Reviews by guggmo

I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2.

I’m just left disappointed. I thought “Oedipus Schmoedipus” was at least sonically interesting, to the point of a 3.5. I bumped it down to a 3 because I couldn’t comprehend a plot that made any sense despite solid musical execution. This album has even less of a plot & a much less coherent musical execution. I liked the second set of tracks the best (tracks 5-8), but only two of the first 4 did anything for me & absolutely nothing hooked me in the final 4. I really have no idea what happened in the last 4 tracks; they all just got kinda noisy & abrasive in a way that doesn’t make any sense to me. There’s not a strong cohesion to them, and I simply refuse to believe that the words “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” would evoke a soundscape like what Mr. Adamson put together for that track.

If Barry Adamson were auditioning these tracks as a showcase that he could do a video game soundtrack, I’d be a little more willing to be nice to them; “Central Control” feels kinda Crash Bandicoot-ish with a N64 Zelda lean, “Sounds from the Big House” feels a little MGS-y in its back half, & “Everything Happens To Me” somehow feels like a Mario Galaxy track. This is supposed to be a noir crime movie set in Moss Side in Great Britain though, and I have absolutely no idea what the throughline is here.

I assumed, from the song titles, it was a guy on his honeymoon getting popped with the murderers going to jail, and someone investigating the “why” & falling in love throughout the investigation. That’s every single crime film though, and nothing really makes this stick out in any meaningful way. From trying to look for the short story in the liner notes that’s meant to provide some context here, I found it to be an incomprehensible poem that only barely links things together & didn’t match up even remotely with the story in my mind. You can find it here: https://www.discogs.com/master/52717-Barry-Adamson-Moss-Side-Story/image/SW1hZ2U6ODk4MTQ2MA==

Ultimately, I’m just stuck at a 2.5 for solid musical chops & an occasionally interesting atmosphere, but I can’t think of a single good reason to bump this up to a 3, especially with the incomprehensible plot. I’m left disappointed, really. Someone needed to tell Barry back then that less was significantly more for film soundtracks. It’s just too busy, & the lack of a central musical motif shows a fundamental misunderstanding of a movie soundtrack to begin with. Hence, a bump down to a 2. I don't know that this had to be on the list.

I’m well above a 5. It's arguably a 10.

This is, in essence, Elis Regina’s 1980 album “Elis” (not to be confused with the same named album from 1966, 1972, 1973, 1974, or 1977) with a few extra tracks scattered in from other albums (including, oddly enough, a track from “Clube da Esquina 2”). Somehow, this album from Brazil & sung entirely in Portuguese manages to give off the closest energy to a Japanese city pop album that we’ve gotten on the entire list so far. There’s a wide variety of styles here, but all of them are anchored by Elis’ voice, which is nothing short of lovely. She can shift her power on a dime, and occasionally, the control she has over her voice carries a similar natural charisma to, say, Frank Sinatra.

I translated every track just to get a slight feel for the tone of each track. They’re all platitudinal; mostly about living life to the fullest, loving hard, trusting God, & ultimately, just trying to find the vibrance of life, even in its best & worst moments. It’s a positive album. The lyrics, however, do not matter, at least in terms of being able to enjoy this as a purely auditory experience; every track here has such a natural vocal progression with peaks & valleys that you can feel everything off the tone of her voice alone. Combine that with instrumentation that touches on practically every emotion you can capture (soft Spanish guitars, plunky bass, marimbas & sax, samba drums, city pop synthwork. etc), & it just hit my ears perfectly. This is such a damn delight to listen to, and I can easily look past any possible repetition because it just sounds that good. I genuinely can’t think of any knocks here outside of the track order (I’d have flipped the last two), but that’s an incredibly minor nitpick.

Hence, something well above a 5. Arguably a 10. It feels a bit cheap since it’s technically a compilation album, but even if this had just been 1980’s “Elis”, I’m pretty sure I’d still be at a 5. She just has a natural charisma in her voice that’s impossible to ignore, and with production that evokes so much of a genre that’s criminally not featured on the list, I’d have loved it regardless. The extra tracks just enhance that further & give a bit of extra spice in a way that showcases the breadth of her versatility, and I can hardly find fault in that. I’m so, so glad this is on the list. Mileage will vary, obviously, but the bare minimum floor should be a 3 here. For me, it’s just that much of a delight, & I'm probably a second great listen away from this being a 10.

I’m at a 4.

It’s a good bridge between early ‘90s house & the big beat stylings that The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers & many more would refine into the back half of the ‘90s. This gets pretty close to a Prodigy-esque energy at points, especially throughout the back half of the album when the drums get stompier, the bass booms a bit more & the tracks just have a natural energy that makes you wanna get up & move. It’s sonically interesting throughout due to a really strong sense of progression & a solid variety of instruments & vocal styles thrown into the House base that makes up each track. That said, too many of these are too long & do get stale at points, generally around the middle. A lot of them could’ve been trimmed, especially that last section of “Open Up”. I also think “21st Century Poem” is a weak closer. When this album hits though, it really hits.

The length / staleness is what has me at a 4, but make no mistake: this is a really good precursor to the big beat albums that would dominate ‘90s dance clubs. It’s striking how much more engaging this felt compared to “En-Tact” & how dreadfully bland that ended up being. It sure seems like Leftfield had a lot of influence back then, and I’m glad to see the seeds they planted blossom through other artists. On a good day, where I might pay just a little less attention to some of the repetition, this could go up to a 4.5 and maybe even a 5. I think it's just that enjoyable. I’m glad it’s on the list, but on a first pass, it’s a 4.

I’m at a 1.5 that I’m gonna bump down to a 1. I just can’t find the hook.

It’s fucking boring as shit, man. I love a good ‘90s House soundscape when it’s done well. There are plenty of House or House-adjacent albums on the list that I’ve given 4 or higher to. It’s a genre I tend to love because usually, there’s something dynamic to it all that feels like the video game soundtracks I tend to love. This album had absolutely nothing dynamic to it whatsoever. It gets the drums right. That’s about it; everything that layers around those drums is either useless or barely makes a dent on the soundscape in a meaningful way. When we got “90” by 808 State, I was blown away by “Pacific 202” and how much it felt like a cut from Sonic CD. It’s still one of my favorite discoveries on the list.

