Reviews by ikejiri

Led Zeppelin II
The relentlessness of absolute bangers on this is pretty overwhelming, it’s 9 songs and 40 minutes of foundational and archetypal rock music. Their debut is great, but this is clearly a step up both in song and production, it has a much more satisfying, denser, richer and fuller sound.

Whole Lotta Love might be my favourite riff of all time, particularly when it comes back in with Bonham’s drums after the 2nd break down and What Is and What Should Never Be is superb, the tension of the riff and the psychedelic breakdown are great. Bonham and Jones really make The Lemon Song, particularly before and during the closing guitar squall. Thank You is fantastic, a brilliant melding of folkish, pastoral acoustic, organ and psychedelic sing-alongs, with an excellent lead vocal. I think we may have said on previous LZ reviews what a great acoustic player Page is, and he’s excellent on this.

Heartbreaker is of course a classic, and another superb riff, as is Living Loving Woman, a brilliantly catchy bit of snaking rock music. I love Ramble On, maybe my favourite of their acoustic-ish numbers, rich with mystical hobbitry, bass and guitar. Moby Dick may be my only dip, I like the riff and intro, and as great as Bonham is, I’m just not into the extended drum solo part. Bring it On Home ends things on a superb bluesy note with the Willie Dixon intro and outro and a sort of funk inflected rock middle section.

Easy 5.
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Playlist submission: Ramble On

Who Killed…the Zutons?
Despite listening to this a lot when it came out, and really enjoying them at the Roundhouse that time, this is an undoubtedly odd inclusion. It’s a decent album, and actually much better than I was expecting it to be after not listening to it for 20 years, but it is certainly not essential or world changing, or potentially that interesting if you haven't already had an interest in it.I also could have sworn that Valerie was on here, but obviously not.

It’s got a pleasing cosmic scouser feel, with many of the same touchstones as The Coral, like psychedelia, Love, The La’s etc, and there are some great tracks, particularly the run of Pressure Point, You Will You Won’t and Confusion, the last a lovely country folk song. I still really like Railroad, Remember Me is a nice sing along toe tapper, Dirty Dancehall has a great, frantic acid-rock feel and it closes nicely with Moons and Horror Shows. Everything else passes by pleasantly too.

It’s enjoyably nostalgic and I’m sure I’ll revisit it at some point, so even if it’s not indispensable its still a solid 3.
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Playlist submission: You Will You Won’t

Too-Rye-Aye
Come on Eileen has clearly been hammered to death, and that has probably stopped me from listening to this album properly, even if I’m aware of a few of the other songs.

Stripping back all the baggage around Come on Eileen it is an excellent song, combining the British, brummified Northern Soul of their first album with the Celtic fiddle and Gaelic folk influence Rowland wanted to introduce, to relentlessly catchy effect. This is also successfully evident on the excellent The Celtic Soul Brothers, All in All, Old, and the soulful Liars A to E. I also really love Precious and the cover of Jockie Wilson Said. Until I Believe in My Soul should be a classic, the yearning, organ driven verses and backing vocals are great, as is the chorus, but I really hate the jazzy breakdown, it really undercuts the rest of the song.

I love the idiosyncratic oddness of Don’t Stand Me Down and their first album is excellent, but this is also great, one that I have been mistakenly avoiding for too long. I don’t think it quite reaches the heights of the first album, and as always Kevin Rowland is an acquired taste, but I thoroughly enjoyed this, putting it at a solid 4.
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Playlist submission: The Celtic Soul Brothers

Roxy Music
The US release is the only one on streaming, which is fine as I love Virginia Plain, so I listened to that.

I love Re-Make/Re-Model’s references, a bit of Day Tripper, a bit of Peter Gunn and it’s a great opener. Ladytron continues the excellent start, lots of Eno oddities and a great groove and roll to it, the sort of melodramatic track Roxy Music excel at. If There Is Something is also superb, starting off with a little bit of a 50s rock’n’roll feel, before heading off into the heightened last couple of minutes, again creating a brilliantly dramatic song. You can see why Bowie covered it. 2HB completes an excellent first side, I love the pianet in tandem with the bass.

