Reviews by mkaddour2001

When I first laid ears on this thing back in 2023, I labelled it my second favourite album of that year. But it's been a while since I've listened to it in its entirety, so I wasn't sure if I'd still feel that way. But nope, this still completely slaps, and it's a shame that it doesn't get talked about more. Sure, it's very "behind" its time; it very much has that early '2000s Prodigy-esque plunderphonics feel to it without putting too much effort into trying to incorporate any of the new "hip" electronic music sounds of the 2020s. But The Chemical Brothers are pioneers of this sound, and they still prove here that they can do it exceptionally well, so I'll let their "can't get with the times" attitude slide for this album at least.

The loops here are just as great as ever, simple, repetitive and danceable, not really "Big Beat" in that traditional sense, but it still has that chaotic live DJ set feel, with quick, earwormy vocal loops at the center of a lot of these songs. 'Live Again' and 'No Reason' are among the group's best tracks. 'Goodbye' and those resonant, bit-crushed square waves over this driving drum loop will always be magical to me. 'The Weight' sounds like it was lifted straight from their debut, that is, until those suffocating dense pads come in. And 'Skipping like A Stone' with Beck has been on repeat since this record came out, an unskippable feel-good anthem that's one of the best tracks of this decade yet. There's nothing quite like when that kick hits. And just like The Avalanches with their 2020s stuff, The Chemical Brothers manage to do very well with incorporating non-sampled vocals into their dance tracks.

Admittedly, this album really has no right being on this list, especially considering some of the classics it's replaced in this newest edition. But I think I'll be one of the last people to complain.

Before this re-listen, I would've been quick to tag this as my least favourite of D'Angelo's three (masterpiece) records. But I'm maybe not so sure anymore. I think I still like 'Voodoo' a bit more, but this record, oddly enough, feels like it takes the spacey and slow atmosphere of that Neo-soul classic and adds a much more poppy and accessible tint to it. I still think 'Black Messiah' is his undeniable masterpiece, but if you want something easier to digest, a Neo-Soul record you can just throw on and drift along to for nearly an hour, this more than fits the bill. This is about as good as debut albums come.

Again, it's intimate and spacey, but still just very busy, with repetitive but densely layered tracks, harmonies, and melodies that move with such an addicting subtlety. The bass here is incredible as well; an impeccably tight rhythm section all around that really elevates a lot of these psych-bordering jams. And the standalone tracks here are some of D'Angelo's most memorable. 'Brown Sugar' kicks the album off with a bang, just a super catchy tone-setter; his falsetto counter-melody is THE earworm of the album. 'Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine' has one of my all-time favourite D'Angelo choruses, absolute bliss, especially when those strings come in. The vocal-layering and harmonies here are second to none. And 'Lady' is this album's hypnotic classic, containing one of the best guitar licks you'll find in all of '90s RnB.

About as perfect as you can get with Neo Soul, really. I do still think D'Angelo's follow-ups push the genre in more "interesting" directions. But for something more straightforward and enjoyable, I think I'll take this record any day. Rest in Peace to this absolute legend.

Kind of amazing. I don't know why I've neglected to check out John Cale's solo work in the past, given the fact that I love pretty much all his involvement with The Velvet Underground and his one record with Brian Eno, 'Wrong Way Up,' is fantastic and super underrated.

And yeah, this record was everything I love about early '70s art-rock music. It has that pop-rock experimentalism of Eno and Roxy Music, no surprise, especially 'Half Past France' with these slow, dramatic chord progressions. And the very abstract, referential, and character-driven lyricism of this song, and the rest of the record, also reminded me of what I love so much about Brian Eno.

But the record on its own just has such a uniquely magical vibe, a mixture of warm, introspective, like with 'Hanky Panky Nahow' or 'Andalucia' (which, oddly enough, reminds me of Sufjan Stevens with that falsetto bit in the chorus), and more upbeat pop-rock bangers like some of my favourites, 'Child's Christmas in Wales', 'Macbeth', and 'Paris 1919'. And as a vocalist, Cale's really compelling; he doesn't stick to one style, and he's not afraid to throw out a cheesy, albeit sticky and catchy, chorus melody here and there; just listen to the one in 'Paris 1919'. And instrumentally, it just feels like you're staring at the most detailed piece of Renaissance art you can find, so colourful and beaming with life.

It's also short, punchy, and almost every single song brought me great joy to some degree. Incredible.

