Reviews by fing2112

I went into this one with caution because I didn't like Brown Sugar from the main list. Fortunately this is a significant step up for D'Angelo.

D'Angelo fortifies his style of neo-soul and R&B by pulling from the classics in the 60s and 70s. There's lots of old black soul in the album, as well as his typical more modern style. Not only that but he's taken from pointers from jazz and funk too, case in point "Spanish Joint" which was one of my favourites on the album. The rap influences are still here but unlike Brown Sugar which was borderline rap at times, Voodoo is soul through-and-through.

The songs are even longer here than they were on the previous album, a good decision as it helps flesh them out a little more given the plethora of old styles he borrowed from. Unlike Brown Sugar, the songs and the album never feel like they overstay their welcome.

Should it be on the list: Yes 100%. It's the defining neo-soul album along with Miseducation. Remove Brown Sugar if necessary.

Top 3 songs: Send It On, Spanish Joint, Untitled (How Does it Feel)

Hello, I am list finisher #803, and this is one of my three submissions to the user list, this specific one being the end of list pick. Instead of doing a review like I usually would, I will explain why I picked it and why I think it's a worthy addition. First things first, the version to listen to is the "reissue". Wikipedia lists the original release as 30 minutes, I believe this is for the original demo that was released on the band's MySpace, and that all physical releases were the 45 minute "reissue". Rateyourmusic and Discogs corroborate this info. If the version you're listening to is 44-47 minutes long, it's the right version.

The simple reason as to why I picked it: There's no darkwave on the main list. Darkwave has been a historically important genre for the development of modern western pop music, and it seems to be getting a new wave of popularity since the late 10s, so it's becoming a relevant genre again. There are a few debatable darkwave albums on the main list (Floodland, Music for the Masses, Treasure, Violator, though I think that last one is pushing it) but I don't think any go firmly into the category, so let's fix that! Also the secondary genre on here, industrial rock, wasn't represented that well on the main list in proportion to its importance, so two birds one stone!

I don't think this band is revolutionary, but I do think they have their own distinct sound, love it or loathe it. The Birthday Massacre wear their influences on their sleeve, they love The Cure (which you will know come the end of the album), but also Nine Inch Nails, and Depeche Mode, and in mixing these styles they come up with something unique, a style of darkwave that utilises crunchy industrial rock riffs, alt metal heaviness, but blending that with light and cute synthpop hooks and with an underlying goth rock theme. Basically all of the songs on this album follow that formula, though certain elements are accentuated depending on what TBM are going for (e.g. Holiday which is far more in the synthpop direction), and sometimes the alt metal hints are removed for the softer songs. The downside to this is that they stick to the sound a little too hard, so while it's fine for just one album, when listening to their entire discography they all kind of sound the same.

The most common complains I see are with the lyrics and vocals, and that does bring me onto the big problem, The Birthday Massacre are... a little bit cringe, especially in the Millennial way (a.k.a. the best generation). Lyrically they don't have a whole lot of subtlety, mostly dealing with mental health and societal struggles, the latter of which I think is being misinterpreted as emo-esque "no one understands me" type lyrics, although I guess it does come across like that occasionally (e.g. Play Dead). Vocally the singer sounds like what a "lol so random xD" type tumblr user from 2008 would sound like if they started a darkwave band. That said I like her singing, including that awkward growl singing thing she does on the metal songs. I think the awkwardness bolsters the perceived sincerity of the songs, but I get why it would annoy people.

I genuinely don't understand the Evanescence comparisons, outside of the goth theme, being somewhat metal, and having a female lead singer I don't think there's many other points of comparison.

I don't regret my pick, I know it's been lambasted here, but I think The Birthday Massacre captured a great sound that is unlike anything in the main list. If I do have a regret it's that I chose Violet instead of the following album, Walking With Strangers. Walking With Strangers is far more popular, well received, and more well produced. On that album they go harder with the metal influences, but also with the synthpop and their sound feels overall more developed. I chose Violet because I prefer it as an album and also I think it's influences are a more pronounced, making it easier to dissect.

One of the most bizarre album covers I've seen, surely the music inside is normal...

