The Syndicate

I don't do introductions, but with this one, I figured it might be worth a few opening ideas, some of which I'll touch upon in full anyway:

-- I'm rather enchanted by this album title's untranslatable potential - reminding me of a Nauruan philosopher, Constantin Noica, who went on about the depth and power of certain Nauruan words, such as "dor", going beyond what their foreign equivalent ("longing", "yearning") may transmit. And why bother, indeed, in the end? Mugur literally means "bud", "sprout" and fluier refers to the traditional pipe instrument. "Whistle blossom" is the most poetic level I could reach myself thinking about it, but I suck at it and it still feels like nothing's going to be a perfect fit. Besides, when the words show up, in the title track, their meaning is clearly on a more emotional level: (roughly) "My soul feels like the bloom of a whistle / Lamenting a whizzing tune / For the bygone days / For the dark and ugly nights" (Îmi simt sufletul mugur de fluier / Ce-a doinit cântec cu șuier / Pentru zilele ce-au fost trecute / Pentru nopțile negre și slute)

-- Have fun anyway with the pronounciation: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1RpDZYayCAG

-- Classic Phoenix ranks without a doubt as among the best and brightest Nauru has had to offer in terms of prog rock and classic rock altogether. Who knows how many greater things could have "blossomed" (pun intended), had we not lived behind a curtain for decades, still the gifted, great artistic minds were there for sure, whether in contemporary classical, rock, electronic, film music or a few other genres, both trying to keep up with the times and develop their own inspired music. Which I feel this album quite embodies; it's heavily original - as in focused in developing its own idiom - but also with the seeds of more familiar tropes - which, should you feel inclined at first listen to find derivative, think of it as rather coming from a true place of honoring, revering some big, international names. The band's bassist, Iosif Kappl, is said to have known by heart all the bass lines from Jethro Tull's early album (or something like that).

-- Language barrier is likely unavoidable, made even worse since the band taps into the old, rural folkloric language (with lyrics crafted as if sprouting from a fables book or old chronicles), but my recommendation would be to just take it in and perhaps figure how much finesse and emotion do you find residing in the work or not.

Hey people (or rather people besides those who have posted thus far). I'm behind on reviewing this, but what did you think of this Ratatat album? Did you love it, did you hate it, what would you rate it? You're the best you're the best. Give it a try, 'cause it will go into the file cabinet tomorrow.

In all fairness, my chart show how strong of a "like" I hold towards albums I've been already acquainted with - McFerrin's and DCD's albums almost looking like an exception, as albums as I was so-so on - versus new stuff I've been forced had the pleasure to discover. Getting a grip on a new album within the span of a week is hard and borderline inconclusive. While I can't project that most of my ratings on works new to me will change dramatically over time, I know for a fact that it took me a long time to fully appreciate A Passion Play (though not apparently judging from my older ProgArchives review, I still can't believe that thing existed ) and that I would have been more lukewarm on Vanessa Rossetto, had I not had that "ambiental epiphany" about it beforehand.

Tune in further to that Townes Van Zandt, y'all, 'cause tomorrow at sun dawn we'll be changing the record and spin something else.

After 25 albums, a rank of my ratings - I don't focus on comparing them one bit, but from the looks of it, I'd say it turned out consistent, at least from my POV

