Bleep Top Ten AOTY 2018

I just want to congratulate myself on having listened to all but one of these releases before the list dropped, unfortunately I'm old and grumpy so I only really liked one of them (yes Skee Mask, how very watmm of me),the rest seemed like hipster bullshit.

I haven't heard a single one of these. But I guess I'll have to check the Skee Mask finally.

watmm vs bleep

 

I think it's round 115

I think last year's list made me listen to Kelela for the first time, I ended up getting the bog-standard CD version of her album that I still love. So while I do find the whole limited vinyl peddling a bit unsavory I'm going to give these a listen at least.

Three tracks into "Working Class Woman" and I'm slightly regretting my decision.

^lol that Kelela album was good, still need to give the remixes a try. Only thing I hadn't heard from the AOTY list and liked was Kamaal Williams, grabbed the tape.

  On 12/1/2018 at 8:01 PM, manmower said:

Three tracks into "Working Class Woman" and I'm slightly regretting my decision.

I somehow ended up listening to this based on some press kit buzzword recommendation from some other aggregator a few months back, and I was baffled at the discrepancy between the starkly bland music, the awkwardly cynical utterings, and the prose congratulating it all. Has anyone actually been fooled into thinking they like this music? Is there any point to hyping something this dull and sophomoric when it takes as almost zero effort to hear nearly any music ever recorded? I'm mildly intrigued at how confusing it is, but I don't expect unraveling the small mystery to yield any reward.

 

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  On 12/1/2018 at 1:24 PM, joshuatx said:

 

Khruangbin was my AOTY

 

 

Only album from that list I have heard.  And it is very good.

 

Edit

 

Just listening to Skee Mask  - its nice.  But I wont be buying a limited edition mauve vinyl with brown spattered marbling effect

Edited December 2, 2018 by fletcher

  On 12/1/2018 at 11:12 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 12/1/2018 at 8:01 PM, manmower said:

Three tracks into "Working Class Woman" and I'm slightly regretting my decision.

I somehow ended up listening to this based on some press kit buzzword recommendation from some other aggregator a few months back, and I was baffled at the discrepancy between the starkly bland music, the awkwardly cynical utterings, and the prose congratulating it all. Has anyone actually been fooled into thinking they like this music? Is there any point to hyping something this dull and sophomoric when it takes as almost zero effort to hear nearly any music ever recorded? I'm mildly intrigued at how confusing it is, but I don't expect unraveling the small mystery to yield any reward.

 

 

It's like an attempt to turn electronic music into indie rock. She clearly has production skills (at least more that I do yet lol) but also clearly doesn't give a fuck about sonic exploration / soundscapes in the same way that earlier generations of dance music producers did. (That old 90s rave stuff's so silly and passé, am I right?) Instead, she brings in all this "personality"-driven indie rock bs with the samples. "Oooh what kind of persona am I putting on, what are the intriguing contradictions in my character, what's my commentary on 'the scene'". But the last thing I want out of electronic music is a record that Robert Christgau could review.

 

 

edited bc posterity will no doubt remember this brilliant comment

Edited December 6, 2018 by Guest

I do like the AOTY (and singles/EPs) lists, gives me something to in bleak January and February. Few beers or bottle of wine (or both) and spend some time spinning the ones I think I might like. 

 

Give Needle Drop his due he does usually come up with a few corkers and I quite enjoy watching the videos he puts together. Boomkat also cool.

Definitely seems like a pretty wtf lis to move stockt... Chris Carter and Skee Mask are good though.

flol this top is full garbage, thanks but no thanks blerp

that khruangbin album is nice :)

  On 12/3/2018 at 2:53 PM, Ivan Ooze said:

that khruangbin album is nice :)

Sure is. Rest of the list isn’t too bad either aside from Sophie. Really dug the Paper Dollhouse, Kamaal, and Pariah albums too.

Oh yeah and Chris Carter was great.

