Round 1: Black Midi v. Jenny Hval

[baystateoftheart]

Seed #3:

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Schlagenheim by Black Midi

Nominated by: mdbaxter
Genres [RYM]: Math Rock, Noise Rock, Experimental Rock

Seed #15:

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The Practice Of Love by Jenny Hval

Nominated by: baystateoftheart
Genres [RYM]: Art Pop, Synthpop

Instructions:

If you have not already, please listen to both albums in full before voting. Share your thoughts and/or your vote in this thread. This poll will be tallied in no fewer than twenty-eight days. See Tournament Spreadsheet for the full bracket.
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[cestuneblague]

While I think Hval's peak in the decade was between '13-early '16, I do think she's been pretty consistiently excellent even if maybe the music no longer feel like it's about to explode- and the Practice of Love is another strong balance of her more accessible songwriting while still experimenting with different sounds and structures.

Black Midi is very well done, remember being dissapointed on first listen but probably had more to do with the hype, like the energetic overall threading of styles here even if it's not terribly distinctive or ground-breaking in any way, but still an engaging listen nonetheless.


Still narrowly going for the mighty Hval here.

[LedZep]

Again, both are some of my favourites of the year. In fact, they are neighbours on my chart, Midi on 28 and Hval on 29.

Black Midi released one of the coolest rock albums of the year. It's not anything groundbreaking, but it combines math rock, experimental and post-hardcore influences in a pretty unique way, and the songwriting is fantastic.

It took me a long time to get into Jenny Hval, but 2018's The Long Sleep and last year's The Practice of Love have convinced me she's incredible. Those are (controversially) my favourite Hval albums.
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Overall chart
Fake overall chart

2020s

[mickilennial]

Not Hval's strongest, but its still Hval... but at the same time Black Midi here is really uniquely good. I'm gonna go Black Midi.

[Repo]

[craola]

Cruel matchup. Definitely going BM, but they’re two fantastic artists.
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[RockyRaccoon]

Man, this is another tough one. Both albums are excellent, but I'm almost always a sucker for Jenny Hval, that album was top-20 of the year for me, so I've gotta go with that. That Black Midi album is super good too though
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2023 Chart

Early Psychedelic Rock

Electronic Chart

[dihansse]

Black Midi

[baystateoftheart]

I disagree that Hval peaked 2013-16. While Innocence Is Kinky is a great album (and so is Viscera for that matter), I'd say her peak is 2015-present. The Practice Of Love builds on the excellent sound of The Long Sleep and explores new directions, including the incorporation of trance elements. Hval's arrangements are outstanding as usual. This is her first solo LP to make significant use of guests, and their contributions are all value-added, blending seamlessly into her sound. While not as overtly feminist or conceptual as some of her other albums, those threads still run just below the surface. The album explores themes of love, mortality, reproduction, nature, and more in poetic and thought-provoking ways. Lyrically, it's mostly excellent, and Hval's vocals are gorgeous throughout. It's not her best album (Apocalypse, Girl), but it is another amazing entry in her discography.
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[baystateoftheart]

Gave another listen to Schlagenheim before voting, and it grew on me a bit. I can definitely appreciate what they're going for, even if I might prefer less math and more noise. The vocals and lyrics could be better, but they're obviously not the focal point. The only track on which they are a real drawback is bmbmbm. While it's a very good debut, pulling the lever for my nominee was easy.
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