Reviews by guggmo

I’m at a 2.5; I’d prefer to keep it there, but I’ll bump it down to a 2 on account of me being utterly desperately bored by the end of it.

Here’s the good news: I think there's only one actively bad track in "Happy Death Men". Here’s the bad news: there is one actively good track in “Pride”, and I would maybe extend that out to 3 at most, with “Stars Are Stars” & the title track loosely clicking to my ears. The other 8 tracks on this album are… well, I genuinely don’t remember a damn thing about them other than that they sounded kinda nice. I have notes I wrote while listening, sure, but most of those notes end with “that was OK” or “that was alright” or “it sounds good but it just never hooked me”, or some variation of words that sugarcoats what I was trying to avoid feeling throughout this album: bored. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s THAT boring, but… it does get pretty damn boring by the end. This album hits a quota of “it sounds kinda nice” on every single track, and just coasts on that quota for the most part, never elevating at all. Even in the tracks themselves, there’s a painful amount of repetition to the instrumentals that sticks more and more the longer you listen to it. It doesn’t help that a lot of these tracks are just way, way too loosely written, trying to capture vibes that sort of exist, yet never really gather the imagery to feel anywhere near as compelling as they want it to be.

It’s frustrating, because I think “Ocean Rain” IS compelling, and while I’m willing to give some leeway on account of this being a debut album, this just doesn’t fucking do anything to stick out. Instrumentally, I can praise “Ocean Rain” for having a lot of musical prescience & sounding way ahead of 1984 at points, but this album is only loosely ahead of its time, slowly reverting back from the R.E.M. vibes it has early on to typical late ‘70s / early ‘80s post-punk fare, with just a touch of instrumental work that at least feels a little unique. If the lyrics aren’t hitting, the instrumentals feel stale, and the vocal work just sort of bounces off for the vast majority of an already kinda long 38 minutes, then I can’t in good faith bump this up to a 3. I don’t think it’s as low as a 2, but this album genuinely never hits a higher gear to justify it, no matter how much I’m trying to find something. I don’t think it’s THAT bad in terms of individual tracks, but as one collective album, it just drags on. The ceiling is a 3, but I’m stuck on a 2, and one that I can honestly say might not be worth being on the list.

P.S.: Maybe I should’ve just listened without regard for the lyrics, but that’s just against all of my musical sensibilities. Besides, I still think that for as nice as the instrumentals feel, that sense of stale repetition would’ve still bitten at me deeply. I really just didn’t vibe with it, man. My first 2 since “Maverick A Strike” in November. Alas.

I’m higher than a 5, but I don’t think I’m QUITE at a 10. I’m shockingly close though.

I had a feeling this would be a little more unique than “synthpop” of the early 2010s would describe, but I wasn’t expecting to feel that enthralled by all of the tracks here. This is masterfully done stuff, updating the production styles of the 1980s with more modernized synths, blending them with a touch of William Orbit-esque electronica, & coating them in a similar sort of paint as MGMT. All together, it creates an eclectic type of indie rock that I’ve never really heard come out of this era, & while some may dismiss it as overly derivative, I think it’s just catchy as a motherfucker, man. I dreaded this album’s length going into it, but the way each soundscape builds up & naturally progresses over time makes these tracks fly by far quicker than expected, making the 57 minute runtime here feel half as long.

A lot of that comes down to two things: really strong instrumentation (duh), & a really good vocal performance, complimented by some well-written lyrics across the board here. These aren’t flowery, thankfully; they’re just there to capture the mood, with some occasionally really strong lines that just sell the track as fruitfully as possible. “Ends of the Earth”, for example, has the line “I just want you to feel the belief of a man”, and that struck me REALLY nicely. Not the touch, not the love, not anything else – just the BELIEF alone should be enough of a plea to bring back this relationship, and it sells the slightly somber & desperate tone of the track just as much as the synths do. This album is scattered with lines like that, but this album works just as well if you don’t catch a single one of them, mostly because the instrumentals are THAT damn good.

Granted, I wouldn’t say this album has one specific super standout track (though “Don’t Deny Your Heart” comes damn close), & I do think that lack of a really timeless track that stands on its own merits, without feeling like a throwback, is what’s keeping me from going at a full blown 10 here. It makes up for that by being at a really consistently high bar of quality, and one that it never goes lower than an inch from. Believe me, this is a great album. I think it’s the only album where comparisons to Portal 2, Fatboy Slim, William Orbit, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, the Pet Shop Boys, Justin Timberlake, Prince, Capital Cities, the Beatles, Porter Robinson, Lionel Richie, Hall & Oates, the Police & Steely Dan are somehow all warranted at the same time.

Yes, I did somehow write down references to all of those artists while listening, which isn’t really doing wonders for the whole “derivative” thing, but I think it says something that they were able to capture all of those vibes at points throughout the album. It’s got great variety behind it, and that variety keeps the album a lot fresher than it has any right to be. I think it’s wonderfully produced, composed & performed. I’m really glad it’s on the list, because I don’t think I would’ve ever found it otherwise. It’s certainly higher than a 5, and hell, maybe one day, one of these tracks will feel “timeless” enough to me to bump it up to a 10. I really, really enjoyed this one.

