Ruin

Dandelion-core.

Extremely try-hard theatre kid melodramatic music that swells and reaches for epicness from the first note and flails around trying to get there for 40 minutes. Dual vocals, strummy guitars, rich string arrangements, operatic ambitions, a through-narrative. Then a few tracks without the strings and just a more sparse singer songwriter folksy thing, but with the same cringey lyrics (“I’m going to show my cat some memes”) and musical theatre melodic phrasing. A for effort, but D for not including anything I want to listen to.

Overwhelming in an obnoxious kind of way

Nerd ass folk

Too many graduate-theater-program vibes to suit one’s taste, though there’s obvious talent here. The overreliance on emo + metal + alt effects in the production of the more ambitious cuts doesn’t exactly break through. “Chords” and title cut work pretty well. Net-net this is neither the worst nor the best of the user recommends – one’ll go with above replacement level (but not way above). Remind one of Shovels & Rope and The Civil Wars, maybe, in terms of over-earnest (though heart in the right place) and not entirely effective bands in this genre, whatever it might be most accurately called.

Man, I mention *one time* that I’m getting a lot of folk, and now I’ve gotten my third folk album in a row. Is that all that’s left for me on the user list? Granted, the folk stuff I’ve gotten the last two days has been pretty good, so let’s make it three in a row! Well, it looks like my stretch of enjoying folk albums has come to a halt with The Amazing Devil. Right off the bat, I didn’t care for this album. The way this album was recorded and mixed sounded like it was a Broadway soundtrack recorded by the cast, but without a story or a sense of place to go along with it, the overall album just fell flat with me. The big production wound up making this album feel like a hollow shell to me, like looking at a theater set from backstage. The album did get a bit better as it went along though, and it’s a damn shame that the last song, “Inkpot Gods” wound up being the best song on the album. Had this album sounded like an actual folk album instead of a faux soundtrack, I bet it would have kicked ass.

Aaaaah! Theater kids with a budget! Run! Burn it! Gah!!!

Ruin has a dark vibe for folk music you don’t hear much. I know this is more indie than folk, but the folk stood out more to me, I think because the Amazing Devil’s kind of folk music shows up in the winding lyrics and clear vocals. In the end, Ruin was a different kind of listen but largely felt one note. I like the album cover!

I didn't know Joey Batey had an album, or any music work outside of what he did on The Witcher. I enjoy his voice and his bard style in The Witcher, so I was pleased to hear that largely carry over in this album. In addition to still sounding very bardic on this album, the dark Celtic-esque style also prevails. This is another album that hits about a 2.5 for me, but I was at least intrigued by the vocals, music style, and storytelling elements, so I opted to round up.

sounds distinctly theater kid I liked it, but it felt kinda mid, idk - 6/10

Folk That Says Fuck

Best Song: The Calling. Brooding, with a nice interplay between the male and female vocalists. And it builds steadily towards a singular crescendo, which I love. Worst Song: Drinking Song for the Socially Anxious. Terribly twee and modern. This song alone does a great deal to undermine the feeling of the entire album. Overall: There's some decent, highly-produced folk here, but sometimes he comes at it with a bit too much of a "theater-kid" energy. He sings with a little too much projection, enunciates a little too cleanly. Also, from an aesthetic and (especially) lyrical standpoint, the album works best when it attempts to emulate some kind of conception of a "timeless" folk music, evoking a sort of fantasy theme. When the lyrics make explicit reference to modern concepts it feels anachronistic and breaks that tenuous feeling of immersion.

EDIT: I originally gave this album a 3, which the below review reflects This album has a very cinematic feel to it, it flows very well and it has those big dramatic strings you hear in movies, so I'm assuming this was an intentional choice. The music itself is indie folk, very powerful and well sung, though it veers dangerously into the "stomp clap hey" territory at times. The lyrics seem very personal, and it seems like the submitter values them a lot, though I personally thought they were a bit to distracting and not the best. I'm sure it will resonate with a lot of people though. Should it be in the main list: No Top 3 songs: Secret Worlds, The Calling, Inkpot Gods

Most songs were like Broadway numbers, with a couple like Medieval music. Great voices but not enough like traditional music to re-listen.

Favorite Track: Inkpot Gods

Much like a small child that constantly tugs at your pant leg to get your attention, Ruin keeps drawing your attention back to it, regardless of whether you want it to or not. I found it rather endearing as opposed to annoying, and I feel this one will get some rotation on my listening queue.

Jaskier from The Witcher makes exactly the music you'd expect. Epic TV-show folk that sounds emotionally enormous without doing the work to earn it. It makes you tired without giving anything in return.

Jag gillade det här. Når inte ända fram men får jag ge albumet lite lyssningar så kanske det sker.

maybe a 4.5 but it's got power and heart

Indie folk dramatic theater kid vibes.