Nope the music is as chaotic as the cover implies. It's hard to really describe this album, it's a cacophony of random guitar licks, bashed drums, and screaming for about an hour, so I see why it's so far down the user list rankings. That said, it's not nearly as inaccessible as you would think, Locust Abortion Technician (from the main list) was a more challenging listen and that album was half the length. There's enough punk and post-hardcore grooves in Chocolate Synthesizer to keep the album palatable enough to enjoy, despite its weirdness.

I also appreciate the user's reason for submitting this, there's far too many safe albums on the list and it's nice to get something more controversial. Given the user list reaction, I think it was warranted, people are acting like babies towards this album.

Should it be on the list: No, but from what I've heard of the band their next two albums are steep improvements, with the latter of which being considered one of the best albums in some circles.

Top 3 Songs: Acid Police, Shock City, B For Boredoms.

Well, the Wikipedia snippet comparing this to the White Album caught my interest, I love chaotic albums that mash a bunch of genres together, though it's often a coin toss on if it works or not.

So is Re the White Album? No. But are Café Tacvba The Beatles? Also no. Re does flick around through genres but it stays firmly within the constraints of alt rock. The album switches from rock tracks, to Mexican folk songs, to dance tracks, and pop songs, and in-between they meld these genres together with one another (e.g. Ixtepec, a dance song that uses Mexican folk), as a result this is quite easy to listen to from a western background as it's not too far away from stuff in the anglosphere mainstream. I do worry this would make it seem a little inauthentic, but it seems to be received well.

As with all genre hopping albums there is a possibility that it's riding off the back of a gimmick, and while there are gimmicky songs (El Boreggo for example, which sounds like music from the original Doom game) for the most part the songs are well written and it's enjoyable on its own merits.

Should it be in the list: Yes, a great representation from Mexico, and very accessible for an album that utilises traditional Mexican music.

Top 3 songs: El Aparto, Ixtepec El Baile y El Salón

Is Billy Squier the guy who had his career ruined because a music video for one of his singles was deemed "too gay" or "too emasculate"? Such a stupid reason to ruin a career. I watched the video, and it is pretty bad though.

I'm sorry to whoever submitted it and to any Billy Squier fans here, because I'm aware he's an influential and talented individual, but this album is kryptonite to me. I get what he's going for here, sexual lyrics about hedonism and a rock-'n'-roll lifestyle, pop oriented hard rock with smooth and clean 80s production, heavy guitar distortion but not so heavy as to overshadow the hooks and keep it from radio play. This is an extremely corporate album, it plays into the edginess of the rock world while playing it safe with pop songwriting and production. I know this isn't metal but on a lot of ways it feels like a precursor to the glam metal that would dominate towards the end of the decade, and I'm sure it was a big influence for arena rock.

Yeah this just isn't for me, I despise this kind of music.

Should it be on the main list: N... Oh wait, uh, personally I would not add it to the main list.

Top 3 songs: My Kinda Lover, Lonely is the Night, Don't Say No

Fontaines D.C. are one of those bands I'm "supposed" to listen to. They're trendy, they play post-punk and goth music (both genres I'm interested in) and they pump out material relatively regularly, so I was excited to listen to this. Romance wasn't entirely what I expected, that would be something more along the lines of post-punk and goth rock that they have a reputation for, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Fontaines D.C. are Irish, so it should come as no surprise that this album is influenced by 90s British music. There's elements of trip-hop, baggy, britpop, shoegaze, and even some American 90s genres like grunge, but not enough to call the album any of these or even close to that. This album is firmly in rock territory but it just jump sounds quite a lot, in the first three tracks alone you go from a goth song to a rap rock song, to a britpop-inspired post-punk revival song. Towards the middle of the album Romance opts for a sound closer to early-mid 00s post-britpop, to continue genre hopping in the last few tracks.

I think the inconsistency hurts the album. There's many great songs on here, but every time you feel like you get a handle on what the album is about, it shifts to something different. Conversely the consistency in the middle of the album where they try a more post-britpop sound is the least interesting part of the album and the songs here are weaker compared to the start and end. By the final track I was sort of glad it was over, and this album is only 36 minutes long.

