Recommend Any Album

[Shorty]

Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards. I'm not sure how to really put this album into words, but the biggest things that stand out to me from it are the autobiographical narratives and the emotion that comes from behind the songs.



I don't think that there's much more that can be said about it, really. I look at it as a sort of mournful loveletter or apology to his (Nathan Willett's) family in a way. It's tough for me to just listen to the songs on a whim because of the emotion I feel coming from them. The songs themselves aren't necessarily sad, the tones and melodies don't necessarily shape them that way, but the collective lyrics and stories of the album touch me in a way of feeling as if he has a lot to atone for and and that he's carrying a lot of pain around while trying to be a good person in the present, and he's excellent at painting that picture for you. But there's also tones of redemption in between the lines as well.

We Used to Vacation is as good of a representation of the album as you can get, I think, although Hang Me Up To Dry was popular on the radio a few years ago (closer to 2006/2007, more likely, I guess).

Still, things could be much worse
Natural disasters on the evening news
Still, things could be much worse
We've still got our health
My paycheck in the mail

Give it a try if you're looking for something a littler deeper, I guess!

[chionos]

EDIT: Good album, Shorty.

I'm going to have to go with two very different bands:

Band -- Album

Fleet Foxes -- Fleet Foxes


Gojira --

It's hard to pick one album. From Mars to Sirius is one of the best albums of all time. But my personal favorite is The Way of All Flesh

Well, here's a masterpiece (slightly edited, and LONG) from The Way of All Flesh:



And something slightly more accessible (and a little groovy) from the Sirius album:

[Sephex]

Gojira brings me back a bit. I never got super into them, but I did enjoy a few tracks from both albums you posted.

[The Man]

If I were going to recommend a Fleet Foxes album it would be their second one, Helplessness Blues.



the s/t is still nice though

[chionos]

If I were going to recommend a Fleet Foxes album it would be their second one, Helplessness Blues.

*slash*

the s/t is still nice though

I started to, but their eponymous album came out of nowhere and blew me away. There's a nostalgia factor.

Here's an idea. Listen to both albums, b/c they're both great!

[deepdoop]

Good picks people. I haven't heard some of these bands, like Cold War Kids and Gojira in YEARS. Not that I was a huge fan of either but I liked what I heard back then. Unfortunately they were both bands that I listened to a few songs here and there and then they were forgotten. That's not a comment on the quality, it's just a lot of music going into my brain at that time.

Whoever posted Godspeed, yes, yes yes. Sorry I can't remember who it was, but that's excellent. I think my next album will be something inspired by Godspeed.

Fall of Efrafa - Owsla

The inspirations for Fall of Efrafa actually paint a really good picture of them; Godspeed You Black Emperor, Agalloch, His Hero is Gone and Neurosis. They are an awesome blend of post-metal, post-rock and crust-punk. Post-metal and rock often go together, but crust-punk is a bit of an oddball. Yet, their unique, interesting sound is done incredibly well, with some massive build-ups that explode into really passionate punk/metal.

Owsla has a story to it, much like their other albums, but you don't really need to follow it if concept albums aren't your thing. Instead, lyrically, they often sing about politics, society, animal rights, environmentalism and atheism.

The neat thing about them is that over their 3 albums, they've had changes in their sound. While the second album is more post-rock, the third has more doom metal in it. They're a great band because even though they didn't last long, they did a lot in that period of time.

Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-O42bQgRaQ

[The Man]

Fall of Efrafa is great. And I was the one who posted Godspeed

Time for some pretentious progressive rock



This no doubt won't make the slightest bit of sense to you the first time you hear it. Just keep listening. It'll eventually break through.

The second and third tracks will probably make more sense than the first one, at least the first time through.

Track listing:
00:00 - Close To The Edge
18:42 - And You and I
28:51 - Siberian Khatru

[Sephex]

I was just listening to that album earlier today. That and "Fragile" are my favorite Yes albums.

[The Man]

Those two and Relayer are probably the best, with The Yes Album in fourth place and Going for the One in fifth. CttE is the top ranked album in history on Prog Archives and I can't really quibble with that.

[Sephex]

Dude, ****ing "Going For The One" and "Awaken" are a couple of my go to tracks if I want an epic drive home from work. I especially love that guitar solo in "Awaken."

[The Man]

"Awaken" might be a strong contender for Yes' best piece ever. Amazing song.

[Forsaken Lover]

Have you ever heard the name Laura Branigan? Probably not. Did you ever play the game Grand Theft Auto Vice City? Then maybe you'll recognize this song:
(SPOILER)

I love the 80s so very. very much and thus the entire VC soundtrack is like a tiny piece of Heaven to me but Laura is the only singer/performer I have really come to love. (well her and The Human League) The rest are great true but Mrs. Branigan had something special. She is gone now unfortunately but she had such talent.

I highly recommend her album that shares the same name as that above song, "Self-Control." I'm not even sure if it's still in print or around but the odds of anyone here actually spending money on any of this strikes me as very low. You could always get one of her many compilation albums.

But my favorite track from that album is this one:

[chionos]

Can we just turn this into a Yes appreciation thread?

Not even to mention the contributions its members have made outside of Yes (Jon Anderson + Tangerine Dream = LEGEND)

[The Man]

I'm fully on board with that



Skip to 19:18

[chionos]

Keith Tippett is a beautiful pianist.