Reviews by giddy

I once again really want to like one of these user submitted albums, but I think the production for this one is so mid-2010s that it can only remind me of pop songs from that era, albeit it is more technically impressive. I only really feel disappointment in myself, because I was looking forward to this one, but just nothing does anything for me here. Sorry.

This is okay, great for getting really in the zone with something, but I can't shake the feeling that every song needs that little bit more to be truly something special.

Man, I really want to like this more, but the absolutely decimated instrumentals get grating after a while, and the vocals feel like they hardly match that punchiness. I think something just has to give here, and unfortunately, that's me.

Absolutely an album that should've been on the original list for how influential it was. I mean, this album is from '87, and competes with some albums from the next decade pretty easily. Unfortunately, that doesn't really mean I enjoyed it. Beats are inconsistent, sometimes being fantastic, and sometimes being whatever the last three tracks were. Meanwhile the rapping was cheesy and predictable for a good chunk of the run time, only being good in small doses. It's an album that deserves all the credit in the world, but I personally did not enjoy it very much. Not necessarily dated, just not my jam, especially in the back half.

Man, this completely upstages any other ren faire-like folk album on the main list or user list, the long, intense build-ups remind me a lot of I Want You (She's So Heavy) by the Beatles and that's the best compliment.

I've kind of been taking a break from the user generator after getting far too many stinkers and being a bit exhausted. At this point I've really only been rating albums I already have listened to. However, I've wanted to listen to this one for a while purely because I grew up with earlier Vampire Weekend and loved their recent Only God Was Above Us. This and the album after it, however, were total blind spots for me, and while I'm still scared of Father of the Bride, this seemed like a pleasure, and it was! I really liked it more as it went on, which doesn't seem to be the common opinion, but getting wrapped in its baroque blanket was cozy and unique in a way that's pretty cool for the 2010s "indie" scene. Not a release that completely flips the script or anything, but a jolly jaunt, assuredly.

I know everyone seems to like Porcupine Tree, but I just can't link up with it. It just ticks all the boxes that make me dislike 2000s prog rock. Progressive rock has always been cheesy, but when it's as clean as this is, it really stands out.

Not really anything to do with the quality of the album, but I thought Justin Timberlake was in this one, not *Nsync. Or maybe I thought he was in New Kids on the Block? Busted? ...O-Zone? Anyway, not sure how anyone keeps these bands straight. And what was with the four ballads in a row at the end?! That was excruciating... rest of the album was inoffensive, I suppose.

I don't find this album to be the all-timer that many seem to, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't good at all. Plenty to love here, and anything that feels tired and/or overdone probably has this album to thank for that. Don't adore it, but it deserves its notoriety.

It starts out fine as an inoffensive homage to early 2010s pop music, but quickly sours when lazy interpolations and megachurch sounding choruses start entering the field just a few tracks in. It never really recovers.

Yay for John Grant making a repeat appearance on the user list, no matter how small, but the rest of the album was a bit stripped back for me. The back half's more bombastic buildup works a lot better, in my opinion.

Better than the other album by BABYMETAL on the user list, but I don't think we need any more. This one just gave me a headache...

I respect Paramore a great deal, but I don't much care for their earlier, more emo era. I like what they've had going on the last decade with the dancier style, it's oddly one of the closest modern bands to Talking Heads. This is just okay, though, but, again, I respect it.

This is like if They Might Be Giants went cold turkey on joy. And whimsy. And stuff. Totally true, man.

I know this will be hypocritical considering the album I added would also fall into this criticism, but I hear that this album is "ahead of its time" a lot on more modern reviews. Thus, it is starting to be more fondly looked upon in the 2020s than it ever was in 2013. And, sure, does it sound very 2015 for something in 2013? Yeah, but it hardly is something to congratulate, especially when much more deserving Gaga albums are still lacking on this list. Better than critics let on a decade ago, but certainly not some hidden gem.

It's alright, but I know Steven Wilson is capable of better and worse, leaving this somewhere in the middle.

I'm going to assume that this was added to say "See? Korn can be good!" And person who added this, you're right! This is much better than Follow the Leader. But this is still mostly dull.

Oh, so this is what Costello was going for? Well, Graham Parker wins that race, for sure.

Oh, I get it. It's like Rush but replace the amazing instrumentation for just good instrumentation! ...I'll stick with Rush.

I'd like to think I'll be a fan of Extremoduro whenever I get around to one of their albums, but as for this sorta spin-off project, it's okay. Spoken words part don't do a ton for me as an English speaker, unfortunately, but the instrumentation is solid enough.