Reviews by funny_character

I don't know that this is essential, or even Frank Black's best album, but it is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. For the uninitiated, Frank Black (or Black Francis, depending on the era) is best known as a load bearing member of Pixies. To get the biggest "problem" out of the way, this list has *at least* two Pixies albums, on which is the bulk of Frank Black's best material. It makes the inclusion of this just feel sort of bizarre. It's also a little long for thr kind of album that it is, and there are some inessential songs here. But I would say that, approximately, the first, third, and fourth quarters of this album are really good. It feels like Frank is experimenting with any idea a little too weird or uncharacteristic to be on a Pixies album. But it gives these songs a lot of range, from really odd textural experiments, to straight punk moments, to effective, but ultra straight forward alt rock songs: even an odd moment of reggae on Fiddle Riddle. Teenager Of The Year ends up an album with an identity of it's own, even if this identity isn't quite as compelling as that of Pixies. Some of my favorites here are the first three songs, Two Reelers, Olé Mulholland (which is the song here that probably feels the most "Pixies"), and The Hostess With The Mostest. My only other comment is that I could do with a little more delivery that reaches the manic, fevered energy of his performances in Pixies. But he is still compelling, and it *is* kind of neat to hear him in a different mode for much of this. Like I said, the result is compelling, and very enjoyable, just maybe not essential.

About as classic as country gets, what more do you need to know?

Probably the oldest country album I've heard. Really good honestly, deeply rootsy songwriting, and some charm. I don't have a *ton* of thoughts, but very enjoyable.

Pink Flag is a really fantastic album that I just don't have a very long relationship with. This is probably the most successful combination of the attitude and relative precision of post punk, with the aggression of punk. These songs are smart and tense, and generate energy with both sour chords, and punk catharsis. I don't know these songs that well, but I can tell that there is some real depth here. I might leave it at this for now. But I can *easily* see myself coming back to this. And I may have to reassess it later.

I enjoyed this, but I don't know if it was one of the more interesting electronic albums on the list for me. Orbital has a cool atmosphere here, and a solidly paced dance album, which is half the battle. But the songs themselves, while cool, are lacking in memorabilia to me. They are at least enough to deliver the textures and atmosphere enjoyably though. They just aren't enough to propel this to the top of the field. The other nitpicks I have here are just things about some of the sound choices dating this album a little. But it has *generally* aged well. And, ultimately, I did enjoy it!

Mott The Hoople were, as far as I'm aware, kind of a Bowie worship glam rock band. But they also received one of the highest honors for such a band; Bowie himself gave them a number of songs. Anyways, you could certainly choose a worse point of inspiration, and Mott actually ends up a really solid glam album. Lots of great songs and characteristic flash make this a pretty great time. Although if you do listen to Bowie, I wouldn't really expect this to reinvent the wheel, or replace his space in your listening.

I will say, I like this quite a bit more than Joshua Tree. It helps that this has my two favorite U2 songs (Sunday Bloody Sunday, and New Year's Day), but I also think this is just a stronger sound to me. Joshua tree was polished and futuristic, so polished and futuristic in fact, that much of it now sounds like boilerplate pop rock in 2026, due to no real fault of U2's own. On War, the band is clearly creeping towards the Joshua Tree sound, but they are in a place where their post punk roots, and toothless sound are not yet devoured. As such, War feels, to me, like an album with more character, or at least one with more for *me*. My aforementioned favorite songs here,Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day are a great e,ample of the sound. These songs have the kind of epic, panoramic quality that defines Joshua Tree, but both are more willing to let some real tension, and a little darkness brew. In fact, I almost think of Sunday Bloody Sunday as a goth song. But regardless, I think War strikes this balance more than it doesn't, although, I don't think it ends super strongly. But I still like this way more than Joshua Tree, and I'm definitely happy to have heard it.

Of the Yes albums I've heard, this is certainly the most straightforward. This honestly feels like a pretty good baseline for Yes's sound. They do, notably have a little less experimentation here, but some of the experiments that Yes do sound a little bit silly, so I'll take it. Although, I don't quite think this has the highs of some later Yes projects. Despite this, The Yes Album is a very solid prog rock project; it's more good Yes songwriting, executed with the band's signature precision, and I don't have much more to say than that.

