LogFAQs > #967144604

Glad you liked it, Sean! (I can tell you truly listened because you said "gobsmacked" - a word noticeably used in "Tunguska")

Here is the intro piece to this album (and to Sunspot) that I said I was writing...

As I said when I nominated this, Im friends with them. Im in their inner circle. I sometimes do watchalongs with them online, and they accept me for the weirdo I am. They also make awesome music and have for 25 years, with their first album coming in 2000 and their most recent the day my nominations were due (I got drunk at the club at the release party). Sunspot has always had three members: Mike Huberty (lead vocals, bass guitar), Ben Jaeger (guitars, keyboards, backing/harmony vocals), and Wendy Lynn Markus (nee Staats; drums, violin, backing/harmony vocals). Formed in college when Wendy replaced a guy who got cold feet, they are basically family now.

As the title implies, Singularity had 12 songs released as singles, one per month for a year, before they were all assembled onto an album (with tracks in release order) with bonus track Alive Day. I legit like every song here (ranking them is, like ChichiriMuyo said last week, "like ranking one's own children"), and its nice to take a trip through an artistic evolution that explores a diversity of influences. The consistency largely stems from the focus on one song at a time. For these reasons, I expect there to be very variable rankings.

The monthly nature helped begin Sunspots transition from raw indie music to glossy, polished arena rock. The next album, the space-rock The Slingshot Effect (the last album recorded at Garbage's Smart Studios), was yet another step further, but it was their next album after that, Weirdest Hits (an amalgamation of EPs, rather than a true compilation), was where they really exploded into that arena rock sound. (I didnt choose that one due to its intimidating 77-minute runtime and 18 tracks.) That one's worth a listen too, if you have the time. You may be surprised at how different the production sounds compared to this one.

Also fun: The video for "Grand Guignol" is hilarious (both Ben and Wendy nail it here), and not what you'd expect from a song named for a French horror theatre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9HK5R_jx4c

If you guys want info about the songs, lemme know, but I'll let your thoughts come to you. Enjoy~