Reviews by conorr90

Never heard of this artist before, really interesting stuff though. Reminds me a bit of MF DOOM in places, and in other places Flying Lotus. Some of the tracks don't really pan out fully, and it is a bit too long. I'm glad to have found it though - will definitely be revisiting it!

I've been aware of Jane's Addiction for a long time, and even saw them live at a festival back in 2011 or something like that (and thought they were great). But I don't think I've ever listened to this the whole way through. I really enjoyed it though, especially the longer tracks in the second half, which I wasn't familiar with.

This is a good album, but not great enough to bring me back for repeated listens. It's incredibly repetitive, but I guess that's kind of the point. It was super influential, so many bands and artists that came after were obviously inspired by them. For me though, they're more of a Greatest Hits band than an Album band.

I'm surprised to read that this is her most commercially successful album. I would have thought Blue had sold more. I don't love this one as much as Blue or Heijira, but it is still great. Full of fantastic songwriting and hinting towards her upcoming jazzier experimental stuff. 9/10

I like a lot of this, particularly the funkier first half. But quite a few of the songs are pretty forgettable. I wasn't really into the Motown style ballads as much.

Apart from hearing Missing on the radio a lot when I was a kid, I only really listened to EBTG when Fuse came out. Can't believe I missed out so much, they are great! This album is pretty front-loaded, but overall it is very good, nice mix of genres and very chilled out. I love Tracy Thorn's voice as well.

This one takes me back to my teens. I was a big fan of Beck back then, although I have mellowed (yes, pun intended) a bit on him in recent years. This was always my favourite album of his. So many different genres, experiments, and wacky lyrics it's even hard for me to pick out highlights. I can see why it might not be for everyone, but it certainly opened my mind at the time.

I don't really know enough about Congolese music to judge this properly, but I found parts of it pretty danceable and uplifting. I don't think I'd listen to it again, but glad to get something different from the generator for a change!

I think a lot of ink has been spilled on this album already, so I haven't got much to add. It's definitely a classic, and was one of the first jazz albums I listened to and grew to appreciate. I kind of forgot about it for a few years though, when I got into more modern and avant garde jazz. But then I came back to it sometime over covid, got it on vinyl, and discovered it all over again. I don't see it ever leaving my collection.

Wow, this wasn't what I expected at all - I thought this band just did pop reggae covers! Really enjoyed this, it slots in well with the other dub reggae coming out of Britain in the 70s and 80s. It feels very British, while also being true to its Caribbean roots.
Some of the songs do run a bit too long, but it's forgiveable since they are quite danceable!

Two Arcade Fire albums in a month, quite a treat! This is another album I know well from my teenage years. I know they probably have their haters, but I think they're well deserving of their three places on here. Great lyrics and instrumentation, and covered a lot of similar themes as the Emo revival that was going on in tandem, in a different way. I've heard the more popular songs like Laika, Wake Up, and Rebellion so many times that I almost don't hear them anymore, but they are still great. Une Anneé Sans Lumière and Crown of Thorns are incredible songs. Not a bad song on here really, and it was very influential on the wave of indie music that came after.

I was expecting much worse from this tbh. Going into it, I only knew Angels and Let Me Entertain You. I think the latter is great, but the former was on a Christmas compilation we had when I was a kid, so in my head it's purely a Christmas song. There are a few other good songs on here though, particularly the last 3. The rest is a bit bland and full of silly lyrics, which is fine I guess. Also owes way too much to Oasis. I never really connected Robbie Williams to the Britpop scene before, but I guess he was part of it.

The first couple of songs are great, but after that it's just variations of tired old blues riffs with some psychedelic flair added. I'd argue that only two Doors albums were needed in this book, the debut and LA Woman.

Title track is really good, but I knew that already. The rest of the album is painfully mid though. The only interesting thing about them is that they're Scottish

Great album, but not as great as Innervisions or Songs in the Key of Life. I didn't really care for You and I or Tuesday Heartbreak, but the rest is very solid.

I've had this CD for years, and always kind of enjoyed it but never really connected with it fully. I was introduced to Beth Orton, like many people I imagine, through her features on Chemical Brothers tracks. I think she has a great voice, and really appreciate the blend of genres, but there's something missing for me. Some great standout tracks though, particularly Stolen Car, Pass in Time, and the title track.

Haven't listened to this one in a while, apart from hearing the singles every so often on the radio. Looking back now, this album was probably part of the end of the era that was the 2000s indie rock revival, or whatever you call it yourself. It was something of an end of an era for me too, coming out the year I finished secondary school. I was never a huge YYYs fan, but had great respect for them, and thought they seemed like basically the coolest people in the world at the time.

Listening back to this now, I forgot just how many fantastic songs are on it. The first 2 are incredible, and the next 3 are pretty great too. Then there is a bit of a lull in the middle before coming back to form with Dragon Queen. Then the last 2 songs tie it all together nicely.

"Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" will always remind me of the menu screens of Fifa 2003, surprised no one's mentioned that yet! This is a pretty good album, but a bit dated now, and hasn't really stood its ground in the zeitgeist in the same way Lauryn Hill has. I feel like that's maybe an unfair comparison to make, but can see why people make it.

I think a lot of the US reviewers on here are misunderstanding how big a deal winning the Mercury Prize is in the UK and Ireland, it's almost like being Grammy nominated, and tends to correlate with critical acclaim and popularity. It's also been a curse for more than one artist who couldn't produce a decent follow up, as might be the case here. Looking back now, The Streets probably should have won that year.

This album is just fine, Take on Me is obviously incredible but none of the other songs are of the same quality. Some are pretty good though, like The Sun Always Shines on TV, and the closer. Overall though it is a bit too melodramatic and "80s sounding" for me though.

This one is somewhat nostalgic for me, as it was played to death on Irish radio at the time, when I was about 12 or 13. Apart from the big hits though, it's fairly dull. The singer's fake American accent gets old pretty quickly too. It's a pleasant enough sounding album, but is so derivative of the influences they wear proudly on their sleeves, that I don't think it's really deserving of this list.