Reviews by dohej

Pure bliss from the first bass note through every modal shift and unhurried deeply expressive solo.

One of the definitive examples of the late indie-boom art-school rock of late 00s, that's kind of an escape from the city to get wierd and record in a cabin aesthetic, turning towards rustic acoustic instrumentation, experimental composition beyond the rock song confines, warbly operatic but hushed vocals, and oriented towards texture and atmosphere more than melody and rhythm. I get why people burned out and got bored of guitar-driven indie rock and garage revival stuff, but this stuff always seemed way too ascetic and inward looking to me, and just doesn't hold my interest at all despite being nice to listen to, interesting at a surface level, and acheiving some engaging sounds in parts.

Favorites: All We Ask, Two Weeks

The production is bright and full of upbeat soul samples reworked into propulsive beats, goofy drops, and infectious hooks. He's great a musical collage and creating exciting beats, texture, and atmosphere - less great as a rapper, he's pretty agile but his tone is nasal and the flow is like a lesser version of the conscious rappers of the early 2000s. The verses cover a pretty wide range, from funny and sardonic to darkly angry and excoriating, announcing the themes he'd continue to explore through his work, some interesting, some overly self-involved and boringly biographic & mythologyzing- it's all there, just not yet batshit. His innovation is really pushing the very personal vulnerable self-exposition that is also very culturally of its Livejournal confessional era. Even the arrogant projection of a larger than life persona is, at this point, aspirational wishcasting that reveals the itch he'd destroy himself scratching.

They're high on their own supply at this point in their career, but it's pretty good supply so there're lots of good songs on here. My god, the hype is out of control, though - get a grip, people!

A Smithsonian folkways style anthology of American folk music that's an effort to consolidate a cannon and reproduce the tradition over generations. So you get what today feels like fairly conservative curation and arrangements but performances for the ages. But that said, it did mark a break with the schmaltzy overblown Nashville country production of the 60s and a return to the stripped back & acoustic roostier roots of country (bluegrass & mountain music especially) that 70s artists like the Dead, CSNY, Gram Parsons were popularizing via their interest in the Lomax recordings project and folk songs, sounds, and instruments. Way too long, but it's more of an archival document than an album really.

I used to pretend not to like this, but never changed the channel when it came on MTV. There's something deeply embarrasing about this (the over-wraught teen angst, the scatting), but they're probably the most (top 3 at least) original metal band of the 90s and this is them at the top of their game (the riffs are deep and hard as hell, yet have a real groove to them) and working with a producer who knew how to make them sound good (it's thick, heavy and intense, with layer upon layer of down-tuned distorted), the propulsive . They broke open a new sonic palette in metal, following the loud-quiet dynamics and ultra thick guitars of grunge, but going as hard as possible. That's probably mostly for the worst in terms of their followers, but this album undeniably captures a mood, an embarrasing mood, but a real and widely felt one.

Plinky plonky plinky plonky plinky plinky plinky plonk.

The archetype LA sunshine psychedelic jangle pop band get hijacked by Gram Parsons and end up deep in Appalachian folk, Southern gospel, Nashville schmaltz and Bakersfield outlaw sensibility to create their best work. It's glorious pastiche that becomes fully it's own thing, the hillhippy sound. The album is full of swelling strings, heavenly lap steel guitar, close harmonies, ripping banjos, propulsive mandolin parts, and full twang lead guitars. Gentle ballads, sardonic love songs, bittersweet laments, and the rare touch of peak 60s Rickenbacker jangle and Beatlesy melody. None of the songs are real standouts but it's rock solid throughout.

The CIA turned Indonesia into a plantation dictatorship to produce a bass tone this rubbery. They armed generations of Saudi monarchs to secure access to the petroleum byproducts needed to create these synth sounds. They made Colombia into a narco state to produce the cocaine mindset that made this seem like a good idea. It undeniably worked. But was it worth it? Probably not.

Slow burning deep groove funk with a dark minor key feel to it. Angry, uplifting, sensual, it's a whirlwind of feelings. The guitar is riding the wah wah pedal like a madman, the bass is powerfully in the pocket, the organs give an extra bit of energy and texture. It's a loose freeform band, but all working in support of Sly's lead vocals, but the album gets kind of unfocused and sprawling.

