F*ck the Algorithm - Issue 001
I’m not a big fan of the algorithm (shocker).
As I’ve increasingly let it do its thing, the playlists it produces have drawn on fewer songs narrowing the rotation further still. It’s like reading the TL;DR of a Cliff Note of an abridgement.
Bands like Sleep Token will often surface in metal, rock, chill, gaming and workout playlists. I like Sleep Token, but this constant spamming has started to take the shine off the music for me.
It’s not all tech bashing here, though, and streaming isn’t the villain of the piece.
When I was coming of age, discovering new music involved a lot more guesswork. I’d pore over Metal Hammer or Kerrang!, trying to imagine what a band sounded like based on a photo, a logo, or a journalist’s description. If something caught my attention, I’d take a bus from my rural hometown to the nearest city, head to Virgin Megastore, and ask a far cooler-than-me assistant to load the CD into the demo machine so I could listen through battered communal headphones.
If I didn’t want the anxiety of that interaction, I could just buy the album blind - a £10–£20 gamble that might take weeks to recover from if I hated it.
Now, if a band catches my eye, I’m a click away from their entire back catalogue, instantly available wherever I am. That’s an extraordinary shift, and I don’t want to lose sight of how good that part is.
This playlist is an attempt to take advantage of that access without surrendering to the loop. It’s about following familiar instincts forward - looking for new music that shares a lineage with the things that shaped me, even when it doesn’t sound the same on the surface.
Consider this a first step.
This week’s playlist
F*ck the Algorithm - Issue 001
Eight tracks in just under 25mins, best enjoyed loudly.
Track notes
1. The Barbarians of California – Modern Fashion
If you grew up listening to heavy music like I did then this track is a safe pair of hands. It seamlessly blends a snarling, heavy edge with silky production and has one of the most distinctive lead vocal sounds I have heard for a while.
Bridge back: Speaks for itself, really. My younger self would have loved this too.
2. Stephen Wilson Jr – Stand By Me – Live at The Print Shop
I must confess I don’t much care for the original version of this song, but this cover is an absolute belter. Stephen holds court on the microphone and has a distinctive nylon string guitar sound. Mesmerising from start to finish and performed live.
Bridge back: Despite its chilled, folky style, Stephen’s vocal delivery is raspy and raw in places and he strums that guitar like a true punk.
3. Igorrr – Headbutt
Imagine if Aphex Twin was a metalhead from the Balkans and you might get somewhere close to Igorrr. This track from his latest album showcases his style perfectly, right from the blastbeat-accompanied Rachmaninov-esque piano sweeps.
Bridge back: Heavy guitars, improbably fast drums and classical theatrics - sort of like Muse with 'roid rage. It’s all recorded with real musicians, too!
4. Architects – Blackhole
Architects have been around for a long time, but this latest album snuck under the radar for a lot of my friends and so maybe you missed it too. Heavy as two hells, impeccably produced and an astounding vocal performance.
Bridge back: This sounds simultaneously modern and nostalgic. There’s a whiff of nu metal that runs through the whole album but not in a cheesy way.
5. FORKED – Rubberman
Coming in at 1:35, this is the shortest track on the playlist but packs a punch. There’s a cool swagger to their take on hardcore that won’t be rushed but pounds like a juggernaut.
Bridge back: The synth line in this could be straight from an old Weezer or Nerf Herder song but in a very different context.
6. SCALER – Broken Entry
The first three minutes of this track is just a steady building up of tension that demands patience to make it through, but the pay-off is worth it. There are elements of so many genres buried in here and it really deserves a listen on good headphones.
Bridge back: This could easily sit on the first Matrix soundtrack, a pivotal album in my formative musical journey that I bought from Woolworths.
7. Gouge Away – Deep Sage (BBC Live Version)
These guys have an effortless cool. There’s nothing posey or contrived-sounding about it, just honest grungy rock. But the main event for me is that chainsaw vocal delivery, which I could listen to on its own - extra impressive as it’s a live performance.
Bridge back: There’s a hint of Brody Dalle in this vocal delivery.
8. MSPAINT – Drift
It’s difficult to know exactly what to call this, but I like it. There are elements of post-punk and post-hardcore in there but there aren’t any guitars and there’s clearly a hip-hop influence creeping in too. The vocal is somewhere between Mark E. Smith and the Beastie Boys.
Bridge back: The half sung/half rapped vocal reminds me of some old nu metal bands like P.O.D but also Davey Havok’s wailing in classic AFI tracks.
That’s it for Issue 001. I’d love to know if anything here surprised, annoyed or struck a chord with you. Good music deserves a conversation.
