Listed below are the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 59,000 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com! (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"Wonderfully experimental. This is the only album of it's kind and has the potential to influence pop for years to come. I think the rock-only nerds got to the album first (currently a 72) - ya'll know pop music can be good, right? Especially when it's this euphorically fucked up?"Reply
"(Nostalgic and bittersweet album. Manages to take that 90s Shoegaze/Noise Pop influence and warp it to something very personal and moving. When the album rocks it really rocks and when the big emotional screamed crescendos hit they really hit..) Overall, I saw the growing hype for this album and ...""(Nostalgic and bittersweet album. Manages to take that 90s Shoegaze/Noise Pop influence and warp it to something very personal and moving. When the album rocks it really rocks and when the big emotional screamed crescendos hit they really hit..)
Overall, I saw the growing hype for this album and I meant to get to it before the hype got out of hand. Well, too late. This is one of the surprise hits of the year amongst music nerds. And I listened with that in the back of my mind. I was thinking I may be disappointed. I wasn't. At least, not much.
The guitars and especially the drums here are excellent. The drums have a clear and crunching compressed intensity that is cool. Makes the otherworldly Shoegaze waves of sound a bit more grounded and tangible, which I much prefer over a general sense of just walls of s=disorienting pretty sound and noise. The guitar sounds are similarly cool, drawing not only from ethereal waves of sound in MBV albums but also from more clear and structured riffs you may find in a Smashing Pumpkins or more direct post-punk album. It's a nice mix.
The vocals are clearly very emotional. On some of the songs a clear Emo influence comes over the tracks, especially on the cathartic climaxes where the vocals scream with intense sadness or anger or some other passion.
The songs are consistently beautiful and not super samey. The more catchy alternative rock songs, especially "Analog Sentimentalism", "Excuse", and "Chicken" all have an infectious and catchy power to them. They somehow made me feel bliss by how damn great the tunes were and also a deep sad nostalgia. Great tunes.
The Epic songs, of which there are 2 and arguably 3, (10 minutes, 9 and a half minutes and 7 minute jams are these ones) are cool and give the music time to build and breathe. The best of the big towering tracks is track 6 "Age of Fluctuation". It is also maybe the heaviest song here and very noisey. But it creates a really inviting world that explodes into a screaming emo crescendo.
There are a lot of highlights - the guitars and their sounds, the drums and the way they are recorded, the excellent vocals, the flow of the album is good, the nice little unexpected touches that Parannoul throw in when least expected etc etc. The only tracks that I maybe wasn't vibing with nearly as much on my first couple listens were track 8 "Extra Story" and maybe "Youth rebellion". But really those will probably grow on me. This is a really nice album."[+]Reply
"Up until yesterday, I had avoided this album. I had done this based on numerous negative comments about the album and band at the time. It shows how important it is to form your own opinion and not be swayed by others. What I try not to do is compare later albums with earlier works or vice versa,...""Up until yesterday, I had avoided this album. I had done this based on numerous negative comments about the album and band at the time. It shows how important it is to form your own opinion and not be swayed by others. What I try not to do is compare later albums with earlier works or vice versa, this applies to all the music I listen to. So, in my opinion, this is an excellent album with great music and great production. I have bought it on vinyl and am pleased that it is still housed in the brown paper cover like the original was. The one comparison which I will make, Is that I accept that keyboards feature more on this album than previous works which I like and which suits the band development at the time. "[+]Reply
"Quite a simple collection of songs that are trying to hook you to their choruses and make you sing them for the rest of the day. This works to a varying degree of success with the best tracks coming very early on. Almost every track on side 1 has a fantastic chorus and is so infectious to listen ...""Quite a simple collection of songs that are trying to hook you to their choruses and make you sing them for the rest of the day. This works to a varying degree of success with the best tracks coming very early on. Almost every track on side 1 has a fantastic chorus and is so infectious to listen to. I leave this album with Baby Love and Where Did Our Love Go firmly wedged inside my brain. The song that has grown on me the most though is When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes which is such an effective song and I always sing along to it whenever it comes on. However, side 2 is the complete opposite and I find no song really works on there at all. If you removed the whole of side 2 I think it would only make the album better as all the boring and dull tracks would be removed. Overall, a simple but effective release that is let down drastically by the second half in my opinion. "[+]Reply
"One of the ways the Fishmans online community stokes the fire of their fandom is through the creation of "The Seasonal Report", a fanzine consisting of all things concerning the Japanese outfit. Said volumes contain recent Fishmans-related news, fan retrospectives and even occasional poetry. Howe...""One of the ways the Fishmans online community stokes the fire of their fandom is through the creation of "The Seasonal Report", a fanzine consisting of all things concerning the Japanese outfit. Said volumes contain recent Fishmans-related news, fan retrospectives and even occasional poetry. However, the passion project can only be accessed on 'The Fish Tank' (Fishmans' Discord), issuu.com and archive.org. This narrowness of access is an emblematic reminder of the legacy the band has left in its wake. It's a portrait of veracious artisans whose existence and collected works are shrouded in just as much mystery as truth. This attaches value to excavating deep within cavernous labyrinths to find gold among endless, pedestrian sediment. Some things are meant to be uncovered by happenstance and, due to this, many don't find Fishmans. Fishmans find you. Furthermore, it seems fitting that the closing studio effort was 1997's 'Uchu Nippon Setagaya', an eight-chapter odyssey that saw the band fully harness and deploy the optimal strength of their dream pop powers. See, just as Fishmans was destined to be difficult to discover, they also curated a candle which burned ineffably bright for a finite amount of time. At the risk of inducing melodrama, Fishmans' catalog extends beyond the plane of human achievement and dexterity. To put it plainly, it was the music of the angels.
