Deserter’s Songs

Feels like an amalgamation of a lot of stuff I really dig - Neil Young-esque vocals, Flaming Lips influenced instrumentals, and even a bit of Chemical Brothers influence. Very cool. I will have to check them out more.

Goddess on a hiway was alright but the rest of the album is pretty blegh

Soms is vals zingen helemaal geen punt. Maar als je je plaat de uitstraling meegeeft van luistermuziek, dan moet het wel zuiver zijn, anders doet het wel afbreuk.

Soms zijn vervormde stemmen helemaal geen punt. Dan past het in het geheel. Maar als je je plaat de uitstraling meegeeft van luistermuziek, dan moet het wel zuiver zijn, anders doet het wel afbreuk.

Soms zijn gillende en buiten de muziek vallende geluiden helemaal geen punt. Maar als je je plaat de uitstraling meegeeft van luistermuziek, dan moet het wel zuiver zijn, anders doet het wel afbreuk.

Soms is een snobkeuze helemaal geen punt. Maar als je de lijst een uitstraling wil meegeven van kwaliteitsmuziek, moeten de albums wel serieus te nemen zijn, anders doet het afbreuk.

Endlessly is a fun, swimming in stars kind of song.

These guys sound a lot like The Flaming Lips. That like psychadelic rock/indie/chamber pop crossover. Super ethereal sounding. Some pretty solid ideas on this record, and some really odd choices as well.

For example, in the middle of the song Endlessly, it sounds like they sample the Christmas Carol, Silent Night. Also, they use some form of "instrument" to make that shitty ghost sound effect that was big in the 90's around the same point in the song. They brought the shitty ghost sound back for the song Pick Up If You're There.

This is definately a rear loaded album. After the song I Collect Coins, the album gets loads better.

Favourite songs: Goddess on a Hiway, Opus 40, Holes, The Funny Bird, Hudson Line

Least favourite songs: Endlessly, Pick Up If You're There

3/5

I’ve listened to this fairly recently—maybe within the last year?—because it was always one of those albums you hear about as important, but I had never before listened to it. Then, as now, it was fine. Goddess on a hiway is my highlight, and it seems Spotify users agree.

Fraile vocals, shoegaze guitars, big orchestral arrangements - it's very cinematic but like a movie with cool cinematography that's extremely boring and goes on way to long probably staring Ethan Hawke. Yet again, after many attempts upon lots of recommendations, I just cannot get with this band.

Favorites: Goddess on the Highway

This is one I appreciate more than I actually connect with. It's quite floaty and quirky and unusual. They have some interesting instrumentation and chorusey swells and saxophone and all sorts. I really do like the moments when it goes grand and operatic, and that's when it's at its best for me. It's well put together and I appreciate the skill and how they stand out in the scene. I get it, it's just a bit too indie quirk for me in general.

Released the month I turned 16, and the part of the soundtrack of the next few years. A band I was only vaguely aware of before this album, but I looked out for everything they didod afterwards given how good this is. I loved Mercury Rev - and still

Listened to this last year for the first time, I couldn't shake The Flaming Lips vibes... then read that Mercury Rev frontman Jonathan Donahue used to be a guitarist in The Flaming Lips, so the connection made sense.

It's a grower; think I like it a little more today than I did last year.

What's there to rate?

If anything, this sounds like a musical written by a high school student who is not on the honor roll, using some simple open-source software, some duct tape, and maybe a well-trained hamster as a cheerleader.

Best record of the year for 1998? Then again, not much good came out of 1998, if you ask me.

Is the cause due to the limitations of what human beings can do with 7 chords?

2 stars, because I didn't hate it.

So, I found the “edit” button option, and now I am pleased that I can change the ratings of this album which, probably 1 day after rating it, told me “oy, listen to me again” and again and again… and since I’ve started to really like the bastards…
3 1/2* which I will bump to 4*!

This sounded very like Flaming Lips. Decent enough; I enjoyed it a fair bit. A solid three

I must have been a total asshat to be around in the late-90s. Having had the IMMENSE Ágætis byrjun earlier in the week (9 out of 5 stars), I was delighted to see this pop-up in the feed. Adored Mercury Rev, and, whilst not quite in the same class as the Icelandic chaps, the vocals & lyrics of Jonathan Donahue absolutely take you off into another world.

Loved it (but only 5 stars)

Far more Flaming Lips adjacent than I was expecting, as I was expecting something more ethereal and space-lie. Instead, you have this tinge of 90s nasal with an alternative synth aesthetic to make the listener really feel as though they're truly on some otherworldly shit. It really only succeeds in this effect, however, in this department on the first track, where the blowout really strikes me in a way not unfamiliar to Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, and just like that album, it similarly feels as though it is trying to chase that initial rush for the rest of the album. Luckily, it doesn't feel too up its own ass, with lighter, pop-ier tracks to ease the dreamy haze, and the hidden track really achieves this lighter effect. It is a flawed album, but one I can respect more overall. I think this neo-psychedelia movement just isn't fully my cup of tea, and that's a bit of a shame.

It’s a 3.5 that I think I’m going to begrudgingly round up, if only because I recognize that its biggest weakness for me is not going to be as big of a factor for some other people.

I will say, first of all, that because of the renaissance of the late 90s aesthetic and style going on right now, something about this album does feel a bit like 2024 instead of 1998. That’s not to say it’s a timeless sound, but it’s certainly a sound that feels like it’s in vogue again, and that helped a lot with this album.

My biggest thing with this album is the vocals, and I know that shouldn’t be a dig in light of really strong top to bottom production (except for The Happy End), but it really did just drag me out of a few of the songs. There are points when the vocals click really well, but when the lyrics are great and the vocal passion isn’t quite there to match it, something just doesn’t work well for me. However, that’s me – this album is certainly deserving of a 4, and I’m sure it would get there on a subsequent listen when something just clicks better for me, and I’ll round it up now to be fair.

Ei erottunut listalta edukseen, joskaan ei haitakseenkaan. 3/5

I get the feeling that people thought this was a Flaming Lips album until they got a couple tracks in.

That was cool and interesting. The amateurish vocals put me off and it dragged in the middle, but otherwise great.

I've listened to this before, years ago, but kind of forgot about it. I still hear Holes or Godess on a Hiway on the radio every now and then though. I think I consigned them to the same bin I put The Flaming Lips into at some point. Listening to it through again though, I'm pleasantly surprised! It's a very relaxing blend of genres with clever use of a few classic melodies here and there. Some of the deep cuts are great too, like Hudson Line. Still probably not something I'd listen to very often, but I was glad to spend a bit of time with it today.

When you’re coming down, in the middle of the night, when all is quiet and the candles have burned low, turn this record on, step out on your balcony, smoke a cigarette, look at the stars, and know that life is beautiful and everything will be all right. Glowing, magical anchor’s away!