I’m at a 4.

I didn’t have a lot of hope after the first 5 tracks of this album – only two of the tracks had really clicked (“Boxcars” & “Jericho”), neither of which were written by Joe Ely himself, but his bandmates instead. “Cornbread Moon” is a fun listen & a good instrumental tonesetter, but I think it’s a little loose lyrically. “Because of the Wind” felt like it was stalling for time on what’s already a pretty stretchy metaphor. “Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown” just felt too ambiguously written to capture the intent / mood of the track. Batting at 40% had me a rather middling 3 through the first half.

Thankfully, the second half of this album really picks up the pace, simply by going back to basics on the imagery & vibes, evoking much more of the ‘80s era of country (George Strait, Randy Travis, etc) in its production style, though with a little bit of bombast that’s slightly reminiscent of some rock / punk bands of the time. If you want a weird fun fact, Joe Ely did some of the backing vocals on “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” by The Clash, & even toured with them a few times. That explains some of the genre-blending here, & it’s done pretty well in the back half of the album, even letting the occasionally baffling choice of an accordion to shine. The songwriting tightens up, his vocals get looser (in a good way), and the whole thing just feels more confident. There’s not a track I’d skip in the back half of the album; I might trim down “West Texas Waltz” by a minute or so, but overall, I’d say the final tracks here elevate this album up to a pretty competent 4.

It does make me wonder though; why Joe Ely? By all accounts, he didn’t seem as successful as his peers at the time, & it doesn’t seem like he’s very remembered. I’m glad this is on the list, to throw him & his legacy a bone, but if this is here, why not also throw in some other ‘80s contemporaries in the country space, to really represent this era of the genre better? There’s gotta be at least one George Strait album worth throwing on here, right? Regardless, I did happen to enjoy it, and I’m glad it recovered from a totally fine start to become an album that is worth hearing out before you die. Sure, it might not click, but this is a good representation of the midpoint between mid ‘70s and early ‘80s country, while foreshadowing a lot of the genre-mixing to come. It’s a fun listen, it’s worth your time, and it’s a very solid 4.

Honestly, it’s a 10.

The only thing I really knew about the Black Crowes going into this was the name of their lead singer, Chris Robinson, due to the Jeopardy cluewriters having a weird affinity for the guy. I didn’t know what genre they were in (though rock seemed like a safe guess), & I just assumed they might’ve been a popular-ish ‘90s band that made for decent trivia fodder. I did not fucking expect the best ZZ Top album I’ve ever heard. Hell, they kinda mogged both the ZZ Top albums on the list, at least for my tastes. I think it’s one of the very best blues rock albums we’ve gotten so far.

With the last album we got, I did some big analogy about spinning the wheel as opposed to reinventing it, yet trying not to keep such a pace on the wheel that it feels like a stale merry-go-round. This album, by comparison, feels like a fucking roller coaster; it’s not reinventing the wheel in terms of aggressive blues rock with a harder tone in the guitars, but it’s taking that energy and naturally ramping it up in a way that just feels extremely energetic. These tracks build up slowly & then release with big guitar solos & punchy drums that feel earned, feel patient, and feel cathartic. When you look at the surrounding grunge of the era, a lot of the tracks are constantly at that higher level throughout, making the times when they elevate feel less effective. With this album, every time it elevates just FEELS strong as hell, never once feeling overdone or tired. Chris’ vocals lend to that nicely; he’s got a great control of the emotion in his voice, knowing when to add the extra grit to really sell the faster portions of each track, and when to pull it back in its softer, more acoustic moments. His ability to push & pull with the same intensity as the band keeps everything in sync, and just elevates the whole album itself even further.

There’s a handful of standout tracks here. “Seeing Things” swirls up and finds an almost Aretha-esque energy to it, with Chris’ vocals feeling passionate in their delivery. There’s the Otis Redding cover (“Hard to Handle”) which I thought was just fucking incredible, and the surprisingly well-written “She Talks to Angels”. Anticipation of death in that manner feels haunting, & even with the way the soundscape just swirls through the whole time, it never really loses focus on the storytelling as the key to the track. I really liked the church-inspired ending of “Stare It Cold”; the only thing missing to tie it all together is just a choir there to respond.

This was recorded at the tail end of 1989, releasing in early 1990, and I would say it’s a hell of a way to ring in the decade by having an album with absolutely no trace of pre-programmed drum machines on it. It must’ve felt fresh for the time & I think it’s aged pretty well into today. It’s 45 minutes, yes, but the way this album paces each track makes it feel longer than it is, in a good way. It allows the digestion of every soundscape, it makes every drum hit that much more potent to stomp your foot or bop your head to, and it makes the guitar solos really stick out when they do. Combine that with some well-written tracks & some pretty well-delivered vocals, along with a sort of infectious energy that you can’t really teach, and you just get one hell of an album. I feel ignorant for not biting the bullet every time Jeopardy asks about these guys, because they were onto something. I think this is an easy, easy 10, and much like Depeche Mode’s “Violator”, one of the first albums that can truly mark the start of the 1990s. Just stellar stuff.

I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump down to a 3, even though I did enjoy a lot of this.

