Reviews by fing2112

I've heard great things about Jawbreaker! To be honest with you I was tuning the album out until Accident Prone came on, what a corker of a song! I was hoping this would be a turning point for the album - and in a way it was - by leaning into that noisy and shoegazing sound a bit more, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to sway my opinion.

Dear You is post-hardcore and punk flavoured alt rock, as well as having strong emo influences. Personally I find it a little too tame. It's not bad by any means, but aside from a few key parts that breakaway from the typical sound (such as the wonderful Accident Prone) it sounds very vanilla. The band excels a lot more when they get into the weeds of emo music.

Husker Du's influence on alt, punk, and emo is well noted, but I think Dear You is the closest I've seen to a band following their script so closely. I don't mean that as an insult as I think Jawbreaker adapted it to the sounds of the mid 90s extremely well. In fact you can go a step further, and hear the blueprint for a lot of the pop punk and emo bands that dominated the mid 00s, such as Blink-182, on this record. Despite my concerns about the quality of the record, it's fascinating in terms of punk lineage.

Someone in discord informed me about a "selling out" controversy that the band had, I know that a lot of bands associated with the punk scene in the early 90s were foolishly accused of this, and I think I hear this as this as this band seems like they could go harder but feel a bit watered down. Maybe it's just because I had the wonderful Witness by Modern Life is War yesterday, which was exactly my kind of emo punk, but I'll have to check out earlier Jawbreaker records to confirm this.

Should it be in the main list: I was originally going to say no, but after thinking about it I think it does belong on the list. You can hear the development of a lot of genres and bands from 1995 to the end of the emo pop/punk era in this.

Top 3 songs: Accident Prone, Jet Black, Sluttering (May 4th)

A very short album at only 26 minutes, but despite that short runtime Modern Life is War manage to fill Witness with a lot of emotional and melodic power. This is a post-hardcore record with strong elements of hardcore punk and emocore. Genre wise it reminds me a lot of the Fucked Up album on here, and I see other people have pointed out MLIW's potential influence on the band.

A big understated strength of this album is how well it flows, the transitions are smooth and consistent and make the album feel like an experience rather than just a collection of songs, and it helps each song build on one another. Also makes the album feel shorter than it is, which is impressive considering it's already short runtime

I can see the vocals being a sticking point for most people, but I quite like it, they're very powerful and channel the emotional impact of the lyrics well. Deadramones is a very good song but I think the band excels when they're wallowing in misery a little more.

Should it be on the main list: You could make a strong case for it, and honestly I'm leaning towards yes.

Top 3 songs: The Outsiders (aka Hell is for Heroes Pt 1), Martin Atchet, Hair Raising Accounts of Restless Ghosts (aka Hell is for Heroes Pt 2)

I don't like to make definitive statements on what should and shouldn't be included because music is subjective and these picks are probably very personal to their respective submitters, but I'm sorry, Hamilton is just a bad pick.

For those unaware, Hamilton is the soundtrack to the theatre musical of the same name, featuring rappers portraying the story of the founding fathers (specifically Alexander Hamilton) through song. This means that A) it's show tune rap, and B) it's very long, 2 hours and 22 minutes to be precise. This means that you're locked into a gimmicky genre for a significant chunk of the waking day, which sucks if you don't like it. There is one benefit however, since it's so damn long and everything is narrated you don't have any missing context like what usually happens with soundtrack albums (see Virgin Suicides and Mewgenics), but really this is the only benefit.

As for the songs themselves, I don't think these are very good, I certainly wouldn't listen to them in my own time and they're clearly a companion piece for the musical rather than something to listen to standalone. This means that if you like the musical, great, you'll probably like this album too, but experiencing this album made me wish I just watched the musical instead. These songs aren't terrible (The Room Where it Happens was actually quite good), but they're so tied to the concept that it feels like listening to the musical with none of the benefits of being a musical, and as a result I can't give it a fair rating.

As for the narrative, it's fine. It obviously has its own theatrical flair which is nice. Around the time the Revolutionary War ended I started tuning the story out however (142 minutes is a long time to hold your attention span!) so I can't accurately rate anything from that point onwards.

I don't think musical soundtracks are necessarily a bad idea, but this was a really bad choice. Love Daveed Diggs though.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: My Shot, Non-Stop, The Room Where It Happens

Apparently this singer is popular with gamers? The discord was freaking out about Kingdom Hearts when I generated it.

