Reviews by daniel

This album is pretty warm, and, actually, some songs are really nice. But, at the same time, it feels pretty plain and predictable. It is not innovative or deep in any sense, and, musically talking, it is very bland at times, but it strangely has a nice combination of elements that make it feel very comfortable and easy to get into. So, it is nice at some extent, just not something too interesting to really grab your attention to be willing to listen to it again.

There are some great ideas in this album, some pretty nice songs, and, still, I'm not in love with it. I feel there is a lot of inspiration in this record, just the delivery is not much of my taste. However, some great thing of this album is that it flows really well, so effortlessly natural. And it is pretty eclectic, to be honest, making it something particularly difficult in such a dense album. I must say I am impressed. I wasn't much into it from the first songs, but the second side of it is such a gem full of fantastic songs, fantastic sounds and ideas. And, as it evolves, it really goes somewhere, being much more than what it seems at first glance. The music is enigmatic and very catchy. It's really an album worth listening to.

This is actually a pretty funny album to listen to, very enjoyable and with some great songs. I wouldn't say it's impressive in any sense, but it has a fantastic balance between upbeat and slower songs, with some pretty interesting sounds, as well as a very classy feeling to it. It is nothing but enjoyable, but that's what music should also be. And it works perfectly well as an album, a very warm, even narrative country.

This album has two nice things: one of them are some of the instrumentals, which really elevate it and make it much better than what it could have been; the other one is that it feels cohesive and has a nice sound, something that, production-wise, works. But, at some extent, its length becomes a counterpoint. This kind of punk-ish sound becomes tedious at some point, with a lack of some other interest rather than just repeating similar sounds all over the album. At the beginning it is nice, the instrumentals feel fresh, there is a lot of energy... but, at the end, it becomes an inconsistent record with too many songs and some much better than others, which become plain and soulless. You don't need to shout or to make noise to transmit something, nor it necessarily has to transmit something. And this album proves that sometimes it works, but when you have an album that is based on uplifting energy by repeating similar structures you may succeed or, on the contrary, make it feel long or boring (and boring does not necessarily imply long, but rather a feeling of losing the interest). And this album is pretty uninteresting musically talking. There are some nice elements, some really nice instrumental works, "Joe 1" is an example to highlight, and maybe the best song off the record. So, I understand the point on making this album and the reason behind its sound, but I can't find the musical appeal. And that is of strong importance to make you also enjoy the music.

What a boring and bland album. The songs are not interesting at all, Quaye's voice is not even pleasant, it just sounds like background music... and, the worst part of it is how mediocre, insipid and forgettable it is. I cannot say it is horrible, it surely is a correct album... but just too correct it even is soulless. It feels so cold and even so musically uninteresting that it becomes an uninspired collection of even unrelated tracks. It feels at times even more like a compilation than an actual album. And those very stripped songs with just a bass, drums and this guy talking are so tedious to listen to that are not even worth as background. I cannot find words to describe how boring this album is.

This album is a very warm one, and, still, a very melancholic one too. I love how the instruments sound so delicious and raw at the same time, giving the impression of a very acoustic record, very sentimental and intimate too. And, in that sense, those broken vocals, which are not perfectly delivered almost at any time, fit so well the atmosphere this album creates. They are nothing interesting, nor something pleasant at some points, but in those songs they work perfectly. Mostly because there are songs about love (many of them being melancholic too), and others about being lost. It is a wonderful record lyrically too. There is some poetry to it, some really beautiful descriptions, letting you also picture the songs, give them an image. Added to the atmospheric aspect, this album really outshines at creating a concept, one that you can imagine. It is that intimate that really makes you visualise those songs. And it is something wonderful, and very powerful, that this album has.

This album is really something special. The sound of it, very into the English folk scene of the late 60s and early 70s, is not just beautiful and very expressive, but surely something delicate and warm too. This album is such a sweet, and a very enjoyable one too, with some eclectic sounds, also the addition of a glockenspiel and a really beautiful instrumental work as well as a lovely voice. It surely is delicate, this is the word that best suits this album.

