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| Chez EOY 2023, Complete! |
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 16th January 2024, 10:15 PM
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#41
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 Buy yourself a car, and a house in Devon
Joined: 6 May 2016
Posts: 23,896 User: 23,247 
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Giving A Place to Lie a quick listen now - a very ambient piece, and the vocals work well with it, definitely getting the London Grammar comparison.
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18th January 2024, 08:28 PM
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#42
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 The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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 8. Films Into the Vervet Storm The ever-difficult to google, films, remain one of my favourite dark corner of YouTube finds and I will continue to promote their work on Buzzjack for as long as I live as this Japanese neo-classical sound is just always so gorgeous and deserves to soundtrack it's own film. It's a good thing I was browsing when I found they released their first new material in quite a few years. I'm not quite sure what the title means - a storm of monkeys or if it was a misspelling of velvet, but the sounds are great as ever. The haunting operatic vocals soar over a soundscape combining orchestral instruments with sharp, distorted guitars to create a cinematic, ephemeral atmosphere, fellow ricco label side projects, Anoice, Takahiro Kido and the wonderful piano Yuki Murata all shine through in a collaborative voice of neo-classical. films' music really is just like it appears - cinematic, immense and taking you on a dark fantasy journey and this is no exception. |
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18th January 2024, 09:38 PM
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#43
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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7. Nyteout Angels Forever Highest of my own BJSC picks for the year is perhaps unsurprising and while getting my first win in over eleven years of participating in the contest was a pretty wonderful moment, I believe this song is strong enough on it's own to have still been my favourite entry wherever it finished. I found this at around the same area and time I found M.A.G, that little dark corner of YouTube where this sort of emotional breakcore with anime artwork reigns supreme. Angels Forever was just one of Nyteout's songs I really loved (and I would highly recommend the other one, Lovepain, from the year before to those that enjoy this). It captures that nighttime rave sound perfectly with building synths culminating in an explosive drop that echoes Prodigy-style early 90s rave. I profoundly miss breakbeat and it was some of my favourite sounds of the 90s, so hearing its styles still alive and well, even if many are still struggling to get 1000 views, in certain corners of the internet gives me hope for music yet 
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18th January 2024, 10:39 PM
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#44
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 Alone and wounded
Pronouns: She/her
Joined: 18 January 2011 Posts: 60,191 User: 12,810 
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Brilliant to see 'What Was I Made For?' indeed making your top 10 as well
'you should see me in a crown' was the song that first got me into her but I'm such a sucker for her stripped back slower moments too like 'when the party's over', 'everything i wanted' and now this <3 never expected a song like 'What Was I Made For?' to appear on the Barbie soundtrack but I'm so thankful for its inclusion, the accompanying scene was one of the most powerful in the movie. Agreed that it's a better #1 than her last chart-topper!Glad you checked out Art School Girlfriend's album, such a chilled out listen <3 a double dose of Terra Avium excellence too 😍 exclusive: 'into the vervet storm' was sooo close to making my EOY, finished at 103rd :'( was my 18 in BJSC of course and had a solid run in my chart, thank you for such a stunning discovery - within my top 5 entries of last year for sure. |
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19th January 2024, 07:37 PM
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#45
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 my mind is ready for fun
Joined: 28 August 2017
Posts: 10,723 User: 38,591
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'Angels Forever' got 10 points for me in BJSC in a very competitive month, but it's vying with Lankum as my favourite of your entries last year - that nighttime atmosphere is brilliantly captured in the build up before the drops come in. Delighted it gave you a long-awaited first win!
