look like. Once we finish voting on the albums we generate the playlists on spotify and use automated tools to replicate them to other streaming services. We have a google spreadsheet that helps us manage the process. There's a submission form that will drop recommendations right into the spreadsheet where we can work on them.

We're not trying to find albums that are 'better' than the mainstream. We're just trying to include more of the great music that gets released every year, particularly the good stuff from new and overlooked artists that gets lost by the wayside while all the major music publications argue about the right order of the year's press darlings. Consider AlbumOfTheYear's List as the 'official' record of what's popular in the music press.

We do this by asking people for their favorites - in listentothis, in letstalkmusic, and today here on Tildes. I'd like to invite everyone on Tildes to submit their picks for the best overlooked music they've heard this year.

How do you know if an album you like is good enough? Everyone has their own way of listening, but generally, if you've had the record on repeat at all, that's the sign that it's worthy of attention. If you've got one you can't stop spinning and can't get out of your head, that's 'must listen' territory which goes at the top of the list. Make sure to leave a note in your comment when you submit, if you think it's that good. ;)

You can submit albums right here using this form. Please put a ~ in front of your username when you submit, so we know it came from a tildes user rather than a reddit user.

This spotify playlist contains the 175 albums from 2018 we've gathered so far. That's what's in our spreadsheet right now, at the start of the process. We haven't vetted/voted on these yet, just made sure they come in near the popularity cutoff. If any of the albums in this list really knock your socks off, let us know in the comments below. The first 1/3 of the list is mostly from random redditors, quality may be a bit dicey. The last 2/3 is the fruit of the l2t crew's cratedigging all year, submissions from our 30+ moderators. Every genre you can imagine (and some you can't) is in this list, they aren't sorted by style yet - this is one big bucket that goes all over the map.

I will update this playlist as new albums come in, though not exactly in real time - expect a day or two delay. If you want to keep up with it, just follow that list on spotify.

We're taking until the end of Feb. to finish the 2018 set, so roughly 6-8 weeks to listen to all of this stuff before we push the finished set out the door. If you want to help us listen, bookmark this thread here on Tildes, and leave a comment here when one of the albums grabs you. Feel free to submit new albums to that spreadsheet right up until the deadline at the end of Feb.

Happy listening. :)

Releases of the week 8/12/2018 - 14/12/2018

Featured Release

Charlotte Gainsburg - Take 2 - EP (Art Pop, Synth Pop)

"Charlotte Gainsbourg has announced a new EP called Take 2. The five-track project, which features her cover of Kanye West’s “Runaway,” is out December 14 via Because Music. Today, she’s shared the EP’s first song “Such a Remarkable Day.” Check it out below with a video of Gainsbourg’s live performances.
Take 2 is produced by Frank Ocean collaborator SebastiAn and mixed by Tom Elmhirst. See the artwork below. Last year, Gainsbourg released Rest, which featured on Pitchfork’s “50 Best Albums of 2017.”

Source: Pitchfork

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Other Notable Relases

Kodak Black - Dying To Live (Hip Hop, Trap)

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Vic Mensa - Hooligans EP (Conscious Hip Hop)

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$ilkMoney - *I Hate My Life and I Really Wish People Would Stop Telling Me Not To * (Hip Hop, Trap)

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Feel free to discuss or feature any and all other releases in the comments below

Discussion Points

Have you listened to any of these releases?
What are your thoughts?
What are you looking forward to listen to?
What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

// All feedback on this format welcome below.

Releases of the week 24/11/2018 - 30/11/2018

Featured Release

Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs (Hip Hop, Abstract)

It’s always been Earl versus the world. Fame found him at the age of 16, making him an internet sensation, then a meme, then an enigma, and finally, an icon. For an introverted kid who knew he could rap but was reluctant to accept the exposure and invasions of privacy that came with being a bona fide pop culture phenomenon, it’s been an uncomfortable evolution. Voracious fans threatened to consume not just his music but his personal life too. That same entitlement caused the “FREE EARL” campaign to mutate from eager appreciation to scary obsession and stoked fans’ demand for music during the three years since his last album—even as he was mourning his father’s death earlier this year. Rather than bask in the attention, he recoiled from it, setting himself apart from peers who maintain relevance through carefully strategized ubiquity. As he receded from the spotlight, his mystique grew—as did fans’ desire to hear him to do what he does best.

