Rated 8/10
My second-to-least favorite Radiohead album, but still a decently high 3.5 stars off the strength of "Pyramid Song", "I Might Be Wrong", "Knives Out", and "Morning Bell/Amnesiac", among a few others.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
There’s some good stuff on here - the title track is a masterpiece - but overall, it’s too long and a bit one note.
3/5
Rated 10/10
Pure beauty.
5/5
Rated 8/10
I don’t love Albarn’s voice, but goddamn, I really like just about everything else. Really cool stuff. Excited to check out more.
4/5
Rated 8/10
This is my least favorite of the Ditch Trilogy, perhaps somewhat controversially. I still think it's very good - a high 4 stars, with the second half of the album being a bit stronger than the first in my opinion - but I definitely prefer On the Beach and the underrated Time Fades Away.
4/5
Rated 6/10
Classic case of liking a lot of it, but only being able to get so high because of my feelings on the album experience with this genre.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
I know that it's probably just me on this island, but I prefer everything about this record to The Number of the Beast. Di'Anno is a much more palatable vocalist; the guitar histrionics are slightly more subdued; the production is a bit grungier. With the bombast dialed back across the board, it gives the band's raw energy a lot more room to shine. Their riffs, tightness, and overall attitude are so damn strong.
3.5/5
Rated 2/10
I really don't understand what there is to like about this. This guy's voice is insufferable. The music sounds terrible. The only reason it's not a half star or zero stars is because it occasionally vaguely resembles music.
1/5
Rated 8/10
Another extremely consistent set of songs from Elvis.
4/5
Rated 10/10
Tired of pretending like I don't love this album.
5/5
Rated 8/10
Dan Auerbach's claim that he "didn't know who the White Stripes were" when he and Patrick started the Black Keys is so full of shit. There's no chance in hell they weren't aware of another midwestern blues-infused two-piece that was already beginning to hit the mainstream. Dan, in general, is not a very reliable or trustworthy person, but that's another story for another day.
That all said, starting around their third album, the Keys did carve out a slightly different niche for themselves, honing in a bit more on subtle psychedelic and R&B influences in contrast to some of the Stripes' punkier and more Americana flourishes. In my opinion, they hit their peak on the album before this one, Attack & Release, but Brothers is still pretty great. There are more than a few solid bluesier tunes - I'm especially partial to the swampy "She's Long Gone" and "Ten Cent Pistol" - that sit nicely alongside the more soulful "Everlasting Light" and "The Only One". "Sinister Kid" has a surprisingly good groove (surprising because Patrick Carney is truly not that great of a drummer half the time), "Next Girl" and "Tighten Up" are dependable singles, and even the atmospheric instrumental "Black Mud" is pretty damn cool.
I think "Howlin' for You" works totally fine in context with the rest of the album, but it does telegraph the direction they're about to go in - a direction that has given them a mostly deserved reputation. Additionally, at least 3-4 tracks could have easily been left off. But I'll stand by my defense of this one (as well as Attack & Release and Rubber Factory), and I'll forever have good memories of the show I saw on this tour.
4/5
Rated 4/10
Some cool stuff - her voice is amazing overall and I’ll definitely go back to “Who Is It” - but in general, I’m just not super into it. Very cool concept and arrangements, though.
2.5/5
Rated 8/10
It’s very good, just not my preferred Traffic album.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
I have a lot of reverence both for Willie Nelson and the compositions on this record. And I do like this album, but it's not something I'm likely to listen to on a regular basis. There are multiple albums of his I know that I prefer, and multiple versions of most of these songs that I prefer.
3.5/5
Rated 6/10
I can tell I’m supposed to *love* this, I’m just not there yet. Still pretty damn good. I’ll come back to this.
3.5/5
Rated 2/10
This shit gives me anxiety.
1/5
Rated 8/10
Unbelievably fun and energetic. Knew I'd like it, didn't expect to like it as much as I do.
4/5
Rated 4/10
Elements that I like keep popping through, but never consistently enough to constitute true enjoyment.
2/5
Rated 8/10
I guess I can understand why most people prefer their follow-up, but this most recent relisten has only confirmed for me that I definitely like this one more. Perry sounds great and the band is killer, but more notably, it has a particular weirdness to it that really vibes with me. Kind of like Minutemen or Camper Van Beethoven, they float between a few different musical worlds, and even if a couple of songs aren't the absolute strongest, it's never uninteresting. "Jane Says", "Mountain Song, "Ocean Size", "Summertime Rolls", and "Pigs in Zen" are the biggest standouts in my book. High 4 stars that I can easily see growing to 4.5 one day.
4/5
Rated 6/10
I consistently could not tell if I liked this or not. Seems like there was truly an equal amount of qualities that I did and didn’t like. So I’ll go right down the middle.
2.5/5
