Reviews by heavymetal

I've said it before and I guess I'll say it again, I'm just not a fan of this type of country music. It is better than modern bro-country at least.

I had never heard of the Blue Nile before, but this was a very interesting listen. The 80s production shines through a bit too much at times, but the instrumentation was very unique and I feel like there was a lot to unpack in each song. This probably needs a couple more listens to fully appreciate.

Honestly, I don’t know if I could choose a favourite between Lust for Life and the Idiot. It’s one of those cases where the last one I listened to will be my favourite, so I guess it’s the Idiot’s turn for a little while.

I never would have expected I could draw a straight line from the Sex Pistols to this band; so many strange musical directions coming out of the Sex Pistols camp. Anyways, my favourite part of PiL's Metal Box was Jah Wobble's dub bass playing, so I'm happy to be hearing more of that now. Normally, I am all for avant-garde post-punk, but I wasn't a big fan of Metal Box; Rising Above Bedlam is much more successful for me. I knew I was either going to love or absolutely hate an experimental, electronic world dub album and I am really enjoying this album.

I’ve always loved the Beatles, but for whatever reason I never dug into any of their solo work until starting this project. It’s much more raw and is a real look into Lennon’s psyche. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Beatles, but it was a solid album with some great songwriting. Personally, I really enjoy the fuzzed out guitar and bass on a few tracks and am always a fan of Lennon’s harsher singing/screaming.

Also, I didn’t realize how much John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band influenced Mac Demarco, but there were a few tracks that had major jizz-jazz vibes.

This was an interesting album and one that was clearly written and sequenced with the vinyl listening experience in mind. Side one was funky and a bit anxious feeling at times. It reminded me of the Talking Heads. The transition to side two was a bit abrupt, but the music on side two is a lot more atmospheric and ambient and points to where Brian Eno’s music would head next.

Unique pop singing over experimental electronic soundscapes. It definitely won't be for every one, but personally, I wish more pop music was this far out there.

Interesting album; I’m always happy when the generator gives me some world music I’ve never heard before. That said, I wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but the tracks were rather repetitive and similar sounding, so it was dragging a bit by the end.

As stated in my recent review of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, I appreciate Ray Charles influence and importance to music, but it’s just not something I can see myself returning to. That said, I did enjoy this album a bit more than Modern Sounds.

Another of my favourite PJ Harvey albums, but it’s not quite on the same level as Rid of Me or To Bring You My Love. Still pretty great though.

I don't have a lot of experience with tango music beyond what this list has provided me, but I did really enjoy this album. These are some very interesting arrangements that are played exceptionally well on some rather unique instruments.

Elvis Costello #4 of 6. The first one that I didn’t really dig. It felt like this one leaned a little more into his pop and new wave side. The rock and roll and punky stylings do appear here and there, but it just didn’t have the same edge as some of the others. Admittedly, I am being extra judgemental on this one because I really don’t think any of these albums are really so special to warrant 6 entries in this list.

I’ve been brushing up on my French skills, so I decided to listen to the French version of this album, which was kind of a fun way to practice listening to French. And that’s about all the positive things I have to say about this album.

I don’t think the Klaxons fully made it over here in North America; for every 30 times I heard Time to Pretend on the radio, I heard Gravity’s Rainbow or As Above So Below maybe once. This meant I actually appreciated when one of their songs came on and I never developed a knee jerk reaction to change the radio station when I heard the first few notes of their songs. That said, they also didn’t have as much staying power and I don’t think I’ve even thought of them since 2009 or so.

I enjoyed listening to this again today. Early 2000s indie electro-pop sound. A bit closer to the electro-punk side. Maybe like electro-pop-punk? Definitely not my favourite genre of music any more, but I did go through a bit of an early 2000s indie phase last year and dove back into a bunch of their contemporaries like Sunset Rubdown, Destroyer, Frog Eyes, Wolf Parade, etc. Might add Klaxons to that list next time I feel like revisiting these bands.

I am usually all for a unique singing style, but this immediately got on my nerves and became tedious very, very quickly. It didn't help that each song was rather repetitive and similar sounding. The instrumental side of things is fine, but really nothing stood out. Definitely won’t be returning to this one.

I love CSNY, and CSN, and just Y, but I don’t know if S needed multiple albums on a list of 1001 albums to hear before you die. That said, other than being a bit too long, this album is actually pretty good and I enjoyed it more than the last Stephen Still album that was generated.

Avant-garde and experimental and bordering on ambient at times. I think I'd like to visit this Penguin Cafe.

This is peak Polly Jean Harvey and it's so much noisier and more raw than I remember. I love it!

I don’t know specifically what it is about Coyote, but I have been entranced by it ever since I first heard Joni play it in Gordon Lightfoot’s house in Scorsese’s documentary about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue. I’m still smitten by the song now; maybe even more so with Jaco Pastorius’ bass playing on top.

The rest of the album has a similar feel to Coyote. Beautiful, intimate songs built around Joni’s unique open tuned guitar strumming with layers added on top by some amazing jazz musicians and session players. I totally get why this wouldn’t be for everyone, but I could listen to Joni’s poetry set to Jaco’s fretless bass all day.

I’ve always heard that Gillian Welch is one of the best bluegrass musicians out there today, but I had never taken the time to listen to her music aside from her tracks on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Honestly, I’ll Fly Away is such a great song, so I have no idea why it has taken me this long to listen to anything else she has released and it’s a real shame because this album is amazing!

The opening track has some of the best acoustic guitar playing I’ve heard. I love the dissonant, out of tune opening notes. The rest of the phrasing throughout reminds me that I am no where near this level of a guitar player. Absolutely wonderful singing that fits in perfectly with the guitar too. The second track introduces a simple and reserved banjo, but overall, the top notch singing and playing really doesn’t let up for the rest of the album.

This album feels like a late summer campfire jam. One that’s taking place at the end of the night, embers burning low, after the party has wound down and everyone is feeling a bit melancholic and reflective. Adding this to my list of favourite discoveries on the list so far.