"Nujabes is a Japanese producer who is a jazz rap genius and the main pioneer of the lo-fi movement in hip-hop. Nujabes is one of the producers who has most influenced the rap scene in the 2000s. All these albums are excellents but my favorite remains "Metaphorical Music". "Metaphorical music", th...""Nujabes is a Japanese producer who is a jazz rap genius and the main pioneer of the lo-fi movement in hip-hop. Nujabes is one of the producers who has most influenced the rap scene in the 2000s. All these albums are excellents but my favorite remains "Metaphorical Music". "Metaphorical music", that's what I call the perfect album. From start to finish, the disc is a wonderful relaxing journey. Nujabes' approach to creating rhythms is truly impressive. Traditional hip-hop, imbued with colorful jazz, is what makes me dream the most. The sound of Nujabes is sweet, melancholy and extraordinarily beautiful. The way the piano melody flows with a simple but captivating boom beat, is suspended in the background in songs like "Blessing It" and "Kumomi". How the rhythmic and manic passages of the Horn in the Middle drum blend into this iconic chorus of the trumpet. The way the so-called trumpet chorus is followed by a small piano chorus. It's too engaging and hypnotic. The guitar loop on "Lady Brown" and the Low Key synth pattern on "Highs 2 Lows". The tracks are as natural as a wave caressing your feet or a summer breeze beautifies your cheeks. One of the most relaxing albums of all time.
10/10
Best track: "Lady Brown""[+]Reply
"REM's 12th album, and second without Bill Berry. It's a much warmer album than it's predecessor, up. In fact, you could probably call it REM's summer album. It was preceded by the single, imitation of life, which is ok, but it's a bit throwaway by REM standards, and feels a little out of place on...""REM's 12th album, and second without Bill Berry. It's a much warmer album than it's predecessor, up. In fact, you could probably call it REM's summer album. It was preceded by the single, imitation of life, which is ok, but it's a bit throwaway by REM standards, and feels a little out of place on the LP. The album opens with, the lifting, one of the best tracks, and that's followed by the beautiful, I've been high. There's a lot of sound affects on this record, loops, etc, like the band are trying really hard to make their songs sound more interesting and it feels a little forced at times. There's certainly nothing bad here, all the way to Reno, disappear, and, chorus and the ring, are all excellent. Saturn return, beat a drum, and, beach ball, are also good. Summer turns to high, is another of the band's beach boys inspirations, and, she just wants to be, has an almost bluesy feel. All in all, it's a good album, but it hasn't quite got that edge that the band used to have. Although we didn't know it at the time, REM would never be great again. "[+]Reply
"I think this is Franz Ferdinand's best. I may be alone in that opinion, but that's okay: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think people who've fallen in love with the band's unpolished debut have every right to recoil from their change in sound; in fact, this and their debut are two very di...""I think this is Franz Ferdinand's best. I may be alone in that opinion, but that's okay: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think people who've fallen in love with the band's unpolished debut have every right to recoil from their change in sound; in fact, this and their debut are two very different albums, and I am about to judge this one on it's own terms.
On this album, catchy songs are abundant, but not the point. Alex Kapranos' knack for expressive vocals really shines on the first track, Ulysses. He sings as if his voice is an instrument - the dynamics just as important as the tune. It's what elevates it from a mere pop song into an expressive wonder, and it's production and polish add to the flavour, rather than detract from it. Turn It On and No You Girls are similarly bolstered from the production - this time benefitting from the atmosphere the songs set - an atmosphere that will carry the album. Send Him Away's time signature keeps this part of the album fresh, but ultimately is only good, and not great.
But then we run into Twilight Omens, a fantastic combination of dirty organ, powerful drums, and a vocal line that never commits itself to a single melody: it flows up and down, and always settles on a satisfying final note that completes the charm of the song. The cleanliness of the vocals makes a wonderful counterpoint to the main organ line.
Bite Hard starts gorgeous and ends awesome. What She Came For starts awesome and ends AMAZING with the heaviest Franz Ferdinand's ever been. What She Came For is especially unique in its melody of half-steps, and it's pulled off really, really well.
Live Alone and Can't Stop Feeling are the only truly forgettable songs off the album, and even Live Alone has a chorus that's good enough for one not to notice when listening to the album in one go (which is how any album should be played anyway). So what happens when the band realizes that they're losing their audience? A stroke of genius - write a curveball song that ends in an electronic symphony of bassy programmable cacophony that slowly takes over the drums - not only utterly fantastic, but very symbolic of today's world. And it's the first of three songs that make this album truly unique.