Just because there are some interesting production effects and sounds, and because it is at least listenable, I will not say this album is horrendous. But it is pretty uninteresting and bland. The songs are simply based on repeating the same elements over and over, and, even though I can find what was innovative at the time, it is music that can only be enjoyed while dancing (if so). There is not an actual listening value rather than the repetition of certain elements that can be more or less catchy. But, still, it lacks of some substance. Many songs are just an endless flow of the same chorus with nothing else to break it or disturb it. There is no tension, there is no narrative through the music, nor something to transmit rather than "let's go partying". But, then, what I may value production-wise is what this album also lacks of an actual musical interest. So, I cannot say I have enjoyed it. It is not an album for listening. And. I like listening to music, not ignoring it and just having as a background of my mood. And, in this sense, this album is very plain.

This album is fabulous. It has a strange eclectic feeling that fits it so well, mainly formed by great upbeat heavy metal tracks with a fantastic production work, wonderful guitars and a powerful percussion. But it all sounds fantastically together. It is fresh, so enjoyable, and so fun to listen to too. And you can also find some darker songs that give that Black Sabbath sound that sounds so wonderfully and uniquely theirs.

This album is great, so great. The sound of this album is fabulous, as well as how moving it is. But with some really wonderful layers too. Bob Marley surely is one of a kind, one great musician and maybe the most influential reggae artist of all time. But you can really see it on how vivid this music is, how human and socially involved is too. It feels very warm, and the melodies are beautiful, added to the percussion and those sweet organ layers. It is fabulous. And you cannot stop listening to it.

This music is somniferous. And, sure, it is no surprise to find that it is ambient music, if the title of the album does not speak enough by itself. There is a strange conjunction of dance-inspired elements and a very monotonous and minimalistic tone. It does not favour at all this album, and the main reason why is that it becomes very bland and distasteful, and so repetitive. And there is neither a cohesion nor link that unites those songs, they just feel the same boring thing but with different productions. It is surely not something good considering it is meant to be an album... but, well, let's just take another look at the title: Selected Ambient Works 85-92; maybe there is no cohesive intention at all to begin with. And, finally, I find quite exhausting to find that ambient most of the times becomes a synonym of making music that is thought to be listened in the background, with no actual musical interest at all. I can find certain nice elements, other very questionable ones, but there are some nice things, I must say... But... I cannot find any purpose. It does not transmit anything. It does create an atmosphere, but a very polished and loose one. It is just a monotonous sound that does not evolve more than just adding or removing few layers of the songs. The rest is all the same. Something between electronic minimalism and dance music but without any actual joy to it. It feels weak and pretty unattractive. And, to be honest, music should be meant to transmit something and should be meant to be listened (carefully). And this album is none of those things.

This album is very eclectic, so fun to listen to, and such a sweet. It is impossible to not fall in love with any of those songs. Not just because they are very greatly written, but because also McCartney has such an ear and taste for making delicious and wonderful melodies, both sides enjoyable and beautiful and so catchy. This album is just wonderful, and a great example on how to make everything cohesive and very original, and make it flow so pleasantly. There is also some experimentation I love to listen to in this record, with some subtle changes, different segments within certain tracks and reminiscent melodies that bring a sense of listening to something more conceptual than what this album actually is. And this is great. The last two songs, that function also as perfect closings that wrap up in a short way some other songs of the album, are not just a great way to end this album but a very interesting way of combining them and creating a new piece from new inspiration and those previous tracks while condensing the album and gradually and softly taking it to the end too. However, this is not the only great decision but the album overall. It has so many great songs, so many great instrumental moments, and a fantastic production that at times evolves into even progressive sounds, all through a fantastic taste at making catchy and wonderful melodies. This album is great, in the complex and the funny. You can have a great time listening to this album and, still, it has so many great layers and wonderful sounds.

