Reviews by tall_poppy

90’s chamber pop with some outstanding tracks

Classic blue eyed soul with strong songs

Perhaps the most important indy record of the 90's, bringing the alt / lo fi movement to the masses, and (speaking personally) changing the way I thought about rock music ever since ( and I was almost 30).

Popularized township jive and brought African music to the fore. The combination with Simon’s voice and poetry works brilliantly at times.

Infectious, energetic, irreverent, and stoned. The band sounds great and the songs are strong, to which you add the dulcet tones of Evan Dando.

Brilliant atmospheric chamber folk

Absolutely vital jazz in transition, Miles always restless and moving to the future. Brilliant playing and atmosphere.

Great songs in dark times for Neil Young.

Essential Manchester zeitgeist album, ultimately a one trick pony band, but at the time it was splendid.

It suffers from overexposure but no matter how you cut it, this is a brilliant album, ahead of its time and yet timeless.

Honestly I was surprised how unimpressed I was with this one when I revisited it. The blues songs, played well of course, are nevertheless somewhat desultory, and the folk-based songs - typically talked about as the defining sound of the record - are a bit hit and miss. It certainly pales substantially versus II and IV, perhaps that its biggest problem.

A band that deserves a bit more fame and/or notoriety that it received in its day, and certainly more than it is remembered today. Intelligent, morose, diverse songs. Like a good version of The National.

Extraordinary record combining social history, outre jazz and remarkable songwriting

Epochal

A great collection of songs but not a cohesive album

Extraordinary album that bridged the sixties and seventies

Great to see The Fall on this list. This isn’t among my favourites but it’s still classic Mark Smith (Nation’s Saving is more fully realized by a ways).

Ugh

A record that sounds utterly different from their earlier efforts. It feels like a seventies album sonically. Some great songs, though I've never been a big fan of a few of them (Maxwell, Oh Darlin', the song suite)

Essential proto punk garage