That Tirzah album is alright tbf. I wouldn't put it top of list but the tracks are good if you're cooking dinner for a lady and you don't want to play the normal intense neckbeardy shit all us dorks listen to. Good production, less of a fan of the soulful female vocals but then I wouldn't be, would I.

 

That's my review having listened to two tracks from it.

 

Yves Tumor? More like Lol Lolmor.

 

Skee Mask <3

 

Chris Carter's got a new album out! Woof it sounds alright!

 

Sophie's album should be nowhere near the top of anything except a trash compactor.

 

Bleep if you ever need me to write reviews for your website just pm me

obel comes correct once again

  On 12/2/2018 at 8:06 AM, tneuvm said:

 

  On 12/1/2018 at 11:12 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 12/1/2018 at 8:01 PM, manmower said:

Three tracks into "Working Class Woman" and I'm slightly regretting my decision.

I somehow ended up listening to this based on some press kit buzzword recommendation from some other aggregator a few months back, and I was baffled at the discrepancy between the starkly bland music, the awkwardly cynical utterings, and the prose congratulating it all. Has anyone actually been fooled into thinking they like this music? Is there any point to hyping something this dull and sophomoric when it takes as almost zero effort to hear nearly any music ever recorded? I'm mildly intrigued at how confusing it is, but I don't expect unraveling the small mystery to yield any reward.

 

 

Journalists like it for the same reason we don't--it's an attempt to turn electronic music into indie rock. She clearly has production skills (better than mine yet are at least lol) but also clearly doesn't give a fuck about the kind of sonic exploration that so many earlier dance music producers valued. (That old 90s rave stuff's so silly and passé, am I right?) Instead, she brings in all this bs with the samples about "oooh what kind of persona am I putting out, what are the intriguing contradictions in my character, what's my commentary on 'the scene'", etc. The last thing I want out of electronic music is a record that Robert Christgau could review.

 

 

  On 12/1/2018 at 8:27 PM, auxien said:

^lol that Kelela album was good, still need to give the remixes a try. 

 

That Kelela album makes for an interesting comparison to Marie Davidson. I too find it a lot more approachable and enjoyable to listen to. 

 

Both well produced and executed albums on two well-respected labels (WARP / Ninja Tune) but arguably nothing groundbreaking or novel. Yet still they offer completely different artistic statements. Kelela is a talented vocalists who collaborates with acclaimed producers - Arca and Jam City respectively. Her and her collaborators are all pretty knee-deep in underground / alternative dance music and club scenes. Her subsequent remix album really reinforces this - a lot of a lesser-known underground producers, track titles with the BPM raters. It's not wildly experimental or avant-garde music but it's modern and damn good.

 

Marie Davidson's work is just as well-made but it's far more stiff. For one, instead of it's faults being safe and modern it's impressively evocative of 80s era coldwave / minimal wave, right down to the French accented vocals. Then there's the genre itself. It's been overdone and done far better. The context of minimal wave was far more fascinating in the 80s, when it was truly operating in it's own weird bubble with no ambitions of immediate credibility or acclaim. It was bold in the era of DIY ethos, distro limited to zines and tape trading.

 

 

 

Now any artist can simply look up all of it's minutiae via the internet: the production methods, aesthetics, etc. and regurgitate and 2.0 version of it. I'd be hesitant to claim it's a ruse, she seems sincerely into this niche genre, but it's something I often keep in mind when coming across such music. It's such a subtle thing, and I'm always cautious to throw that out as a criticism because I often love explicitly retro-minded or retro referencing music (hauntology stuff, vaporwave, alt country, lo fi house, pysch and kosmishe, etc.). It's not sincere or emotionally enough for me to get attached too, no real goth or sinister ethos. It's kind of self-aware in the worst way possible. It's not cheeky or fun enough in the way a lot of electroclash was back in the early 00s: I much rather throw on Peaches, Miss Kitten, or Chicks On Speed over this.