Herein lies the reason why I’m compelled to bump this down to a 1. I was prepared to admit that this album, however flawed it is & how boring it gets in the moments where there’s absolutely no sense of progression whatsoever (of which there are many), did at least hook me into a few tracks. I think there’s roughly 4 that kinda worked for me; “Move Any Mountain”, “Human NRG” (for the 808 State connection), “Make It Mine” (with the contrast in the guitar just kinda making me laugh), and “666 Edit”, for at least bothering to do something mildly unique. Those 4 tracks along with a general “it was mostly just kind of eh” vibe to it would put this at a 1.5 bumped up to a 2.

This album, however, commits a cardinal sin that I simply cannot let go unpunished. I hate every single time an album does a remix of an earlier track as part of its main tracklist. I knocked Limp Bizkit for it, I knocked George Harrison for it, I knocked Marvin Gaye for it, I knocked the damn Wu-Tang Clan for it, and I’m gonna knock the hell out of The Shamen for it. This album does the EGREGIOUS step of doing it twice: “Hyperreal Selector” is just “Hyperreal Orbit” again with a barely changed beat, & it has the GALL to title a track “Progen 91 (I.R.P. in the Land of Oz)” only for it to be a remix of “Move Any Mountain”. Hell, “666 Edit”, which is ‘mildly unique’ can basically qualify as ANOTHER remix of Move Any Mountain given that it’s just sampling that track to begin with. This album remixes itself twice & samples itself once in a way that makes it feel so, so stale that I simply can’t find a good reason to reward it by bumping it up to what would be the most pity-driven 2 I’ve given since “Haunted Dancehall”, which should’ve earned a 1 too.

I wish there were something, anything that I could find to justify going back up. There are a handful of decent intros & ear-perking moments, but those quickly lose intrigue, and losing intrigue for 11 out of 15 tracks is like hearing a baseball cracked so hard that you have high hopes for a home run, before ending up as a foul ball. Imagine that for an entire hour. I’m sick of this fucking at-bat, man; either pitch me a better song or just strike out so we can all get on with it. This album failed to pitch me a better song for pretty much the entire runtime, and it took an hour to finally strike out. It says something that the first one was the best one before it just kinda fell down entirely from there. I just don't know if it had to be on the list. Hence, a 1.5 that I’ll bump down to a 1.

I’m at a 5.

The last time we got Goldfrapp, with “Felt Mountain”, I described it as an album in a constant battle with itself about whether it hated its own concepts or was actively falling in love with them. This album feels like it’s constantly falling in love with its concepts, all centered around connection & desire & the never ending search for satisfaction. It’s just a matter of finding that love, and all of these tracks seem to be centered around that hunt. I don’t quite know where the title “Seventh Tree” plays into all of this, but it apparently came from a dream. I guess you can’t really deny what a dream tells you, and that feels like it fits right in with the crux of this album.

Instrumentally & vocally, this thing shines. This feels like MGMT mixed with the Cocteau Twins, pulling in the synthpop revolution they kickstarted a year prior on “Oracular Spectacular” & combining it with the surreal dreamy feel of a Cocteau Twins album, just with significantly more clarity & a softer overall tone. It’s a constantly evolving set of soundscapes too, always layering on extra instruments & finding cool ways to do drops that subverted my expectations. The delayed drop on “A&E” in particular might be my favorite on the whole album. Alison’s vocals are great, feeling like a mix of Billie Eilish’s more intimate tones from “Hit Me Hard & Soft” and a touch of Lana Del Rey in her little hesitations and slight twang. It’s surprising how modern it all feels for 2008.

Lyrically, I’d say it’s pretty good when it’s focused; the only track that I felt played itself a bit too loosely was “Eat Yourself”. Every other track has a good bit of substance to it, even if it’s in broader strokes. I think “Road to Somewhere” might be my favorite lyrically, just because treating delusional determination as a highway to get through is a surprisingly strong bit of imagery to my brain. “Monster Love”, if it really is about a love/hate relationship with the U.S., feels remarkably relevant with how the midterms just went. Portraying it as a relationship that feels impossible to come back to & yet giving it your all when the time calls for it feels pretty apt. My favorite track is definitely “A&E”; the structure & dynamic feel to that one really did it for me, and the framing of being abandoned after an overdose is compelling as hell. "Happiness" is a close second.

Overall, the entire 42 minutes comes together really nicely to create an album that’s more focused & appealing to my brain than “Felt Mountain” was. If anything, I might be just a little higher than a 5 here. It’s a really impressive project, and while I wish it transitioned throughout & didn’t often choose fadeouts (especially on the last track), it doesn’t really take away from the album for me. I could see the argument for preferring the more abstract feel of their debut, but I think this one wins out since it has a more consistent theme & a cohesive track order. I think “Caravan Girl”, for example, feels like a really earned love track after the sadness of “Cologne Cerrone Houdini”. That cohesion, in addition to all of the elevation in the production work & songwriting, just makes it a great album experience. I think it’s a 5, and I’m glad as hell it’s on the list.

“A&E” really deserves more than 8 million plays on Spotify.

I’m at a 5.

I genuinely don’t hear the 2.7 on the site at all. I thought this was really well done glam rock, and looking into these guys, it seems like their tree of influence spreads pretty far. If you like Guns n’ Roses, you should thank these guys; Slash & Axl Rose & others have cited them as an inspiration & went so far as to rerelease Hanoi Rocks’ albums in the U.S. under their own label. This is THE prototype hair metal album, and if it’s the flashpoint for the whole genre, down to the looks on the cover, it’s a pretty damn good base. The guitar work is great, Razzle’s drumming is manic & anchors the whole album and Michael Monroe’s vocals sound pretty clean to me. He’s a little warbly & try-hard at times, but in an endearing way that doesn’t take away from the tracks for me.

