Reviews by j-bizzle

I like this, it's a really chilled and soulful time. I like the backing violins and sax bringing some extra oomph, and he's got such a great voice, sugar.

This is great. Smooth. Classy. Jazzy. It's that kind of old-timey vibe that feels like Christmas. I think I will revisit, but perhaps just half of it, as it does feel over-long and I checked out more in the second half.

Sorry, African music isn't my thing. She's got a nice voice, and some of the more soulful songs are lovely. Several tracks in here are incredibly irritating though, and it took all of my will power not to bomb this entire review as a protest against them.

I've acquired quite a nice collection of pleasing, down-tempo chill albums over time, of which Moon Safari is one. It's massively my jam, and I revisit it a good amount of times throughout any given year. I just really love what these guys are doing. There's so many interesting soundscapes and textures running through this, with solid melodies and production. The flow of the whole thing is incredible. Overall, it's just a really mellow and satisfying time.

I hate that wispy, floaty voice so much. And oh dear god... it gets worse with the insane, falsetto shrieking. It actually makes me shiver and cringe at the same time. "Shringe". No... 'Criver'.

Some of the music is fine enough in terms of ability, and there's a bit of a groove on some tracks, but it's of that awful noughties period where it's all so safe and delicate and inoffensive. And BORING. I'm getting literally nothing out of this other than great regret at having pressed play in the first place.

1.5 rounded down.

I've been aware of Goldie as an artist and personality for ages, but never actually known what his actual music was like. I didn't realise he was so influential in the DnB scene.

I guess this is what it is. It's not something I'll ever celebrate or go back to. I'm not bothered by the super long tracks as so many are. I vibe with it well enough, and it works well enough in the background while cracking on with work.

So disappointed with this, it's rubbish. Pinball Wizard is good, and there's a smattering of reasonable tracks elsewhere, but the rest of the songs don't have enough form or oomph to them. It mostly just kind of exists and meanders along for the whole thing - which is very long.

Ah, a mixed bag overall. Initially I was really on-board with it. I love the musicality. I’m a real sucker for orchestral bits, strings, brass and so on, so that side of things was always going to win me over. I like how optimistic and unabashed it is, and particularly love any grandiose moments of musicality. I fucking love a big soar, me.

And then initially I thought it was super funny about comparing a lover to a horse. For Father Ted fans, he’s someone who’s famously written a song about a lovely horse, but crucially not about being IN love with it – so it’s nice to hear the other side I guess! And then in the next song he keeps going on about grazing on grass… peculiar.

I’ll be honest, I like the silly elements less. Some of the songs are quite affecting, and as the musical bits are done so well it feels like he could achieve something more consistently earnest. The later songs started to slow down a bit and weren’t as appealing as the earlier ones.

3.5 rounded down.

I really like his voice and style, how East-End it is in the delivery and content. I understand that won’t translate so well to other markets, but I dig it. Right from the off this is upbeat and a bit quirky and interesting. I love how mad and overblown some tracks are, like Blockheads, with the shouting and mad synths.

3.5 rounded down.

It's just a perfect slice of happy-go-lucky pop songs. Under 30 minutes. Right off the bat it gets straight into it. Nice and upbeat and pleasant with lots of really nice harmonies. It's just an enjoyable time.

3.5 rounded up.

It’s a generally nice time without wowing me. Uncertain Smile is my pick of the bunch. I like the synths.

I think this, for the most part, is absolutely excellent. It doesn’t feel like some of the other heavier metal stuff I’ve listened to, in that it’s way more interesting and melodic. It’s not incomprehensible noise. Although there is screaming, there’s plenty of proper singing too, and he has a genuinely great voice. A lot of the tracks have real drive to them, and there’s plenty of shifts in tempo which keep things fresh. The drums hit really hard, and the more technical squealing guitars when they kick in are massively my jam. For much of this album I was scrunching up my face and nodding along in a ‘this is badass’ kind of way.

I’m generally on-board with most of the album, but there are some truly stand-out tracks. Sulfur is a great tune. Psychosocial is badass. All Hope Is Gone. Snuff, while the least ‘Slipknot’ song on here is superb. I loooove the guitars in that song when they kick off. Vermillion (it’s a bonus track I think) goes even further with all kinds of interesting instruments and orchestral bits thrown in. Really quite impressive.

4.5 rounded down.

This is a decent enough listen. I’m not 100% on her voice, but the songs themselves are good enough. I like the dark synths that crop up on some tracks, along with the more upbeat numbers in general.

It’s an interesting one this, as parts of the album work for me and others don’t. I was hoping I might like this more than I did to be honest, as it seemed from the write up that it was well up my street. I really like the bigger soundscape moments the most, with the violins and brass and more, that stuff is great (eg. Broken Heart). And then in general I like those tracks that sound quite big, with lots going on in them.

But then there’s plenty in here that feels self-indulgent, and much of it is overlong. In general it feels pretty accomplished, but… I don’t know… lots of it also feels kind of sanitised somehow. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe a bit surface. There’s something that’s preventing me from connecting with it on a deeper level – which feels like something an album like this would be really striving to do. There’s moments and soundscapes here that remind me of someone like Sigur Ros – but they don’t connect and resonate in the same way.

'Solid Air' was a really nice surprise for me, so I was optimistic about this one. Thankfully I think this one also works really well for the most part.

More than anything I think the music in this is just seriously on-point. There's so much variety and scope across the whole album. I love the ambient moments, the interesting soundscapes, but also just the variety of instruments and styles as well.

It's good overall, but there's some standout tracks here that will definitely make it worth a revisit.

This was a lot of fun, and a great bop pretty much all the way through. It's hard not to like something that has so much infectious energy. It also doesn't overstay its welcome. 'Hate To Say I Told You So' is an absolute tune and is the standout.

Side recommendation: If you ever get the chance to see these guys live, do it. They're very, very good. Complete showmen.

This is a reeeal smooth, enjoyable time. Lovely orchestral compositions with the silkiest of silky smooth vocals across the top. I guess I don't have to wait until Christmas to get that feel-good, warming feel.

This was a real jam, with solid tracks throughout, good grooves, melodies and solid production.

3.5 rounded up.

I actually really liked the vibe of this. I like the layered noisy guitars and I even like his singing. They've got a good sound here and a real identity which I admire.

3.5 rounded down.

Even though I don't like this, and it's really noisy and abrasive, and chaotic, and his voice is manic and weird... it somehow works. There's just enough form, and at least in amongst the madness they're consistent in their vision and what they're doing. I still don't like it, but I understand what they're doing.