 

There's definitely an Abilene Paradox vibe to it: does the press really like it that much? Do fans? Does she even really enjoy what she is putting out? The PR hype and conceptual focus is so damn central it's more interesting than the music itself. I feel like Fatima Al Qadiri and Xiu Xiu's music falls in this camp. She's previously put out music via DFA and Holodeck, two great labels but ones that are well-curated and stylized to the point of arguably pretension. James Ferraro and Dean Blunt have this impression at times but they fall back on having far less pretentious music and production and, TBH, way catchier music. In this case I much rather spend time listening to lesser known, more diverse sounding, and seemingly less contrived peers of the genre: anything off Sacred Bones  or artists like these:

 

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by joshuatx

  On 12/1/2018 at 1:24 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 11/30/2018 at 10:29 PM, mcbpete said:

I've not heard of 3/4 of those folks. I'm too old for the blerps.

 

Not heard at all

 

Chris Carter   

Kamaal Williams

Paper Dollhouse

 

Seen name only, will probably check out

 

Tirzah    

 

 

SOPHIE and Yves Tumor - I appreciate what these albums are doing, some great tracks even if they are overhyped. Compared to a plethora of other higher profile "indie" musicians these are worthwhile.

 

Skee Mask and Pariah were excellent

 

I've heard older Marie Davidson from her Holodeck Records days - it's solid coldwave / 80s darkwave revival stuff but nothing really notable IMO. I rather listen to Chromatics or darker more interesting stuff like Forever Grey

 

Khruangbin was my AOTY

 

 

Thanks for recommending Forever Grey, great stuff! Sounds refreshing while still quenching my darkwave thirst. The Hunger is amazing, 

 

Does seem like a cynical package from bleep, jezus.

Only heard skee mask, pariah, marie davidson's and yves tumor's albums which i loved, liked, disliked and am undecided on respectively.

 

Don't get the davidson hype either, awkward tracks that sound unfinished or start out alright but go in a terrible direction, production is solid though. Most reviews i've read (previous and current album) refer to her liveshows quite a bit, maybe she's great live.

Edited December 3, 2018 by user

Kamaal williams/yusef kamaal album is well worth checking out!

Really enjoyed Kamaal Williams, Skee Mask, Chris Carter and most of all Paper Dollhouse. The Yves Tumor wasn't bad imo.

 

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Bleep and I used to have such similar tastes. Oh well.

  On 12/3/2018 at 10:19 PM, user said:

 

  On 12/1/2018 at 1:24 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 11/30/2018 at 10:29 PM, mcbpete said:

I've not heard of 3/4 of those folks. I'm too old for the blerps.

 

Not heard at all

 

Chris Carter   

Kamaal Williams

Paper Dollhouse

 

Seen name only, will probably check out

 

Tirzah    

 

 

SOPHIE and Yves Tumor - I appreciate what these albums are doing, some great tracks even if they are overhyped. Compared to a plethora of other higher profile "indie" musicians these are worthwhile.

 

Skee Mask and Pariah were excellent

 

I've heard older Marie Davidson from her Holodeck Records days - it's solid coldwave / 80s darkwave revival stuff but nothing really notable IMO. I rather listen to Chromatics or darker more interesting stuff like Forever Grey

 

Khruangbin was my AOTY

 

 

Thanks for recommending Forever Grey, great stuff! Sounds refreshing while still quenching my darkwave thirst. The Hunger is amazing, 

 

Does seem like a cynical package from bleep, jezus.

Only heard skee mask, pariah, marie davidson's and yves tumor's albums which i loved, liked, disliked and am undecided on respectively.

 

Don't get the davidson hype either, awkward tracks that sound unfinished or start out alright but go in a terrible direction, production is solid though. Most reviews i've read (previous and current album) refer to her liveshows quite a bit, maybe she's great live.

 

 

She probably is.

 

Speaking of darkwave, one of my favs this year...

 

flol @ Tirzah Balloon   

  On 12/6/2018 at 12:34 AM, Braintree said:

Bleep and I used to have such similar tastes. Oh well.

Bleep/Warp lost me when this stopped being the store page:

 

Warp10 era is best Warp era.