Acclaimed Music Forums

Welcome to another round of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 7!
Last week of the first full round!
Participation slumped a little last week so I encourage those who dropped out to maybe jump back in while the race starts to heat up!

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums.

Good-spirited comments are encouraged, but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = July 12th at 10am EST.

Match-ups:
1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium

Elevate Me Later!

1. XTC - English Settlement (1982) vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M. (2001)


2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else (2014) vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969)


3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting (1983) vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down (2014)


4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic (2010) vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium (1996)

Favourite song from every album:
Senses Working Overtime | Remind Me | I'm Not Part of Me | A Rainbow in Curved Air | Pale Shelter | Circles | One Day | Juvenile Scene Detective

Favourite song of the week: Senses Working Overtime



End of Round 1? Time for the rest of the ladies…


Ella Fitzgerald


Yoko Kanno (Seatbelts)


Jacqui McShee (The Pentangle)


Klara Söderberg and Johanna Söderberg (First Aid Kit)


Nina Harenetska, Olena Tsybulska and Iryna Kovalenko (DakhaBrakha)


Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads)


Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)


Nancy Becker (Game Theory)


Emma Ruth Rundle


Patricia Morrison (Sisters of Mercy)


Anita O'Day


Clémence Quélennec and Clara Luciani (La Femme)


Adele


Mireille Dalbray (Cortex)


Laena Geronimo, Z Berg, Annie Monroe and Tennessee Thomas (The Like)


Sarah Cracknell (Saint Etienne)


Julia Holter


Kim Rackel and Donna Ball (The Wet Secrets)


Madonna


Julie Doiron (Eric's Trip)


Kate Tempest


Sharon Van Etten

Terry Riley | A Rainbow in Curved Air
XTC | English Settlement
Tears for Fears | The Hurting
Sharon Van Etten | Epic
Röyksopp | Melody A.M.
Cloud Nothings | Here and Nowhere Else
Kate Tempest | Everybody Down
Compulsion | The Future Is Medium

Edit: Retracted because Honorio knows his stuff!

You're right, Brad, but Donnette Thayer joined Game Theory in 1986 after the release of "Real Nighttime" (and even "The Big Shot Chronicles"). I've included the ladies featured on the albums on this game, not on the bands.

Damn Honorio... good call! I retract...

2. Terry Riley

No problem, Brad. If you don't mind I'm going to erase my reply in half an hour or so...

Of course! i will as well...

Oops, it seems that when there's a new post the button with "Delete Post" disappears. It doesn't matter anyway...

1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium

English Settlement
Here and Nowhere Else
Epic

It is worth noting after being completely shut out last year, I am undefeated in Round One this time. And I have one more album in the race this week.

Brad, as we finish our first round, thank you again for hosting this great tournament. And thank you too, Honorio for always adding something special to the mix.

Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
Tears for Fears - The Hurting
Sharon Van Etten - Epic

XTC
Terry Riley
Tears for Fears
Sharon Van Etten

1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium

Song of the week: Tears for Fears - Change

XTC 79-74
Terry Riley 82-76
Kate Tempest 84-64

Still need to listen to Compulsion, will try to find it on YouTube.

Jirin wrote:Still need to listen to Compulsion, will try to find it on YouTube.

The Future Is Medium

1. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic

Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
Tears for Fears - The Hurting
I really liked the Kate Tempest album, but (unfortunately) it's up against one of my favorite (and bleakest) '80's albums. The electronic beats of "Everybody Down" are great, but I was especially drawn to the storytelling. Since I was unfamiliar with Kate, I looked her up online to find out she's a poet and playwright. That explains it.
Sharon Van Etten - Epic

I'll vote Sharon van Etten, though not particularly impressed with either in the final matchup.

1. XTC - English Settlement
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air (pass for now)
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium (pass for now)

3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down

Winners in red.

1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.

I generally don't like XTC, but this album is okay. Still, it ended up feeling way too long, so I had to give the nod to Royksopp.

