Reviews by soundowl

The Bonus Tracks are redundant and pointless.

The main album I enjoy quite a bit despite it's flaws, but when I acquired the album, it was the bonus edition that fell into my lap.

Disc 2 is worthless.

Sorry to be blunt, but it has very very few good songs in it. Some of them are just rough recordings of the album's major hits, some sound like decent enough tunes but the mixing is so bad that it becomes distracting, and the vast majority are sleepy d-sides that are drowning in melatonin.

On top of all of that, there's plenty more of those spacey synth tracks that feel so pointless in keeping in the track list.

I find very little reason at all to put on the bonus tracks, save for the song titled You, that one (not including the hidden track attached to it) is the best original song on the whole thing.

1975 dont know how to craft an album

Notes on a conditional Form from the 1975 is theit newest project, and in typical 1975 fashion it's a long one.

I have quite a bit to say about this one so I'm gonna break it down to three points: The Good, The Bad, and The Issues.

The good:
- This album contains some of The 1975's best songs to date. "If you're too shy let me know", "Guys" and the "You and me together song" are some of their most well-written and well played tracks in a long time.

-"Shy" is everything that makes them good turned up to 11. The guitars are shimmering and clear, with great rhythm and solid playing. The main hook of the song has a wonderful horn section that not only adds to the catchiness, but also gives it an even greater 80's flair than it had previously. The topic of this song is how to address intimacy in the internet age, a topic that 1975 frontman Matthew Healy considers to be really important.

-"guys" is a love song for the friends in one's life. Matt states that "Songs typically sing about romance in relationships but rarely tackle the type of relationship one has with your close friends." It's a really sweet song with dreamy vocals and atmosphere, serving as the album's closer it really does fit in this regard.

- "You and me" is another great song that has a happy and upbeat instrumental combined with actual sunny lyrics and no hint of cynicism or a twist in mood at all. A simple pop rock jam that will definitely make you move your feet.

-"People" is the album's first real track and it's a rager. Loud and abrasive, with shouted vocals and fuzzy guitars and booming drums. It's for all intents and purposes a punk rock song. The song's lyrics reflect this as well as it is about frustration with how society and people in general treat the world around us.

The Bad:

This record suffers from what I think The 1975 are known for doing, and that's packing a ton of musical ideas into one record and not having them connect, or feeling just like scraps or vignettes that don't add to the experience in a meaningful way.

Plenty of songs here such as "Shiny collarbone", "Bagsy not in net", "Having no Head" and "The End" are all instrumental pieces of music usually with house beats and garage samples mixed in. These songs feel like they take up the majority of the record, going one or two tracks like this before arriving at a single ( which have been released prior to the album's drop date). This wouldn't be so much a problem for me if it had a commenting theme or flow but most of the time they just feel like isolated soundscapes.

Reading about this record, it seems like Matt and co took a lot of inspiration from garage and house artists of the past, such as Burial. They talk about how proud of these songs they are and to me it reads as if they really wanted to make a house record. This honestly would be cool if there were more meat on the song's bones and if the surrounding singles had that vibe as well. It all feels very disjointed and scattered.

The Issues:

This record basically proves to me what I had come to theorize with The 1975's creative processes and how they construct an album, and that's that they don't. The band seems to go about creating albums less as an art in and of itself, and more as a vehicle for housing the songs they create. The major lack of a connecting theme or narrative is the major example of this. The opening track is a piece by Greta Thunberg urging the listener to take our environment into consideration and make changes now, and then the song "People" plays right after. This is the only instance where there's a connection thematically to the songs. After this, politics and the environment are not brought up again.. at all. Having this be your opening statement( or thesis) and then have the rest of your project not address it is really confusing to me (on top of basically making the opening track an instant-skip as this adds nothing of musical value to the record).

Conclusion:
If you like The 1975 and their formula for albums, you will definitely enjoy this record. For me, it had good songs, but not good as a whole. It wasn't as exciting, or out-of-left field as some of their other works, and it felt unfinished or unfocused in ways as well. I would certainly check out their singles at least.

