Reviews by galway_rat

HL: "Let Me Entertain You", "Old Before I Die", "Angels"

Very much middle-of-the road stuff overall. It can be energetic, and catchy, but there's something I'm craving that wasn't there.
Using my surface-level research, I've concluded that it's a safe bet from an already established singer-songwriter in the UK that borrowed sounds from the hitmakers of '97, and sold a load of copies. It doesn't do a lot for me now, but I have nothing against it

Running it back to the 60s again today- It's been a great week for harpsichords, along with "Face to Face" by the Kinks.
Holy heck- do I actually like Donovan now? I heard "Sunshine Superman" all the time at my part-time job during high school and both the melody & his voice grated on me.
But now I see that Donovan wasn't the problem, it was minimum-wage drudgery after all.
Still not my FAVOURITE, but it's catchy

HL: “Ferris Wheel”, “Celeste”, “Season of the Witch”, “Guinevere”

June 3, 2023

"Weighted Down (The Prison Song)" is beautiful as far as menacing murder ballads go; right after, "War in Peace" is almost euphoric in comparison to the rest of the songs.

Reminds me of a country-style "The Madcap Laughs", but what surprises me is how much I prefer the sound of this

Last track made me uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say I disliked it...

other HLs: "Diana", "All Come to Meet Her", "Cripple Creek"

June 2, 2023

Still get excited whenever "Better Be Good To Me" comes on the radio

The strange Bowie cover “1984” (not familiar with the original) revels in the then-modern sound, like they know it’ll sound like a bygone era in a few years.

Maybe it would be a 5/5 if “We Don’t Need Another Hero” was part of the original tracklist

HL: "To Be Young", "Bartering Lines", "Amy", "Call Me On Your Way Back Home"

2.5

😪

Kinda bored, which I think is about the worst feeling a record on the 1001 list should give me-
but it isn't without some strong moments (see above), and maybe a future revisit would stir up some feelings that were absent from the 1st listen

😎 gettin funky

more enjoyable than the previous Chem Bros (over 300 albums ago, so it's not exactly fresh in my mind). "Elektrobank-Piku-Setting Sun" was probably my favourite part of the album, plus I was eating really good ice cream at the time.
I like how as soon as Noel Gallagher enters the fray the drumbeat starts to sound like a Beatles track (Ticket to Ride or Tomorrow Never Knows)
DYOH deserves recognition for holding my attention as long as it did for two reasons, 1) I don't listen to much electronica and 2) it's from an era of music that I don't pay much attention to (aka the late 90s, when I was alive but less concerned with music and more about PlayDoh flavours)

HL: “Setting Sun”, “Elektrobank”, "Where Do I Begin", "Private Psychedelic Reel", "Block Rockin Beats" (I think that's literally all the singles from this album)

“Rosy…”, “Too Much on My Mind”, “Sunny Afternoon”, “Rainy Day in June”

3.5

HL: “We’ll Let You Know”, “Seasick”, “You’re Gonna Need…”, “Tomorrow”

First couple songs sound like they’re from a different album entirely
Though I liked most of the various musical directions taken (including musique concrete in “I Know it’s Going to Happen Someday” & “We’ll Let You Know”), it’s not really essential listening.
And then there’s
“England for the English”, but it’s ironic! shut the fuck up

HL: “The Concept”, “Is This Music”, “Star Sign”, “Alcoholiday”

May 27, 2023

3.5

Not really sure what’s keeping me from just throwing a 4 at it. Listening to it while eating some Vietnamese rice was a pleasant experience;
there were a few times about midway thru the record where I didn’t realize one song had ended & and another started.
It’s good, I’m not head over heels for it, will gladly keep some songs to listen for later

HL: "Laughing", "Song with No Words", "What Are Their Names"

