Reviews by fing2112

Earth, Wind & Fire were a hit machine back in the day, and this album proves that. There were only two big singles on this album, but really any song on it could have been one, it's loaded front to back with bangers.

As it was released at the height of disco mania, compared to their previous soul and funk works this one is a little more disco, which gives them a much needed boost in energy for mainstream pop appeal. This is brilliant dance music and I think it's at its best when it's letting loose with accessible funk grooves.

The soul songs are probably on the weaker end of the album, After the Love Has Gone is brilliant, but EWF excel at more upbeat and energetic music. Not to say it's bad though, if anything they might provide a good counterbalance to the disco songs to keep the album from getting stale. It's hard to criticize the album because I don't think it has any important flaws. I'm going to keep this album to cheer me up when I'm in a bad mood, or for when I just want to enjoy life.

Should it be in the list: I think so, yes. EWF are a band that probably deserve multiple albums, I'd even say this one is more deserving than the one currently on the list.

Top 3 songs: Can't Let Go, After the Love Has Gone, Boogie Wonderland

Hell yeah, The Sound! I was actually considering submitting TWO of their albums (well, one album one EP), their debut Jeopardy, and Shock Of Daylight. I think those two albums are stronger in terms of sound and songwriting but I get why some people prefer this one.

From the Lion's Mouth has a much more certain sound than The Sound's other albums where they hop around. As an example, Jeopardy has strong pop, punk, and goth influences, but it seems like they opted to go all.in on the goth sound for this album. The album starts with Winning, a song considered by many fans and even not fans to be their best (a sentiment agreed by the user that submitted it), which foreshadows the bleakness the album contains compared to their first album. He might say he's winning, but with that ominous synth and uncertainty in his voice it's not very convincing!

The second song Sense of Purpose highlights the two big strengths of the album, that give it it's strong gothy sound, starting with the first straight from the intro of the song: a disgustingly filthy baseline with a post-punk guitar arpeggio periodically playing over it. The bass is a huge part of the album, it sets the gothic tone and leads the music (on this song and many others), allowing for the guitar to add those occasional sinister riffs to sell the atmosphere. The second strength is the production, it's very claustrophobic, very tight, it almost feels like you and the band are trapped in a small room, and I think a large part of this come back to the bass as it's in the forefront of the mix and given more space than it's generally allowed.

I love Adrian Borland's lyricism. Lots of anxiety and themes social isolation, but with their debut they had some bright spots and a rebellious nature to them, here it feels a lot more like being in a pit of despair which matches the sound of the album.

After the fourth song, Skeletons, the band goes further into the goth hole they dug themselves into, they get darker and less poppy, however I think there's a drop in quality here that doesn't recover until the last three songs (and even then the only song that matches the quality of the first few is the final song) and this is the main reason I prefer other Sound albums. Some later editions of the album (including streaming) include the song Hothouse as a bonus track. Why it wasn't on the album to begin with I'll never know. Maybe they thought it was too poppy, since it does sound like it would fit with the more new wave influenced music they started making after this.

Should it be on the main list: You could make a strong case for it but I would absolutely go with their debut album Jeopardy instead. Either way The Sound deserve to be here

Top 3 songs: Sense of Purpose, Contact the Fact, Skeletons

Another Alexisonfire record, and I prefer this one to Watch Out. It starts with a bang with .44 Caliber Love Letter, a song that might be one of the best emo songs that I've somehow never heard before. It starts with some interesting guitar tones and some cool fiddly posst-hardcore riffs before the main part of the song. The lyrics do suffer a little from that millennial emo music cringe (which follows throughout the whole album) but it's really to be expected in this kind of music.

This album sounds more emo than Watch Out, but also dips it's toes into the screamo subgenre a bit more. I typically don't like screamo but I like how it's handled here. Usually bands like this are too intense for too long, but Alexisonfire do a great job of balancing the intense aggressive parts with slower and more technical sections that allow you to appreciate both sides of the band. I prefer how it's handled in this album, the slower parts are typically more traditional Midwestern emo, and the more intense parts are in a same vein to ATDI post-hardcore but with more screaming. I felt Watch Out was a little too slow and mild at times and the intensity was too strong.

Speaking of Watch Out, the last four songs seem to forshadow the direction they would take with that album. I think around this point the album loses a bit of steam, but it's still a solid record.

