Reviews by theblanderman

Not my favorite Cxcx album

Saw them at the Quilcene lantern and was impressed.

The best drone metal album.

I'm still bitter that Rebecca didn't sign my album after the show in Montreal, but still amazing.

Mindbending album.

I love that Shabazz pivoted with this album. Not as iconic as Black Up but a great record nonetheless.

Great dark reggae

Kind of just posthumous thrown-together county slop. Some ok ditties mixed in. 2/5

This was far too safe - when I hear Beefheart I think of experimentation. This was just fine 60s rock to rake leaves to. 3/5

I like electronic music, but I'm not sure if the content of this album really deserved 69 mins of runtime. There were several tracks that made me stop dead and pay attention, but probably 70% were mostly background with house beats. 3.4/5 -> 3/5

The feeling of this album is hard to explain. It's listening to something "warm" and "safe", but also "unimpactful" and "devoid of taste".

It's like sitting in a sauna with a bunch of towled old people at the downtown YMCA, but there is a framed picture of Richard Nixon inexplicably in the corner.

Will I remember this feeling? Sure.
Do I want to be here? Not particularly.
Is this awful? Not necessarily.
Why is that picture there? Idk but wish it wasn't.
Can I see that man's genitals? Maybe.

Stack this feeling with a bad, paper-thin falsetto, and layers of undeserved strings and you get the most ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ album of the year 2000 and beyond.

2/5

I wanted to hate 2+ hours of samey bluegrass tunes, but honestly it wasn't bad. It droned along and I never really had an "I want this to end" moment. More of a novelty than anything, but makes sense it's on this list as an anthology. 3/5

Pablo Picasso is an asshole. 3/5

The songs influenced by christianity were annoying. And paul simons influence, though as a producer, still felt omnipresent. That being said they have amazing voices and some of the techniques they used were borderline ASMR. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

This album starts off strong enough, but by the end it really loses steam. The tracks become less interesting with fewer ear worms and mostly nu metal riffs. Not bad but doubt it'll have too much staying power. 3/5

...Mr. Fluffy, Alex Trebek, Maximilien Robespierre, Mr. Hands, The Elephant Man, Phil Keoghan, Helen Keller even though she can't hear this, Bert and Ernie, Carl Heinrich Hellmann, the moon lady from Eraserhead, my teeth, Tiny Tim hope he gets better soon, New Zealand and Tasmania, homestarrunner.com, Sophia from the Golden Girls, charmeleon, Gordon Ramsay, PeeWee Herman, weather, Ice McDonald...

3/5

Poppy is an enigmatic character. YouTuber turned popstar turned numetal/metalcore idol, her career has had an interesting trajectory. Unfortunately, since I Disagree in 2020, I'd argue her musical style has plateaued significantly and that she's lost the interesting pop/metal fusion that made Am I a Girl? her best project. AIaG was a critical tipping point where the online android persona of poppy moved from a pop star to a metal head and questioned gender norms while doing it. Empty Hands is just... fine. 3/5

This album left absolutely no impression. If this wasn't Peter Gabriel, this would have had no effect whatsoever. I honestly don't have anything positive to say, nor to do I remember anything about any of the songs, so I'm really left with no choice. 1.4/5 -> 1/5

Actually pretty good. Not too melodramatic and quite a few bops to keep it interesting. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

It starts out strong, but loses its steam halfway through. Not bad, but not slas timeless as once believed. 3/5