Album seven is the final entry in Fishmans' Wakiki Trilogy, so named for the new studio HQ, "Waikiki Beach", provided by the band's record label (Polydor). The sonic space birthed fruitful products, as they went on to release three of their most acclaimed records in this new auditory ecosystem. The upgrade in capital also aided a transition to a more evocative and mellifluous sound, supplanting their dub roots. The new look artistic temperament is unabashed and unshrouded in the opening track of 'Space Japan Setagaya', entitled 'Pokka Pokka'. The opening melody coos with a delicate, childlike disposition, almost with the intention to softly awaken one from a dream. Kin-Ichi Motegi's patient drum beat gently breaks the serenity to pull you in as Sato's falsetto safely ushers you to the next soundscape. His lyrics craft a vision more mournful than on previous records. He sings, "I wish I could be kind only to someone; I wish I could live without relying on tomorrow." Honzi's violin, which served as a lynchpin for the band's dream pop realignment, softly puts the track to bed and marks another tender moment in an already alluring discography. At the close, it becomes clear that it's a heinous crime that 98 percent of the western world will never experience this music but it also functions as a magnificent anomaly to those who greet its majesty. It's like finding a four-leaf clover or witnessing a double rainbow by accident. Track two advances the dynamism as icy keys give way to a submerged bassline from Yuzuru Kashiwabara, who's always been a phenomenal bass player, but 'Weather Report' is one of his finest hours. Also, the production done by ZAK is another highlight, as the song shares DNA with Joy Division's 'Atmosphere'. The glassy, sweeping walls of sound contrast the throbbing, ever-present bassline. It's a heavier, but no less comely moment for the group.
'うしろ姿'opens with concordant ticking, evoking a hair-triggered clock. The bass again buoys as Sato sings, "Sometimes I walk a little too far, sometimes I go a little crazy." The track evolves into a pleasing cacophony of dueling rhythms and melodies, all while reverbed vocals hover in the distance, watching the sounds perpetually crawl over each other. Next, comes one of the album's more tranquil passages. The tale goes that when Sato provided his mates with a demo tape which would become 'Uchu Nippon Setagaya', most of the demos were nearly complete. The band was reluctant to tamper with the grandeur of the work, especially 'In the Flight'. On the final version, Sato's dove coos are obscured and hauntingly placid. A disciplined, observant drumbeat lingers behind as the song slowly dissipates into the ether. It's squarely doleful, ruminating on Sato's own personal sense of creative and personal unfulfillment after the band's first 10 years. The juxtaposition of beauty and sorrow coagulate to create a hymn with an idiosyncratic, potent aura. These are the sort of triumphs Fishmans make look elementary. 'Magic Love' commences with what sounds like junkyard percussion and stakes its claim as the cheeriest cut on the record. There's a lot brewing here and the bombastic production furnishes the immediacy. Its flamboyance isn't to its detriment as 'Magic Love' is still distinctly Fishmans and, therefore, funkily merry.
The band rekindle their trip-hop ethos with 'バックビートにのっかって', a slow-churning sway which steadily unravels to don a new sonic identity. Honzi's polite keyboard strokes give way to a more ethereal tone which elicits violin and a more ominous vocal style. "Anxiety hovers in the air at night, it must be ruining someone's life," Sato croons. It's a patient exercise which precurses the maximalist leanings of the subsequent anthem. For the penultimate effort, the album recedes back into itself during the intro of 'Walking in the Rhythm'. Alternating sets of key strokes frame the outer edges of the track as a harmonious chant begins in lock-step while encouraging the listener to 'Walk in the Rhythm'. Clocking in at nearly 13 minutes, this 'Walk' is the record's most prolonged but possibly most serene. Honzi's violin blots the midpoint, as the strings are purposely manic, sonically abyssal and the reverberation creates an illusion of ricocheted amati lost in a spectral wilderness. Soon after, the song shrinks again as a subdued, elongated coda allows the once triumphant harmonies to be ingested subtly by the Earth. 'Walking in the Rhythm' is a masterstroke of simplicity, intention and cognizant repetition. The LP leaves us with its defining statement. 'Daydream' is a bubbling, dilating, caliginous opus that starts with a modest drumbeat. Sato bellows overtop, "A figure in the sunset, standing with a quiet face; They looked so defenseless; They blankly stood." The track oscillates with progressive whimsy, coalescing into a multi-pronged beast of arpeggio. The weighted wheel of guitar that arrives at the track's latter half conjures the sensation of being kissed by the sun after a brief summer rain storm. 'Daydream' gives in to its own anxiety as fragments begin to decouple in a heavenly fashion before dissolving ahead of its full maturation. It remains the most poignant exhibition amongst a marvelous octet of culminating art.