Like a soundtrack to a Lord of the Rings-esque film. All very dramatic and worthy and a little bit over the top. Worth a listen but only the once for me

Quite nice folk. The kind of thing you'd get on a gritty modern western.

Unremarkable folk from an unremarkable duo. They don't even have a wikipedia page for the group, it just redirects to the fella who's most notable credit is for The Witcher series. He's a fine singer, but these songs come across as trying to be more impressive than they actually are. The performances are far too overpronounced for me to enjoy, the songs are often aimless, and the lyrics suffer from a lack of subtlety or gracefulness. Everything about this album is seemingly trying to grate me down into a fine powder so I can never enjoy folk music ever again. It feels like a crime. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: No, not even close.

Ruined

folkd

I know exactly who these people are and can only imagine just how insufferably annoying they must be when they pretentiously insist upon themselves. They need their instruments taken away from them. They’ve lost musician privileges. “Gonna go home and dress my cat up like Batman ‘cause he’s awesome like me”. This is just cringe after cringe and would be, honestly, really great if they leaned into it and were just a little self aware. Unfortunately, they seem like they think they’re cool. You don’t have to be cool, but if y’ain’t, you need to know. Instrumentation is good, but boring. Production isn’t boring, but it’s not great. I wish I could enjoy this, but I’m not a fourteen year old D&D player who earnestly believes they aren’t like other kids, who is different and destined for greatness. I’m not. I’m destined for debt and a poor sleep schedule. At least I’m not destined to ever listen to this again. 2/5

Wow! That was god awful! Sounds like it comes from the most budget Ren Faire troupe. 1/5

tiktok viking core

If God made us all in his image then he's a fucking nerd

I don’t know why this bothered me but it did. I like absolutely despised the vocals to the highest possible extent. I can’t back up WHY so i’m not allowing a 1, but like this is just not for me.

This is kind of all over the place, and - I'll admit it - I definitely (mis)judged by the album cover. First few tracks sounds like we're being launched into a musical, then track 3 sounds... *exactly* how I'd expect based on the cover (and that one is kind of annoying). Not sure what to think - it's ambitious and impressive on a musical level but from big theater-style music to bedroom soft/fey vocal harmonies on an acoustic that was probably recorded on a 4 track, I can't get a handle on it. I don't dislike it, but not sure I like it all that much either ... an absolute equivocation on my part. Throwing it right up the middle - there's a lot of talent here but might have been better off as said-unwritten(?)-musical. Also the little vocal...tics? or uncut spoken "aww bollocks..." things I usually like when kept in songs but it all sounds so forced and almost planned that it takes me right out of it all. I'm probably being harsh here because there's a lot here but it's just not for me. 5/10 2 stars IMO: Belonged in the book? No.

This is the guy from the witcher! I've heard this album a lot, but it's my kinda goblincore, in part because it's Stephen's favorite. I'll be very surprised if this scores less than a 5.

Música dramática en el sentido de la intensidad y la majestuosidad con la que se interpreta. Buen disco, por tener algo de originalidad, aunque le falta algo para tener mejor nota. Interpretado a 2 voces, masculina y femenina.

I lost interest after they started singing about showing their cat some memes and playing D&D.

Bombastic, yet intimate. I liked the trading off of the singers, i thought that was pretty effective. Both of them did some great work on this. Top songs: "Drinking Song For The Socially Anxious," "Blossoms," "The Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace," title track, "Inkpot Gods"

Thoughtful story telling. Very good vocals

Real nice

A bit of a surprise here. Didn't think it was for me, but about halfway through the album I changed my mind. The Calling and Blossoms are great tracks.

Not really for me, I don't enjoy folk in any combination usually anyway. It's not bad though, some good vocal ranges they have. Produced well.

Soars much more than the cover art would imply. Despite initial misgivings I wound up liking it quite a lot.

It's Jaskier from "The Witcher!" Some of these songs definitely have a bit of a Jaskier vibe too. The modern themes and language in a style that reminds me of traditional folk ballads and a bard from a fantasy show felt a bit off a couple of times, but overall I enjoyed The Amazing Devil.

I guess it's the theater kid inside, but I kinda love this.

This definitely sounds like music that the guy from The Witcher would make, and not in a great way. The cover about sums up the vibe too. Just very cheesy over the top folk.

Indie folk and west end musicals are not my thing so this is not my thing

Was kind of hoping for more here, but it was mostly just inoffensive? Lots of songs feeling like they were on the verge of a religious montage backing track, but there was softer moments I enjoyed a bit more. The whole album kind of just exists, though.

