Reviews by j-bizzle

This dropped waaay off in quality real quick. Honestly, what a dreadful concert!

It got so much more tedious as it went on. I don’t know why people would want to go to this gig, let alone listen to it back on an album. How do you only play 7 tracks in over an hour and a quarter? Play some hits FFS!! Stop dicking about all the time!!

The stupidly long drum solo almost lost a whole star on the rating. Honestly, no-one wants that, even if it is technically proficient. What a waste of everyone’s time. It makes it all the more frustrating when they do genuinely set the stage alight and come together to kick some serious ass. They’re so good musically but they can’t get out of their own way.

I’m struggling to see the point of the album to be honest, but they *are* good as a band.

2.5 rounded up.

I really enjoyed this. I had no idea this is what Doves sounded like. The whole ‘after hours’, downtempo thing is very much my vibe. There’s lots of minor keys, and moody soundscapes running through it. It’s layered and rich and deep. A very nice surprise this one!

4.5 rounded up.

Ultimately I was disappointed with this. You can tell that Urban Hymns was a big step-up in terms of their song-writing chops, while they've yet to really develop here. It's a shame because one of the very early tracks was incredibly atmospheric, with some really nice, deep guitar. After that it all got a bit meandering and droney with no real highlights. It's still not a bad listen, but it's also doing nothing particularly interesting either.

2.5 rounded up.

Yes it's loud and frantic, but I was expecting this to be way more abrasive than it was. It's still got something to it, and it naturally shot by really quickly. If this were twice as long it'd be more of a slog.

I'm not really into it, but it's ok. I think the production is pretty good.

2.5 rounded up.

Yeah this isn't for me. The music is made well enough, but I'm not connecting with it at all, sorry.

I know that post-punk isn’t for me, and this isn’t winning me over either. There’s barely any variance between the songs here, and it all feels kind of disjointed and one-note.

I kind of want to give it a higher score because Siouxsie Sioux is so iconic, but I just think it’s really boring and shit. I’m not enjoying this at all.

Ah man, this started off with some promise, but it seemed to just rapidly fall away from about the middle onwards, with way too many wafty songs. The more upbeat tracks hit way more, when they're chucking out some genuinely good grooves and the songs have a bit of depth, but they seemed to just completely give up on those for some reason.

What's here is an ok, mixed-bag.

2.5 rounded up.

This is a very safe, but thoroughly pleasant album. I don't want to be too cynical and tear it to pieces for being so nice, but it is just that. It's nice. The music and vibes are nice. The whole thing floated on by in an accomplished and amiable manner.

It didn't move me, but it was also a steady and calm presence while it was on. I can't recommend it, but you know... it was nice.

It's nice enough I guess....?? I quite like the diverse use of synths for different flavours... but just because it's influential doesn't mean it's worthy of special consideration. It's not offensive, but there's also nothing here to get a rise out of me, and a lot of the weird ambient tracks just add absolutely nothing of worth. On its own merits it's just mediocre.

2.5 rounded down.

A bit of a mixed-bag I think. I like how they craft mood with their use of instruments, including guitar, keys, drums and synths. I even quite like his high-pitched vocals. I was less a fan of the acapella bits, when it started to sound like it should be in some twee indie film, and other tracks that are just a bit awkward and drawn out.

There’s plenty to really like on this album. They’re an interesting band full of energy and bite, and the whole album is frantic and kind of insane. However it's also quite melodic in places, and they create quite a lot of atmosphere with those guitars, which I really dig.

This is one of those bands that I just haven’t really listened to since I was a teenager, but also one that upon revisiting I’ve realised I really enjoy. I think I need to make more of a conscious effort to dig back into some of this stuff because I had a blast.

4.5 rounded down.

I feel like some of these songs have something about them. They have some kind of depth of feeling to them, without being too corny or overly-sentimental. However so many of them also just irritate me and bore me immensely. It's such a long album considering so many of the songs sound the same. I didn't have a nice time and it dragged a lot.

Brian Eno is a mad bastard, but I'm here for it. I respect his artistry. My favourite aspect of this album was the mad, MAD synths on the second track. They're so over the top and ridiculous, but that's why they're so compelling. Other tracks are a bit weird and drag-on, but overall I give it a thumbs up.

3.5 rounded down.

The last album of theirs I rated (Tigermilk) I was much more impressed by. I was worried about it being a bit indie wank, but it ultimately won me over with its diversity and creativity.

This one is basically the same, just without the creativity and diversity. That is, It’s JUST indie wank. Soft, floaty, well-meaning, twee vocals, and no real variance across the whole album. With a few exceptions, all the songs pretty much sound the same to me.

Unfortunately this one rubbed me up the wrong way a bit. No thanks.

I find a lot of this just really underwhelming. It’s accomplished enough I guess, but it’s just so uninspiring. It feels like some of these songs are supposed to be quite rousing, but they're *just* not. Whenever it starts to build towards something, you're expecting some kind of impactful moment, but it just never comes. It just meanders along instead in a kind of generally boring way.

This one isn’t for me, clearly.

2.5 rounded down.

Musically it's good, and it's a nice enough listen, but... it's just a bit safe and generic really. Overall it's quite bland. It doesn't feel like it's stood out from any other album in this same space.

2.5 rounded up.

I came into this one fully expecting to hate it, as it initially sounded a bit wanky indie, disassociated and gently angsty kind of energy... thankfully that wasn't really the case!

Overall it's a nice listen. The stand-out is the guitar playing for sure, and he does some interesting stuff there, with some moody and complex melodies. I don't think it's necessarily 'background' music, but it did play well in the background nonetheless.

I thought this was good, man! It’s a double album... but it didn’t feel like it dragged at any point. It’s an 80’s album with lots of synthesisers... but didn’t feel particularly dated. And I’ve never really been a Prince fan… but I dig his style here! Musically I think this album is on-point. I really like the range of instruments and approaches. There’s a lot of good hooks and funky upbeat grooves, and like some of his other albums it seems to get better as it goes on. Maybe he just gets under your skin a bit.

It’s not necessarily one I’ll revisit, but my stance on Prince has maybe shifted that little bit more. He’s a real artist.

3.5 rounded up.

This is at its best when it’s being quirky and weird. And it is weird! But in quite a fun and not annoying way. It has personality and owns it, and I kind of dig that. There’s a few meandering tracks, but it’s also really upbeat and funky on others. Sex Dwarf is a legit great track, while also being bizarre and kind of hilarious.

I also want to give a shout out to the mad, mad synths! They’re rad.