Source: Pitchfork

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Other Notable Relases

The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (Pop, Synthpop)

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J.I.D. - DiCaprio 2 (Hip Hop, Trap)

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Jeff Tweedy - Warm (Indie, Alt-Country)

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Meek Mill - CHAMPIONSHIPS (Hip Hop, Trap)

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Feel free to discuss or feature any and all other releases in the comments below

Discussion Points

Have you listened to any of these releases?
What are your thoughts?
What are you looking forward to listen to?
What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

// All feedback on this format welcome below.

Releases of the week 17/11/2018 - 23/11/2018

Featured Release

Oneohtrix Point Never - Love In The Time Of Lexapro (EP) (Prog Electronic, Ambient)

Oneohtrix Point Never has dropped off his new EP, Love in the Time of Lexapro....
The new effort follows producer Daniel Lopatin’s impressive 2018 album, Age Of, and The Station EP from July. It contains a pair of new songs and alternate, collaborative versions of two Age Of tracks.
The two previously unreleased originals are titled, “Thank God I’m a Country Girl” and “Love in the Time of Lexapro”. The latter title track has been an audience favorite on Lopatin’s Age Of tour, but has never been properly recorded and released until now. Also included is a rework of Age Of’s “Last Known Image Of A Song” from veteran Japanese experimental musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Revenant), as well as an updated take on Age Of highlight “Babylon” featuring additional contributions from (Sandy) Alex G.”

Source: Consequence of Sound

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Other Notable Relases

Dipset - Diplomatic Ties (Trap, Hip Hop)

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Rita Ora - Let You Love Me (Pop, Electropop)

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Boosie Badass - Boosie Blues Cafe (Hip Hop, Blues)

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Art Brut - Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! (Indie, Rock)

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Feel free to discuss or feature any and all other releases in the comments below

Discussion Points

Have you listened to any of these releases yet?
What are your thoughts?
What are you looking forward to listen to?
What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

// All feedback on this format welcome below.

Releases of the week 10/11/2018 - 16/11/2018

Featured Release

Anderson .Paak - Oxnard (R&B, Hip Hop)

Oxnard marks .Paak’s first release on Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and last of “his beach series.” “You know, we went to Venice, we went to Malibu,” .Paak noted, “so it’s only right that we take it to the next place, up the coast, up to the next beach.” As hinted previously, Dre was “heavily” involved in the making of the LP, serving as executive producer. “His music was everything to me,” Paak said of his mentor. “It molded me.”
Another famous name that pops up on Oxnard is Madlib, a veteran rapper and producer who is also known for his collaborations with DOOM, J Dilla, and Freddie Gibbs.
The new album features “sprawling psychedelic grooves and confident verses,” according to Rolling Stone, and per .Paak, a special ingredient missing from the current musical landscape. “I feel like ambition is missing from today’s music,” he explained. “This is the album I dreamed of making in high school, when I was listening to [Jay-Z]’s The Blueprint, The Game’s The Documentary, and [Kanye West’s] The College Dropout.”

Source: Consequence of Sound

Listen

Notable Relases

The Smashing Pumpkins - Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. (Rock, Grunge)

Imagine Dragons - Origins (Pop Rock)

Mariah Carey - Caution (R&B, Pop)

The Black Eyed Peas - Masters of the Sun, Vol. 1 (Hip Hop, Pop Rap)

Feel free to discuss or feature any and all other releases in the comments below

Discussion Points

Have you listened to any of these releases?
What are your thoughts?
What are you looking forward to listen to?
What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?

This is a new format I'm trying out to help immerse people into new album discussion. I welcome and look forward to any feedback!

Apple Music
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Progressive metalcore outfit Silent Planet has finally released their third studio outing after teasing with almost half a dozen singles released. Like their previous efforts, the album is drenched pathos.

