1099

In recent years 1099 have landed themselves amongst my favourite artists of all time. I don't necessarily think any of their releases are classics, but they have such a unique sound within post-rock, and instrumental music in general, that make them near-perfect for certain situations. Namely, background music at a cafe. But all that love was nearly entirely Young Pines and Blindpassasjer, so I'll save my lyrical waxing for covering those albums. This album was my introduction to the band, way back in 2014, but I've barely touched it since.

And while there are undeniably some elements of what the band would become later here, it doesn't hold up to the standards set on those albums. For starters, the occasional vocal bursts and metal sections definitely don't fit, and I'm glad the band worked out how to make music without them. But there are still some wonderful jazz-influenced post-rock segments here, even if they do run on a bit long in several tracks. It fits the vibe of my background cafe ambience playlist reasonably well, if with a couple of track subtractions.

6.6 (4th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

The alphabetically first album on the list was the 1099, by 1099 (a coincidence?). No idea how to pronounce it - Ten-Ninety-Nine? Band names are important; album names are even more so. They are supposed set an appropriate mood and offer a glimpse into the album's inner workings.

To my relief, the 1099 proved to be a rather decent album. Being 74' long, it's probably a little drawn-out for the amount of the musical message it conveys, and therefore a little tedious to listen to in one sitting. The overall tone could be described as unassertive, reasonably fluid and late autumn-sad, albeit without being too gloomy.

Had I not known it was the 1099, I would have assumed it was some unreleased de-metalized material from Motor Psycho. I wouldn't describe it as prog, and I do not have a good understanding of what math-rock be, therefore I might characterize it as Nordic melodic indie-infused soft rock.

The musicianship is fairly good, and the compositions are not unpleasant, which isn't a disadvantage either.

I am not very frequently in the mood to listen to this kind of music in album quantities, therefore I will not be buying this one. Three stars ..