Dream Again is unlike any Franz song you've ever heard, for better or worse. Who knew a band like Franz Ferdinand could be so experimental? A tinkling of chimes, scattered handclaps, midi keyboards, and even a theremin solo all drenched in reverb make the song a treat to listen to with headphones. It slows the ending of the album to a pace which can be absorbed properly and leads nicely into it's total stylistic opposite - Katherine Kiss Me. The final song is nothing but a heartfelt acoustic guitar line with a piano solo at the end - not unlike the interludes present in You Could Have It So Much Better. It's moody, but somehow optimistic at the same time. As an ending, in my opinion at least, it's a wise choice: there's nothing more satisfying than reaching the end of an album and feeling a need to experience it all over again. The pacing is perfect - begin with a tune that starts as quiet as the ending of the album, but quickly becomes as loud and catchy as the middle. Then reach the end of the album and realize that the beginning follows perfectly afterwards. It's part of the reason Octavarium was so appealing to me.
So all in all, you have an album that's as appealing to an insightful listener as to a casual one. An album that has polish for good reason, but isn't afraid to get it's hands dirty if need be. An album that has a singer who's dynamics are astounding, and a creative masterpiece that should certainly be given a second look.
In case you wanted to know, my first Franz album was the debut, and I loved that album very much when this one came out. But I kept my mind open, and am very thankful for doing so."[+]Reply
"If you want shoegaze that'll make your balls drop. this is it/ Although many prefer Ferment. let's not forget this one/ It's more metallic but still sounds like shoegaze and it's mind-blowingly awesome. It's a must-listen."Reply
"Where do I even start with this album? It represents such a massive shift in the sound of Lenker, the beginning of the band that would come to be her most well-known musical outlet, it indicates a distinct leveling-up in the power of her songwriting, and this is the first time I have heard that i...""Where do I even start with this album? It represents such a massive shift in the sound of Lenker, the beginning of the band that would come to be her most well-known musical outlet, it indicates a distinct leveling-up in the power of her songwriting, and this is the first time I have heard that iconic (for me in my head canon) Adrianne Lenker voice. This is just a badass statement of a debut. And while it was cute and a bit funny and audacious to name their debut Masterpiece, it nearly lives up to the title.
After the cold open of sorts of the opning track “Little Arrow” we are thrust into the exhilarating and resounding triumph of a song called “Masterpiece”. Everything about this track is killer. The vocals sound like some fiery modern Lucinda Williams, the stomp of the loud drums and guitars is all that rock should be, and that fucking chorus! The lyrics and the way they morph in meeting and the way they so beautifully wrap around the melody and the breathy vocal delivery of this new Lenker we are being introduced to… etc… its awesome, every second of it is awesome from the opening chords, to the dirty feedback solo, to its resounding end. This song is such a moment, it is when you have to stop and take notice of these new young guns and shut up and listen. This is also the best song Lenker has written up to this point.
The fact that the album consistently flows from track to track, some purely indie rock bliss with noisy rock riffs to soft and folky ruminative tracks to beautiful indie pop numbers that reminds me of Beach House (without all the layers of dream pop) or Broken Social Scene, and does it with almost no hiccups or stumbles is brilliant.
Of course there are some small gripes I have. Starting with small things that always slightly annoy me, such as the opening one note explosion of the solo of “Real Love” which is just toooo much and doesn’t work (before getting back on track with a great remainder of solo), to the overly long and annoying little baby saying car and truck over and over at the end of “Interstate”. The only more macro critique is hardly a critique for me anyway (because I don’t value extreme originality) is that this great band hadn’t yet found that utterly unique Big Thief sound yet and much of the songs here, including the best ones done excellently, are quite familiar sounding. By the time they get to 2019’s 2 LPs they had carved out a truly unique sound. But I am not sure those albums are BETTER than this one (we shall see soon enough), its just that they are more unorthodox.
The star of the show her is the ragged, stalwart beauty of Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting, singing and general persona. How she managed to switch gears so fully from her Folk confessional singer/songwriter aesthetic to the fiery, rocker who forces you to hand on to every word in the middle of some deriously stomping rock tunes, baffles me. She is a chameleon and absurdly talented. The lyrics all over this thing are consistently biting, minimalisticly heartbreaking and I feel like she really made her best written album with this one. I suppose having 3 others to play with helped the songwriting process or perhaps its just that this format allowed her to unveil this whole other side of her? I don’t know. Trying to explain the indescribable relatability and fragility and strength and beauty of the singing and songwriting here is like trying to catch gossamer in your hand. This shit is elusive and powerful.
