Reviews by deksametazon

Damn, pop-punk really peaked the moment it burst on the scene. I've heard another album from the Buzzcocks, and I'd say that this is the one release you truly need, even if you're not a fan of their other work because it collects all their best songs and (mostly) removes the filler, so you get the premium aural punk experience full of adrenaline and fun.

Also, what differs them from the Ramones is how their songs are all firmly the same, yet have little nuances that make them more memorable. Another plus is how the comp is in a chronological order, so you can hear them expand on their sound and turn into a post-punk neo psych band by the end. It's not all three chords, sometimes it's even a three-tone keyboard, or a drum shuffle here and there. Those are the hallmarks of a band willing to go a step further and experiment, rather than stay in the same place and reap the money on old glory.

Love Bites is a fun album, but that's kinda where it ends for me. Obviously good, with an infectious poppy backbone and some great drumming, but it kinda feels like there's something missing. The closer, Late For The Train doesn't help its case either, as it's a 6-minute instrumental track on a pop punk album, which I believe says enough about it.

But on the flip side, it boasts arguably their best song (and their most known one), Ever Fallen In Love, and also some nicer cuts like Nothing Left and Real World, so it's not all pessimism on my end.

Who would've thought that dubstep was at one point good? Untrue is one of the most beautiful electronic musical creations ever given to the human species. Intricate simple rhythms, and ambient passages that rival Eno, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk.

It gets kind of samey as the album goes on, until we get to "Dog Shelter" after which the whole album takes a more deeper, philosophical dive, even more than it is until that point. Not to say that it doesn't have parts where it's absolutely spectacular, but I just wanted to highlight how much that run from "dog Shelter" to "Raver" means to me. Also, beautiful use of vocal samples. That pretty much differentiates it from being a fish in the ocean of boring club dubstep.

Standouts, other than the aforementioned, are "Archangel" (duh) "Near Dark" and "Untrue".

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2026: #28. An album between the years 1958 and 1965 that is categorized under the Greenwich Village Scene (17th Album)

Classical music for the lonesome travellers among us which peruse the different aspects of life in a way which the common folk don't understand. Maybe are sometimes scared of, even.

Blend is the main course of the bunch, with a raga-infused jazz atmosphere that's built by Sandy Bull and the fear inducing drums of BIlly Higgins, drummer who claimed his fame with Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp. The kid (he was 22 here) put all his chips into this great-ass composition.

And that's where the whole sparkle ends. The rest of the songs are noodles of the highest order. Not bad, but severely lacking in memorability. Carmina Burana Fantasy is a ditty, and Gospel Tune is a blues comp. That's it.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2024: #3. One of the top albums in your social circle (33rd album)

One of the more interesting parts about my life is how after all these years of quasi musical journalism, I've never properly listened to any of the now coveted, Buldozer albums, even though this album in particular is usually in the upper echelon of Yugoslavian musical achievements, be it in my local musical circles, in more professional ones, or even in my home, as my father is a big fan of their work.

The album itself is a rough listen. It can be mostly thought as a satirical theater piece with a musical backing, rather than a strict piece of music. It does include a lot of cool musical passages of prog nature, with darker undertones that are surreal and daring as some of the lyrics it possesses. Marko's singing is a kind of guttural blues yell akin to a drunk person you'd see in deep in a midnight blackness, being your guide through the night.

With that out of the way, this album might feel dated to you. At least, it did to me. Something about the satire feels too old for me, but I'm glad this album still has fans, new and old.

Bismillahi 'Rrahmani 'Rrahim is an Arabic saying for "In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful.", and is usually said before doing something that you want God's Blessing with. Very fitting to read when such a beautiful and spiritual track with the same name begins.

But also for the whole album, which has such an immaculate vibe for an empty night when there's nothing left to do as you wind down. I'm a sucker for an ambiental, minimalist, jazzy approach, and when you combine that with some heavenly choral work? My, my...

Starsailor is the last avant-folk album by the genius mind of Tim Buckley, and the music shows: the dissonance comes in full swing right from the start with crazy vocal exercise, intricate, polyphonic rhythms

It feels like the Daedalus Labyrinth, full of tight and manic passages like on "Down by the Borderline" and the ominous "Monterrey", and sometimes going a bit more maisntream like on "Moulin Rouge" (which I'm not a fan of) and "Song to the Siren" (probably his best song). There's something for everyone, be it rock, jazz, folk or standard-ish pop, which makes it oddly accessible, despite it being hailed as his most experimental album.

