Reviews by blakestewart

This is nearly classic 80's brit-pop material but there's this annoying thing where the lyrics are filled with scansion errors and just...odd as fuck. Sometimes it's amazing only to fall out of rhythm again? It's really off-putting and makes no sense given what competent musicians they are. That said it's a really endearing album with the some very clever lyrics.

Solid album. Cass really did make this whole group. Not my normal listening but it was a nice pick to come up on a chilly autumn day. Can't quite give it a four but I wanna.

It is possibly the purest rock album of its filthy era.

Loved some of the riffs but found too much of the work a bit oasis like in terms of the vocals.

This wasn't as good as the other penguin cafe album but it was still pretty fun. I can't quite go to four with it....kinda want to though.

I just don't care for Dylan. I try to engage with it. The problem I have is that, yes, he does have some brilliant lyrics...but their between lines like "oh mami, there's peanut butter in the trees".

Bob Dylan just says all he things. He sounds weird doing it.

I am finding myself more tolerant of eldest county. This certainly fits the bill.

An album if always meant to listen to but never did. Shams, as I liked it a lot. I'll be listening again for certain.

I think I appreciate what this album represents as art in it's era more than I like the music? Maya is a challenging figure with some wild notions but she also is someone who works philanthropically and seems to, at the least, come from a place of compassion. It's hard for me to separate art from artist when they are anti-vax and a 5g conspiracist who launched a whole clothing line a wearable faraday cages. If I just discount knowing these facts then I can at least state that this is a pretty great album. It is a nice collage of layered sounds. I can't not give it a four...but I kind of want to give it a three?

I still wish to read this as Dwhite Denim. Fun album that isn't quite my normal style? It's so close though. It's what I wish the Vines sounded like. That whole 2005-2015 alt rock thing that bothers me vocally? Somehow this steps around that. Not quite a four but I feel a touch guilty?

It's a great album of modern folk rock. She has a really good voice and knows how and when to put it to use and when to let it just ride the rest of the music. I did not think I'd enjoy her this much.

I dig VM. I like the variety of weirdly mystical stuff he does. I know the voice isn't for everyone but it always clicked for me. His lyricism is solid.

Almost a four for me. Probably would have gone there but I felt like the vocals were way high in the mix. Which, Interesting choice given the singer. He's not bad at all but he has a particular voice and it already tends to stand out from the song.

It's so odd to see the drippy fantasy folk of this album morph into what comes after it. Though I don't care for the genre the album was more engaging than others I've contended with on this list. Not too shabby.

I definitely enjoyed Songs About Fucking more but it was still an interesting way to spend my morning.

Definitely and eclectic album. I kept feeling like it was a more analogue Thievery Corporation. Didn't quite light me up the same way but it was a decent departure from the mundane.

I want to like this concept album. I just can't. It's interesting and wildly different but it isn't scratching anything I have an itch for.

1. Outside is my favorite Bowie album and one of my favorite albums of all time. I'm not sure it would exist without this albums deeper experimentation. LOW is also just a great album in its own right. I think I enjoyed basically every track on some level and most very much.

Some of the tracks are insanely good and some of them are kind of a sleepwalk.

This is one of the finest jangle-rock and punky proto-grunge albums I have heard. I really enjoyed it and this is after a night hosting karaoke until way late at my bar. I have a noise headache, my senses are saturated, I'm tired. Still, I'll be listening to this again. It isn't perfect but it's a strong 4.