Reviews by scritters

Pre Listen:
Title sounds like an album Bender from Futurama would listen to. I've never heard of them, but the cover art is pretty. No expectations.

Notable Tracks:
Split Myself in Two - Fastest intro song to date that's instantly made me feel as though I'll either absolutely hate this album, or really love it. The distortion effects are bodacious.
Aurora Borealis - At this time of year! At this time of day! In this part of the country! Localized entirely within your album?! I like it.
Teenager (s) - Least favorite track on the album. My eyes almost rolled clean out of my head. "Guys, being a teenager is so hormonal and depressing!" someone sure got bullied growing up, I just know it. Skipped after 1m 40s.

Post Listen:
The vocalist cannot fucking sing holy shit.

Frustrating as fuck. I think I would've given this album higher, but the vocalist is so amazingly awful, it bumps it down to almost a 1. I've heard some bad, some meh, and some intentionally bad vocals on this project, but this might be the first one where I think he's actually trying and sucks this bad. I've heard children crying on airplanes that sound better.

To be fair the instrumentation is also inconsistent. Some songs I really did like, others sounded generic or boring. The psyche rock leaning songs were best, the folk leaning songs were never quite bad, but not good either. Despite that, a purely instrumental song was so, so much better than *anything* including the vocalist.

For both issues with this album, many, many such cases, and more to come I'm sure. If it weren't for the fact that this album was composed by more than just the vocalist, and leaving a 1 because of him alone would leave a bad taste in my mouth, I have to leave a 2/5.

Pre Listen:
Haven't heard of these gents, but based on the "H.M.S." in the title, I reckon it's a UK band of some sort. No expectations.

Notable Tracks:
Daniella - My favorite track. The simple acoustic guitar contrasts the overdone nothing burger songs that fill this album. I really like the distortion effect at the end of the song, very unique.
Lend's Some Dough - Least favorite track. Embarrassing. I would say this is AI Generated, if it wasn't for this album being from '99.

Post Listen:
UK Band of some sort indeed.

It sounded rather generic to me. Like a watered down R.E.M. mixed with something else. I already dislike R.E.M. so I was pretty bored by this album. I don't have anything particularly negative to say about any one element, it just sounded meh to me. I couldn't understand the vocals from time to time. I normally enjoy albums with wide instrumentation, interesting vocal effects, harmonies, etc. This one though, it all felt almost corporate in a way? Hard to explain.

This is background music you'd hear in a restaurant you'll never return to, not because it was bad, but because you were only passing through. Even still, if you were to pass through again, you probably wouldn't go here. 2/5

Pre Listen:
I don't have the greatest history with Brazil as a nation. https://youtu.be/1WpbhrzZJrQ?si=3LXOXcIHTTbzsO2_
The album cover would be beautiful, if that doofus got his face out the way. Lower expectations than usual.

Notable Tracks:
Tropicália - Very weak start to this album. After finishing it, this was my least favorite. Lowered my expectations even further.
Onde Andaras - My favorite track on the album by a wide margin. If every song sounded like this, I may have given this thing a 5. Has a very nostalgic feeling to it.
Anunciação - Another low point, has my least favorite vocals on the album. All the instruments feel like they are fighting each other to play different songs.
Superbacana - Another highlight, has my favorite vocals on the album. The brass plays well here too.

Post Listen:
Wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it more than anticipated.

Every song felt distinct, some were good, some were bad, depended on how well everything harmonized together. Generally I liked the addition of the violins, but disliked the addition of the occasional flutes. The keyboard sounds varied in quality, both from a melodic and actual recording quality point of view. Caetano's vocals were inconsistent too, sometimes his voice elevated a song, other times it dragged it down. I think his voice worked best in the more classic psyche-ish rock-ish sounding songs, but fell flat in Bossa Nova sounding songs.

Just a quirky, odd little album that was all over the place. Disappointed there wasn't more of a Samba sound to it, that's like my favorite sound out of Brazil. 3/5

Pre Listen:
Sam Cooke is unknown to me, but I'll let him cook. I see the saxophone on the album cover, and I know I love jazz, so I have slightly higher expectations than usual.

Notable Tracks:
Chain Gang - Oh, I know this one. I've heard better iterations of it, specifically from the studio versions. Classic song on every oldies radio station thought.
Bring It on Home to Me - Not a big fan of this one, least favorite song on the album. I've never really liked sing-talking type songs, and this one goes on for too long.

Post Listen:
Ehhh, wasn't quite what I was expecting. This album has sort of solidified how I feel about "Live" albums. They aren't great.