Ultra Blue is a Japanese language album by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada (who is also an American born and raised in New York City, interestingly), and despite the disdain that seems to be developing in the comments, I thought it was all right. Obviously I can't dissect the lyrics as I have a rudimentary understanding of Japanese, but musically it's pretty fun dance pop. It's primarily on the artsier side of pop music, but not too much, it's still a very accessible album.

Like with all J-pop, Ultra Blue has those Japanese-isms that you typically get. I can't quite pinpoint what those are, but if you're familiar with the genre you'll know what I mean (the wavey fluctuating singing, and the sort of Japanese traditional folk sound that's influenced Japanese pop music), so it's relatively unique in regards to this generator for that alone. Other than that, it's a pretty fun album, not something I'm super into but I'm glad I listened to it.

Should it be on the main list: I will abstain from this just because I can't speak Japanese, but based on music alone probably not.

Top 3 songs: This is Love, COLORS, Passion

Power, Corruption, and Lies is where New Order finally try to carve out their own identity from Joy Division. Their previous album, Movement, was Joy Division in New Order paint, something that was never going to work given Ian Curtis's fantastic lyrics and stage presence, and while Bernard Sumner is a very talented dude, he's not Ian.

So what identity have they made for themselves? Synthpop of course, a logical conclusion given JD's last two singles were Love Will Tear Us Apart and Atmosphere, both synth-heavy songs. There's also a lot of alternative dance on this album, which is a genre that they would cultivate over the following records (two of which, Low-Life and Technique, being in the books) and these albums would become the foundations of the genre.

This album is a very awkward transition away from Joy Division. The first few songs are in a similar post-punk style but a bit poppier and more new wave. Age of Consent is a great example of this, which feels like a poppier version of what they were doing on their first album, but fortunately it is a very good song. 5 8 6 is the best example of this awkwardness, this song is the closest they come to the direction they would later go in, as well as having a lot of similarities with their gargantuan hit Blue Monday which came out the same year, but some of the post-punk elements that make up their early work remain.

Personally I'm not the biggest fan of this album, I prefer the band when they have more conviction in which direction they want to go in, such as Movement and Technique, though I think this awkwardness extends to the following album Low-Life. That said, PCL is one of the most important albums for the development of synthpop, alt dance, and new wave, so I still enjoy it as a relic for what came after it.

Also how about that Stephen Morris? He was always great, but I think this was the moment he became one of the best drummers in pop and rock.

Should it be on the main list: Yes, PCL is their most influential and important work. I'm a little surprised that Low-Life made the cut over this album.

Top 3 songs: Age of Consent, The Village, 5 8 6

Wet Leg is fine. I was skeptical of this one before going into it due to how much it was pushed by the music press, and specifically the British music press, as usually those albums tend to fall into the camps of uninteresting garage rock or indie rock. Going in with such low expectations, this was actually an improvement over what I anticipated, but it's still a fundamentally uninteresting rock album.

Based on other reviewers, it seems like it's the lyrics that are the reason why this band are so popular. The lyrics are humourous and sexual from a woman's perspective, and I mean sure it's the most interesting thing here, but I don't think this is particularly unique. Some of the lyrics are venture into cringe territory, but I think that was an intentional choice by the band to add to the silly factor.

Should it be in the main list: No, obviously not. Why would post-punk revival inspired indie rock record, from the year 2022, with okay songwriting be a "must hear" album? There's nothing that separates this from anything else in these genres. I don't even mean to shit on the album this much, as I said, it's fine, but I don't understand why okay albums from genres that have been done to death are worshipped over genuinely interesting albums (e.g. Chocolate Synthesizer, Ultravisitor, News at 11), and I question the opinions of those that think so.

Top 3 songs: Chaise Longue, Wet Dream, Convincing

I saw these guys open for Paramore back during their Brand New Eyes tour (Brand New Eyes is also on the user list). This was before they became the biggest band in the world for a few months with that god forsaken song. Is this any better? Well, it can't be any worse.

The album has a rough start with theatre kid music that takes heavy inspiration from Queen. They're pretty annoying (the band name with punctuation at the end of it should have been an indicator), and at this point I was ready to shred this album apart. On the third song, All The Pretty Girls, comes the biggest Queen pastiche in the entire album, however this song marks a turning point for me, and that shows that the band are more than just cheesy orchestral indie pop and actually have a skill in hooky pop songwriting.

