Reviews by polyjamjam

I've never heard of John Grant or The Czars before this! I do have quite a soft spot for modern indie folk, especially when it incorporates elements of more textured genres like chamber pop, paired with simple but emotionally affecting lyrics. I greatly enjoyed the album's uplifting romantic moments as well, centred around growing up gay under a brutal and religious conservative culture. "Caramel" was truly beautiful and a clever call-back to "Marz"! Unfortunately, all that went out the window when he started dropping slurs (like the n-word) willy-nilly. Dude, there were so many different ways you could've communicated your point. Maybe I'm being sensitive, but it just came across as tone-deaf and needlessly shocking.

This is a very ambitious double album that left me both awed and ambivalent. I love me a good rock opera, but I do wish this album's instrumentations were more interesting. While I can absolutely hear why "Tommy" became a staple rock album, and I was decently engaged in its storyline, it can often buckle under it's own weight. Perhaps it's another case of time leaving some initially revolutionary albums behind, though I imagine that the full broadway musical adaptation elevates this to a whole new experience!

Awesome stuff! A captivating mix of dance and punk that you think would clash, but actually work very well together. Politically conscious lyrics and delicious-sounding instruments (especially its prioritisation of bass) are the cherries on top of this thrilling and socially confronting sundae. This is a fascinating and seminal showcase of post-punk you can tell hugely inspired bands like Fugazi and Nirvana. 5 stars might just be me being overly generous but who cares anymore :D

Man I love synth pop! Sometimes you just wanna have a good time and "She's So Unusual" got me so giddy with energy and smiles. I've never wanted to be a teenage girl twirling around in my room and singing into a hairbrush more than I do now, which means this album was a resounding success.

Am I a late-blooming jazz lover? I think I might just be! Normally, lengthy genres that rely more on pure musical composition to tell their stories struggle to engage me, through no fault of their own (e.g., I have yet to touch drone and ambient music much). But there's something about jazz... it's such a collaborative and soulful effort that it tugs at the heartstrings every time. And "A Love Supreme" is MUSIC distilled into only four tracks.

Compared to other Brit pop / new wave bands on this list, I quite liked the energy this one brought to the table. Definitely got a more punk edge to it than the rest and I prefer it's use of grittier guitars and darker melodies. However, that wasn't really enough to push the score any higher than its peers. I will say though, "Set The House Ablaze" is a fantastic song and I would've loved it if more of the album leaned into that vibe!

Back from another long break for academic reasons and I'm not sure how I feel about this album... Individually the songs are fun and well made, but as a whole it all blurs together. Probably pretty exciting when it was first released, though I don't think it's hitting the same for me. Nothing terrible but nothing that stands out too much either. Loved the production though, as I always do with a full-ensemble band of instruments!

What a coincidence! I recently added this to my library after seeing ads for their upcoming album everywhere. This is such a joyous and infectious record, like cracking open an ice-cold apple cider at the beach, condensed into 18 wonderful tracks. It's very impressive how they were able to create such varied but cohesive rhythms from thousands of miscellaneous samples, with "Frontier Psychiatrist" being the standout track to me. An Australian treasure for sure! Normally I'm not all that into sampling-focused dance music and it's regular dependance on repetitive vocal chops, but "Since I Left You" put me in such a good mood that even I can't deny its genius.

Harry Nilsson's often dubbed "The American Beatle" and from the single Beatles album I've listened to so far (courtesy of this list) I can hear why! He has a talent for catchy feel-good pop rock songs as well as some pretty captivating slower moments. Also, the "here, damn" energy of the cover and the cheesy rhyming title added to the record's mellow charm :)

This was a commendable effort! The premise of "Moss Side Story" being a concept album soundtracking an imaginary crime film is a very fun idea to attempt to bring to life. While the execution didn't grab me, the potential is there. I think I'd appreciate it a lot more if I knew more about classical music and music theory.

Ahhh I'm so excited to have finally experienced this!! A modern classic that I just haven't had the time and mental bandwidth to give it the undivided attention it needs. After finishing this absolute odyssey of an album, what could I even say that hasn't already been said a million times better before? Hip-hop may not be something I'm knowledgable about or listen to on a consistant basis, but "To Pimp a Butterfly" is one of those records that has fully transcended genre lines to reach culturally iconic status.