What the fuck even is this? There's no wikipedia page, which I wanted to look at just to see what you call this genre. I'm calling this Epic Folk. It's cool. Not at all what I was expecting from the cover art, but it's very well executed. Their duets are well-constructed, and they each really hold up their end. The music is really stirring and goes on these great slow builds. 4/5, someone make a wikipedia page for this band so I know what the fuck they are

Did really do it for me.

Indie folk. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

Indie folk. Agradable de escuchar, pero me pasa desapercibido. Y lo he escuchado varias, para ver si destacaba algo.

Sorry, but I just find this really cringey.

Demonstrates that theater kid indie folk and fantasy nerd power metal have some unexpected overlap in the venn diagram. This is really cheesy, and while cheesy can be really fun, they don't quite have the goods to pull it off successfully.

I quite liked it. But it swam in and out of enjoyment.

This whole thing sounds like "The Fairytale of New York" if it was produced by Hans Zimmer.

I found this quite insufferable. Cringe. OTT. twee. Not good.

Well this was epic. I can't say I'd want to listen again but I do appreciate it. Would make a great soundtrack for the Witcher. Very earnest.

Even not exactly the type of music I enjoy every day, it's finally a user suggestion that shows something different and enjoyable in discovering (different and newish, but with strong bolds on some kind of traditional music). This is the type of thing that the original list really sticks to achieving, but fails in a myriad of repetitive, hidden British sea of indie albums. If I need to listen to more British albums, I'd be glad for more of this.

This was quite something. Will definitely listen again. Thank you to whoever added this. Has definite musical overtones a la Hadestown.

Ooh it's Jaskier! I shouldn't like this but the Witcher vibes made it quite enjoyable.

A geordie duo, both actors, who love a melodramatic bombastic story song. An interesting choice, with no clear roots in time or place (accents aside), and which i thoroughly enjoyed

Wow.. That was brilliant!! Amazing lurics and melodies.. Nice surprise to discover new music.

This sounds like a West End musical soundtrack. It Alt-Rock-Folk with a dramatic essence. The nearest comparison I can think of is the Decemberists. A worthy but odd pick.

In the realm of epic "indie folk" from the British Isles, there's the visceral and layered renditions of immemorial traditional songs as performed by the young yet already seasoned bucks that Lankum are, and then there's the heavy-handed, Broadway musical-inspired, topsy-turvy stuff that the professional actors in this quite insipid project have released here. That duo is admittedly musically skilled, at least on a technical viewpoint. But artistically speaking, it seems to me they're out of their league. Sure, comparing two acts as different as Lankum and The Amazing Devil might be quite nonsensical. Maybe in the end, it's just a case of choosing the (amazing) devil you know. But I would never include the act who wrote, performed and released *Ruin* into my list of keepers. I certainly wouldn't sign them up with my blood, not to mention plain ink. Please listen to album *False Lankum*. If really you're into cinematic, quote-unquote, "folk music", you might be in for a treat. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 13 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 17 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 35 (including this one)

Curious mix of styles, not bad

When Mumford & Sons watched a bunch of Disney films and got obsessed with those earnest male & female ballads.

The cover art has my interest. Let's have a listen. I'm not usually one for "folk singer/songwriter" - but this album is the fuckin' tits, yo. The old witch sleep and the good man grace... What a track!

Folk music for theatre kids (not derogatory). This was quite fun - it got a bit predictable after a while, with a lot of songs going for the same reverb-heavy slow build bodhran-bashing songs that people would have described as epic about 10 years ago. Still a nice listen though, and some fun lyrics varying between a real high fantasy vibe to just some modern day nerds playing D&D and talking about their lives

Really not my thing- I respect the attempt (folky-theatrical fey ballads) but it's pretty false and contrived.

Hooked me immediately and unexpectedly. I'm liking these epic folk albums

This is an indie folk band? I'd hardly call it indie folk at times. More like dramatic musical theatre. I agree with the other comments saying this is a musical. That's what makes it give off trying too hard vibes. It sounds forced. Like those little spoken word things sound so fake and inauthentic. It's hard to describe why but it just does. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Fun light airy renaissance faire vibes. Very cool

Very dramatic indie folk album, I did enjoy it even though it comes across as pretentious posh theatre kids at times. Overall I think this is Good choice for an album selection.

Partly cringe partly okay

There are one or two tracks on Ruin I really, really like; The Calling is the best of those because the girl's voice and stylings get very close to Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation territory, and they're a bit of a guilty pleasure band of mine. The rest of this is okay, it's sort of like if Riverdance was borne of a different sound and mythology, there's a real aura and atmosphere to it all but because it teases me with some soaring highs that aren't there throughout, and it's just a bit too folksy and slow in those slower moments, it's just a 3/5, but colour me intrigued, this was a pretty interesting listen.