The 2nd side is less strong than the first, the songs aren’t quite as good as the first side, and the overall sound feels more inconsistent. And there is a sense of them feeling their way around what was great about the first side and what they would go on to do more successfully on For Your Pleasure. Sea Breezes is a real highlight though, brilliantly atmospheric and slightly odd (and oddly mixed, it seems very loud in the middle). Bitters End and Chance Meeting I’m not really very keen on at all, but Would You Believe and The Bob are decent enough.

I think it comes up short of a 5. The first side is almost flawless, but the second side pales in comparison, so overall it’s definitely a step below For Your Pleasure. 4.
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Playlist submission: It's Virginia Plain really, but in a nod to the original release I’ll go If There Was Something

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
Any album with Monday, Monday, California Dreamin’ and Go Where You Wanna Go has a high floor, especially combined with the superb harmony arrangements and blend of their voices. It's just a shame that the poor musical production and sound lets it down. In many places it's pretty shoddy, with separation all over the place and it has a noticeable lack of depth on the bottom end.

Outside those famous songs I like Straight Shooter in a Monkees kind of way and Got a Feelin’ is rather charming. I’m not sure about the cover of I Call Your Name, the ragtime bluesiness doesn’t quite work for me. I like the versions of Spanish Harlem and You Baby, the only song that has a bit of bite to the production. The voices are never less than stellar throughout but the rest of the songs just feel a little underwhelming particularly in the middle of side 2.

I think ultimately that makes it a 3, which may be harsh for an album containing Monday, Monday and California Dreamin’, but the poor sound and fair amount of filler stops it being a 4.
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Playlist submission: Monday, Monday

Diamond LifeSade

Rated 8/10

Diamond Life
From 70s smooth to 80s smooth, from flugelhorns and woodwinds to keyboards, synths and 5 string basses, and another very good album.

Through the 90s I don’t think I could have countenanced listening to this, let alone enjoying it as much as I did. It’s clearly of its time, but evocatively so, conjuring a kind of transatlantic mid 80s yuppiedom brilliantly, but it also has a bit of bite and edge under the suaveness - it doesn't have the vacuousness or meaningless of someone like Simply Red for example

Smooth Operator, Your Love is King and Hang On To Your Love are a superb opening duo, the percussion and bass on Smooth Operator giving it a superb snaking dynamism, and the bass and disco-soul guitars on Hang On To Your Love are great.

Frankie’s First Affair loses me a little, but I really like When Am I Going to Make a Living, and Cherry Pie has an excellent groove, with some tasteful wah touches. Sally’s jazzy soul also loses me a little, compared to the other songs, but it picks up again with the smooth and slippery I Will Be Your Friend and the excellent Why Can’t We Live Together, I love the groove and keyboard stabs.

Even if there are a couple of songs I’m less keen on, the album has superb mood, a kind of fluid sinuousness, but, for me, with enough depth and feeling to avoid the mere 80s cocktail lounge jazz accusations. I think that’s helped by her voice - it’s not conventionally smooth or sweet, it has a great sense of everyday genuineness, as well as a sophisticated edge, keeping the songs from floating off into insignificance. 4.
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Close to You
I guess you can go one of two ways with the Carpenters, you can either resist the uber-70s schmalzy, saccharine, sentimental smoothness of it all, or you can give in to and enjoy it for Karen Carpenter’s superbly sweet voice, the precisely calibrated arrangements, the excellent playing and overall sense of airy, diaphanous lightness.

It’s not perfect however, there is a definite drop off after I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, and I’m unconvinced by the cover of Help, although I do like Why Can’t We Live Together. But, alongside the superb We’ve Only Just Begun the Bacharach songs really shine, particularly the back to back to back Close to You, Baby It's You and I’ll Never Fall In Love Again. The second cover of Reason to Believe on successive albums is also great.

Despite that drop off it's a beguilingly easy listen throughout, and a very enjoyable, smooth 70s listen, elevated by Karen’s voice and the excellent production. It’s on the border of 3 and 4 - it’s a very good album, but perhaps one that doesn’t quite linger on the mind long enough afterwards, so I’ll leave it as a high 3.
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Playlist submission: We’ve Only Just Begun

Every Picture Tells a Story
The title track is one of my favourite Rod songs, despite some suspect eye shape related lyrics, I love its tumbling picaresque feel, the lines from ‘I firmly believe…’ are so sweetly sung, and Ronnie’s guitar break.

