Reviews by j-bizzle

Comparing it to similar albums of the era, it holds up relatively well. It's not too obnoxious, and some tracks have some good grooves and flow to them. Some tracks are inevitably misogynistic, as can sadly be expected. It got better as it went on.

2.5 rounded up.

In terms of the music, a lot of it is actually quite bright and breezy. Obviously the lyrical content, and some of the slower songs are more sombre. Morrissey is still a warbly arsehole, but it does work for this. His singing does maybe start to feel a bit one-note on some songs. But.. there's some great songs in here! It's a good album.

3.5 rounded up.

Pretty good. It's very musical, with lots going on. Lots of different instruments that all work well. Pretty upbeat and fun. Quite funky. Some bits are a bit mad and 80's, but I kind of dig that too. Maybe a little disjointed, and there's nothing massively memorable that will last in the memory.

Yeah.. it's not bad, but it's a very hard one to review. It's chill and ambient-y, and sits nicely enough in the background. There's just not really much to grab hold of is there? Nothing about this album is going to excite you, but you might enjoy having it on in a non-committal kind of way.

This is such a strange album. I've really struggled to latch onto it in any meaningful way. It's weirdly inaccessible, but not even in an artsy way, just in a kind of annoying way. Much of it is really slow and boring. 'Up With the People' is probably a good song that encapsulates the album as a whole. Despite having all kinds of instruments in there and soulful backing singers, all building into a kind of crescendo - it's still *somehow* bland. That's before you factor in his wafty, nothing falsetto, that later becomes an actively irritating falsetto. It gets two stars because I like the range of instruments, and some tracks are merely ok.

I'm so glad it picked up after the first track, because I thought I was going to be in for quite a brutal ride there. Once it picks up and she actually starts singing it becomes a more soulful time and way more listenable. The music for the most part is actually not bad, and pretty good in places even - However, let's be clear, the lyrics and content in this are absolutely fucking awful. The write-up makes it sound like she she's exploring all these vast important themes, but the whole thing is as shallow as a puddle.

2.5 rounded down.

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did, but it really is excellent. I'd only heard the bigger hits before, but the rest of the album holds up too. I'm left wondering why I hadn't dug into their albums more before now.

Musically it's got such a good vibe to it. Really accomplished and harmonious with some GREAT jams. The production is excellent too - it still sounds really good all these years later.

Obviously there's a lot of big hitters on here, and they've also stood the test of time. Light My Fire is such a behemoth. I love how there's such a huge middle of pure instrumental where everyone gets a go, adding layers and layers before jumping back into the main thrust of the song. When this broke through it must have been such a moment.

So yeah. It's simply, really really good. And it feels iconic.

I really liked this! It has a lot of rocky / punky energy to it. There were a few tracks that didn't land, but that's balanced out by some really great ones. Mostly it's a really good, energetic time. There's some nice grooves and guitar work. I definitely hear influence in some later bands as well.

I've never listened to these guys before, so this was a nice discovery.

It's completely fine. Obviously it's very 80's, but it's quite fun and upbeat. Sometimes her vocals are a bit shrill and annoying, but there's a few good tracks in here. I'm definitely not revisiting this, but you know, it's fine.

I like this without loving it. I like how raw and punky and scuzzy it is. It's got a real attitude to it.

3.5 rounded down.

This would be so much better if you removed his singing completely from the album. The music is actually really decent with lots of range, but you have some warbling, gruff drunkard slurring over the top of it. On some songs it works well, actually, but the rest of the album is not great. It follows a similar pattern to other albums of his, where there’s much to admire, but it’s only in pockets, and the rest is just weird and a bit irritating.

2.5 rounded down.

I like the chilled vibe of this. Clever use of samples with good rhymes over the top.

3.5 rounded up.

I can't help but be disappointed by this. I don't know what all the fuss is about. Considering this is supposed to be a rocking album, it sure does sound weak in the delivery. Compare this to someone like Led Zeppelin and it's night and day. There is weirdly VERY little oomph in this. There's some good guitar playing, obvs, but I'd much rather have less virtuosity and more cohesion.

I've never heard of these before, or any of their hits. I don't think they were anywhere near as big in the UK as in the US.

There's some nice songs in here, but it's all very light and fluffy and forgettable though. It starts to feel quite samey by the end of it and I did find myself getting a bit bored, which isn't great at just 35 minutes.

It's not wowing me, but it's also pretty accessible and easy listening.

A thoroughly 3/5 album.

I know this came post-Nevermind and that's obviously a huge standard to hold this up to, but I'm just not as much of a fan of this album. It's so grimy and discordant. Parts of it are quite jarring, like the jump from Scentless Apprentice to Heart-Shaped Box.

There are some brilliant tracks on here, but... they're the more well known ones. At least finishing on All Apologies leaves it on a real high note.

I'm sure these guys don't massively appreciate being solely known as 'Bjork's former band', but that's totally where I'm coming at this from. As a general fan of hers, I'm glad that this project has got me listening to this.

So this is fun! It's kind of weird and lively and I had a nice time with it.

Sometimes this is all you need in an album.

Just a reeeal smooth, wonderful vibe of a record. He's got a great voice, and the instruments and production are just well on-point. I very much enjoyed this and will re-visit it!

I got much more into this as it went on - or maybe the best songs are just heaped towards the back-end? He's clearly such a talented guy, and such a singular artist, but I just don't completely vibe with his music. Lots of it felt dated and wafted past me a bit, but I was on-board later when it got really, really energetic and kind of manic.

I still don't really get why he's such a huge artist for people, but I do respect him. I also like the album cover, which is kind of badass and hilarious in equal measure.

3.5 rounded down.

It's very boring, that's my overriding feeling on this one. There's some tracks on here that are quite nice (Lonesome Suzie, I Shall Be Released) but it's not enough to move the needle. It's mostly just very dull, with several tracks thrown in that I kind of know and have heard before.

Oh fucking hell not these guys again. I think the other album I had of theirs was perhaps my number one most hated album on this entire thing, and I'm 920 deep at this point. Ok, let's strap in for this one...

So... admittedly the expectation was below the floor, but... this is way better than 'Dub Housing'. Like, way better. There's actual guitar grooves in this, and proper melodies with some semblance to actual song structure. There's even some nice stylistic flourishes that work WITH the songs, can you imagine?? And even though his voice is still kind of weird, it's way less hysterical and jarring in the delivery compared to Dub Housing.

They do still seem to have a weird propensity for chucking in random, grating sounds though. I don't know how they settled on 'irritating' as being a key component of things they want to strive for, but there's still plenty of that in there. Strip all that shit out and you have a much better record.

I'm SO glad I could sit through this one and actually enjoy bits of it.

2.5 rounded up.