Reviews by giddy

After the smash hit both critically and financially that was the pair-up of Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse on Demon Days, you'd think another album with the two plus a slew of other characters would only be a knock out of the park, but the album leaves a lot to be desired, and quite frankly wastes the listener's time on every song. None of it is bad, but it all has the exact same setup of starting a song quiet, building it up over the course of the track, only to end the song before it actually goes anywhere. This doesn't matter whether the song is two minutes or seven, you will always be disappointed, and I'm just gonna come out and say I entirely blame Simon Tong. No clue how much he had at play in this album, but it reeks of Verve-isms, with boring track after boring track that only leave the listener waiting for something more, which never comes, as if the whole band is scared to get too loud and wake their parents who are just in the other room. Its inoffensive, but that wraps around and makes it aggravating, because you just sit there ingesting it waiting for something, anything to happen. I don't entirely blame Danger Mouse, as when the production itself is good, its good, but it could just use another voice somewhere teaching the lot here how songs have to end, not just stop. I will give it credit and say it sounds nothing like Albarn's other two major projects, but I'm also just gonna say there's a reason those are still famous today while this faded into obscurity on the 1001 Albums list, with very little other accolades to hold it up.

A lot of predictable, 90s stereotypes, mostly under a thin veil of chilled-back funky hip hop tracks, sometimes delving into straight up rock or funk to mix it up, but it somehow all feels very derivative of much better acts. It isn't the strongest rap rock, nor the best lyrically, and the funky, relaxed vibe is done better by hip hop and neo-psychedelia on both ends of the spectrum. However, I wouldn't say the album is bad, per se, it just feels simple, and so I fail to see why I had to listen to it. I don't even know the single that every one is calling a one hit wonder song, so even the hit couldn't bother to stick around in the popular hivemind. I like the complete change in direction for the finale, but it still feels like other acts have that scene covered.

I'm honestly a little shocked how much I enjoy this, as I not only am not that big of a fan of Syd Barrett's contributions to Pink Floyd, but I'm not the biggest Floyd fan in general, but the folky, amateur style of this album feels just quirky enough to come off completely earnestly, and oddly charming. Syd Barrett's voice isn't the strongest, the compositions aren't the most enthralling, and the instrumentation is usually pretty simple, but because of all of that this just feels like predicting the sound of 90s twee twenty years in advance, and comes off as in tandem with Nick Drake's discography to create an all new sound in folk, something light and breezy but still oppressing in their lyrics and under the surface oddities. This album has some great moments, and while sometimes I think Syd lets that strong songwriting get away from him at times, most of the album is surprisingly concise and well-written, and in turn I find myself enjoying a lot of this album.

I was always a defender of Sex on Fire amongst its controversy and dumb lyrical hook, but I can see why this album was both their most successful record commercially, as well as the final nail in their musical coffin. It's a massive step down from their prior albums, and just puts me to sleep with It's attempts at being something more, when at the end of the day I only really liked Kings of Leon for scratching that garage rock revival but in the South itch. This is just pop rock you would've heard on the radio in the 2000s, and while it's mostly technically quality, it can be pretty hit or miss, and nothing really is as good as Sex on Fire, so if you already don't like that song, I can't imagine sitting through this album. It's fine, but it could stand to be much better, and you can really see the band slipping here.

At first this album just feels like taking all the worst parts of mod and proto-punk and modernizing it in a way that avoids all the great additions brought on by post-punk and new wave, but as the album goes on it develops its personal punk sound more and more until it comes into its own by the end. It still isn't an album I especially favor, it feels comedically British and like many pop punk albums too many of the songs go in one ear and out the other, but I can at least respect this album for what it was trying to do. I don't know if the Jam are especially a band worth admiring in insert current year here, but I suppose I get the appeal enough.

Almost every song here is so close to being something great, and so most of them just end up in the good territory. This still leads to a solid album that's lacking in Eno weirdness, but is solid glam rock nonetheless. It just always feels weirdly lacking, whether it be the vocals or the instrumentation, if one piece is peak, the other is mid. Good album, even great at times, but it falls short of the god tier glam rock album I took this for in passing.

The 90s were weird, where in order to be "daring" and "different" in a post Smells Like Teen Spirit world, you had to copy the sound of a bunch of 60s and 70s soft rock groups in order to stick out. Throw in some XTC for good measure, and you get Crowded House's Woodface. Crowded House was a band I thought I'd like more, as I quite enjoy their hits, but this album is a bit of a bore, and while often vaguely enjoyable in its America-esque hooks, it only brings in to question for me why this is considered somewhat of an essential album, while anything by those infamous soft rock groups is considered weak and inessential. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth that all this album had to do to stand out was copy and paste decades old sounds, but I suppose that's how art has always been. Still, not impressive enough to be considered even just "okay" in my book.

