1) What are this albums' strengths?
This album is alllll about atmosphere. The minute I slipped my headphones on and started the first track, it grabbed me, put me in a place mentally, and did a very good job of keeping me there.
2) What are its weaknessess?
For me personally, there really aren't any, but I can see how some people might find it too mellow or uninteresting to hold their attention.
3) How does it compare to the artist's other work?
Having listened to all three of Auburn Lull's LPs this week, over and over, I can say that I definitely prefer this one to the other two. Neither of the other's really grabbed me in the same way. They had good tracks but nothing really held my interest in the same way.
4) Favourite songs?
Stockard Drive, Early Evening Reverie, Tidal.
5) What feelings did this album evoke?
Unlike the other reviews thus far, I pulled a much more melancholy sensation from this album as a whole. It made me feel like I was stuck outside in the cold, watching a family eating their dinner in their nice, warm cozy house while I'm freezing my balls off. Fingerless gloves, hand on the window, the whole movie-cliche shebang. That being said, I LOVE the feeling of melancholy, so I enjoyed it through and through.
6) How does this album fit into your regular rotation?
I don't have much of a 'regular' rotation, but this could find it's way on to my sometimes-used ~contemplative music~ playlist very easily.
7) What stood out to you about this album's themes, musically/lyrically?
It definitely captured the sensation of being alone quite well. The drones and swells create a kind of blanket that wraps itself around you and keeps you in your head.
8) If you've had any noteworthy experiences with this album, what have they been?
I was atrociously sick for a 24-hour period this week, and this album was the only thing that sounded even REMOTELY like something that wouldn't make me roll over in my bed and vomit until I died. So there's that.
9) What do you know about this album's creation? Any interesting facts or anecdotes?
Nada, but then I haven't really gone all ~internet detective~ on the band quite yet.
10) How does this album represent the chosen theme?
Excellently. The whole thing screams winter. Crunching of snow underfoot, the disconcerting silence that only exists above at least six inches of snow, the bitter cold on the tips of your fingers as you shove your hands in your pockets. All of it.
11) How does this album compare to other albums nominated for this theme?
I've never been a huge fan of The Lonesome Crowded West, so I can't say I've ever thought about it much in this regard. The Devil and God is a very fitting album for me personally, but that's due to a bunch of emotional garbage that really colours my opinion of the album. The Velvet Underground, Agalloch and Bob Dylan almost ALWAYS sound wintery to me. The other's I'm not that familiar with. But I'd say, out of the ones I do know, it's the best suited for the theme.
12) How does this album compare to others in its genre?
I know jack****-next-to-nothing about shoegaze and dreampop as a whole (though me and soulseek are currently rectifying that issue), but I'm hoping that everything else I encounter will be as enjoyable as this.
13) Can you recommend similar albums to this?
See above.
14) What does this album's artwork say about it? Is it well paired with the music?
I suppose. The sepia tone definitely goes well with the picture in my head when I listen to the album. The actual artwork itself though...I dunno. I wouldn't say it's in opposition with the the music, but I wouldn't say it complements it, either.
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