Reviews by penthousedawg

Sexy, gritty, snarly vocals and simple, angular guitar leads that sound like they are echoing up from a dimly-lit cave. A little bit aggressive, a little bit cool. Great album.

Not a genre of music I personally enjoy.

I remember hearing Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in school. Everything about them seemed strange, exotic, Avant Garde! And those vocals? Who let this alien sing on these records?

I then got to know more about the band and realised Billy Corgan is not very exotic at all. Less of an alien, more of a nasally goblin.

Still, the music holds up. And on this record we have a whole buffet of fuzzy alternative rock and gentle finger picked ballads. Like a lot of listeners, I too thought leaving a few tracks out would have improved the experience but I have to say, after revisiting Mellon Collie today it's all surprisingly cohesive and musically strong. I will always consider Siamese Dream their 'best' record but I think we have another 5 here.

Random ass title for a random ass album. It's fresh, fun, full of surprises and whilst the album is spinning it's great. I'm not sure if I would consciously go back to this album but much like the songs, it will be a surprisingly enjoyable treat when I do. 3.5

Nice. Could have come from the 70s or something. Soulful, warm. Drippy guitar reverb, big show drums, rich vocals. I'm feeling generous today so it can have a strong 3.5

This must have blown some minds back in the day, man.

Classic prog rock is long. A bit too long for me.

I respect this record but I don't necessarily enjoy it.

Unique, instantly recognisable as a Sufjan record but full of surprises at every turn. A happy, heartfelt, touching and fun record. The creativity, songwriting and arrangements are astounding. I often criticise albums for being too long but this record is an absolute joy right to the end.

I'm going to separate my feelings about the music and the artist - pretty fine record, well produced, not a patch on any The Smiths record. I enjoyed listening, it didn't change my life. It's a light 3.

Better than expected but way too long and not enough hooks to stick in the mind. Probably a 2.5.

I dislike Chris Martins voice. He seems like an insufferable twot and I cant seem to distance that feeling from Coldplays music. Can we re-record this album with a new singer?

People who hate this band must be the vocal minority because Coldplay continues to sell a bazillion records.

I quite like Don't Panic.

Not the Dinosaur Jr album I would have picked but it is a good example of their songwriting chops and J Mascis' guitar virtuosity. I'm reminded by revisiting this album just how much melody is woven in to these songs, even if its partially obscured by a layer of fuzz and distortion. Ragged and raw production and some of the most unique vocals in rock.
In a Jar is one of my favourite songs.

Moments of greatness and moments of dross; I liked Fooled Again and Strangered in the night, but nowhere near the brilliance of his later work (Full Moon Fever). The opening of American Girl sounds exactly like the Strokes - and when I googled it, I wasn't surprised to see they openly admitted to pinching the idea from Tom.

A record that is hard not to like - I mean, you have to lean pretty hard in to the "It's Hipster music" mindset to not enjoy these simple, breezy songs, layered up with electronic oddness. I do think it's a bit of an over-hyped record - Flaming Lips fans really, really like Flaming Lips - but there's lots to enjoy and it's a warm, comfortable listen.

*Tokes cigarette and winks at camera*

Nice.

Oh boy. One of those albums where I look at the other reviews and get scared in going to offend everyone. It's a pleasant listen, Tracy has a very distinctive and rich voice. The music is serviable but not particularly exciting. The meaning behind the words is obviously very important here and whilst I appreciate the sentiment I thought it was a little preachy across all the songs. I did get a little bored, sorry

Each time something happens that I like on this record, Sting and the Po-po go and do something I don't like. This leaves me looking at a 5/10 record with some great moments but it's not enough to save it

People who don't like Talking Heads are weird. I don't trust them.

I have a mixed opinion and odd relationship with this record. Whenever I listen to the dreamlike woozy guitars I hear what I would these days attribute to a lo-fi recording - scratchy, grungy, discordant. But then I remember that back when this was made it was notorious for how expensive it's creation was and how meticulous the creator was in bringing this to life, which sits at odds with the lo-fi impression it leaves on me. These days I try not to fight it and don't attempt to understand Loveless - if you let it wash over you effortlessly it really starts to shine. Underneath the wash of overdubbed guitars the songwriting is really quite simple and I don't think it's intention ever was to over think anything.

Oh man another 60s psychedelic rock album? That's like, six in a row now.

Sort of what I expected looking at the year and the album cover; but actually better than I had thought it would be. Even recognised a couple of songs (the albums opener and Season of the Witch, a certified banger). It's not all good, there is an equal amount of shit on this one. A time capsule album, for sure.