Lyrically, I can understand being kind of a hater, especially with “Lick Summer Love” lacking any pretense & “Back to Mystery City” being awkward as hell under a certain interpretation, but most of the album is pretty straightforward stuff. If anything, it feels more like an early ‘80s glam rock take on the doowop stuff of the ‘50s & ‘60s at times, most notably on “Beating Gets Faster”. It’s a bit cheesy at times, especially on some of the more ballad-y things, but everything moves at a pretty precise pace that just feels entertaining to listen to.

Ultimately, I think it’s a pretty easy 5; you can say it’s the same-ish track for 44 minutes & I wouldn’t necessarily disagree, but you can’t tell me in good faith that this isn’t a fun listen if you’re already a fan of this style. Even if you’re not, there’s an energy to it that should easily win people over unless you hate having fun. The only argument I can see for a lower rating is that this isn’t an essential album to listen to before you die, and maybe there’s a case for that, but given the Guns n’ Roses connection, I just can’t imagine throwing it away from a historical perspective. I genuinely think it’s a great album, and an easy 5 for me. It should be on the list, and people should hopefully rate this higher down the line.

I’m a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4.

I think this is a super fun listen; it’s unabashedly punk rock, and it hits on every hallmark of the genre well. It’s got some good critiques on society, it’s not afraid to call out some bullshit for what it was, and a lot of it still feels relevant in 2026, despite the 48-year difference here. The world is still turning Day-Glo, we still live off of each other, lord only knows we’re dealing with ethics in Genetic Engineering & never-ending Identity crises, and I’d argue our brains are even more of a plastic bag than Poly Styrene’s would’ve been in 1978 due to social media rot. We are far more art-i-ficial than she was back then. It’s a surprisingly well-thought out album.

I just wish the execution were better. The biggest issue with the lyrics is that they repeat verses on practically every single track, and it does bite at me a lot. I think Poly Styrene’s vocals make for a great listen, but they’re not necessarily conducive to emphasizing the message of each track; it’s hard to comprehend the lyrics unless they’re in front of you. She does clean it up a bit in the back half of the album, but still.

I think my biggest thing in the execution comes in a repeated structure for a lot of the tracks, one that can’t help but make the whole album blend together just a bit. A vast majority of the tracks start with a big intro, sometimes with the name said one syl-la-ble at a time in a big echo. It does a whole lot of guitar / drum canoodling for a bit, maybe with a sax in there, and then jumps into the first 2 verses & choruses, jumping into another sax solo, doing a third verse & then a repeated verse, doing another sax solo, and then looping the chorus back one more time before going to the outro. This is practically the entire album, 12 times over, with a coat of paint that tries to make it feel different every time.

That’s probably why this only has a 3.08 on the site; it could definitely bite at people a lot more, especially if they don’t really get the messaging of the album. It’s why I was really, really stuck between a 4 & a 5 here. I think you can only put on a new coat of paint so many times until something feels stale. This doesn’t get too stale, at least for me, due to the pace of these tracks; most of them sit at around 2 and a half minutes, so nothing overstays its welcome. In the case of “Plastic Bag” going for nearly 5 minutes, it manages to avoid repeating verses until the end, so I’d say it’s fine & that that’s an earned reprise. If it weren’t for the back half of this album really nailing the lyricism, I’d likely be at a 3.5 bumped up to a 4. I just think it does a great job on that end. That said, there’s just something in all the stuff I laid out that’s stopping me from bumping it up to a 5.

Hence, a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4. I do think it’s enjoyable regardless, and I can’t say there was ever a bad track while listening. I’m glad it’s on the list. I just wish the execution were tighter overall, that’s all.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

Not too much to say, honestly; just some really nice tunes across the board here. It’s not quite as good as “Music from Big Pink” was, but I think they’re trying to do different things. This feels like it leans a bit more into Americana & folksier tones as opposed to the unique soundscapes they were trying to establish before. Instrumentally, there’s a good twang to everything, feeling like what would happen if Creedence Clearwater Revival took some sensibilities from Mike & The Mechanics. It’s a strange comparison, but if you’ve heard both, I think it fits. The organ work is really nice throughout, the drums have a slightly unclean tone that really works, and the guitars sound great. Nothing ever does too much, and it all comes together nicely. Vocally, they all nail it here; Rick Danko sounds like mixing Randy Newman with Phil Collins, Levon Helm can kill a held note & add sorrow into it, and Richard Manuel’s deeper tones really blend well with the others.

Lyrically, a lot of these tracks feel character-focused, which I tend to appreciate. The only one that I’m obviously a bit iffy on is “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, which I can easily admire for the instrumentation, structure & vocal work; it’s objectively a great track. Much like “Sweet Home Alabama” though, it feels like it’s been repurposed by the worst people you know, and unlike “Sweet Home Alabama”, there’s really not much of a way to ignore the Confederacy-shaped elephant in the room. Even if you take the charitable view that it’s just portraying a sympathetic viewpoint of a poor Southern life after the Civil War’s end, there’s still something that feels too apologetic & vibrant towards ‘old Dixie’ for my tastes. Like I said though, it’s objectively a great track. Not a playlist one, at least for me, but still. Honestly, my favorite track here is actually “Rockin’ Chair”, but perhaps I’m just a sucker for a well-told retirement story.

So, why a 4.5 then & not a flat 5 like their debut album? It’s a few things; I think “When You Awake” is a little too intentionally empty in its lyrics to get the full breadth of the track, I think “Jawbone” is a little hard to follow with the constantly shifting time signature, and I can’t quite shake the feeling that the album can’t quite balance how serious & how silly it wants to be. For every tale about retirement from the sea life or farming unions, you’ll get a track about how much they really want their fishing rod to be grabbed & how they want their lady to dip their doughnut into his tea. It’s not that big of a deal, and the album does need the variety, but it does feel a little skewed both ways.