The choice of covers outside his own writes and co-writes is excellent, they all work brilliantly with the rootsy country-folk sound, from the rock’n’roll of That’s Alright Mama, the stomping, dramatic motown of I Know I’m Losing You, the fiddle enhanced Tomorrow is a Long Time the folk-jazz-ish Reason to Believe, and the very affecting Amazing Grace. And alongside the title track it also has two more of his greatest songs in Maggie May and Mandolin Wind.

I think his voice here is also probably at its peak, there’s a tenderness and sweetness to his raspiness that I love, and I find him very moving on Amazing Grave and Mandolin Wind.

You could argue that Ronnie is at his peak here too, alongside Martin Quittenton, his slide and empathetic playing perfectly supports Rod’s voice and the selection of songs.

Although I am quite partial to Gasoline Alley, I think this is probably his best solo album (but I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of his first four albums), so I’ll give it a full throated 5.
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Playlist submission: Every Picture Tells a Story

The DoorsThe Doors

Rated 8/10

The Doors
Aside from LA Woman, I’ve never listened to a full Doors album. I had a best of on CD, and I do like them, but I’ve never dived into their albums properly.

Break on Through, The Crystal Ship, Alabama Song, Light My Fire, End of the Night and The End are very familiar to me, which is pretty much half the album so in many ways I already know it, although as I’m unsure how this sits in the Doors catalogue it makes it slightly tricky to judge.

Of the songs I’m not familiar with I like Soul Kitchen and I looked at You and really like Take it as it Comes. Twentieth Century Fox and Back Door Man are fine, if a little too obviously 60s - their sound is so distinctive and has been used so much as a 60s signifier that I suppose they can sound derivative of themselves and the sound and evocation they create.

I know Robby Krieger is a great guitarist, but the whole album really cements it, with the organ and organ bass giving a lot of fullness of sound he can really add texture and movement with very little showboating.

It’s on the cusp of 4 and 5, I think I’ll tip to a 4 out of expectation that subsequent albums will be even better, and a couple of songs felt a bit fillery to me. But then it does have The End and Light My Fire, which so many of their peers would have killed for…I’ll stick with a 4.
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Playlist submission: The End

Straight Outta Compton
There is still a palpable thrill to the brilliantly delivered righteous anger in the title track and Fuck tha Police, backed up by Dre and Yella’s superb production - aggressive and loud, mirroring the thematic frustration and grievance of the lyrics.

Express Yourself is also still an excellent track, and Dopeman has always been a favourite. Outside those Gangsta Gangsta, If it Aint Ruff with its guitar samples and I Aint Tha 1 (outside the lyrics), are good, but there is undoubtedly a fair bit of filler in the second half, or more accurately a slightly anodyne sense to a lot of the boom-bap beats, especially in contrast to the sharpened, blasting vivacity of the first two tracks, and lyrically it loses a lot of its power.

Aside from the racism, profiling and mistreatment by and hypocrisy of the police it does too often fall into Ice Cube’s other lyrical preoccupation of misogyny and generalised dislike of women. I saw one reviewer on the site highlighting the double standard of giving many white artists less scrutiny than black artists when it comes to this sort of thing. I know I am guilty of that too, so although tracks like I Aint Tha 1 are pretty grim listening due to that misogyny, I will try and make sure I apply that same standard to other non-hip hop artists.

The influence of this, particularly socio-cultural, cannot be denied, and when it’s good its superb - direct, honest and impassioned, but unfortunately musically it doesn’t match those high standards, especially compared to groups like Public Enemy or any of the Native Tongues, releasing albums around the same time. Influence a 5, music a 3, with not quite enough good songs to make it to a 4.
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Playlist submission: Straight Outta Compton

Germ Free Adolescents
I don’t think I’ve listened to this before, even though I’m well aware of Poly Styrene and Oi Bondage Up Yours.

Apart from the very early US punk bands, I do think UK punk is a much more interesting, and listenable, proposition. The punk vibe suits the squalid nihilistic New York of the 70s, but I think it just fits better with the era of the late 70s in the UK, the post war crumbling of empire and the loss of faith in the establishment, the economic transition away from industry and manufacturing feels reflected in the music. Even if a lot of punk tends towards 3 chord distortion the cross over between punk and reggae gives a edge of eclecticism and outwards lookingness, that contrasts with a lot of punk in the US, which for me tends more towards musical insularity, chasing down the cul de sac of harshness and heaviness.

This has some great guitar, reminding me of Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols, and obviously SP were a huge influence, but the sax also shows a willingness to look outside the standard guitar-bass-drums set up.

