Reviews by meemesker

A playful and warm psychedelic journey. I really enjoy this sort of thing.

Been into country music lately and I really enjoyed this. I like the more stripped down arrangements. Really well balanced. If this is a prime example of the Bakersfield sound, I'll take more where that came from.

This album makes a case for two of my pet theories: 1) bands thrive when they have at least two songwriters with widely different sensibilities in the group, and 2) bands tend to produce their best work when they spend alot of time together in a remote location in the country/woods.

This album is a wonderful balance of melodic pop sheen and just the right amount of rock umph. All packaged in sophisticated prog structures with some really nice atmospheric touches throughout. Sure sounds like a concept album even though it may not be one.

Fell in love with Bjork when I first saw the Michel Gondry video for "Human Behavior" on MTV when I was 13 years old. She is a true artist who is practically a genre of her own. She bravely follows her eccentric vision wherever it leads her. I have nothing but respect for her and nearly everything she does. Some of the sounds on this album are a bit dated now but man this shit was cutting edge at the time. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of her sonic explorations. Listen to the live version of this album to see a radical reinterpretation of these songs and the true capabilities of her songwriting.

Never quite lifts off for me. Like many albums, it comes down to subjective preferences regarding vocal style and I'm just not into the melodrama implied in the high pitched/breathy thing.

In The Pixies discography, this is the first album that is merely very good. I feel like there isn't the same emotional range or weight behind the songwriting that they had in their prior material. A little slicker and more polished but loses some nuance. Still some great songs here. Always loved "Is She Weird" and "Ana" especially, but I feel like the album slowly loses some steam towards the end, even though it's relatively short.

I love Gary Numan's dystopian Sci Fi music. As someone who occasionally feels like a robotic alien outsider, this album speaks to me.

This one really brings me back in a good way to when I was starting to become more aware of music outside of my parent's collection. I remember alot of these songs quite well. Makes sense as there were so many singles from it. They are really having fun with the new capabilities of the sampler all over this record. I think it was really brave of her to go for a concept album that doesn't avert it's eyes from some harsh realities immediately after her first breakout success. And the fact that this became even more successful makes it all the sweeter. I love when artists are rewarded for brave choices and it proves pop audiences don't always want formulaic pap.

Such manic oddball fun. Overseen by Bowie and Eno in Conny Plank's studio near Cologne so it comes with some serious avant-pop pedigree. I really like their "dehumanized" approach and the bizarre concept they have going. Probably the best album of their career, hitting a home run right off the bat. Certainly among the greatest things that ever came out of Ohio.

This reminds me of a much more raw and rock based Prince who is way into The Beatles. After reading Kravitz played most instruments on the album himself, the parallels to Prince increase even more. I had really only heard "Are you gonna go my way" before and I am pretty impressed with the first half of the album. But it wears thin for me after that. Especially when he starts dropping in Christian lyrics and moralizing.

I'm a bigger fan of Spacemen 3 as they had a raw quality that was more compelling to me. Though I do like much of this album and respect it's ambition, it's too damn long and gets boring in places.

I've found that pretty much anything David Bowie touched as a producer turned out to be among the best, if not the best, material that artist would ever put out. This album is no exception. Some nearly timeless and beautiful songwriting here presented with the perfect atmosphere and arrangements. Such a tight little package that still manages to cover many moods. Bowie does such a good job of sweetening Lou up without completely removing his bitter edge. Sounds effortlessly brilliant.

Had only heard singles off of "The Fat of The Land" before. Though I think I prefer this more electronic non-band format, the album wore thin pretty quick with me. I think I'd need a chemical enhancement or two to actually get excited about it.

Probably their best album. A big change in their sound where they shed their rootsier inclinations towards a somewhat more experimental approach. This move definitely puts them more in line in with my personal tastes but there's something about Wilco that just fails to excite me. Perhaps it's what I perceive to be the persistently lackluster vocal delivery.

Though I would never deliberately put this on, I didn't hate this as much as I thought I would. However, I must admit, I did listen to this in a private session so it wouldn't mess with my algorithm. Like many albums of this era, it is far too long, and the dark tone of the album becomes exhausting. Their general sound/message is one I hardly ever find myself in the mood for but I understand the appeal.

Hadn't ever listened to this before. I think I shied away from things that were labeled goth rock in the past for some reason but I quite like this sound. Favorite track is "Monitor."

Brings together some of my favorite musical pleasures: stoner metal heaviness and krautrock grooves. Sprinkled with an almost poppy melodic flourish in the vocals. Hypnotic and catchy.

Practically a Faces album in disguise and easily his best solo work. Has a wide range of emotions throughout but on the whole is a very warm and enjoyable record. He certainly has a very distinct and soulful voice which is balanced well in the mix.

I really enjoy coming across these kind of lesser known psychedelic nuggets. This one seems to be straddling a couple different musical trends of the era: 1) psychedelia and 2) incorporating more overt country influences back into rock music. Those seem like almost diametrically opposed musical directions but they blend it well. Plus, you have some Wrecking Crew members, and even Van Dyke Parks himself, adding some more sophisticated playing to the arrangements.

Man this is a total 3.5 for me. I like it but perhaps not as much as their first few albums. They are a very sonically consistent band which is sort of a blessing and a curse. I do like their general sound, but on the other hand no individual tracks really stick out to me more than the others. I'm going to be generous and round up to 4 because I absolutely love the simplicity and directness of the album cover - at once both bold and humble - which would also work as a pretty apt description of their sound.