Reviews by uls980

If the Rolling Stones were experimental and more psychedelic.

For me though, nothing in this is really grabbing me. Some of it is not pleasant to listen to (Parts of Aumgn), and I'm just not that big into the psychedelic/experimental blues.

Will note that as the album goes on, it gets far more experimental, dropping the more conventional blues and even psychedelic stuff. Interesting, but not fun in a Residents way as far as experimental music goes.

Much better than the Spacemen 3 album on the list, but probably still not something I'm crazy about. I like my dream pop/shoegaze to be more structured whereas this album is a lot more spacey and ambient.

Still, really good album. Kinda sounds like if The Beatles were a shoegaze band. Angel Sigh is the standout for me on this one.

Tried listening to this before since I heard it was similar to Dr. Octagon's Dr. Octagonecologyst.

Honestly, couldn't disagree more.
The concept I guess is in the same realm, but it's just not as interesting or funny for me as Dr. Octagon is.

Combine that with the more old school rapping/rhyming, and the incredibly repetitive beats (along with the songs a lot of times being overly long), and I'm just not feeling this. Nothing in it is really offending me, it's just nothing is interesting to me either.

Probably one of the best live albums of all time, and while I generally side-eye live albums on the list, if there were ever a live album to include, its this.

Just some really fantastic performances, especially on Young Man Blues, but every song is great.

I am judging it based on the original track list which shockingly is only 6 songs long. I never understood why live albums were always cut down from the full performance back in the day.

But yeah, fantastic live album, great performances all around.

Pretty basic punk/pop punk which isn't really my thing. Sounds like a poppier Ramones, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but much prefer pop punk circa the 90's or 2000's.

Plus, I'm just not a huge fan of the poppier instrumentation while they still keep the more standard punk vocals.

So yeah. Fine, just not really my thing.

I mean, it's just a classic. Heart of Gold and Old Man are some of the best songs ever written but the whole album is gold. Out on the Weekend is great along with Alabama and The Needle and the Damage is Done.

Couple songs I'm not huge on like Harvest and A Man Needs A Maid (don't really care for the orchestra, still don't in There's A World).

But still a great record.

My third Springsteen album from the list, and as they go on, they get worse for me.

I quite liked Born to Run, although it didn't really change my mind on being lukewarm on Springsteen. Never was a fan of Springsteen's music, much prefer Bob Seger as far as Americana/Heartland Rock goes. But couldn't deny how good the record was, and gave that a four. Biggest issue was Springsteen's vocals on some tracks just not being great, but it wasn't a huge issue.

For Born in the USA, still a solid record, if a little too poppy for me, giving it a 3.

However, this album basically has everything I dislike about Springsteen. The terrible vocals (Almost through the entire album. Sounds like he has cotton in his mouth, or he recorded his vocals immediately after getting dental work done and his mouth is still numb. Just awful singing), the jangly piano. This is going to sound weird/stupid as hell but there's a femininity to his music that I just don't like. The music just does not have the masculine grit I want from this type of music that a Bob Seger seems to have. Which is weird because I usually have the opposite problem with bands. If something's too meathead masculine, I hate it.

But anyways, yeah. Perhaps it's just hitting me at the wrong time, but I did not like this record and it's just a perfect storm of everything I don't like from Springsteen. Hopefully Nebraska hits better, with what I understand, a more stripped down, darker vibe.

But honestly Springsteen doesn't need five albums. I'd cut two of them, and if it were up to me, I'd start with this one personally.

Dunno what I was expecting with this one (Both an amazing and absolutely dogshit album cover, haha). But getting some early 90's alt-rock that kinda predicted stuff like Death Cab for Cutie or even Foo Fighters. So much of this album feels like early Foos that I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Dave Grohl was heavily influenced by this, definitely with some of the vocal melodies at least. Songs like Alcoholiday feel super Grohl/Foos to me along with some songs earlier in the track list.

Basically, if Foo Fighters were a more indie-oriented band, they'd be making stuff like this.

But yeah, very pleasantly surprised by this record. Not that I wasn't expecting a bad album, but didn't really have any expectations going into it. Great record.

You sometimes hear me ask "Why is this on the list?", and this is definitely one of those albums that make me think that. If this band weren't English, they wouldn't have sniffed the list.

But just because it probably shouldn't be on the list doesn't mean it isn't a worthwhile listen. Found myself enjoying this quite a bit. Genre wise, its a little all over the place, but it's cohesive none the less.