Some honestly pretty great early 90s pop-rock, bordering on emo; I can easily draw a line between this record and a lot of mid-2000s emo-pop acts, especially an artist like Avril Lavigne. There were some pretty fantastic cuts in the mix; 'Say Anything' felt a bit more progressive and dynamic than you'd expect out of your typical alternative cut, and 'Fifty Years After The Fair' was just a straightforward banger that I really enjoyed.

And vocally, Aimee Mann is pretty convincing in this alley; she delivers a pretty well-rounded performance all things considered, with that very much necessary emotional teenage cadence. Very much of its time album still, despite its more visionary "attitude", but I was shocked at how many of the songs I enjoyed here. Nothing too, too special, but definitely a hidden gem in this list for me.

The guy from Crosby, Stills, and Nash that I didn't really know too much about. It's a pretty ambitious country-rock record, pretty dirty and based in the grittier roots of rock ' n ' roll at times, with songs like 'Right Now' or 'Jet Set' which has a pretty out-of-left-field but honestly great psychedelic jam switch-up. But also this record's not afraid to get on the softer side of things with a good chunk of the songs near the middle. It's a cool record, I suppose; it tackles many different country-adjacent sounds with varying degrees of success. The highlights were there: 'Both Of Us (Bound To Lose' and 'Colorado' are about as perfect as you can get with early '70s soft country-rock music. I love the quaint folksiness of a track like 'Jesus Gave Love Away For Free' as well.

Admittedly, Stills I find doesn't grab me as a vocalist, especially when compared to a guy like Crosby or Neil Young, but he gets the job done. And he has a knack for melody at the end of the day. Given how massive this record is, I found it very difficult to digest on a first go-through, especially given the fact that there's just so much thrown at you. But it definitely piqued my interest, and I'll likely be revisiting it in the future. Good album

Eh, pretty bland and safe for my liking, and it's not like the massive track off this thing, 'Maggie May' took my breath away or anything. Rod's obviously a talented vocalist; there's a raw power in that raspy howl, but still a very imperfect human edge to him that makes his voice all the more soothing, welcoming, and easy to follow along with, especially on the very sincere closer '(Find A) Reason to Believe,' maybe my favourite song. It's just the songs themselves don't do much for me; it's like with every song that came up, I'd think to myself about how I'd rather be listening to the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen. Not that he sounds terribly similar to them, but those artists could scratch the same itches for me.

I sort of disavowed it earlier, but honestly, 'Maggie May' and the slower ballad 'Tomorrow Is a Long Time' were probably still my other favourite cuts; at least they were somewhat memorable. Still, though, I was very mild on this album by the end.

Neat little Albarn project, sort of in the experimental vein of later Gorillaz, though a lot moodier and more brooding than anything off a Blur or Gorillaz record from earlier. I quite enjoyed it, probably because I generally enjoy Damon Albarn's voice, and the rhythm sections all over this thing were pretty tight and punchy. It's also like a Gorillaz take on an indie folk record, akin to a guy like Sufjan; a lot of the finger-picking acoustic cuts like 'Nature Springs' or 'A Soldier's Tale' gave me that feeling. But again, it balances it out with some pretty great groovy bits. And the closing title track was pretty enjoyable, especially that outro portion, which feels like all the pent-up rage of the record finally releasing in an epic, noisy jam.

Not much to say about this record; it's a cool one that I, for the most part, enjoyed.

I mean, if there was one individual voice that could represent the entirety of "soul", not just the genre, but the word as we define it, it's Aretha Franklin. And admittedly, this is about as straightforward as soul comes in LP form, but the quality, consistency, and mood of this thing are just fine-tuned to perfection. It's one of those records where you press play, and it's over before you know it.

You're immediately whiplashed by the impeccable, transformative cover of the Otis Redding rocker 'Respect '- a tight, driving, and punchy opener, just before you're mellowed out again with the heart-wrenching ballad 'Drown in My Own Tears'; there's so much power in those harmonies and vocals in this one. I love the way the song keeps boiling up to its final explosive conclusion; such great use of tension building.