I'm feeling a 5/10

Their best album. It's no contest.

I've always enjoyed their singles but the albums are super hit or miss. They're a band that for me, are tough to love. This album made the wait worth it though.

Take all the aspects of their new wave and pop rock influences and craft it into something that's incredibly endearing and charming not only in it's themes, but also in it's flow. Seldom is this record uninteresting, at worst it's a bit predictable, but overall it's so mature and tasteful. Gone is the over-indulgence of Matt's wild experimentations, and here we have focus and tact applied to the band's formula.

As someone who's stuck with this group for about 6 or so years now, this album is so very very welcome.

I'm happiest when I'm doing something that I know is good

"Thank you Kanye, Very Cool"

The 1975's 3rd album is also their first attempt at a concept record. The topic at hand being, relationships of all kinds in the modern era, and humanity's embrace and reliance on technology. Sprinkle in some themes regarding frontman Matthew Healy's heroin addiction experiences, and you have ABIIOR in a nutshell.

At first I thought this record might be their most focused and well put-together projects they've ever done, and I was kind of right. Upon further review however, I found this record to still be majorly flawed and rife with Healy-isms that bring down their projects as a whole for me. Not to say that I think this project is bad per se, but it certainly wasn't the shining jewel that I thought it to be at first.

Let's get my main criticism out of the way right off the bat, there is too much filler. 15 tracks is pretty trim for a 1975 record, but it still takes it's time by having each song go for a bit too long in parts, and having a near 1 hour run time makes this experience a bit of a drag in parts. There aren't nearly as many useless interludes or weird sonic detours this time thankfully. The biggest issue in regards to how bloated this album feels is definitely in the pacing. This has always really been an issue I've had as well. The band's big singles are all fantastic, but you sprinkle in the "Be My Mistake"s, and the "Surrounded by Heads and Bodies"s of the track list, and it feels so sludgy and bogged down by slow intimate moments that kill this album's momentum.

Let's take a break and talk about the singles. The first one being "Give Yourself a Try". This song is pretty good. It's got a noisy and repetitive guitar part, which is supplemented by a snappy rhythm section and underlying bass harmonies. Matty's vocals stand out, as he sings about embracing yourself for yourself and living a little, instead of being stuck inside both physically and metaphorically. "TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME" is a bit more subtle of a single, but is still catchy in it's own right as it discusses the dysfunctionality of technology and interactions with significant others. It's a fine song even if it's not my personal favorite.

"Love it If We Made It" took a while to grow on me, but it's absolutely great. A bit heavy handed on the "World sucks everything is shit" attitude, and some of the modern day references do date it quite a bit, but I felt the hopeful chorus does lift this song's message up and prevent it from being a "woe is me" anthem. The pounding bridge with the touches of saxophone are nice as well.

"Sincerity is Scary" is a bit of an odd song for the group. It's basically pop-gospel and has that breezy urban "maroon 5 Sunday Morning" feel to it. Lyrically it's at odds with the music itself as a toxic relationship is broken down and described in detail. I feel odd about it, and it sticks out in kind of a less than flattering way, but I can see why if someone enjoys this track.

"It' Not Living" is this album's second outright banger of a song, with a catchy as FUCK chorus and that glistening peppy sugary sweet pop-rock production and style that made hits like "The Sound" and "Girls". Lyrically it can be interpreted to be either about a relationship in the sense of romance, the relationship with technology, or in Matty's case (as evidenced by the music video) drugs. It's a pretty great song, popping up this late in the track list is a breath of fresh air.

The final track is my most favorite one, "I Always wanna Die" is a bittersweet ballad. The ghostly chorus and the ethereal instrumental just coalesce into one of their best songs ever, and a perfect bookend to the record. I highly highly suggest this one.