This album may be not much interesting musically, but there are some great songs in here, it is overall addictive and very enjoyable, and every track has beautiful melodies. Sure, I love this kind of songwriter pop with some rock influences, but in this record it also works very well. Aimee's voice matches the songs fantastically, and some songs have some great atmospheres. It may not be too innovative, nor something too complex, but it is an album that is really easy to get into with some great songs, what else could I ask for? Sometimes music should also be to have some fun, and this album does work really good to have a pleasant time.

This album is gorgeous. Such a great take on taking string arrangements into a very classic way of making pop-rock. It sounds classy, but still delicious. And, maybe his voice is a bit difficult to adapt at first, but it matches so well the songs, having a kind of melancholic and raw feeling added to it too. There is also a very beautiful addition of a more jazzy, bluesy style, most at the end of the album, which takes it to a different stage without losing cohesion nor that dreamy aspect the songs transmit. So, I've loved it. It is not excellent, but everything is great in here, and it is also a very easy album to enjoy. It is wonderful.

There are some albums that are not outstanding, but that, still, are great from start to end. This Neil Young one is one of them. It does not go further in any sense, but every song is fantastic, or, at least, great. And it has a lot of blues, with such an enjoyable feeling to it, and a very vivid feeling overall. It is also a very warm album. It really creates an intimate atmosphere in which the songs breathe with a lot of charm.

This album is pretty ambitious, to be honest, and in all of its modesty. The classical influences are all very clear –and I can see a lot of vanguardist elements too–, and it really has a strong focus on adapting some Hanns Eisler songs (actually, a lot considering it does not try to be a songbook) but in a modern way, for the year the album was released, including some rock inspired sounds, some electric guitars and a very polished, yet very dark production, even in the moments in which there is little instrumentation. All to create an atmosphere of disgust and a very theatrical rebellion, being Dagmar capable of communicating through her way of singing the sentiment and context of the songs she is reinterpreting. It is a great album, and, sure, one that is as complex as beautiful. It only lacks of a certain direction, something more profound than just a repertoire of songs, because at some point, it feels overwhelming due to the volume of songs and the unclear link between them rather than the protest aspect and the fact that they are all Hanns Eisler songs. But, aside that appreciation, I really have gotten very into this music, and, what at first did not click on me, has ended up being a very interesting sound to discover. Dagmar Krause really gets involved in the music she is singing, the emotion, and the vanguardist sound of the record added to the dark (or, better explained, confusing, agitating) atmosphere it creates in which the instruments contribute to generate a certain feeling of uncertainty, really do it make it feel like something clandestine, rebellious, generating a certain musical background that transmits perfectly through music the troubled times in which it was originally made. So, this is really a very interesting record, much more than what it may seem at first.

This album is strangely enchanting and, at the same time, disgusting. But, overall, since it begins, it somehow traps you and does not let you go until it's over. It could be the best example on the industrial genre, and, sure, an album I can see many influences around on later projects by other even more mainstream artists. But it is much more than industrial, it is also very ambient in a claustrophobic way.

The first thing you notice in this album is that, amongst all the chaotic elements around here, there are also a lot of cold and mechanical sounds. It almost feels there is a direction in the songs, that there is movement, a rhythm. But, cynically, this rhythm is oppressive and even becomes irritating. Added to field recordings and distorted voices, it channels so well both, a very inhuman way of facing violence (the police in "Valley of the Shadow of Death" or the hospitals in "Hamburger Lady") and the chaotic way of living through it, the psychological effects and how disturbing life is in an environment like this. It faces those feelings and topics in a very direct, confronting way. And, when it becomes too horrible, a breath of life comes as an anaesthesia in "Hometime", without losing a disconcerting aura, but focusing on the family aspect and hope, and the most accessible one, "AB/7A", which works as a way of vanishing those issues... at least until the repetition of the song becomes suffocating and methodical, at an extent it even seems like an antidote, something build to opaque all the violence. In some way, it serves the group to make a statement on how sometimes mainstream culture is used as a way to distract people from certain issues. And, then, the album continues with no compassion through medical and violence topics again, constituting an oppressive record that talks more about the nature of internalised dehumanisation and the seek of having a voice in an oppressive world rather than just focusing on the shock and horror factors. And, in some way, that voice comes from channeling the horror oneself lives and showing a completely alienating environment in which death and violence are treated both, in very careless and morbid ways.