Not every song is great, but there is a strong base level of listenability, the sax and guitars keep things interesting and they sometimes hit on some great melodies, but there are some very good tracks; Art-I-Ficial, the Ramones-ey Obsessed with You, the sweetly melodic Warrior in Woolworths, the Submission by the Sex Pistols sounding Let’s Submerge, Germfree Adolescents, the jazz-punky Plastic Bag, The Day the World Turned Day-Glo.

I really enjoyed this, it may not be the strongest album, but for the sax, guitars, Poly Styrene and songs about Woolworths it's a superior punk album, enough to just nudge it to a 4.
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Playlist submission: Warrior in Woolworths

Modern Kosmology
I’m not sure if I have heard of Jane Weaver - it feels like I have but I didn’t recognise any of this.

It's pretty great though, a kind of airy, psychedelic, folkish, synthy new wave tinged electro with a delicate voice, a great combination. Has a little bit of the feel of Badly Drawn Boy with a little bit of Nouvelle Vague and a fair dose of Stereolab.

H>A>K sets a great feel for the record, a motorik beat and breezy, cosmic vocal, embellished with synths and bass. Did You See Butterflies has a lo-fi feel, but again with great bass, rhythm and vocal. That same quality continues with Modern Kosmology and Slow Motion, before the excellent Loops in the Secret Society corrals some Velvet Underground style discordance and dissonance, but with a lovely melody.

The Architect is probably the standout track, or the most obvious single at least, a great pulsing rhythm and synth with another great vocal. The Lightning Back is another lovely little song, similar to Did You See Butterflies with its lo-fi drum machine sound. Valley recalls Tender most obviously, but I really like its more fractured percussion, and the fiddle/violin is lovely, weavering its way through the second half. Malcolm Mooney’s appearance on Ravenspoint ties it back to the obvious Krautrock influence, and again there’s a little of VU in the guitar. And I Wish ends things nicely, another drum machine beat and airy vocal.

It’s not the most varied of albums, but the motorik percussion, synths, folk inflections, catchy melodies and cosmic sounding vocals are a winning formula, meaning it doesn't drag or start feeling samey. A lovely album and a nice discovery. 4.
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Playlist submission: The Architect

Solid AirJohn Martyn

Rated 10/10

Solid Air
I may go a few years without listening to this, but I always come back to it. It's definitely one of my favourite albums and has a big Proustian-University element to it. I’m not sure how I first heard of it, I had it on CD at Durham so predates Human Remains, I wonder if it was the Nick Drake connection?

Initially I loved the folkier songs like Over the Hill and May You Never, and the bluesier tracks like The Easy Blues, but the more I listened the more I started to love the odder, jazzier corners and moments.

I don’t necessarily want to go track by track, I love each song, but there are so many great elements; the bass and vibraphone and mumbled, delicate vocals on Solid Air, the jazz-folk of Don’t Want to Know, the effects laden jazz-blues of I’d rather be the Devil, the beauty and Nick Drake-ness of Go Down Easy, the bluesiness of The Man in the Station, the Indian sounding drone on The Easy Blues, its all excellent.

It doesn’t really sound like anything else, which I think left a big impression on me when I was 19, and it still has a singular beauty and slight creepiness that I love. 5.
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Playlist submission: Could be every song, but I’ll go Solid Air

Southern Rock Opera
I really like the idea behind this, a concept album based around a Lynyrd Skynyrd inspired protagonist could have been truly awful, but it isn't at all, the duality of the south and the mix of pride and disillusionment is an interesting, and universal, theme, especially when it comes to George Wallace - although I appreciate their honestly delivered perspective take I do feel like they under represent his racial virulence in asking him to be re-appraised, but even so Three Alabama Icons is a very good track.

Musically there’s some great stuff on here, and I like Patterson Hood’s Don Henley-esque vocal tone contrasting with Mike Cooley’s more conventional country drawl. However, and although I’m quite partial to a bit of Southern Rock, the stylistical limitations of the genre do mean that a double album of it does feel pretty dense and a bit samey - and it’s arguable that there are enough good songs to justify it being a double - and although it's not necessarily a slog to get through it certainly feels like a full 94 minutes. Storywise as well it probably doesn't quite justify that length, although the loose narrative does suit the musical style well.