It’s just too safe, really. I appreciate an album that knows what genre it is, what strengths they have, and how to consistently execute it. Hard rock just requires a little more variety behind it, and unless you’re AC/DC and can get away with it in dazzling fashion like on “Highway to Hell”, it needs a bit more variety than what’s present here. I do like all of these tracks, don’t get me wrong, but as an album experience, the level of focus needed to enjoy this album is rather minimal, which is the same amount of focus put into the lyrics. They’re practically useless here, acting as a gateway for the vocals. The vocals are good, but Ian Astbury never really leaves his specific range, leaving each track just too similar by the halfway point of the album. The guitar & percussion work are good, but there’s such a minimal focus on extra flair (driven by Rick Rubin’s production choice to cut out every effect other than the wah-wah pedal) that each track feels a bit more devoid for ‘80s rock.

I mean, it really does just boil down to feeling “too safe” – if you’re not throwing a little more at the wall, all you’re doing is spinning the wheel. I’m not opposed to spinning the wheel, since not EVERYTHING has to feel reinvented, but if 90% of your album is spinning the wheel at the same pace without even a slower track involved (or a hyper-fast one), then you’ve accidentally just made a Merry-Go-Round. It’s a fun ride, but if you’re on a merry-go-round for too long, the appeal will fade, and unfortunately, it fades here to the point of dropping down to a 3. It has all the potential in the world; cut a few tracks, be a little riskier here & there, or just do literally anything different, and it’d probably be a strong 4. It just doesn’t do enough to make itself feel like a classic, and ultimately, it doesn’t do anything special enough to feel like it’s worth being on the list. I did enjoy it, but… yeah, it’s just a 3. A higher 3, mind you, but just a 3.

I’m at a 5.

Once this album gets past some of its most Dylan-y inspired growing pains (I think 3 of the first 4 tracks have some issues, save for “Rattlesnakes”), the album just finds itself really nicely by “Forest Fire” and glides all the way to the finish line. The new wave soundscapes here feel really mature for 1984, and while I know “sophisti-pop” has a negative connotation at times, I think the label here is accurate, in the sense that these feel really smoothly fleshed out for the era, often sounding much closer to the early ‘90s (or in the case of the last track, maybe even the mid to late ‘90s).

That mature “sophisti-pop” label also applies to the lyrics, though in a good way – given this came out the same year as Prince’s Purple Rain, I think the way both albums approach the labor of love is worth a comparison. Prince’s take on love is idealized, overtly sexy, a bit flashy, & while it appropriately matches the bombast of the album, it does feel unrealistic if you were trying to approach it from a more grounded standpoint. Granted, anyone who tries to tell Prince to be “more grounded” would be as futile as asking Stevie Wonder to produce a Slipknot album.

This album fills that “more grounded” gap; love is portrayed as messy. It’s not as sexy, it’s usually circumstantial, and it takes a lot of work to even get a relationship off the ground, let alone maintain it. There’s one track here that feels like an idealized love (“Charlotte Street”) and even then, it’s appropriately acknowledged as a kind of dream scenario. The track immediately following it (“2cv”) is one where it falls apart immediately, due to one shared interest, ending in a whole lot of nothing. This album’s glue, however, and what keeps it as a coherent piece of work, is that the DESIRE for love drives the whole album, with a few tracks lyrically blending into each other to create a more cohesive world. All of these tracks are either in the process of maintaining it, trying to salvage it, trying to start it, or being prepared to end it. They’re all really personalized snapshots, and more than that, they feel realistic. I think it’s a really fresh attitude to have in an era of music where every singer seemingly got the girl (or boy) in all of their love songs.

Lloyd Cole’s vocals are… I mean, they’re not super flashy or THAT charismatic, but they do their job nicely. His talk-singing approach can feel a little worn at times, and I do think some of these tracks could use a little more of an elevated emotion from him, but I never once saw his vocals as a negative. There are times here when he does lift up just a bit, and it does energize the track. The way the instrumentals build themselves up around his performances help too, with a timing sort of reminiscent of R.E.M. at points. The only track that kinda fails at this is “Down on Mission Street”, with the chorus feeling too different from the rest of the track, but even still, it’s just a stylistic choice I disagree with.

Ultimately, I really liked it. I think it’s good to be grounded sometimes, and this album just feels grounded in a really nice way, whilst still giving a lot of energy to the instrumentals. The percussion & guitar in particular really drive a lot of these tracks, keeping everything from hitting any duller points. It does feel like a sort of underrated new wave gem, and while I can understand bouncing off of this album early if “Perfect Skin”, “Speedboat” & “Down on Mission Street” are just a little too lyrically confusing or Dylan-y for one’s tastes, if you can get to Forest Fire & beyond, the whole album elevates to a really tight 35 minutes, and one that feels a lot more lived in than the empty room of the cover art would suggest. I definitely think it’s an album worth listening to before you die, and I think it’s a strong 5.

I’m at a 5.