My previous Ryan Adams album (Gold) had a bit more of a hard rock/White Stripes/Springsteen character to it, so I was surprised when this kicked off and I heard that it was largely folky Americana. The surprise was honestly welcome, I actually think that Ryan Adams' songwiritng kind of fits in a little nicer here. He very easily sells a rootsy and tender sound here, without it feeling cloying or disingenuous. Amy and Sweet Lil Gal are great examples of his unique vocal character and style of poetry. Featuring a raw sound, with tasteful adornments, I really liked these, as well as most songs here, honestly. And Shakedown on 9th Street even gives you a little bit of thst hard rock that you hear more of on Gold. I'd honestly say, having heard 2 albums, that I really am surprised at how solid Ryan Adam's is. I e petted his music to be a lot less interesting than it is. But he brings tons of character, and great songwriting to Americana that is very much welcome.

Absolutely incredible: This was like 10 years ahead of a bunch of artists who were ahead of their time. Boy In Da Corner was largely created when Dizzee Rascal was like 16, and he produced the *vast* majority of this as well, which is incredible. This doesn't sound dated *at all*, it's as fevered and futuristic today as it must have been when it came out. This is basically the marriage of ultra kinetic delivery with jittery, hard knocking UK dance music, and it took me a few listens to appreciate it, but I *really* get it now. The lyrics are honest and insightful, and even though there are some clunky things about the production, it just ends up adding to the character and giving this thing a skew that makes it hit *so* much harder. I *loved* every song here, to an improbable degree, and I am incrediblyexcited to discover a new favorite classic in UK rap.

X are one of my punk rock blind spots, although I do know some songs off Los Angeles. For starters, X very much have an identity of their own; even for punk their music is minimalistic, simple guitars, immediate songs, et cetera, which I know sounds standard for punk, but they approach songs with a little more respect for rockabilly than their peers. I wouldn't say this is country punk, but it does live in the band's DNA that is super unique. But there is a real attention to detail and pacing that makes Wild Gift special. These simple songs are decked out with all sorts of flourishes, most notably, the band's approach to harmony, which is *very* distinct. It's obvious they know what they are doing, but there is something ever so slightly sour between the vocalists that adds tons to the impact and character of their music. Also, from what I caught of the lyrics, they are doing really cool stuff here, with a little more focus on poetry than your average punk band. But the last thing I want to really point out is the negative space. The mix is so uncluttered and dry, and there is something understatedly precise about the playing, and it makes Wild Gift feel particularly tense and patient. I will say that I don't personally mind my punk going a little off the rails, but this just isn't what X is, and they are really rewarded with an incredibly strong sense of identity and a collection of really great songs.

Much earlier than Dusty in Memphis, A Girl Called Dusty is still a really good rock and roll album (with some swing for good measure). And I know it's just like 5 years older, but the distance between music in 1964 and 1969 is *vast*. This is certainly more of a "rock and roll" album than Dusty In Memphis. But she's still a great performer, and the selection of songs here (largely covers) is really great, and there's even room for the odd production flourish. You don't Own Me, for example, sounds particularly lush, and is even an example of some early feminist content in rock. I also really like Mockingbird, Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa, Wishin' and Hopin' and more. Also, Dusty Sprimgfield has a great, dare I say quintessential voice. When I think of women singing in this era, I pretty much generate her voice in my mind. This carries many of the hallmarks of it's era, but A Girl Called Dusty is still an incredibly solid debut and a great example of this kind of rock music.

Hawkwind is, of course, the only band featuring legendary bassist Lemmy Kilmister, better known for his time as a Roadie for Jimi Hendrix. Since we, unfortunately, have no other bands to remember Lemmy by, it's exciting that Space Ritual kind of rules. This *is* a live album, but it is very much presented as a studio album, it's just a very singular artistic vision. In fact, upon looking into it, it seems like this show was like an immersive, multi-sensory psychedelic sci-fi performance art thing, in addition to being just a sick early metal concert. And I am going to come down and say this *is* metal, it is *extremely* hard edged, and captures a flavor of psychedelia that more conventional psychedelic rock bands can't really do. Like it's almost punk in it's rawness, but there is such an epic, precise, heavy execution that it really feels like metal during a lot of songs. It does end up feeling *really* psychedelic too, which is always a plus. The spoken word interludes are also cool, but it's sort of "your mileage may vary", and a couple of them get a little cheesy, but ultimately the effect of this being one uninterrupted piece *is* really cool. I'm really glad the list made me listen to this. It's just extremely cool psych metal with a really consistent theme and aesthetic, and an incredibly strong execution. Not a five at the moment, but *very* strong.

