Reviews by h3lios

Perkier than some of the other jazz albums. Like it was made for dancing. Not sure how the most destructive manmade object has anything to do with the sound. It all sounds the same to me, like one long suite that has its fast and slow moments.

That is my weak link for jazz; I feel like I need to see it live to fully experience it.

What I definitely didn’t expect was how this album was like pop. Wikipedia just made the genres to this album sound more experimental than they were. Like “no wave” is giving ambient anticlimactic music. Is it just instrumental sections with detuned guitars and weird chords?

This album seems to lay the groundwork for their later work. Goo and Dirty seem to take that in a more mainstream rock direction. Whereas “Evol” sounds more moody and atmospheric. Combined with their tendency to make long tracks, this album isn’t really for me.

The thing about rock operas is that they’re the sum of all of their parts. By themselves the songs are often referenced to the overarching album. I mean you can say that for all albums on here too, but the intention behind this one, like concept albums, is more obvious.

Tommy sprinkles some motifs throughout just like a musical. Since all songs stood for a bigger purpose, not much stood out to me. The instrumental tracks were a nice break from the “theatrical” vibe of it all.

1 more Nick Cave after this!

Like singing to the startup sounds of the 80s.

It's very Nick Cave to go from post-punk to ambient, I feel like there's a few degrees of separation there. But also like most of Nick's albums, personally I find it to be self-indulgent and too long. The ambient tracks by themselves are alright, especially "Galleon Ship", which feels Midnights-adjacent to me.

Groovy jazz fusion with a sprinkle of blues rock. Not much to say about it.

THE LAST ALBUM I CLICK ON SOMEONE'S PAGE ENDS UP BEING MY ALBUM NOW?? 🫪

So far, it's about the vibes. In some parts I hear psychedelia from the whimsical lyrics, some trip hop beats in the first song, some indie folk, and a Brazilian song I heard last year. The sound is scrambled but it's under one "atmospheric" vibe I guess.

A nice little preview of the late 80s combination of dance and R&B. Beats are groovy and vibey. Not sure why this album didn't originally have the hit single but the acapella version, which also still slaps. Reminds me of some proto-Bjork dance rhythms that would be in her debut.

OH BILLY MY HIGH SCHOOL IDOL.

Part of my rating is influenced by parents who loved his hit songs, but also mostly by personal experience. As I listened to more of his albums, I found a website that lore dropped so much about his life (https://www.onefinalserenade.com/notice-page.html). If it wasn't for his albums and the lore I sought out, I probably wouldn't have further branched out into the world of music. I'd just be content in this pop bubble, but ironically enough his accessible music made me want more.

Anyways, the Stranger probably ties with Glass Houses as my favourites. I always found "Movin' Out" and "Scenes" to be my favourite "storytelling" songs. And ya looking back it's pretty schmaltzy but to this teenager I thought it was pretty well executed. It made sense why this was Billy's most critically acclaimed album: the melodies, the simple lyrics. This was a good record for me to wean off and explore different music.

Is he him? The godfather of hip hop sampling? The samples add a “surround sound” type quality like we’re hearing the soundtrack to some diegetic music.

“Movies” is zany but it does meander with the longer songs. It’s been a while since I trained my music muscle to hear a 16 minute track (3-3.5).

RIP Dolly Parton 🫶

This album makes me realize how much her modern reputation preceded her. Personally not a fan of this 80s ballad-style of country that is just too "same-y" (2.5).

My reference point is compared to their debut album, "II" has lots more world influences and bluesy rock. The heavy blues drumming will always be such a vibe.

The thing with Led Zeppelin is that they know how to make banger intros (i.e. Whole Lotta Love, Good Times Bad Times, Immigrant Song), hoping IV and Physical Graffiti don't disappoint 🤞.

Beastie Boys complete!

Messy, noisy, maximalist, and diverse in its sound. Super cool to see the trio go zen on the second half of this record. And Ricky's Theme is definitely a Persona 5 deep cut. Length does keep this from being a perfect 5 though.

First song and Phil Spector made it sound so outdated and overproduced. You can hear it throughout the album, which doesn't pair well with Dion's vocals.

Might be a hard listen since I’ve never listened to a Sufjan Stevens album. It’s very impressionistic and romantic aesthetically. By that I mean this could be part of the Sims soundtrack. It was an awesome record though to listen to for a bike ride

We are already at 4 Radiohead albums lol. Only two more to go!

After OK Computer, the band seems to embrace more ambient soundscapes. I don't think I was clearly focused with this album as I was feeling anxious. Only thing I can say is that I'd prefer something like In Rainbows veers because into more accessible territory while having a bit of that sonic edge. The conclusion though reminds me of that Brian Eno airport album, like hearing something out of a "Motion Picture Soundtrack" haha. Beautiful and so out of left field from what I think of Radiohead.

Lauryn knows how to rap and sing! This album is like an homage to hip hop's conscious roots and Black spirituality. Could do away with the skits and long album length though.

For a "forerunner" of punk rock this is pretty slow by today's standards. It has the hard sounding guitars and anthemic vocals but the drums just aren't feeling it.

I do like the "I Got You Babe" cover, it's effortlessly simple, which I find is the foundation of punk. But the rest of this album comes off as more hard rock. "California Sun" and "(I Live For) Cars And Girls" is pretty punk though. The latter has aged pretty well with that Beach Boys vibe, although I'm not sure if I'm listening to an updated mix cause it just sounds almost modern (3-3.5).

Nice switch up from folk to rock in the beginning. It's been a while since I was surprised by an album on the first song. I like how Spirit switch up on different psychedelic styles: rock, folk, jazz, and some groove here and there.

It's already pretty zany but the mix on Spotify lets me appreciate how varied the production is (3.5).

For a British band this is one of the most American albums the Who has made.

The songs themselves don’t really overstay their welcome. Each one sounds a little heavy for its time. Paired with Daltrey’s powerhouse voice, it sits comfortably as a mix of rock and R&b with the other albums of the 60s (3.5)

🦀🦀 CRAB RAVE 🦀🦀

The songs are tighter than their debut. Still rely on a lot of heavy and repetitive drum beats. Not feeling the vocals on this one.