Overall, this album works pretty well, it is very solid as a statement, not against, but about an alienating reality. And it also feels very nihilistic, but with a voice that truly tries to resonate inside the listeners rather than just pushing certain ideas. It even becomes obscurely theatrical, it almost feels performative. And it has some great musical ideas, being a very unique and original album. Certainly something very different than a lot of other music. It does not seek any formula, it feels very fresh and even improvised. But, in this sound, it also feels very constructed and polished. It is both, a very thought album with a very thought sound and, still, one that has no boundaries, taking both, a very methodical aspect and a violent and disturbed side. It does not work as anaesthesia, it makes you face a feeling, and, through that it makes you question what you feel and what you hear. That is why it feels very performative, it is a very opened album, even just by looking at its cover before listening to it. And, sonically, it is a very enveloping album, one that truly evolves, but slowly, and that makes you flow with it. It strangely creates a very dark and unpleasant atmosphere that, yet, catches your ear. And that is a very difficult task. But, maybe, it is because, production-wise, it is exquisite. How everything combines so well, how the even friendly and ethereal "Hometime" flows so well and mixes so nicely the field recordings of the child and the instruments of the band, that even have a certain psychedelic sound, and the medical, and how disturbed sounds of "Hamburger Lady" almost get you inside some patient's mind and confusion... is something fantastically achieved. This album truly is surprising. It is one that feels as repulsive as wonderful. Not in a beautiful way, but in a way it sticks inside of you. And, even while listening to it, it is such an immersive and enjoyable experience that flows really well.

What a dark and mysterious album, and still so enchantingly wonderful. This album is a very eclectic one, with a great cohesion too. The acid jazz all over this record, mainly in the instrumental songs, gives this album the texture of a film-like recording, while also having a very interesting electronic component. And, actually, it really is a cinematic album. A very cinematic one, in fact. It almost traps you inside of an imaginary story, and throughout the different sounds and textures, it drives you through it. It is also a very Nick Cave-ish album, and that is why he fits extraordinarily well in "The Sweetest Embrace". Two great points of this album, for sure. It feels like it dives between the songs and the dialogues, deconstructing the audiovisual language into music, building so fantastically the settings or feelings just through the music. This album truly is a gem, not just because of the storytelling (with so little storytelling, to be honest), but because of how it is capable of creating a dark, "film noir" atmosphere, and, yet, being so deeply interesting and musically rich and very enjoyable. Few albums are as captivating as this one, it gets you from its beginning, and you cannot stop listening to it until the end. There are no moments in which you feel it goes down. Even the less musically interesting songs have the power to get you more and more into the story, which is almost sensorial, depending exclusively on your imagination and what is narrated and sung throughout the album. This is excellent, this is different, unique, and, still, very classy at the same time. Such a wonderful album, for sure.

This album is gorgeous, absolutely fantastic. The rhythm of the album, how it flows, also through those kind of talked interludes, is delightful. And the songs are all bewitching, so creative and unique, and with some really catchy melodies. Sure, The Mothers Of Invention, and Frank Zappa specially, have such a very peculiar way of making music, and a great psychedelic approach that sounds very fresh and original. It is great, they are great, and this album is magnificent, so enjoyable and fun to listen to.

This album is really good. Very much of a common country album, without much innovative aspects or anything to highlight. But it really works pretty well. The songs are all quite nice, and Joe Ely's voice is very warm and pleasant. So, I've got not much to say, except that the first track is great and, as an opener, really gets you interested into the album. And I must say I've liked and enjoyed listening to this one. So, it is good, it is quite good. And you sure have such a good time listening to it.