Reviews by k-dot-r

Landfill indie, but fun and Irish. An album with many memories for me, including nearly seeing them live in Glasgow. Still not great, but they can have three stars and thank me for them!

Two wonderful pieces, even if I don't really understand jazz yet. I got properly lost in the music, to the point of doing nothing except listening - which I rarely manage to do. An unexpected joy, which I'm sure I'll enjoy even more when I come back to it - and I certainly will return.

Very prog, very long, very good. Just too patchy to be great, but really interesting and influential, including inspiring some massive bands (e.g. muse, killers, early radiohead). Solid, if unspectacular, but a band I expect to appear again before the end

Classic, even the mistakes are influential on pretty much every band since! I still prefer the Clash, but only just.

Also, the TV series Pistol is worth a watch - although it's only one guy's view of the events leading up to this album

Still not on Spotify - which weirdly meant I was probably more focused on listening, since I wasn't driving or reading while listening to YouTube.

A wonderful album, probably my favourite of his, with at least three stone cold classics and, in Old Man, one of my favourite songs from the "album era".

Reading about Alabama also led me (through a classic wiki-dive, but on genius.com) to be reminded of this song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1STSziov35uhw9dnnxh92g?si=MG4x0jqOSmiJ9BEd4STkoQ

and a few others from the same album, which is always a good thing anyway, and gives context to the legacy of that song and Southern Man.

Awesome - like a New York young Metallica

Fits into the tiny space between L7 and Mudhoney, with hints of the Melvins and early Pearl Jam, and a bunch of other grunge progenitors. I loved it! Hope to see more of them later in the list

Very 80s, very camp, and very English. One of those, maybe two at a push, would have been fine, but all three is not for me.
Features the third best version of the biggest single (check out The Living End's version of tainted love), and a song later improved by David Gray. Neither of these is a plus point either!
He can sing good though, and the music is not actively offensive, I guess, so they can have a second star - and they can thank me for it!

Two or three good songs and a bunch of filler. Another band where the drop off from "great" to "dull" is a cliff edge, even within the same album. I am properly torn between three or four stars - wish there was the option of half-stars! On balance, just too many poor songs for a 4th star, but only just. Their run of 4 massive albums in (about) 5 years probably explains the lack of quality control - more important to just get the record out!

Hard as hell, one of the greats of the grime scene, amazing guest spots, important and good (not just one or the other!), absolutely brilliant

Noisy and weird, but not as good as their first or, obviously, John's previous band. An interesting choice, but probably not one I'll come back to

I remember being blown away by the title track when I first heard it, then slightly disappointed that so many others sounded so similar. A good album, which probably showed the direction Alex Turner was heading long before his AM work, but I can't shake the feeling that it's a bit self-indulgent and could have been improved by someone driving them on to greater sonic variety. The overall tone is "what if 'Knights of Cydonia' was an album about girls?", which doesn't quite hold my attention. Still good, but a bit of a waste of both guys' talents

Noisy and weird, but not as good as a bunch of similar stuff by better bands - fugazi, Nirvana, mudhoney, Pixies, etc.

Instantly transported me back to various student house parties in Glasgow in the months following its release - an album that probably won't mean much to anyone from anywhere or anywhen else, but to people who were 17-22 in britain when it came out, it is a solid shot of nostalgia

Unique, in the concept and the execution, but with clear nods to lots of classic American artists from the past. The story-telling and world-building is exquisite, and the vocals are flawless, verging on transcendant at points. An absolute unexpected joy - the closest comparison would be Janelle Monae, in terms of how much I enjoyed it and also how much of a bolt from the blue it was.

Brilliant and startling

Not quite up there with their first two albums, but even falling short of that is no disgrace - they are both classics. Very atmospheric and moody, with elements of what Radiohead were aiming for in their later years, and perfect production. A solid four 🌟 album for me, although weirdly it would score higher if I didn't know/love the ones before quite so much

Wonderful

Doesn't sound as dated as I expected; very confident for a debut album; a clear influence on loads of bands I love, but falls just short of a fifth star - only just though!

An intriguing mix of tradition and modernity - samba with synths - but not as exciting as I might have hoped. Decent, but not great

Genius