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21st January 2024, 06:41 PM
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#46
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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Many thanks both, BJSC may be done though I can reveal there is some further song contest impact still to come
 6. Caroline Polachek Welcome to My Island As alluded to, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You was by far my favourite album of the year (admittedly I still listened to not that many, but at least my critical senses were on track x), such a diverse and unique collection of tracks that spanned a variety of eras and styles, including modern electronic styles and trip hop to acoustic flamenco to 60s psychedelia callbacks, it was a smorgasbord of sounds. It was quite hard deciding on my favourite, but I couldn't ignore the distinctive and utterly captivating opener. Opening with Soprano and operatic vocals, you know that you're in for a unique experience and after the hushed welcome we get in the opening verse, the powerful, striking chorus jumps right out at you. It's a pretty wonderful contrast and she even manages to fit a rap verse of a kind in there without sounding cringe which is an achievement. On an album filled with a plethora of sounds, this exemplifies the very best qualities of the album in a single track - offbeat, striking and completely unique. |
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21st January 2024, 06:55 PM
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#47
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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5. Nabihah Iqbal This World Couldnt See Us It was fortunate timing that Nabihah's BJSC win corresponded with new music this year, a few months after hearing that, I heard this on 6Music and while this does follow a lot of the same beats of Zones 1 to 6000 in that it has that quiet, spoken word vocal in a busy, bustling environment, but everything feels so much bigger and better. The dreamy soundscape is even more beefed up and overbearing, perhaps reflecting the increased scope of the tragic and poetic lyrics about how love wasn't possible in the wider world. There is again an excellent contrast between the busy production, the hushed and straight delivery and the melancholy lyrics which creates a bittersweet narrative in the middle of an immersive soundscape. |
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21st January 2024, 08:52 PM
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#48
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Alone and wounded
Pronouns: She/her
Joined: 18 January 2011 Posts: 60,191 User: 12,810
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Snap AOTY
still in disbelief that Caroline took home a gong in the BuzzJack Awards, the taste. 'Welcome To My Island' is a great one to highlight here, it was the song that got me into this era and even has the honour of kicking off my driving playlist, that I one day hope to rinse when legally allowed on the roads on my own  those opening vocals are quite something!'This World Couldnt See Us' is also wonderful <3 that and 'Dreamer' have stuck with me the most of her post-BJSC output. Looking forward to finding out what your numero uno will be! |
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27th January 2024, 03:53 PM
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#49
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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Finishing this weekend I promise x
4. The National feat. Taylor Swift The Alcott Folklore was pretty much the album that turned me into a full-fledged Taylor Swift stan, so a Folklore-esque turn from her combined with The National, who were probably my biggest belated musical discovery last year was always going to interest me. I always have soft spot for male-female duets and this one is utterly beautiful. Swift and Berninger's vocals are hushed and haunting against the raw piano and string backing, reflecting the pained love described in the lyrics, and Taylor's suddent interjecting 'tell me which side are you on' and 'am I one of your problems' add a demanding and argumentative feels to the song that stops it from feeling passive and works with the building instrumental. The spirit of Folklore is still alive and it sounds better than ever. |
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27th January 2024, 04:07 PM
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#50
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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3. Daughter Be on Your Way It had been a long time since I'd heard from Daughter, though Youth remains a bit of a cult classic and their side project Ex:Re had a few songs I was really into. Any fears whether they could've lost their magic or this could just be a song I quite liked but not enough to return to were dispelled upon hearing this. Be On Your Way is a truly gorgeous composition, with powerful haunting strings dominating the soundscape and a trip-hop style production taking prominence in the second part of the track, it's especially complementary to Elena Tonra's beautiful vocals that remain as powerfully subtle as ever, the fact she sings the song so softly yet it's still as heartbreaking as it is is a testement to how effective the song is. A favourite right from the cold January night I first heard it and one year later, it's not lost any beauty. |