I figured it was gonna be good, given the usual track record for Brazilian albums on the list, and I’m very pleased to report that it’s great. It’s a little fuzzy / buzzy / loud at points, but for 1968, what can you do about that? These are really good psych rock compositions, though blended with a bit of Brazilian flair – not so much that it becomes the identity of the album, but enough where the cultural influences still bleed in really nicely. This album can portray really strong Beatles-y energy for one measure & then immediately bring in some ghostly vocals, cool percussive styles & flutes in the next measure to keep everything fresh & on its toes. Combine that with some genuinely compelling storytelling (yes, even when untranslated, due to how nicely the vocals sell the emotions) & you end up with 36 minutes that flow really nicely together. I do wish this album had at least one transition, but I’ll settle for most of them having definitive endings. That fakeout on “Senhor F” actually got me though.

I guess if I have any nitpicks, it’s that “A Minha Menina” goes about a minute too long & that “Tempo no Tempo” could’ve ended the album over “Ave Gengis Khan”, but that’s just personal preference for me. I just think it’s a really fun listen, & even if you don’t understand a word they’re saying (or bother to translate a word they’re saying), the instrumental / vocal energy just sells the album really well, with some especially catchy solos & vocal structures in there. Hence, a pretty damn good 5.

I’m at a 3.

Ultimately, it’s just fine. I don’t really feel like I have much to type about this album because it just never fully hooked me into what it was trying to do, or even really reveal what it wanted to say / do in the first place. These are inoffensive, occasionally catchy synthpop tunes, and it succeeds as a showcase of the style for the era. I think I just have more issues than notable positives here, but I don’t want to get overly negative about the album. It just disappointed me a lot more than I was expecting, based on the strength of their other big hits like “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” & “Alive & Kicking”. Those are tightly crafted synthpop tunes that feel closer to a Depeche Mode / Eurythmics style, whereas this feels like an undercooked Cocteau Twins album. I’m not opposed to the style if it’s done well, but this is… well, it’s just not done THAT well, sorry. I guess I do have stuff to say after all.

My immediate first thing comes in the overall mixing; I think the vocal filter muddles the emotional tones meant to come out of Jim Kerr’s vocals. I know he has good vocals, because they do occasionally shine through the filtering / reverb here, but they’re not showcased in a way that helps to sell each track. Past that, I just think the instrumentals themselves aren’t super compelling, with many going for longer than they need to, overstaying their welcome, and suffering from that “first minute” syndrome I so often mention; when you can go from the first minute to the fourth minute and the soundscape feels EXACTLY the same, then your tracks just don’t have a good sense of progression, and I’m saddened to report that this album just doesn’t have that. I think it needs more structure behind it; surprisingly, I’m complaining about this album not having a typical verse / chorus / verse formula, but it really would’ve worked in its favor here.

I wouldn’t be super mad about either of those if the lyrics had something more concrete to say, but this is where that “undercooked Cocteau Twins” comparison comes in; I don’t have a fucking clue what most of these songs are about, given that the lyrics just don’t feel very vivid, other than the loose moods / vibes they’re trying to evoke. I think the moods are achieved well, but just capturing a mood doesn’t do enough for me if the other aspects of a track are weak. It’s like going to a haunted house with the most eloquent decorations possible, but having all the ghosts be sock puppets. This album just fails to stick the landing on a lot of its tracks despite some really strong first impressions on them, & that persistent sense of being underwhelmed leaves an air of disappointment that slowly builds across the 46 minutes for this album’s runtime.

Hence, a 3. A solid 3, but an unremarkable one that just doesn’t feel like it needs to be on the list. I’m sure there’s other great Simple Minds albums out there; maybe “Once Upon a Time” (with Alive & Kicking on it) would’ve been the more refined album to pick, but that might just be a copout with a popular track on it. I don’t HATE this album, but it just never picked up in its energy in a way that made me care about it. I’m just disappointed, that’s all. Sorry.

I’m at a recommended 4.

For the most part, Mercury Prizes nominees have worked really well for me on the list, and this is yet another one to fit the bill. With the Wikipedia description of a “neo-psychedelia and folk rock album”, I expected this to be something a little more stuck up & serious. I’m very glad they proved me wrong by the polka-esque shift on “Shadows Fall” – this is neo-psychedelia & folk to a degree, but I would say this is far more of a blended mixture of a bunch of different genres, somehow working cohesively together. There’s elements of ska, polka, rock, doo-wop & Americana, bringing to mind everyone from Nick Cave to Bruce Springsteen to Billy Joel to Elvis Costello to the Pogues. It’s an eclectic album, & one that feels sort of Zappa-esque in nature, though without the bigger eccentricities of his earliest works.

For as eclectic & genre-bending as it is though, there are some tracks that feel like they hit a wall of ideas on & just sort of padded them out with instrumentals / ending choruses, and those moments are pretty noticeable. This album is only 34 minutes (roughly 40 if you count “Time Travel”, oddly not on streaming), but it feels a little bit longer due to that padding, which does sort of mess with the pace of the album. Most of these tracks are at a faster tempo, so while they bring up an energy really quickly, that energy can feel stagnant once those walls are hit, and it does hit them decently often. Granted, I don’t think it’s a big deal – the energy of the tracks is strong enough to begin with, & there’s only a handful of tracks that really FEEL like they overstay their welcome (“Waiting for the Heartaches” probably chief among them). Past that, there’s just a few tracks that didn’t hook me in all the way, even though they’re really fun to listen to (“Skeleton Key” & “Wildfire”, in this case).