From this point onwards the band are more rocky and I guess you would call this power pop, but they also utilize a lot of glam elements. Their theatrical style and glam influences reminded my of Scissor Sisters quite a bit, though they don't have the same tongue-in-cheek humour. I guess the hooky songwriting foreshadows the band becoming a hit machine and Jack Antonoff's whole career. The signs were there from the start.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: All the Pretty Girls, I Wanna Be the One, Take Your Time (Coming Home)

I listened to this one when it came out after digging the lead single (Cops and Robbers) and thought it was just fine, and as it turns out my opinion hasn't changed a whole lot.

Underscores were originally a hyperpop band, Wallsocket , their second album, was a move away from that sound, while retaining a lot of the style that makes hyperpop what it is. This is a common thing for hyperpop bands, usually they move into either pop punk - like Wallsocket - or nu-metal, and given the background it usually provides an interesting take on the genre.

The good moments are really good, many of the songs are hooky pop punk that are bursting with energy and don't take themselves too seriously, using silly lyrics, with the first two songs being a great example of this and also the highlight of the album. The other half of the album focuses on slower, sadder, and more introspective songs, usually about relationships or gender dysphoria, they're fine but they really don't play to the band strengths.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Cops and Robbers, Locals (Girls Like Us), Old Money Bitch

HELLYEAH

Should it be on the main list: HELLYEAH

Top Song: HELLYEAH

The Beach Boys return with a sunnier and more upbeat album than Pet Sounds and Surf's Up. I never explored The Beach Boys discography outside of Pet Sounds, primarily because that album is such a masterpiece that everything else surely pales in comparison. Sunflower proves that line of thinking false, with a fresh 70s sound for the band (not so fresh if you've listened to Surf's Up, which we all should have already), and many brilliant songs. Also thank you submitter for sharing your thoughts on the album, I'm always appreciative of it, especially when it's as detailed and as passionate as yours.

This album sounds a bit more varied than what I'm used to from the Beach Boys. It has a more accessible pop rock sound for the most part, but retains some of the baroque pop stylings from Pet Sounds (see Tears in the Morning), as well as pushing the envelope for some more daring and forward thinking tracks, such as All I Wanna Do which sounds like a prototype for mid 00s hypnagogic pop. That said, it's the more commercial sounds which ties the album all together for me, it allows the band to be more adventurous without sounding too unfamiliar, like with Surf's Up.

Should it be in the main list: Honestly I'd be fine swapping Surf's Up for this.

Top 3 Songs: Slip on Through, Deirdre, All I Wanna Do

I'm typically a fan of Windmill scene bands, however English Teacher don't have much identity of their own. They obviously take parts from their peers, you have art punk, post rock, and even BC,NR style chamber pop, but none of it is done particularly well. I found the post-rock songs to be the better songs on the album though.

There is a bright spot in English Teacher's style, and that is the poetry that infects some of the song. I'm guessing the front-woman of the band is a poet in her spare time, and I found the more poetic songs, such as Broken Biscuits to be the more interesting parts of the album. It does suffer a little from that "we're so British and quirky" style of lyrics that infect so many of these bands, including BC,NR, but the potential is there. The album could have been better if they leaned into that aspect instead of trying to chase the trendier bands.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: "I'm Not Crying, You're Crying", This Could Be Texas, Albert Road

I'm sorry, I try and give every album I generate a fair shake, but I'm so fatigued from bad alt rock, especially from Canada, that's it's getting increasingly hard to do so.

Crash Test Dummy's not-so-secret weapon is their lead singer, Brad Roberts, who has a distinctive deep bass voice and a yarling vocal style similar to what Eddie Vedder was doing with Pearl Jam at the time. While Roberts' vocals were a big draw to many of the band's fans, I cannot stand them.

When this initially generated my first thought was that the Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm one-hit wonder band surely couldn't have any good songs while that was their breakout hit, and unfortunately I was right. Their music, like all other Canadian alt rock bands from the 90s, follows in the footsteps of The Tragically Hip, although this time with more of a folksy and jangly style. Roberts' pseudo-deep lyrics get annoying very quickly and last throughout the entire runtime of the album, I actually enjoyed Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm the most purely because the humming chorus is a change from the daft lyrics in the rest of the song and album.

