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Album title: Charm City
Artist: Carousel Kings
Genre: Pop Punk
Nationality: American
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Eighth
Fear Factor: High
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.88
Ah, at least it isn't country pop! But honestly, all I can say about this is that I do not give a ****. Next!
http://i.imgur.com/jC6K4gi.gif

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Maybe

Expectation Index: 0

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Album title: Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins
Artist: Chuck Prophet
Genre: California Noir (What the blue jumping ****??)
Nationality: American
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Sixteenth
Fear Factor: Indeterminate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Don't even know what it is!
Average RYM Score: 3.35
California Noir? Sounds like basic rock to me. If something's got noir attached I usually expect it to be dark and bleak, hard-bitten and raw. This is, so far, none of these things. California Noir my arse. This is just basic rock as I said, and it's also boring. PUNCH IT!
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Check out more from this artist? Nah
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Shrug

Expectation Index: N/A

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Album title: Vietato morire
Artist: Ermal Meta
Genre: Pop
Nationality: Italian/Albanian
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Second
Fear Factor: Reasonably High
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little
Average RYM Score: 3.00
It's catchy, it's upbeat, it's fun. Not a clue what he's singing of course, but certainly very enjoyable pop. Waiting for the heartfelt ballad... ah here it is. Four tracks in. And not at all bad. Nice work on the piano. Oh look! It's a double album. And I don't care. I'm enjoying this. “Schegge” is a great end to the first part (side?) of the album, powerful and emotional. I also like “Piccola Anima”, though there's very little if anything here I don't like. Great album. Flew by for a double effort.

Check out more from this artist? Yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed10.jpg

Expectation Index: 10

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Album title: Memories Are Now
Artist: Jesca Hoop
Genre: Indie Folk
Nationality: American
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Eighth
Fear Factor: Moderate
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little
Average RYM Score: 3.30
Not really sure what I'm listening to here. Sounds mostly like folk, maybe a dash of country, not bad but nothing really remarkable leaping out at me. There's a nice kind of almost African or tribal anyway rhythm to “Cut Connection”, first time anything has caught my interest on this album. Reminds me a bit of late 70s/early 80s Peter Gabriel too. “Unsaid” has a very Kate Bush feel about it, circa The Dreaming and “Pegasi” is good too. Okay, it took a while but I think I got into this in the end. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Check out more from this artist? Maybe
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed7.jpg

Expectation Index: 3

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Album title: Belmont Street
Artist: Jess & Matt
Genre: Pop
Nationality: Australian
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Debut
Fear Factor: High
Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little
Average RYM Score: N/A
Two words strike fear into me more than perhaps even “avant-garde jazz”, and they're “X Factor”. It's perhaps unfair (though I don't believe so) but anything connected with that show has zero integrity in my mind and gets zero tolerance from me. I can't decide whether the fact that this is an entry to Australia's version of the “talent show” that has plagued us for over a decade now is better or worse than if it were from the original version, but either way I'm not expecting much. Luckily this is only an EP with six tracks, so not too much to get through. Oh yeah: they're boyfriend and girlfriend too: barf factor of 100. Reminds of Kylie and Jason. Please, no! Oh, and it's not even original material! The first track is, the rest are all covers. I only know Crowded House's “Fall At Your Feet”, and if they were going to cover a John Farnham track couldn't they have chosen a better example than “That's Freedom”? There's also a Tame Impala song and one from Flume, all apparently “iconic” Australian hits, though I've only heard of the Crowded House one. Oh well.

Yer wan's a decent singer, give her that much, and he's okay too, but you definitely get the feeling (though I certainly did not see it, nor do I wish to) that they only got through The X Factor by virtue of their relationship, which no doubt the Australian version of Simon Cowell thought would be seen as “cute” by the voters, and I guess it was, as they made it to the final but came third. I guess it's an okay EP but I don't see the point: this sort of “salute to Australian music”, if you will, comes after you've been more than two years in the business. Seems like an easy way to throw out a record without putting too much effort into it. Bloody Aussies. At least they remind me how much I dislike Tame Impala, so I guess there is that...

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
http://www.trollheart.com/speed4.jpg

Expectation Index: 0

.

He does look like a bottom.

A name like Brett just screams that, doesn't it? :laughing:

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Album title: DROGAS Light
Artist: Lupe Fiasco
Genre: Hip-Hop
Nationality: American
Release date: February 10
Position in Discography: Sixth
Fear Factor: High
Familiar with this artist? No but I have heard of him
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.39
What the blue jumping **** is a DROGA? ****ed if I know. Not crazy about the opening track, but we'll see how it goes. Like the piano on the second track anyway. I'm not really sure what's happening to me. It's too early to say I'm finally “getting” hip-hop, but I'm definitely hating it less than I used to. This ain't bad at all. I like the trap tone in the third song too. “Jump” is pretty hilarious, though I'm less amused by the high-pitched squeaky voice like on “High (Interlude)”. He certainly uses the word nigger a lot. I mean, a lot! Nice soul feel to “Kill” (lots of niggers in there!) and generally, yeah, I am quite enjoying this. Someone save me before I start learning how to drive so I can buy a car, have it chopped and ride around Dublin bouncing up and down on the suspension with this blasting out of the stereo. I'm a PROG HEAD dammit! I got standards!

All right, my resistance continues to fade as I listen to pizzicato strings (of course they're on a synth but still) on “Pick Up the Phone” - what the hell? This sounds like something from Imagine Dragons or something! Weird: I legitimately thought the playback had screwed up or a YouTube had started up by mistake! “It's not design” is like some cool seventies or eighties disco hit – definitely reminds me of Sylvester's “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and something else, though I can't think of what. Cool to the max. Oh, I think it's “Can You Feel It?” Not sure. Love this album. Big ****ing BIG surprise, getting more every day. I'll never regret doing this project.

Check out more from this artist? Yeah
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? I'm getting there
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Expectation Index: 10