Those are the reasons I’m at a 4 here, but it’s a 4 that I do recommend. I think people giving this a 1 or a 2 are just turned off by the soundscapes here, and I can understand that to a degree. Those who are dismissing this just because it’s some plucky band from London that they’ve never heard of feels like a dismissal of the entire purpose of going through these albums. I’ll admit, I’m a little hesitant to say this is an album you MUST listen to before you die (certainly a lot ahead of it), but that’s not a reason to slap this with a 1. Putting it on its own merits, it’s a really enjoyable set of tracks that blend a lot of genres together with some “innovative” (what’s old is new again) production for the era. I think it’s a fun one, hence a pretty strong 4. I’m glad it’s on the list.

I’m at a 5.

I mean, it’s not the best album we’ve gotten by The Who, but it’s still pretty damn good in its own right. Conceptually, this is much easier to digest than Tommy (though obviously not as strong); it’s just a silly radio station, with the band choosing to pastiche some of their contemporaries & slightly poppier soundscapes of the era (obviously, the Beatles & the Beach Boys are the clear inspirations here), supplementing it with some ridiculous ads along the way. Yes, their poppier approach can feel a bit grating & a bit less compelling than their more seriously-driven rock work, but… just listen to a track like “I Can See For Miles”. That track alone proves they gave a damn about this album, and were invested in it to the same degree as their other work. It’s not as polished, but part of that is just the technology of the era – the mixing on this album is a little harsh at times in the mono mix, but if this were even just a few years later, they’d have enough room in each channel to make these tracks sound as full as possible. Even for 1967 though, this sounds pretty good in its own right.

Since the music speaks for itself (great harmonies / instrumentals / fun lyrics), I think it’s best to just leave it there, without going too deep into each track. I do understand why this has a flat 3 on the site; if you wanted an album by The Who, but wanted a more serious effort, then this isn’t quite the album to look for. However, I think the pastiche-heavy (yet respectfully done) musicianship at play here & their earnest attempt to play it straight works really well. I don’t think there’s a bad track here for the 40 minutes (though some of the “commercials” are just there), and while mileage may vary, I think they sold me on their ability to sell out effectively. I really liked it, and I think it’s just worth giving a 5 to.

I’m somewhere above a 5, though not quite a 10, even though it’s damn close.

Obviously, I knew the big hits going into this one; “Electric Feel” & “Kids” are platinum as hell, with “Time to Pretend” slightly behind them (yet still just as good). Those 3 tracks feel like cornerstones of not only the 2000s, but just hallmarks of an entire millennial mindset present in the lead-up to Barack Obama’s inauguration all those years ago. They’re the standouts of the album still, but they don’t paint the full picture of this album’s intent, and what emerges from the entire thing is even more potent & vivid as a complete package. It feels like starry-eyed optimism by today’s standards, but the adventurous feel of this whole album, as if it was prepared for both a potential utopia & a societal nightmare at the same time, rings even more deeply true nowadays. A track like “Pieces of What” just feels brutally shattering, especially with all of the hell that’s been going on the past few years, yet a track like “The Youth” still feels like something worth striving for, even with the disheartening turns as of late.

Despite the starry-eyed optimism of the lyrics not really working in the way that most people probably imagined, I think this album’s soundscape is what lifts it up to a point of stellar energy throughout, both in the complimentary & the space-y sense. The production work here feels really far ahead of 2007 to me, with practically the entire album sounding like it could have been made in the 2020s without missing a beat. I’ve said that “channel ORANGE” was the sound of hip-hop for the 2010s & that “21” set the tone for pop for the 2010s, but somehow, this album feels like the start of something else, in a way that’s still kind of reverberating today for indie rock & beyond. The synth / bass work here is what makes the album really pop, & in combination with the ‘70s-styled guitars, the throughline from MGMT to bands like The 1975, Foster the People or acts like Tame Impala feels pretty clear. Even beyond that, I think the funk & the rhythm of these basslines extends its way into other facets of modern hip-hop production, so its influence goes far & wide, and music is arguably all the better for it.

Ultimately, I think it’s a super easy 5 & higher – it’s a breezy 40 minutes that only occasionally falters with some harder to parse lyrics, but with an energy that feels deeply infectious to this day, still glowing with the hope of a generation (even if it hasn’t fully come to pass yet). I’m not at a 10 on a first pass, though it’ll probably get there with time; part of it is the lyrics feeling just a bit too optimistic right now in this moment, and part of it does come from the album feeling just a *little* bit same-y towards the end of the album, but those are just nitpicks for my brain. This is the oracular spectacular they claimed it would be, and I’m very glad to finally give this one a full listen. It was that good.

I’m at a 5.

This is, much like “Untitled (Black Is)”, an album about black positivity, black excellence, and black affirmation. I am a half-Filipino, white-passing male. I once again fully acknowledge that I can’t ever fully relate to this album, or the black experience, but I can continue to listen and do my part to make this world a better place, and that includes lifting up albums like this that so deeply acknowledges what it is to be black, both in the positives & the negatives, and share a better understanding of that experience.