When Shinji Sato presented his decade-long collaborators with his sparkling demo tape for what would become the final record, they were puzzled and questioned their place in an outfit that was rapidly becoming singular. However, Sato's intentions were noble and driven by a pursuit to make music that had the capacity to "change a person's life". In reality, Sato trusted his bandmates to interpret and execute his artistic vision and they too checked their egos in order to produce something wholly momentous. Despite not knowing the full vulnerability of Sato's personal headspace, Kashiwabara and Motegi were aware of the pain he carried as a result of watching his band dissolve in front of his eyes. So, as a reactionary measure, Sato employed loneliness to combat future loneliness. The byproduct was a record marked by solemnity but bathed in a whimsical elixir of creative utopia, a paradise which Sato deeply longed for. His relentless pursuit of perfection was his final undertaking. Sato died in March of 1999, but his bandmates still visit his grave to politely conversate. For theirs is a bond which never can be severed, not even by death. Fishmans still exist, as Sato would've surely wanted, never straying from their desire to plot a path through rain clouds to reach the gleaming sun of ambition and the vivid sky of artistic fulfillment.
"I'm filling the holes in my heart, little by little"
-Pokka Pokka
1. Daydream
2. Walking in the Rhythm
3. In the Flight
95.3"[+]Reply
"For those angry about our world today, Brutalism is the record we've been waiting for. Vivacious, loud and essential. Blends a phenomenal concoction of noise rock, punk and grunge and delivers it with all the sternness of a sledgehammer. The pace is fast and urgent, opening with three outstanding...""For those angry about our world today, Brutalism is the record we've been waiting for.
Vivacious, loud and essential. Blends a phenomenal concoction of noise rock, punk and grunge and delivers it with all the sternness of a sledgehammer. The pace is fast and urgent, opening with three outstanding tracks, expanding on its sound in its middle section and dragging itself to a potent and heavy finish, particularly notable on 'Exeter' which acts as the emotional centre of the album.
It's the lyrics that really impress me most; they're on point and vital, combining political themes, social issues and other observations on life in general seamlessly. Their simplicity matches the hard-edged sound of the album, conveying their meaning superbly.
This feels like the album we need right now in the UK. It captures the mood many are feeling and expresses it with anger behind such opinions. Albums this relevant to the present don't come around often, making Brutalism that bit more special.
What you have here is a moody, angry, shouty record that delivers itself with all the ferocity of a cannonball through a brick wall, captures the mood of its time with brilliant accuracy and ties itself together with great structure and a new sound that promises to age brilliantly and develop into something that will define the late 2010s. "[+]Reply
"I think it's a slight improvement over Misplaced Childhood, but by this point it was clear that the band was taking a far more "adult-oriented" and less proggy direction. The direction's certainly not a bad thing, but I think the band lost some of its energy and power along the way. The first two...""I think it's a slight improvement over Misplaced Childhood, but by this point it was clear that the band was taking a far more "adult-oriented" and less proggy direction. The direction's certainly not a bad thing, but I think the band lost some of its energy and power along the way. The first two Marillion albums are melodic, deep, yet also very powerful. This one...well, it's up and down. It's a little too soft on the whole. With that said, the opening 3 tracks are stellar, and White Russian gives me that Fugazi vibe I've been looking for."[+]Reply
"Stop being a snob, Iggy. At least she writes her own music and sets her own trends. She may not be your taste, but you have to respect her talent."Reply
"This record together with Soundgardens "Down on the upside" was symptoms of an era that was about to end. The newer era, Britpop, was already rising, and people were about to have enough of the harsh and dark metal sound, and prefered another more quiet and soft sound (Radiohead), when it came to...""This record together with Soundgardens "Down on the upside" was symptoms of an era that was about to end. The newer era, Britpop, was already rising, and people were about to have enough of the harsh and dark metal sound, and prefered another more quiet and soft sound (Radiohead), when it came to music dealing with themes like suicide, self-hatred and pessimism. This record may not be as succesful as the "Dirt" and "Facelift", too dark and gloomy, and not enough of that freaky acid sound. Yet it isn't a bad record at all. The opening track "Grind" captures the ear, with a groovy riff and a sublime chorus, and together with "Again" and "Head Creeps", it has some definite classics. Sadly the record has too many weak points, making this a good but not great record. The biggest tragedy though, is that Alice In Chains (the real Alice In Chains!) with the early death of Layne Staley, never got to make another record again. "[+]Reply
"It's a good follow up but was never going to reach the heights of it's brilliant predecessor. Some very good indie rock tunes on this album though!"Reply
Kamens | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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DeusExMackia | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (10 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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GoJetsGo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Secondsoul | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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