Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 137: FKA twigs - Magdalene (+ Sade results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

No poll this week; will have to double up next week

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, October 22nd at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

FKA twigs - Magdalene track list:
1. Thousand Eyes
2. Home with You
3. Sad Day
4. Holy Terrain
5. Mary Magdalene
6. Fallen Alien
7. Mirrored Heart
8. Daybed
9. Cellophane

Current cycle:
10/22: RyoCaliente (Arcade Fire - The Suburbs)
10/29: darkx (The Cars - The Cars)
11/5: Steiner/Giggsalot/jcgamer107
11/12: neonreaper
11/19: Great_Paul
11/26: jcgamer107
12/3: Snake5555555555/RyoCaliente/BlueCrystalTear
12/10: ChichiriMuyo
12/17: BlueCrystalTear
12/24: rwlh
12/31: NFUN/Fluttershy_Pony/ChichiriMuyo
1/7: NFUN
1/14: StifledSilence
1/21: MaxGalactica
1/28: ZaziGuado/HBJDubs
2/4: Sheep007

Future Cycle:
2/11: HBJDubs
2/18: Fluttershy_Pony
2/25: Steiner
3/3: competitive week
3/10: Snake5555555555
3/17: ZaziGuado
3/24: firefdr
3/31: competitive week
4/7: Johnbobb
4/14: FoolFantastic
4/21: Seanchan
4/28: competitive week
5/5: Giggsalot

Sorry about the delay; I have not yet received two of the nominations for the intended poll and have not been at a computer since yesterday morning.

Did a first listen yesterday.

As you might expect, I wasn't feeling this. I might be wrong in calling this an "artsy" album, but that's how it came across to me on a first listen. It felt like one of those albums where I am missing the background and insight into the artist to know why this album is such a big deal.

Seanchan posted...

Did a first listen yesterday.

As you might expect, I wasn't feeling this. I might be wrong in calling this an "artsy" album, but that's how it came across to me on a first listen. It felt like one of those albums where I am missing the background and insight into the artist to know why this album is such a big deal.

It is classified as 'art pop' (and glitch pop) on RYM, so it is artsy. I think of FKA twigs in the same breath as SOPHIE, if on opposite ends of that particular spectrum. Where Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides is abrasive, Magdalene creates unease through relatively quiet moments that are occasionally thrust into passionate bursts. There's a certain control of emptiness that sets this apart, whether it be minimal instrumentation or the occasional total stop. This juxtaposition creates what I find to be a unique sense of motion throughout the album.

One of the most hauntingly beautiful albums I know. I love the way twigs centers her voice here. There is a sense of fragility throughout, culminating in the absolutely devastating "Cellophane." That final track shows that one loud moment can leave a huge impact.

Cellophane
Sad Day
Home with You
Mary Magdalene
Fallen Alien
Mirrored Heart
Thousand Eyes
Daybed
Holy Terrain

FoolFantastic posted...

Sorry about the delay; I have not yet received two of the nominations for the intended poll and have not been at a computer since yesterday morning.

i will take a forfeit

1: daybed
2: holy terrain
3: mirrored heart
4: mary magdalene
5: fallen alien
6: sad day
7: home with you
8: cellophane
9: thousand eyes

bump

up

Ill do a final listen tomorrow. Wasnt much in the mood today.

I can't ever think about FKA Twigs without just thinking of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chtCbEjhJcE

1. Fallen Alien
2. Sad Day
3. Mirrored Heart
4. Mary Magdalene
5. Holy Terrain
6. Cellophane
7. Home with You
8. Daybed
9. Thousand Eyes

Sad Day
Home With You
Daybed
Cellophane
Mirrored Heart
Thousand Eyes
Fallen Alien
Mary Magdalene
Holy Terrain

Fool put this in better words than I could. This is really good! I definitely want to check out more of her music

1. sad day
2. cellophane
3. daybed
4. home with you
5. fallen alien
6. thousand eyes
7. mary magdalene
8. holy terrain
9. mirrored heart

Very enjoyable album. Lots of subtle production and composition choices that I really enjoyed. The vocals were stellar and emotive, especially in cellophane. The top 3 in my ranking (sad day, cellophane, and daybed) were the big highlights for me, but there weren't any bad songs in the album. The only thing is the Future verse in holy terrain feels way out-of-place. Otherwise, this was a fantastic listen.

How the hell have I not heard of this artist before, or listened to a thing from her? She's got a gorgeous voice and the album is a lot easier on the ears than similar music I've listened to - I can't pin down what genre this is supposed to be beyond it being weird and melancholy, and that's only to the album's benefit. The quiet-loud dichotomy throughout really make this.

1) Sad Day - Easy pick for one of the best songs of this cycle.
2) Fallen Alien
3) Thousand Eyes - Dunks you straight into the mood of the album. Within a few seconds of this song getting into gear, I knew what the vibes were gonna be and I knew I was in for something interesting. What a great intro.
4) Mirrored Heart
5) Mary Magdelane
6) Cellophane
7) Daybed
8) Home with You
9) Holy Terrain

Would someone be willing to put the next topic up? I got my COVID booster yesterday and am sore all over and don't want to sit at my computer.

Here are the two polls:

Competitive week:
The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
vs.
Knower - Knower Forever
vs.
Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges - Clube de Esquina

neonreaper week:
Run DMC - Raisin Hell
vs.
Ice T - Original Gangster
vs.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Hes The DJ Im The Rapper

I got you covered

Covid booster messed me up for a day too. Better than the alternative though!

Magdalene isn't an album I return to especially regularly, perhaps due to its emotional intensity, but this is one of the best records of the last decade. Twigs' songwriting and vocals have never been better - even the songs here that do things that I don't love are consistently dynamic and surprising. The production is absolutely sumptuous too - there's no one better at sound design than Nicolas Jaar, and his fingerprints are all over this. Honestly, this album has pretty much everything.

1. Mary Magdalene
2. Thousand Eyes
3. Sad Day
4. Holy Terrain
5. Cellophane
6. Fallen Alien
7. Home with You
8. Daybed
9. Mirrored Heart

1. Mirrored Heart
2. Fallen Alien
3. Sad Day
4. Holy Terrain
5. Home with You
6. Mary Magdalene
7. Cellophane
8. Thousand Eyes
9. Daybed

I just didn't connect with this album. I guess I can see why this might be "a big deal" but for me there wasn't much here either instrumentally or lyrically.

bumps