Reviews by kuvien

Just when I thought this shit was going to go tribal on me, it went industrial. Kinda. Those Finns sure do love their accordions though, don't they? Always chasing that gypsy vibe until the dark experimental stalks them down and makes them chuck their instruments. There's a lot of back and forth, struggle of cross-purposes sounds, which is brilliant.

The first two tracks are basically saxophone porn (I mean, the dude has four different people playing saxophone on this album), and if the album didn’t lay off, I probably wouldn’t have had as good a rating for it. But with the third track, Pohjola pulls back into more delicate territory with strings and flutes, which then gives way to playful music that’s more guitar driven. A lot going on here, basically.

This is a first listen, and I'm liking what I hear. The English translation of the song titles really helped me construct a narrative, since all the music is instrumental. I especially found the second track to be striking, what with the anthemic build ups leading to a jazzy saxophone flooding the track, like sunlight pouring across the land at sunrise.

I totally agree. Unless you have an alcohol allergy or have some other medical reason why you don’t drink, I will never trust you and will consider you a bad person if I offer you a drink and you refuse. There’s something seriously wrong with a person’s soul if he doesn’t drink.

Quite an eclectic album, swinging from soothing symphonic strings one moment to angular, complex rollercoaster music and then around to ethereal female vocals. "Irregular pulse" is indeed the perfect way to describe this.

The violin pretty much guides the course of this album, with a strong focus on the instrument at the beginning, supported only by percussion and the bass guitar--but the violin is where the fire is. The female vocals are very Japanese in feel, despite it being Zeuhl. By the way, regarding the second track, did you know that the Japanese hang their death row inmates on Christmas morning? This should be their last-request song. ハレルヤ really does feel like a twirling celebration, and if they ever make Fantasia 3, they better include this. Maybe Tarou's last request can be a trip to Tokyo Disneyland before he's hanged. Anyway, a lot of Japanese joy infects these tracks, but I'd expect nothing less. This album explores a lot of moods, though, even ones that sound like they belong on a suspense film score.

Why is Dave Grohl on the cover? And why is he the only one aware of the situation?

A groovy atmosphere of mystery permeates this recording. Love the heavy organ work and its interaction with a raunchy sax. This is music wrapped in the velvet walls of the toilet where they're trying to force out a turd. Love the defiant, raunchy tone of A3. Sounds like a nasty spat. There's a kind of low-key relentlessness to this music. On several tracks, the whole band is doing the same thing, marching to the same music, rhythm, and beat, and then the fiddle player just hops among them doing his own thing. And then on the next track they let the sax loose to do the same thing, just meander and play. A lot of this music is sure-footed, like a stalking cat.

Oh man. What to say? First of all, this is one of my favorite non-English language albums. jk it's English, but barely, imo. For some reason my wife and daughter can sing along every single bleedin' word to Planxty, and I can't make heads or tails of what the fuck they're saying. Love the music, but have to have the lyrics explained to me. So after many Irish stouts, I get the explanation of this album as follows: incest, incest and murder, seduction. Wow. Ok. Not what I expected on my umpteenth listening of this album.

This album follows a natural progression of emotions throughout a typical drinking session, from boisterousness to defiance, even to getting political. Two thirds of this album is traditional folk tunes sung beautifully, with all the pathos Irishmen can muster.

The great gaels are of Ireland are the men whom God made mad
For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad

The funny thing about this band is that whenever I mention liking them, people start running their mouths about some famous rock band I’ve never heard of. I’m like, “Cool the motor, dude. I mean this hip Belgian jazz outfit.” Oh. It’s like that scene in Office Space where that annoying woman is like, “Hey, are you related to that famous singer?” “No, it’s just a coincidence.” Oh. This album is cool and smooth, with just a hint of funk to spice things up.

This album feels like a journey from one mountaintop to another. Start with the breathy, falsetto vocals and the distant, solitary flute that belongs more in a prog folk setting, descend the mountain into the earthy plain of groovy saxophones, and then begin the ascent with a short but wild piano piece, taking your footing from under you. No two mountaintops are the same.

I’m like, yeah I like Placebo. And people are like, yeah? Me, too! And I’m like, no not that shitty British pop/alt rock band. Oh. The first word that comes to mind every time I hear this band is “groovy”, despite them not being funk or anything like that. But the jazz-rock elements are effortless, cool, and...groovy. There’s quite a bit of electronic work on this album, something band leader Marc Moulin was eager to experiment with. But what I really love is how the album ends: the last track is nothing like the rest of the album, as it is more electronic and ambient than anything else. I always have to double check and make sure I didn’t just go on to another random album.

With the cross on the wall and her hand on her hip.
And she asks herself:
Where is my bra?

When you think your aux cord keeps cutting out. This shit would sell only in Hadestown. "I got the rain on tap at the bar." To everyone who rated this highly and thus further polluted the canon: take a fucking walk outside.

This album is a world unto itself (even without the film), equally philosophical and personal. It is the sonic equivalent of chiaroscuro, using the contrast of the light in the music and the darkness in the lyrics to give the whole thing a sense of volume. How much more ink can be spilled about this album, either to praise or criticize it? In the words of Titus Andronicus, "what fool hath brought a torch to bright-burning Troy?"

Look, I get it. Roger Waters told us all on about how his dad died in WW2, so this album at first blush might sound like a four-years-later rehash of the same themes. In a way it is, but for me that means this is a companion piece to The Wall. It is the very next album, after all. Waters hasn't quite said everything he wants to say about his dad and the impact his absence made on him, but he also wants to expand a bit and make some contemporary political statements about Margaret Thatcher and the myth of the British Empire. This is a quality album, well worth any Floyd fan's time, and can hold its head up among Floyd's best albums.

45 hours of Pink Floyd. 45 hours. WTF

You can really hear on this album the direction they're about to take with The Dark Side of the Moon. Of course, this is exemplified in the concert documentary film, Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, a must-see for any Floyd fan. "Eiderdown" is the perfect word that evokes the feeling of the second track of this album. Actually, I've heard the word "eiderdown" come up on other songs in my collection, but I can't place them right now. Anyway, it's a good word. It seems to be one often associated with psychedelia. I guess there are good trips, and then there are better trips. There's something so soothing about this album, like the chord progression of "Fearless". I think it could calm down the most manic personality. Apparently this album separates Floyd fans into two groups: those who like psychedelic Floyd and those who like prog Floyd. And never the twain shall meet? Well, they meet in me, because I adore this album. I rate it right up there with the band's early psych and latter prog. This isn't the first time and it probably won't be the last time I say this, but 1971 was a magical year that's never been matched. This album is part of the reason why. Of course there are better albums from other years, but overall, if I could listen to music from only one year for the rest of my life, I'd have to go with 1971. Finally, the last track, "Echoes": the band really comes together here. It's got that epic length like many prog rock classics, but it's not dominated by either Rogers or Gilmour. Everyone's playing together perfectly here.

The choral orchestral work gives this album a strong start, if you’re into Floyd, that is. If you’re not, this is the kind of the reason why you’re not. I like it. It’s not a bug; it’s a feature.