A Walk Across the Rooftops

I don’t think that this album belongs on a top list.

3.5

A lot to like here

I like the overall vibe - the album is probably perfect for a rainy afternoon, but I'm going to stop at a 4 because I think it needs the right mood to enjoy fully.

I've heard of this band but never listened them. As soon as I saw that Linn were the label I assumed it would sound great. And it really does, great production and separation of the instruments. Very life like sound! The songs are well put together as well, a couple stood out but I can see why there weren't any major hits. The singer's voice reminds me a lot of David Sylvain's. The songs are quite subtle and down-tempo, nice one to listen to on a rainy day.

Sometimes perhaps a bit too mellow and smart for my 80s filling, Blue Nile's A Walk Across the Rooftops is an excellent showing of that warm Summer night part of pop. The moments where the synths feel just subdued enough to be cozy, and the compositions are intricate whilst still having those bits and pieces to make it onto mainstream radio. It isn't a genre I ever thought I'd like, but it seems to constantly be hitting well with me, and this album is no different. The vocals aren't smooth, but it's that odd sounding, mellow-toned 80s gruff-lite that works oh-so-well, and I'm just a fan of the whole thing. It isn't mindblowing stuff, you'll find yourself a little outdone by the songs' long-winded runtimes, but those moments of just enjoying the urban, humid rain that make this album shine; enjoy the feeling as it presents itself, I say.

Another sophisti-pop album. Tinseltown in the rain is a nice famous song, the rest went in one ear and out the other. Doesn't seem to excel in its genre or borrow enough outside it to be memorable and worth revisiting.

So, this was not really enjoyable, but it was a relief after all the terrible music this list has been serving me. My only hope is that the first hundred albums I listen to are trash, and the remaining 901 albums are amazing.

This list is bullshit, really

Anyway, this album:

Inoffensive. I certainly would have liked to hear this album in the year of its release. I think it would have been really different from everything else I was used to hearing at the time. I don't know if I would have liked it, but I think I could have appreciated it a bit more than I can now

2.75

I went from Queen to this as I'm catching up with the weekend's albums. Some interesting instrumental things, but nothing super interesting, Enjoyed stay. 2*

This album is rather cozy and enjoyable.

I consider this a high 3/5

All these songs are way too long, Paul Buchanan doesn’t sound as good as he does on Hats, and I just don’t like this production. Blegh.

2/5

Really cool child pop album, but not as good as hats. So probably doesn’t need to be on this list.

There were some interesting sounds in here, but most of the songs were so slow and low energy I just can't see myself coming back to this one.

Ugh...not another Scottish band.... I've noticed through doing this generator exercise that there is a good chance that if the band bio says they are from Scotland, that they're going to be shit. That trend holds true here. These guys sound like a shittier U2, which was a feat I thought impossible, but here we are. This bleeding hearts gloomy shit just doesn't do it for me, and the singer moans more than sings.

Favourite songs: Tinseltown in the Rain, Stay

Least favourite songs: Easter Parade, Heatwave, Automobile Noises

2/5

Another band I had never heard of before this challenge, and I am genuinely glad I have now discovered them.

A Walk Across the Rooftops has such a moody, atmospheric sound. It feels spacious and slightly melancholic, but never dull. The production is very eighties, yet in a restrained and elegant way rather than over the top.

Tinseltown in the Rain is a brilliant track and easy to see why it became one of their best known songs. It has that sweeping, emotional feel that really pulls you in. Stay is another highlight for me. Subtle, heartfelt and beautifully arranged.

I really enjoyed the album as a whole. It feels cohesive and carefully crafted, and it has definitely made me curious to dive deeper into their catalogue.

Favourite song: Tinseltown in the Rain
Least favourite song: None that stood out negatively
Album artwork: A great cover. Very eighties, but stylish and perfectly matched to the music

Unexpectedly great!

Meh.

Bowie influenced jangle pop, so derivative that even the bonus point for being Scottish doesn't help much. Very lush and chilled, with one classic 80s single, but just not very exciting or engaging. Background music for a flashback scene in a drama, when they want to hammer home the "80s-ness" of the situation.

Solo escuché uno de sus discos en los 80 y como 20 años después al escuchar la versión que incluyó Craig Armstrong supe que era él. ¡Qué voz! Tiene muy buenas canciones así que merece la pena escucharlo.

Sparse sythn-driven slow-burning 80s sad-guy pop - a bit like Killing Joke or a less exuberant Peter Gabriel. The vocals are the dominant element; slightly hoarse, plaintive, searching, and introspective, operating within a fairly narrow range but using volume dynamics to shift intensities they convey loneliness, loss, and a sense of life happening elsewhere. There's a lot of lyrical repetation, emphasis on choruses and individual lines rather than extended verses. The synths are more upbeat: shimmering and arpegiatted with bright tambers. The bass and very reverby drum machine tracks are very synth-sounding too, giving the whole thing that pure-plastic post-modern sound. There's the odd bit of very compressed-clean guitar that comes in as an accent in key moments to build up tension (like in Stay). Easter Parade is a slow piano ballad and big change of tone. Heatwave is another ballad, but much more interestingly arranged, with a very layered bed of synth and keyboard parts as chill and inviting platform for the singer to float over.

Favorites: Stay, Heatwave

This album is more interesting to me than it is exciting. It's not my scene, but I kind of appreciate what they're doing with it. The actual musicality and skill are there, and I admire the amount of different ideas and experimentation they've thrown at it. There's some interesting things happening with the instruments, with brass, violins, weird kind of soundscapes, synth... It's just a bit floaty and unassuming for me.