Deep deep bass grooves from Aston Barrett, funky-ass clavinet & organ, amazing backing vocals from the I-threes and ga couple of all time great songs. The production/recording are great, just tons of space and loads of room for all the instruments to shine, but also work perfectly as a platform for the lead vocals. It's not his best album as he's missing Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, but it's still pretty close to the zenith of Reggae, though not yet at the mega crossover pop sensation he'd soon become.

Loping melodic bass with surf and funk touches, chiming palm muted guitars (what a tone! Rickenbacker + AC30, perfect), high energy drums and warm engaging singing - it's simple stuff performed perfectly and written with a real flair for a catchy hook. A huge power pop sound, bright and optimistic but paired with an ironic lyric. At times a.bit like Elvis Costello in the guitar sound and nerdy punk delivery or Billy Bragg in the voice in more tender moments or occasionally a bit of Johnny rotten snarl. I've listened to this a few times over the years but it never really hit until today, but damn this is so good.

Extremely uneven song quality even though the sound and production is all very cohesive and totally distinctive - they're eclectic in their influences but nobody sounds like them really. One of the ultimate greatest hits vs albums bands. Wrapped around your finger is bizarre song for an all time great pop hit, I'll be watching you is a creepy masterpiece about creepiness, synchronicity II has an incredible new wave riff and a wildly catchy hook. The rest is more sprawling and experimental, but not always successfully so.

Not bad, kind of fun even. Better songs than Lenny Kravitz, but the same generation of early 90s classic rock revival, just ripping off the Americana-era Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd instead of Jimi Hendrix. The most famous song is an Otis Redding Cover. I guess they came on the scene as a lot of the big 1st gen classic rock bands were hitting a nadir so there was a gap in the market they happily filled and somehow became a thing, but I've never been able to see them as much more than a genre tribute act. It's country-inflected blues-based rock with big guitar and some gospel touches. A genre I like and they're good at it, but nothing new to see here folks, move it along.

Krautrock beats, lush orchestral arrangements, and upbeat woozy spacey electro psych sounds make for a fun trance inducing, very chilled out, atmospheric album. For the most part - there are a few more fuzz guitar and swirling organ driving garage rock inspired songs too, but they're at their best in the more patient relaxed sprawling mode, letting the groove carry them along. But when the beat drops out they get pretty listless and dull (monster scare). It's the 90s idea of the 60s, and it's mellow vibez.

Favorites: metronomic underground, percolator, yper sound, tomorrow is already here

Groovy as hell. Incredible percussion. Cool falsetto. A soul funk master class.

Congolese music is always evolving micro genres and trends, even if the distinctions can be pretty subtle. This is light and airy soukous, it has the verse/chorus/dance structure and the distinctive non-stop guitar arpeggio attack driving it on and a very busy percussion section, but it's slowed down a tad and much more romantic than most dancefloor pumping soukous. His voice is well suited to this, a smooth baritone that patiently delivers the lyrics with whispered glissando flair. The intro of keyboard synth sounds in this era saved band leaders the cost of a full horn section, made touring easier,.and brought in a bunch of novel sounds, but it makes everything sound so awfully smooth and incredibly cheap cheesy and dated. Its dance music that confirms to genre conventions so dancers know the moves, which gives it a somewhat, well, generic feel, especially from afar.

Probably the pinnacle of studio album psychedelia. A couple of filler tracks, but the highs on this are so high. If you play guitar there's a 95% chance you've spent hours deconstructing and trying to master the stuff he's going here. The gorgeous chord extension playing on Little Wing & castles made of sand which is just probably as good as anyone will ever make a guitar sound, the emotive blues based playing on Axis, the fuzzed out wah rock of Spanish castle magic, the way he combines rhythm and lead playing on wait till tomorrow and so many others, the explosive funk of little miss lover, the panning reverse and swirling effects he plays with, the double-stops all over the place. His voice is great too, tender and warm, open and vulnerable, especially in comparison to the swaggering charisma of his other albums.

Lots of cool synth parts, some good riffs, thunderous bass and epic sweeping passages. Peter Gabriel has the best voice of all the prog singers. But it's really a pretty tedious chore getting through this. It's an album of good moments that come and go without leaving much impression bc they're mired in a million overly elaborate ideas.

Classic Motown style appropriates the groovy rock sounds of the psychedelic 60s for a powerful high energy backing band supporting the virtuoso of virtuoso vocal performances.