2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air

The Riley album was great, and even though "A Rainbow in Curved Air" is one of his most famous compositions, I found myself liking the trance-like elements of "Poppy Nogood" even more.

3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down

I did like the spoken-word/poetry element of the Kate Tempest album, but it can't win against my favorite Tears for Fears release.

1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
Something about the vocals on English Settlement bumped me. Melody A.M. however has very few vocals and when do they pop up, as in "Sparks", they're transcendent.
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
Surprised to find how much I enjoyed the Cloud Nothings album - usually post-punk doesn't do it for me quite so much. But a pretty good turn at an alright genre doesn't compare to Terry Riley's completely unique piece.
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
Did I just vote against an eighties album again? Oops. Can't help it, Kate Tempest has more attitude than most rappers I've heard.
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium
Not even a competition. SVE may have put forth her strongest overall album here, even if some of her individual tracks from later on outshine it.

My picks:

1. XTC - English Settlement vs. Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting vs. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
Really enjoyed Kate Tempest - would've beaten any other TFF album (as well as a many others in this tournament) - a top 3 discovery for me this year.
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic vs. Compulsion - The Future Is Medium
Would have won even without the gorgeous pic Honorio posted above!

11 hours left to vote!

Thanks!

2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else vs. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air

Rainbow was a nice listen that I'm sure will continue to reveal its beauty through repeated listens. It amazes me that Riley made this in the 1960s! Sounds far ahead of its time. Unfortunately, it competed against my 21st favorite record of all-time. Here and Nowhere Else stands as post-hardcore's greatest pop moment, in my opinion (of course, Cloud Nothings are essentially a pop punk outfit in disguise). It is bursting at the seams with great hooks and a hell of a lot of energy. If memory serves me correct, the most obvious pop tune, "I'm Not Part of Me", was my second favorite song of 2014, but since then, "Now Hear In", "Psychic Trauma", and "Pattern Walks" have all likely surpassed it. The last of these is an emotional juggernaut with a mesmerizing outro of swirling guitars and a wall of noise.

I urge any who didn't like this album to give it another shot! It's not as nuanced as Riley's epic but it has layers of beauty underneath the aggression.

GucciLittlePiggy wrote:If memory serves me correct, the most obvious pop tune, "I'm Not Part of Me", was my second favorite song of 2014, but since then, "Now Hear In", "Psychic Trauma", and "Pattern Walks" have all likely surpassed it. The last of these is an emotional juggernaut with a mesmerizing outro of swirling guitars and a wall of noise.

Pattern Walks was actually a disappointment to me, feels like a lesser Wasted Days ! Overall the album is more cohesive than Here and Nowhere Else, but the previous album still had the best songs !

Anyway :
1. XTC - English Settlement
2. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
3. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down

18 total voters this week:
acroamor
Bang Jan
bonnielaurel
Brad
DaveC
DocBrown
GucciLittlePiggy
Henry
Honorio
jamieW
Jeff
Jirin
Kingoftonga
luney6
Nassim
PlasticRam
sonofsamiam
whuntva

Winners:
1. XTC - English Settlement over Röyksopp - Melody A.M. 8-7
2. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air over Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else 12-4
3. Tears for Fears - The Hurting over Kate Tempest - Everybody Down 11-4
4. Sharon Van Etten - Epic over Compulsion - The Future Is Medium 11-0

Round 2 begins soon!

It might be my inner fanboy showing, but I'd just like to point out that Epic is the only album in the tournament so far to completely shut out its competition.

Good call acroamor - last week I was the only voter for Katerine's 'Les Mariages Chinois," an album I didn't even nominate.

Undefeated through round one official!

Really happy with the turnaround. Never thought I'd get a win this tournament.

I'm only 1 for 6, and my 1 didn't get the best reception...

Sweepstakes Ron wrote:I'm only 1 for 6, and my 1 didn't get the best reception...

I'm still really mad that Annie's Anniemal didn't advance.

4 out of my 5 nominations are still in the game!

Bang Jan wrote:4 out of my 5 nominations are still in the game!

Me too I think.