Reviews by ella_ayates

Frank Black has a polished quality that Pixies (and his front man alter ego Black Francis) doesn't and that really suits the poppier songs on this album but it makes the songs where he's trying to be more punk sound a bit too empty. It is a lot of songs- but I never got bored.
Favourite song: I Could Stay Here Forever
Least: Freedom Rock

I really enjoyed the gravelliness of his voice. Just a great vibe.
Favourite song: Country Comfort
Least: Cut Across Shorty (could have been half the length quite easily)

Not sure why we're being given so many Sonic Youth albums, is this noise that different from the noise in their other albums?
Favourite song: Chapel Hill
Least: Swimsuit Issue

How have I never listened to Siouxsie And The Banshees before! One (of many) bands mentioned as Lanes inspiration in Gilmore Girls so I've heard the name many times. I really enjoyed this album, love her voice.
Favourite song: Into The Light
Least: Voodoo Doll

Lauryn Hill is just incredible! and those other guys were alright, I guess. The skits definitely took away from it but still a very very good album- if a tiny bit too long.
Favourite song: Killing Me Softly with His Song
Least: Family Business

Had definitely heard Peaches before, although I have no memory of when or where. Can't get over them all having very normal names (Hugh, Dave, Jean-Jacques) and then the drummer going by Jet Black. Not an album I would have sought out but I ended up really enjoying it.
Favourite song: Hanging Around
Least: Ugly

Took me a few songs to warm up to their style of singing but it really grew on me.
Favourite song: Damaged Goods
Least: Ether

Incredibly powerful first half about police brutality and racism. Actually thought the inserts were used really well- especially compared to how they have been on a lot of other hip hop albums.
Became a little hard to remember how good and moving I found it when the focus seemed to detour into misogyny. There are a few songs I could cut out of the album to make it something I really enjoyed but as it is I cant help but feel he let complaining about women ruin what could have been a great album.
Favourite song: Who Got The Camera?
Least: Don't Trust 'Em

A few songs where I found his voice a bit too whiny but I really enjoyed it most of the time. Some gorgeous sad lyricism on this album- it doesn't surprise me at all that Phoebe Bridgers cited him as an influence.
Three songs from this album are in Good Will Hunting, wonder if that means Elliott Smith knew about graph theory.
Favourite song: Rose Parade
Least: Cupid's Trick

There were some others songs I quite liked but none of them came close to Ms. Jackson which makes it really hard to rate! Think the fact I accidentally listened to the clean versions can only have helped my rating.
Favourite song: Ms. Jackson
Least: Red Velvet

Too much smashing and not enough pumpkins! I don't have the level of angst needed to relate to this album. Too many songs that sounded the same and not a sound I particularly enjoyed. They kept tricking me with varied nicer/gentler starts to songs just to return to exactly the same noise as all the other songs. Liked (most of) the second half a lot more than the first, but was already somewhat done with the whole album.
Favourite song: Sweet Sweet
Least: Silverfuck (could have been a lot of them but this one was longest)

His singing isn’t the greatest, the music is a bit odd and the lyrics are eccentric, but still I find this album so charming and warm that I just can’t not enjoy it.
Favourite song: Heaps of Sheeps
Least: The Duchess

So varied but all stays super fun. Obviously have heard Killer Queen before and while I didn't prefer any of the other songs to it a lot of them came close (probably Now I'm Here or Misfire coming the closest).
Favourite song: Killer Queen
Least: Flick of the Wrist

I don't really like being shouted at. The actual music tended to be fine but as soon as they started "singing" I was just waiting for it to stop. Not my thing.
Favourite song: Jesus Built My Hotrod
Least: Grace

Men are so scared of going to therapy that they'd rather write an album about their mummy issues and friendship troubles than talk about them.
Favourite song: Hold On (preferably without the cookie monster feature)
Least: Love

I really enjoy his voice but a lot of these aren't my favourite versions of the songs. However I do have great respect (get it!) for the original songs, even if they went on to have covers I liked more.
Favourite song: Wonderful World
Least: Rock Me Baby

Nothing personal against Coldplay but there was a time when Lola and I both liked (different) slightly shitty boys who were overly obsessed with Coldplay. I, at least, never had to sit through a boy playing Coldplay songs on my guitar directly at me, but nevertheless Coldplay leaves me with a slightly icky feeling.
Musically I actually really enjoyed the album, just wish I didn't know it was Coldplay.
Favourite song: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Least: A Whisper

Fun to have a cover of another song on the list, and a fun cover too. There's maybe a bit too much happening for me at points but I enjoyed a lot of it.
Favourite song: Mighty Long Way
Least: Slow Bus Movin'

We've had a few albums with songs where English people get really into playing a sitar cause they went to India once (cough cough George Harrison...) but this is the album they all wish they were making. Unsurprisingly it takes an actual south Asian brit to make great songs with Indian influence (also a rouge gorgeous country song!), I think George Harrison would have been absolutely obsessed with this version of Norwegian Wood. A couple songs were a little electronic for me but over all I thought it was a great album!
Favourite song: Brimful of Asha (and We're In Your Corner and Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again)
Least: Butter the Soul

Almost all the songs were 4 star songs for me, but the few that were annoying were super annoying.
Favourite song: The Girl With No Name
Least: Mind Garden