Reviews by galway_rat

(not first listen) HLs off the top of my head: “Lucifer Sam”, “Bike”, “Flaming”
HLs apart from those: "Astronomy Domine", "Chapter 24", and sure "Interstellar Overdrive" in all its excess

Love this album, though it has had time to grow on me in the decade or so since I became aware of it (& the Syd Barrett days of Pink). This listen, I reflected on how rough & grungy(? there has to be a better word for that) the album sounds, yet the manic beauty of Syd's songwriting shines through

HL: "Two Words", "Jesus Walks", "Through the Wire", "Never Let Me Down", "Slow Jamz"

3.5
Pretty strong debut despite the filler, lyrics weren't as obnoxious as I feared from other Kanye releases, and the big features (Jay-Z, Ludacris, Mos Def) don't overshadow his own contributions.
May I also say that, uh, fuck this guy & what he's become

March 6, 2023

Note to self: revisit Enter the Wu-Tang & Illmatic, two past 3-stars I might rank more highly now.

HL: "Metamorphosis", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Snow Flower"

Kinda love this
I'm sure this is on the list for side one, but there's something to be said about the looser interplay between the sitar & the Moog going on there; it's both very indicative of the era and also unlike anything else I listen to

HL: Eple, In Space, Poor Leno

- had Pt. 1 as a morning alarm for a short time, so I already feel alert listening to this

-Think I ended up being more focused on the talent of the musicians than the overall movement & composition.

This might be a masterpiece, but having just listened to Coleman’s “The Shape of Jazz To Come” (not on this list) a few days ago, I find I still get lost sometimes in the tempo changes and frenetic improvisation of free jazz. Make no mistake, this is still a gripping listen, with one of the coolest bass solos I have heard.

Was going to put it as a 3, but after listening to certain passages another time think I may have to bump it up to a 4

HL: "COME ON EILEEN", "All in All", "Celtic Soul Brothers", "Old"

There's been some fine 80's cheese this week! I wasn't entirely sold on the plastic (rubber) soul sound & spoken word bits throughout the record, but by the famous last track I found it charming overall. Appreciated the few Gaelige lyrics in "All In All (This One Last Wild Waltz)", even if the Celtic influences aren't on display all the time.

HL: "Beautiful Day", "Stuck in A Moment..." "Walk On", "In a Little While", "Wild Honey", "When I Look at the World"

Want to disregard this album for its basic 2000s adult contemporary rock-sheen, but I just can’t. Too many good songs

March 1, 2023

When this came out three years ago (what how 🤯) I listened to the first couple tracks without too much interest. Bear in mind that in 2020 a lot of successful artists were putting out their homey releases: McCartney III, Punisher, how i'm feeling now, Folklore/Evermore, etc., so my attention was very much on other things.
But now that I've heard it in its entirety, I appreciated the oddball percussion & homemade sound a lot more. It's not a concept album, but the individual songs do sound better together than, say, if one came up on shuffle. Rivals Swordfishtrombones in terms of an idiosyncratic, experimental sound I vibe with.

HL: "Cosmonauts", title track, "Shameika", "Relay"

February 27, 2023

HL: "Love Plus One", "Marine Boy", "Fantastic Day", "Surprise Me Again"

First off, bad name- I'll probably keep accidentally calling this band "Pelican West" instead of "Haircut 100"

Second, I really enjoyed this, though there's not much to analyze here. Is it not enough to have an album that makes ye feel good?
Cheery slice of 80's pop

February 26, 2023

HL: "Traitor", "Birthday", "Blue Eyed Pop"

First Björk album (or album featuring Björk). Fun, inventive, quick album I'll probably revisit later on; I can't decide if any of the lyrics have purpose or if they're just stream-of-consciousness/nonsense poetry.