All of that said, it’s an obvious bump up – it’s a really good album, it’s pretty easily digestible, and it’s catchy as fuck too. Even if you can’t get behind “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, the rest of the album more than proves their worth. It’s a breezy 44 minutes, & I really enjoyed it. It’s a 4.5 that I’ll easily bump up to a 5, and I’m glad it’s on the list to show these guys weren’t a one-album wonder.

I’m at a 4.5 that I'll bump up to a 5.

“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” famously has a series of interludes of a teacher speaking to a group of children about what exactly love is; how we conceptualize it, how we show it, and the difference between falling in love & actually feeling love. “Heaux Tales” has a series of interludes that feel like what would happen if those kids grew up to talk about how they view love now, centered in the Black feminine perspective. I’ll be the first person to tell you that I, a white-passing half-Asian man, cannot possibly be able to relate to these tracks at a deeper level, nor could I claim to speak for its target audience. That said, I’m noticing a lot of people focusing on the lyrics & the emphasis on modern sexuality & getting the entirely wrong message from this. They are boldly & proudly themselves, and if that means they’re gonna call themselves hoes (or “heauxs”), then so be it. This album, to me, feels like an announcement to the world that they’re here & they want to be heard, imperfections & all, whether they’re proud of that label or not.

I think the framing that helps the album the most is in the interludes acting as natural segues from topic to topic; they introduce each upcoming track well. Occasionally, it gets a little ‘crass’ (at least by the standards of old white men), but it’s a very raw look at sexuality. It’s just how it is; you could disagree with the idea that a woman using her allure to get their man to give them what they want is equivalent to being a hoe, but that’s their take. There’s a good variety to the takes too; there’s something objectively hilarious about “that dick spoke life into me” followed by 2 tracks that are hornier than a Duke Ellington track, but there’s also something tragically frustrating about another story where someone cheats on her fiance with their best friend for reasons they can’t comprehend. I think the last story, of feeling less & less empowered by their only defining trait being the actual act of sex, is honestly pretty sad too. There’s a full breadth of modern femininity at hand here, and I think being so open about it is only a positive for this album.

I can’t help but think the vast majority of 1s & 2s were not paying an inch of attention to this album’s modus operandi, or just dismissed it too flippantly to give it a genuine chance after hearing the dreaded “sex” word for the first time. To me, there's a hypocrisy with the ‘70s rockstars that have ever sung about having sex with underage girls on a track & while there's criticism for the nasty women on here for calling themselves hoes & speaking confidently about their own bodies & perspectives.

Of course, there are those who can recognize what this album is trying to do & agree with it, but hate the actual production work at hand here. I think that’s at least fair, given that this isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel. It feels like a mix between what Rihanna was doing on ANTI with trap, what Frank Ocean was doing on Blond with trippy synths & filters, & what SZA, H.E.R. & others would continue to refine going into 2023 and beyond as drums & basslines got punchier & punchier. To my ears, it still feels pretty fresh, but it’s also only 5 years old.

The X-factor that ties all of that together is in Jazmine Sullivan’s vocals, and I simply love everything about them. Her range is dynamic as hell (even if she usually sits in a deeper register), her harmonies are smooth as hell to the ears, and she just manages to breathe a lot of life into the lyrics. I look specifically at the last half of “Girl Like Me”, which really won me over – I think there’s a righteous anger in being forced to be someone other than yourself, or to have to put on a mask just to feel secure in an insecure way, & there’s a conscious rage & push in her voice that really sells the frustration behind it all. The other big highlights are on “Lost One” (I mean, seriously, the harmonies) & “The Other Side” (there’s just a big sense of ambition in her voice that makes you root for her), but she’s consistently great throughout the album. I’d be remiss to not point out Anderson .Paak’s excellent guest verse on “Price Tags” & H.E.R.’s feature on “Girl Like Me”. They both nail it.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this one, and while I do get some of the criticism towards a disdain for this musical style, or the fact that it might’ve felt too soon at the time to put this on the list, I just wasn’t bothered by either. I think it’s a really strong 32 minutes (albeit kinda short), I’m glad it’s here, and I think it deserves a bump up to a 5.

I’m at a 5.

I think I’ve spent 20 minutes now trying to figure out the exact things that make this album so instantly appealing to me. It’s hard to put it into words. I think the word that rings the most in my mind is “authenticity”, if only because the last 3 tracks here feel very open. The first 5 tracks feel partially like Neil Young embodying characters, whether it’s a more confident version of himself on “Walk On”, a man who can only see his hardships as an inevitability on “See The Sky About to Rain”, Charles Manson & his cult on “Revolution Blues”, a struggling version of himself on “For the Turnstiles”, & Donald Trump on “Vampire Blues”. It’s a guy promising good times will finally arrive once he gets you his 20 barrels of oil; who else could it be? Of the first 5 tracks, “For the Turnstiles” is the only one that I can nitpick at; I think it could’ve done just a bit more musically, but if it had, it probably wouldn’t have fit the intentionally amateur vibe it was going for. They’re all good, though, and Neil injects enough of himself & his politics into them to keep them entertaining.

It’s the last 3 tracks that have left me pondering for the last 20 minutes. I don’t know how a person can write like that. Joni Mitchell dazzled me with a vivid vulnerability that felt reflective of a side of humanity & a connection to the world that I’m still trying to chase. Neil Young, on the other hand, just seems so confident in himself & so at peace with who he is that his vulnerability is in self-affirmation of who he is, for better or for worse. He’s open about his flaws & shortcomings, he’s open about not wanting to trade his life for anybody else’s, he’s open about the fear of losing his audience, he’s open about his memories, & he’s open about his relationship to the world at large as he sees it. Joni Mitchell seems so, so connected to the world. Neil Young, at least on this album, feels like he’s trying to disconnect from it while staying true to himself. Somehow, it works really potently. That’s the part I’ve been trying to figure out, given how rambly it sometimes felt & how slowly it all played out. I still don’t really have an answer, at least in the concrete sense, but I think I just respect the hell out of the guy for being able to vocalize & write about such a complicated relationship in a way that feels easy to digest. I wish I knew how to write like this.