There’s elements of Steve Earle, particularly on Cooley’s songs like Guitar Man Upstairs, and a bit of Nebraska-era Springsteen on something like Moved, and you can hear bits of Tom Petty and Jackson Browne throughout, as well as a decent dose of Black Crowes, especially the slide on Life in the Factory. Outside of those Ronnie and Neil, Birmingham, Road Cases, Life in the Factory and Angels and Fuselage are the standouts for me.

In many ways the thematic concept demands a sprawling, lengthy journey through southern rock and Alabaman identity, but that length does diminish it as a full listening experience, putting it on the border of 3 and 4. While there’s much to admire, not least that the concept is actually interesting, it does get musically quite samey after an hour, and really there aren’t enough good songs over the 20 tracks, so I think I’ll stick at a 3; I can see myself coming back to it, but it's not going straight into rotation.
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Playlist submission: Angels and Fuselage

Inspiration Information
As much as I love this album, it does have a slight sense of aimlessness over the back half, even over a short run time of 31 minutes, that possibly precludes it from being a top tier album, and on balance I think I marginally prefer Freedom Flight over this.

Nevertheless it is still a great listen, an excellent miasma of soul, blues, psychedelia and jazz, particularly over Inspiration Information, Island Letter, Sparkle City, Aht Uh Mi Hed and Happy House. I love the percussion sound and the easy listening style organs that appear periodically amongst the guitars and his laid back easy going vocal delivery.

It goes more into easy listening, but not in a completely appealing way on Rainy Day. And XL-30, Pling! And Not Available all feel a bit meandering in comparison to the first half, like soundtrack music looking for a film, giving it that slight sense of aimlessness.

It’s never unenjoyable, and the whole thing is a great, easy listen, it just doesn’t quite make it to a 5 because it does tail off after Happy House. 4.
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Playlist submission: Inspiration Information

Cupid & Psyche 85
When I was a child I always got Scritti Politti and Milli Vanilli mixed up, and then I never really got round to listening to Scritti Politti even though I thought I would like them.

The reggae lilt of The Word Girl on first listen feels a little unconvincing, but it is a real grower, and it isn't immediately indicative of the quality the rest of the album, which is apparent with the synth pop sheen of Small Talk and the excellent Absolute. There’s a lot of MJ across the album, and A Little Knowledge feels a lot like a Jackson 5/Off The Wall era ballad, and is another great track.

The new-wave-synth-pop-soul continues with Don’t Work That Hard, Perfect Way and Lover to Fall, all excellently crafted and melodic songs, particularly Lover to Fall. Wood Beez is probably the stand out, with more of an angular accent with the bass and synth but with another excellent melody and hook. Hypnotise is another excellent soul-pop song to round things out.

I thought this was excellent, it’s similar to Haircut 100 in its pop and soul polish. It has a lightness and deftness but it’s definitely not lightweight, the art school intellectualism (and irony) alongside the sense of craft and precision gives it substance. And it's also a superbly produced album, it sounds excellent, the synths and guitars have a bright punchiness, and I really like his vocals as he duets with himself.

A real gem of a record, a great discovery for me.
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Playlist submission: Wood Beez

Phaedra
Not a huge amount to say about this, other than it's a fantastic album, particularly the title track’s 17 minutes of shifting, undulating electronic brilliance. The sequenced Moog replicating the bass while the atmospheric organs, synthesisers and voices sweep around creates a superbly evocative and ambient track. As their name was inspired by Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds I feel like the seagull noises from around 11 minutes on are a reference to Tomorrow Never Knows.

Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares, as its name suggests, has a slightly more sinister feel, although the motif over the last few minutes feels very hopeful to me. Movements of a Visionary has a slight Asian feel to the tumbling Moog sequence, and is also a superbly evocative song, a little more fraught than the others, but still very beguiling. Sequent C then ends things on a much more low key note, landing softly after Movements of a Visionary.

It's easily a 5, it's clearly hugely influential on Eno, Bowie etc, but it is also a superb 37 minutes of music in its own right, feeling more like a classical or jazz piece than anything else.
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Playlist submission: Phaedra

The Notorious Byrd Brothers
I don’t think I’ve really listened to this one as much compared to the others on the list, but listening now it might be my favourite. All their albums are a little inconsistent for such a great and influential band, but this is possibly the most interesting in its unevenness. They often seem to try on different styles, but it can feel ill fitting and slightly uncomfortable, but on this they seem to wear the psychedelic, early electronic and baroque oddness well, not feeling too forced or awkward and its spacey, ruminative air is rather beguiling.

