(While having its moments of intense, intimate beauty, this album also did leave me unmoved for long stretches. Although the piano-heavy art pop and art rock and chamber pop here is quite heady and admirably composed, it never rose above quite nice in my opinion.)
After a few listens I feel like I just don't vibe with this album as much as I would expect myself to based off the individual parts. The one glaring thing that honestly just grated on me a bit was her voice - it has a certain theatrical, somewhat gothic, melodramatic showyness to it that I am generally not a fan of in almost any artist. That same sort of moody, self-serious, affect of gloom and tension. I don't like it in Nick Drake's music, PJ Harvey's, Fiona Apple's, anyone. I think that element is the one MAJOR drawback to this sound.
Outside of the vocals, the arrangements are heady, detailed and quite pretty. The lyrics are good, the strings sound good, the piano and the drums when they come in and turn the Art Pop into Art Rock for short bursts they are also good and they pop. In many ways this is a pretty good and well written album. Yet, the vocals and the general flow of the album made me lose interest for long stretches.
Not much else to say. Musically this is good and even sometimes the vocals are alright. But a big enough portion of the album features her more quirky quasi-cabaret vocal delivery that I tend to not really vibe with this music or album.
top 10 2021 albums that I want to hear. They are the top albums on my self-made list of albums Iโve been circling - I made this into a spreadsheet and its getting fucking out of hand, guys!
1. Big Blue by Kylie V
2. Flock by Jane Weaver
3. Fishmonger by Underscores
4. I Became Birds by Home is Where
5. Etemen รnka by Dvne
6. The Cyclic Reckoning by Suffering Hour
7. Songs for the Enamel Queen by Black Sheep Wall
8. Restless Ego by City Light Mosaic
9. Calico Dreams by Sugar Wounds
10. Solar Paroxysm by Mare Cognitum _________________ -Ryan
Pash, you did have the correct punk record for your favorite of 1977. Man I need to give that another listen soon. But for a second place in the punk, I would agree for the time being since I don't know if there are other punk albums coming up for the year an its top 100. But this album not only had the spunk and energy that ends up leading to a pretty fun experience, I'd argue that when the album gets half way in the band shows some creative itches that I hope are brought into London Calling. If there was anything that holds it from getting higher than a 90 would be that presence that just knocks me on my ass and having my jaw drop. So it is behind Sex Pistols.
(2)
Mercury listen to Big Blue. Also wanted to give Pash Vocalcity. Hopefully can get that opportunity real soon.
(3)
BEA's Top 100 of 1977
(6) Steely Dan-Aja (R)
(9) Billy Joel-The Stranger (R)
(10) Kraftwerk-Trans-Europa Express
(14) Talking Heads-77
(15) Electric Light Orchestra-Out Of The Blue
(16) Iggy Pop-Lust For Life
18 Ramones-Rocket To Russia
(19) Meatloaf-Bat Out Of Hell (R)
(20) Iggy Pop-The Idiot
(21) The Congos-Heart Of The Congos
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
This album feels very of its time and place in the 1991 UK rave scene. That's not a bad thing, but it does limit my ability to fully connect as someone who did not exist then and has never been an Anglophile or rave aficionado. Screamadelica is definitely a sunny, affable album as the cover suggests. I enjoy the adventures in psychedelia, there are some truly great songs, and the vocals are good (especially Denise Johnson's). The production is mostly cool, but some of the choices in instrumentation are corny. The record is generally cohesive, often a feature of classic albums, but I found this to be a bit of a double-edged sword as the songs can meld together into a soupy blend. But I suspect that may be entirely the point for something rave-oriented. Speaking of that, it's not a major negative, but this doesn't feel as danceable as I expected - perhaps drugs are required. My critiques notwithstanding, I really enjoyed this, and perhaps it will be a grower. 3.5/5.
~~~~~
2.
Luigii wrote:
Though I am curious if there are other reggae albums that can impress me more.
