Reviews by tjehl

There are some obvious things to like about New Forms. Unfortunately there’s also one truly unforgivable thing wrong with New Forms.

How did anyone ever agree to release it as one album? It’s unlistenable in its entirety. Even the things I like gets lost in the 87 (I think?) 6+ minutes track. I could’ve learned a valuable skill in the time it took me to get through this.

Incredibly funky output from Buckley Sr, alas one where you should probably ignore large parts of the lyrics.

There’s really no reason for him to have two albums on this list but here we are. So just enjoy the funky feelings.

Leonard Cohen had already attracted critical acclaim as a poet before launching his music career - so it should come as no surprise that this masterful grasp of lyrics was already fully developed on his debut album.

I can easily look past the pretentious prick that is Morrissey. But even then, having listened to the entire The Smiths discography multiple times, I might have to conclude that they’re just not my jam. There are some great tunes along the way, but I would never just put it on at home myself.

No one wants this album here.

It’s not critically acclaimed.
The users seem to hate it even more.
It’s not groundbreaking in any way.

It’s just fucking terrible.

I have no idea what exact genre this is and I don’t care. It slaps.

One of my friends once foolishly pointed to Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter as one of the prime examples of indie rock, should you introduce the genre to someone. Blasphemy.

This is of course a much better answer.
Maybe it’s even the answer?

Says Barrett basically managed to get 13 demo recordings on this list. Probs.

I’m not onboard with Syd giving it his best as The Bad Beatles on the forgettable “Love You” and its sister track “Here I Go”, but the peak into his troubled and deeply weird mind on e.g. “Dark Globe”, “Long Gone” and “Feels”.

Is it a good album? Not really.
Is it interesting and deserving of a spot? Sure.

The second time this week a sample of Chris Hayes’ “Ike’s Rap II” appears; the first being the obvious one on Dummy. I can’t complain.

Maxinquaye is a playful and fun album with some cool visions erupting from Tricky’s mind. I’m not all sold on the whole thing; but at times it’s almost excellent.

If you manage to stay awake through the first couple of critically acclaimed snoozefests, there’s a decent indie rock album waiting ahead with a couple of great songs.

It’s just a shame it’s produced in the dullest way possible by an entire room of tired insomniacs.
I really can’t get over that hurdle in order to try to appreciate this record for what it might be.

If all guitars were as jangly as this, the world would be a better place. This was a very pleasant surprise - and one I will revisit rather soon.

There are few better produced albums available worldwide. It’s purified beauty.

“Pedestal” is in my list of songs I always use to test speaker systems. I could get lost in that bass all day.

One of the first definitions of punk in the dictionary.

There’s a lot to love.
There’s a lot to hate.

Björk is a divisive artist as it is, but her debut, Debut, is not nearly as cohesive as some of her later excellent efforts.

There’s even a few truly terrible songs on this one - I’ll let you guess which one is objectively the worst. You’ll know.

Instantly one of the best albums of 1985.

Suzanne Vega’s debut is a work of pure beauty; the intricate lyrics, the Pastorius-like bass and flawless songwriting. As Joni Mitchell used the 80’s to dig into the trends of pop music, Vega stood ready to take over.

I was getting ready to listen to some more albums today. I might just end up putting “Small Blue Thing” on repeat.

An incredible selection of songs modernized by an incredible talent. The arrangements are beautiful and though it may not seem as revolutionary today, you can still easily get lost in the voice of Ray Charles.

“I am here and you are where you are.”

Should have picked a different time to be cutting onions.

I was lucky enough to see Prince live a couple of times. The great thing about that is obvious - duh.
The setback is that songs like “Delirious” sounds rather bland in its studio version in comparison to live editions. Not “Little Red Corvette” though, still banger!

1999 is a massive work that requires applause for what it is. But it’s also too massive to bear its own weight in the end. Unfortunately, as there is a lot to love about this.
There’s a shorter version of the record to be found on vinyl. Go find that.

Dark and gritty RZA productions.
Method Man is cool and brings a lot of his Wu-Tang tricks with him. It works.

It’s a bit too one sided for me to be fully engaged; definitely worth a listen though.

I have this feeling that M.I.A. is deliberately trying to make music that speaks as little to me as possible. Why? What have I ever done to her?

There’s no denying that Arular is a better record than the horrendous follow-up Kala. The beats are more fresh and there are fewer annoying sound effects.

Still… Saying it’s better than Kala really isn’t saying a lot.