That's not to say Romance is bad, there's some really good songs that I'll likely return to, but as a complete package I don't think I'll listen to it much. The good is too scattered and the bad is too compact.

Should it be on the list: No

Top 3 songs: Starburster, Here's the Thing, Favourite

I don't have anything to say about this, it's very middle of the road pop/alt rock and there's many other bands doing the same thing.

Should it be on the main list: No

Remember Deloused In The Comatorium by The Mars Volta from the main list? That band came from At the Drive-In! The two main members, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez were also the two masterminds behind this project, though ATDI also has the great Jim Ward (who split off into the post-hardcore band Sparta) and Omar joined a little later after they formed. Speaking of Ward, I think his presence plays an important role on this album, which I'll get into later.

Relationship of Command is post-hardcore and emo, which gives context to Deloused, as for a prog rock record it was still firmly in the realm of post-hardcore and slightly emo-ish, this album, on the other hand, has some mild prog elements in some songs that hint at what the band members would go onto do, the most obvious of these being Invalid Litter Dept.. Unlike ATDI's earlier work, there's definitely been an attempt to give the songs more complex rhythms and make them longer and more noodly, which I think has played a big factor in how well received this is compared to their other albums. TMV, being fully prog, opt for even longer and more intricate songs, but as this album is still in the realm of punk the songs are a lot shorter and more accessible, but still Relationship of Command is a strong step in the artsier direction for the band.

While ATDI are a great band, it's easy to see why Relationship of Command stuck more than their other works. This album perfected the blend of aggressive energy with the moody and confused emo, but most importantly all these songs have karaoke-worthy hooks, especially during the chorus, it's very easy to get into the vibe and start blaring the chorus out. Also it's kinda funny that these choruses have a key word or phrase that's great to scream but it ISN'T the title of the song (e.g. "Beware", "Temperature/Cut it", "Wormed our way through distant Earth"), in fact I think the name of the song is only said in two of them.

Enter Jim Ward, the guitarist who does the less fiddly bits. His contributions seem to be completely overshadowed by Cedric and Omar, but given what we know from TMV and Omar's technically advanced side projects, they're clearly musically ambitious people. Jim Ward's band, Sparta, is effective yet unremarkable post-hardcore, like this album but with all the more complicated stuff gutted. I think Ward provides a grounding and stabilizing force to the band that's desperately needed to keep the album consistent, and the songs with the realm of reality. I think Cedric also plays this role a little, but Ward more so.

Continuing on from the "stability vs. ambition" point, the lyrical balance of the songs play a key role in the album's appeal. Cedric style of lyricism is rather esoteric and could be accused of being word salad at times, but these are usually restricted to the verses with the choruses having more simple lyrics that you can sing along to. Invalid Litter Dept. is the most extreme example, with the verses being long-winded and borderline poetry contrasted with the bombastic chorus having a few words and mostly being "wishing well" repeated. There are a couple of examples of the chorus having relatively weird lyrics, such as Pattern Against User, but they still manage to make it fun.

Should it have been in the main list: Yes, 100%. Dimery had TMV on the list, how the fuck did he miss this?

Top 3 songs: Cut Away, Wishing Well, Freight Train Coming

The album that entered (and promptly exited) Blink-182's emo period, and honestly I think it was for the worse. Blink-182 are great at making fun hooky pop songs and less good at emotionally charged stuff like this. I dislike the "emo is too whiny" criticism because it's trite, but this album... really is too whiny, like this is a parody of what I'd make if I didn't like whiny emo. Blink-182 do retain a lot of their pop punk hookiness but it's too stuck in the emo framework for me to enjoy it, but it does make me think I'll enjoy Enema of the State a lot more.

Should it be on the list: No, but you could probably make a case for a different Blink-182 album

Top 3 songs: Feeling This, I Miss You, Down

I'm surprised this album came out in 2005, this sounds like the Windmill Scene style of post-punk from the early 2020s, I'm guessing that scene took a lot of inspiration from this band. I'm guessing The Hold Steady came out of the post-punk revival movement, but with their jerky rhythms, off-kilter talk-singing vocals, and crass lyrics, they sound more like an art punk act.

