Reviews by j-bizzle

This is another long one, but as with the other album I had from her, I'm impressed by her as an artist. There's plenty on display here to admire. The songs are generally pretty good, and there's lots of different styles.

I think she has a ton of talent, even if it's not enormously my thing.

3.5 rounded down.

It's rootin' tootin' country, but the upbeat tracks were foot-tap worthy. That's where the votes are going. The slower ones I was less interested in, and some grated a bit, but overall it was an easy enough listen I guess.

2.5 rounded up.

With some exceptions, Sonic Youth just aren’t for me. I appreciate there’s some more form to these tracks than some of their other work, but the delivery still feels incredibly low-energy and non-engaging. And, yes, boring.

I enjoyed this without being blown away by it. It’s a perfectly fun time, and I quite like his style. I thought it would be more flamboyant and energetic to be honest.

This is not good. I’d go so far as to say it’s completely tedious.

The mix alone, or maybe it’s just how they sound, but it’s so bad. Murky, bleary, indistinct… the songs all kind of segue into each other in a really meandering way. There’s plenty of jamming (way too much jamming) but it all feels kind of generic with no real oomph.

I do like the idea of psychedelic space rock, but it’s not delivering on that title for me. Maybe I need to be high?

I’m afraid I didn’t listen to the second half. I got the idea.

This was better than I expected, and actually there’s lots of good stuff in here. There’s a good variety of different approaches, the songs have layers to them, and the mixes and production are great. Some of the samples and instruments fit really well (eg. the flute on Lil’ Ghetto Boy) and there’s some real grooves too.

The content is mostly awful and it’s misogynistic as fuck.

3.5 rounded down.

I’ve just come right off the back of another drawn-out, psychedelic record, and this has the similar kind of problem for me. So much of it is just incredibly samey and non-impactful. I do quite like the synthy soundscapes, and there's moments where I'm into the vibe, but a lot of this album is played in the same tempo and style and it wears thin after a while. Too many songs are just the exact same thing and don’t stand out enough.

2.5 rounded up.

I’m way up on this compared to everyone else. Even though I’m not blown away by it, this is the kind of thing I love about the project. A band I’d genuinely heard nothing about, delivering some great, bad-ass tracks. It’s especially fun when you come in expecting something utterly shit (based on the reviews) and you have that moment of… “wait… do I like this?” And you’re always expecting it to turn, but it didn't.

I swear I know nothing about genres. A lot of other ‘post hardcore’ bands I’ve rated on here I’ve absolutely hated, but this lands for me. I’m nodding and tapping right along with it. I love the layered, gloomy guitars. The dirty, vibey riffs. The propulsive drums. The vocal embellishments. The energy.

There’s a few dreary, bleh kind of tracks, but 70-80% of this I’m super into.

3.5 rounded up.

This was thoroughly nice. Very chill, but also with some upbeat energy elsewhere. The guitar work is really good. It didn’t set the world alight, but generally I enjoyed it and liked the songs.

3.5 rounded down.

There’s loads of one star reviews being upvoted here, but there’s plenty to like on this album.

I personally like the weird and creepy guitar sounds that they have going on, and I’m fine with his manic vocal delivery and weird scat-thing. I like the big-sounding, swampy guitars. I like the unexpected Ice Cube collaboration, which works well and is an interesting clash of styles (the Fred Durst one has not aged well)! Mostly I really like the singles, Freak on a Leash and Got the Life, which I knew and liked already – but they’re proper tunes!

I will say, I found myself tuning out more as it went on; the tempo seemed to drop, with the quality dropping too. It felt overlong and outstayed its welcome.

There’s too many music snobs on here. JT has got some song-writing chops, and the majority of these tracks are fun and accessible. There’s also a LOT of hits on here. Plenty that I recognise and which have undeniable appeal. The production, also, is really good.

Some of the songs are a bit blasé, but they’re still nothing less than fine. It’s not my kind of thing, but I respect the guy. This is an actual good album.

3.5 rounded down.

This is really quite a dark and ominous album, and an interesting progression from some of their earlier stuff. At its best it’s incredibly atmospheric, with layered soundscapes and haunting vocals. Some tracks are superb (like The Rip for example) and are quite impactful. The kind of songs that force you to pay attention and give you a bit of a jolt.

I get that a lot of it is quite anxiety inducing, but I do like the vibe and delivery on the whole. I don’t think this is as good as their earlier stuff though, and it CAN be pretty dour over 52 minutes.

3.5 rounded down.

This was a straight-up, funky time. I've not always been a huge fan of Janis Joplin, but her singing works well with the band here.

I most liked the jamming sections with the phat guitars and groovy riffs. There's some great guitar work in there, and some real upbeat jams.

3.5 rounded up.

I enjoyed his other fake movie album, but this one feels too disconnected to be able to hit for me. For the most part it's not a great listen. When it does work though, it's great. Tracks like 'The Swinging Detective' are dripping in atmosphere and menace. There's also lots of experimentation with instruments and soundscapes. But there's also so many awkward bits that don't have enough form to them.

I'm going to put it down as a bold failure, which isn't to be derided because it's really going for something.

2.5 rounded down.

This is pretty stripped back and basic in its delivery, but the guitar work is nice, and there's some decent melodies in there, with some soul. This wasn't too bad!

I was on-board with this from the off. I don’t really like country (and this is very country) but it was easy listening, and he has a real fine voice.

However… I really started to feel it by about track 5 or 6. The whole album sounds exactly the same, and I can’t reward that. Every song has the exact same cadence and style, and it turns it into a bit of a slog instead of a nice listen.

2.5 rounded down.

I really enjoyed this early-doors, as it's really accomplished, it has plenty of passion, and there's big, big brass in there. Real nice vibes.

This was a strong 4/5 for the first 20 minutes, but it did start to feel a bit much after a while, which is why I'm rating it... 3/5!

I'm kind of mixed on this one, because I definitely appreciate the musicianship, and I like some of the swings in this... but it's just not the best listen. It's kind of weirdly over-dramatic in places and drawn out in others. It's not bad, but it's not winning me over. I'll stick to their biggest hits.

This is actually excellent, the best of his albums I've had for sure. Musically it's really good, and I really love how moody it is. Bonus point for him being way less warbly on this as well.

4.5 rounded down.

This was pretty easy-going actually, I'm pretty on-board with it. It's just quite nice overall, inoffensive, an easy listen... yes there's some rubbish autotune in there, but most of the synthy electronic stuff worked pretty well for me actually.

3.5 rounded down.