This record has me feeling weird, mostly because I think high school me would have really loved this record. It's incredibly well-performed, but there is a certain amount of earnestness that comes across as... Cringe-worthy, to me. It's nerdy, but also in that "wrote a sweeping indie-folk song with references to D&D and memes" level of nerdy. It completely lost me in the middle (hitting heavy turbulence during "Drinking Song For The Socially Anxious") but it does smooth out near the end. Dips into shanty territory maybe one too many times. Favorite track: "Inkpot Gods"

An interesting folksy type alternative album but nothing really stuck with me. I'm digging the album cover though, very cool shot.

Is this the first artist to not even have a wikipedia page? That's how obscure we're going, I respect it. I can't say I loved this, I'm only keeping one song, but I can't say it was bad either. Musically, pretty interesting variety. But I wasn't impressed. 2.5/5

Okay so why do I like that decemberists hazards of love album but not this. Like why is hazards of love a great concept album but this sounds like theater kid cringe to me. Must be something with the production since this sounds like it’s from a stage musical but my ears rejected this even though the sound isn’t that far off from music that I really enjoy.

A bit too overly-dramatic for me to file this under the best music genre of all time - "goofy medieval music". Also, this is going to be extremely specific, but it reminded me too much of music you'd find in Youtube compilations titled something like "Royalty Free Viking Music For Your D&D Campaign 10 Hours (No Ads)". 2/5, but a weird kind of 2/5, because I can tell that I would have absolutely loved it with some production tweaks.

Better than I thought!

Whe I read that it was the band from The Witcher's bard actor, I was a little skeptical, but the first song really impressed me. Overall I enjoyed this album, a lot of really intense moments, but I was left underwhelmed by some of the more softer and acoustic passages. Still a fun listen, great suggestion. 7/10

Folksy blues for the theater-nerd set.

Ruin of The Amazing Devil is a nice album with folk and rock songs. The songs vary between ballads, folk songs and accoustic hard/prog rock (a bit like Tenacious D). Sometimes the performance is a slighty too much dramatic and it gets annoying.

Glad that I gave it a second listen.

Loud and big and theatrical. I can imagine a day when it might seem too much but that day is not today.

I wasn’t excited at another indie folk band… oh how misguided my brain was. The opening track, Secret Worlds, had me hooked immediately. Quick aside: After listening to over 1200 albums for this project my brain reacts negatively to almost every new thing that pops up here - and yet I end up loving the majority of the selections. Where else would I have discovered a group like The Amazing Devil? Weird though that my brain thinks it’s fatigued every time I get a something new to me here… even after all these great discoveries! As this album progressed I got goosebumps numerous times! Fantastically theatrical and completely riveting. What a great addition to my library!

There must be a modern folk revival that passed me by as there is a lot of 2020s folk on the user list. This is more interesting than most of it's contemporaries on the list and gets good when it gets big and textured. Rating: 3.5 Playlist track: Inkpot Gods Date listened: 13/12/24

I wasn't into this, but it just got more and more enjoyable lyrically, and that made me warm to the slightly OTT dramatics of the music till I really started to enjoy the whole thing a lot. I will be coming back to this one. Intriguing

It's a very "dramatic" album with plenty of musical gravitas. A lengthy album that doesn't really reach beyond that, however. Makes a lot of use of acoustic guitars to give it that additional oomph. Interesting. The last song put it into the 4 range for me.

This has the feeling of an offbroadway-level Disney animated movie soundtrack. Dramatic and theatrical, and a little overserious. An interesting listen.

It occurs to me a year after rating it that I as the person who submitted it should probably take some time to talk about it. Simply put, I love this band and especially this album. I think both singers are phenomenally talented. Their lyrics melodramatically exploding over relatively normal emotional expetiences like feeling awkard around a new person or looking back on a bad relationship feel really cathartic to listen to and are a headspace I understand with a few mental health problems myself. Sometimes very normal problems feel like these hugely important things that you need to wail to the sky about but can't. Big thanks to everyone who stopped and listened to this thing I love, even if you personally hated it. I've listened to all of yours, too.

This is some privileged "artistic" nonsense. I can hear that it's being made by people who've never had to struggle or work a hard day in their lives. It's pissing me off to listen to someone with the leisure to live their dreams, even if those dreams are talentless drivel.

Indie folk. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

Yeah, this was a bit overwrought in places. I didn't particularly connect with it, but I appreciate the creativity. Fave Songs: The Calling, Ruin, Chords

Interesting… not my style

Ruined my day

liked it, it's very "theatre kids" though 3.7

Great find.

Very dramatic hard-edged folk (British folk rock?)

You know it’s going to be good when you can’t find a Wikipedia page for any of it

Wow! Fun and occasionally epic