And the album refuses to lose momentum after that; the rising and falling energy spans multiple tracks mostly, but it also exists within certain tracks. Some tracks may lead you to believe that we're slowing down, just for Aretha to go back into putting her entire being into the track. The title track is one of these songs, but the groovy and personal favourite 'Don't Let Me Lose This Dream' is another. While we're on personal favourites, 'Do Right Woman, Do Right Man' is such an all-time soul ballad; it's one of the few songs that stays in this really low-key pocket, and the iconic call-and-response nature of Franklin's harmonies is at some of their most well-executed here. And just like I said in my Otis Redding review, there is no such thing as a not-incredible '60s cover of 'A Change Is Gonna Come', and the one here is no exception, just a phenomenal closer that I'm always eager to get to.

While I personally still prefer 'Lady Soul', I just think that it takes a lot of Aretha's best aspects and fuses them with some more interesting production; this is an undeniable and endlessly referenced touchstone in the history of soul music. Iconic and important can't begin to describe it.

I LOVE THE BEACH BOYS! And I mostly love this album too; it's a nice bridge between the more "sophisticated", well-groomed, and more emotionally grounded pop of Pet Sounds that came out shortly after this, and the more forced-smile good time surfer bro music of their early
'60s stuff.

The harmonies are the highlight as usual; Brian's falsetto especially is just undeniable all over this thing, especially on 'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)', 'She Knows Me Too Well', and 'Dance Dance Dance' (i.e pretty much 'I Get Around' part 2). 'Please Let Me Wonder' is the album
highlight; it has that subtly sorrowful and dreary after-dark pondering feel with that teary chord progression and harmonies in the chorus. Just a serene masterpiece and one of the BB's best songs, and a more introspective sound that they'd continue to flesh out on Pet Sounds. While this album does very much sound like mid-'60s pop, we're not super visionary yet (although it has its predictive moments); it's damn good '60s pop that's very much in that wall-of-sound vein of its time, a sound I'm a sucker for.

Music you can so easily slide into and enjoy. Short, sweet, punchy, a little cheesy, but an undeniably good time. And you know good-time music is the best kind of music.

The last of the big four '90s grunge acts that I needed to check out. Overall, I think I enjoy Soundgarden's sound most; the guitars feel less deep, garbly, and sludgey than AIC's, with nicer, twinkling high-end tones, and they're a bit noisier and more dynamic. It fuses the best of a group like Nirvana, but still brings the occasional metal influences of a group like AiC.

All that said, for as long as this record is, there wasn't really THAT song. You know Nirvana has 'Come As You Are', AiC has 'Would?', Pearl Jam has 'Jeremy', but no all-timer (FOR ME + YET) on this one. I guess 'Blackhole Sun' was supposed to be that song, but honestly it was one of my lesser favourites here; the core reverby, effect-heavy guitar in the verses here doesn't do much for me, and once the chorus hits, it sounds like the most boilerplate grunge song you can dig up. Not holding it against this song, but it reminds me of all the less interesting imitators of this style. It just feels like a low point in an album filled with far more interesting and visceral ideas.

As for great songs, I really liked the final three tracks, especially '4th of July'; it has that deeper sludge feel I mentioned earlier, but I love the way the vocals are overdubbed here; it's such a heavy banger. And really, when you contrast this song with a track like 'Spoonman,' which has this upbeat funky energy, with some superb drumming, you get a pretty good idea of just how versatile this band can be. Ultimately, my favourite track is the opener 'Let Me Drown'; the riff reminds me of something that would appear on a RATM album, just noisy, driving guitar riffs over a much faster-paced punk foundation. And they still manage to squeeze in a softer moment of serenity in the midst of all this madness. Absolute killer song. And the vocals on this one are especially solid, though I generally enjoy them all over this record.

Banger record, pretty much enjoyed every song on here to some degree. Just a super ambitious and varied record, definitely a lot to chew on here if you give it the time, something I plan on doing in the future.

I think it's been said to death that Otis Redding, on an album made mostly of covers of '60s R&B, Soul, and blues standards, completely redefines the songs he takes on, giving them a flair and smoothness few rival. That voice, man. Redding plays the vocals less straight than, say, someone like Sam Cooke, whom he covers extensively on this record; there's a bite in his delivery and a looseness à la James Brown, but he's still on point on every single track; he never derails things too much, and if he's getting close, it's more than obvious that it's out of a burning passion, like the guy's getting lost in his own voice. Maybe the best example of this is 'Respect', probably the best original song on the album (though pretty close with 'I've Been Loving You Too Long'), just an absolute rocker. And it makes sense that on a legendary covers album of extraordinary R&B standards, Redding manages to establish a standards track of his own.

