Reviews by galway_rat

HL: “Bussing”, “I Stole Your Car”, "Belladonna", “Shellback”, “Keeping Pigs Together”

gonna give you like 3 stars
gonna give you like 3 stars
gonna give you like 3 stars

White jazz, English electronica & hip hop combine

Mildly frustrating experience, as about halfway through the album, the sound changed to something I wanted to listen to a lot more than the first half. Yet on the heels of “Rough and the Quick” & the annoying robot vocals in “Rake”, the switch to ambient strings and guitar feedback felt like I was suddenly listening to a different artist.

My final rating will take into account the little 6-song EP only, but I think today’s going to be Mudhoney day, as I try to figure out why this band from Seattle has as many albums on this list as Elton John. Hence I’ll check out some bonus tracks, and also revisit EBGDF (1991), album #39 on my journey.

I’m glad I listened to it more than once, as I started to hear the honey through the mud. Not really my idea of fun, but there’s enough energy & crunchy riffs to make it worthwhile, as well as the clear influence on 90’s alt-rock.

HL: “Need”, “No One Has”, “If I Think”, “Touch Me I’m Sick” (bonus), "Halloween" (bonus, a Sonic Youth cover :0)

January 17, 2024

P.S. A relisten of EGBDF, their 1991 full-length, was a relief in a way. I thought it was gone from my memory because it was mediocre, but turns out it's because I heard it 3 years ago & it's part of a genre I had very little interest in at the time. I'd say it's even more enjoyable than Superfuzz Bigmuff. (s/o to "Fuzzgun '91", "Pokin' Around" and "Good Enough")

First listen, unless you count "Supersonic" and "Live Forever".

I have always prided myself on staying neutral during the 90's Britpop wars, on account of neither being British nor alive during much of that time period. However, as much as it pains me to admit, Oasis comes out on top for me.

Was going to say the only stinker was “Up in the Sky”, but on subsequent listens I was 100% all for its “Day Tripper”-ness (Tripper-osity?)

I've been blasting this album all day. Fuck Oasis. 10/10

HL: "Rock n Roll Star", “Shakermaker”, “Live Forever”, “Supersonic”, “Bring it On Down”, “Digsy’s Dinner”

January 16, 2024

January 15, 2024

HL: “Bow”*, “Eternal Life”, “Black”, “Wildfires”, “Hard Life”, “Sorry Ain’t Enough”

Something I noticed about some of the newest albums’ inclusion is that they don’t make a lot of sense in a vacuum. Evermore doesn’t make a lot of sense without Folklore; Chemtrails Over the Country Club is an odd duck without its contrast to Lana’s earlier albums.
Untitled (Black Is) also drove me to a second Sault album (aka “Rise”), for 3 reasons: to get a better sense of their eclectic, studio-heavy production; because Black Is ended on what I felt was an intentionally unresolved note; and finally, because I was havin’ a heck of a time.

Alright that’s 2 straight hours of Sault over with, and my findings are that the 2 Untitled's enrich each other. Black Is feels incomplete? The last 6 songs in Rise feel like a proper dénouement.
Black Is’s politics are too broad and simple? Rise is more specific and overtly angry.
Rise is too moody and lowkey? Black Is is celebratory despite the grief in the lyrics.
Untitled (Black Is) by itself probably gets a 4.5 from me, but we're rounding up today.

P.S. The 1001 book describes Black Is as 1980’s Prince-like on the surface level but is actually closer to Massive Attack. I feel that’s apt.

P.S.S. It's now been over 3 years since I started this 1001 racket. I've already recently gave some of my first albums a second shot; because I didn't bother writing anything at the time, my memory of them was pretty unreliable. Nas and Mylo had some pretty great entries that I totally overlooked at the time, yet getting MJ Cole and Metallica back-to-back was probably the moment that I quit for a year.
I couldn't tell you a single thing about the Bill Evans or Mudhoney albums I listened to in 2021, so I guess I'll have to check them out as well.

