Reviews by henry-winchester

So incredibly rough around the edges, but you can feel Cave's whole shtick coming through. The musical equivalent of Max Max 1.

Just absolutely grabs you by the balls and never lets go. So much rage and, depressingly, it feels just as relevant now as it did 30 years ago.

Somehow completely brilliant in how unexceptional it is. A band finding its feet and its confidence and delivering a series of completely flawless tracks.

I quite like The Police! Don't hate me!

Did not like the other M.I.A. album on here, but this was OK, especially when it was contrasted with the mid-00s bland indie that was playing in the cafe. I mean, there is something going on here that's a bit more interesting and edgy; Neneh Cherry-ish, and it doesn't outstay its welcome.

I remember this coming out, I believe it was the first release on DreamWorks records, and it sounded like it - experimental, but on big production budget, sort of Smashing Pumpkins' grand-scale midwestern Goth meets Pavement's introversion. It can be a little annoying in places, but it's still a unique and challenging album.

Bleak and pessimistic, kitchen-sink Radiohead. There are the germs of some good tunes here ("Writing to Reach You" is interesting), but it becomes repetitive and ultimately just a spiral of devastation without any redeeming features. I swear "Driftwood" is the single most depressing song ever written.

Funnily enough, I was just looking at this last night and thinking about listening to it, but then I thought "this is bound to show up on 1,001 albums." And look, here it is!
And, I don't know, it's kind of boring? Maybe I just know it too well - I listened to it incessantly when I was 16, and now it just lacks a certain something. It's still a five-star album for what it did, and what it meant to me at the time, but tracks like "Polly," "Territorial Pissings," and "Breed" just don't really do anything for me, although "On A Plain" shines through as one of their best songs. "In Utero" is a better album; it's more jagged and less listenable, but also more coherent.

I hated this to start with, and then it suddenly just clicked into place. Insane and brilliant in equal measure; I can't think of any other album that keeps you on your toes so much.
FAST AND BULBOUS

Treads the fine line between good high-production 80s jazz and annoying dissonant 80s jazz. Loved the closing track though.

It's insane how quickly singer/songwriters matured during the 60s. This is just phenomenal; switching from awe-inspiringly dramatic and cinematic to deeply introverted and experimental in a short space of time.

So light and yet it has so much substance. Like Tom Waits without the gravelly gruffness. I could honestly listen to this forever.

This is such an 80s endeavour. Interesting, but not entirely listenable. Feels like it might have influenced Bjork in places.

Expecting shallow rockabilly, but this is pretty good, kinda deep-south AC/DC. Did not outstay its welcome despite its length.

This was exactly the point at which U2 and Coldplay became indistinguishable. Feel-good stadium rock that doesn't challenge and completely falls apart upon close examination. Although, having now listened to a bunch of U2, I concede that there is always one really good track among the dross on every album. In this case, it's "Elevation." Complete turd otherwise.

Great arrangements and I usually like weird stuff, but I found this irritating as hell. She sings like Bjork and Kate Bush in a joint constipation therapy session.

I remember the Yeah Yeah Yeahs being a thing, but never really paid them much attention. This is good though. One of the few albums where I liked the acoustic tracks towards the end as they reveal and more tender side to the lead singer.

This might have been funny at the time*, but it sure as hell isn't now. Although admittedly it captures an irritating and cringeworthy side of the hippie dream that is probably best forgotten now.

*I doubt it was funny at the time.

Unusual for pretty much every song to work on an album. I always forget "It Ain't Easy" is on here, and it always catches me off guard like a sonic hitman.

It's interesting that SFA are referred to as alt-rock on Spotify, rather than Britpop. But I think it's also correct as the Welsh band probably has more in common with Pavement than Shed Seven. The album still holds up; short, sharp and sweet. "Something For The Weekend" is still killer.