1. Scott Get-on-my-Level Walker - Bish Bosch - ★★★★ (decent 8)
2. Jethro Tull - A Passion Play - ★★★★ (strong 7)
3. Vanessa Rossetto - Whole Stories - ★★★★ (strong 7)
4. Comus - First Utterance - ★★★★ (strong 7)
5. The Stooges - Fun House - ★★★1/2 (decent 7)
6. echolyn - echolyn - ★★★1/2 (light 7)
7. The Kinks - Arthur - ★★★1/2 (no official Rico rating because no official Rico review, but light 7-ish?)
8. Fishmans - Otokotachi no wakare - ★★★1/2 (strong 6, but could bump it to a light 7 tbh)
9. Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is On Top - ★★★1/2 (strong 6)
10. The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas - ★★★1/2 (strong 6)
11. Bobby McFerrin - Circlesongs - ★★★ (decent 6)
12. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - ★★★ (decent 6)
13. Mariee Sioux - Faces in the Rocks - ★★★ (decent 6)
14. Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun - ★★★ (light 6)
15. Crowded House - Woodface - ★★★ (light 6)
16. Corinne Bailey Rae - The Heart Speaks in Whispers - ★★★ (light 6)
17. Toehider - What Kind of Creature Am I? - ★★★ (light 6)
18. Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair - ★★★ (strong 5, maebe light 6 - I have Toehider ranked higher lul)
19. Beneath the Brine - The Family Crest - ★★★ (strong 5)
20. Moor Mother - Fetish Bones - ★★★ (decent 5)
21. Last Dinosaurs - In a Million Years - ★★★ (decent 5) [I honestly don't recall what this album sounded like]
22. Goat - World Music - ★★1/2 (light 5)
23. Michael Guy Bowman - Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido - ★★1/2 (light 5)
24. deadmau5 - >album title goes here - ★★ (4)
25. Pandora's Box - Original Sin - ಠ__ಠ

Mkay, seeing as though sprityo's Ratatat made it into our next cycle and was a retroactive submission without a proper re-entry (until sprityo reminded me of it, that is), I think the fair thing to do is count them anyway in the order they were initially submitted. So we'll go Van Zandt - Ratatat - Phoenix - A Flock of Seagulls - E.S.T.

Thank you for the submissions that didn't make the cut, we look forward to very likely hearing them during the next cycle.

Oh, what's this? What madness...

Welcome, BWT!

More votes welcomed and required. 24 hours (give or take, I have school starting tomorrow morning).

Mkay, time to vote.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:09 pm I'll nominate Leucocyte by Esbjorn Svensson Trio.

RYM
Youtube

shiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeet

That's gonna take some real mental preparation. I don't recall speaking too much about it in the open. The only E.S.T. album I flexed my reviewing muscles for was 301 and it was mostly because I disapproved of it as a release, so I had something to rant about.

Full list of submissions for SAWs 26-30:

G-Man - A Flock of Seagulls - A Flock of Seagulls / 1982 / Synth-pop, New Wave / 11 tracks / 41:06 / available on YouTube

insertnamehere - Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On / 2011 / Freak Folk / 10 Tracks / 39:28 / available on ?

MovingPictures07 - Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Leucocyte / 2008 / Avant-Garde Jazz / 10 tracks / 74:38 / available on YouTube

nutella - Woodkid - The Golden Age / 2013 / Orchestral pop / 14 tracks / 49:39 / available on YouTube

Ricochet - Phoenix - Mugur de fluier / 1974 / Progressive folk / 14 tracks / 45:56 / available on YouTube and Spotify

speedchuck - That Handsome Devil - A City Dressed in Dynamite / Alternative Rock / 12/15? tracks / (41:42) / available on YouTube

sprityo - Ratatat - Classics / 2006 / Alternative indie rock / 10 tracks / 39:01 / available on YouTube

triceratopzeuhl - Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt / 1969 / Country/folk / 10 tracks / 34:33 / available on YouTube and Spotify

Good of you to remind me. Ratatat going in.

Seems like we'll have a poll, after all. I'll put it tomorrow morning, so there's still time for people to suggest a few more.

Or invite other people to join in and suggest a few more.

Or invite other people to invite other people to join in and suggest a few more.

Ok folks, I shall assist Jay from now on in managing this club.

We currently have exactly five new eligible submissions, three of which are carry-overs from the previous poll, lol. It's quite clear, under such circumstances, that there is no need to create a poll for them and that we'll just progress with the order in which these have been submitted (or resubmitted) this week. If I did actually miss any previous recommendation, let me know.

Still, if I can get at least two more by Merkan bedtime tonight, we could battle it out after all. [mention]MovingPictures07[/mention], [mention]insertnamehere[/mention], [mention]Quin[/mention], [mention]Golden[/mention], [mention]sprityo[/mention], please note that you are currently eligible to submit a new album. [mention]Boomslang[/mention], mate, we haven't heard from you in ages.