January 14, 2024

HL: "Personality Crisis", "Vietnamese Baby", “Frankenstein” "Trash"*, "Private World" (* favourite)

I listened to at least some of this earlier in my life, no doubt reading about how this was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it did nothing for me then.
It’s hard to see the New York Dolls as subversive and dangerous-sounding nowadays (the cover’s shock value couldn’t have meant much even towards the end of the 70s), yet I enjoyed it a lot more this listen simply because I wasn’t expecting so much.
A straightforward, hi-energy romp that, among others, clearly inspired KISS.
Big dumb fun

If you like Fleetwood Mac, I dare you not to like this album

It’s elegant, it’s sweet, and it shreds.

HL: “Down to Zero”, “Help Yourself”, “Love and Affection”, “Like Fire”, “Somebody Who Loves You”

January 12, 2024

January 11, 2024

“Holiday in Cambodia”, “Kill the Poor”, “California Uber Alles”, “Drug Me”

I don’t know if punk will ever be my “thing”, but this seems about as essential as any punk release, hardcore or otherwise.
Jello Biafra seemed to know where right-wing politics were headed in our present day, well before Reagan was elected.
Chilling yet fun.
“Holiday in Cambodia” is an all-weather classic as well.

As someone who doesn’t know much about XTC and loves symphonic rock, it was a bit of a headrush.

I’m going to say this might grow on me with time, but since I found it in a used music store the day it generated, fate has ordained it WILL grow on me.

HL: “River of Orchids”, “Easter Theatre”, “Harvest Festival”

Bob Dylan No. 5, but I’ve had a nice six month break from him on this generator

TBH my interest in Bob Dylan's music is flagging post-70s, but as much as I hate to admit it, the critics are right: he did have his mojo back by this point. The blues are roarin', the ballads heartwrenching, the lyrics funny.
My attention span was a little fried by the time the 16 minute-long closer came around, but I did chuckle some at the detailed excuses to get out of drawing that waitress.

HL: "Standing in the Doorway", "Trying to Get To Heaven", "Not Dark Yet", "Make You Feel My Love", "Highlands"

January 9, 2024

January 8, 2024

HL: “Butterfly McQueen”, “Thinking of Ways”, “The White Noise Revisited”, “Wish I Was Skinny”, “Barney”, “One is For”

Hey this isn’t Coltrane…

But the Boo Radley’s Giant Steps excels in the noisy shoegaze and psychedelic pop… though I’m not as sold on the reggae/ska parts, and the album starts slow imo but builds to something more interesting by the midpoint.
That first verse of the last song hit especially hard tonight, even if I’m on the job hunt as opposed to “killing myself” at work for “nothing at all” right at this moment.
I admire the Radleys for trying so much here, even if not all of it sticks. The MBV-isms and Beatle-isms are also nice, while never feeling quite like a knockoff.

A mess to be sure but a welcome one

January 7, 2024

HL: “The Whole of the Law”, “Another Girl Another Planet”, “The Beast”, “No Peace for the Wicked”, “The Immortal Story”

I have a habit of going into 70s British punk and new wave with low expectations. Why do I do that? (aside from the possible over-representation of that genre and era on this list)
This slaps! The 1st two tracks imply we’re in for a mopey ol’ time, but the Only Ones are also here to party, with raucous guitar solos and occasional bursts of saxophone.
Listened to the bonus tracks as well, which aren’t mind-blowing, but “Lovers of Today” is good enough to be on the main tracklist.

HL: title track, "How Can I Be Sure", "I'm So Happy Now", "I Don't Love You Anymore"

A pleasant slice of sunshine pop, not every song has the artistry of "How Can I Be Sure", but if this album was just that, "Groovin'" and the remaining half hour of 90s dial-up internet screeching, I'd still be in a better mood after listening.

3.5

January 6, 2024

2022: got It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, rly liked it
2023: got Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black, wasn't a fan
2024: I'm not sure what to expect, but I already know "Fight the Power" is fantastic

I can recognize this is a major achievement in hip-hop, but that's not the same as loving it. The production from the Bomb Squad is *claustrophobic*, with shreds of James Brown, Vincent Price, heavy metal guitar and whatever that whirring sound is on "War at 33 1/3" all co-dominant, each commanding your attention. You'd think this being Public Enemy No. 3 would prepare me for this, but I think the 'sampledelia' is unprecedented even for their records. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say about the vibrant dynamic between Chuck D & Flavor Flav, nor on the potent topics being rapped about.
Vital, revolutionary, just not my thing (until I give it a listen down the road and feel like a dummy for rating this 3 stars)

HL: "Fight the Power", "Welcome to the Terrordome", "Burn Hollywood Burn", "Who Stole the Soul?"

