Reviews by stade

I hated Rod Stewart on Jeff Beck's Truth, so he really surprised me on this one. I expected the raspy voice to get old quick, but he manages to not be overly present, and to balance it out with excellent instrumentation for the most part. Pretty good record overall, despite a few misses here and there (You're My Girl's bassline is so freaking good and would belong on a much better song than this 🥀)

Standouts: My Way Of Giving • Country Comfort • You're My Girl (I Don't Want To Discuss It)

Gahh why must Arcade Fire make me turn against Montreal for a second time!! There are morsels of good ideas here, mostly in the instrumentation, but their entire sound is built upon angsty melodrama that I do not find at all relatable or enjoyable.

Lovely little ballads!

Standouts: You've Got A Friend • Where You Lead • Smackwater Jack

These are some very fun, slightly cheesy love songs that sound like they belong in a classic ’90s rom-com. For some reason, that was enough to hit me right in the nostalgia bone (despite not recognizing any of these tracks) and made the whole thing a really warm, enjoyable listen. Add in the surprisingly incredible instrumental part in the closing track, and the album lands at a comfortable 4 in my eyes.

Standouts: (They Long To Be) Close To You • Another Song

This is a fun peek into pre-90s hip hop, but it really hasn't aged very gracefully -- it's downright cheesy listening to it today. It blew my mind going to her artist page after listening to this, and seeing Kids With Guns as her most popular feature. I would never have made the connection!

Standouts: Inna City Mamma • The Next Generation • So Here I Come

I can't say anything really hooked me, though I recognize that the production is phenomenal. Great use of samples overall, notably 'Wandering Star' which I noticed flips the same War song De La Soul uses on 'Pass The Plugs'.

Not much to say about Beth Gibbons' vocals -- I found them somewhat reminiscent of Björk's singing style, which I'd usually hate but weren't much of an issue here. Still not something I'd seek out myself however.

Standouts: Sour Times • Wandering Star • Roads

As I learned with Lost Souls, Doves has a very unique, well-produced sound that's just not quite for me. I thought this one would be different because it starts off with a VERY strong couple of tracks, but they lose me once they're back to their regularly scheduled indiepop programming.

Standouts: Words • There Goes The Fear • Pounding

I thought this was pretty decent! The pointless chatter does detract from the experience, but it's fairly sparse all things considered. When the band is just jamming and having a good time, that's when the album is at its best, and it did make for a mostly fun listen.

Standouts: This Is What She's Like • One Of Those Things

This isn't a style of music I'd normally enjoy, but something about Cohen's singing really drew me in here. The whole thing is deeply contemplative, and despite the very minimal instrumentation, his strumming manages to add a lot of emotion to these stories. My personal standout is 'The Partisan' -- the subject matter and the beautiful French choir at the end genuinely gave me chills.

Very nice to get some good Montreal representation!

Standouts: A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes • The Partisan • The Butcher • Tonight Will Be Fine

For an album described as heavy metal, I wasn't expecting it to sound like an early Def Leppard joint (without the glam charm that makes them unique).
I think they have good energy overall, and even a couple of bangers, but this is not a style of metal I'd return to.

Standouts: Grinder • The Rage

A shining highlight of 90s east coast hiphop. Every part of this album, from the flows to the production, is so goddamn smoooooooth!! (like butter, baby)

Best enjoyed on some beefy speakers with the bass cranked way up to get the intended head-nodding effect. What a timeless classic.

Standouts: Buggin' Out • Butter • Verses from the Abstract • Vibes and Stuff • Check the Rhime • Jazz (We've Got)

Corny lyrics are the bitter taste of the XTC pill. Once you get past that first unpleasantness, there’s a lot of meaning to appreciate, and the excellent songwriting with its layered instrumentation really starts to shine through. The lesson for today? Sometimes it pays off to let a guy get a lil goofy with it.

Standouts: Summer's Cauldron • Grass • That's Really Super, Supergirl • Ballet For A Rainy Day • Big Day • Another Satellite

I was already not a huge fan of Elliott's singing on Figure 8, but the instrumental variety on that one made it a very interesting project. That is not the case on Either Or. Every song blends together here, with his intimate, sad boy singing at the forefront.

It fits pretty well on Good Will Hunting's soundtrack, I guess, but for a personal listen the more acoustic direction he takes is really not my thing.

Some parts of this blew me away with their progginess. On three occasions I had to rewind to re-experience the peak that had just happened: the opening riff on Yours Is No Disgrace; the ending part of Würms; and the panning effect at the 5min mark on Perpetual Change.

The rest of the album is very good too, though a bit uneven -- there are certainly stretches where it meanders a tiny bit.

Extremely solid record overall!!!

Standouts: Yours Is No Disgrace • Starship Trooper: Life Seeker / Disillusion / Würm • Perpetual Change

From a songwriting perspective, this album is hella fun. The highlights are incredibly catchy. It's no surprise that Bowie did some production work on it!

But why, oh why, must the audio quality be so bad?! We saw this with Raw Power as well, and I just don't understand the appeal -- such incredible talent and instrumentation, and then they go and mix it all to sound like a crunchy JPEG. It's baffling to me.

Standouts: Lust For Life • Tonight • Success • Fall In Love With Me

Wasn't expecting to be liking glam rock today. Especially not for over an hour. This kinda rooooocks though 🎸

Standouts: Animal • Love Bites • Pour Some Sugar On Me • Gods Of War

Powerful, powerful album. It's music to ram through a concrete wall to, and the chanting vocals succeed in articulating pressing issues that are still very relevant today.

That's the key that makes bands like Rage and SOAD stand out for me -- 'anger is a gift', and they manage to meaningfully channel it towards subjects that deserve every bit of that energy. That's on top, of course, of the incredible instrumentation on all fronts (I'm particularly a sucker for the aggressive bass).

High 4 for me, though it's very much a 5 in the right listening context (such as a concrete wall standing before me)

Standouts: Killing In The Name • Know Your Enemy • Freedom

Funky, fresh, danceable album. I was sensing a heavy Prince influence in a lot of these tracks which I enjoyed; hearing them straight up cover If I Was Your Girlfriend later on was a highlight for me. Unfortunately, as an album there's not a lot of substance or variety that would have me coming back for a full listen. Lots of solid tracks to bump ass to though.

Standouts: Kick Your Game • Creep • Diggin' On You • Red Light Special • Waterfalls • If I Was Your Girlfriend

It's not quite on the level of Aja, but it's got the same jazzy production that got me hooked on Steely Dan (and which was missing from Pretzel Logic). Very fun and layered record that I played twice in succession -- at a tight 38 minutes, it's all gas no filler.

Standouts: I.G.Y. • Ruby Baby • New Frontier • The Goodbye Look

R.E.M. still isn't making my favourites list or anything, but this is a MUCH better showcase of their style than Green was. Quite a fun listen, and with all the sauce I expected from the band that brought us Losing My Religion. High 3 for me, could be a 4 on a good day.

Standouts: Laughing • 9-9 • Shaking Through • We Walk