March of 100 Albums (21-25)

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 
What is it? Indie rock, strings, organ
How'd I find it? Video of them performing in an elevator
The appeal of Arcade Fire is the overblown melodrama, but this is just a bit too much. Church organ and complaining about religion? No wonder this is their least popular album. I only ever listen to Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, The Well And The Lighthouse, and My Body Is A Cage. That last one ought to be a future classic.

Darren Hanlon - Fingertips and Mountaintops
What is it? Male singer-songwriter, acoustic
How'd I find it? Probably in some list of Australian musicians
Does this count as twee? That's what it makes me think of. I don't have a problem with that, though some people find it annoying. Is that why there isn't much talk about this album? Well, that's a shame, because it's lovely. Lyrics are good enough that I want to grab a physical copy for the liner notes, but I can't find it anywhere.

Catcall - The Warmest Place
What is it? Female vocalist, pop
How'd I find it? Mess+Noise
I remember when it was big deal that Pitchfork gave this a negative review. I'm generally ok with Pitchfork, though I do think sometimes they give good scores to mediocre albums by bands that they've hyped for a long time, and bad scores to things they overlooked. I'd have given this at least a 6. The World Is Ours is fantastic.

cosMo@暴走P - 初音ミクの消失
What is it? Vocaloid, I don't even know
How'd I find it? Brisbane Square Library
Not sure if this album is 100% Vocaloid, but if it is, it's extremely impressive. I'm sure there's a genre tag for this kind of thing, but I know nothing about electronic. Happy hardcore, maybe? There are a few songs that are stupidly fast and cheery. This is one of those albums that I want to make friends listen to just to see their reaction.

Augie March - Strange Bird
What is it? folk, rock
How'd I find it? The ubiquity of One Crowded Hour
Shit, this album is over ten years old. Lots of albums I'm listening to are, but this one just sounds fresh and not dated. Possibly because the mainstream loves folk music at the moment. Come back and ask me about this album in a month's time; I still don't know it well enough to have a strong opinion. I currently like This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers and Addle Brains.