Should it be on the list: Yes I think so, this era of emo has no representation. They don't deserve two however

Top 3 songs: .44 Caliber Love Letter, Polaroids of Polar Bears, The Kennedy Curse

EDIT: I originally gave this album a 4, which the below review reflects

This is classified as one of the earliest prog albums and one of the earliest concept albums, and as a result it sounds both ahead of its time but also of its time. The concept is about the flow of time in a day, starting with daybreak and ending with night time. I know this band is a prog rock band so I expected something a bit different, it's definitely prog but there's not much rock here! It's primarily baroque pop some tracks are more on the baroque end but it's mostly pop.

This is a very calm, and melancholic album. The orchestration is very lush and sounds like the kind of classical music you'd hear in a musical or a Disney movie at times, usually to transition away from the meat of the songs. I like these elements though, definitely add some flair to the album and allow it to flow a bit smoother. I think it generally does a good job of fitting the mood of the day.

Should it be in the main list: Yes, it manages to do something before most other acts, but also still be of high quality.

Top 3 songs: Dawn, Afternoon, The Night

A very unique album, it blends shoegaze with black metal but without being as depressing as BM typically is. The first song is actually quite a lush sounding song, which fits the album cover very well, and it segues into a wonderful dream pop and impressionism piece. These two tracks are easily my favorite part of the album. Outside of this, the standouts are definitely the other blackgaze songs, such as the title track and The Pecan Tree.

My problem with this album, and Deafheaven as a whole, is that I feel their albums are a test of endurance with the harsh noises and screaming vocals, that combined with how long they are just makes me want the album to end ASAP. This album is a bit better about it than others since there are more low key segments to break up the abrasiveness though.

Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%

Top 3 Songs: Dream House, Irresistible, Sunbather

I was filled with dread when I saw this was a blues rock record, the 1001 is full of them! Don't judge a book by it's cover though, this actually is an interesting take on it, combining the blues rock with southern rock, country rock, and even soul, I guess kind of similar to Brothers in the main list but far harder in the southern direction. Marcus King clearly shows himself to be a talented singer and guitarist, and it definitely helps him stick out from a very oversaturated pack. I feel like a couple of songs could have been trimmed towards the end though.

I prefer the songs that emphasize the more soulful and technical guitar elements as I find these are King's greatest strengths. Unfortunately (like with yesterday's album) I think the fatigue from hearing so much of this kind of music from the 1001 has soured me on it, regardless of its quality. I have a feeling I'll bump this up a star when I revisit it way later, hopefully less irritated by blues.

Should it be in the main list: No, we don't need more blues rock

Top 3 songs: Where I'm Headed, Goodbye Carolina, How Long

NOTE: check the tracklist and make sure the version you're listening to has the last three songs (Yeti, Yeti Talks to Yogi, Sandoz in the Rain), as Spotify did not have these.

Yeti is an interesting prog/psych rock (and apparently krautrock but I don't hear that) that's surprisingly accessible. The highlight of the album is the prog epic that the album starts with (or the first four songs if you're using Spotify) which procedurally gets more psychedelic and weird the longer the song lasts until it snaps back to normality at the end. The remainder of the songs experiment with metal, folk, and avant garde with the prog/psych parameters that they established with the first song. Personally I prefer the weirder stuff they do, the folk not so much.

The second half of the album takes a shift, from here the band gets a bit jam band, although nothing too wild like Phish. The songs get more drawn out and are given more space to wander. I don't like this half of the album as much as the first, with the exception of the title track which is actually very cool.

The RNG of getting this so soon after finishing the main list has worked against the album, by the end of it I was fatigued with psych rock, but now I am back into another one. The band is clearly very talented and there's some great moments on this, that I'm almost certain after revisiting this later on I'll have a more positive opinion on it.

Should it be in the main list: You could make a strong case for it. I know Yeti has become a cult classic, but there doesn't need to be more late 60s/early 70s psych rock. I'm fine with replacing one of the landfill psych albums with this though.

Top 3 songs: Soap Shop Rock, Eye Shaking King, Pale Gallery

I only knew this band through the first song, Beds Are Burning, which is an incredible song and also foreshadows what this album is about: great pop hooks, jangly U2-esque alt rock, and very blunt commentary on aboriginal Australian civil rights.