This album seems to be a concept album of sorts, which I missed most of on my initial listen, so I'll come back and add more info when I get the opportunity to listen to it a bit more. The concept revolves around drugs and religion, and most of the songs are about these themes. It's also very lyrically dense as you would expect.

The album starts off quite strong with the first few songs but loses me pretty quickly after, I guess the concept gets developed more in the second half so it might work a bit better when I listen to it alongside reading the lyrics.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Hornets! Hornets!, Cattle and the Creeping Things, Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Considering Dimery's penchant for singer/songwriters, I'm surprised he missed You Don't Mess Around With Jim. This album has some of the finest songwriting I think I've heard, definitely better than most of the singer/songwriters on the main list. James Taylor just feels like a watered down version of Jim Croce, for example.

This album wastes no time, clocking in at just 33 minutes, but it doesn't feel any less complete! Jim Croce constructs a folk pop world full of sentimental lyrics about relatable experiences such as unrequited love, the passage of time and broken dreams. As sad as some of the lyrics are the album always feels positive, helped by how fun and bouncy Croce's guitar playing and singing is, and it also helps a lot that he /can/ play guitar and sing quite well. There's also a few fun diversions, such as the old school rock and roll song right after what are probably the two emotionally heaviest songs on the album.

Jim Croce died the next year after this album's release. What a horrible waste of talent, I think Jim would have had an exceptional career

Should it be on the list: Yes

Top 3 songs: You Don't Mess Around with Jim, Operator, (That's Not the Way It Feels), Time in a Bottle

Okay I'm sorry but convincing me this is worth my time is going to be a tough ask. First of all this is a a TRIPLE album from Wilco frontman and lead songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, and you might think "hey, aren't there already 3 main list and one user list Wilco albums? What makes Tweedy 's solo work so special", to which the answer is, not a whole lot. Twilight Override is essentially a 5th Wilco album, and honestly it's closer to a Wilco album than Mermaid Avenue was.

Anyway with that scathing introduction out of the way, you probably expect me to loathe this, right? I actually don't, if anything I think my opinion of Tweedy as a songwriter has improved from listening to this, primarily because it proves that he IS Wilco, at least in terms of his songwriting ability. For the most part this is a very well made album, and I enjoyed the first disc thoroughly. My issue is of course the length and there is a noticeable drop in quality in the second half. The best songs are the country themed country songs which are primarily in the first half.

Should it be on the main list: No. We have four Wilco albums between the main list and user list, we don't need what is essentially a fifth Wilco album.

Top 3 songs: There's too many to distinguish from a first listen, but I really like the second track Caught Up in the Past.

Right after I complain about a mediocre Canadian alternative rock band I get this the day after... PSYCHE! Nah this album is awesome, and while it definitely exists in that sphere of Canadian alt rock this is a lot different in many ways, the primary being that it's Celtic rock and Celtic folk primarily. To draw a comparison from the main list, think The Pogues but less punky and aggressive.

As stated Up is Celtic themed, so expect fiddles, accordions, and jaunty Irish tunes. The songs are a mix of originals by the band, covers of old folk songs, and just covers in general (the first song is by Slade!), I feel like this mix plays an important role however as it means you get a mix of Celtic themed rock tunes, pop tunes, and the old fashioned stuff which gives it a well balanced flow. The more inaccessible stuff doesn't last too long because theres probably an original pop song around the corner.

Great Big Sea pull from a lot of different Celtic styles in this album. There's folk from the British isles (as you would expect) , as well as sea shanties, old working class folk songs, and even a style of folk called Newfoundland folk, which I wasn't aware was a thing. Lyrically the topics that are handled include: working class issues and life, ye olde tunes about a popular wench, and the heartland and how great it is to be Canadian/a Newfoundlander. The last song is delivered with such passion that it almost makes me (someone with no association with canada, nor stepped foot there) proud to be a Newfoundlander.

There's not just the Celtic folk tracks though, Great Big Sea also write their own songs which tend to be more in the realm of folk rock/jangle pop/alt rock, and they prove that the Celtic theme isn't just a gimmick and they're talented songwriters in their own right. They have a particular talent for guitar based hooks and they often employ a jangly guitar sound for many of their own tracks, which likely comes from their association with Celtic music.