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28th January 2024, 07:28 PM
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#51
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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2. Ozean - Scenic So this next song is a bit of a quandary and it shouldn't really be on this list in theory, let's give some context: This song was not actually released at all and the band not actually signed at all. It was recorded in 1993, riding the wave of the dreamy shoegaze boom of the early 90s, yet it never caught on quite in the way and this recording and their various other demos were almost lost to time...until that is until 2016, when the recording was uploaded to YouTube and remastered, while calling it a 'success' when I'm sure many wouldn't know it, it did get some minor blog attention and it's high view count on YouTube and r/listentothis multiple recommendations have turned it into something of a cult classic in certain areas, finally finding the audience it always intended to. So why is a 1990s demo here? Well, musically, I simply couldn't ignore it as it's been one of my favourite discoveries I've made in a good few years. It's dreamy and choral drenched soundscape sounds beautiful, even in reduced quality form, and the lead vocals are angelic and serene against this. Its lyrics are sometimes indecipherable, but paint a heartbreaking picture of someone seemingly at the end and ready to surrender themselves to the stars. It really does feel like a dream or an afterlife soundtrack, you wonder how it could've sounded with more of a studio polish, but what we have is brilliant. The final 'I am dying too' vocal makes me well up. But I do also love this in a non-musical way too, as its story is a wonderful way in which the times we live in have some big positives for those forgotten gems that just couldn't find the audience needed at the time, but can many years later. It's why I still absolutely love going on YouTube and reddit crawls and finding understated gems past and present available to all to be viewed. It's very fitting in 2023, in which the final Beatles single was finally released and made a big impact, so it also feels quite modern even if it isn't. I can honestly see it becoming an all time favourite and I'm so pleased that the older I get, I can still find new songs I can call that. So it's probably my favourite song I discovered this year, yet it still wouldn't quite feel right at number 1, thankfully there's a success story from 2023 I can also share... |
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28th January 2024, 07:52 PM
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#52
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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1. Lankum - Go Dig My Grave We've already seen them twice here so you could've probably inferred that this would be a likely candidate for a high finish, and it is indeed my number 1. I first discovered this and Lankum in general on, where else, r/listentothis. I did notice it had an unusually high view count and comments than other song so I did check it out, I listen to many songs from there that I don't remember a thing about after, so the fact I was frantically searching this back up to remember it shows the impact it had, and I'm pleased I was able to send it to a Buzzjack contest, though I did learn it was a little more well known than I thought oops x But anyway, I do have a liking for Irish music, but the usual chirpiness is certainly absent here as we get into the wonderfully named genre of doom folk. This is the very best of Lankum's dark storytelling and atmospheric terror, an eight minute long dark tale based on the 1925 song of a jilted lover who hang themselves with a dove to her chest to show the world they died for love. It's played to maximum effect here, with the verses slowly playing the tale out with powerful vocals and only a minimal instrumental backing incresing the tension, before the second part of the track is entirely instrumental and accompanied by sharp strings and ambient drones that paint a horrifying and brutal picture of the gallows without saying a word. It's accompanied by an equally creepy video where the camera gradually pans back to see the singer sitting in front of hooded gallowsmen for the first half, before just the strings are shown when the drones come in and that same spot is suspiciously quiet when we cut back. It's a phenomenally striking, apocalyptic tale and it really made my year seeing it performed on primetime BBC as part of the Mercury prize, and I was almost proud something I found in the small corner of reddit turned into such a success. This remains the definitive statement and a great introduction to the the themes present. For an introduction to one of the acts I would grow to love the most this year, this feels most fitting as my number 1. |
