album a day | week 1

 I'm on a mission to listen to an album a day, or at least 7 albums in a week distributed freely among the days. And let's be real it might go down to like, 5, but I'd rather aim high and adjust my expectations later. I already did that around 4 years ago, when a member of a band that shall not be named started a server with that purpose, with daily listening parties. I enjoyed finding new gems and revisiting albums I'd already known, but listening to music I simply did not enjoy was also, I think, beneficial. I love music, I love talking about it and sometimes thinking about why I don't like an album can tell me a lot about what I value in music I like. I doubt I'll write about what I listen to every week, maybe I'll pick a few favourites every month, but without further ado, here are this weeks albums and a few words about them. In random order!

 1. Loathe - I Let It In And It Took Everything

This recommendation comes from my boyfriend. Some Loathe songs were already in my playlists, so I wasn't going in completely blind. But despite knowing a couple songs from I Let It In it surprised me with it pleasantly surprised me. Song to song it balances somewhere between genres/sub-genres, with more shoegaze-y tracks like Two-Way Mirror being followed by much heavier New Faces in the Dark (with an instrumental interlude of 451 Days between them).

Favourites: New Faces in the Dark, Is It Really You?, I Let It in and It Took Everything...

 2. The Killers - Hot Fuss

This remains one of the most albums ever to me. I've known it my whole life through listening to it in my dad's car and hearing Mr. Brightside on the radio countless times. It's catchy, it's flashy, it doesn't take itself too seriously, it's fun! It's good for a car trip, a karaoke night and sitting in your room on a grey, winter evening needing a pick-me-up. Every time I revisit it different lyrics hit me right in the heart, I manage to find relatable moments in it at 15, 19 and 23. 

Favourites: Smile Like You Mean It, Somebody Told Me, On Top 

3. Static Dress - Rouge Carpet Disaster

Again, I'm in my Guy screaming loud as hell era. This wasn't a first time listen and also, indirectly, a recommendation from my boyfriend (I knew he liked Static Dress and one day I decided to give them a listen). It's just the right amount of melodic to get me on board while remaining loud and noisy enough to "scratch" my brain and get it to shut up. It has this organic emo feel to it, with evocatively raw and violent lyrics, and others that make my mind return to break-ups that I've long gotten over. 

Favourites: Push rope; Courtney, just relax; such.a.shame

4. Anabelle Dinda - Some Things Never Leave

A much quieter and softer entry on this week's list, Anabelle Dinda's album relies on acoustic guitar, her resonant voice and hard-hitting lyrics. Her song The Hand blew up on tiktok before she even released it (one of the videos of her playing it has over 2 million views), it's in part about tiktok's beloved, but often misrepresented and misunderstood, concept of the male gaze. It's my least favourite track on the album, though maybe just because I saw a million edits using it on my fyp. The album as a whole explores trying to make peace with yourself as a product of your trauma, relationships, childhood and complicated family dynamics. It did feel a bit monotone and got a bit boring to me around halfway through, so I divided my listen in two.

Favourites: Doesn't Matter, To Reconcile, London Plane Trees Grow in Philly

5. Breichiau Hir - Y Dwylo Uwchben

My tiktok mutual made a series of videos recommending albums by welsh bands and this one intrigued me the most based on his description (here's the video). Not understanding the lyrics as I was listening wasn't really a huge issue, as I don't understand what most emo bands are singing about in english either. Then later when I managed to find the lyrics it was fun to translate the songs (using google translate so probably not very well) and finding out what the songs were about. The whole record - words and sounds - is some really good emo music, with, as the band's website accurately describes it, shoegaze and post-rock influences. It's fuzzy, it's warm, yet harsh with those quieter, softer bits that I love in this type of music.

Favourites: Paid Trio, Poeri At Yr Haul, Cyn I Fi Fynd

 6. Joyce Manor - I Used To Go To This Bar

A very fresh album (Jan 30th) from a well known and loved emo/pop-punk band. Joyce Manor were one of the bands that introduced me to this scene when I first started dipping my toes in more midwest emo in middle school. This album feels consistent with their previous projects, but instead of voicing the anxieties and feelings of coming of age it grows with the band into later adulthood.

Favourites: I Know Where Mark Chen Lives; Well, Whatever It Was; I Used to Go to This Bar;

7. Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again

I revisited this one after listening to the new album and it still holds up almost 12 years later. It's emo, it's angsty, it's a bit unserious, it has a weirdly positive feel to it. I don't really have much to say about it, it's just an album I listen to quite often and songs from it are scattered around many of my playlists.

Favourites: Christmas Card, Falling in Love Again, Catalina Fight Song