As I alluded to when talking about "It's not living" being a breath of fresh air, this record has pacing issues. A lot of this record is balladry that's either stripped back and acoustic, or dreamy and spaced out, or even done in a lounge-jazz chamber pop kind of way. The experimentation with style and genre is admirable, but makes the meat of this record so drab as an experience. The stretch from "Love it" to "It's Not Living" is a slogggggg. The songs by themselves aren't really that bad either, it's just all coagulated in one massive syrup ball that feels impossible to escape. I feel this also distracts from the narrative that the band is trying to convey.

There are pockets of brilliance in this album, and I do feel like this conceptual project is a pretty good overall listen if you're patient enough. I just can't help but be distracted by the inconsistency in pacing and structure. Oh, and "The Man who Married a Robot" is a terrible song. Instant skip every time it comes on.

"Getting an STD at 27 really isn't the vibe/"

I'm outside lookin' in But if your chance came would you take it?

This record gets it's right.
While not as explosive as their first record, it does offer up some excellent song craft, and a more focused approach that makes the record feel more complete and solid. "Mandy Fly Me" is prog pop perfection, with its many changing pieces, wonderful vocal harmonies and climactic apexes. The opening title track is an instrumental that leads into "Lazy Ways", a rather mellow first tune but one that really satisfies as you can picture yourself lazing away in a sunroom while listening. "I wanna Rule The World" is a bit more like their older material, and definitely the most zany song here. "Iceberg" was funky and a lot of fun to follow along to. I wasn't as into "art for art's sake" or the closing track "don't hang up". These songs left little impression on me and kinda felt undercooked. "Rock n Roll Lullabye" surprised me as I'm not too into Old School rock n roll parodies, but the production bolsters this track very well, and in the end I ended up liking it quite a bit. "Head room" is a very "subtle" innuendo about well... you can figure it out. It's very silly, but pretty much what you would come to expect by now.

Overall to sum it up, this album is good. It's not as exciting as their debut, but it shows the band coming together for one last hurrah of a record. Key members would leave the group after this one, which would kick off the band's mainstream era, and the steady decline in quality, as I've heard. I will be the judge of that. Either way, this album is good and one I would definitely check out.

You lay your bets and then you pay the price

Godley and Creme have left the building, and this album definitely feels like it.
The first two opening tracks are brilliant though. "Good Morning Judge" is sprightly opener with funky guitars and a surprisingly intricate instrumental, complete with the usual brand of snark from the band as you'd come to expect. The following song is their massive hit "The Things We Do For Love". A jaunty little ditty, with an instantly recognizable chorus that's sure to be stuck in your head for days.

Sadly the rest of the album drops off entirely. It's fine, more songs about mismatched relationships and bizarre scenarios, but the songs themselves feel unfinished and lazily thrown together. They end before they began and despite the formula for sticky tunes, it's hard to remember them at all. I've listened to his about 4 times now and I couldn't hum the melody to "honeymoon with B troop" if I had a gun to my head.

Strangely enough, the song about having a cold is actually one of the more memorable tunes after the first leg. It's a decent song but definitely felt like they ran out of ideas in the lyrics department. The final track actually ends Things on a strong note thankfully. "Feel The Benefit" is a prog rock song at it's heart, and they put all of their 10cc-ussy into this one to make it stand out and shine despite the filler that came before it, and for that I applaud them.

So yeah it's unfortunate but I can definitely see the downward spiral that's to come for this band from here. This was a decent effort and it's nice when it's on, but the glaringly obvious drawbacks to me are just a foreshadowing of what's to come.

A bit all over the place, but fine

Even compared to the original, this remix-album is quite everhwhere.

Just as eclectic as the music are the features: injury reserve, Craig Owens, Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito and Fall Out Boy to name a few. I would say out of all of the remixes only a couple surpass the original track. Ringtone with Charli and Kero Kero for example, is just as bright and poppy as the original, but with added verses and extra layers of bubblegum bliss to go on top. Charli's voice is also a welcome addition to the main chorus.