Live music is excellent to hear when you're actually there. You can record it on your phone, and listen back to it, but it'll never sound right. Recording devices just don't capture the atmosphere, the energy, the acoustics of the room, the visual spectacle, any of it. The audience's hoots and hollers are just annoying. Plus live-recording devices are almost always inferior to the level of sound quality a studio recording gives you.

After listening I visited some of Sam Cooke's studio work, and man his voice is so different in this recording from his prior stuff. It sounds a lot worse, strained and drained. I'm not a fan of his little quips between lyrics. That being said, I enjoy the overall sound for most of the songs, there's nothing bad about his actual singing and his bands instrumentals.

Just a very forgettable album, that would've been a lot better if it wasn't live. 3/5

Pre Listen:
I have a...complicated relationship, with Frank Zappa. He's like that one friend who has so much potential, and you really love hanging with him for like 30 minutes. Then suddenly he does something so despicably cringe, it makes that Pickle Rick kid look like a comedic genius.

The album cover being a parody of Sgt. Peppers doesn't fill me with hope. The Beatles are one of my top bands. You come at the king, you better not miss.

I had a music professor my freshman year of college who's favorite artist was Frank Zappa. I respected her a lot as a teacher, but I can't fathom why she likes Frank so much. Every new album I encounter from him, I try and put myself in her shoes. My expectations for this are the lowest to date, but I'm trying to put myself in that professor's headspace.

Notable Tracks:
Who Needs The Peace Corps? - Song raised my expectations for the album somewhat. Funny little critique of hippie culture. Doesn't sound horrible.
What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body - My favorite track on the album, it parodies the Beatles the best I think. The harmony they hit is so fucking spot on. The "All your children-" verses made me laugh pretty hard. **NOT** including the Reprise.
Nasal Retentive Calliope Music | The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny - Tied for the worst tracks on the album by a fucking landslide, holy shit. This is exactly what I was talking about in my Pre Listen. If this is music, then dogshit is food.

Post Listen:
It's an early shitpost in audio form. If this album was supposed to be a statement of some sort, it's about as deep as a 9gag meme.

The Zappa experience here is identical to every other encounter I've had with him. A lot of songs have really, *really* great instrumentation on occasion, only to be interrupted by the worst shit you've heard in your life. The lyrics are funny or briliantly satirical, only to be quite literally interrupted by burps and audio cuts. Zappa takes something nice, and ruins it before your very ears. He's like those Turkish ice-cream guys, but he never gives you the ice cream. Instead he flashes you and gets away with it.

I told a friend I'd not give this album a 1/5 before I finished it, since he is a big Zappa fan. I can't do it. I just can't. I never want to hear any of this again, 1/5.

Pre Listen:
Merle Haggard and The Strangers are complete strangers to me. The album cover doesn't give me the vibes of something I'd likely enjoy, but I'm keeping an open mind.

Notable Tracks:
Life In Prison - A stand-out song to me as one I enjoyed more than the rest. Not my favorite, but for the overall country sound that most of the album has, this one does it best.
If You Want To Be My Woman - My favorite track on the album. It stood out to me from the rest as being closer to classic rock than country. Reminds me of Elvis. Good sound.
My Rough And Rowdy Ways - Least favorite track on the album. One of the few that felt like it realllyy dragged. Boring lyrics about being useless.

Post Listen:
It was pretty much what I expected with little exception. I do prefer this sort of classic-country to modern day pop-country. The lyrical work of this album compared to today's country songs which without fail talk exclusively about either guns, girls, god, beer, or trucks, is great.

The lead singer's voice is consistently good, and he strikes great harmonies with the other vocalists. The sliding electric guitar throughout the album is another highlight, I love that nostalgic feeling it carries. Sadly this is another such case where the songs start to really blend. No least favorite track, nothing terribly offensive, just nothing amazing again.

The album felt like it was dragging towards the end. I can absolutely see how anyone could enjoy the sleepy melodies, it is quality music, it's just too sleepy for me. Sounds like something I'd hear in Fallout New Vegas. 3/5

Pre Listen:
I only know of The Band from Jojo's, they got a Stand named after em in Part 4. That's it.

Notable Tracks:
N/A

Post Listen:
I listened to this album while driving through the countryside, and it's the strangest thing. I think the album was intended to be listened as such, and yet I can't recall a single song standing out to me. It wasn't bad per say, but it was painfully boring. I'd peg this sort of music as Biker Rock.