Unfortunately, this one will drop from 3.75 to 3.5. The positive sides are that it contains some of the best tracks, such as "Once I Was" and "Pleasant Street", but the rest of the album is a combination of some baroque pop and psychedelia, which more often than not, drags on too much with an unclear goal.

Most of the other songs, apart from the ones I'll list as the best, are good for listening so that you don't get eaten up by the silence of the home. The songs in the middle I would consider some of the best in his entire catalog. Consequently, we somehow arrive at a score of 3.5, neither here nor there when everything is added up.

It's like its predecessor in the vocal composition department of things, but you feel a shift from the psychedelic, hippy-esque atmosphere to a more subdued and chamber influenced one, which I like.

In essence, this really feels like a transitional album, even if I haven't heard the famed Lorca or Starsailor. The album sways gently in the sea of calm and peaceful melodies with jazz influences, but swings widely into an avant-garde cocaine fueled funky soul by the last track. But even with the pretext that transitional albums usually go unnoticed, or mayhaps even get a bad rap, Blue Afternoon is an album done right for my tastes with melancholic calamity mixed with the nightclub jazz aura.

I've had this account for 3 years, and ever since I made it, I struggled with writing a review for this particular album.

It's not the best album of all time, but it's definitely good. Very good, even, or maybe some word that would put it on the scale higher, but not that much higher than that. Of course, my subjective narrative speaks differently, as can be seen from the rarity rating of 5.0/5.0. I guess it's because the album and Jeff came during a period of creation of my musical tastes, and it just left a huge mark on me.

Anyway, Grace is the only album that Jeff left in his lifetime, and I think of it as one great encapsulation of what he was in his lifetime: a quiet, mysterious guy who exudes James Dean energy and is eager to be free and prove himself. Often people see Jeff as a big "What if..." personality. What if he doesn't die in the prime of his youth? Is Grace one step in his career that would make him one of the most important musicians, or as the Anglo-Saxons say, The GOAT musician? I don't think it would. The album as a single is so full of energy and emotion that what came next sounds largely insincere when compared to this one. If the concept of infusing your soul in an album exists, this is a prime example of it.

Jeff knows how to draw attention to himself. With his voice, which is the brightest point of this album. And the guy doesn't try to hide the fact that he has one of the greatest vocal strings in the history of music. He uses them amazingly in every, single, song on here. The thing with this album is that without his unique, vocal delivery and the aura he exudes, it absolutely falls flat on its face. I mean, imagining any other musician singing songs on here makes my gut turn, but Jeff just makes it work every single time. Pure emotion, throughout.

Some would nitpick the songwriting, citing too much hiding behind covers and the help of contemporaries to carry the load, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest, if anything, the songwriting is very well done to accompany his uniquely ghost-like vocals to paint a picture of vulnerability, melancholy, and introspection.

Overall, the album is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that never fails to leave me in a state of awe after I've finished listening to it. Each track is a work of art, a testament to Buckley's exceptional talent as a vocalist and as one of a kind showman.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #16. An album with two lead singers (37th Album)

There are moments where this one is gorgeous, like Frozen Love and Don't Let Me Down Again, but most is decent, and sometimes even forgettable. Their harmonies are there, but there's not a lot of forward thinking or envelope pushing.

It's great as a historical document, as you can clearly hear the pop rock sound of Fleetwood Mac but without the pizzazz of the backbone brings.

Seeing the tags, seeing Zach Bryan is an unknown artist to me, and seeing as I love country, and have been on a quest to find modern country that's somewhat good, this album just begged me through the screen to listen to it.

Fear and Friday's is good, because of the growl, and the guitar work on there is a good addition, Jake's Piano - Long Island is a good introspective ballad all-in-all, with the piano really carrying the thing, and Oklahoman Son is as good a poignant closer can be.

But the rest of the album is frustrating. Just something about his vocal chops, and most instrumentation on this screams indie folk to me more than country, and whoever knows me, knows my aversion towards indie folk, and most modern indie in general.