Any soul artist that covers 'A Change Is Gonna Come' will always get an A+ in book. Not that it's an easy song to cover; it's just that you can tell that this song means so much to every artist that covers it, giving them this relentless drive to do a very important song justice. My two favourite songs here are the covers of 'My Girl' and 'Wonderful World'. I've never been able to decide whether I like the Cooke or Redding version of the latter more; they're both super playful but in completely different ways. The cover of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' sticks out here, by far and away my least favourite track, despite Otis upping that freeform sing-riff style to psychotic levels. Not awful, just not the biggest fan of the original is all.

One of the absolute greatest soul records of all time. Otis Redding sets himself a monumental task by covering some of the best music of the '60s, and he knocks it out of the park.

A truly magical album that I've never really given the time of day it deserves. In my defence, this thing can get exhausting, not only because of its length, but because it jumps so often between different sounds, styles, and themes. But I'd be hard-pressed to name a record as theatrical as this one in the '2000s indie scene; it's like watching a Broadway musical about the coming-of-age of a boy in some alternate, fantastical version of Illinois, and it manages NOT to sound annoying given that premise.

As a pretty big fan of Sufjan's 2010s stuff, especially his warmer, more intimate records, this album has always felt a bit out of reach. It's certainly much busier, like the bustling state it's named after. It doesn't feel as desolate and lonely as an album like 'Carrie and Lowell', but is constantly lively with a wide array of orchestral instruments, horns and strings and some stellar overdubbed female vocals. So much life beaming out of every track here. The sad moments are still there, like the pretty dark 'John Wayne Gacy Jr.' or 'The Predatory Wasp' with their lullaby delivery and classic Elliott Smith-inspired fingerpicking acoustic style. Those songs are great, but I've always enjoyed the larger, sing-along tracks here like 'Come on! Feel the Illinois!' and especially 'Chicago'. And the track 'They Are Night Zombies!' has this insanely groovy intro with an almost noir feel to it, again a complete left turn in the sonic direction of this album pretty deep in, that still manages to stick the landing.

The thing that has always pulled me away from this album, its length, didn't really affect me much this time around. Yes, it's still a bit tiring by the end, but that's because it's feeding you so damn much all the time. It's certainly a record you can put on and be swept off your feet into another magical world. I really haven't heard a record like this one; some great stuff here that I truly did enjoy much more this time around. Amazing.

One of those '2000s indie acts that sort of flew right by me, but this was actually pretty cool. A lot in common with some of their indie dance-punk revival contemporaries; I hear a bit of LCD Soundsystem and Bloc Party in there, but this record is notably grainier and darker.

Still, the standout is the infectious rhythm section, with angular funky guitars and syncopated drum and bass rhythms. 'Crying' was a personal favourite here, showcasing this funk-inspired punk with the more atmospheric electronic touches. 'Stork and Owl' was another ethereal change in pace, with these elegant, slow-moving strings over some dense pads. 'DLZ' has these very chunky boom-bap drums, sort of a throwbacky trip-hop feel, with this one's more brooding atmosphere.

So it's a pretty diverse album, though it never feels inconsistent; that darker atmosphere I mentioned early remains a constant. That, and the generally stellar vocals on pretty much every track, just really emotive and sticky, and a unique fusion of RnB type falsettos and croons paired with a more traditional off-kilter indie-rock style. Good stuff, really dug this album; should've checked these guys out sooner.

A pretty fantastic early synth-pop record that I've never heard of before. It's much more artful than its contemporaries, albums from the likes of the Human League, for example. Moody probably isn't the right word; it's something a bit more melancholic and dreary, drawing from the otherworldly and evocative sounds of '70s Eno-adjacent ambient and Berlin School legends like Tangerine Dream in its wildest moments, like the title track.

The pop moments are certainly still there; an incredible standout was 'Souvenir', whose deep vocals and simple synth sequence immediately reminded me of something Beach House does (decades later, of course). It just shows how visionary this record was; a song like this really did away with the clunk that a lot of early '80s electronic music carried. 'Sealand' was a great demonstration of this album's more atmospheric leanings, same with the closer 'The Beginning And The End ', whose hopeful but simple four-chord progression over this huffing hi-hat-driven beat reminded me of one of my favourite Eno songs, 'The Big Ship'. A beautiful closer. And when those reverb guitars come in, it's like we've officially jumped 20 years into the future of post-rock out of nowhere. Incredible.