Hand Smashed by a Mallet is also a very good remix, with FOB and Craig Owens of Chiodos fame, it's probably the best thing that FOB has done in a while. Their respective styles work well together and the bit of post-hardcore edge that they bring to the track truly elevates it.

Overall, I wouldn't listen to this without having heard 1000 gecs first, even then not every remix hits. Some are fine and some just flat out don't work. Hit and Miss is exactly how I would describe it. If you need way more gecs in your life right now this is great supplemental material but honestly not a must-have in it's entirety.

Gecsgecsgecsgecsgecs

1000 gecs by 100 gecs is certainly not for everyone, and will most certainly be written off as a meme band or a bad joke that not many will see the merit in. I am here to try and offer my perspective on this music the best I can and why they should be taken seriously.

This project is fresh. Quite honestly, I've never heard anything quite like it. Stylistically it combines elements of bubblegum bass, pop-punk, ska, glitch, and sound collage among many others. All of the vocals are super processed, but less because of a crutch and more for effect. The album is also incredibly short, being able to be consumed in less than 25 minutes.

All of this adds up to a zany off the walls listening experience with bold sounds and inventive sonic creations.
Laura Les and Dylan Brady are basically geniuses in their craft.

The opening track 745 Sticky reads like a wacked out trap banger with a demented instrumental but catchy flows and bizarre lyrics, while the back half of the track shows off the left turns to expect sonically of this band. You get a blasted out breakdown with various sounds thrown in, it's quite humorous as well as hard which is a combo I greatly appreciate.

Money Machine is probably one of the catchiest tunes here, and an intro that will turn your head as it starts. It's got more of that blown out production and nice crunchy bass synths to back up the incredibly catchy main hook of this song.

Stupid Horse is a frikkin Ska track (complete with pickitups) about disrupting a horse betting race and running away with one of the steeds lmao. The funniest song here for sure. Ringtone is another great song with super cute and sentimental lyrics, and it's also probably the most radio friendly despite everything but even still, it's a great tune that fits nicely in the track list.

Gecgecgec is a meme song on the surface, but hidden underneath their maniacal production chops is a cute song about friendship and about being there for your friends even if they can't help as well as they want. This segues into what I think is this album's true hidden gem and that's the songwriting. The whole thing is easy to be distracted by with it's singles and crazy production, but underneath it all and especially on the deep cuts you have songs about some really touching topics and even show a lot of vulnerability in our songwriters thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it's covered up, sometimes it's on display (per 800db cloud) but it all adds up to something special.

The record sure as shit ain't gonna appeal to everybody, but the talent for thinking outside the box is there and for the open minded this record will either grow on you, or it might even win you over immediately. Either way, I do definitely recommend it for those needing something new. It's a lot of fun to come back to and it's short run time makes for easy repeated listens.

Okay so I like this album a lot, but it is definitely an interesting follow up to the first album.

First and foremost, there is quite a bit of an emphasis on alternative rock and pop-punk on this album. Lots of guitars, and guitar-like sounds, more straightforward and catchy structures and hooks, amid all the blasted out bit-crushed production and whacky embellishments. Lyrically this album is also kind of corny. On 1000 gecs, the silly lyrics were oftentimes offset by introspective and surprisingly deep lyrics as well, which for me gave it that hidden charm that eventually won me over. This album takes itself less seriously in comparison, which does take away from any kind of emotional impact it might have had.

That all being said, this one is just fun. The hooks are instantly catchy and memorable and the production is great actually. It's manic and hyper-pop enough without being too extreme in places. Dylan and Laura trade off vocals perfectly, these two really do make a great musical pair. Each song offers a new sound palette and aesthetic, while still maintaining the rock vein it starts off in.

The only true dud in the track list for me was "The Most Wanted Person in The United States". The tune is rather repetitive (even for this group) and the tune at the core of it just kind of sucks. Thankfully this song (as well as the majority of these songs) is pretty short so it's not like sticks around forever.