Kim Gordon's vocals are at their peak performance here, in my opinion, and it makes all of her tracks here stars of their own show. Thurston Moore's songs are mostly good too, and insteumentally the album is also great, balancing the artsy noise rock with something a bit more mainstream. I think sometimes they just dive back into old habits a little too hard, and it can really botch some, what would otherwise be, great tracks, such as Mote. Still, one of the band's best and a great place to start when looking to get into the more out there side of the late 80s/early 90s rock scene.

Why does this album have a billion different alternative album covers? Anyway, the first track presents a lot of hope for something with a lot of promise and definitive influence, but it quickly loses that hope and replaces it with folksy yodeling and, well, rambling. The picking is nice throughout, and you can tell this album could be seen as influential, but it itself leaves a lot to be desired, especially after a strong beginning. It's just generic folk music, nothing more, and maybe even a little less.

While they aren't completely absent, the gothic rock sounds that made up Echo & The Bunnymen's earlier albums take a backseat to a bigger sound on Ocean Rain. A sound that evokes the alternative landscape of the mid-80s, a style that now is commonly just lumped into "new wave," even when it isn't really. Either way, this album feels like it's reaching for the stars, as well as a broader appeal, and that can lead to some absolute classics that are still some of the best in the band's catalog, such as the iconic The Killing Moon, but it also means a lot of the album feels like it was inspired a little too heavily by U2's growing popularity and notoriety. The A-side has some good songs, but you won't find anything truly worthy of your time until the B-side, and it comes off as high quality, but sloppy. It has the songs to keep you happy, but I personally think this band was made to be in the goth pantheons, and this album tries to distance itself from that for seemingly little reason, making it weak in comparison to Crocodiles and especially Porcupine.

My doubts crept in with this album after my partner listened to it and found it just okay, but re-listening I see that this is still an art pop masterpiece, with enough repetitive yet irresistible grooves to make anyone from Can, all the way to LCD Soundsystem, blush. This is apparent with the opening track, as its hefty eight-minute runtime can see daunting, especially with little change appearing in the song, but it is those subtle grooves that will keep the listener dancing, or at the very least, vibing, until the closing moments. And just to prove the listener wrong, the next song throws most of that away and instead becomes a pop sensation, ignoring the trends of the mid-90s (save for maybe the Cardigans) and creating something just as space-like, but more airy and floaty, something to snack on before digesting the rest of the album's various pallets. Yes, it returns to its grooves, but there's also more rock-heavy moments, such as The Noise of Carpet, and even some more acoustic stuff to break from the synths and space station elevators. An album where you'll never stop moving, and each moment, no matter how predictable, will blow you away as the next French sensation toys with your senses, and you're all here for it. At least, hopefully. I do understand why one would be bored by this, and if repetitive music isn't your thing, perhaps steer clear, but anyone searching for something insatiably infectious, this is it.

So generic, so perfectly 80s, that I feel anyone slightly a fan of country from this era must love this. Unfortunately, I am not, and this sounds grating, and I feel like even ten minutes more would've pushed it over the edge for me. However, this album isn't offensive enough to warrant it, and instead I'm just left feeling like these are the same thoughts I have coming away from every country album from this time. I've just hesrd enough of it now to be used to it. Not sure if that's a positive or not.

Lana Del Rey has a very pretty voice, and I know she is capable of creating some great musical pieces that play into her strengths. However, this album feels like it misses most of those. It stars songs that go on too long and do very little to change, so unless you enjoy some waxing poetic lyrics over somber, subtly country instrumentals, you are best to look elsewhere for your pop-coated Americana. It's innocent enough, and if you like this you'll probably like most of Lana's catalog, but it's mostly just okay with moments that hint at something more; something... on a different album.

Sometimes this album has something to give, it certainly feels more fulfilling than their prior album, Hot Shots II, but this album tends to come off as weaker takes on far better bands' shticks. Whether it be Animal Collective, XTC, Radiohead, or even themselves at points, this album feels like it's trying to be all over the place to be quirky and unique, but instead I just keep thinking "oh, they got that from ____." It can be an exhausting listen because of this, and every time it does something "better" it seems to refuse to elaborate on those ideas, and goes back to mellow jams that feel like they could've never escaped 2004, and it seems that was indeed the case, as the band disbanded the same year this released.