I think the one song that I'm unsure of right now is "Cowboy Movie", which I guess I like less than that other super long, Em-to-A vamp: "Down by the River" by Neil Young.
The rest of the album I'd say is an easy addition to my library. Not long ago I mused whether I prefer albums that are meticulously crafted over those that sound like they were thrown together in a very good weekend; the answer is probably, but here's an example of the latter that really works for me.
"Orleans" & "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here" end the album on a surprisingly pretty, eerie note

HL: title track, "Fast and Loose", "Fire Fire", "The Hammer"

Enjoyable, raw & rollicking, but I wasn’t compelled to revisit most songs after it ended

HL: "Marie", "Rollin", "Louisiana 1927"

Put this on first thing after I got up, no I was not ready for "Rednecks" (though I appreciate the sentiment behind writing the song).

Attention to the music waxed and waned, but there were enough pretty ditties to make the listen worthwhile

May 24, 2023

HL: "Help Me Ronda", "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)", "Do You Wanna Dance?", "Kiss Me Baby", "In The Back Of My Mind"

It's not annoying like I thought it would be

I don't know why I expected it to be annoying though, I really like Pet Sounds & the other B.B. album from the generator, Surf's Up

Guess I thought it would be more like "Surfin USA"

HLs: "I'll Be Your Mirror", "Femme Fatale", "Venus in Furs", "All Tomorrow's Parties" (again with this song), "The Black Angel's Death Song"

Finally sitting down with this oft-talked about album. Earns its reputation as prescient of many later genres of music- CureSonicYouthR.E.M.Morrissey and so on

wasn't feeling all of the extended jams & drone elements, just *most* of them

May 21 2023

HL: title track (S tier), “Crescent Moon”, “We’ve Only Just Begun”

3.5

Unobjectionable, pleasant AM tunes

Elvis Costello album #5 (and still no Bruce Springsteen or Radiohead, arrrgh) -and new favourite! Every time E.C. pops up I let my guard down, but especially so in this one. The lyrics are kitchen sink realism, & the production has everything but the kitchen sink. It's a weirdly good match

what a strange transition between "Long Honeymoon" & "Man Out of Time"

HL: "You Little Fool", "The Long Honeymoon", "Man Out of Time", "Beyond Belief", "...And In Every Home", "The Loved Ones"

May 19, 2023

HL: "I Wanna Be Adored", "She Bangs the Drums", "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister", "I Am the Resurrection",
"Elephant Stone" (bonus track)

Nice excursion into jangly, early Britpop

There was a brief time in 2018 where I had "Garden" on repeat but didn't explore the rest of SZA's debut. Now that I've heard the whole thing, I have "Garden" on repeat once again :)
But wait, there's more to enjoy. Even the Travis Scott collab, which I was a little cold towards, but that detuned synth warranted a relisten, and now I actually kinda like it...?
Early on in the listen, I had the thought that SZA was about my age when she recorded this, and then "20 Something" comes on and it's just all about the anxiety of being over 25, with "not a phone in my name"

HL: "Garden (Say It like Dat)", "20 Something", "Doves in the Wind", "Drew Barrymore", "Prom"

it's pre-Duran-Duran Duran Duran (edit: 3 of the 5 top reviews make this same comparison)

More notable for the atmosphere than the individual songs

liked the beep-boop synth (as enlightened musical academics call it) throughout \"All Tomorrow's Parties\". Didn't strike me as a Velvet Underground song but I don't know much about that band to begin with

HL: title track, \"Despair\", \"All Tomorrow's Parties\", \"Alien\"

May 15, 2023

HL: title track, "Jackson", "Drunken Angel", "Can't Let Go"

3.5

Album cover is a liminal space if I've ever seen one

It's all decently enjoyable to me, but I might have to come back to it another time after reading about Williams' acclaim as a lyricist. I was more focused on her timbre and phrasing (e.g. "Car wheELS on a gravel ROAD") and less on the words, which seems to happen when presented with a unique singer that I'm relatively new to (James Bradfield, Stephen Merritt)