Reviews by j-bizzle

It's mostly ok. Even though it's pretty accomplished, a lot of it isn't that exciting. There's a few good tracks in here though.

This definitely sounds like the theme music to some old-school knockabout police show, and as such it's kind of hard to take seriously. How on earth this made it onto the list I have no idea at all.

I like some of the driving guitar riffs and more melodic bits that they sprinkle in there, but it's not really my bag in general. If the vocals weren't so harsh I would probably like it more.

2.5 rounded down.

Back in the day this wasn't really my particular scene, but of course I was aware of the band. I'm impressed that the whole album is genuinely quality, with loads of great songs, tons of energy and loads of great hooks.

It's still not something I'd naturally flock to but I have to admit it's really good. It's a really accomplished debut.

I liked this one! In general I really liked the guitars and backing music, with their upbeat musical jams. Lots of tracks on here are a total bop. I'd never heard of these guys before (outside of one track), so it was a nice surprise.

I like elements of this album, but as with Disintegration it is quite oppressive overall and does wear on you over time. I do really like the oppressive, droney opening on this. It really sets the mood. Some of the guitars feel like they're actually dripping in sorrow, and the atmospheric drums and moody vocal echoes work really well also.

But then it does just become a drag over time. His singing in particular is quite one-note. This is the kind of album that you should probably listen to as a whole, but then so much in one go is also quite hard work. By the end you realise you've hunched all the way over as this album has been weighing on you for the past 43 minutes.

I'm not down with this at all. A lot of indie from this era was just terrible, floppy haired, happy-go-lucky music with no oomph to it. And of course, this is no exception. Maybe they're a bit more varied than some of their contemporaries in what they're doing musically, but it still has no bite to it at all.

I've not really got a lot to say about this one. It didn't really leave much of an impression on me at all. It all felt pretty samey and one-note, but was accomplished enough for what it is I guess..?

This is way more varied and interesting than I was expecting. There's some funky tunes in here, some laid back grooves, and a great array of instruments. The album as a whole is generally pretty cool, and it's well put together.

Top tip people - the Spotify linked album includes a whole other album. You just want disc 2, so you can cut the time of this in half. It's something I'm glad I knew ahead of time, because I tend to listen to these things all the way through, and this one isn't really for me.

It's made with skill and there's some nice enough rhythms in there. I like some of the compositions and the back and forth vocals, when it's not being super repetitive. I don't vibe with world music at all in general, so I guess 2/5 is actually somewhat of an endorsement in that respect...? I'll actually go a 2.5 rounded down, because it was easy enough to listen to in the background.

I'd love to know how I'd rate this album if I wasn't already quite familiar with it. I've got a feeling that I might rate it a bit lower, and that part of this rating comes from familiarity, and being a fan of the Pixies work in general.

The fact is, I do really like their style in general. I like their anarchic edge, their humour, the guitars, the dual vocals. This may not be as consistent as something like Doolittle, or have as many stand-out tracks, but the album still really works as a whole. They kind of hit the scene fully formed as a band, with a completely unique identity, and that's kind of cool.

4.5 rounded up.

I got way more into this the further it went on. You see a bunch of highly upvoted 1 star reviews calling it cringe, and then you hear those kind of drawling vocals coming in, and you do start to wonder. I thought I'd be more annoyed by them, but actually I'm not that much. After a while I kind of got into the vibe of what he was doing.

I like the laid back, casual flow of this album with those nice bass lines running through it. I feel like it'd be cool to hate on this kind of thing, but if you actually just go with it then you can have a pretty decent time.

3.5 rounded down.

I didn't realise this is what Rush sounded like. I always thought they were some kind of thrash metal type affair. I know I've already listened to one of their albums so far, but I'd clean forgotten what that sounded like, such was the impression it left on me.

This to me has all the annoying trappings of prog, but maybe with more conventional song structures? There's some nice bits in here. I like the synths, and some of the musicianship is good... but as with other prog albums, a lot of this feels way too earnest. It seems to take itself very seriously, yet it's kind of silly and lacks substance.

2.5 rounded up.

It's a bit of a mixed bag this one. A lot of the record is really murky and a bit weird, but there's also a bunch of really good tracks in there too. I much prefer the more upbeat tracks. There's some genuinely funky tracks in here with some good riffs, nice keys and so on. The skill and musicality is there, but I wish it were more consistent. I enjoyed this the more it went on, so I think this one might be more of a grower over time. I went from a 2.5 rounded down to a 2.5 rounded up, to a 3.5 rounded down.

Obligatory "never listened to this whole album before outside of a few tracks", and I don't know why I didn't. Maybe I actually did and forgot. Either way I'm usually very down for these kind of down tempo, trip-hop, electronic type affairs.

I can see how people will find this incredibly repetitive, but I really like the slow build that they employ on a lot of the tracks. The soundscapes and musical themes all develop over time into something more, and a whole big mood.

I do like doing some deep dives on the back of these things. Through this I realised that both "Squares" by the Beta Band, and "Daydream in Blue" by I Monster are actually both covers of "Daydream" by Wallace Collection. And now I've just checked out that original, and it's also good. VERY 60's hippy vibe.

Back to the album as a whole, I'm generally up on it. I like the overall vibe, the musicality of it, the production, the mood. I'm starting to realise that I describe far too many of these albums as 'nice', but you know... it is.

3.5 rounded down.

It's not for me, but it's a bit better than I was expecting. The songs are pleasant enough for the most part and they don't actively irritate me. That said, the bullshit tracks of them screeching can do one. I started to enjoy it way more towards the end, until I realised Spotify had segued into an altogether different album!

I'm quite impressed by this. Musically it's very interesting, and it has a great mood running throughout it. Some of it is quite unusual, but always accomplished. The melodies are still really nice. It just stands out as something quite unique to my mind. I like how it tails off towards the end, going more lo-fi and chill, with those cool sci-fi synths.

Surprised and quite delighted with this one.

"Nondescript", the album. This is so generic and low stakes, honestly. It's listenable enough, just, you know, in a boring way.

2.5 rounded up.

I'm not sure I'd ever listened to the whole of this album before. It's obviously very good. Plenty of big hits, but it's also nice to see that even the lesser known tracks are very good, and doing all sorts of interesting things musically. I really liked the softer delicate tracks in here that I hadn't heard before.

The songwriting, structure and musicality is really solid across the board, and they do plenty of interesting things. I really like the vocal harmonies in there. And of course some of these tracks are immense, particularly Go Your Own Way and The Chain. Good going, Fleetwood Mac.

4.5 rounded up