This is our seventh & final Neil Young album on the list (eighth counting CSNY & ninth counting Buffalo Springfield), and I’m just so deeply impressed by the guy. It’s hard to put it into words, but the best analogy I can think of is like a museum curator. You can go from painting to painting, and he’ll be able to give you the basics about each piece. It’s the ability to go into the details about each piece & the reasons to care about it that make a great curator shine through. Neil Young’s ability to dig into the details in ways that make each of his tracks feel that much more vivid & lived in, while matching it with a musical prowess that can elevate those lyrics further makes him a very special curator. Just like a great curator, he’ll have you charmed without ever really realizing why, since the art just does so much of the talking. With this album in particular, he’s got me charmed to the point of a 5. I’m so very glad this is here & that he’s got this much of a presence on the list.

I’m at a 1.5 that I’ll bump down to a 1. This is the first time I’ve given a 1 since we got “Haut de gamme” 783 albums ago.

I would like to make this clear: this is not the worst album we’ve gotten. It will continue to be “Haut de gamme”. Honestly, on a nicer day, I may have given this a 2 just for trying to exist. Today is not that day. Today is where I put my foot down and finally give something a 1. I found that absolutely nothing in this album hooked me in. I think there’s a singular kind of OK song in “Let Me Come Back”, which I only sort of halfway liked for just kinda being dumb, in a “crummy PS2 destruction derby game” sort of way. There’s some variant of that energy that exists for most of this album. The reason I’m at a 1.5 is because there is some amount of instrumental prowess here that occasionally dips into something resembling fun. It’s got some energy to it that doesn’t leave it completely devoid of life. The problem, of course, is that when you stop having fun with a janky PS2 game, there’s no value in it anymore. You’ve exhausted the stupidity & you’re left with a physical representation of wasted time. When this album exhausts its sense of fun, it no longer feels appealing to listen to.

This album felt like a waste of time. I can admit that there’s something loosely appealing here, in a “what if you need background noise grunge rock that goes nowhere” sort of way, or if you really, really, really couldn’t afford or find a Fugazi CD for some reason. I gave Fugazi a 5, by the way. I like this style when it’s done well. This is not done well. This is poorly mixed, poorly written, & poorly sung. Every instrumental clashes against each other in the mix in a way that muddles all the drums & guitars into each other. There’s not a single lyric here that makes any cohesive sense, especially as they related to the song titles. “Seven Seas” has some weird lines about good things shaking like leaves & nobody acknowledging him, and absolutely none of it has to do with so much as a drop of water.

Scott McCloud feels like the physical manifestation of a poorly made AI Kurt Cobain, down to his voice. It’s perhaps more impressive by the fact that this is 1993. Many other bands took great things from Nirvana & the Seattle grunge scene. Girls Against Boys, born in a different Washington (D.C.), clearly took the opposite lessons. You can barely hear him throughout this album. The jury is out on whether that’s a bad thing or not, given the state of the lyrics here. When you can hear him, it truly does sound like someone who heard Kurt Cobain on a static-y radio & decided he was going to sing like that. I have no idea what the fuck he’s saying half the time, obviously compounded by the fact that he’s just saying whatever the fuck these lyrics are half the time.

At one point, he claims “like candy, this baby's bone dry”. Candy is not bone dry. If you’ve ever had bone dry candy, I highly suggest you sue someone. Among other claims in this album, he writes that “you’re good like lucky”, “babies are blue”, there’s such a thing as a “new wet heart attack”, & at the end, he claims “they gonna take me from the bug house”. I don’t know what any of this means. He also includes the line “I'm just not on drugs right now”, and I simply can’t imagine that to be true.

I really truly do not want to give this a 1. I looked for any possible hook to bump it up, but I just can’t find one that I can argue in good faith. This is 46 minutes of mostly the same track, & then, in classic post-hardcore fashion, tries to do something slightly different at the end to show their range. I found “Bughouse” to be incomprehensible, akin to the rant in Billy Madison. The only point I can give is the final line of this album being “I’m out of tune”. I think it’s a poor finale to an album generally full of poor tracks with a consistently low ceiling of “that was fine, I guess”.

It’s frustrating because there are always moments where the instrumentation hits a nice stride, providing a glimmer of hope for a good melody or something bigger to latch onto. It’s the hope that’s giving this album a 1.5. It’s false hope. It never truly comes. At the end of the day, it feels like an album devoid of character, and ultimately, a truly poor album experience. I tried to go down to Scott’s level. I couldn’t speak to him, and this album never spoke to me. I think it’s baffling that this album made the list at all, frankly. It's not something you need to listen to before you die. Hence, a 1.5 that I’ll bump down to a 1.

I’m pleading to the randomizer: please give us something fantastic tomorrow.

I think I’m at a 10.

I haven’t felt that relaxed by an album in a long, long time. It’s just an excellent set of tracks, really, all loosely linked by the inability to connect with each other, whether it’s a lover, the rockstars on your TV, the buskers in the subway, the city slickers, or the soldiers. It’s no wonder the most serene track on the album is the only one with such a potent connection, being “Why Worry”. It feels like Mark Knopfler is begging the world to finally come together as brothers in arms, even if he knows it’s pretty damn close to impossible. 41 years later, and I’m not sure we’ve made that much progress.

That said, this album feels like it’s certainly endured the test of time. The feeling of repetition & the length of the tracks do feel a little weighty at first, but by the end of the full 55 minutes here, I got really used to it. It helps that most of the extended soundscapes here have something really appealing to them, whether it’s the guitar riffs on “Money for Nothing”, the synth lead on “Walk of Life”, the beautiful sax work on “Your Latest Trick”, the serenity of “Why Worry”, the nighttime sounds at the end of “Ride Across the River”, or the organ/guitar mix that closes out “Brothers in Arms” & subsequently, the whole album.