Talking about societal and political issues is tough, you have to tread a fine line between getting the point across and not making the song feel like a lecture. I think Midnight Oil do a great job of this, their style of lyricism is very confrontational on white Australia's treatment of the natives, but it's balanced out by the aforementioned pop hooks, to a point where you can listen to a song about civilians being nuked and jam along to it. You could argue that this dilutes the songs meanings a bit, but I think the combination highlights how serious the problems are without it feeling preachy. There's also some environmental issues in these songs that are generally tied to aboriginal rights, such as in The Dead Heart, and again they pull it off well.

The U2 comparisons are hard to ignore, personally I preferred this to any U2 album in the main list, but U2 were so big that everyone tried to copy their homework. Midnight Oil are more pop oriented, and their social commentary does set them apart from the crowd. U2 (especially Bono) always seemed a pompous twat when talking about social issues, I don't feel like that towards Midnight Oil, these guys just seem genuinely passionate about their message.

Should it be in the main list: Yes, it's a great example of early alt rock, Australian pop music, and civil rights messages that aren't based on UK/US issues.

Top 3 songs: Beds Are Burning, Warakurna, The Dead Heart

This is pretty standard alt rock, it's competently performed and has decent songwriting, but I don't think it's that interesting. It takes a lot of influence from post-britpop artists and has a mild grunge tinge, but other than that it's fine.

It's easy on the ears so I could see myself returning to this.

Should it be on the list: No

Top 3 songs: Waiting for the Sun, My Happiness, The Metre

I was aware of this band and album as a kid when I was going through my prog phase, but I never bothered to listen to them because they seemed too nerdy. Listening to this about 15 year later... And yeah this band is extremely nerdy.

That's not to say this album is bad though, it's great! In true prog concept album fashion the transitions between songs are perfect, it's hard to tell when one song ends and the next one starts which makes it feel like something that should be experienced from start to finish. The album starts with the poppier tracks, and towards the end it skews more to the proggier stuff, personally I like the pop rock a little more here.

Also let's address the elephant in the room, yes this band sounds like post-Gabriel Genesis and yes the lead singer sounds exactly like Peter Gabriel.

Should it be in the main list: Yes. I think Marillion should at least have an album given they dominate the neo-prog subgenre they're a part of.

Top 3 tracks: Kayleigh, Lavender, Childhood's End?

This is my first St Vincent album (though I was aware of her prior) and I'm a little bit surprised, I expected this to be a bit artsier, but this is actually quite danceable, and seems to take a lot of inspiration from 80s new wave rock music. There's an undercurrent of industrial and dance on these tracks, personally I prefer it when the songs are heavier and rockier, but there's good pop hooks here which pulls all the genres together quite nicely.

She performs quite a lot of stuff on the album, so she's clearly very talented. I'm surprised Dimery wasn't all over her earlier, a talented multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter that peforms primarily rock music? He loves that!

Should it be in the list: A moot point since it's going to be included in the 2026 edition of the book. I think St. Vincent deserves something but I don't know if this should be the one, it reads like the creator righting past wrongs.

Top 3 songs: Broken Man, Flea, Violent Times

I've been a fan of this band since the day their first album came out, so they hold a special place for me. Back then they were much more punky, along with their post-rock soundscapes, but this album saw a shift to primarily chamber pop music.

The album is pop music for most of its runtime, with two long post-rock tracks at the end. The pop is very well made but pretty inconsistent, I feel like it stops and starts a little too much with not a great flow. This section ends with the song "The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" which is very overly dramatic and bordering on musical, but I think it shows the strengths and flaws of BCNR as a whole, this is easily the strongest pop songwriting on the album but also has some of the most cringiest lyrics in their catalogue (a staple for BCNR). The last two songs are brilliant and my favourite section of the album as the album finally starts to enter some consistency. I think Bread Song would have been a better fit with these last two songs, as it's currently surrounded by the more poppier tracks like Concorde and Chaos Space Marine.

Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%, and I'm very surprised it's not in the next edition

Top 3 songs: The Place Where He Inserted the Blade, Snow Globes, Basketball Shoes

EDIT: I originally gave this album a 4, which the below review reflects

Very interesting blend of rock, rap, funk, Brazilian traditional music, downtempo, and even some jazz (of the acid variety). Hearing this you might think that it's a disasterous mess, but it's actually very well blended and flows together smoothly. It's primarily funk rock with traditional Brazilian beats, with the other genres thrown in as seasoning

Chico Science died the year after this album was released, I wonder if he would have been a much bigger deal were he around for longer? He had talent for sure.

Should it be in the album: Yes, very good and unique showing from Brazil.