The highlights are numerous, but the TOTAL show stoppers are brilliantly placed at the beginning (“Masterpiece”), middle (“Paul”) and end (“Parallels”)… with each standout track having other great songs of a variously constituted sound and style surrounding it. This album has a flow and a consistency that I love and it just seems (so far) endlessly relistenable.
The closer starts out good, but man when I say the build up to the chorus and the chorus itself is transcendent indie rock glory just know I mean it. Also when I mentioned Broken Social Scene earlier, that could possibly apply to more than just “Paul” but I am mostly talking about that tune. It sounds like something off BSS’s 2002 album You Forgot It In People.
As far as low points, well while I kind of get what they were going with that opening track “Little Arrow” as a sort of short, super low key and fragile introduction, I still think it’s the least special and quality sounding song here. Other than that, every song here bristles with a level of energy and passion and earthy power that makes every song fascinating and uplifting and thought-provoking and just awesome.
So far, Lenker’s discog is so fucking cool. She can rock and folk with the best of ‘em. Also this album makes me excited for all the music yet to come on this project, because I think with this 2016 album she really had found her voice as a vocalist and songwriter. This is the beginning of a new era methinks. Also the relationship between Buck Meek and Adrianne Lenker and the resultant band seems to be getting more and more enmeshed. I think the whole band kicks ass here, but in particular one thing I never mentioned is the subtle harmonies between Meek and Lenker here is just as great, if more subtle, as on their A-Sides EP. And they seem to be one of those rare musical partnerships that just seem made for each other. Like Gram and Emmylou, or Guru and Premier, or other great ones. These 2 have some great music yet to come (as well as a divorce) I can already tell.
This gets a high rating, because I like it. I sometimes feel like I give too many glowing ratings. But then again the reason I pick these artists to listen to and explore is because I already KNOW I like their sound and this project just gives me a chance to really listen and listen a lot and let my thoughts blossom. With that in mind the rating for this near-masterpiece is …. 8.7/10"[+]Reply
"Book of Brilliant Things, Waterfront and Up on the Catwalk are all excellent tracks but there are some more forgettable tracks on this release compared with New Gold Dream and Once Upon a Time. I still class this one a part of the 80's trilogy of Simple Minds at their most creative."Reply
"Excellent solo album from former band member Robbie Robertson. Excellent song writing, playing, and production create a fantastic album that takes the listener on a terrific journey. Transports the listener to a tranquil place of robertsons creation. Standout tracks: Broken Arrow, somewhere down ...""Excellent solo album from former band member Robbie Robertson. Excellent song writing, playing, and production create a fantastic album that takes the listener on a terrific journey. Transports the listener to a tranquil place of robertsons creation. Standout tracks: Broken Arrow, somewhere down the crazy river, and fallen angel. "[+]Reply
"Best album in its genre. The genre being the synthpop revival of the ‘00s, which was without doubt the most important genre of that decade. The Madonna generation had matured and started making their own music. There was tough competition: Kylie Minogue, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Madonna herself. Bu...""Best album in its genre. The genre being the synthpop revival of the ‘00s, which was without doubt the most important genre of that decade. The Madonna generation had matured and started making their own music. There was tough competition: Kylie Minogue, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Madonna herself. But Britney definitely took the crown with this one.
If the genre was rock however (or anything related to it), people on this site would cum all over it even if the album was half as good. But since it is pop, we see these salty old heads, edgy declinists and indie purists with anger boners pop up who can’t possibly understand how something that is mainstream can also be good at the same time."[+]Reply
"This album is mentioned as a prime example of "What Rudy Van Gelder Did 'Wrong'" in an article under that title at the Reverb com site, which is a gear trading site all musicians go to. I recommend doing a search for that title and checking out the article for a brief but excellent discussion of ...""This album is mentioned as a prime example of "What Rudy Van Gelder Did 'Wrong'" in an article under that title at the Reverb com site, which is a gear trading site all musicians go to. I recommend doing a search for that title and checking out the article for a brief but excellent discussion of RVG (the superstar recording engineer for Blue Note records as I'm sure you know if you're here) and his recording techniques that he tried to keep secret, including comments from those who hate this kind of recording. On this album, the article says "Blakey’s drums are like a series of explosions, nearly blowing out the microphones and thoroughly drowning out Cedar Walton’s piano and Reggie Workman’s bass." It also says, and I agree, that this album is "some of the most visceral and exciting jazz you’ll ever hear in your life.""[+]Reply
sageamagoo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Boltzmann | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
