Well, I'm afraid my title has given away the surprise, but there you have it. Our friend Friday is going out with a bang. As this year was intended to be his last obscure prog rock tournament, and as it was his eighth one, he decided to end his reign with one last challenge, this time pitting the eight winners of his previous contests against one another. (Actually, his tournament from year 2 was technically an obscure psychedelic rock tournament, but close enough, right?) This one is sort of like the last book of The Hunger Games series, except that we'll probably actually complete the contest instead of kidnapping and executing Friday.
In Round 1, which is actually the quarterfinals, we were asked to vote in vote separate matches, featuring his Year 1 champion against his Year 2 champion, his Year 3 champion against his Year 4 champion, etc.
So play along with us if you like. We have plenty of time this time, as the voting for this round doesn't happen for 3 weeks.
Here are the matchups:
Los Jaivas
Alturas de Machu Picchu
"The mistic atmosphere, the lyrics, and the original sound, fusion of prog and folk andean music." -MrSirLordGentleman
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsb-X0J-7Mk&list=PLnJDCrKyKvbaCOckudTHzlfxVWcCjRZks&ab_channel=LosJaivas-
vs.
T2
It'll All Work Out in Boomland
"Rocks hard, psychs hard, even progs a bit with some really beautiful moments scattered throughout" -MeatSalad
Youtube: https://youtu.be/I1cKMIfcumg
McLuhan
Anomaly
"gigantic sleeper...very Crimson-esque" -gagnonov
youtube: https://youtu.be/7AJ0A_VKgig
vs.
Landberk
One Man Tells Another
"Album is about dark atmospheres. The music is soaked through in melancholy and sadness with an overpowering sense of beauty." - Jethro42
Link: https://musicmp3.ru/artist_landberk__album_one-man-tells-another.html#.Vs8wckn2a1s
Universal Totem Orchestra
Mathematical Mother
"The 3rd outing from this adventurous Italian band delivers a sleek, dark sound characterized by sensitive operatic vocals, sprinklings of funky fusion, and miles upon miles of rock-solid, infectious groove. Ambient segues recalling Dead Can Dance (Elogio del Dubbio) fuse seamlessly with Zeuhl-like flights of rhythmic fury and atmospheric jazzy passages. The wildly varied whirlwind of an opener is worth the price of admission alone and the playful album centerpiece "Architettura Dell'Acqua" is every bit as jam-packed with expansive, symphonic Orffian bombast as any of the territory covered on Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöh. That is not to say, however, that any of the other songs should be skipped! If operatic vocals are not an immediate deterrent (I find them to be tastefully employed here), UTO’s creative arrangements and superb instrumental interplay are bound to leave you floored." - bnelso55
Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGnLbB9RSopCK_kDtjBDF90aU2sYNkvI
vs.
Carmen
Fandangos in Space
"A fun mix of flamenco and progressive rock filled with exciting tales of gypsies and bullfights, this is a record which really deserves more attention from people." - Sharktooth
youtube: https://youtu.be/9nIP_WlCdtM
Wobbler
From Silence to Somewhere
"Seen by many prog fans as a modern classic of the genre, Wobbler's latest record is one of the few modern album that does justice to the genre's older 70's sound. Great production and excellent instrumentation make for a thrilling, energetic and infectious sound that drags only a little bit in very few parts of the record." - MrSirLordGentleman
Youtube: https://youtu.be/j2W_UAIqwbk
vs.
Regal Worm
Pig Views
"Modern prog band featuring a multi-instrumentalist experimenting avant gardist music. Band is injecting Medieval and psychedelic touches in their weird kind of prog that contains start and stop patterns and eccentric turns. Alternance of punchy and pastoral ambiences give tonus to the mix. It's generally sophisticated and simple in the same time. It's really melodic, and vocals serve as an instrument. Good use of mellotrons, organs and many more keys and synths. Kinda Beck on acid, making prog." - Jethro42
On Bandcamp: https://regalworm.bandcamp.com/album/pig-views
[also on Spotify]
I'm already somewhat familiar with six of the eight contestants, as I have participated in the last four prog tournaments, and I went back on my own at one point and replayed the first two. So only the McLuhan and the Landberk albums are unknown to me.
Nevertheless, I'll be going back and giving them each at least one more listen, especially as we have three weeks to do so. I've already listened again to the Los Jaivas and the T2, and I'm definitely going to have to listen to each of them again - they're two very different LPs, and upon my first listen, it was much too close to call.
So take your time, give them each a listen, and think about which of these eight fine albums you would choose as your ultimate album.
I'll be back in three weeks to give you the results of this semi-final round. I'll also be back soon to tell you about the August Song of the Day contest. And one of these days, hopefully in the pretty near future, I'll also be back with the next installment of the My Favorite Artist series with my writeup about The Go-Go's.
See you soon.
