Reviews by j-bizzle

I don't mind these kind of ambient, soft electronic albums. It's a very chill time for the most part, but it's never going to dazzle me.

Some of it is pleasant. There's some chilled tracks with nice violins and guitar. Some of it is kind of boring. In fact it's mostly boring. I'm not really into it.

2.5 rounded down.

It's way less obnoxious than the other album I heard from them. I don't like his voice and the manic way he sings a lot of them still, but a lot of the actual music I'm finding myself tapping my foot along to a fair bit. There's some good upbeat grooves in here that work for me, with nice guitar and drums in particular.

It started off pretty good, but the further I got into it the more it dragged, and the more samey it felt. There's not really tons of variation across these songs. There's some nice guitars in places, but it was definitely way too much in one sitting.

2.5 rounded up

A bunch of my favourite bands have shoegaze elements to them, so I always find myself optimistically starting albums like this, before almost immediately realising that it's depressing, droney bullshit. It's so fucking miserable! Christ.

Turn that frown upside down guys! Go outside for a bit, sniff the fresh air.

There's a few good tracks in here which are pretty funky, with good beats and production, and lots of variation in instruments and so on. There's not many though, and the runtime is too long. Most of the album for me doesn't work and isn't my thing.

I like this. Good rhythms and beats, and it's pretty solid throughout.

3.5 rounded up.

There's some really accomplished songs on here. Lots of character and depth of feeling. The production is superb. It's not the kind of thing I'd put on usually, but I can't deny it's a really good album. That's why I'm going 3.5 rounded up.

There are some absolute bangers on here (Blank Space, Style, Shake It Off). The rest of the tracks are all very solid and catchy. She's a very gifted songwriter.

As a broader fan of R.E.M I thought I would like this more, but the only songs really worth re-visiting for me are the ones I already know (It's The End Of The World As We Know It and The One I Love), which are obviously great.

It's competent but really boring.

2.5 rounded down.

I like this kind of electronic ambient stuff. It can't exactly reach the highs of other albums in terms of impact and merit, but I really dig it.

I don't like jazz really, but this one was a real chill time. Way more accessible than most jazz albums, and there was some genuine foot tapping action going on for most of its runtime.

3.5 rounded down.

Two albums in a row where I've mentioned seeing them at a festival. This one was Glastonbury festival on the pyramid stage. We were walking generally past. The weather was utterly abject. Dark clouds overhead and rain coming down. I decided to buy a pear cider. We take a look at the main stage, and who is coming on? De La Soul. At that moment, the clouds part, a ray of sunshine breaks out, and I'm standing there with a pear cider in my hand and a big grin on my face, watching some super happy fun-time music. It was magical.

Anyway, I like the upbeat energy of these guys, but most of the album isn't as good as the big hits. I guess we'll always have Glastonbury.

I love Ash, they're genuinely one of my top 10 bands - and yet there's so many albums I haven't listened to all the way through. They're one of those bands that I've mostly only listened to on compilation albums. Maybe it's because their music is more about an overall feeling, and delivering a particular kind of hit. They're kind of specialists in that nostalgic, teenage fantasy realm, where it's always summer and there's possibility everywhere. When I want to feel good and rock out a bit I'll stick some Ash on and they'll always deliver. I don't need to go beyond the big hits and compilation songs, because they all rock and do exactly what they need to do.

Anyway it's a stupid reason. This is a really good album, and I definitely enjoyed it. I'm so happy Ash made it onto this 1001 list, as I've always thought they were a bit underrated and should have been bigger. I've seen them a bunch of times live and they've always delivered big. I remember seeing them play a tent at Reading festival, and some 'cool kids' at the back were sneering at me for jumping up and down when Kung Fu came on. Come on man, it's Kung Fu, it's an absolute jam! I went straight down the front, jumped about with those lot and had the time of my life.

Lots of brilliant songs on here. Some great melodies, choruses and riffs. Bits of the album fall off a little bit but overall it's another feel good treat.

It's alright. It's fine, but entirely forgettable. It lacks any kind of bite.

2.5 rounded down.

It's very pleasant and chilled. Smooth songs, sung very nicely. I wouldn't usually go along with this level of sensual 80's sax, but you know what? It's working.

3.5 rounded down.

It started off so promising with the opening tracks, but I'm sad to say it fell off and I ended up bored by the end. There's lots to appreciate here - the big concept album approach, tons of varied instruments, lots of interesting songs, good lyrics.

It's way too long for me though. The songs are all quite soft, and touching on the twee for some of them, and it's just too much. There's still some good tracks throughout, but it mostly feels like one big gentle thing.

Once again, I think Blur do disappoint a bit on the album front. You're kicking off with a classic in Beetlebum, and the other singles on the album are great too, but outside of those it's a bit meandering. I do admire them switching things up a bit and trying different things creatively, but there's not enough outside of the big hitters.

It's alright. Jimi knows how to play, but it's not speaking to me. It's quite stop start, and the songs are quite chaotic. There's not enough flow for me, and not enough to latch onto.