But truth be told, Zach Bryan will find its crowd. All personal grudges aside, it does have its merits. It's more than just some cheap mid-decade indie folk album, it will stand the test of time. I see the album as a preparation for a big leap in the next part of his career, I reckon. Now it's just a matter of waiting and seeing whether it will be a leap forward or a leap backward.

Safe. Too safe. Also bland, and predictive. The only nice thing is the uncommon time signatures, and if that's the only part of an album that actually raises an eyebrow in surprise, then sheesh. Not my style.

EDIT:

Well, I admit I was a tad bit wrong about this album. I'll bump it up a star because I find it to be very good study music and Take Five and Three to Get Ready is good, but that doesn't give it more than a 3-star rating.

This is the type of music from Mr. Brown that I've always vibed: conscious, simple in its nature, full of intricate samples and rapping. But it starts falling towards the end.

The perfect alcohol soundtrack. You can't understand this album until you're either a) fucked up from alcohol or b) coming down from it. Or both, to be honest.

It's an unexceedable feeling walking home from a bar at 3am listening to Instrument of Surrender, taking in the cold air that breezes across your face while you look at the city light around you. or listening to Hope in Work and Joy in Leisure the morning after, you flat in disarray, a woman you don't know in your bed, pondering your decisions.

In terms of fitting in with the game, it's amazing. One of the best game-soundtrack combos I've witnessed. But it also delivers on its own with beautiful ambient soundscapes and melancholic atmospheres. Every song sets its own stage up effortlessly that takes on an introspective journey that won't leave you indifferent to this album.

Mermaid Avenue is an easy-listening album made by two giants in their respective alleyways of the big country city. These guys are playing songs with Woody Guthrie's texts and are doing a good job representing his emotions in a newer atmosphere. It's just a shame no song really managed to grab me for more than a few minutes.

Happy that the girls are getting richer, and finding stardom along the way, but this stuff is just suburban-washed Sims background music. An album filled with manufactured plastic hope.

I do think Young Americans is a satirical album, all things considered.

Still, even if your album is of that nature, it has to have good music in it to warrant a good score. Sadly for it, Young Americans and Fame are the only two tracks that are worth your time, the rest is weak in comparison. The idea is good, but the execution is meh.

A snippet from the Isolar II World Tour recorded some months after the live album.

The sound quality is amazing, with the overall feel of the album sometimes even surpassing the studio versions of some of these songs, mainly because David gave all of these songs a new and polished pop feel, particularly the Berlin part of the set, which on the studio albums is a whole different atmospheric beast.

The first part, sides A, B, and C, is mostly the Berlin albums, with only Jean Genie and Fame not being from that period, while the rest is a mish-mash of "greatest hits" (if you ask me, that would mean a catalog of half of his discography). It's a beautiful display of musicianship, with awesome instrument playing, Bowie being the showman he always was, regularly interacting with the crowd who was absolutely enjoying the set (just listen to Sound and Vision to hear what I mean).

Sides D, E, and F are those greatest hits. Beautifully played, with the band flowing seamlessly into each song as if they were recorded like a prog album. I'd like to point out how Bowie took his hits, recorded only a few years prior (which in Bowie years is half a century, with all the reinventing he's done in his life) and gave new life to them, giving them a coat of futuristic sound with all those synths, and the overall vibe he was going for on the Berlin trilogy albums. It even has a Doors cover, with its style paying homage to The Doors, but making it sound unique and Bowie-esque.

While it might be hard to digest all at once (a triple LP album, going for almost 2 hours) listening to these songs at different points, and on their own, doesn't make them feel disjointed and out of place, as is with some live albums.

Call it whatever you want, I'll call it an all-in-all, job well done on all fronts.

To some, the apex of Bowie. For me, not quite, but still good nonetheless. This album has it all. It has a story that's to be respected, and the musicianship is a benchmark on how to create an album with a timeless quality mixed with a lot of memorable riffs and passages.

It perfectly mixes being an album with a lot of mainstream ease to it, but also being admirable from a “musical wanker” standpoint with the reinvention of the psychedelic sound on Moonage Daydream, rock n roll on Suffragette City, or because of the sheer amount of depth it possesses.

From any point you look at it, a stone-cold classic.