Towards the last 3 or 4 songs I was more than ready for it to be over. Nothing offensive, but nothing good. I had no favorite track, no least favorite track, nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxK_nA2iVXw

The band's music is about as generic as it's name. 2/5.

Pre Listen:
The album cover intimidates me. I feel like I shouldn't be here. Never heard of this group, no expectations, etc.

Notable Tracks:
Our Lips Are Sealed - Ohhhh shit I do know this group. This is a classic. Excited to hear what's in store from here.
Lust to Love - My favorite track, I like the lyrics a lot. Catchy too.
We Got The Beat - Another classic. Got stuck in my head for a while even after I finished the album.
Automatic - Maybe the weakest song on the album? It's very different from the rest, but still I enjoyed it.

Post Listen:
I enjoyed this album more than I could've anticipated. It's classic bubble-gum Pop, mixed with a bit of what I think is Surf-Rock.

I really love the lead singer, her voice is a great blend of joyful peppiness and softer harmonies with the other vocalists. The guitar is incredibly clean, and the bass compliments every song very nicely. The drums too are very solid, keeping the beat. I'll be adding a few songs to my playlist, really blew my expectations away. I have no criticisms, really just a phenomenally well put-together album.

They absolutely got the beat. 5/5

EDIT - Came back after re-listening to the album. I think my initial score could be described as a "Sugar High" with just how bubble-gum their sound is. On subsequent listens, it wasn't quite as sweet as I remembered it. I still love it, I just don't think it's perfect-score worthy. Changed to 4/5.

Pre Listen:
I think I've seen this album cover and heard this guys name somewhere before. Maybe he's just got one of those names and one of those faces. Based on the album cover and release date, guessing this is gonna be some old-fashioned Americana.

Notable Tracks:
Cocaine - My favorite track on the album. The guitar melody sounds so sweet an innocent, while the lyrics are anything but.
Mule Skinner Blues - Least favorite track, not a fan of yodeling. Walmart Yodel Kid was more than enough to last a lifetime for me.

Post Listen:
Oh yeah, them's was some cowboy music.

For old South-Western American styled folk music, it was alright. Kinda thing you'd hear at a sleepy bar in the middle of nowhere that wraps up your day in a nice little bow. Jack's voice sounds scarily similar to a guy I know, gonna send him this album and see what he thinks. His guitar work ain't half bad either, pretty solid throughout the album.

I don't really have any major gripes with the album. It's a good length too, I guess it's just missing anything particularly good or even great? It's a bit formulaic for American Folk music of the region and time. You could compare this to other artists from the same genre, time, and place, and I wouldn't be able to pick it apart. I feel very comfortable giving it a 3/5.

Pre Listen:
Never heard of these fellas, but that album cover would look really cool if someone didn't doodle all over it. Lower than usual expectations going in.

Notable Tracks:
Here - The best track on the album methinks. I don't really love it, but I think it has the best sound compared to the rest, especially from the vocalist.
Conduit For Sale | Chesley's Little Wrists - Tied for my least favorite tracks on the album. Messy punk-babble. The vocalist keeps saying "I'm Trying!", but I'M trying to see how.

Post Listen:
About what I expected. This album really tiptoes the line of Alt Rock, Punk, and Emo Rock. I occasionally enjoy 2 out of those 3 genres, so I have somewhat mixed feelings about the album as a whole. The instrumentation is pretty good overall, serviceable on average, pretty cool at best. The songs are all about the right length for what they're going for, and the melodies are ok. The sound mixing was wack on some songs, but my big gripe with this album comes from the vocalist.

The vocalist sounds incredibly similar to Lou Reed in my opinion, specifically from Lou's 'Transformer' album. I gave that album a 1/5, mostly due to Lou's vocals sounding bored, apathetic, or even drunk at times. I feel the same way about this band's vocalist. What's perhaps worse is I *know* the guy can sing, from songs like "Here".

Unlike Lou's album, I did like the instrumental works here. The vocals drag it all down, to the point I'd be embarrassed if some of the songs on here played on my playlist. Many such cases, 2/5.

Pre Listen:
Ah, another album I listened to in full ages ago. I remember adding Starman to my playlist, but that's about it. I got a good number of other Bowie songs on my playlist, so I'm glad to give it another listen.

