Reviews by henry-winchester

This was a nice counterpart to the Destiny's Child album I had yesterday. Doing similar things in mixing pop with a UK hip-hop edge, but it's also darker and more experimental.

Very easy to overlook how mind-blowing Destiny's Child were at the time, especially those first three tracks, which married TLC-style harmonies and melodies with a streak of hip-hop aggression.
But, holy crap, the rest is patchy as hell; lots of Beyonce demonstrating her (admittedly very impressive) vocal range to tracks that sound like they were recorded on a child's keyboard.

I've always hated Simply Red with a passion, but I actually understand where they're coming from now - blue-eyed soul with an electronic edge.

I still hate them though.

This blinsided me a bit, in a really good way. The thing I love about French hip-hop is that I can barely understand a word they're saying, which shifts the focus onto the beats and turns the voice into just another instrument. And this is absolutely the best place to start; accessible and interesting without ever being cheesy or trashy.

Surprisingly but also unsurprisingly bluesy in places.

This guy was huge, wasn't he? I managed to ignore him at the time, but now the dust has settled it's not bad; shiny, druggy folk pop that could have been recorded in 1975.

I knew "Everybody's Talking," but this album really does go in some unexpected directions. I honestly thought the final track was some random modern band I'd randomly started playing on Spotify.

"The Humpty Dance" is silly and great fun, but the novelty shtick wears a little thin and it's hideously misogynistic in places. Again, no idea why all albums of this genre/era need to be one hour plus.

So soft and light that it teeters on the edge of even existing at all. But it's also a lot more authentic than some of the other "chill" artists of the era, and the minimal nature of the tracks makes them ideal for remixes, such as the Layo & Bushwacka remix of "So Nice," which I had on a L&B compilation. Just a shame there's not much to it in the first place.

Very easy to dismiss as a beardy novelty band, but holy crap ZZ Top were ahead of their time. I guess it was like Dylan going electric, but the simple addition of synths gives every track such a malevolent, hard edge. Did Nirvana use synths? Did Guns 'n Roses? Oasis? No! THEY CAN ALL DO ONE.

I remember "Just The Way You Are" being played almost constantly on Radio 2 in the UK in the 80s. I was only about five years old, but I hated how boring and bland it was. And I still do!

My former flatmate was a huge Flaming Lips fan, and this album brings back hazy memories of a magic-mushroom-powered summer of 2003. Of course, two reviews down I said how much I hated music of this era, but this gets a pass for its psychedelic highs and melancholic lows.

This should be a total mess, but somehow it works by virtue of moving fast and not hanging around. Loved the surprising psych-dub bits.

A kind of weird mash-up of Radiohead and Louis Armstrong, with a distinctive LGBT twist. Deserved the Mercury Music Prize.

Sometimes I just really miss smoking weed.

Fun and silly.

Five stars for the cover of "Comfortably Numb" alone, which is just a completely crazy mash-up of the original song, 70s funk, 80s electro, and 90s house. It really shouldn't work, but it's just so damn good.
I think this album made me gay for a bit in 2004, as well; the soundtrack for my kiss-guys-on-molly phase. Which was a total blast, and this album being so unabashedly, joyfully out - and such a massive hit - felt like a defining moment.

I've tried so hard, but this record is impossible to dislike. At once reassuringly traditional while gently pushing rock in interesting directions, and utterly avoiding 60s cringe.
"Sinister Purpose" sounds so much like "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads.

Arguably more important than "Nevermind" in influencing the future of alt-rock, and obviously a massive, almost plagiaristic influence on Mogwai. Holy shit.

I'm increasingly convinced that people just forgot how to make and enjoy good music sometime around the year 2000.