Knopfler’s vocals & lyrics here, which I never really touched on when we got the self-titled album **962 days ago**, feel like a constant mix of Dylan, Cohen & Springsteen. It’s an interesting mix that he manages to leverage well. It’s melodic enough to keep cohesion, it’s just rambly enough to stay captivating, and it’s just dry enough to contrast nicely against some of the higher energy instrumentals here. “Walk of Life” might be the best example of all 3, but to me, he really evoked Dylan on “The Man's Too Strong”. Hell, I didn’t really touch on THAT much when we got the self-titled album, probably because I just hadn’t digested enough music to get it. Maybe I need to go back & relisten to it.

There are obviously a few things that I could critique; it gets a little cheesy at points (I look mostly at “One World”), the blatant use of the F-slur on “Money for Nothing” can’t be ignored, and there are occasionally moments where the length & repeated lyrics did get me just a bit antsy. I can’t help it, sorry. That said, they truly didn’t bother me by the end of it. This album relishes in that patience, feeling like a mixture of Sting’s solo work (he fits like a glove on “Money for Nothing”, by the way), & Donald Fagen’s work on “The Nightfly”, with a more socially aware lean throughout. Much like The Nightfly, for my listening experience, I didn’t really care about any ‘flaws’ in the moment that much. I cared enough to notice them, sure, but they didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the album while I was listening to it. Hell, listening to it now as backing music while I’m writing this out, I find myself just as locked in, even without headphones guiding me along.

Overall, I think it’s a great, great album. I can’t find anything overly wrong with it (again, not excusing that F-slur at all), and it’s a delightful listen to my ears. It gets maybe a touch flowery at times, but I’d say it’s a pretty digestible album, and when it’s combined with stuff that’s as easy to listen to as this is, it’s just a delight. I’m very glad it’s on the list, and I’ll probably run this back a few times over the coming days. I think it’s a 10.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

I think there’s something deeply compelling about this album, mainly in the choice to have the lead singer, Greg Dulli, play the abusive villainous role in a relationship. It’s done in a way that’s obvious, but not over the top. It’s discomforting because there are absolutely people like this out there, ones who abuse their sense of power to gaslight others & emotionally manipulate them into staying. Those people fucking suck. I think Greg nails their mindset here, so much so that people are giving this album lower ratings for believing he’s actually as misogynistic as his lyrics would suggest. It’s obviously a character, people. It’s one that he plays really well.

To me, framing this as a breakup album doesn’t feel quite right; it feels like the slow mental break that occurs in an abuser once the manipulation starts to fail, the gaslighting gets more desperate, and the power dynamic loses its potency. You can call it a breakup album, and you’d be technically right, but it’s one where you’re actively rooting against the person who’s being broken up with. At the same time, there’s a slight understanding derived from the soundscapes, Greg Dulli’s rougher & slightly tattered vocals & the occasional moment or two of clarity in the album where he does appear to be trying to break his own cycle & better himself, only to fall back deeper into his vices. It’s almost tragic, really. That said, I don’t think you’re meant to gather that much sympathy. You’re mostly meant to hate this guy, and I’d say they did a good job of getting to that point.

I think the most interesting track here, in terms of really setting the narrative, is “Debonair”. To me, it reads like a man who’s simply in too deep, trapped by his own demons to be the man that he is, cognizant & frustrated by it, yet he can’t truly find the regret in his heart or the conscience in his brain that would get him to stop. That’s a scary proposition, especially since he can see, in himself, the scared little boy that’s simply trying to cling onto somebody else’s love. The monster does not bleed, nor does it breathe. It’s a man recognizing they’ve become inhuman, too allured by the sense of control & power it brings to ever go back. He’s going to Hell, and he knows it. It’s great songwriting, and it really frames the rest of the album.

I think the best track might be “My Curse”, sung from the perspective of one of the women. It feels kinda BDSM-y, with her giving into the temptation of his sinful & abusive ways in the name of a twisted kind of love. Marcy Mays does a fantastic job on that track, managing to find a vocal tone that sells the allure & the twisted passion that exists in the love, while also acknowledging the improper dynamics at play in a way that sounds scared of what’ll happen if it ever goes south. The instrumentation really picks up near the end, and it coincides with her voice hitting a similar peak, and both work hand-in-hand to give the album its most compelling moment. It’s a great track for the narrative & in general.

The main reason I’m at a 4.5 is because of a few tracks not hooking me in from a musical or vocal perspective (“Be Sweet” & “What Jail is Like”), and the occasional moments where Greg Dulli tried to step way too far from his vocal range in a way that briefly pulled me out of a few tracks. He’s sort of the weak link of the album, but he plays to his strengths well throughout in a way that usually didn’t bother me. When it happens though, it’s a bit noticeable. That said, even the tracks that didn’t hook me in musically did their job to advance the narrative & reinforce the main character’s sleazy & unlikeable energy. The way this album ends, on a cover that’s perfectly befitting of the narrative & an instrumental that seemingly finds a way to critique the use of religion as a crutch for an abuser, really worked for me. Combine that with how much I liked the rest of the album, and I feel pretty strongly about bumping this up to a 5. I think the critics got it right in 1993, and I think the users of this site have it wrong with a 2.88. I’m glad it’s on the list.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

Our last White Stripes album on the list, and I’m pleased to report it’s a good one. Much like Elephant spoke for itself musically, this is just a well done set of tracks. Sometimes, that’s all you need. Jack & Meg do a great job here, especially for 16 tracks seemingly recorded in just under 4 days. A lot of the first half is generally centered around love & the stress that comes with trying to keep your head through all of its ups & downs. It gets a little less straightforward on the back half of the album, but I’m fine with the slightly more cryptic stuff. It makes for decent variety, and it all contrasts well with something as sweet as “We're Going to Be Friends”, which I’ve genuinely always thought was a Jack Johnson song. It turns out the version I heard on the Curious George soundtrack years ago was a cover. The revelation here left me a bit stunned, honestly. (I’ve never seen Napoleon Dynamite, sue me.)