Notable Tracks:
Starman - My favorite on the album, how can it not be? The flow of the song is so perfect, starting with simple acoustics, and having more instruments join as the song progresses. I adore the violins most of all.
Lady Stardust - I didn't remember this one, but man do I love it. That piano is great, adding to my playlist.
Star - My least favorite on the album. I didn't really enjoy the stop-go-stop-go melody they had going on. I get how it fits the lyrical message about being a super-star, but I couldn't get in to it.
Rock And Roll Suicide - Another banger I didn't remember. Debating on adding it to my playlist, I'll have to sit on it.

Post Listen:
This album was a lot better than I remembered. The songs overall ranged from a bit boring at worst, to certified classics at best. I got this album after dealing with what felt like a deluge of Punk albums where everything sounded the same, so having more than 3-4 instruments over the course of the album was like getting a much needed breath of fresh air.

Bowie's voice is so unique, but his lyrical wordplay also ranges from a bit bland, to absolutely poetic. I have complicated feelings with Bowie's works, I've always loved a handful of his songs, but generally but feel ambivalent about the rest. This results in feeling as though I really cherish Bowie as an artist, but I don't cherish any of his albums.

Because I enjoyed it a lot more than the last time I listened to it, and for Starman alone, gotta give this piece of work a 4.

Pre Listen:
Please not another punk album. I'm so tired of punk albums. The guy in the middle of the album cover looks like he needs to be shoved in a locker. Incredibly low expectations going in.

Notable Tracks:
Rich - Oh, that's not a guy on the album cover. The locker-shovening is still happening regardless. Exactly what I expected ( ´_ゝ`).
Date With The Night - I'm tired, boss. Tired of these punk albums. I don't know if I can finish this album.
Man - My thoughts exactly. Man. This sucks. Not subjecting myself to anything further.

Post Listen:
Yet another album that further leads me to believe that punk-rock fans have brain damage. Maybe the damage was caused by all the alcohol their mothers drank when they were still fetuses. Maybe it's from all the shit they smoked as teenagers. Or maybe it's from prolonged exposure to god-awful music over the years.

"The messy and distorted instruments are intentional!" Oh, so it's shit on purpose? "The ferral vocals are part of the style!" Oh, so it's shit on purpose? "It breaks societal norms and conventions of music, it's unique, that's what makes it cool!" Every punk album sounds the exact same, it is one of the least unique genres of music out there, it's about as cool as the singers probably smell.

Look if you'd rather eat Waffle House or McDonalds over a home-made meal, by all means. Go eat shit, if that's what you prefer. I'll stick to things with substance however, thanks. 1/5.

Pre Listen:
Anthrax? I sure hope not!
Another band I've never heard of. I'm begging for it to not be punk or even punk-adjacent, I don't know how many more of those I can take.

Notable Tracks:
Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.) | A Skeleton In The Closet - Tied for my favorite songs on the album. Both tell neat little stories with the lyrics, have shredding guitar work, and stellar drum work.
Medley: A.D.I. / Horror Of It All - I like the intro, I was actually hoping for a more acoustic song around track 4 because of how much I was enjoying the lead guitar. The fade in from acoustic to electric did not disappoint.

Post Listen:
Thankfully I did not contract Anthrax listening to this album. I actually quite liked it. Nodded along to most songs, head banged a bit even to my listed favorites. They remind me a lot of Metallica, but without the painfully slow and boring parts that I don't like. I already enjoy Metallica a good bit, so seeing as how they're like Metallica but better, I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Everything from a musical standpoints gets high marks from me. The vocals are complimentary to the music, the bass keeps tempo well. The highlights (rightfully so for the genre) are the guitar riffs and drums. They absolutely shred, amazingly electric.

As much as I love the lyrics for some fun rhymes and interesting subject matters, they sometimes give off school-shooter vibes, kinda cringe. Another critic I have is that some of the songs do blend together. This resulted in not one least-favorite song, as most songs not listed kind meshed together a wee bit. This wasn't as damning an issue as it is on other albums, because the overall sound from all tracks left a positive impression on me.

Overall, this album's a robust piece of rock. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 4/5.

EDIT - Damn, I *really* enjoyed this thing more than I thought I would. I've listened to this album front to back several more times since I reviewed it, and it hasn't gotten old or stale, and I've grown fonder of other songs on it. Bumped to a 5/5, will be adding more songs to my playlist.

Pre Listen:
Another band I've heard nothing of in my life. Cool album cover art, poster worthy. No expectations.

Notable Tracks:
Voodoo Dolly - Least favorite song on the album. Goes on for way too long, is way too repetitive, and becomes just noise after about 2 minutes. Skipped around the 6 minute mark.

