Reviews by stade

The punk tag had me wary at first, but the sax bug's contribution does bring a very interesting edge to the album 🎷🐛 Quite a fun energy throughout, and I do like how colorful and sincere the whole thing feels. It’s hard to imagine a modern band with a singer named Poly Styrene tackling consumerism and environmental issues this earnestly.

Standouts: Obsessed with You • I Can't Do Anything

It's listenable. There's just so very little that would make me willingly put a Rod Stewart song on!

Standout : (I Know) I'm Losing You

Some joyful funk and soul! Outside of Africano there's nothing too special going on, but it IS groovy.

Standouts: That's the Way of the World • Africano

That horse's got some real baritone chops 🐴

It's not bad, in fact I quite enjoyed the instrumental parts! It reminded me a bit of Fleet Foxes in the way his words and soundscapes evoke nature. Very serene for the most part.

Standouts: Too Many Birds • Faith/Void

Speed metal makes me irrationally mad. Yes dude, we hear the shredding!

Standout: Peace Sells

This one left a very strong first impression on me, however it's so dense and proggy that I thought it'd need a bit of simmering before I could accurately rate it.

...I ended up listening two more times today. Definitely enjoyed it more with each subsequent play. 3 tracks, 37 minutes, and it's a freaking journey!

Having been blessed by Fragile yesterday, I have been heavily Yes-pilled in these past 48 hours, and I certainly can't complain.

Standouts: Close to the Edge • Siberian Khatru

I vaguely remember giving multiple attempts to this album at some faraway point in my life, influenced by a certain anime and hunting for more Roundabout-type songs. I suspect I bailed pretty quickly each time when the second and third tracks sounded nothing like the ending theme of my favourite show, because nothing past 'We Have Heaven' sounds familiar to me now.

...This album is excellent. The band takes many sorts of left-field detours, which I've learned is due to every song being written by a different member? But I just chalked it up to your usual prog fuckery, and from a band like Yes that's more than welcome. Maybe that’s just something I’ve grown to appreciate more with time.

What’s funny is that the album ends with exactly what younger me was looking for: a longer, proggier Roundabout-type song. It might honestly be the best cut off the album! I now curse my past self for never sticking around long enough to hear it. What a fool 😭

Standouts: Roundabout • Cans and Brahms • We Have Heaven • The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) • Heart of the Sunrise

First time listening to these guys. Loved it! If I had to describe today's listen in one word, it'd be "alluring".
It's the sick band name. It's the whole atmosphere they set with their trippy, hypnotic rhythms. It's their cryptic cover arts, and the way this one references what I recognize as their debut album's. It all forms an aesthetic that I find heavily enticing, and what I heard today definitely makes me curious to dive deeper into their discog -- especially when the general consensus seems to be that Protection snubbed their actual best album's place in the 1001 list.

Standouts: Protection • Three • Weather Storm • Euro Child

mother of god

these guys blow

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Standout: Love Can Tame the Wild

This is excellent! What the hell is a pop R&B album doing with orchestral suites and disgusting guitar riffs? And it somehow stays cohesive through it all, even transitioning seamlessly between a few tracks. Love it from a production standpoint, a consistently enchanting pairing with Janelle Monáe’s gorgeous singing.

Standouts: Faster • Locked Inside • Cold War • Tightrope • Mushrooms & Roses • Neon Valley Street • BaBopByeYa

Sam cooked indeed! This is music that I can't quite imagine myself liking all that much in a studio release, but with the energy of a live setting it becomes a whole new thing. So soulful!

Standouts: Medley: It's All Right / For Sentimental Reasons • Twistin' The Night Away

It's pleasant enough, but felt like one very long interlude leading into Caravan Girl, at which point it sounded like a Taylor Swift joint.

Standouts: Happiness • Cologne Cerrone Houdini

This is some excellent prog that I simply don't see myself revisiting! Instrumentally, there are numerous *moments* that are phenomenal, but there are just as many passages that feel forgettable. Then there's the singer's boomer-rock accent -- I might be petty, but it grates me just enough that the album falls short of the 4-star!

Standouts: School • Dreamer • If Everyone Was Listening

The genre variety on this is juicy, but unfortunately it doesn't always land. I think the sound overall just hasn't aged great since 2004, which is a shame because on paper a prog rock-influenced hiphop album sounded fire. There are nonetheless some very fun tracks here and there, and at the very least the production quality is consistently great!

Standouts: Breakout • Thrasher • Maybe

I'm think I enjoy what the Blues gave us down the line, more than I like the Blues themselves. There are good guitar parts here and there, but overall it's a completely forgettable album.

Very fun, hypnotic grooves and rhythms. Fela Kuti's style just lends itself magnificently to a live setting!

Standout: Black Man's Cry

I loved Gillian's voice here. Dear Someone is an adorable song! I'm happy that the Country enjoyers get an album like this, which to be fair is some of the most beautiful stuff I've heard in the genre. Unfortunately the yeehaw tinges are still too much for me, and as beautiful as the singing may be, I don't get anything out of these 4, 6, even *14* minute-long slow folk songs. Sorry!

Standout: Dear Someone

I'm in shock at this album. I thought This Nation's Saving Grace was genuinely some of the worst music the 1001 list had to offer. I had nightmares of Mark E. Smith's drunken, rambling vocals for weeks afterwards. And yet, that very same singing style totally works on top of some agressive riffs! He's the anchor to the explosive rhythms going on, and the music would simply not work without him yelling on top of it.

There's also some pretty innovative moments from a production standpoint! A standout moment for me is the closer Light/Fireworks, which to my ears sounds like a straight JPEGMAFIA beat -- in 1993!

Genuinely a great album from The Fall, a band I had just about dismissed after that first experience.

Standouts: Ladybird • Glam-Racket • Paranoia Man In Cheap Shit Room • Past Gone Mad • Light/Fireworks

I find the Victorian influence here pretty interesting but it sounds underbaked, with the instrumentation only really shining on a few standout tracks. Rufus' voice is doing the heavy lifting for most of the runtime, and while I do find it beautiful, it can't quite manage to carry the 53 minutes with minimal supporting arrangements.

I happened to stumble onto a more recent performance of his, "I'm A Stranger Here Myself", and the difference is night and day! The Pacific Jazz Orchestra there complements his voice so much better than anything on Want Two, and ironically makes it shine all the more by making it less of a centered focus.

Coming back to this project afterwards for a second listen, I still don't think the Thom Yorke thing he's doing works all that well, but knowing that Rufus can actually sound heavenly in the right context does make me appreciate the experimentation and the personality found here a bit more.

Standouts: The One You Love • Hometown Waltz • Gay Messiah • Old Whore's Diet

I was expecting this one to be more fun, but it just passed right by me. No shade to ol' Richard because he has undeniable 1957 swag -- though Louis Prima remains king in the 50s Sauce department.