'Joan of Arc' and its follow-up were a bit more of your traditional synth-pop, with those very animated vocals. The opener 'The New Stone Age' too, but I did still enjoy these songs, if only because, again, the synth work and composition were great, and the sort of shouty and panicked chorus also proved its earworminess after a couple of listens. Great album and pick for this list, and one of my favourite discoveries so far.

A record everyone says is very influential, something I've always struggled to fully grasp. But I think over the years, as my big-picture understanding of '80s synth-oriented music developed, this record started to make more sense. Sure, synthpop predates this record by quite a bit; groups like Blondie and The Cars released records years before this Human League album. But looking at this album from an electronic perspective - a sort of robotic, stiff, calculated record (closer to Kraftwerk), as opposed to the more raw and clearly punk-rooted approach of other "new wave" bands of its time helped snap the pieces into place and gave me a greater appreciation for what this album was trying to do.

There is some incredible synth and drum-machine work here that I'd put up there with Kraftwerk as being essential to the formation of genres like techno. The outro to ‘Do Or Die’ for example, has this super propulsive and sweaty drum machine that feels like eternally dancing in some dark, crowded, hot European electro club. And the band dishes out one neat little synth ditty after another, in the same way a jazz ensemble would sequence solos or something. Loved this section. Also, Moody synth-pop acts like Depeche Mode very much owe their sound to songs like ‘I Am The Law’ and my personal favourite ‘Seconds’. And the really rich sound of the layered synths of 'Don't You Want Me' will always put me in a trance. In an era of goofy and flat FM synthesis presets usage, the warm and raw analog nature of the synth work all over this record feels like a nice breath of fresh air.

So yeah, I came to appreciate this record a lot more this time around. The Human League, given their less-than-consistent discography, are still probably a bit lower on my new-wave group ranking. But the importance and impact of the brisk vocals, deep hypnotic drum programming, and rich analog synths packaged in pop form like this can't be overstated.

A perfect example of a band not losing their soul and heart as they very obviously start edging towards a more accessible and mainstream sound. The rusty, discordant, and abstract nature of their previous record 'White Light/white Heat' just feels so far removed from this one, as if it were released by a completely different band.

But if there's one thing that the VU carry through to this album, it's that subtly amateurish, but undeniably charming, cool "New Yorker underground" edge. The mixing is still choppy here, but it's definitely the hardest the band has tried. The songs are relatively simple; Moe Tucker's drumming is still very driving and primitive (especially on the propelling 'What Goes On', the album's driving banger), and Lou Reed's vocals are still never quite on point. Luckily we get Doug Yule on this record, who has a much sweeter and more delicate voice to contrast Reed's more off-kilter one, sort of acting as the John Cale of this record, and he gives a stellar first impression as he sings the opener 'Candy Says'.

The character, feel, and soul of the Velvet Underground isn't lost in the more polished nature of this album; that's what's important here.
Especially because the crop of songs here is flawless, and lyrically and conceptually, it never waters itself down, something their follow-up (likely purposefully) begins doing. The lyrics here still dive headfirst into some pretty taboo, twisted, and unconventional topics for pop-rock. 'Candy Says' is such an incredible opener, again very warm and contemplative, following a person questioning their identity and not feeling whole in their own skin, very forward-thinking for '69. 'Pale Blue Eyes' with its dreary guitar melody, follows a classic Lou heartbreak tale as he watches and details an old lover go on without him in the most backhanded, bitter way possible. The three-piece from 'Jesus' to 'I'm Set Free' follows the redemption and rehabilitation of a man once lost, maybe by drugs or lack of faith. All three songs have this uplifting feel as you'd imagine, but still remain cautious in the face of the new epiphanies, unsure of what the future holds. I love the climbs on these songs, very euphoric, and 'Beginning To See The Light' has one of my favourite choruses on the record; I've always interpreted it as the monotony of constantly relapsing and never-ending struggle with that very smooth "Here we Go Again...". 'I'm Set Free' has one of my favourite solos of all time; I love how simple it is over the very fuzzy, droning backing instrumentation; that ringing, reverby tone just brings out a very childlike nostalgic feeling from deep within me. And again it has that euphoric rise and is maybe the most optimistic song in this band's discography, a discography with songs like 'Heroin' and 'Lady Godiva's Operation'

'The Murder Mystery' down the line is like VU's attempt at a mysterious organ-driven Doors song. It's admittedly the most incomprehensible and art-schooly thing here, but I've always found it sort of cool if a bit indulgent. I do wholeheartedly believe that the album wouldn't be whole without it; it's just such an odd song to put on this otherwise really accessible record. And it's been talked about to death, but the song 'After Hours' at the end of this was decades ahead of its time, really predicting the twee-pop of the '90s and early '2000s with its minimalist vocal melody and pretty hidden darker meaning under the more cheery and boilerplate melody and strumming. Again, that very human amateurish edge of this song is so infectious; I adore it.