Another much beloved classic rock band that I haven't had any contact with before. Similar to my review of "Déjà Vu", I tend to not vibe fully with most dad rock, folk, country etc. It's nothing personal and absolutely nothing wrong with the music itself! I acknowledge my youthful eyes and ears are quite biased in this regard. Anyway, the first song really caught my attention and was filled with some tasty guitar work. The rest of the album is a lovely sunny jaunt (with the exception of the behemoth of a cover that is "I Heard It Through the Grapevine") and I liked it, even if it wasn't something that special to me personally. Again, a high 3 stars!

Heyyy I know these guys! Been meaning to get into their most well-known work "Screamadelica" but this is a great alternate first impression! Even though the album never quite hits the highs it needs for a full 5 stars, I really enjoyed it's hectic mix of genres and broader trip hop influences.

Woahh, this is extremely avant-garde. I've heard a lot of out-of-the-box albums before, though nothing as condensed and dedicated to humour as this. You can tell they had a lot of fun recording. It left me super confused by the end, like they were all in on a very funny joke I wasn't privy to. Though it didn't feel mean-spirited, more like light-hearted teasing than taunting. For that, I actually didn't hate its surreal collection of random instruments and noises. “Blue Rosebuds” reminded me of the animated web-series ENA, so that's a plus!

However, I'm not rating it any higher cause I don't think I'll ever "get" this type of music, and it would be dishonest of me. There were moments of genuine immersion (e.g., I actually liked “Weight Lifting Lulu”), but they don’t last long. At least I was never bored! I guess the bottom line is: I'm grateful that this challenge continues to expose me to stuff I'd never go out of my way to find. The overall experience of listening to deconstructions like this helps me reflect on how limiting the definition of "music" often is, even if nobody has to love the end product itself simply for being different.

This record is admittedly quite lovely and "Layla" is as good as people say. Unfortunately, it doesn't get a higher score cause we don't condone known long-standing racist and anti-vax rhetoric in this house. Also, some of the songs drag themselves to the finish line and I can't shake the irony that there are more authentic blues projects I could be celebrating instead.

This is a band I've heard of before, but their albums have kinda been sitting in my library waiting to be played. All this to say, I'm very fond and forgiving of alt and nu metal (despite how try-hard and reiterative these genres can be), and this record is no exception. A pure shot of metal fusion that's packed with heavy hitters! It surprised me just how much I enjoyed this so-called funk metal, so much so that the 5 stars really crept up on me.

This was actually really cool! I was under the false impression that the Beastie Boys were an alt-rock band (sorry) and I'm not the biggest fan of the rapping at times. Still, the energy this album brings to the table is so fun and the production unabashedly leans into its mish-mashed genre craziness.

I've said this before and I'm probably gonna say it may more times in the future. Objectively a very musically skilled album that's soulful and well played! Subjectively, I'm not too enthusiastic about older folk rock in general, with the vocal harmonies giving it a dated 70's appeal. My faves were songs like "Carry On" and "Woodstock" that embraced the album's more energetic rock side.

Wow this is the most recent album I've gotten so far. And it's Thundercat too, a prolific musician I've been curious about for a while but haven't had the time to check out. As for "Drunk" itself, it's great! Definitely helps that I'm more used to the modern production. 23 songs is lengthy (including a lot of scattered interludes), which I feel weighs the album down. However, the songs themselves were a refreshing and entrancing blend of modern jazz, hip hop and R&B. Beautiful bass playing by the way! It's more downtempo than I what I usually like, but the experimental touches save it from becoming too monotonous.

This is something I've never encountered before! "The Sounds Of India" is more of a musical documentary than an album, so I'm not inclined to give it a higher score. Other than that, listening to a cultural expert explaining classical Indian music was delightful, entirely improved from the sitar's stereotypical use as a vaguely "oriental" instrument shoved in the background of shows, games and movies. The complimentary performances made for a relaxing evening. I was also endeared when I read that Ravi Shankar was a friend of the Beatles, having been an instrumental influence on their later sound (and a lot of 60's pop and rock).