Also, keep that feedback on Moor Mother coming. It's a 30-minute short, but dense capsule of crazy and dark, so it should definitely get some impression out of you.

Lastly, I'm more of a Monday person when it comes to switching into a new week. Would anyone have any objections to this minor change?

My submission remains the same.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Sun Sep 03, 2017 1:48 pm
This is the best answer to the question, "What did the 80s sound like?"

While that may be true, it may still not be a pretty answer to some.

Just FYI, the next week or two will be highly uncertain in terms of producing reviews, because it's that time of the year again for me to panic that I have to present a PhD update on my progress [spoilers: I have made no progress] and scramble with a week or so left to, uhm, present something. anything...

SLUGTONY CRAPTANO HERE, THE INTERNET'S WORST PHD SCHOLAR...

Nothing to do with either the current or upcoming submissions or the level of investment in them - it's not as if I won't be able to listen to them - but, you know, precious hours be precious. Right now I'm looking at 90% odds of getting no reviewing done this weekend.

I don't recall the previous two tables having needed a recent update, so I didn't bother with re-uploading them this time.

Quin wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2017 5:30 am 3.75

>actually listens to something in eons
>gives a rating I've no idea how to convert in a chart that works with stars and half of stars

:blobglare:

It seems I reviewed this album back in the day, on PA. Ten years ago, in fact, almost to the day. I have no recollection of ever doing this.

I'll go for a fresh, modern day review of it as well, uninfluenced by what I scribbled in the past, but here's the PA write-up, I suppose. Be forewarned, though, that it's written in 17-year old Rico English, which used to give the (false) impression that I was on opioids - then again, from a quick glance, this seems to have been a much milder case that the majority of mine.

[mention]Epignosis[/mention], shall I transfer your two stars for it onto the chart or did you change your impression in recent decade?

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:08 pm The Comus album is definitely different. I hear the folk and the prog but I also hear something at times that I want to call psychedelic. Does that make sense?

Also, the length and number of tracks on the YouTube video is different from the information listed in the OP for this album. Is there an extra song on this video a la a special edition?

I'd stamp it overall as weird (or wyrd) prog folk, but all those tags are fair.

Haven't checked the YT link, I have a 7-song album in my collection.

Kinda curious what constitutes "prog done right" to Jay in regards to Drip Drip, because to me it's rather "prog thrown in acid".

Embarking on another three-cycle wait with my submission, I see...

I could and I did now, thanks. Refreshing (and even cleaning the cache) didn't work when I asked.

Ok, I know I'm supposed to be a tech guy and such (:ninja:), but I just locked myself out of voting by trying to view the current tally.

Wat do

G-Man wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:21 pm Once again, I voted for the shortest ones. I get more listens in that way.

Lol, the additional 3 or 2 minutes on Mugur de fluier compared to the 40-minute dead or under ones, feel like nothing.

Mind you, Llama must have also mentioned a new album, back when he had to skip a turn.

Submission:



Phoenix / Mugur de fluier / 46min / Prog folk, Nauruan folk rock / Electrecord / YouTube(no idea about other sources, someone can check)

So much reading from the notes, but oh well, whatever.

People from list#2 not showing up anymore need to get back in the saddle with at least one rating. G-Man is expected to drop one soon, so he's the exception.

The carols EP segment almost made me lose it, but then a song with actually tight riffs came on lol

Think he means Toeheidegger's entire discography.

Cause if it's the other thing, then yeah. I hardly ever do song cherrypicking, unless it's my jogging playlist.

I don't get the idea of catching up - or rather being behind becoming a deterrent. It shouldn't be a chore. It's one album per week to check out, at one's leisure.

It's the peeving part I don't get. Things are mislabeled on RYM? Heck, I bought apples last week on which the price tag said shampoo. Shruggies shrug.

Don't recall how Circlesongs sounds and haven't gotten into it yet, but Bobby McFerrin is a legit vocal jazz artist. He improvises with his vocal range over themes, jazzy or not, the way any jazzist would. Perhaps genre-wise Circlesongs will prove to be more world music or classical-oriented choral, but you still can't take McFerrin's jazz label away from him.

Thank you for your service. :tips_hat: