Rate Albums

Reviews by rhymingnonsensically

Pretzel LogicSteely Dan

8/10

Probably my least favorite of their first seven albums. That said it still rips. Kudos to the Dan for not turning East St. Louis Toodle-Oo into an interminable 35 noodle noise odyssey that some of their contemporaries would have done. Thank you generator for sending Steely Dan as the first album of fatherhood. Well done.

The Sensual WorldKate Bush

6/10

Other than that Stranger Things kid running up a hill to tell the evil mutants he's gay I'm truly a tabula rasa with Kate Bush. Coming to this by way of the Cocteau Twins album means we're primed to also tell the evil mutants that we're a little curious too. I'm probably really late to the party but between the Cocteau Twins, Enya, and Kate Bush the the late eighties were a hell of a time for unbelievable female vocals.

MelodramaLorde

6/10

I probably won't be returning to this album often (if ever) but there's a sincerity in the delivery and compositions that I appreciate. Also thank you for creating a modern album that isn't 100 minutes long and full of crap that should've been left on the editing room floor.

ParklifeBlur

8/10

Outside of moody guys playing Wonderwall at house parties Britpop is a big blind spot of mine, and after a couple Oasis albums I thought we were heading for the Neil Young zone. No longer. This album was a blast and all over the place in the best way, it feels like they're pulling sounds from a lot of different places without sacrificing listenability.

H.M.S. FableShack

6/10

This reminds me a lot of that Lemonheads album we got a year ago, it's pleasant enough to give it a reasonable floor and earn it a place to make it background while you clean the house but if this thing was an electrocardiogram you'd think the album was dead because the line was flat. No peaks. That said I'd take these guys over Oasis any day of the week. Fight me.

Happy TrailsQuicksilver Messenger Service

6/10

There's no defending that Where You Love interlude and Calvary was truly a Golgotha for the ears but I thought this was a clear cut above most of what the Grateful Dead shat out in this era mostly thanks to a lot of that driving Bo Diddley beat.

OK ComputerRadiohead

6/10

The awaited Radiohead breakthrough shall remain awaited. Give me 200 more albums from the generator and I think we'll get there. In the meantime: Radiohead, have you met my good friend Neil Young?

SmashThe Offspring

8/10

I did not think I was going to like this in the slightest but here we are with further affirmation for my enjoyment of pop punk. A lot of good songs here, Nitro (Youth Energy) and Gotta Get Away are personal standouts. Settling on a 4 for now but this could go up or down with time.

Will the Circle Be UnbrokenThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

10/10

Ken Burns probably could've just played this album for two hours instead of making his 12 hour documentary about country music. Nothing better to bring out the inner hillbilly than this. Also shoutout sneaking in Both Sides Now backed up by Foggy Mountain Breakdown. HELL YEAH.

Fleet FoxesFleet Foxes

8/10

Some day my kid will ask me for some music from when Dad was a kid and from my perspective I couldn't do much worse than this. It's an immaculately produced album that perfectly captures that late 00s to early 10s folk sound that the kids stomped their feet and clapped their hands to. I imagine she'll look at me the same way I did at my Dad when I asked him the same question and wanted him to hand me Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith and instead received Dan Fogelberg and the Little River Band.

Violent FemmesViolent Femmes

4/10

Neat to hear a band cutting an album in the early 80s with a half foot in the 1950s and a foot and a half in the 1990s. Other than the surprising recording date and me not liking Blister in the Sun as much as I remember I really didn't care for any of this. Three minute songs shouldn't feel this long.