So yeah, I was kinda hoping this album would turn out good because I see great things for this duo going forward, and while I don't think the impact this album leaves will be as groundbreaking and scene-shattering as 1000 gecs, 10,000 gecs is a fun and wild trip that I will be happy to revisit in the future. I do hope that 100 gecs continues innovating and pushing their style further, and maybe hopefully for album 3 (if that happens) they will aim higher.

"I went to France to get some pants, went to Greece to find something to eat"~

You never have to change your socks

Okay. Wow.

So this record came out 14 years after the last one, which was The Earth Pressed Flat back in 1999. That album was quite dull and underwhelming, but this one makes that album feel like a party.

So I have no idea why this was even made? So sadly, Robert Buck would pass away in the year 2000 of liver disease, and so I can understand the band going on hiatus or even calling it quits after that. Well they came back for another with Mary Ramsey at the front. This time though John Lombardo isn't present, and Jeff Erikson has taken over guitar duties for this album cycle as a result.
Really the only thing making this a Maniacs record is drummer Jermoe Augustyniak, keyboardist Dennis Drew and bassist Steve Gustafson. Their contributions are hardly felt though as this music is as far removed from anything recognizable as a Maniacs album as it can be.

The songs are rather drab, and while there are a few upbeat songs that have that familiar jangle, they fall into the background as bookstore music at best. So much of the material here is boring and uninspired. The band doesn't even sound rejuvenated or excited to be making this music.
It truly begs the question: why?

Anyway, easy skip. Don't even really bother. Unless you wanna hear a 50-something year old woman sing about candy mountains and stuff.

Sit down!

While I wouldn't call this essential listening, there are some incredible deep cuts in this collection of early material from the band. "Planned Obsolescence" has the weirdest guitar lead I've ever heard in a song, making a song that's already bizarre with Natalie's less experienced vocals, even more Intriguing.

"Groove Dub" is actually anything but a dub track, and has weird guitar as well, I believe he's using an organ-pedal effect to get his guitar to sound like that. It's by far one of the biggest surprises on this record for me. You've got the frantic guitar and bass leads on "Daktari", the time-tested "My Mother The War", and of course wonderful "Pit Viper" makes an appearance here too.

But between this stellar highlights are half-baked song ideas and some rather boilerplate jangle pop from the band's fledgling era. "Katrina's Fair" and "National Education Week" are just a couple of the many songs on here that don't catch my attention as much. I suppose if you really wanted to round out your collection of songs from 10kM, this one is fine, but I could take or leave it.

So much better than it's predecessor. The songs are tighter and more focused, but when they do sprawl and let loose it feels appropriate and the build ups are rewarding and feel organic. Nic Offer's vocals are also better in this album, as he also trades lead singing duties with fellow bandmate Pugh. There are still some wrinkles to iron out, a few songs just kinda coasted by with little fanfare, such as the opening track and the penultimate "break in case of anything", and the final track is a head scratcher for me. A post-rock ballad that echoes influences from Yo La Tengo and Sufjan Stevens. It's a fine song on it's own, but abruptly ends the album on a really dark somber note that doesn't really fit the themes and moods set up beforehand. Either way, I enjoyed this one a lot overall. Def my fav from them so far.

Not as good as I was hoping. This album circles around two major tracks, those being: "Pardon my Freedom" and "Me and Giuliani". The first of these two is a rebellious dance punk anthem with snotty lyrics and vocal delivery by the insufferable Nic Offer, and a very groovy and infectious instrumental behind him. The latter of the two is a nine minute long ode to NYC and their archaic "anti night life" law that prohibited clubs from operating after hours in NYC to preserve some kind of morality standard. This song goes hard with various changing passages and so many catchy one liners. It's a swirling chaos of dance punk fever that is absolutely amazing to get lost in.
Having already been familiar with these songs, my expectations were kind of high to start, but sadly the rest of this album is just merely OK with flashes of brilliance. "Hello? This Thing On?" And "Shit Sheisse Meirde pt1" are rather solid showings, each with groovy bass parts and a rather psychedelic motif that is felt all throughout the album. The former track also has Nic undergoing a crisis which is rather comical but ramps up the urgency of the lyrics. "SSM1" Is also really groovy, and loses itself in the psychedelic sauce that it starts cooking up, and by Pt2 it's completely washed out in swirling instrumentals and seemingly ad-libbed vocals. Pt. 2 is pretty much my main reservation with this album summed up pretty nicely:

It's not focused enough.