Artificial Energy with its 60s TV cabaret show compressed horn doesn’t leave a great initial impression, although it does become a slightly more interesting song as it goes on, the guitars and lyrics adding a slightly odd edge to it. Goin’ Back is superb, an excellent version, their trademark harmonies and guitar sound giving it a brightness to contrast the melancholy lyrics, strings and overall wistful air. Natural Harmony’s washes and waves of Moog and electronic sound is also excellent, with a nice combination of far our 60s hippiness and a delicate folkiness. Draft Morning is also excellent, again the noises and sound effects give it a ‘far out 60s man’ sense, but its a lovely song and tune, sensitively played and sung, it must be one of Crosby’s best. Wasn’t Born to Follow is one of my favourite Byrds recordings, and it is an excellent combination of their harmony rich jangliness and country influences, as well as some great Mooginess in the middle. Get To You has more of the county-ness and again with a delicate folkiness and again with a lovely harmony rich vocal.

I love the guitar on Change is Now, it feels quite Ernie Isely and it continues in the vein of the first side, in its ethereal spaciness. Old John Robertson overtly points to their next album and is a nice, if throwaway, country ditty with some nice 60s flanging. Tribal Gathering is another unmistakably Crosby song, but in the same vein as much of the rest of the album. Dolphin’s Song, while not quite as strong as Draft Morning, is another strong Crosby song, pulling off the same trick of incorporating synthy experimentalism without it feeling too forced or too dated (although the dolphin sound gets close). I love Space Odyssey - a sort of 60s Moog boosted madrigal/medieval/sea shanty, with an Indian influenced drone, and another song with a tinge of melancholy.

I really loved this, it’s gone straight in as my favourite Byrds album, I love its ethereal atmosphere and its plaintive pallor, combined with some lovely melodies and harmonies and its easy dabbling in folk, country, baroque and Moog, enough to tip it to a 5.
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Playlist submission: As much as I love Wasn’t Born to Follow, I’ll go with Goin’ Back

RepeaterFugazi

Rated 4/10

Repeater
I wasn’t expecting to get much from this, so I was pleasantly surprised by it. However I think that is probably due to those low expectations rather than the actual music itself, as after a few listens I know it’s not something I’m likely to return to.

That’s not to say there aren’t still some good parts and moments. I like Turnover’s swaying, vaguely hazy opening groove, and the guitar has a nice catchy melody to it. Brendan #1 seems like an influence on early White Denim and Sieve Fisted Find has another nice bass groove. Greed has a nice stop start motion to it, although the chorus isn’t necessarily to my taste.

But around that it is all quite samey, although I can appreciate its influence on alternative and post hardcore in the 90s and 2000s, even if that’s not really a genre I’m hugely into.

Although I quite liked it, I think its more of an appreciation of its influence and lyrical themes rather than being into it, and as I say I’m unlikely to come back, so it's a high 2.
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Playlist submission: Turnover

Lark’s Tongues in Aspic
I really like Pt 1, there’s a beautiful Vaughan Williams-esque feel to the strings and a great atmosphere of pastoral progginess. And the intro is _very_ Radiohead, and indeed the whole album feels like a huge influence on them across OK Computer and Kid A.

Easy Money I was less interested in, feeling a little more like standard early 70s prog in its polished but going nowhere lengthiness. The Talking Drum is excellent though, the middle eastern motif in combination with the bass is great, and I like Fripp’s guitar snaking around the song, and although it doesn’t deviate a great deal its a really engaging track. Pt 2 has a nice dramatic muscle to its groove and again the strings and fiddles are great, giving it a nice sense of both dreaminess and earthiness.

Overall I enjoyed this more than a lot of prog. Although Easy Money didn't do a great deal for me I like that it's 4 songs over 40 minutes, the songs benefiting from that length, particularly Pt 1 and Pt 2 as they unfold and move through their phases. Fripp’s guitar is also great throughout, his tone is recognisable, and he has a nice languidness, and although it features prominently across the labrum it doesn’t feel overplayed to me.

It’s between a 3 and a 4, I'll tip to 4 as I did enjoy it a lot.
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Playlist submission: Lark’s Tongues in Aspic Pt 1