The most surprising thing for me is that there's so many people in the reviews claiming that this is one of their favourite albums. Am I missing something that they're hearing? Probably, but it's not for me.

Should it be on the list: No

Top 3 songs: God Shuffled His Feet, Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, Untitled

Each Massive Attack album has its own identity. Blue Lines is humble and draws heavy inspiration from Jamaican music styles like dub and reggae, but also from the British soul movement, both thanks to its background in British multicultural art scenes, but is a bit rough around the edges due to it being the first trip-hop album. Protection goes for a more downtempo sound, it's sonically very spacey, almost minimalist and it goes for a safer and comforting vibe which reflects the title track.

Enter Mezzanine, an album that throws all of the chill sounds from the first two albums out of the window in favour of a darker, colder, and more sensual/sexual atmosphere. It has a very industrial sound throughout most of the album, and for the first time in Massive Attack's discography Mezzanine introduces rock music, specifically industrial rock, which plays an enormous role in shaping the sound and vibe of the album. The dub also returns for this album (if it ever went away) and provides a nice counterbalance for the heavier elements of the album. When I say industrial rock shapes the sound of the album, I really mean it, at times this album feels like a borderline industrial rock album, e.g. the first song, Angel.

I say that the comforting aspects from the first two albums were removed for Mezzanine, but that's not entirely accurate. The production on this album is immaculate, it feels very clean and almost sterile which does provide some comfort. Also there are a few songs that buck the industrial trend and go for a dreamy or ethereal sound instead, such as Teardrop, the Exchange tracks, and Black Milk. These tracks are primarily used as a breather from the harsher/darker songs on the album, with the first Exchange being placed exactly in the middle of the album, but they help a lot in elevating the mood.

Massive Attack have always utilised guest vocalists, and they're used very well on this album. Horace Andy returns from the previous two albums, providing an imposing presence on the opener, Angel, but also on the brilliant cover of Man Next Door, adding to the weary sound the lyrics have. Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins is on the dreamy songs (Teardrop, Black Milk, Group Four) which offsets the darker moments quite nicely, and gives the dreamy songs more impact with her airy vocal style, also her performance at the end of Group Four after the song gets harsher is one of her more impressive displays. The most impressive vocal performance isn't from the big established names like Andy and Fraser, but rather from Sarah Jay Hawley, a singer so unknown that the only place I could find any info about her was on her own personal site, she puts in a sultry and seductive performance on the song Dissolved Girl that gives it a uniquely eerie yet sexual atmosphere. Another vocal performance highlight, albeit from in-house, is 3D's vocals on Inertia Creeps, providing a similar but gender-swapped version of the sexual nature from Dissolved Girl.

Mezzanine uses its time extremely well, it really doesn't feel like 63 minutes long, and that's including the two almost identical filler tracks used to break up the pace! Brilliant album!

Should it be on the main list: Yes, 100%. I don't know what possessed Dimery to choose Protection over Mezzanine, my theory is that it's on the strength of the first song and title track.

Top 3 songs: Angel, Dissolved Girl, Man Next Door

1920s recordings!? This has to be the oldest album in the generator!

Don't have a whole lot to say about this, legendary trumpeter and his music is nice to listen to so good pick!

Should it be on the main list: I don't know what I'd add from Louis Armstrong but he deserves an album in the book at the minimum. Most people suggest the collaboration with Ella Fitzgerald as being his best studio work, so I guess I'd pick that instead of this, but maybe there's room for both.

Top 3 songs: Heebie Jeebies, Muskrat Ramble, Hotter Than That

Given that this was Quebecois instead of English speaking Canada, I had hopes that this would break away from the "generic 90s Canadian alt rock" and have more of its own identity, but unfortunately it's more in the style of blues/roots rock that we're used to in the user list. Some of the songs have a chanson influence and this was by far the most interesting part of the album, so it's a shame Les Colocs didn't lean into that more .

This is French language, which I don't understand, so I can't really connect to any of the lyrics. The band broke up a few years after this because the lead singer killed himself, so maybe the lyrics are important. It is also quite lyrically heavy.

