Reviews by fing2112

This was very pleasant, traditional African music with a good danceable groove to it, easy music to put on in the background. I'm completely out of my depth when talking about this style of music, plus I have no idea who the guy is, but it's enjoyable.

Should it be in the main list: Yes. I know nothing about this artist or this style of music, but I'd approve of it being in the main list just because it's both different and good.

Top 3 tracks: Yamore, Iniagige, Koukou

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

This gives me post-britpop vibes (coldplay, doves, placebo) so I'm guessing they took inspiration from those types of bands. The straight indie rock tracks are the least interesting thing here, thankfully it opens up into dreamy soundscapes and the occasional mathy sounding song, which actually sound pretty good. Definitely more of a slow burn, I could see myself liking it more on repeat listens. The last song is very emblematic of the record, after a slow start it flourishes into a pretty astonishing song.

This also seems a bit ahead of the curve for this style of music, only by a few years, but this sound did get more popular around the mid 00s.

Should it be in the main list: I don't think so, but it would make for an interesting inclusion

Top 3 songs: 156, Symmetry, Comforting Sounds

PARKLIFE!

This album deserves the acclaim of the funny banana album. Absolutely boundary-pushing (as you can see from the other reviews), noisy, chaotic. Even by modern standards it's still an insane album.

XTC abandon rock in favour of Beach Boys inspired orchestral pop. It sounds very lush and pastoral, reminiscent of an English countryside, with a few goofy music hall tracks to add some fun in-between. This is one of XTC's finest but it really isn't a good starting point for the band as it's completely different to anything else they did.

I remember when I first listened to this and I was pretty disappointed by it. Coming off of Loveless it's much more lethargic and relaxed, while also bearing in mind that this was the follow-up (a whopping 20 years later) so everyone was expecting something a little more. Being disappointed by this album is probably something all MBV fans go through (especially those waiting two decades for them to finish the album lol) but it seems to be a bit more respected nowadays, including by myself, and in hindsight I think this was the right direction to take. Loveless was a revolutionary album, any act following an album with that level of esteem is in for a tough time, and doing something too similar to it would come across as Loveless but worse rather than something that can stand the test of time in its own right. Not to say that this album deviates too much from the Loveless formula, the wall of fuzz is still a prominent hold over from the Loveless days (comparing to Isn't Anything) and a lot of the songs do sound like Loveless but more laid back.

I don't like it quite as much as the first two records, but I think a lot of that is down to me hearing those albums first and not having heard anything like them before, at this point their sound is well established and no longer groundbreaking, but they're still good songwriters. The best word to describe this album is "unremarkable", but I mean that positively.

Half the songs are good, half the songs are not good. Matt Johnson is far better at writing more emotional songs such as the anxieties that young people have about the world and romance insecurities like he did in their debut record than the more political tracks on here. I think Dusk would have been a better fit if you wanted to include a second The The album.

Why is it a four if it's half good half bad? The good songs on here (Heartland, Sweet Bird of Truth, Slow Train to Dawn) are incredible.

Unremarkable but not terrible. Their second album (The Luxury Gap) is much better than this. The title track is a great synthpop song however

For all the hubbub about Song 2, I think Song 1 is a contender for the best rock song of the decade. Feels like proto-Gorillaz

A very unique pop album that blends mainstream genres like dance pop, R&B and Prince's style of funk rock with new jack swing and industrial. It sounds like a mess but it blends together very well. Many of the songs (such as Love Will Never Do, and Miss You Much) are longing and loving R&B songs over a punchy electro industrial beat and I think it sounds fantastic. Towards the end it starts to mellow out into more traditional R&B, but it's still pretty good.

Unfortunately this sound didn't catch on, and as a result if you like this style of pop you really only have this album. It's probably my favourite album and one of the most unique pop albums on the list.

Duran Duran feel like a dollar store version of Simple Minds

The first 5 songs are incredible and are some of the most well written songs of the 80s. The second half takes a confusing turn into Muzak. Still great, but it could have been better.

Never heard of this band or album, but this is really good. The Sabres of Paradise use some interesting sounds to construct ambient dub songs, and it makes this one of the more unique things from British 90s electronica. I can see it being a difficult listen, both dub and ambient are naturally slow genres, and I think your perception of this is going to be dependent on your mood at the time, but it caught me at a good time and I loved it.

Grandpa got drunk and is doing Spooky Scary Skeletons on Karaoke again...

Everything I've heard from Basement Jaxx prior to this has been that they're fun and catchy, but also quite a bit annoying, and this album firmly cements my view on them. I think if this album were to catch me on a bad day I would have been far more negative, but I feel like that's just how Basement Jaxx's music is, I got it at a good time because I'm fully receptive to this. They're very talented at making fun, bouncy, and dancable house music.

One of the most interesting additions to the new wave canon. Dexys blend the style of punky new wave that was popular in the UK with 60s/70s American black soul and a hint of old mod music, the end result is a very fun and danceable album. It may not have a standout hit like Too Rye Aye (although I guess Geno could count), but makes up for it with consistency.

Shout out to Seven Days Too Long, white British artists covering an old American soul song is always a risky move, but I think this version fits with the album well, and is also an improvement on the original.

A very good "rap opera" portrayal of chav culture in Britain, as well as the unflattering poorer side of the country commonly seen north of London. The sound is very amateurish from an artist that is anything but, however I think it helps with the immersion of the story. The singles and the final song are the highlights of the album.

It's worth noting that this album isn't being entirely serious, at the end of the day it is a dramatic representation of someone losing £1000

As with all Queen albums, there is genuine talent hidden under layers of fucking around and daft novelty songs. Frustrating band.

I'm conflicted on this, but I like it much more than I dislike. The beats on this are really good for the most part and quite forward thinking at times, such as the industrial influences a few of the songs have. The lead is quite good at rapping and some of the political discourse is quite hard hitting, especially for 92. The sampling is also pretty good for it's time.

My big issue I have with this is the preachiness, I agree with most of the political opinions on here but it's done in the most blunt way possible and at times feels more like a political rally than an album. This is possibly the preachiest album I've ever heard, however they pull it off really well occasionally, such as the track "The Winter of the Long Hot Summer" which was quite chilling. When it's done poorly it comes across as an "old man yells at cloud" moment, the biggest offender here being the 7 minute rant against TV.

This album has very competent rapping, beats, and sampling as well as having some great political discourse, however the preachiness is too much at times.

I think compilation albums have their place, but including that's just the highlights of their first three projects is just cheating. As for the band themselves, they're unremarkable garage rock revival, the kind of band to be popular in 2002 and disappear immediately afterwards.