Should it be in the main list: Probably not, but I will never turn down more fun Celtic music in the list, plus it gives representation to Newfoundland, if that was needed.

Top 3 songs: Goin' Up, Buying Time, The Jolly Butcher

I haven't had any Canadian alt rock in a while, and unfortunately this one isn't any better than the other ones I had. Though the band do seem to be pretty talented musicians, so credit for that.

Whale Music is basically a combination of The Tragically Hip and Neil Young, it has the poppy alt rock of the Hip, and the country/folksy/rootsy sound of Neil Young, also the singer kinda sounds like Young. The album flicks through a variety of different genres that were popular in the early 90s but it settles on this for the most part.

Unfortunately I don't have much interesting to add, it's pretty standard early 90s alt rock, and when it's doing this it's probably at its best. There's a particularly annoying track which just seems like a rant about guns over a drum solo, pretty preachy.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Queer, What's Going On Around Here, Soul Glue

Oh hey, I only found out yesterday that Yves Tumor has recent sexual assault allegations thanks to the guy who submitted it mentioning it in the discord. What a funny coincidence!

Anyway, I listened to this when it came out after being impressed with Yves Tumor's previous release, Heaven To A Tortured Mind. I'll use this moment to highlight Mx Tumor's interesting musical evolution, they started as an ambient artist, moved to hypnogogic pop, infused their pop sound with industrial, did a complete change to glam, and now here went back to psychedelia and started making post-punk with this release. Anyway their previous release, the glam record, was a bit lumpy but had two solid singles, this release is way more consistent but doesn't really have any major standouts, and as a result I don't dig it as much. To illustrate what I mean, I would highly recommend checking out Kerosene! and Gospel for a New Century. Lovely Sewer is probably the big one here but it doesn't come close to those two

Anyway, back to this album, which I will not be saying the name of. This album retreats to a more minimalist position compared to the previous release, there's not much grandiosity here, and most songs follow a psychedelic post-punk sound. There's also a lot of vocal processing which I don't remember being on the previous album, and I find it quite annoying at times (Parody, Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood) but it may be an attempt to add to the psychedelic vibe. Some songs add glam and dance punk to the blend and I think these more energetic songs are the better tracks.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Lovely Sewer, Meteora Blues, Ebony Eye

I'm surprised this has a low score (2.69 as of writing), I expected something challenging as a result of that but Type O Negative actually have an accessible sound. Maybe the users here just don't like goth?

Type O Negative the most well known and respected band in the world of goth metal so I expected Bloody Kisses to be a bit foreboding, but musically they aren't far away from the thrash and hardcore punk of the time, occasionally dipping into it which helps break up the darker parts of the album. They do also have a slight doom metal sound on top of the gothiness but it's only present in a few songs. These songs happen to be the highlights of the album and I'm guessing they develop it more on their later work, as I know the two albums after this are widely regarded as their best.

Lyrically was the biggest surprise for me, I expected Peter Steele to have a dark and misanthropic lyrical style, perhaps with a slight misogynistic streak, but the lyrics on this album are actually quite silly in a humourous way, and with a sarcastic bite to them. I shouldn't have expected such a serious album from the same guy who used his spread asshole as an album cover.

The most interesting song on the album is the title track, Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family) which builds up this dark gothy atmosphere of how the protagonist lost his love while using traditional goth romantic imagery ("pair of souls", "crimson pool", "endless night", you get the idea), and it doesn't use any of Steele's style of humor that I described above. However all of this about is just a metaphor to make it seem cooler, it's about his cat who died. Knowing the true meaning makes this song sound a bit ridiculous at first, but this is easily the saddest song on the record, and also shows a more vulnerable side to him once you cut past the facade. A fitting tribute to the cat.

Should it be on the main list: Yes. Type O Negative should have something on the list, there's no goth metal at all. I think October Rust is the more popular release but given TON's importance on the genre I have no issue putting Bloody Kisses on as well.