So, why a 4.5 and not a flat 5? I think there’s a few tracks that feel just a bit awkward lyrically (“Expecting” felt soured with the pregnancy angle & “I Can Learn” felt a little clingy), a few tracks that felt just a bit too simple (“Little Room” & “I Think I Smell a Rat” come to mind), and “Aluminum” just feels out of place in the flow of the album. It’s a bunch of little things. That said, only one of them really bit at me like that, and the rest are all nitpicky. When this album is rolling, especially on its biggest hits & some of its country-inspired Wilco-esque deep cuts, I think it’s just as enjoyable as Elephant, and the shorter runtime helps too. Hence, a 4.5 bumped up to a 5.

I’m at a 10.

“Disintegration” was Robert Smith saying “I love you” to a world refusing to say it back. “Songs of a Lost World” is Robert Smith mourning the fact that that world is gone. His parents & his brother all died, and that grief pours itself out here in cynical ways, at least lyrically. “Alone” is about the world he knew passing him by without realizing it. “And Nothing Is Forever” feels like visiting someone on their death bed, or being on it yourself. “A Fragile Thing” recontextualizes old flames & deeply impactful memories of love as fragile things, never to be rekindled lest they shatter in permanent ways. “Warsong” feels like what happens when two stubborn people deeply in love (or in general) simply can’t take it anymore.

“Drone:Nodrone” is about coping with the reality that you lose more control of your world the longer you’re in it, inspired by a drone invading his privacy. “I Can Never Say Goodbye” is the ode to his brother; portraying nature itself as distraught & practically crying while Robert’s in pain, as the reality of it all is closing in on him, makes for really impactful imagery. “All I Ever Am” is about the fear of finding you’re not as complete of a person as you think you are despite years & years of experiences that should be the sum of everyone you’ve met. “Endsong” is a remarkable perspective on survivor’s guilt, letting his pain fully pour out in a way that hit incredibly close to home for me. I suspect it’s how some of the oldest people in my life felt before they passed, and hearing it from a man who’s only in his 60s really, really got to me. Robert's vocals, which are fantastic throughout the album, truly shine on that one.

The instrumentation on this is unbelievably impactful. This sounds like The Cure, exactly as they did on “Disintegration”, tastefully updating it while adding in an occasional flavor of nu-metal energy into the mix. There are times here where the drums reminded me distinctly of Linkin Park, but overall, I’d say there’s a tender tone that underlines it all. It’s mostly in the strings & piano; both contrast the punch of the gated reverb drums & the heavier guitars really nicely. This feels like Baroque shoegaze at times, and those moments felt like the prettiest sounding shoegaze I think I’ve ever heard. As they relate to the tracks, the wounds he’s singing about aren’t fresh, but it seems very easy to pick the scab off of them & open them all over again. The soundscapes feel like they’re constantly on the verge of picking that scab, but it never does. The intros are longer, mirroring “Disintegration” & its penchant for longer outros. These tracks set tones instead of forcing you to simmer and reflect at the end of them. It’s an interesting switch, but one that I’d say works well. It did leave me a little antsy at times, especially on the last track, but the payoff was always worth it.

Overall, I’m just left stunned. I haven’t really felt this much perspective from an album since Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker”, which they took out of the 2026 edition of the list. I think the two would work in remarkable parallel to each other, with one reflecting at the very end, and one reflecting on what seems to be the beginning of that end, at least in Robert’s mind. I really hope The Cure don’t slow down after this one. They’ve clearly still got it. It may only be 2 years old, but I think this absolutely earns a spot on the list, & I think it’s a 10. It's a fantastic pick.

I’m at a 5.

Perhaps I’m just a sucker for an album with no brakes, but I happened to like this one. There’s lots to read up on about the making of the album, David Crosby’s departure, the horse on the cover, and the early use of a Moog synthesizer on some of these tracks (most obviously “Space Odyssey”), but it might take someone longer to read all of that than it takes to listen to the album. This is a brisk 28 minutes that doesn’t really have much filler; it’s relatively basic, but it’s just well done. Their harmonies are nice, the push/pull of each track feels dynamic (especially when the synths, guitar or drums push in a bit), and the way everything transitions helps the pace. There's a good variety from track to track, and I’m obviously a sucker for the country soundscapes as much as I am the weird sci-fi stuff or the filtered guitars. This is psychedelic rock, sure, but it feels like the Byrds really experimented on this one; not to the same degree as say, the Beatles did on “Across the Universe”, but for 1968, this feels outside of their usual bag.

I don’t think there’s too much more to say; the tracks are pretty straightforward, covering a lot of the late ‘60s (including the drugs, the hippies & the Vietnam War, as one might expect), and I’d say they’re all well done. Occasionally, some tracks could’ve used a little more (mostly “Space Odyssey”, honestly), but I think the album is pretty clean as is. The floor is a 3, and it’s one I’d understand if you can’t see it as anything other than competent. I just happened to enjoy it a lot, and while it might be a little closer to a 4.5 than it is a flat 5, I feel good about it either way. I don’t know if it HAD to be on the list, but I’m not complaining.

I’m at a 4.

This album feels like finding someone else’s tattered diary in your dreams. It is incredibly abstract, in ways that feel mysterious at times, clear at others, and yet there’s never really anything that feels solved throughout. That said, it’s generally calming, and you can tell Devendra’s got a good, positive head on his shoulders. I’m pretty sure that the first track establishes that he’s the type to look on the bright side even when the world has given him every off ramp to choose the negative side, and it reaffirms that throughout the album. In totality, these tracks feel loosely centered around a zest for the gift of life & being grateful that we can even feel pain to begin with. It doesn’t diminish the impact of that pain, and I’d argue it even leans into nihilism at times. It’s generally looking towards the light, though.

Of course, this is all from my interpretations of these tracks. I only think I have a framework for half of them. It’s why I called it a tattered diary; there’s nothing overly concrete here. Take a track like “Will Is My Friend”; I think it’s about getting lost in the past, with very loose connective strands of memories that create a rabbithole. One thing leads to another, and then you’ve got to snap your brain back to the original memory you were trying to express in the first place. Even if that feels right, I can’t say for sure. That applies to most of the album. Some of them are more lighthearted; “Rejoicing in the Hands” struck me as a child waiting for their mother to hold them after a long night. Some are darker, like “Insect Eyes” seemingly being about a relationship where an evil twist is inevitable, even if I can’t tell who corrupted who.