Garrett Russell's lyrics continue to impress and be the thing that truly sets Silent Planet apart from other heavy rock outfits on the scene right now. His employment of footnotes in his lyrics to help the listener know his purpose in word choice has become a hallmark of the band's output. But while Russell's lyrics have always been good, When the End Began marks a new level in his delivery. His guttural lows are booming and intense in songs like Northern Fires, while his understanding of timing and beat helps punctuate his words much better than he's ever done before, really shown off on Share the Body. Not to be content with that, he even attempts some clean vocals on the albums with a fair amount of success.

This is all complimented by guitarist Mitch Stark's djenty riffs on the guitar. While Silent Planet has been known for their emotional aesthetic, Stark sneaks in a bit of catchy riffs in tracks like Firstborn. Planet has always straddled the line between ambient and heavy, and they continue to in When the End Began, as guitars will effortlessly switch from chunky riffs to fleeting noises.

If there is a better heavy rock album coming out this year, I'd like to hear it, because I honestly want the feeling of being blown away that When the End Began gave me a second time.

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YouTube

Debut EP from new post hardcore outfit Dead American. The band is notable for being fronted by Cove Reber, former front man of Saosin for a time. Reber was fired from the band after two LPs and both he and Saosin went away for a long time. He's back fronting Dead American and arguably has never sounded better. Most notably, his uncleans are much improved, even if he employs them sparingly.

The sound is very much from the heyday of 00s post hardcore. For fans of Finch, Saosin, Circa Survive and early Coheed and Cambria.

Apple Music
BandCamp
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Canadian hardcore punk outfit Fucked Up is back with their first new full length since 2014. The group has been known for their art rock output as of late, concept EPs they put out years following the Chinese Zodiac. The band is known for disliking each other, sometimes to the point of physical altercations. It is likely a side effect from both the front man and one of the guitarists being songwriters and lyricists, resulting in butting heads. But the result is hard to argue with, Fucked Up has been adored by critics since they came on the scene.

This album sees one of those two songwriters, lead vocalist Damian Abraham, take a back seat. His vocals don't even appear in ever song on this album. Instead, the whole group does leads at various points throughout the record. It's much more experimental and broad in its genre, employing a lot of pop influences. This results in an album that some how continues the art rock sound they had been cultivating and challenging the listener, while at the same time being very poppy. With a mammoth 18 tracks, the album gives the band plenty of room to explore this new space they find themselves in.

Like the past couple Fucked Up albums, it's also concept. It has a story and follows a main character in rock opera-like fashion. Their anti-capitalist message comes through in the magical reality of the story of a factory worker that is shown the drudgery of modern life by a sorceress.

It's ambitious, fun and at the end of day, still very much punk. Super enjoyable, in my opinion. A good introduction to the band if you've never heard them, though you may find their past work a little more one dimensional.

I don't put a ton of stock in rateyourmusic's numbers, but I do think it's fun to check in every once in a while to see how my tastes line up with the votes from the userbase. Occasionally I'll find an album I love that, for whatever reason, has a particularly low score.

For example, I was listening to Something to Die For by The Sounds and was surprised to see that it has a 2.88 rating. I love pretty much all of The Sounds' output, and everything else of theirs was well-received by the site. This album, however, was not.

The same goes for Glasvegas's Euphoric Heartbreak which sits at 2.93. Granted, the title is terrible (it has unnecessary slashes that I couldn't figure out how to format right), and it strays from their debut, but I still thoroughly enjoy it.

What are some of your low-rated favorites?

EDIT: If you've never used rym, you can search for any artist in the search field on the top right. That will pull up a list of all artists with that name (or a similar name). Select your desired artist from the list and you'll be taken to their discography page which will show the average rating for each release, as well as the number of ratings and reviews.

I just love good piano, whether alone, with vocals, or with other instruments. Two of my all-time favorite artists are Vienna Teng and Regina Spektor, both of whom use it to great effect in their music. Anyone have any good recommendations? I'm open to any genre.

Edit: Awesome suggestions, everyone! I've got quite the playlist right now that I plan to explore over the coming week. Thanks all!