It does a pretty good job of expressing that experience – while it doesn’t feel as vividly & as dazzlingly painted as what SAULT did, this takes a much more confidently feminine approach, portraying a sort of softer simmered anger about the day-to-day microaggressions that simply come with being black in this country. It’s not going for the jugular here; it’s just asking to be heard out, and it’s more than worth hearing out, from both a messaging standpoint & a musical standpoint. It’s certainly worth hearing out from a production standpoint; Solange is not her sister and it shows, with this album drawing more from the indie hip-hop scene of the 2010s, with a touch of TPaB’s jazzier influence in there. The synth / bass / percussion work that underlines a lot of these tracks is quintessentially 2016 to my ears, and with the recent trend going around, it does feel kinda nice to go back to this style.

The main 12 tracks here are all pretty good; Solange’s vocals shine through like a star, occasionally pretty comparable to her sister in its most tender harmonies. The lyrics are great, and I don’t think there’s ever a dull moment of repetition like that; it’s constantly moving forward, much like she is on “Don’t Wish Me Well”. All of the features here kill it, even if I wish some of them had more to them (Andre 3000 on “Junie” is criminally underutilized & Q-Tip feels barely present on “Borderline”), but the whole album flows really well with Solange as the star. I’d be remiss to not mention the interludes at some point – sure, it’s a little strange for Master P’s life story to take over most of them, but I think it works as a good contrast to show a bonafide success story, & with his own relationship to the family, it fits pretty well in the context of the album. I do think there might be a few too many interludes in a way that messes with the pacing of the album, but it’s never egregious. They certainly don’t ruin the quality of any of the main 12 tracks, with the transitions between them usually flowing well.

Ultimately then, I’m at a 5. It’s not a super dazzling cultural phenomenon of a 5 like her sister dropped earlier in 2016 (it is criminal that “Lemonade” isn’t here given some of the hand-in-hand themes at play here), but it’s a tightly written, tightly composed album that still shines uniquely in its own way, & one that I think is worth being on the list. It’s a super strong album without a single miss throughout the 51 minutes here. The floor is a 3 if you just don’t vibe with it musically.

It’s a very nice 5.

The Wikipedia page for this album mentions some positive comparisons to Stevie Wonder & Marvin Gaye, and while I don’t quite hear as much of Stevie, I certainly hear a bit of Marvin. The funk & groove this thing gives off feels like a softer version of what Marvin was doing on “Let’s Get It On”, but it still contains just as much soul behind it. The first half of the album feels really nice, and even though sometimes the lyrics get a little strange, the vocals more than lift them up to help sell the mood. It’s made me get even more frustrated by that fucking “Nixon” album we got the other day, as this album succeeds brilliantly at letting its instrumentals guide the mood of each track without some cumbersome vocals getting in the way. Shuggie Otis, who I’ve never heard of before today, played just about every instrument & composed every song here, along with taking lead vocals, & his talent shines through really nicely. His only crime is that his vocals are just a little quiet at points, but I feel like that’s an intentional choice.

The back half of the album is almost entirely instrumental, and it’s in those moments where this album’s full ability to capture a vibe reveals itself. They fly by wonderfully, and they all sound as satisfying as a good night’s sleep. My only real nitpick with the back half is that I think the album should’ve ended on “Pling!”, as it could have kept going for another 2-3 minutes without missing a beat. “Pling!” feels like modern day vaporwave, which is kind of impressive for 1974, and it really is just a delight to sit in. “Not Available” didn’t feel as satisfying by comparison, though it’s still got a good funk to it.

Ultimately, it’s an album that you just have to hear to really get it, and I’m very glad that I did hear it. It’s a shame that Shuggie seemingly got in his own way after this album & has only made one since, given the attempts to success handed to him on a silver platter that he apparently just kept turning down. I mean, seriously; a chance to tour with the Rolling Stones & have an album produced by Quincy Jones at his peak, and you turn them BOTH down? That’s financial malpractice. Regardless, I’m glad this is here on the list for it to get some well-deserved flowers, and I think it’s a pretty easy 5.

I’m at a 10, with one very small nitpick behind it.

I knew this was gonna be good; my bias for old country music said so, and my appreciation of Dolly Parton also said so. This is my first full solo Dolly Parton album though, which feels vaguely criminal. We got “Trio” a while back, and while that album was great, this one just feels excellent. It’s super tight at just 27 minutes, and it doesn’t waste a single second of that time. I’m impressed by the variety in the instrumentals as the album goes on, revealing more influences from the rock bands who had themselves been inspired by country music; iron sharpened iron here very nicely, with some of the bassier / percussion-driven tracks on the album feeling as cohesive as the more typical country fare. Of course, Dolly Parton herself is the star of the show – it takes just a moment to get used to her very light vibrato, but once your ears settle into it, she’s just as dazzling as one would expect. “She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)” might be the best vocal showcase of the whole album, but her power is on display the entire time. Between her vocals & her songwriting chops, along with the instrumentation, I can find next to zero flaws.