195. AM - Arctic Monkeys
237. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & The Dominos
261. Hotel California - Eagles
267. Machine Head - Deep Purple
271. Room On Fire - The Strokes
274. Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull
280. Crime Of The Century - Supertramp
308. Boston - Boston
309. Foxtrot - Genesis
320. American Beauty - Grateful Dead _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
To See The Next Part Of The Dream by ํ๋๋ ธ์ [Parannoul]
Liked how noisy and lofi this sounded. Modern shoegaze often goes for the more dreamy, indie or in some cases alt rock direction, plus it can be overproduced, but this sound far surpasses any fusion of shoegaze with the aforementioned genres. Hearing the too loud, messy and not very well recorded or mixed drums was a joy. Parts of it were quieter too, so you never get totally drowned in the wall of sound he creates, but that huge sound's undeniably the biggest selling point. It's psychedelic and beautiful at parts too, owing to the post rock influences which were apparent. Overall it's not as great as I hoped it would be given the ratings here and on RYM, but I still loved it and it's solid as a rock release. 8/10
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Well bay, when I gave you that Maiden album my comment was "you'll probably not like it" which was far from the truth it seems. Thrilled that you liked it. So in the same vein, I don't think you'll like Foxtrot much ๐
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Leftovers list + some 2021
Meridian Brothers - Desesperanza
Still Corners - The Last Exit
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
John Talabot - Fin
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Flamengo - Kuลe v hodinkรกch
Sadaf - History of Heat
Manilla Road - Mystification
TH1RT3EN - A Magnificent Day for an Exorcism _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
I've come around to some of other Joni's albums as of late, but this is not a Joni Mitchell album. It's the weird thing that happened in the 80s where every major artist somehow sounded like they were produced by the same exact person, and it was just not good. It's more surprising that she made something like this than other artists though.
Wichita KS's own Manilla Road! Hell yeah! The front man sounds like Skeletor from He-Man and he shreds on the guitar. What more could you ask for?
Blue Oyster Cult- Club Ninja
Grand Funk- What's Funk
Moody Blues- Keys To The Kingdom
John Paul Jones- The Thunderthief
Misfits- The Devil's Rain
Mutant Sounds' archive (part 1)
2+2=5 Into the Future
48 Cameras- Third & Last Imitation of Christ
A la Ping Pong- Extrem Musik a la Ping Pong Phase I
A Tent- Six Empty Places
Ache- De Homine Urbano
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
The jazzier ones in the middle of the 70s are tight instrumentally. While Joni herself is still not a favorite vocally, I find it to be at least complementary to the music.
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
The jazzier ones in the middle of the 70s are tight instrumentally. While Joni herself is still not a favorite vocally, I find it to be at least complementary to the music.
this thread has come full-circle! My first experience with this game was when I was scoping it out to make sure I was playing it right, I saw on the first page your meh opinion of Blue - and I was horrified, nauseated, shocked, shaken and I needed a walk. I had hoped you had developed a liking of it. But alas, it is not so. lol. Okay, I guess all I can do is petulantly say "You're wrong" and post my next entry for the game ๐
(A Fine indie rock/folk/singer-songwriter album. No trait stands out as particularly noteworthy, but still, it is a fine and at times pretty and heartfelt album.)
First things first, I thought this was a good and serviceable indie rock singer/songwriter album. A few moments on the album were borderline brilliant (loved the solo in "On My Mind" and I like some of the production choices and that kinda warbling watery somewhat surreal vibe that comes through a few times.) and I think Kylie is a very promising artist. However, I think ignoring the fact that this is a17 year old making this album - which makes everything more impressive, if not better - I think this is just a pretty good and also uneven, at times half-baked, somewhat maudlin record. The first person I thought of when she started singing in track 1 was Julien Baker. Specifically that song could have come right off of Sprained Ankle, someone could have said it was a left off track from the recording of Sprained Ankle and I'd 100% believe it. Although the music goes to other places than the stark and brutal sounds of the Julien Baker debut, the vocal style and the way her voice cracks and sometimes rises in intense near-shouts and also the way the vocals stay in a deeply sad space - all reminded me very much of Baker the whole way through. This isn't bad, however, because I love me some Julien Baker. It is simply noteworthy, I suppose.
