February is Music Writer Exercise Month #MWE • Page 51

i didn't love the Nnamdi album from 2017. didn't hate it, but it didn't fully work for me. i hear the 2020 one is better, so I'll definitely give that one a shot

 

Good luck @Maddy

 

Love the 2020 album

 

Friends in America - What It Is to Be

Sounds like a post-rock inspired indie rock record, with confessional lyrics that I'd (lazily) compare to Frightened Rabbit.

Only a small mini album / EP, but an incredible debut record, with the follow up seemingly just MIA now, despite supposedly being ready for release in ~2014. A great "what if" band, but this is a pretty much flawless record for me.

 

The Blue Nile's 1989 album Hats is one of the greatest unheralded classics of all time. Listen to it after the sun goes down then join us in this thread.

 

Today was This is the Sea by The Waterboys from 1985. I'd only recently heard Fisherman's Blues, which is from a few years later, and I absolutely loved that record, with it's traditional British / Gaelic folky music, reminiscent of Van Morrison. This album is definitely a bigger, louder rock record, losing some of the intimacy of Fisherman's Blues, which ultimately I think suits them better (or suits my preferences better).

This is still pretty good though, I really love the singer's voice, he's got that desperation in his vocals, which is so appealing. This is a bit U2-esque, a bit Bruce-esque, and they do it well, with some great tracks, in particular "Old England". I'll probably be back to it, but not as much as Fisherman's Blues.

 

You absolutely nailed it. A classic "what if" band.

 

Holy shit, I completely forgot about this album. Your post inspired me to play "I'm No Captain" and pull up the review I wrote of this album back in the Absolutepunk days.

Fucking love that song.

 

They had an album, Old Indifference, pretty much ready to go as I remember from back in 2014 / 2015, but it just never saw the light of day. I think Eda from AP was involved in the promo or something somewhere too maybe?

They released a couple of really good singles or one offs, outside of the What It Is To Be record, but a massive shame that they weren’t able / didn’t want to release anything more.

 

Old indifference is finished and it exists it’s just not released and at this point probably won’t ever be :(

 

Day 7: What It Is to Be by Friends in America
Checked out this album under a recommendation in this thread. Went in knowing nothing about this band and managed to listen to it a few times today. The first thing to say, is that this project is definitely too short and left me wishing for at least a couple more songs. This album is a true diamond in the rough. The songwriting and lyrics are both fantastic and work perfectly to provide an enthralling listen. While moments reminded me of bands like Foxing, Manchester Orchestra, and even Enemies, Friends in America really have/had a sound all their own. It is unfortunate to hear that the project is defunct and had a follow up that will not see the light of day. Debuts like these always leave me excited to watch the bands grow and evolve their sound, and knowing there isn’t a discography to dig into after this is a shame.

 

The double edged sword of the blog era. You and some friends can discover a masterpiece but nobody else ever does and the band just disappears into the ether.

The Architects, Brightwood, New Century Classics, Evaline, I could list them for a whiiiiiile

 

Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Not for me. At least, not for me this early on a Tuesday. Some parts are cool but yeah, i'll have to come back to this in a different headspace. "The Carrier" is a highlight so far, especially coming out in 1981.

 

Got Matthew Sweet's 100% Fun, which, judging by the first three tracks, is just extremely my shit.

 

love that album so much!

 

running this back immediately, such a blast

 

Feels like an awesome Tom Petty album I'm hearing for the first time.

 

Did this one for last year's MWE. Rakim's flow was so far ahead of its time!

 

Started to listen to Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out from 2000, but only made it halfway through before giving up. For one, it's a long album, nearly 80 minutes long, and secondly it's really, really dull. Slow and plodding, without any energy or particularly interesting instrumentation, and vocals delivered flat with that kind of tuneless speak / singing style that was popular for lo-fi bands. Maybe it turns into a Slayer album at the 45 minute mark, but I couldn't make it much further, was extremely bored by the whole thing.

Maybe I was just in the wrong mood, but not for me.

 

Try it again at night

 

I love the Roots, so this one was pretty much a given for me

 

Listening to this record felt like reconvening with some sort of long-lost friend. So extremely up my alley.

 

Day 8: Hats by The Blue Nile

Another appreciated recommendation from this thread. I’ll just start off by saying that I love Peter Gabriel and dig this for similar reasons. The soundscapes and vocals in this album produce some undeniable atmosphere. Synth textures, well placed horns and string sections, and a complete handle on how to set a mood. All things I love and all on this album. Only listened through once but definitely won't be the last time. One last thing, “Where’s the love that shines? Every single time I’m near you”, I wasn’t planning on having my heart broken tonight.
Favorite tracks: “Let’s Go Out Tonight” and “Seven A.M.”