ponylov

I was meaning to do this in 2012 but ah well.

Honorary mention: Passion Pit, Bloc Party

10. Beach House - Bloom www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuvWc3… (recommended listening)

9. Grizzly Bear - Shields www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK2mwc…

8. Tame Impala - Lonerism www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQH2Kq…

7. Jack White - Blunderbuss www.youtube.com/watch?v=s92smj…

6. The xx - Coexist www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nW5AF…

-----line separating the things I like from the things I REALLY REALLY like-----

5. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlkBZ…

I love the sound these guys have developed, the vibe from the whole album had me hooked from the first listen.

4. Sigur Ros - Valtari www.youtube.com/watch?v=INWZy3…

Sigur Ros have once again come with a brilliantly relaxing album. Though there may be nothing groundbreaking here, the music is perfectly beautiful and poignant as always.

3. The Antlers - Undersea EP www.youtube.com/watch?v=typzgN…

As its name suggests, Undersea creates the illusion of being submerged in water with its gorgeous, atmospheric songs. It's incredibly calming and I find it the perfect album to drift asleep to like all of The Antler's work.

2. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPH89H…

I was sceptical at first when I first saw how high this debut album was being rated but it deserves all the praise it gets. The band have already developed a strong, unique, addictive sound plus the album is amazingly cohesive and complete in a way not often seen in debuts. The infectious tribal vibe from some of the songs draws you in and holds you tight.

1. Muse - The 2nd Law www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej8rdi…

I was (perhaps naively) hoping for a cohesive album this time round but alas the album sound-wise feels like a bunch of random songs strung together randomly just like the previous two albums. The songs themselves are fantastic for the most part and clearly show the huge sound and over the top insanity that no one but Muse can pull off. However a lot of the songs feel like a rehash of what's already been done, almost a parody in the case of Prelude/Survival. I love love love Supremacy to bits but at the same it feels like it's shoving the Muse-ness in your face in an almost annoying way.

I'm still questioning Matt's sanity over calling Madness the "best song" he's ever written but I can see why now. It builds up so elegantly layer by layer until finally exploding in an exquisite way that is worth the slow build up. Definitely one of Muse's better pop songs. My favourite from the album though has got to be Animals, the guitar in there is simply orgasmic, orgasmic I tell you. I haven't even started on Matt's vocals on the album, they are PHENOMENAL on every single track. Which is both good and bad as now I definitely can't reach some of the notes, both high and low.

I had lots more to say (Chris's songs omg) but I'll jsut stop here lol it's more than long enough

Putting Alt-J over Muse just didn't sit right with me and I realized trying to be objective about it would never work because music is subjective by nature. No matter how many criticisms I have with The 2nd Law I still love it because it's Muse and I know that's stupid but whatever, objectivity is impossible.

So expect lots of uploads (and hopefully improvement) from me

Also in my now plentiful spare time I made a thing www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUg1fG… of Every Feel From Every Muse Song Ever

ALSO HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY TO MUSE, IDK HOW PEOPLE EVEN KNOW WHAT DAY THEY FORMED BUT I'LL GO WITH IT xx

HALLELUJAH.

Also, I got a KirkTweet* AND HE SAW MY PIC OMG HAHA

This morning has been great.

*twitter.com/Nowherethomas/stat…

BTW here's www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUWMVV… my compilation of twenty PiB performances - it's actually pretty well done so go check it out. Also on my channel are most of The 2nd Law instrumental tracks (Madness/Supremacy got removed )

I lost my tablet pen a few weeks ago and I still can't find it...$40 for a replacement if I don't find it after exams are over. $40 for a pen -_-. Also, exams less than a month away D: and art homework is taking up all this study time D: (well, I like to think that I would be studying but ya know...I'd probably still be procrastinating lol)

BUT since the Cologne gig tomorrow and I want to avoid further spoilers/low quality recordings imma try avoid all Muse related stuff until the 28th when I can listen to the whole album with NINE (9) COMPLETELY NEW SONGS - WHICH means I should have a week of quality hw/study time. Supposedly.

And after hearing rumours that Follow Me is a mix of Dead Star/Take a Bow (two of my favourite songs ever) I AM NOW FUCKING PUMPED FOR THIS OMFG. I really didn't want to get my hopes this high but I should've known it would happen anyway

So first impressions of Madness
-Holy shit this is sexy. "Hypnotic" bass was spot on.
-Not overly keen on the m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mad-mad. Sounds rather I dunno...generic.
-THOSE LITTLE GASP THINGS. Wat. Might (probably) weird out the general public. Other than than that it's super radio friendly I guess
-I love the personal lyrics, they're not too cheesy (like NSC) and a nice break from global themes
-I think my least favourite part is the guitar solo because it seems like a blatant copy of I Want To Break Free, I mean what happened to Matt's unique tone?
-Favourite parts by far are the vocals (the drawn out 'love's) and the ending section. The harmonies are nice too
-IT SOUNDS SO MUCH LIKE U2. SO MUCH /sob
-I predict this will flop commercially. It's catchy but I can't imagine people requesting it to be played over and over on the radio. Muse just don't do pop well most of the time
-It sounds like something on a Matt Bellamy solo album cos there's nothing special about the bass nor the drums
-It's a tad repetitive and the build up is too long leading to a climax that doesn't pay off
-I do think this will be better in the context of the album
-I like it, but it's not something I want from Muse. This is not why I got into them
-It's getting worse with every listen It's getting better with every listen

I don't know, it's scary thinking "I don't know if I can call Muse my favourite band after this album and I don't know if my life's ambition is to see them live any more" but I'm still holding out for excellent album tracks. Ugh why must I have been born so late.

Right, onto Unsustainable
-I was surprised the first half of the song was essentially the trailer. But that's okay, I love it, even the reporter
-The section between the drops, hoooooooly crap I reckon it's one of the best things they've done in the last 6 years.
-Hooooooooooooly crap I freaking love the vocals (chills every time) and the brief seconds of robot preceding it
-But then it goes straight into what appears to be pretty much the same as the first 'dubstep' part without any build up. This ruins, well ruins sounds a bit harsh but considering what the song could have been if there was a proper build up with a doubly intense dupstep part, it's not exaggerating that much. I know it's the intro to the two part album closer but still.
-This could've been one of my favourite songs if not for the anticlimax and the robot voice (still cringing)

Waaaaaaaaah all the vocals on T2L so far have been epic and impressive which is ironic cos Chris is doing two songs (WHICH I'M SUPER EXCITED FOR BY THE WAY)