Reviews by syrinx

Oh man, glad to see this one come up today after a bit of a slump. A seminal record in punk and in a lot of the rock that followed. 1969 was a great year for music - Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin I and II, Tommy, Let It Bleed, In the Court of the Crimson King, In a Silent Way, Hot Buttered Soul, Kick Out the Jams. Even that damn Trout Mask album I think. This record fits right in with all of those. I love this album and feel like it's one that everyone should appreciate, if not actually like. There's a ton of future history listening to this. 5/5

An hour and 15 minutes of 90s electronica might be too much for a Monday morning. Their Spotify bio calls them 'musical visionaries' and that puts me off right away. Especially given the fact that they wrote the bio.
So this is a very long album for the genre. It's a lot to ask. I got bored quickly and it was easy to tune it out unintentionally. I'm not a fan of electronic music to begin with and this didn't do anything to change my mind. It was an album I will listen to exactly one time. 2/5

I thought this was brand new to me but apparently I have liked Stolen Car before on Spotify so I suppose I must have heard it at some point. The whole album will be new and I don't remember Stolen Car off the top of my head so it might as well be new.
It is pretty generic. Goes the same direction as a bunch of other adult contemporary stuff from the time - Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, kd lang, maybe Paula Cole. But not as well done as any of those. And not as unique either. It's fine. Nothing to sway you one way or the other. 2.5/5

Hey Guys! I'm working on something new called Microsoft Paint that will revolutionize boredom at work until 1998. Do you want to use it for your album cover?
But really, a mid-80s punk album with a shitty cover that has a cumulative rating of 2.7 sounds like it's right up my alley. Have never heard of this but I'm excited to give it a go.
Ok so I can definitely see that this is a love it or hate it album. I know most people don't care for this kind of thing. I suppose you would call this kind of a mix between punk, post punk, industrial, and noise rock? I mean each of those individually is a tough sale for most people, put them all together and it's no wonder these guys only have 43,000 listeners on Spotify. I dig it though. It may not be something I would want to listen to all the time but sometimes this is just what I need. Though I confess that I didn't pay attention to the lyrics at all. I liked this album and I'm 80% in the love it camp I guess and would definitely seek out other stuff from them. 4/5

I'm not sure but I think this guy might be an enjoyer of cannabis. Further research is needed.
I did really like this album but reggae isn't something I would listen to often. And I'm not exactly well versed enough to tell apart most of the reggae I have heard. I enjoy it now and then, but it doesn't really do anything for me on an emotional level. So I feel like this album is probably better than I would rate it but as for my personal taste, 3/5.

This is not one I've heard of before but I have heard of a lot of the things she's associated with - Don Cherry, Eagle Eye Cherry, The Slits, Dread Broadcasting. She seems to have had quite an interesting life.
The music is not exactly my thing but I don't hate it. It seems competently done albeit a little generic 80s. The whole album has great energy and the production is solid. I feel like the people who would rate this highly would have some kind of nostalgic attachment to it and that there are probably not a whole lot of people who have never heard of this who would rate it five stars. As for me, it was good enough for a Tuesday morning but I can't see ever returning to it again. 3/5

It's so funny listening to this so many years after and hearing so much of Kurt Cobain in it. Was this a band that has always been kind of under the radar? Even with the Unplugged album? I think so. I mean I can't say that I've ever heard Meat Puppets come up in any conversation about great/influential bands. But you listen to this and can see that a lot of the rock from the 90s and after owes a lot to this record. I'm not sure I would say that I necessarily like this album, or at least a lot of it, but I do think this is a great album. Not one I would listen to often but certainly important in the history of music. 4/5

I'm not sure how I feel about this one before starting it. I like metal but it isn't something I listen to often. I've heard of Venom but haven not really ever listened to them. A low cumulative rating on this site doesn't necessarily mean I'm not going to like something, maybe this will be one of the exceptions?
Ok so a minute in and I think this would be great if the vocals were better. It's going to be hard to make it through an hour of this voice. Halfway through and yeah the voice is a little off-putting for sure. The music is a bit repetitive, though well played. Production is awful. The lyrics are dumb bordering on asinine. All together though it kind of works and you can definitely see how much of an influence this album had on metal going forward.
I don't know that I'd say I liked this album, but I didn't dislike it. A lot of the music was really great. I feel like if they had a better vocalist and better production, this would have been a great album. As it is, I'll give it 3/5.

This made for a nice change today. I don't often listen to this kind of music but I guess I should more. I speak a little French but really just enough to pick out a word or phrase here and there so the meaning is pretty still all lost on me. But sometimes that's ok and I feel like this is an album that you don't have to understand to appreciate. It's hard to categorize - is it showtunes? Crooning? Singer songwriter? Vocal jazz? Maybe a mix of all of that. Although I may not listen to this style often, I really enjoyed this one today and could see it being in a regular rotation when I'm in the mood. 4/5

I have always liked what I've heard of Lana Del Rey, though I wouldn't really consider myself a fan. I've never heard this album but I basically know what to expect I think.
Four songs in and so far all of these songs sound the same. She has a great voice but I want to hear her actually sing. I realized that all I've heard from her she just kind of does this breathy speaking thing. It's cool but maybe open up a bit once in a while. As a whole this album is pretty boring. It never takes off or goes anywhere, it's 11 songs that all have the same structure and tempo. It's a shame because I know that Lana Del Rey is capable of better. 2.25/5

