Rated 8/10
A few classics and a handful of filler, but on the whole, very very good. Somehow manages to evoke punk and post-punk, while still being rooted in classic rock and pub rock heritage. The kind of songs all dad/garage bands play when starting out - but don't always nail. Deceptively simple sounding, but with hidden depths.
Rated 8/10
Influential, and somehow sounds like post-punk despite being very much mid-punk, but just doesn't grab me the way the best similar records do. The one song that did (last bonus track on the Spotify linked version) is another in the grand tradition of odd-as-hell cover songs - a recurring theme of this list! Very very good, and important, and probably a major leap forward at the time, but falls just short of its fifth star in my view.
Rated 8/10
Wonderfully evocative of a 90s London I never experienced, and a 00s uk I did - plus features both a song about and a guest vocal from Akala - one of my favourite artists. And she's 1/2 scottish!
Rated 4/10
Not a worthy inclusion in my opinion, very little to engage with going on. The cutter is a half decent song, but most of the rest, title track especially, sound like a bad rehash.
Too many 80s albums is reminding me how much I dislike much of the music from that decade!
Rated 4/10
Lacklustre forgettable bland 80s techno-pop. Not for me, but not offensively bad. The locked groove on the last track (spoiler?!) is a cool copy of a cool idea - but doesn't hit the same on digital versions with a fade out!
Brilliant - covers a range of genres and sound profiles, while always sounding like a coherent piece. Hard to pick a best song - listen to it all the way through!
I kind of wish I knew how good these guys are before, I feel I've missed out on them by only discovering them over this project.
Rated 8/10
A staggering mishmash of genres and influences, which works better than it should. Like most albums by producers / production teams, it exists largely to show what they can do, but in a "cocky" way rather than a "pointlessly complex" way. Pharell is a hell of a frontman, and the guests elevate their songs well.
An album where there is a place for every song on someone's playlist, but it's maybe less likely to be anyone's "all time favourite".
Rated 8/10
Really influential, really fun, maybe a bit forgettable, but really enjoyable. Like the album version of a popcorn Hollywood blockbuster - which absolutely has a place, but means it just falls short of full marks. Much better than I would have guessed before I listened though!
Rated 10/10
Beautiful, but doesn't really feel like music - feels more like a painting or an extremely delicate sculpture. Haunting vocals, engaging lyrics, but so sparse musically that I struggled to get a good hold on it.
Certainly intriguing and worth a listen though - and a worthy inclusion on the list
Rated 6/10
Pretty dull - the second-best song sounds a bit like the second-worst on Kid A, which is not a good sign. They get their Scottish band bonus point (just) but would have scored poorly without that! Maybe if I remembered it from the time, I would like it more, but I was a bit young for it
Rated 6/10
Not a genre I know much about, but I liked the music.
Rated 6/10
Flawless vocals, zero emotion, one big hit (which is far and away the best song on the album), no clear structure or story, vaguely country-tinged, fairly dull.
If that lot doesn't add up to 3.00 stars, I don't know what does!
Rated 8/10
Beautiful vocals, lyrics in various languages (including English), the absolute sound of a summer's day - but served to me on a cold Scottish November night!
A wonderful collection of songs, with a mildly irritating child turning up for a cameo half way through.
Rated 4/10
Pish
Rated 10/10
Weird and wonderful, with a head-spinning array of genres and styles. Very english, very sri Lankan and Indian too. Feels like walking through London or one of the other great cultural melting pots of our time. I loved it
Rated 6/10
Standard rap album - not great, not terrible
Rated 6/10
Very strange, sounds like stream of consciousness lyrics over old-fashioned improvised backing music. Not my thing at all, but interesting in its own wee way.
Rated 10/10
Wonderful songs, sung beautifully, with a lovely cameo from Emmylou Harris. Flawless alt-country / Americana / folk-rock. Right up my street, and a huge influence on many artists I love.
Rated 6/10
Good but not great, interesting but very short, unlike anything from the west but repetitive, a mass of contradictions and sitar. The couple of rock covers were very cool, but limited replay value. I liked it, but didn't love it; probably because I don't know enough to appreciate the style and genre.
Genius