Top three songs: Maracatu Atômico, Manguetown, Baião Ambiental

An obvious parody of scene era emo, made by the YouTuber Pat Finnerty. It's true to the sound of that genre, but it's painfully unfunny and really comes across as an inside joke that I'm not on the inside for.

Should it be in the main list: No

Top 3 songs: The Simple Plan, Mad This Summer, August is Falling

A very sharp turn away from the album from the book, BoC attempt something spookier. This album has a very haunted atmosphere (I don't know what "Hauntology" is but if it should apply to anything it's probably this), not in like a haunted house way, but in a more "village in the countryside and you've stumbled upon something you haven't". It has a weirdly pastoral and old folky feeling, helped by some interesting percussion instruments, chanting, and woodwinds, most notably a flute that plays on a lot of the tracks.

Another interesting aspect of this album is that it's intentionally lo-fi at times. BoC know how to make good sounding albums, and that is present here too, but noisy and low quality sound is used to create a nebulous feeling (compare the start of Julie and Candy to the main hook, as an example), again to create that eerie sound. They also utilize a lot of auto tune, which on the surface sounds weird given that BoC are almost entirely instrumental, but here it's used (along with back asking) to create incomprehensible cultish sounding songs.

Should it be in the main list: Yes, 100%. I understand why it isn't since BoC already have representation, but this album is very unique.

Top 3 songs: Gyroscope, Sunshine Recorder, 1969

How was this not on the list? Great jazz album, Coleman is known for his controversial style back in the 50s, but this would go on to be an extremely forward thinking jazz album. A very chaotic album, you can see why it was edgy at the time, there are some moments of normalcy, such as on Peace, but it promptly goes back to the chaotic saxophone.

I think this is an especially good pick because it gives context to John Zorn's brilliant Spy vs. Spy album from the main list, which was a cover album of Coleman's work.


Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%. Obviously Coleman was important enough to be in the main list indirectly.

Top 3 songs: Lonely Woman, Eventually, Chronology

Interesting mid 00s emo post hardcore, before that style got huge a little later in the decade. Has mild metalcore and milder screamo vibes to it, which I'm guessing is the reason for the poor rating here. I like it, very melodic, has lot of existential angst, which is all good stuff to me.

Should it be in the main list: You can make a strong case for it, an album like this should have been in it and I wouldn't complain with this one

Top 3 songs: Accidents, Control, Hey It's Your Funeral Mama

I'm amazed by this one, Aesop Rock has a great flow and style of lyricism to a point where it's easy to see why he's as influential as he is. I love the dark, industrial, electronic beats, it sounds almost rocky at times, which helps paint the grim and nebulous atmosphere that he's obviously going for. I do think there is a small fall off in the latter half of the album that picks up a little towards the end, the first half is immaculate though. I was bordering on giving this a 5.

Should it be on the list: Yes, it would immediately become one of the best rap albums there.

Top 3 songs: Mystery Fish, Rings, Dorks

EDIT: I originally gave this album a 3, which the below review reflects

This album has a very cinematic feel to it, it flows very well and it has those big dramatic strings you hear in movies, so I'm assuming this was an intentional choice. The music itself is indie folk, very powerful and well sung, though it veers dangerously into the "stomp clap hey" territory at times.

The lyrics seem very personal, and it seems like the submitter values them a lot, though I personally thought they were a bit to distracting and not the best. I'm sure it will resonate with a lot of people though.

Should it be in the main list: No

Top 3 songs: Secret Worlds, The Calling, Inkpot Gods

Cake are a strange band, musically they're kind of a mix of RHCP and Wilco, but have a tone of "We could try but we don't want to" with their lazy style of talk-singing. Knowing what I know of Cake beforehand I was fully expecting to find this album irritating, which it is, but it's in equal parts funny too. Counterintuitively, the songs that give the album it's greatest identity are the classic cover songs; For example I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, their lazy style is offensive to the legacy of a great song at first, but after a while it's becomes pretty funny. The Distance is a classic that needs no introduction, it's easy to make fun of but it rocks hard.

I feel like I might bump this up to a 4 in future, I felt like the album had too many duds but it sort of won me over by the end of its runtime.

Should it be in the main list: Honestly I'm going to say yes, musically they're not that outstanding but the way they present themselves adds a unique flair. Closest thing I can think of to Cake is Sonic Youth, and I'm sure they'll be fine with just 4 albums in the list instead of 5.

Top 3 songs: Frank Sinatra, The Distance, Nugget