The single little bit that’s biting at me is the last two tracks of the album ending on fadeouts; it’s not a big deal, but they do feel less effective after the preceding 8 tracks wrap each bow up so concisely. It’s not as big of a thing on “Here I Am” due to the Beatles-y vibe to that track, but I think it feels different with “A Better Place to Live” – it’s the closing track of the album, and I just think a proper ending there would wrap the whole thing up better. Regardless, it’s an extreme nitpick that only my brain could remotely care about. I think this is a fabulous album for classic country music of the era, & it impressed me beyond my already highly hopeful expectations. I do wish there was more Dolly on the list overall, but I can’t say this was a bad pick to represent her solo career. It’s a very strong album, and for me, it’s a super easy 10. I loved it.

I dunno, a 3? More of a 2.5 bumped up to a 3, I guess, but… I wasn’t really feeling this at all.

I have genuinely no idea how to approach writing about this album, mainly because I never found a good way to approach listening to it. I’m a person who really likes dissecting lyrics, or at the very least, I like lyricism as a route to help paint an overall picture; the lines should generally be the colors that allow the brain’s paintbrush to get to the author’s intended destination, or at the very least, a satisfying interpretation. This is an album where the soundscape acts as the colors; I’m not opposed to that sort of thing, as long as the lyricism helps in some way.

It didn’t help me a damn bit here. I don’t understand what any of these tracks are about, save for incredibly loose imagery that didn’t grab me as potently as it tried to. That’s sometimes fine though; there have been really good albums where the lyricism gets confusing or hard to parse at points, but where the vocals can pick that up and provide the emotional lean the tracks need to help the paintbrush find its way there. The issue here is that I cannot fucking understand his vocals, both from a literal standpoint (too quiet at times, too pitchy at points, too mumbled under the instrumentals) & from an emotional standpoint, as he sometimes feels like Bob Ross trying to sing, Elmo trying to sing under his breath, or Miss Piggy in a starring off-off-off-off-off-off Broadway role. I couldn’t grasp the emotions out of his lyrics or his vocals, meaning that this is mostly an instrumental album to me. It succeeds as an instrumental album to a point, but these tracks are all far too long, in a way that noticeably overstays its welcome, no matter how lovely & nice they all seem to sound.

Without that sense of emotional connection to anchor me along the way, I’m left with an album that tries to say a lot, yet leaves no memorable sticking point to grasp onto. I hear parts of the acclaim here, and to a degree, I get how this might’ve felt fresh & innovative given the state of music in 2000 & the band’s apparent work up to this point, but for 2026 standards… I just don’t really get it. I think it sounds good instrumentally, but his vocals don’t add anything, often dragging some tracks down by being too noticeable whilst having nothing to actually say, given the loose stream-of-consciousness lyrics, which I couldn’t grasp to save my life. I’m stuck at a 2.5 that I’ll bump up to a 3 on account of each track never having an actively bad moment, but this was really close to being bumped down to a 2 on the sole account of “I just don’t fucking understand what the intent of the album was at all” & being utterly frustrated by that.

It probably didn’t need to be on the list.

I’m at a 5.

I’ve heard of The The before this, but I didn’t realize they they were a post-punk band, let alone that they were this this good. I think the whole album is pretty well sung & pretty well-written, with a lot of eerily relevant lyricism on some of its more politically-driven tracks (namely “Heartland” & “Sweet Bird of Truth”), but the instrumentals sell the album a lot. I’m not sure what the hell “post-punk” is anymore, because to me, this just sounded like a traditional ‘80s album with a little more of an aggressive lean to the guitar. That’s not a complaint either; I love the way this album sounds. Lots of heavier deep bass, a good mix of the gated reverb / pre-programmed drums, some fun synth work (making for effective walls of sound with much more clarity than the 60s/70s), and as a whole, the entire album sounds really good.

If there’s one small issue I have, it’s that the pacing of each track itself is a little stretched out for time – a lot of these hang onto bridges, refrains, or instrumental breaks for too long, and each track could’ve easily shaved around 30 seconds to a minute if they had just hung on a little less. It is noticeable in the moment, but the impacts coming out of those breaks sort of wash it away, since they know how to push the energy right back up. Other than the length, I really don’t have any complaints about the tracks themselves. I think “Infected” is a stellar opener that sets the tone really nicely the rest of the way, & the album never fails to keep close to that energy. It does start to go down just a little more by “Twilight of a Champion”, but not by that much.

Ultimately, I just enjoyed it, and I really don’t understand the 2.92 on the site. This album’s most egregious sin might just be sounding too quintessentially ‘80s, and if that ‘80s soundscape is a turnoff… then yeah, I guess the floor here is a 3, but I feel like the average should be a little higher. For me, I’m at a 5; it’s 41 minutes that should probably be closer to 36 or 37, but they still knock it out of the park here. I’m pretty impressed, and I’m ready to get the the other The The album on the the list. Great stuff.

It’s obviously a 10.

Just go listen to it. That’s fucking electrifying. You can’t possibly hear that & come out of it feeling angry or disappointed unless you just hate music. That’s 33 minutes of some of the best instrumental music I’ve heard in my life. They are incredible, and it’s a super easy 10.