The first song, which is also by far the longest at almost 9:30, was easily the highlight here and I quite enjoyed it. I wish more of the album followed in its stead instead of flipping to blues and reggae immediately after.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Belzébuth, La Maladresse, Dehors Novembre

Half krautrock, half weird experimental electronic noodling. When described like this it would be easy to limp them with other krautrock bands from the book, like Neu and Faust, but the heavier emphasis on electronic put them more in a similar vein as Kraftwerk.

The rock and the electronic elements are roughly 50/50 with one another in most songs, but some venture off into a more progressive electronic direction. The rock feels a little dated in the 70s krautrock way, but the electronic is surprisingly ahead of the times in areas, such as Fotschi Tong which could easily be mistaken for an Aphex Twin song 20 years later. As a result I find the proggy electronic bits to be the more interesting parts of the album. Some experiments don't hit quite as well and feel painfully.70s, but I like 70s early electronic weirdness. Later on in the album it ventures more into ambient soundscapes which still sound great today

Electronic music from before the punk era is always kind of iffy, there's some legendary stuff but a lot of it sounds dated, mostly due to technical constraints, but Zuckerzeit for the most part avoids this and still manages to sound fresh. I see a few people claiming that this sounds like video game music, which I also hear on some tracks (like Rosa), and I'm guessing this is a result of said technical constraints, but one must wonder if this was an influence for a lot of early video game composers.

Should it be in the main list: You could make a strong case for it. Personally I'd add it, it sounds a lot different to the current crop of krautrock acts from the book.

Top 3 songs: Hollywood, Caramel, Fotschi Tong

This is a compilation album of what appears to be almost the band's entire discography, their entire first studio album is included as well as some songs from a cancelled second album. The songs at the start - from the aforementioned cancelled album - do feel a lot more developed than what comes afterwards.

I don't think it's particularly deep, but it is a very fun ska punk/skacore album, with lyrics about young people issues, politics, and insecurities. It's a fun romp that's easy to get moving to, so I'm surprised it scores so poorly here. Apparently this band after they broke up shifted into other ska punk bands, so it seems like had some influence on the scene.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Sick of This Place, Cheat to Win, 74 Fullerton

Hard rock inspired heavy metal, a very represented genre that I usually don't find that interesting without some bells and whistles (e.g. Iron Maiden's prog influences, Sabbath's doom sounds, whatever Venom were doing), but Holy Diver does a good job with the genre.

Just like with Deep Purple and Blackmore, and Rush and Peart, the big selling point with Dio is their powerful vocalist, Ronnie James Dio. He has a great presence and in all of these songs, as good as they may be, you're really just waiting for him to appear. Sometimes this can be a negative, as someone in the Discord pointed out there's a neat solo during Rainbow of the Dark, but since it's not Dio and his incredible voice it plays second fiddle.

Should it be on the list: Probably, yes.

Top 3 songs: Stand Up and Shout, Holy Diver, Rainbow in the Dark

Weezer, the band that made emo cool, later became the uncoolest band on the planet, and subsequently made being uncool cool. Such an enigma.

Okay so they aren't /really/ emo, but they are part of that sphere, if anything they polished it up with hooks and energy and made it appealing for a mainstream audience. Going on from that, the songs on this album fall into three camps: the pop songs (Undone, My Name Is Jonas), the rockers (Buddy Holly, Say It Ain't So) and the more traditional emo (The World Has Turned, Only in Dreams), with some of the songs being a mix, and this blend gives the album more variety and helps with the flow, with the emo tracks lowering the energy and the rockers giving more power. A great example is the last three songs, which is a build up of energy before it drops it for the emotional final track.

Another similar aspect is the tone the band take. There's melancholic/introspective tracks, silly songs, and the more serious songs. The album seems to skew more towards the first two, which makes the serious songs more potent when they do come. This makes the vibe of the album well rounded instead of going too hard into the more emo theme that it becomes off putting, because around the corner you're going to get a Surf Wax America or an In the Garage to lighten the mood.

Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%.

Top 3 songs: The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, Say It Ain't So, Only In Dreams

I thought this band was a one hit wonder. It starts with said hit which makes the album seem promising, but after a few songs it develops into pretty forgettable synthpop, with a mild hint of post punk/new wave. It's a shame because the good songs on here are really good, but the majority of the album feels like filler.

Was that some fucking black metal/blackgaze in one of the tracks? That brought my attention back to the album.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Seasons (Waiting on You), Spirit, Fall From Grace