Top 3 songs: Christian Woman, Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All), Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)

Okay, I have no idea how to rate this one, so I'm giving it a tentative 3, but I'm fully expecting it to flop in one direction or another. First thing first, as you can tell from the title, this is the fourth album in a series. Am I supposed to listen to the other stuff first? I don't know, but I'm going to assume not. Second thing, this is a prog rock opera, I generally love this style of music but it doesn't lend itself well to first time listens unless it has plenty of catchy singles (e.g. The Wall), usually there's a lot to unpack and on a first listen you miss too much. I've listened to David Comes To Life about 5 times in full after I generated it a month ago, and I'm still trying to "get" it.

Anyway, this style of prog comes from a more indie rock/alt rock direction compared to prog of old, think Decemberists, Muse, Coheed and Cambria, maybe even Marillion a bit. I think the Muse comparison is especially apt because The Dear Hunter have a very theatrical and melodramatic sound to them, which I think can be beneficial for rock operas but really just struck me as annoying on this listen. Now that I'm giving some of the songs a relisten half a day later I can see the appeal in it though.

They do shift through a lot of varieties of prog, sometimes they shift genres to also set a certain tone such as a cabaret song and even a random disco song. I like the idea but I'm not sure how well it fits in the context of the album. Maybe when I get the concept more I'll dig it a bit more.

Should it be in the main list: TBD

Top 3 songs: The Old Haunt, A Night on the Town, King of Swords

This is an interesting album to get only a few days after that Vaccines snooze fest, "1, 2, Kung Fu!" sticks with a similar indie rock and garage rock sound but manages to make it feel modern and even a little fururistic.

Boy Azooga combine late 00s indie rock with psychedelia and bedroom pop to give the genre a fresh new sound, and like many albums from that era it has a short runtime clocking in at just under 35 minutes, almost half of which is in the last three songs. The album has a great flow with the transitions from each tracks being very smooth.

Still I'm just not a fan of that style of indie rock, though I'm glad that Boy Azooga made one of the more interesting takes on it.

Should it be on the main list: No

Top 3 Songs: Loner Boogie, Face Behind Her Cigarette, Jerry

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is an album that captures a specific vibe, like the Chromatics' Night Drive album, and like that album it's a cool urban night. M83 mash an assortment of genres together, there's synthpop, synthwave, dream pop, ambient, new wave, shoegaze and even a little bit of space rock and post rock, but despite wearing their influences on their sleeve they actually manage to create something quite unique from the combination. Primarily though the album is a dream pop soundscape that's achieved through the synthpop and synthwave elements on the record.

The first half, and especially the first few tracks, have a variety of bombastic hit pop songs, most notably Midnight City, and this helps set that aforementioned night urban atmosphere. The album does not keep this pace up and it's for a more low-key and textured sound for most of the album, to a point where it borders on ambient at time. This will probably come as a disappointment to some people but I actually like this, they found the specific sound they were looking for and went all in on it. The songs all have a lot of room to grow in terms of sound (which I think is caused by the spacier elements from the album) but it gives the album a melancholic and wistful tone that elevates the atmosphere of the album.

There's still a lot of more straightforward pop inbetween all this, U2's style of new wave was clearly a big influence for M83's sound on this album and it shows on these tracks. These are the songs that stick out the most, and really are probably the only songs I'd listen to outside of the album. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is more than the sum of its parts and as a result most of these songs aren't going to work well outside of the context of the album.

Should it be in the main list: No, but you could make a case for it

Top 3 songs: Midnight City, Reunion, Steve McQueen

Unfortunately for this album, modern rap (2010s onwards) is a big blind spot for me unless it's doing something weird and daring (Clipping and Danny Brown for example), and while there are some pretty cool elements on the album for me, I feel like it doesn't distinguish itself in any meaningful way from other modern rap albums.

My favorite songs on DON'T GROW UP TOO SOON are the jazzier cuts. The first song Take Your Time is quite cool, for it to only delve into bass-heavy trap-esque songs, which is a style of rap I don't care for at all. I don't like the R&B themed songs either.

Should it be on the list: No

Top 3 songs: Take Your Time, Spinning These Blocks, Don't Check for Me