Lightbulb Sun is musically well-made and a pleasant listening experience throughout. Unfortunately, nothing resonates with me on first listen. So while I can appreciate the craft, it's just really not clicking at all for whatever reason. This is definitely pretty good, but not something I'm in a hurry to revisit.
That's a shame, I hoped this would be the catchy, easily digestible Steven Wilson album that gets you hooked. Can't win them all I suppose 🤣 Also I didn't mean to imply you hate prog or anything, it's just that I remember you saying "I don't listen to progressive rock much" so thought this would be a nice change of pace.
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The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend by Baby Huey
Speaking of change of pace, I'm not a regular soul or funk listener. Those several classics I've heard were all mostly good, but it's just not a genre I gravitate towards. So getting my monthly dose of soul from Bay's recs is always nice. Maximalist and psychedelic soul sound is by far my favourite, Mayfield's version of Chicago soul is all of that and more, and Baby Huey was supposed to be similar since it has all the same genre descriptors. It's... not really. Much more straightforward soul, not nearly as forward-thinking or gorgeous. BUT it absolutely rocks. As hard as any rock band you could find in 1971 barring the few exceptions. The band's jams on the opening 2 tracks are so groovy and fun, yet Huey still manages to steal the show with his powerful vocal performance. (The only minor complaint I have is that the songs are more loose form jams than actual compositions, which absolutely works but could've been even better if it was mixed with the more typical songs with normal verse-chorus-verse structures.) Wrote this while listening to Mama Get Yourself Together, after that the whole "loose jam" feel gave way to the more conventional songs (even though A Change is Going to Come is a 9 and a half minute epic, the first part of the song still has some sort of chorus, while most of the other 5 songs sounded more conventional - a very good mix indeed). Note to the future self, don't start writing reviews before finishing the album. After A Change is Going to Come, Mighty Mighty was just okay and the songs 5-8 were all good, even if they rarely reached the same highs as the opening trio. Running was the best of those 4, while California Dreamin' was a fun instrumental interpretation of a classic. 8/10
Right back at ya with probably my most played album of the last months
listened to this a few days ago but 1. couldnt find the time to write anything and 2. really couldn't think of much intelligent to say. Listened again today, and while i still have nothing of interest to say, i do have time to write it! lol.
4AD were brilliant and on a roll with this sort of material and sound back in 1987 and the years leading up to it. This album definitely has that dark, woozy, ambient/atmospheric vibe that I associate with the label. I had somehow never heard this or really much heard OF this before it was picked. Glad I listened, it feels like an underground somewhat darkwave-somewhat-ambient-somewhat-electronicmoodysomethingorother and there are some really truly mesmerizing tracks especially the further i went into the album after I was sort of slowly dipped into the waters so to speak. solid album. I likes it. would give it like a 3.25 bordering on 3.5 out of 5.
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Bay LEDZEP…here is a gem for you I hope you like... (I changed it based off who this is for. If you already started that Iain Matthews album, fine. Otherwise check this weird album out.
Led, I do disagree about the ep being not as good as the album. While maybe the lyrics of the last track are tounge and cheek, the song structure and mixing is on compared to the Demilich album. But I also disagree of this album being a top of the decade favorite for me. An excellent album, no doubt. Enjoy the musicanship of the record. The low growls compliment the sound of the record. Though I wanted more of the eccentric vocals that were more prominent on tracks like Into Hiding and Black Winter Day. The synths were also a nice touch. I think the reason I'm not in that oh shit! or pure bliss that I usually get with a 10/10 albums would be this album doesn't make me drop my jaw in sheer disbelief. Very technical but doesn't go for the extra mile. Then again, metal is a genre that I don't really have a childhood connection compared to the electronic music I tend to gather. Or compared to some of the heavy stuff I do adore in 1993 like Painful or Mezcal Head or Earth 2, it doesn't have that personal x factor for me. But still, a worthwhile metal record.
Grade:90
Mercury, this is one of my absolute favorite albums ever. Though if you know the term "Luigii-core" you can get a general gist of what this album will be. And while this to me is a 10, I feel like his second album might be a smidge better.
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Luomo's Vocalcity is the name of the record. Hope you enjoy.
Purplepashranker, rater, & music list makerProfile Western Australia
It's funny that you should choose this for me Luigii, as when you wrote about this album in your diary I was like oooohh, this looks interesting, might check it out sometime...and now I've got the opportunity too.
At first I was a bit underwhelmed, with three normalish songs to start off with - considering this is a one off supergroup of sorts, comprising of someone from The Mekons, someone from Captain Beefheart, and someone from Pere Ubu, I wasn't expecting normalness. The first songs were sort of catchy to be sure, I was sort of singing/humming along by the end of each song, but not very intersting or memorable - I couldn't really recall the tune immediately after. But then things got interesting with the The Clash meets Joy Division track It's Happening Again. And from then on the noisy dissonance and weirdness was more of what I was hoping for from these artists. An awesome cowpunk song near the middle of the album, and The Brain From Planet Eros (which I'm going to add to a playlist or two) were the highlights, but really everything from track 4 onwards was exciting fun, well except for maybe the silly stop/start Hank Williams Must Die. Overall not a must listen but a cool curiosity for casual fans of the members main bands.
This is dance music. I can see how it is textured and detailed and I can hear that there is some real sckll here. The vocal snippets and all those beat switch ups and the general atmosphere is very impressive. From what I've read about this album and artist, apparently this album was a bit of a game changer within its genres and musical area. And I respect that.
But... man I really have a hard time personally vibing with or enjoying this. The songs are long, very very long, sweaty and repetitive. Perfect for dancing. Perfect as background music if these sounds you love, whilst you study or clean or work. But as a concerted listening experience, it was lacking. With most music of this sort I just tend to not mentally, spiritually, or emotionally vibe with anything. Physically I will admit the beats are so infectious and the atmosphere is so nocturnal, I tend to bob my head and sometimes close my eyes and I can imagine being in a club in 2001 and just feeling fucking great and at peace. But that is all. Not my thing.
Still, and again, this is an impressive work and there is clearly some immense amount of skill and thoughtful work put into it. This skill and brilliance is in service to music I just tend to not get is all.
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@Purplepash, I looked at your chart and no obvious albums in my mind jumped out as nominations for you to hear... so I will just give you an album I love that isn't too popular, so here you go.
Long Hair In Three Stages by U.S. Maple
The intro to Hey King is the closest thing to a modern Trout Mask Replica I've ever heard. Literally post-hardcore Frownland. And the experimental, noise and post-hardcore influenced style which they establish on the opener is a constant on the album. Maybe even gets weirder as the album goes on. A truly magnificent listen lol, even if I wasn't a fan of every single thing that was happening. Not sure who I would compare this to, maybe some 00s Oxbow or the less genre-hopping version of Mr. Bungle, but then again it's much noisier than either. 7.5 or 8/10
Speaking of Oxbow, RYM tells me you haven't heard this one yet Merc
I can see why this is one of your most-played albums. It's beautiful and soothing throughout. Glenn-Copeland also does a great job compositionally and vocally. New age as a genre has definitely grown on me in the last few years. Looking forward to checking out his folk-oriented albums as well. 4/5.
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LedZep
Mercury
Purplepash
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