Post Listen:
This was like....maybe the most nothing-burger album I've heard on here since the Ramones. The tracks all blended together for me, nothing really shined, hence not 1 favorite track. This project is teaching me that I really dislike punk music. It's just noise man.

The electric guitar is guitaring. The vocalist is vocaling. The drums are drumming. It's rock alright. It's about as interesting as a rock too. If you're into Geology maybe you'd like this album. Boring, 2/5.

Pre Listen:
Never heard of this fella. I read the Wikipedia article as I couldn't gleam anything at all from the guy's name or the album cover, sounds like an interesting concept album. I dislike the cover art though, so slightly lower expectations than usual going in to this one.

Notable Tracks:
Tides - My favorite song by a pretty large margin. I'm a sucker for piano jazz, and this song was both smooth and soothing as hell. Felt like I was in a Jacuzzi.
Nostalgia - Least favorite song, but by a thin margin against "Pilgrim". Pilgrim just got annoyingly repetitive (yes I know what a mantra is), but Nostalgia's vocal work was horrible. I have a deep personal distaste for breathy, whispery vocalists, and this woman wouldn't cut that shit out.
Beyond Skin - This sounds like it was taken straight out of Metal Gear Solid 4 or something. Nitin should play that series if he hasn't yet, I bet he'd enjoy it.

Post Listen:
This thing was somehow exactly what I expected and not what I expected at the same time. Should've been called something like "Beyond Genre" instead, because each song was kind of it's own thing, tied together by a somewhat shared theme?

I liked the start of each song being something about nukes. I didn't understand half of the lyrics for obvious reasons, but I think I got their vibes. I honestly preferred the non-english songs, as every song with english vocals fell flat for me. As a more political album than anything I've seen on here yet, it was cool.

The vocals were solid, the instrumentation was solid, everything about this album from a musical structure perspective was solid overall. I can appreciate it for what it is, it's just not my style? I won't be coming back to anything other than Tides, and I wouldn't say anything outside of that song is especially amazing. It's a bit more political art than music I feel, which is fine, but left me feeling sort of 3/5.

Pre Listen:
Led Zeppelin? Based as fuck. I haven't listened to this album in full in quite a long time. I know I took songs from it and added them to my playlist back when I did, but my memory's fuzzy on the songs I left behind. I'll soon either remember why, or will likely be adding a few more.

Notable Tracks:
Good Times Bad Times - Iconic way to start the album. Absolute hall-of-famer right here.
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - First song that I didn't add to my playlist from way back when. Not making that mistake twice, COMPLETE banger.
Dazed and Confused - Least favorite track on the album then, least favorite now. The moanin and groanin part of the song just isn't pleasant.
Communication Breakdown - Another classic, though I don't like this one as much as Good Times Bad Times.

Post Listen:
I remember now why I don't really have as many songs from this album as I thought I might; it's a fairly short album, and the songs that are great I already have. Everything else is pretty good, but the stand-out songs almost make them pale in comparison.

Robert Plant's vocals are iconic, but they range from feeling heart-felt to just kind of grating. To me the biggest stars of the band are the lead guitarist, Jimmy Page, and the drummer, John Bonham. Their work is the main course throughout the whole experience.

This is classic, foundational Rock. Despite that I gotta give it a 4/5, Led Zeppelin made better albums as they matured together further along.

Pre Listen:
Another band I've not heard of in the slightest, to my knowledge. I like the album cover, it's pretty. No expectations.

Notable Tracks:
Gloomy Sunday - First song that's popped out to me. The instrumental work specifically stood out as pretty cool, but the vocals suck.
Nude Spoons - Can you stop shouting and wailing? In my ear? Thanks.
Ulcragyceptimol - Least favorite track. So bad it made me want to clobber the vocalist with a baseball bat or shove him into a locker or something like that.

Post Listen:
Even though I said I had no expectations, this really wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I thought it was going to be typical 80's British Radio Pop. Unexpectedly, I got something a lot...darker, and Scottish? I probably could've seen that coming with the title "Sulk".

It wasn't awful, at their best they sound almost like a blend of The Talking Heads and New Order. At their worst though, it's damn near unlistenable. I couldn't pinpoint a favorite song, as all of them have genuinely awful moments. I didn't appreciate the vocals 9/10 times, all the other instruments varied in how much I enjoyed them across the board each song. The album goes on for longer than I'd like.

There was absolutely potential for a banger album here, like having 5-star ingredients for the world's coolest cake, but then they baked the cake out of order, then dropped it all on the floor. 2/5

Pre Listen:
First album on here that's actually been on my radar as something I want to listen to, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I got a few of Marvin's songs on my playlist already, and if he's consistent, I'm sure I'll enjoy this. Expectations higher than usual.