The songs aren't as snappy or immediately memorable aside from the two biggest singles from this record. The more psychedelic influenced tracks tend to really get lost in their own sound. I found myself zoning out more than actually wanting to get up and dance during these parts. Which is a shame because similarly to their debut, I feel like the parts are all here they are just not assembling them correctly.

So yeah I mean, despite all my complaining, it's not really bad at all, it's got some fantastic moments and it definitely takes lots of risks with experimenting and the punk attitude is there for sure. I just don't think to my ears it came together all that well.

(Decent to Strong 8/10)

While not as catchy or instantly memorable as it's predecessor, it's incredibly anthemic, euphoric, and instrospective. The instrumentals rise and fall like raging oceans, and as the record enters the final leg the lyrics get darker and darker. This album is to be experienced.

(Light 7/10)

A pretty solid album overall, Ghostface is definitely one this era's best rappers especially in the Gangsta Rap scene. Not all the songs hit as good as the high points though. "Whip You With a Strap" is pretty bad as someone who was beat as a kid, I really do not like the sentiment that kids have it "easier" and that it's somehow a "bad thing". Outside of this song, there were just some deeper cuts that weren't as hefty as the heavy hitters here like "Shakey Dog" and "The Champ". I did like " Back Like That" with Ne-Yo, a solid pop rap cut with a catchy beat. "Be Easy" also does this very well too. I think by the time "Momma" comes on I am very ready for the album to be over, but that's not a bad track on it's own. So yeah I mean really, it's not bad. Very solid, could use a little bit of trimming the fat but I fuck with it.

(Light to decent 8/10)

Atmospheric and blissful, these French downtempo savants debut with the yin to Portishead's yang. A sublime exploration of spacey pop and ambient.

(Strong 7/10)

Not bad actually! I wasn't expecting to come away from this enjoying it as much as I did. The first song gets things going a bit slowly but by the time track 2 comes on, you've got sharp songwriting and biting punk riffage and guitar leads winding all throughout this thing. The songs are like a more raw Buzzcocks, which they obviously took inspiration from. I dug this quite a bit! Very easy to put on repeat.

(Light 7/10)

I mean it's nice!
I just don't really go out of my way to listen to this kind of easy listening. I'm guessing I may not be much of a bossa nova fan either. Oh well, it's pleasant while it's on.

(Light 7/10)

"Don't You Want Me" is such a bop, I was led astray into expecting the entire album to match it's lush and neon-tinged vibe. No; rather, this entire record borrows more cues from Kraftwerk than other new wave contemporaries. The synths and drum machines are much colder and more robotic than you would expect, and Philip Oakey's vocals are just as emotionless. Take "Darkness" for example, or even the chilling "Seconds" where Oakey muses over the mortality of man and how fast something as taking a life can happen as contrasted by someone's entire lived experience. Indeed, this record is surprisingly dark in tone outside of a few upbeat cuts on side A. The single of this album doesn't appear until the final track, also adding to the alienating nature of the tune. It just feels so out of place and tacked on that it also just doesn't feel like the same band. I was really hoping to hear more of the female vocalists sing lead like on "Don't you want me", but they were mainly relegated to backup vocals on only a handful of songs. Considering where this group was headed prior to the creation of this album, it's a miracle that Oakey was able to persist in the way he did, but in traditional 80's one hit wonder fashion, the majority of this album doesn't hit as hard as the hit single.

(Light to decent 7/10)

Pretty good jazz record, has a bit of something for everyone, even if that works against it sometimes.