If my star ratings are to be believed, the 90’s are the worst music decade by a country mile.
Though my first album by the Prodigy hasn’t done much to convince me otherwise, it’s important to note I listened to this with a headache, so my displeasure has little to do with the actual quality here.
In fact, it’s a pretty damn good album from a genre I don’t really care about (synthpunk? Hard techno?)
There is a pretty wide range of sounds between the jazz flute in “3 Kilos” to the (ugh) rhythmic glass breaking in “Break and Enter”.
Other tracks, like “Poison” & “Claustrophobic Sting”, just feel edgy to be edgy. Music to put your fist through drywall to

HL: “No Good”, “3 Kilos”, “Their Law”, “Voodoo People”, maybe “Break and Enter”
Less crazy about: “Poison”, “Speedway”

January 4th, 2024

My takeaway from the last Mothers of Invention (We’re Only In It For the Money) was that a lot of the humour and satire didn’t land for me-
save some lines like “I will love everyone / I will love the police as they kick the shit out of me on the street”
which made the more abrasive, experimental elements all the more unpleasant.

So far, Freak Out! is more conventional but less irritating, although I’ve just finished the first disc.
UPDaTE: finished the 2nd disc
Saved the best for last! Really though, either I have a thicker skin against the Zappa-isms in tracks like “It Can’t Happen Here”, or the broader, more surreal humour of this album aged better.
The deadpan pastiches of bygone 50s/60s pop are good as standalone tracks, while “Who Are the Brain Police?” reminds you of the terrors/delights to come

January 3, 2024

HL: "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Love is Only a Feeling", "Givin' Up", "Friday Night"

Why wasn't "Givin' Up" released as a single?
*finally pays attention to the lyrics*
oh

Despite this sitting in my CD collection, this is the first time I've heard Permission to Land in full.
It's already near the top of my go-to "big dumb fun" albums, though. I get its inclusion in the 1001, and I also begrudgingly accept its removal

January 2, 2024

HL: “Streets of Your Town”, “Was There Anything I Could Do?”, “I’m All Right”, “Love is a Sign”

2nd Australian album in a row!
Apple Music promises “literate pop songs”, which sounds a lot like sophistipop; lo and behold…
While I’m not surprised at the 80’s music press enjoying this album, it rises above ‘just pleasant’ to ‘really pretty’ on quite a few occasions. The oboe kicking in definitely helped create a (maybe deceptively) feel-good, upbeat mood that fits the album title.

January 1st, 2024

The slippery slope of having Harry Potter read to me at age 4 to becoming a Nick Cave fan at 27 is very real & dangerous. Heed my warning
(the song "O Children" is featured in the moving picture Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt. I [2010])

Surprised myself at how I enjoyed this a fair bit more than Murder Ballads, the more eclectic of the two (three?).
I guess when you have a winning cocktail of blues, gospel, rock & folk, with some theatre and horror added for good measure, I’ll take a whole double album of it.

HL: "Get Ready for Love", "Nature Boy", "There She Goes, My Beautiful World", “Supernaturally”, “Breathless”, “Carry Me”/"O Children"

December 31, 2023.
That was 2023, eh? Hm

HL: “Last Harbor”, “Firefly”, “Somewhere”, “Blue and Grey Shirt”

The alt-country selections in this list (almost) all come straight out of left field, but I’ve enjoyed (almost) all of them.
California imo veers between “fine” and “very good”, with not too many outliers (the rowdy “Bad Liquor” is probably the biggest surprise)

If this was the Canadian Music Club you wouldn’t stop hearing this on 80s/90s radio stations

December 30th, 2023

December 29, 2023

An open-faced steak sandwich of a record

With extra gravy

HL: “Across the Great Divide”, “Dixie”, “When You Awake”, “Cripple Creek”, “Jawbone”