Two examples that come to me immediately are Enya and Smashing Pumpkins. If music starts feeling stale, I can put on Enya and music feels new again. It’s such a pleasant departure from the standard pop/rock/RnB etc sounds that dominate (even if I like those artists).
Anybody have their own equivalents?
Gotta slide in with my boys King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, no matter what genre they’re recording in
Also shout out to Sleater - Kinney, I know they made a pretty major tonal shift in recent years, but that early era has a feeling all its own
They have a big discography. Any recs in particular for starting off?
Short Answer: I’m in your Mind Fuzz
Long Answer: subjective pick for sure, but no matter what part of Mind Fuzz you like, there’s another album that sounds like it to keep running with
Second place: Nonagon Infinity: like the album concept, probably my fave generic list of radio friendly rock bops, and there are a couple segments that call back to mind fuzz and forward to other pieces (interconnected themes and leitmotifs is a common theme of the band)
if you’re a metalhead I’d recommend Infest the Rats Nest if it’s above 35 degrees and you’re driving a vehicle with no aircon (but I won’t gatekeep) or PetroDragonic Apocalypse; Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
Other than that, if you’re looking for something upbeat and emotional I’d recommend Butterfly 3000
I can’t speak to their virtuosity, but if you’re a musician or interested in the technique they have a lot to be interested in, Ice Death Planets Lungs Mushrooms and Lava is an album where each track is ina different mode of the major scale, they have 2 different microtonal albums
And if I’m reading you wrong and you’re looking for something weird and avant guard to spark interest in a dull world there’s Murder of the Universe, the Silver Cord, or Omnium Gatherum
And I don’t want anyone to think that omission from this list is a bad mark, 12 bar bruise, Flight b741 and Phantom Island are great, just not necessarily my speed