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28th January 2024, 10:04 PM
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#53
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The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,133 User: 9,232
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1. Lankum – Go Dig My Grave
2. Ozean - Scenic 3. Daughter – Be on Your Way 4. The National feat. Taylor Swift – The Alcott 5. Nabihah Iqbal – This World Couldn’t See Us 6. Caroline Polachek – Welcome to My Island 7. Nyteout – Angels Forever 8. Films – Into the Vervet Storm 9. Art School Girlfriend – A Place to Lie 10. Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? 11. Dzivia - Voryva 12. Romy - Loveher 13. Lankum – The New York Trader 14. Enola Gay feat. Mount Palomer – terra firma 15. Hemlocke Springs – sever the blight 16. Confidence Man & Daniel Avery – On & On (Again) 17. The National – Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces) 18. Joanna – WHERE’S THE LIGHT? 19. Weyes Blood – God Turn Me Into a Flower 20. Caroline Polachek feat. Dido & Grimes – Fly to You 21. Heartworms – Retributions of an Awful Life 22. Phoenix feat. Clairo – After Midnight 23. Mitski – My Love Mine All Mine 24. Peggy Gou – It Goes Like (Na Na Na) 25. Kelela – Contact 26. The Last Dinner Party – My Lady of Mercy 27. Romy & Fred Again… - Strong 28. M.A.G. – 23232323332222332 29. Yune pinku – Fai Fighter 30. Rainbow - Stargazer 31. Nabihah Iqbal – Zone 1 to 6000 32. Kate NV – oni (they) 33. Chloe Caillet – Quieres (Parts 1 & 2) 34. Boygenius – Cool About It 35. Jockstrap – Concrete Over Water 36. Underworld – Denver luna 37. Hikaru Utada – Somewhere Near Marseilles 38. Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke – Shadow Magnet 39. Lankum - Newcastle 40. CHVRCHES – Over 41. Katie Gately – Howl 42. Midbooze – Ad2k 43. The Beatles – Now & Then 44. Decisive Pink – Ode to Boy 45. Slowdive – The Slab 46. Lael Neale – I Am The River 47. Roosevelt – No Ordinary Love 48. Synecdoche Montauk – Wherever You Are 49. Solomon Fesshaye – Invisible Hand 50. Headache – The Beginning of the End Many thanks all for reading/commenting, I did fall off a bit with this oops, blame work/studies etc., but I did want to finish to acknowledge what has been a really good year for music for me even when I thought I wouldn't have a lot of time for it, let's hope 2024 can follow a similar pattern! Until then x |
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29th January 2024, 07:57 PM
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#54
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baddest of them all
Joined: 2 August 2008
Posts: 21,776 User: 6,764        |
Hey Chez! It's been great following this. Your writeups are fantastic as is the taste on display
Quite a bit I still need to dive into but I love all these: 5. Nabihah Iqbal This World Couldnt See Us 6. Caroline Polachek Welcome to My Island 7. Nyteout Angels Forever 9. Art School Girlfriend A Place to Lie 12. Romy - Loveher 14. Enola Gay feat. Mount Palomer terra firma 15. Hemlocke Springs sever the blight 16. Confidence Man & Daniel Avery On & On (Again) 18. Joanna WHERES THE LIGHT? 19. Weyes Blood God Turn Me Into a Flower 20. Caroline Polachek feat. Dido & Grimes Fly to You 24. Peggy Gou It Goes Like (Na Na Na) 25. Kelela Contact 27. Romy & Fred Again - Strong 28. M.A.G. 23232323332222332 29. Yune pinku Fai Fighter 31. Nabihah Iqbal Zone 1 to 6000 33. Chloe Caillet Quieres (Parts 1 & 2) 36. Underworld Denver luna 50. Headache The Beginning of the End Oop at Pete not remembering A Place to Lie from BJSC x |
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29th January 2024, 08:50 PM
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#55
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Alone and wounded
Pronouns: She/her
Joined: 18 January 2011 Posts: 60,191 User: 12,810
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Congrats on completing this, Chez
 of course agree with Kath that your write-ups were a wonderful read. Happy to see the gorgeous 'Be On Your Way' so high up for you
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29th January 2024, 10:11 PM
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#56
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my mind is ready for fun
Joined: 28 August 2017
Posts: 10,723 User: 38,591
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Two of your song contest entries on top - Ozean an intriguing discovery from the retro contest that I had to make room for in my points, and the first song I'd heard from Lankum a little before Unknown Pleasures, which I probably found too uncomfortable a theme at the time, but absolutely appreciate the storytelling and the music playing it out - and since your countdown started, I've become quite fond of 'Newcastle', to name just one completely new discovery for me. It's been a pleasure to follow this and read your insightful commentaries on each song - thanks Chez!
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