I was wondering how long it would take to get this one. 648 is the answer I guess. This is one of the albums that I have seen a million times and know that it's hotly debated but I don't think I've ever actually heard any of it. I'm excited to finally check this one of the list today, let's dive in...
Ok so I had at least heard some of this before, it's in The Exorcist. I had no idea that's what this was. Maybe I'm dumb. Who writes a song in 15/8 time? Or maybe alternating 7/8 and 8/8. But there's a 9/8 thrown in too I think? Wild.
I really liked this album but can get why it's so divisive. It definitely deserves a spot on this list. It's super ambitious and quite an achievement to have pulled off. I would absolutely buy this if I came across it in the record shop and though I might not play it all the time, it would be a good one to pull out when I felt like it. 4/5

I had Live at the Witch Trials a while back and liked that one well enough. I'm normally a big punk fan and this album is just sort of decent. I love that it's kind of weird but it does get a little repetitive. I think I like Witch Trials better. Not much else to say about this one, really. I liked it for a listen today but probably wouldn't make a point to hear it again. 3/5

If this record wasn't 15 years old I would think it was AI generated. It has no human feeling to it at all. It sounds synthetic front to back. Even the vocals sound like they have been generated by an algorithm. It kind of just drones on the whole time. And I swear there's like an undertone or something that is constantly present under the entirety of each song. I don't think this one was for me. I've heard worse albums but this is not something I would recommend or ever listen to again. 2.25/5

Have never heard of this one. Wikipedia basically says, "This is an album that was made. Here are the songs. Here are the members of the band" I don't even know what I'm getting into...
Two songs in and I guess that's all that's on Wikipedia because that's all there really is to say about this album. This was an album I listened to today. It was made by people playing instruments and included some songs.
Some cool arrangements here and there. I quite liked Pale Skinny Girl. Bad Liquor too. I feel like if the whole album had gone more in the direction of those two songs this would have been something special. Honestly this album kind of grew on me as it went on. I ended up liking this way more that I thought I was going to at first. 3.5/5 and rounding up because it really did grow on me.

Man what a classic album. I never really listened to The Cure much until I was like 30 but I feel like this album in particular hits a little differently when you are a little older. I can't imagine that was the demographic they were aiming at when they made this record. You listen to a song like Pictures of You and can see moody teens sobbing while listening in the dark in their bedrooms. But having grown out of being a moody teen long ago, I think I get something different out of it now. Maybe something healthier and more optimistic but sad at the same time? I don't know. Whatever it is, this record is absolutely legendary, probably the best release from The Cure, and I love it. Well deserving of 5/5.

This is a good album. Especially for someone who was only 19 at the time. It's not Back To Black, that album is a masterpiece. But this is a super solid first record for sure. She had such a great voice, although I don't feel like she really showed it as much on this album. It's a little overproduced at times and some songs left me wishing for a little more of a raw and simple record. But even still, I really like this one and wouldn't hesitate to pick it up and play it now and again. 3.75/5.

I've heard of The Vines but am not super familiar with them so this will be almost new to me.
First impression - the Nirvana comparison is off the mark, this is closer to Alice In Chains, particularly the vocals. Maybe that's just the first song though. I guess it kind of alternates between Nirvana and Alice In Chains a bit as the record goes on. It's pretty straightforward grunge. I wouldn't have guessed this came out in 2002, it sounds bang on early 90s. It's not bad, not great. Pretty derivative and unoriginal but for a first album I can see how that is sort of expected.
Overall I liked this album well enough. I'd be interested to hear more and will likely look up some of the music that came after this, this record showed some promise for sure. 3.5/5 but going to round down because it's not quite up to 4 for me.

I was glad to have heard this album today but I have to say I was a little disappointed. When it came up I was excited about a cool African jazz record, and that's sort of what this is but not quite what I expected. There are some cool parts to it here and there and I really enjoyed the more obviously African songs. I would definitely seek out more by Miriam Makeba because I get the feeling this is not the best she has to offer. This is one of those albums that I was really glad to hear because I'm sure I'll really enjoy some of her other stuff but this particular album fell a little flat for me. 3/5

Man this one is a blast from the past. I used to love Firestarter. But I totally forgot about Smack My Bitch Up, what the hell? Who thought that was a god idea? The 90s were a different time I guess. But I mean there are still countless hip hop records made and applauded today with basically (or exactly...) the same lyrics so maybe we haven't changed all that much. I would imagine that was done to be intentionally controversial. I mean the band said that you aren't a fan if you take it literally (or something like that) but there are only 6 words in that song so how exactly is it hard to interpret?
I was actually surprised how much of this I remembered. It was pretty much played everywhere for a while but looking back at it now it's definitely aged poorly, to my ears at least. Repetitive, droning, monotonous, all the worst parts of house music. Vocals are laughable on most tracks. I can see teenagers in the 90s just loving this though, I knew a lot that did. I wasn't much of a fan then, less so now. 1.5/5

Ok as far as hip hop albums go, this one isn't so bad. I actually really like the double bass throughout, although it is a little monotonous. But the delivery of the lyrics is basically like any hip hop album ever - the same cadence, the same tonality, the same basic rhythm. It's just so uninteresting and makes me not want to listen to what's actually being said. Calling it jazz inspired is a bit of a stretch for me but I was vaguely intrigued by the bass at first at least. But after about two or three songs I was done. It's just another hip hop album. 2/5