This is a really enjoyable modern RnB album about women's sexuality. It is blunt, it is sensual, and it is honestly kind of empowering. It reads as a very intentional inversion of the male gaze that is often at the center of RnB. I think the spoken word interludes are a double edged sword, but ultimately load bearing on Heaux Tales. They kind of serve as framing elements for the concepts here, centering the lyrical concepts here on the experiences of real women, and it makes the impact of Heaux Tales feel way more human than it would have otherwise. However, Heaux Tales is already a *short* album, at 32 minutes. And while it does keep things breezy, it also means that this many interludes kind of starts cutting into the runtime, even if they are important to the concept. Basically, part of me thinks that I would like some more content here, but at the same time, there would be the risk of making the album feel bloated. Although, despite these qualms, what *is* here is really good, so I don't want to complain too much.

Hell yeah, this is pretty much blues rock filtered through the lens of Malian folk music. The result is very cool, and honestly a really transformative take on blues rock. The re-incorporation of African music into music which descends from African music is a really interesting full circle moment and results in really cool rhythmic and melodic ideas. Honestly, some of the more "rock" moments here even remind me a little of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, which may kind of make sense, because I think they draw from similar musical worlds. And Music In Exile was, really, made in exile. As far as I could tell, this was recorded after escaping Sharia law. But regardless, the content here is unique, exciting blues rock.

I love Tom Waits, and Rain Dogs is one of my favorite Tom Waits albums. Rain Dogs is a glorious loveletter to all of those ejected from society. And it has such an incredible sense of place. This is an album that sounds convincingly like picking yourself up off of damp cobbles and walking into the skeeviest bar on earth and talking to anyone who will deal with you. We start with some more conventional songs here before adding some mood pieces into the mix, but everything benefits the same from Tom Waits' persona and presence. This really feels like an album that only he could have made. And it helps that a lot of these songs, like Singapore, Clap Hands, Jockey Full Of Bourbon, Time, Rain Dogs, Gun Street Girl and more are among Tom Waits' greatest. Everything benefits from a completely earnest layer of rust and soil and Rain water, and Tom Waits' lyrics conjure fascinating, vivid images of these people and places, while maintaining the poetry of them. The result of the whole album is almost as though a form of singular, deeply alternative Americana. This is, plainly, a fantastic record, and one of my favorites on the list.

For a late '80s country album, this is *very* rootsy. It's also very "Tear In My Beer", for better or worse. But, it's also good, so then there's that. Dwight Yoakam is a charismatic storyteller across this collection of Americana songs, and he leads Buenas Noches... somewhere that most country of it's time didn't dare to touch. It honestly invokes some of the '70s (and earlier) couuntry I've heard, especially with the accordion. I will say that I don't think this transcends into one of my favorites of the genre, although the title track is a fantastic song. But regardless, I'm glad I heard this album.

This was a really solid country album with some interesting rock influence. I think the songs here are really high quality, and it took a while, but I did decide I like Lucinda Williams' unique voice. I don't have a ton to say unfortunately, but I liked what was here, and I'm reasonably glad I heard this.

For I while, I honestly don't think I was being fair to this because it's a soundtrack, but it turns out that it's a hell of an album too. Honestly, Superfly is one of the better funk albums I've ever heard, but part of me still feels like I need to watch the film before I consider giving this 5 stars. And to be clear, it isn't *necessarily* going to be a 5 star eventually, but it is *excellent*. As great funk often does, Superfly puts some very dark topics at the forefront of things, namely addiction, the effect dealers have on community, and loss, in a way that I've heard is actually kind of at odds with the film. But regardless, Curtis Mayfield basically just tears it up here with an unstoppable barrage of iconic, soulful, funk songs. I was told this is extremely influential, and I believe it. It's just damn good.

This was an absolute surprise, but Djam Leelii is damn near flawless. This is basically some very sparse (but deceptively intricate), hypnotic music with intense, unique vocals. These are all components I gel with *very* well, and Djam Leelii actually reminds me of some of Songs:Ohia's most ethereal moments. In short, we're off to a good start. These are largely very repetitive songs, but on a moment to moment basis, the instruments are in constant conversation with each other, in a very striking, organic way. The result is that these songs have a lot of movement and depth, despite the repetition. There are some moments where the two guitars here meld in such a way with the percussion here that the result is utterly dizzying. Melodies and rhythms overlay each other, weave in and out, and remain in a state of constant push and pull, but the vocals can always cut through. I don't know a ton about Baaba Maal, but I do know that he sought to serve as a living reminder of how storytelling is for everyone, and not just the Griot class of people which exists within his culture, and I absolutely appreciate this message, especially over music as spellbinding as this. And despite the fact that I am awfully distant from Senegal, the art here has managed to touch me as many of my favorite albums have. This one is really special.