Musically, there are some cool songs, or, rather, good bits of songs or song ideas. Many times the tracks felt a little disjointed or incomplete. The songwriting isn't mind-blowing but it's alright and the words generally do provide a nice and intimate inside look at the mind of this young musician. There are a couple parts of the album that feature the sound of an answering machine or almost a quasi-found sound type recording thrown onto a track and, outside of maybe that last little snippet that is paired with the pretty piano to close the album, I think these bits are silly and don't work and are, again, half-baked and don't add much.
Geez, it sounds like I dislike this album. I don't. I liked it, but nothing blew me away. I'm excited for this artist and I think she is a badass for making this while still not a legal adult and I will be listening to her future albums to see where she goes from here. But overall, I have already heard dozens of indie singer/songwriter albums this year alone and in order for me personally to be captivated you need to give me some really great word play or an atmosphere that is undeniable and unique or some wrinkle that makes me truly fall into the world of the album or the artist. This album doesn't do that. It for sure will do that for many others and perhaps this album hits hard for many others. But, anyway, yeah, those were my thoughts
top 10 2021 and 2020 (a couple 2020 albums may be added) albums that I want to hear. They are the top albums on my self-made list of albums Iโve been circling - I made this into a spreadsheet and its getting fucking out of hand, guys!
1. Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & London Symphony Orchestra
2. Flock by Jane Weaver
3. Fishmonger by Underscores
4. I Became Birds by Home is Where
5. Etemen รnka by Dvne
6. The Cyclic Reckoning by Suffering Hour
7. Songs for the Enamel Queen by Black Sheep Wall
8. Restless Ego by City Light Mosaic
9. Haram by Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
10. Tickley Feather 1 2 3 by Tickley Feather _________________ -Ryan
I have close to the same relationship with prog that I have with metal: it's not my favorite musical realm, but I can appreciate it often and even love it sometimes. This is my third Genesis album, and I'd say it's now roughly tied with Selling England By The Pound as my favorite. Foxtrot has stellar musicianship and interesting compositions, both of which are also self-indulgent and overwrought at times. The vocals and lyrics are solid, but nothing special. The epic closer Supper's Ready is easily the best thing here, tying everything together in a triumphant climax. This soundtracked a computer game of Risk on one of the fantasy maps, and ended up being a great fit. The grand finale elevates Foxtrot to a very good record overall. 3.5/5.
195. AM - Arctic Monkeys
237. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & The Dominos
262. Hotel California - Eagles
267. Machine Head - Deep Purple
271. Room On Fire - The Strokes
274. Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull
280. Crime Of The Century - Supertramp
308. Boston - Boston
320. American Beauty - Grateful Dead
327. The King Of Limbs - Radiohead _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Why did I decide to put this album on here? I didn't even notice that it was 50 minutes long (I didn't subject myself to that). Like the shambolic skeleton that dons the cover of The Misfits albums, Jerry Only needs to stop touring under that name, and put the damn thing to rest. This album is total poo poo, and what little I could stand of it was exactly what you think a 50 year old making a punk album would sound like.
My dad's a Deadhead, so I've got to go with that. (As you probably know, the band should really only be listened to live, but the studio cuts are pleasant in their own way.)
Sorry, I'm just going to start on the next albums. There's no more need for subjecting myself to shitty albums. ๐คฃ
Mutant Sounds' archive (part 1)
2+2=5 Into the Future
48 Cameras- Third & Last Imitation of Christ
A la Ping Pong- Extrem Musik a la Ping Pong Phase I
A Tent- Six Empty Places
Ache- De Homine Urbano
AD- Conspiracy
ADN' Ckrystall- Jazz' Mad
Afflicted Man- The Afflicted Man's Musical Bag
AGeM- Sekunda
Agencement- Agencement
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Mercury
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LedZep
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