It's no question this is another classic Velvet Underground record. It's maybe my least favourite of the first three records, all things considered, but not by a wide margin. In a lot of ways, it's my go-to VU album for easy listening, a super warm, intimate, and generally pretty comforting record put together by some of alternative music's greatest innovators.

I guess this finally gives me an excuse to check out that newly released 2026 mix of this record, which, in all honesty, sounds pretty great and is probably the cleanest stereo mix of this record I've heard. It helps that it's a great mix of an already well-mixed pop album that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to put on my Beatles Mount Rushmore. I mean, if you want "pop" Beatles without all the experimental bells and whistles of their later records, but still a bit more refined, polished, and focused than anything that kicked off their career, 'Rubber Soul' is the perfect record.

Nothing too forward-thinking in terms of instrumentation or any wild innovations in the studio; we weren't quite there yet, but I don't know if there's a Beatles album out there that has as many songs on my main playlist. I guess 'Norwegian Wood' with its sitar usage was something of a trend-setter for something the Beatles and George Harrison specifically would use extensively on their follow-up records. But everything else here is just damn good pop-rock, consisting mostly of love songs. I mean, I don't really have too much to say about it; the album sort of speaks for itself with its warehouse of tight melodies, harmonies, and choruses.

Lyrically, there admittedly isn't much to chew on; you'll get songs about girls, heartbreak, love - my favourites of those being the spacious and moody 'Michelle' and 'Girl'. I also really like 'I'm Looking Through You', a song that took a bit to get used to given that really resonant and noisy organ break, but I've come to love Paul's very sing-along-able leads here. Despite John hogging a majority of the album's highlights, the other Beatles get their moments to shine, though with probably some of the more forgettable contributions from George and Ringo. But John is just on point lyrically here; the song 'Nowhere Man', for instance, feels like a nice change of pace. In a lot of ways it's a meaningless description of some lost abstraction of a man, but that's precisely the point, isn't it - it's sort of purposefully meandering and dizzying, but still very soothing and comforting. And the harmony layering here is top-notch. Of course, "In My Life' is another lyrical highlight by Lennon; almost anyone can relate to this song. A song about living at its core, about growing, changing, losing some friends, gaining some others. A song about how all good things must end, but how you should still cherish the fact that you got to experience them in the first place. Love it to death. In terms of rockers here, 'Wait' and the bluesier opener 'Driving My Car' kick off the album; that opener especially is such a visceral way to open a record, will never not have my head bobbing.

Yes, "Run For You Life' really should not exist, but I think everything else here is damn near flawless. So easy to take down, and a record that flies by every time I listen to it. Top-notch pop music, up there with 'Thriller' I'd say, in the greatest pop category. I think I still prefer 'Abbey Road' overall, but especially in the past few years, this album has become a huge part of my day-to-day "casual" listening.

Despite being a massive Brian Eno fan, I've never gone out of my way to check out his parent band, Roxy Music, probably because what I enjoy about his solo work is so far removed from the early '70s popisms of this band, from what I understood.

I think I've concluded that my preconceived notions were mostly correct; this album is mostly just straightforward '70s pop-rock with a low-key artsy edge. Still, it has those oddball, ear-grabbing, proto-Eno moments conservatively laced throughout. Maybe my favourite entire track was 'If There Is Something', which, shrill sax aside, has such an epic switch-up, completely discarding the more traditional pop-rock of the first bit for this subtly ominous, Phrygian-based jam; the song just feels so epic in stature, and there's so much empty room, allowing the track to actually breathe, unlike a bunch of the other tracks here. Other songs like 'Virginia Plain' and 'The Bob' have some pretty awesome intros, only for the tracks to explode into some less-interesting art-rock. I guess now would be the time to say that I'm not a huge fan of the vocals on this record, especially on the more outwardly pop moments. The exception to that being 'Bitters End', probably because it reuses a very common '60s pop chord progression that I'm always a sucker for. But even the vocals and mix on this track feel lighter, more delicate, and calculated, certainly a standout closer.

