Reviews by j-bizzle

Kid ARadiohead

Rated 10/10

I love this album, but I am sympathetic to the people who really don't get on with this, particularly if they enjoyed earlier Radiohead. I think the whole 'Radiohead disappearing up their own arse' thing is valid, and there's some tracks on here that definitely come off as pretentious. On the whole though I think this is a big, bold and beautiful album. It definitely requires a few listens I think, and it deserves to be listened to as loud as possible. Some of the tracks on here and truly transportive. Songs like 'How to Disappear Completely' just wash right over you in their melancholic majesty, while other tracks like Optimistic and Idioteque really drive on with some real thrust. There's so many dark, broody, interesting tracks in here, and I think it was a really interesting direction for them to take as a band. It definitely paid off.

This is on the lower-end of Bowie for me. Not really my jam. It's alright. His cover of Across the Universe is terrible. It feels at complete odds with the content of the song. Go to Fiona Apple for a beautiful cover of it.

It's a nice listen, and musically pretty interesting. I'm glad I gave it more than one listen, because it's definitely grown on me a lot more with repeat listens. I've now upgraded this from a 3 to a 4 because I really like a lot of what they're doing here.

After seeing the cover I was expecting a radical being from an alternate future to come and take me on a most triumphant voyage through hyperspace. While it didn't quite reach those dizzying highs, I did have a really good head bop and foot tap while he played an array of synthesizers at me. I spent some time in his company. We nodded knowingly at each other during particularly rad beats. We drank way too much sonic-Pepsi. We had fun together.

I only listened to the first half, as it wasn't really my thing. However, this is definitely better than I was expecting. I like the ambition of the thing, and it's way more thoughtful than I was expecting. Ultimately though, this isn't my jam and I don't connect to it.

LowDavid Bowie

Rated 6/10

It's fine. I do like a lot of David Bowie, but this one isn't hitting for me. I think I appreciate the fact that he did a weird musical half more than I like the weird musical half.

I like this, it's a really good moody mix. I guess it's just as well it's not too long, because it is a bit hard-going in one sitting, especially the bits where he's singing with a kind of mania. I love the first track in particular. What a voice.

I just can't seem to get into Pink Floyd. I honestly don't get it. A lot of people approach this album with sheer reverence, but it seems to me that there's plenty of random filler and blase songs in here, along with random weirdness. I like some of the instrumental stuff. The Great Gig in the Sky is good. Please stop giving me prog rock.

It's not really my vibe, and it was a bit much in one listen, but I can appreciate it. It's got a gentle funky vibe, and damn has he got some smoooth vocals! I think I'd appreciate it more in smaller doses. 3

I like the big sound of a lot of this, but I'm not connecting with it on a deeper level. I've never been able to 'crack' Pink Floyd beyond a few songs - I guess they're just not entirely for me.

The CarsThe Cars

Rated 8/10

I really like this. I'd heard some of these guys before but never really invested beyond a few songs, but there's plenty of catchy songs in here and it's overall a really good listen. The whole presentation is great, I love the cover too.

I really like Arcade Fire's earlier albums, and my interest fell off a bit beyond those. However there's some good songs in here. It does feel over-long though, with a bit of sag in the middle. I really love Sprawl II. Seeing that song in particular live at Glastonbury - there was actual magic and electricity in the air and it always takes me back to that moment.

Ugh, I hate this. I like a guitar, but this is just grating and an assault on the ears. Production is terrible. They sound reeeeally amateur, like they're a teen band who haven't learnt how to play with each-other properly yet. Why the fuck does the lead guitar keep cutting in and warbling in a different tempo and style to the rest of it? This is the kind of thing I'd expect to see in a comedy film or parody - a lead character in a band who thinks they're good and are tearing it up, but the reality is they're shit and the audience are laughing at them. This is the first album to make me properly angry. Fuck this noise. I'm not a fan at all, and neither is my tinnitus.

1/5

The Joshua TreeU2

Rated 4/10

I'm not really a fan of U2... A lot of this just doesn't do anything for me. I like some of the moodier bits and some of the soundscapes on songs like 'bullet the blue sky', but the rest just doesn't hit for me.

Not bad. I started off really into it, but it seemed to slow way down as it got into it, and my interest dropped off a bit. Some nice tracks in here though.