Reviews by de_baron

Really groovy beats and a unique blend of sounds and genres. I love the fat bass sound on this record and how the music turned more jazzy as the album went on. However, many of the vocal tracks annoy me, so that brings down the rating by a star. And the lyrics to “The Rough and the Quick” were… interesting.

Favourite song: Bussing, Belladonna

Didn’t understand a single thing but this album still slapped. Really cool beats and a nice flow, that sometimes makes me forget these lyrics are in French. Just a bit too long.

Favourite songs: Victime de la mode, Ragga jam

Never really listened to anything by 2Pac before this, but I really enjoyed this album. The beats on here are very cool and 2Pac’s flow is awesome. Lyrically the album deals with many of the same subjects, such as his difficult youth and hardship on the streets etc.

Favourite songs: Me Against The World, Dear Mama, It Ain’t Easy

Pretty fun blues rock. Nothing about this was too special and it felt of the time and similar to stuff the Rolling Stones would put out. "Whiskey Woman" was awesome though, and the album cover goes hard.

I love this! The melodies are so pretty and the production is amazing, this record just sounds so good. All songs sound really sweet, the string arrangements add a lot, but there is a melancholic and bittersweet feeling underneath everything.
I would give this a 4.5/5 if I could, but since I’m sure that I’ll be revisiting this often and can definitely see this become a favourite, I’ll round up.

Favourite songs: Child's Christmas in Wales, Andalucia, Paris 1919, Antarctica Starts Here

This is actually so cool, way way better than I was expecting. Very prog rock sounding, awesome riffs, great drumming, and I liked the vocals as well. The organs that come in now and then really add a lot too. Way better than I thought!

Didn't really know what to expect from ICE-T, but this was pretty good. While the album can be vulgar and politically charged, he also really has a sense of humor. That's what I remembered the most. I liked many of the beats, but the album is a bit too long overall.

Ehh, some catchy moments but many of the songs on here sound too similar. Again, not a fan of his voice and the slur was an unpleasant surprise. But I have to say, the album cover is awesome.
Glad to know this was the last Elvis Costello album for me.

Just a super fun and energetic album. It’s just a super good time listening to this. Of course I was familiar with “More Than a Feeling”, but the rest of the record is great as well. Loved the many harmonies on this. It does dip down a bit in quality near the end but it keeps the same energy all the way through.

Much like I expected: very catchy melodies, pretty harmonies, short and sweet songs. This flew by pretty quickly. Overall a very enjoyable album.

Favourite songs: Love Me Till the Sun Shines, Waterloo Sunset

Not sure if I’ll revisit this many times, but this was nice enough. Cool beats and I loved Tracey Thorn’s vocals on here, which I have heard previously on several other triphop/downtempo albums. Her voice really fits this music well. And while I usually think they are unnecessary, I actually thought the remixes at the end were a nice inclusion! 3.5/5

I thought I sort of liked this when the record started but that was not true. As the album went on I got more and more annoyed by everything on here, especially the atrocious vocal delivery and the vulgar sort of trying to be edgy lyrics. Instrumentally this was alright, I especially liked the drumming, but the guitar riffs didn’t sound like anything groundbreaking.

I loved her voice on this, so so pretty. I am not too well versed in R&B, but the beats were fine I guess, some I liked more than others. But overall, a super chill listen that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected beforehand.
3.5/5 (rounded down)

Just really generic britpop. Not bad or annoying per se, but there are so many albums within the genre that are better than this one. I’m really starting to understand more and more the people that hate how bloated this list is with britpop.

The vocals are really beautiful, but the instrumentals are really slow, bordering on boring. I was sort of waiting for it to end, which is a shame, because I could listen to those vocals all day long.

Please tell me why he sings like this. This is almost my last Elvis Costello album and every time I ask myself this. Much of the instrumentals are right up my alley, but then Mr. Costello starts singing and it just ruins everything for me. Once again, instrumentally I liked a lot of songs (I Hope You’re Happy Now, Tokyo Storm Warning, Battered Old Bird) but I really dislike his vocals. It doesn’t help the album that the opening track and the closing track are really bad.

Not necessarily bad but not really good either. I found this not really engaging and most songs flew by without leaving an impression. Not the worst britpop ever, but there is definitely better picks out there.

I am not the biggest fan of Leonard Cohen; he is obviously a great lyricist but I couldnt really get into his voice. Still, I liked this album. It;s always so interesting to listen to the last recorded album of an artist where you can really feel them reflecting on life (and/or death).

She really does have a nice voice, but nothing about the music behind it does anything for me. Luckily it is a short album but I could feel it drag for me towards the end.

Instrumentally this was pretty and thematically it was very interesting, but overall I felt the songs all sounded too similar to each other which made not many things stand out. I also think it went on too long. What also didn’t help is that I had to listen to this album on YouTube since it isn’t on Spotify, and it was interrupted by unskippable ads every 10 minutes or so.
I had to get used to her vocals at the start of the album but eventually I got used to them and could enjoy them.

Favourite song: Only Skin