The thing that makes this album really work is entirely in the vocal performance adding onto that dreamy vibe; this is recorded in a way that feels localized. The echo in the room, the lack of extra bombast (for the most part), & the homely guitar throughout all accentuate the dynamic approach in his vocals. It makes for an interesting listen, even if you can’t really comprehend what the fuck he means at times. I think this album has a handful of weak spots where it’s just not as interesting & a bit too confusing to really feel captivated. “Poughkeepsie” & “See Saw” are probably the two that bit at me the worst. When the abstract stuff works, it really works; “Fall” & “When the Sun Shone on Vetiver” both felt like highlights to me, even though I can’t really tell you what either are about.

The main reason I’m at a 4 is because the album doesn’t make the strongest first impression in its opening tracks, plus it feels a little long & a little same-y throughout. I think a few tracks could’ve tightened up their structures too, as there’s little pitfalls of looping guitar patterns that feel noticeable at times. All of that said, I found myself charmed by the end of it. It’s a tattered diary, yes, but it feels like one you’d find in a dream with the coziest sleep you’ve ever had. Devendra just does something here that mostly makes it a compelling listen, save for a few tracks. Hence, a 4. I think it earns a place on the list, if only to challenge a listener a bit.

I’m at a 5.

Honestly, I don’t have that much to say. It’s Deep Purple doing their job really fucking well; everyone is on point, Ian Gillan’s live vocals are incredible, and the myriad of solos from every instrumental (including the 6 minute drum solo on “The Mule”) are all performed with the precision of a studio recording. I simply don’t know how some of these bands do it outside of intense practice, and even then, to do it in a way that still sounds this good is usually mesmerizing to me. It’s not quite as dazzling as say, the Allman Brothers Band, but still. Deep Purple sounds great here, and the crowd helps lift their energy up too.

If I have any complaints, it’s towards the site for giving us this before “Machine Head”, and towards the band for being just a little self-indulgent, especially on “Space Truckin’”. I get it; you have to find ways to make fun on tours where you’re repeating the same setlist pretty often, but I think a few solos went a little long & I’m not so sure that the finale had to go 20 whole minutes. Everything else is fun though, including the unique guitar / vocal back & forth during “Strange Kind of Woman”. “Child in Time” sounds just as good live as I was hoping it would, by the way. Overall, it’s an enjoyable 76 minutes, and while you can definitely feel that length bearing down by the end, I think it’s too technically sound & too entertaining to not give it a 5.

I’m at a 5.

That’s pretty slick synthpop; yes, it’s in the faux-80s style that later got a bit overdone to death by The Weeknd & others, but when it’s done this well in a way that just kind of feels futuristically freeing, I can’t find myself complaining too much about it. A lot of this album sits in a poppy, yet somber take on that style, with a lot of tracks dealing with relationships that lead singer Lauren Mayberry practically begs would end, or are riddled with so many issues that they’re probably just too untenable to maintain. It’s the topic of the album, and while it might lead to a little bit of a “this album is the same song 12 times” vibe, I think that undermines the writing (which does a good job of keeping tracks fresh), the vocal structures (all pretty catchy) & the variety in the production (it’s there, you just have to be paying attention). Lauren’s voice is a little high at first, but once you get used to it, she sounds quite nice. Whenever Martin Doherty comes in or takes over, his deeper tones clash well, playing into a good harmony.

My favorites here are “Gun”, “Under the Tide”, “Recover”, “Lungs”, & “By the Throat”, due to a mix of effective storytelling, really dynamic beat drops, and an energy that just feels vibrant to the ears (even if it contrasts with the lyrics at times). “By the Throat” might be my very favorite one, if only because I like the idea of shattering a seemingly golden life because you can recognize that it’s all a facade. “Recover” might have the best vocal structure on the album, though. I see why it has the second most plays on the album; there’s a big Porter Robinson energy to it that really hit for me. I think that might be why I liked this album a lot.

Overall, I’m impressed. A lot of these still feel like they could fit nicely into 2026, and while this style has been overdone in the 13 years since, I think this is a great early example of it. The band themselves producing this whole thing is a cherry on top; I love it when musicians can execute a vision in full totality, and with all the layers & complexities in putting these synths together, it would’ve been easy for some of it to feel a little too blown out in the mix or a little muddled. It sounds super clean though, and while that lack of grime might throw off some people (probably not the target audience anyway), I think it really worked for me. It helps that it’s got an indie game vibe to it throughout. I’m at a 5, and I’m glad it’s on the list.

I’m a little higher than a 5.

I’ve never heard of the Damned before this, but they’re pretty damned good. This album has an unstoppable energy to it that feels like a bridge between the post-punk of the late 1970s & the psychedelic new wave to come in the 80s. I listened to it without pausing, which is kind of a rarity for me these days; I just wanted to sit in the breathless energy of it, and it kept hitting every time. I think it’s got some good lyrics behind it, strong lead vocals from Dave Vanian, incredible guitar direction from Captain Sensible, a hellacious performance from rest of the band (especially in the drums, holy shit), and with it being a pretty breakneck 35 minutes, I’m surprised that the lack of a bigger variety didn’t bite at me more. I guess that’s just a testament to how strong these tracks are; either that, or how much my hands were air drumming & air strumming without much of a care for it. I felt really in sync with these guys.

The only really minor nitpick besides that lack of a bigger variety is that “Plan 9 Channel 7” didn’t need the loop in the lyrics. If they trimmed it to go straight to the solo after the first two verses, it would’ve flowed better. Regardless, the whole thing just hit me with the right energy I needed today. Even if you think it’s a bit one-note, you can’t deny the musicianship at hand here. The floor is a 3, but for my tastes, I’m just a bit above a 5. I thought this one ruled.

P.S.: Special props to that cover of “Looking at You”; it might be my favorite track here.