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

That’s just good ‘60s psych rock, what can I say? Pretty tightly written, pretty well-sung, pretty well-performed across the board, with a really nice instrumental flair that bends some of the baroque tones of the era with a bit of Beatles-y vibes. It’s also an album where you don’t really need the lyrics as much, with the instrumental vibes just carrying it along, though a lot of tracks feel really elevated by those lyrics. These are smartly written, with just a bit of political bite to them that gives the album some needed depth. It’s frustrating that some of the complaints of 1966 still feel deeply mirrored in 2026, but the more things change, the more they stay the same & all that.

I think the music speaks for itself, so I don't really need to type out too much. I’m mostly at a 4.5 due to some little things (a few bits of repetition, some occasionally weird mixing, some overlap of subjects, a rather one-note final track), but it’s a pretty easy bump up to a 5 from there. I think this is the best Kinks album we’ve gotten so far – granted, the 621 days since we got “Something Else By The Kinks” (literally the title of the album) might have something to do with that, but I do think it’s an improvement over the two we got super early on. It’s not the most impressive album, but it’s a consistently strong 38 minutes without a bad track here, and I’m glad I heard it before I died. Hence, a 4.5 bumped up to a 5.

I’m at a 5.

I mean, normally I’m one to harp on lyrics, and I do think I got a decent chunk of them here, but… the lyrics really couldn’t matter less, for once. Some of them help to set up an emotional mood, but this is an album where they are wholly unnecessary. This is a southern psychedelic prog rock album, with instrumentals somehow reminiscent of Genesis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young & The Beatles all at the same time, taking cues from the ‘60s & ‘70s era of rock whilst blending it with the indie sensibilities of a band like Cage the Elephant to create a vibe that’s undeniably cool as hell.

You could literally listen to this for the full 37 minutes, not pick up a single lyric, and still be mesmerized by the musicianship at hand here – when this leans into its more prog-esque sensibilities, the guitar / drum work just pulls you in, but it’s equally as mesmerizing when the harmonies of the vocals hypnotize you on this album’s slower tracks. When this album hits on a perfect transition, it feels seamless, keeping up the energy in a way that feels like a live jam session. I honestly can’t think of many early 2010s rock albums that do transitions super effectively, so it’s really welcomed here. James Petralli and friends just know how to fucking rock out here, man.

It’s an album where the music speaks for itself; yeah, the lyrics have some poignant moments (the immigration allegories of “Burnished”, the classist nature of “Street Joy” & “Bess St.”, the mysterious allure of “River to Consider” or “Keys”), but parsing those too deeply would take away from just vibing along & letting them take you for a ride. I’m pleasantly surprised this was as good as it was, and I’m very glad it’s on the list. It’s a really easy 5 for me, and I wanna listen to even more of these guys. Pretty damn good for an album with absolutely horrid SEO. (Seriously, just Google “D album”. It’s dire out here.)

I’m at a 10, with maybe just *one* little flaw.

I only knew “Take Me Out” going into this, as I imagine most people would – maybe one of the other singles is in there somewhere, but their biggest hit is “Take Me Out”, and it stands as a ubiquitous anthem / representation of the 2000s. It’s an all-timer of a track, and thankfully, it’s supplemented by 10 other tracks that are either at the same level or just a step or two below that same level of quality, making for a fucking killer debut album. If the “worst” one here is only as bad as it is because nobody really wants to have a track about being a cheater in their playlist (& because the album tackles it a bit more tastefully with “Tell Her Tonight” earlier on), whilst still kinda rocking in its own weird way, then you’ve got a stellar lineup going.

The music more than speaks for itself, with every track finding a super infectious groove – the bass is awesome, the guitar riffs are sick, the percussion has a good punch / pace to it, and Alex Kapranos’ lead vocals have a range that feels like it can channel David Bowie, Chris Martin & Morrissey (for once, as a compliment) at the same time, whilst still being able to hit higher pitches & quirkier tones that feel kinda like David Byrne in the “More Songs About Buildings And Food” era of Talking Heads. His vocals don’t carry the album, but they do elevate it, which is kinda rare for an album that feels so instrumentally driven.

I don’t really want to go too deep track-by-track here, so I’ll just quickly explain what I liked about my favorite ones, even though the whole album was great from top-to-bottom. “Jacqueline” is a really good (& kinda morbidly funny) opener. “The Dark of the Matinee” feels like an Arctic Monkeys cut in the best way. “Auf Achse” has a fun dichotomy between the funky mood & the sad lyrics, whilst reminding me a lot of The Human League. “Darts of Pleasure” feels like a Talking Heads cut in an awesome way, & “Michael” fucking rules as an explicitly erotic track with a super catchy vibe.

The *one* little thing I mentioned is in the track order; I think “Come on Home” should’ve ended the album. I think it just makes more thematic sense after the implied suicidal thoughts of “40’”, and the melancholic tones feel like they’d make for a good bookend with “Jacqueline”. Regardless, “40’” is still a pretty good closing track, and as a whole, the entire album just fucking rules. I’m mad at myself for not listening to the whole thing until today, but I’m glad to have rectified it, I’m glad it’s on the list, and it’s easily deserving of all the acclaim it gets. It’s a 10, and it’s right up there with “Hot Fuss” as one of those timeless albums of the era. 2004 was pretty good for rock, huh?