Notable Tracks:
What's Going On - Instantly pulled me in to the album, I love the beat, love the crowded sound, everything harmonizes incredibly well. Super sweet message too with the lyrics.
What's Happening Brother - Favorite track on the album. The lyrics resonated with me the most out of any track.
Wholy Holy - Least favorite track on the album. Still musically very solid, I just dislike the lyrics. They're rather lazy, simply making short statements about your religion's most surface level messages to a slow jive isn't very compelling. Felt out of place too, considering his "God Is Love" felt much more fitting with the overall album, and had essentially the same message.
Inner City Blues - Incredibly close to being my favorite track on the album. The last minute of the "Mother" part took it away, it should've been a separate track methinks.

Post Listen:
What a cozy little album, I enjoyed it a lot, and struggled to find a favorite song due to the high quality each track held. The violins were my favorite instrumental group throughout, the flute very close behind. The percussion too, with the chimes and various drum types were much appreciated. Marvin's vocals were incredibly consistent, had good range. The lyrical work especially deserves praise I think, they mostly had messages I can get behind, and felt relevant. Considering this album's from 1971, and the lyrics still feel relevant, I'd call them timeless.

I love when albums create a flow from one track to the next with minimal breakage, it makes me want to get it on Vinyl. The majority of songs on here will likely make it to my playlist, they all had so much soul behind them. This will be the first 5 I'm giving on here to an album I haven't heard before. Glad I found out exactly What's Going On, 5/5

Pre Listen:
What the fuck is going on in the album cover. Looks like something I'd see on a wall in the greasiest pizza/burger restaurant in town, before eating the worst food ever. Slightly low expectations from the album cover alone.

Notable Tracks:
Blast Off - Heart sank progressively deeper every second the track played. Low expectations weren't low enough apparently. This is the kind of music a teenager plays to intentionally piss off their parents, and look back on with embarrassment.
She's Hit - Skipped halfway through. This might be it.
Dead Joe - Stopped listening to this about 20 seconds in. I've heard enough.
The Dim Locater - Came back and listened to this one after taking a break. Quit listening about halfway through.

Post Listen:
Fastest 1 out of 5 to date. Might be the fastest for this whole project.

This shit sounds like elementary schoolers got access to a recording studio. I know the band is doing it intentionally, because the lead singer keeps doing shitty voices and making shitty noises. The audio mixing is shit, the guitar work intentionally dirty and unpolished. It's an intentionally shit album, you'd be hard pressed to convince me otherwise, it's literally called "Junkyard". That's what this sort of punk-rock is, stylistically.

Some people enjoy that kind of thing. I call them masochists. Not a great introduction to the esteemed Nick Cave. At least the album cover gives an accurate impression to the shitfest that is this album. 1/5.

Pre Listen:
Based on the name of both the band and album, I assume in order to fully experience this album, I need to put my waders on and get fishing. Will do. No idea who these guys are.

Notable Tracks:
This Land Is Your Land | Dunford's Fancy - Tied for my favorite tracks on the album. I'm a massive fan for this style of folk music. The sort you hear live in a local pub by chance that cements itself in your head as a cherished memory.
Jimmy Hickey's Waltz - Another highlight, not quite my favorite due to the slower tempo, but great nonetheless.
The Stolen Child - Not a big fan of what I'd call "Story Rock" typically, and this one falls into that. Not a big fan of the refrain, the whole song just feels like a wet napkin. Least favorite track. Fiddle work is solid tho.
Sweet Thing - Beatles referenced oh my goodness gracious oh my good heavens.

Post Listen:
Definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I have a massive soft spot for Scottish/Irish Folk Music, as I live in the Appalachian region of the U.S., where immigrants from those countries played a huge role in shaping our folk music. When the first song played, I got quite excited and went to look where this band was from, and understood everything when I found out.

That said, the album isn't entirely traditional folk. I enjoyed it the most during the more folkish songs, and the least when it was closer to traditional rock. The fiddler is great, the acoustic guitar is pretty good, the vocalist harmonizes well sometimes. I'm incredibly torn on giving this album a 4 or 3. I think I'll give it a 4 for now, but I might come back to it once I've listened to more albums, and I've had time to sit on it.

EDIT - Sat on it, giving it a 3 ultimately. The more folkish songs were all I remembered after a while, the rest just really isn't as great.