February 25, 2023

ah yes, "Kool Thing" of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock fame. Finally

Hmmm what to give an album that you were enjoying, but the last 15 minutes kinda sucked in your humble opinion?
Mildred Pierce is on Sonic Youth's most popular tracks on Spotify, wtf

Didn't connect that track 2 was about Karen Carpenter; lines like "I feel like I'm disappearing" are heartbreaking, combined with that menacing minor-key riff it's a chilling moment near the beginning of the album. Speaking of menacing riffs, "Disappearer"'s is simple but effective

3*** before I change my mind
HL: "Dirty Boots", "Tunic", "Kool Thing", "Disappear"

February 24, 2023

HL: "Under the Pressure", "An Ocean in Between the Waves", "Burning"

2nd WoD album I've heard, after 2021's "I Don't Live Here Anymore". I appreciate the spacey psychedelic elements in this one (they complement the album cover too), but IMO the newer album has slightly better songs.
3.5

February 23, 2023

HL: "La fille de la mort", "Rue des tempêtes", "Charlotte", "Longue route",

A few albums I've heard this year feature some kind of unexpected genre fusion, but I was still taken aback by this metal/chanson française hybrid, L'eau rouge. It's like someone took all the more avant-garde elements (in a rock album) that appeal to me, such as theatre, tape loops, a horror movie atmosphere, and uh, weird strings (that's not a real category, but think Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" or Muse's "Unsustainable").
Not music for everyday listening, and Franz Treichler's voice isn't my favourite, but it's pretty low in the mix, & my French isn't good enough to absorb most of the lyrics anyway.
And I did recognize the title from the lowest-rated albums, went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

makes me want to revisit the Killing Joke album

February 22, 2023

HL: "Homeward Bound", "Scarborough Fair", "59th St Bridge Song", "The Dangling Conversation", "For Emily", "Flowers Never Bend"

-4/12 songs I already knew from my greatest hits CD
- Liked the other 8 well enough, though some songs (most notably "A Poem") sound like they end before a natural conclusion.
- So in 1966 we have a Bob Dylan song imitating John Lennon imitating Bob Dylan, from Blonde on Blonde, AND a Paul Simon song imitating Bob Dylan from that same album ("everybody must get stoned")
- "Silent Night" hits different in late winter

February 20, 2023

~~Reviewer Pete Silverton (Sounds) said that the single is the "Only wholly worthwhile track on the album." ~~~

Well, "Low Life" isn't bad. And the bassline in "Fodderstompf" is pretty decent.
But yeah, what an unrewarding listen. I've ranked a couple albums pretty low that actually have something to say. I just don't think that's any substitute for musical cunning, or melody

February 19 2023

HL: "Piece of My Heart", "Oh, Sweet Mary", "Summertime"

February 18, 2023

Yes is a band that, twice now, I half-heartedly put on one of their albums only to remember just how much I like them. Maybe this doesn't top "Close to the Edge", but:
- "Starship Trooper" & "I've Seen All Good People" is some of the catchiest music I've heard from this band
- The shorter tracks, "Venture" & "The Clap" are great in their own right yet sound like they're from very different albums
- First & last tracks didn't particularly move me today, though the psych-jazz in "Perpetual Change" was more enjoyable.

February 17, 2023

(not 1st listen)
I just had Highway to Hell generated and now this? Fate has ordained that this is AC/DC week.

Back in Black is dumb rock at its pinnacle.
Hell's Bells, Noise Pollution, You Shook Me, Shoot to Thrill & the title track are so good, that the remaining tracks being merely fine doesn't spoil my overall enjoyment.
My favourite track besides the big hits is probably "Let Me Put My Love into You", with the line "Let me cut your cake with my knife". It's so stupid! I love it!

February 16, 2023

HL: "1969", "Dog", "Real Cool Time", "We Will Fall"

Last thing I expected from this album was 10+ minutes of drone music! Huh

3.5

February 15, 2023

HL: "Marz", "Where Dreams Go To Die", "Silver Platter Club", "Sigourney Weaver", "Jesus Hates F******", & the title track

Yeah some of the lyrics are distracting & a little corny, but when dressed in such stellar & intricate pop rock, I can overlook it.
Because there are *many* 70's albums, and few albums from the 2010s in the book, having "Queen of Denmark" represent the later decade when it has so much more in common with the earlier one (shades of John Cale/Harry Nilsson/some "Wish You Were Here" synths) is a choice. But good luck finding an album from the 70s that deals with sexuality & anxiety so frankly.

February 14, 2023