The Pitchfork News/reviews thread

[Miroir Noir]

Yeah, but they only had two or three in the entire month of June. Just the vagaries of the calendar.

[TallGuyCM]

I listened to probably half the Passion Pit album today, and I disliked the songs just as much as the songs from their first album.

[SoulDischarge]

Liquid Swords. 10. Well deserved.

[nosurprises12]

Quite - still my favorite solo Wu Tang album.

[SoulDischarge]

That Dan Deacon interview was pretty damned interesting.

[bmack86]

Who knew he was such a thoughtful and focused dude? I love his stuff, but that made me go back and listen to it intently once again.

[rage patton]

Holy shit. Pitchfork just gave the new album from White Lung, a fantastic Vancouver post-punk/ hardcore band, an 8.0. I played with this band a few months ago and have seen them multiple times. I am so fucking excited for them. They have toured North America relentlessly the past 2-3 years, barely breaking even every tour, but it has never broken their spirit. Hopefully this review helps them gain a solid following around the continent. They fucking deserve it.

You can check out the review here: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16897-sorry/

[GeezrRckr]

Nas' "Life is Good" totally deserved the score/being 'forked. It's maybe my favorite hip-hop album of the year. What a confessional!

[bmack86]

Woah, really?! I'll listen to it on my flight on Thursday.

[Sushov23]

Nas' "Life is Good" totally deserved the score/being 'forked. It's maybe my favorite hip-hop album of the year. What a confessional!

Agreed, his first good album in a LONG, LONG time(Since Stillmatic in 2001). The only song I could do with out is the Swizz Beats produced one.

[stinkbutt]

What the fuck is up with Pitchfork's obsession with questionable rap? First it was Die Antwoord, then Lil B and OFWGKTA, then Kreayshawn and the White Girl Mob, and now fucking Riff Raff? Everything else seems great compared to him, but without him at the end it might not. Are they trying to lower the bar so much that all you need is a gimmick to get some coverage?

[GeezrRckr]

Yes.

80% (more?) of their reviews are meant to either pander to their festival and/or keeping "relevant" with the younger demo for their advertisers. It's not difficult to read through the lines there. I will give them credit for learning from the failings of their predecessors (RS, Spin, etc). They completely jumped the shark once the ad bubble burst and have rendered themselves the eunuchs of music journalism (shit, RS is only worthwhile for their investigative journalism now).

[bmack86]

The People's list

You guys making lists? I'm going thru it right now and deciding what should potentially be on mine. I'm already well over 100.

[Phunkevil]

5.4

[SepaGroove]

5.4

Just read that one. I haven't listened to the album yet, but a 5.4 isn't very encouraging.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I've only given it one cursory listen so far, but it is MUCH better than that number indicates.

[SepaGroove]

I've only given it one cursory listen so far, but it is MUCH better than that number indicates.

I like most of what Yeasayer has done up to this point so I'm sure I would like it then. Gonna listen to it on Spotify.

[bmack86]

I was still a fan of it.

[TallGuyCM]

I thought that number was spot-on. A total mess of an album. And lol, it's score is only a fraction higher than the new album from The Darkness.

[Miroir Noir]

Yeah, not sure why this review has been so controversial or shocking (Cohen on Twitter today: "On the other hand, big ups to @Yeasayer fans - your hatemail game is surprisingly on point.") But this album is hardly exceptional, and I'm not sure that Yeasayer has done anything to date that would establish their place as some sort of tenured, capital-I important act that is above measured criticism. Two good albums, three or four excellent singles, and totally understandable that people like them. But it's hardly like this was a pan of a new Animal Collective album or something.

[zircona1]

The People's list

You guys making lists? I'm going thru it right now and deciding what should potentially be on mine. I'm already well over 100.

Yes I made one:

http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/fac6db41/

[TallGuyCM]

Yes I made one:

http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/fac6db41/

Never heard your #1. Gonna have to check that out.

[malcolmjamalawesome]

Niki & The Dove - Instinct is fucking fantastic.

They obviously sound a lot like The Knife - only if "Heartbeats" was the most challenging and antipop track The Knife had.

It's like The Knife made a Cyndi Lauper & Prince cover album.

"Under The Bridge" is both a great, epic closer and is now my favorite song entitled "Under The Bridge."

Niki & The Dove is the Swedish Electropop missing link between The Knife and Robyn.

and then

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16758-instinct/

It's a universal pop truth that songs about the thrill of the club rarely live up to the urgent abandon induced by a night's hard dancing. Two years ago, Swedish duo Niki and the Dove-- aka Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf-- struck a rare and peculiar seam with the release of their debut single, "DJ, Ease My Mind", on British indie label Moshi Moshi. Over militaristic clattering drums and swathes of pristine synthesizers (think the Knife's precision blown up to Eurovision Song Contest size), Dahlström pleads, "I want to forget, I want lights to blind me... I want to disappear," imploring the DJ to let calm flood her soul by playing a jam that takes her back to a time laced with romantic triumphs. "DJ…" is spectacular because it doesn't just feel like a song made for your own euphoric moments in the wee hours; rather, it's a force that bolts your heart to Malin's and forces it to pulse along with hers. Two years in the making, Niki and the Dove's debut album, Instinct, has a borderline greedy hit-rate where all 12 of its songs (not counting the two bonus numbers on the U.S. release) manage to be equally arresting, flitting between the sound of Fleetwood Mac, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, and trashy Europop, while delighting in tiny but pivotal moments, sites of emotional precipices and tremendous, history-making passions.

[TallGuyCM]

http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/780ddc0a/

My top 15 or so are ranked, the rest are kinda just thrown in there.

[nyarlathotoats]

and then

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16758-instinct/

Total conspiracy.

[SoulDischarge]

http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/2fa07d38/

Top 26 are ranked. Everything else needs to be sorted.

[Miroir Noir]

I limited myself to 3 albums per any one artist, and picked albums that meant something to me. Apologies in advance for my MOR taste.

http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/be7895a3/

[getbetter]

I've only gotten 3 hours of sleep today and worked 14 hours so this is kinda just a rough draft. http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/7da65f70/

[Miroir Noir]

Two of your lists in, and I realize I'm missing the Afghan Whigs and Italians Do It Better.

[getbetter]

Im missing soundtrack for the blind.