JUST

JUST

shit site

First off, Pitchfork is not at all a website that has much actual credibility. Occasionally they'll have a review that works and gives an appropriate score (in my opinion). But they're also the site that literally gave The Flaming Lips' Zariekka a 0/10 and The Mars Volta's Frances the Mute a 2/10. They're also the same website that gives reissues of albums higher scores than what they originally gave the album.

Mount Eerie is a masterpiece album and deserves a 10 in my mind.

A Crow Looked At Me was ultimately underwhelming in basically every way. I'm a giant Phil fan. I own many of his releases many of which that are no longer available and haven't been in print for years. I'm I huge supporter of his music, but the new album did nothing for me. But what were we expecting? Something along the lines of Sauna? A wild experimental journey of an album dedicated to his wife? No way. He doesn't have time for that. What he had time for was a simple and boring, although raw in some ways, album.

The thing sounds like it was done in a month, if that. The instrumentation is weak, the performances lazy, the actual compositions are sleep inducing. While I think the lyrics are by far the most "appropriate" thing on the album I also felt like they were lacking. All in all, I'm feeling like, a 4 or 5 on the thing. Definitely a low in Phil's discography but I don't hold it against him in any way. Rating such an album is a tricky thing, if you give it a 10 then you're just sucking up to a grieving artist. If you give it anything less than an 8 or whatever you're being insensitive. Pitchfork went with a 9 because it's a safe place in between the two different forms of criticism that they could run into.

Whatever.

Let's hope the next one is better.

Hey idiot. I guess you don't know that their scores are not comparative, right? It's not meant to be evaluated in the context of other records. That is what their year-end list is for, which is different from their scores.

Did you actually spend the time typing all this out? Your opinion is shit btw.

Rude

Are you seriously going to tell me that A Crow Looked At Me is a 9? Fuck off.

100% perfect opinions, I agree completely

Do you know what a number is?

Is 6 sometimes larger than 7? Do feelings change value?

t. doesn't know what comparative means

Numbers are inherently comparative. Albums and art in general aren't, but once you assign them a number out of ten, they are.

Especially when they're both from the same goddamn artist.

>The Flaming Lips' Zariekka a 0/10
harsh
>and The Mars Volta's Frances the Mute a 2/10
accurate

I also am a huge fan of Phil Elverum and have a lot of his out of print stuff in my collection. I did like the new album. It serves its purpose of putting the poetry in the forefront of everything, to show the listener how Phil was feeling and thinking during the time after Genevieves passing. Even then I do think the instrumentation gets good at some parts, like in the final half of Toothbrush/Trash or the entirety of Ravens and Soria Moria. It does have a very raw feeling to it, but Mount Eerie fans aren't unfamiliar to this. Just listen to Dawn. Or better yet, Lost Wisdom, which was recorded in a few days.

People always point to that Zariekka review like it has anything to do with the quality of Pitchforks reviews. If any of you had actually read the review you would know that the reason they gave it a zero is because The Flaming lips made an album that is literally impossible to listen to for most of their fans. It's a fine review and the zero is completely warranted.

>People always point to that Zariekka review like it has anything to do with the quality of Pitchforks reviews.

I would point to Kid A, a majority of the review is not about Kid A's content but about some hipster experience of Kid A and how they went to some liveshow or something, it's garbage, pitchfork doesn't know how to review whatsoever. It's better to get your reviews Sputnikmusic or something.

This guy is correct.

It's an album about real grief and literally about how impossible it is to turn death into some sort of grandiose art piece. It's meant to be underwhelming, sleep inducing and depressive. It's repetitive and mundane because that's what his life is like now. He's disenchanted with every aspect of life that once made him passionate. Art to him just feels like a silly romantic and narcissistic fantasy. He doesn't want to make this record, I'm pretty sure the last fucking thing he feels like doing when he wakes up is writing and recording and singing about his barely cold wife over and over again. But he knows he has to, it is the artist's 'duty' to report the truth, to create a piece of art from destruction, from garbage, from not having any inspiration at all, because no one has. He must do this with urgency, while the experience and the devastation of loss is still fresh, he must be true. He knows these are not the incredible songs he would like to create, he even calls them "barely songs" they're only songs because they needed to be more. They're not to be enjoyed, to be shared. They feel rushed because they quite literally are. This is not an album of "music", it is conceptual art, this is why you cannot apply the same judgement or criticism to this than to other, more traditional albums of music. This is a unique peace of art. It is not meant to be "good" or "bad". It is meant to be truthful, and whether you accept this or you don't is absolutely irrelevant.

because they needed to be made*

...

It's these people straight out of Sup Forums that are why Sup Forums is declining

Indie folk was a mistake.

If you listen to this gay shit you should kill yourself.

t. virgin

Yeah cause nothing attracts women like crying into your pillow listening to gay phil elvrum bon iver shit.

Kill yourself nu male.

I like Dawn and Lost Wisdom. But those albums are actually good is the thing. Though they are similar to the new album the quality of the songs are much higher. Also the fact that Lost Wisdom was RECORDED in a few days isn't really relevant because most of those songs were written well before being recorded. A Crow Looked At Me feels like it was written and recorded in the same month.
Yeah, I mean I don't totally disagree with everything that you're saying but
>It is not meant to be "good" or "bad."
Stop with this argument now, please. All art can be assessed by anyone and have them give their opinion on it. Phil's new album does not transcend that idea. I didn't like the damn thing. On top of that, many artists have made actually good albums in the wake of serious life stress so in this case I don't even fully give Phil a pass for shitting out the new album with so little effort. See Benji by Sun Kil Moon and Electro-Shock Blues by the Eels. Both are albums that are full of explicit lyrics about family members dying etc.

I agree that those songs on those albums are better, but I wouldn't say the songs on the new album are bad. The minimalist approach to it is what makes the melodies shine when they finally come through, which is something you don't really see outside of Ambient music and some Post-Rock (though with Post Rock it's different, as it's more of a drop and has buildup, which this album doesn't have, which would be a good criticism.)

Also I agree with the point that all art can be assessed by anyone. And electro-shock blues is an amazing Album

Shouting nu male as loud as you can won't make your love life any less lacking.

Don't get extra passive aggressive after he just blew you the fuck out. You think you're an alpha because you listen to a guy that softly laments over indie music? You confused nu-male dork.

Agree with most of this. I generally like music with some more focus on the instrumentation, but wow did the lyrics hit hard. Even though I couldn't necessarily connect to the lyrics personally, he was able to successfully convey all of his pain through the music in a way I haven't heard before. This album will most likely not be in my top 10 of the year based on my personal taste, but I will definitely give credit where credit is due.