This is better than Moon Safari, and may just be the second best ambient pop album I've ever heard, only being bested by Eno's Another Green World. I see many comparisons to Pink Floyd, but I've not heard such emotion pulled from beeps and boops combined with strings and general film soundtrack attitudes, and it feels like the album tells a story of its own that had it's own fun piecing itself together. Vocals are nesrly non-existent, but it is better that way, as every aptly named piece really sits and stews within the listener, and it can be truly breathtaking, especially when the norm breaks and you get anxious speeds and a rock-focused attitude. Awesome album, and I will be checking out the film as well if I get the chance!

I would say this feels like it's hopping on the post-hardcore bandwagon, but considering I can't imagine that movement was mainstream enough for there to be anything to hop on to, unlike grunge or nu-metal, perhaps this is just the safer side of the genre. There's some great, violent tracks with a lot of gusto, and it can really scratch that itch of throwing something across the room for you, so you don't destroy that pretty little phone of yours. It just feels like a good but vague showcase of a genre that may need some explaining when showing to your mom, so this is certainly a landmark achievement of being the Stone Temple Pilots of something or other. It's good, nonetheless.

While certainly not full of catchy, almost pop-y hits like the two albums following this one the foundation of a new wave of rock was certainly being organized via this album. It has its softer, jangle-y moments, but otherwise this album is blasting ahead at full speed, with little concern for who it may take out along the way. That means you get a lot of blistering songs that in the right mood can be a destructively great time, with oddball lyrics and instrumentation out of this world for 1988. It just tends to lack a polish that similar inspirational acts like Sonic Youth nailed already at this point, so the album can sometimes feel a little hollow. However, still full of great tracks that fueled a generation, and that big track is truly something special.

This is perhaps the most Britpop-y, unabashedly stereotypical 90s alternative rock albums to come out of a band from the US of A. That doesn't mean it's all bad, there's some fun rocking jams with a level of pride that has just enough quality to not come off entirely as cockiness. However, I think you'll struggle to find a record with more clichés. Too long? Check. Distortion guitars? Check. Singer with unique yet bland vocals? Check. Way too long outro to "feel something?" Check. It's all just very run of the mill, with hints of something greater bubbling underneath. It kept me intrigued over the four or so days it took me to get through it, but I can't imagine sitting down and calling this an all time great, and I am 100% sure Robert Dimery put this album in the 1001 Albums book just because it sounded vaguely britpop-y and extremely 90s. That's his favorite.

Perhaps my most unfair one-star, and I recognize that this album could really hit the mark as something for others. Its smooth, candy-coated exterior is complimented by its gooey exterior that isn't dissimilar to acts like Sade, but with a modern coat of paint in the production and lyrical content to make it a truly definitive modern R&B record. However, I just find it incredibly tepid. Nothing here ever aims to do anything to get my gears actually working, or to even remotely interest me, and I just find it BORING. I know that tends to be a no-no word for music, especially slower stuff, as it doesn't define any issues I have beyond a surface level, but it is hard to help to feel anything else. I found myself completely tuning out before each song had even hit its halfway mark, and I paused the album entirely to take a break, as my eyes were glazing over, and I needed to refresh. That just isn't something I do with music normally, and for an album to disinterest me that heavily is something fierce. Songs meander and feel like they're dragging their fit so that they don't have to show the next song, which is assuredly just as sleepy. It has structure, yes, but that doesn't stop every song from seemingly going nowhere and everywhere at the same time, and it just seems scattered. Not helping is the runtime, which is frankly unnecessary, especially when there is very little variation amongst this album's tunes. Perhaps this could be something sexier, but then I can only think of better acts to cover that niche as well, leaving this album feeling uninspired on top of the boredom claims I'm fronting. I get why someone would like this, and I even understand praising it, but to me this just seems lethargic and my initial lukewarm feelings quickly developed into disdain over the course of an hour, feelings I can't really shake.

I've found myself fond of folk music as my album journey has continued, and I've also been eyeing this one for a while. I mean, it has it all: simple yet eye-catching album cover, a simple but unique artist name, and it just exudes folksiness. However, after actually listening to this album, it is safe to say this is nothing more than awkward attempts of someone who has little right performing folk music attempting to perform other genres that they have no right attempting. You've got it all, half-baked blues, half-baked raga rock, half-baked, plain ol' folk rock, all with someone who has a very generic voice I would never be able to pick out of a line-up. It's standable, all in one ear and out the other, but it is a waste of time in its truest form, so it is a pain to sit through all forty minutes of. I think some plain folk music would've worked better, and maybe that's what Fred Neil was doing before this album, but this is just rough, a bore and a chore.