Some other standout little moments include the third part of 'The Bob' medley with the chopped-up field recording of what sounds like a thunderstorm suffocating this really dreary sax melody, or the noisy guitar of 'Chance Meetin' contrasting the warmer chords underneath. It's the cool moments like that that make this album worth it. Unfortunately, there's a lot of fluff between that really wasn't all that interesting to listen to. Again, the explosive poppy bits were far too claustrophobic and cramped, too much going on and loose vocal performances that didn't really help direct the song in any meaningful way. I'm not against '70s pop, but I just don't think it was executed all that well here.

Still, '70s art-pop certainly has its roots in this album; you can more than hear it in some of its best moments. But ultimately, I do wish the album as a whole had clicked with me more.

One of the newbies to the list and certainly a strange entry at that. I'm hoping 'brat' made it on here at least. This album I remember I heard back when it first came out but didn't really think too much of it, especially given its ties to a movie that I never ended up seeing.

I mean, it must've been really hard for Charli to follow up the enormous commercial success of 'brat', I mean how do you do that to a summer defining, critical-darling, pop magnum-opus? So something a bit more low-key, introspective, and artsy like this wasn't exactly unexpected and probably the right move. Vocally, Charli comes off very sincere, every song just seems to explode into a arena-sized sing-a-long chorus like with
'Chains of Love' or 'Seeing Things', two undeniable highlgihts. And they still maintain that subtly throwbacky and cheesy millenial pop edge of the choruses from her previous album (not a bad sing).

Ultimately my biggest gripe is the production. It sort of has this more generic synthpop thing going for it, which is fine, but something about it felt too cluttered and a bit too layered and in-your-face for my liking. Not as slick as her last record, that's for sure. The opening intro with John Cale hinted at something interesting with that cool feedback noise bit at the end, but the album doesn't really follow through with that. Just compared to other contemporary boundary-pushing pop artists like Tinashe and Slayyyter, the production here was mostly forgettable. Probably not what Charli was going for, so it's all good, still enjoyed this thing a fair bit by the end, more than I remembered.

Interesting album that maybe isn't as defined by its masterpiece title track as I originally thought going into this. There's some genuinely cool stuff to dig into here outside of that.

I mean, just to get it out of the way, 'The Message' is maybe the most important hip-hop song of all time. Like a genuine gold standard for storytelling, flow, pacing, and production that was just unheard of at the time. And it's not really a "legacy" track either, like maybe "Rapper's Delight" is - a song that you kind of just need to hear if you're a fan of hip-hop history, but might not necessarily go out of your way in the day to play it. Nah, 'The Message' is a genuine bop that still stands the test of time, with a funky electronic groove and some damn solid rapping - the deliver of "It's like a jungle sometimes" alone just feels so prophetic and powerful. And I love how there's no real hook or chorus here; between all the verses, it's just the beat playing out with a whole lot of empty space, giving the listener a breath to reflect on what was just said. A genuine masterpiece and, again, the blueprint for socially conscious hip-hop as we know it.

And the rest of the tracklisting, it's solid. I guess I just found it really hard to grasp what I was listening to here, it's just super varied. 'She's Fresh' sounds like a Funkadelic song frankesteined with your typical call-and-response emcee type hip-hop stuff from the early '80s. No real rap verses but the song's really dynamic nature more than makes up for it. 'Scorpio' for as repetitive as it was, was honestly really neat, clearly drawing a lot from the emerging techno scenes of Detroit from the time, not unlike Afrika Bambaataa's 'Planet Rock' - early hip-hop sure loved their electro. The spotify version of this album has a second version of 'Message' which also had this early techno feel, and some more really solid verses with some really pretty synth-pad work. It's like all the songs leading up to the title-track show hip-hop's various roots and influences, be they electornic, funk, or disco, and how they all manage to come together to form what we know as hip-hop today by that iconic closing track.

With a genre as vast, varied, and complex as hip-hop, sometimes it can be hard to point to a record and call it a pillar-stone or essential building block. But I truly believe what Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five put together here is a bridge that truly took all of hip-hop's influences, from electronic to funk, and started really putting those pieces together to form the start of a wholly unique and incredible genre.