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[Chez Wombat]

Thanks for the comments all <3 Can I still get this finished before the next contest starts? :x A tall order but here's another section x (@Jade: My favourite from you would be Arcade Summer actually, I regret never giving that 18 )

-x-

Terra Avium entries 11-20

11. Crywolf - Home We Made Part II (Skrux Remix) (32nd entry, BJSC 74, DNQ)
Probably the one of the DNQs that has the most 'cult following', it would go on to get a great position in Rejects despite the quite nasty surprise of this DNQing despite a lot of hype behind it (or just a couple of very vocal people ). Crywolf makes the sort of dark, melancholic dubstep that I was massively into back then and though this is not actually the original whose beats are a lot more subtle, it adds some beautiful explosive breaks to the sombre duetting vocals. A wonderful sad anthem, I thought nothing could beat this as my top DNQ but something has...


12. Crows in the Rain – Unfinished Dream of Sadako (91st entry, BJSC 134, 12th)
While I love post-rock, I tend to only select the ones that really hit me and this eleven-minute epic definitely struck me on a late-night YouTube trawl. Dedicated to Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was a victim of the Hiroshima bombings and became the face of the event, remembered by the many origami cranes she made, the song starts with low ambient guitar before exploding into a searing harsh sound before gradually fading out as it came out, coupled with the visuals, it takes the form of a haunting metaphorical journey through her short life and unfinished dreams. It's the sort of under-the-radar masterpiece that I'm naturally drawn to and wanted to introduce here, and I was thrilled to see a lot better performance for it than my last post-rock entry!

13. LAAKE – Introspective (79th entry, BJSC 122, 16th)
First of two piano instrumentals here, this one standing out amongst others for its progressing beat gradually merging with other electronic sounds and beautiful accompanying visuals filmed in Reykjavik with an enigmatic figure that makes it quite an entrancing experience. It didn't quite follow my other piano instrumentals into the top 10, but still a solid showing x

14. Owsey, Jernalism & Resotone - I've Been Secretly Falling Apart (38th entry, BJSC 80, 3rd)
My first time reaching the heights of the medal table, it was a tense evening as the two I was battling with (Delta Heavey's Ghost and Caravan Palace's Lone Digger) were both favourites of mine, and I'd honestly not expected this at all. I'm very proud of it though, as it wasn't an entry gaining any online hype or by a big name, it was just another late-night YouTube find that I almost didn't send, and yet it connected with so many. I was thrilled to see it and though I don't come back to it as much as my other hits, its Aqualung sample is used masterfully to create a gorgeous, if hard-hitting, sad and haunting exercise in how minimalism can conjure huge emotions.

15. Efisio Cross – Can I Keep You (77th entry, BJSC 120, 9th)
And another piano-led one, you'd think I quite liked these x This is a stripped-down, twinkly style piano that gradually builds up to sad strings and a haunting choir creating a heavenly and ethereal effect that just makes it so...pretty, one of my most beautifully composed entries (and the GOT still in the video was a sore point for me at the time x). We still have one piano instrumental to come that does it slightly better, but you can never go wrong with one of these (and indeed it broke my bad run of form at the time)

16. U.S. Girls - Woman's Work (39th entry, BJSC 81, DNQ)
Another utterly unjust DNQ which I'm still mad about, it would thankfully also get some justice in the later Rejects contest. I've not checked out a lot of U.S. Girls' work and that's probably to my detriment going by what the critics say. It reminds me of Kate Bush in a lot of ways, including the title mimicking that of one of her songs, and is a dark, synthy journey with the lead vocal switching from furious, to whispering to other-worldly excellently.

17. Varien – A Pale White Horse (88th entry, BJSC 131, 39th)
So I don't normally recycle artists, but I felt like I had to in this case as Varien has done so many different styles, one release is never the same as the next. This one is a true journey of a song, I've used that word a lot but it really applies here, written and composed while she was in a very dark place and it shows, it moves from harsh synths to bleak piano and organ to an unsettling, echo-ey outro which sounds almost supernatural. It's incredibly hard-hitting, even tough to listen to at times, but is one of the many ways that Varien has massively stood out, and while it sadly flopped in the final (which I did to put down to an overload of instrumentals in that final), I'm glad that it got justice for Lilith anyway x

18. LCD Soundsystem – Seconds (84th entry, BJSC 127, 14th)
Perhaps a bit big of a name for BJSC, but this was a live studio cover of a Human League song that sounded incredibly well done for a live performance that somehow randomly ended up on my new music playlist and I wasn't expecting a huge amount for it, but it was my second biggest hit that year. The synths and production take you right back to the 80s here, it's glorious, now must get around to checking out their other material x

19. NO CEREMONY/// - Feelsolow (15th entry, BJSC 56, 9th)
My first properly big hit, yay! It was quite the feeling of elation on hearing this announced especially as I had only ever finished in the sub-20s until this point. I cheated a little with this,
as in I saw it in a few personal charts and Guardian New Music was promoting a remix of it which led to me finding a much better original, but it hadn't been attempted yet, so thought I'd give it a go. It still ranks very highly for me, especially from my earlier entries, sombre and downbeat at first before building to an explosion of feels in the synth-led chorus, it marked a small turning point for my style as I was kind of 'getting' what was doing better. Sadly, haven't heard from them since for almost a decade.

20. Haiku Salut - Glockelbar (12th entry, BJSC 53, DNQ)
Another early entry, I can't really explain how this has stuck with me amongst these much punchier songs, but this minimalistic, dreamy xylophone-led song with a gorgeous, hand-drawn video struck me at the time to send this over Rhye's Open (probably not the best choice hit-wise, but I stand by it x) has always made me feel quite rosy, and introduced me to the many minimalist, lo-fi charming little songs that this duo have. It's the sort of music you can get lost to in relaxing playlists, maybe not quite right for BJSC, but a wonderful listen nonetheless.