Blend of garage rock, folk, ska, 2-tone, some classic rock influences like Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead.

I liked songs like Zuton Fever, Havana Gang Brawl, Nightmare Pt. II, and Dirty Dance hall. Basically whenever they are at their most Scooby-Doo, haha.

So yeah. Good record, maybe shouldn't be on the list, but fun to get an album like this from time to time because you might find something fun.

I don't remember much about the previous Divine Comedy album I got, but I think I'm liking this album more than that one. At least a couple songs are standing out to me (Becoming More Like Alfie and Songs of Love).

Album basically sounds like if The Beatles and Bowie discovered big band music.

That said, some stuff is still a little too silly or niche for me. Perfectly good album, but just fine to me.

Probably the best Bowie album I've gotten since Ziggy Stardust (also got Heroes and Low). Easily the catchiest of them with the exception of Ziggy. Pretty good crack at R&B, soul, and funk and just more proof that Bowie is a chameleon who can adapt to anything.

Of course, Young Americans and Fame are great, but songs like Fascination and Right are great as well.

It only being 15 minutes really helps. But yeah, standard hardcore punk. Not a ton to say other than to me, it's fine.

I'm starting to notice a pattern with Bowie's music. I get an album, get super excited, then when I listen to it, realize I'm not vibing with it as much as I thought I would.

Don't know what it really is, but a lot of his music sounds pretty dated to my ears. Which is interesting, because he basically either pioneered these sounds, or perfected them. Just happens to have picked genres that have aged IMO, rather than feel timeless.

It's a solid album. Tracks like Speed of Life and Always Crashing in the Same Car are great. But most of the vibes of these songs just aren't hitting my ears. Felt the same way with Heroes.

Ziggy Stardust is about the only album of his so far where I've been able to enjoy the majority of the album.

Will say the second half of the album is more interesting. In kind of a reverse of Heroes, where the instrumentals were the weak part, this one has the instrumentals be the better side. Somewhat Kraftwerk-y sci-fi vibes while also being jangly. Can definitely see Sufjan Stevens being influenced by this album.

So yeah. Good stuff, just not really interesting me much.

Now this is some damn good Fallout-core (you cannot stop me from identifying songs that are Fallout-core), especially songs like Half As Much.

Not a ton to say about this album, but reworking country/western songs in the classic R&B, soul, and jazz styles is great.

Honestly wasn't expecting to get a lower-key Nick Cave from this album. I know he does do chiller albums (Like Ghosteen), but was expecting something more along the lines of Tender Prey or Murder Ballads.

Eitherway, still a great record. Enjoyed songs (Are You) the One That I've Been Waiting For and Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere.

Some songs do feel formulaic a tad, and reminiscent of other popular songs (One of them honestly sounds a bit like Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen), but it's still classic Nick Cave.

A month for two ago I listened to the Smiths' The Queen is Dead on my own. Couldn't really get into it. For post-punk/pop alt, it was a bit too light for my tastes. Not enough punch. I can't remember a ton about that album, but this one is giving me the same vibes, even if I think I like it a bit more than The Queen is Dead.

Morrissey's voice is honestly... not great? But it's one of those voices that kinda makes the music as well, similar in that sense (Not sound) to an Anthony Kiedis or Bob Dylan. A better singer wouldn't have produced a better album, in fact, it would have made a worse album. But still, I'm not caring much for his voice, especially when he goes into his "Oh ohhhs".

Overall, this kinda just strikes me as a weaker version of New Order, without the post-punk. I'll just listen to New Order.

Edit: Relistened, and going to bump this one up to a 4 based on the strength of Late Night, Maudlin Street, Suedehead, and I Don't Mind If You Forget Me.

Still would rather listen to New Order though.

Honestly, its just 80s in that Peter Gabriel way that I'm not caring much for, on top of me not really liking the vocals. They're too anemic and mixed down.
I like some of the instrumentals though (Give It Up is a solid one).

Honestly, for my money, the best album on the entire list (although Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney comes painfully close).

Absolutely adore the sexy, mysterious vibe of this music. Also channels classic spy music (particularly on songs like Sour Times). Beth Gibbons' voice is absolutely perfect with just the tiniest amount of husk to it, while also being pleading, sexy, light. Barrow and Utley's compositions are absolutely perfect on this record (and honestly everything they've done with Portishead).

My personal standouts are Mysterons (with its very weird, halloween-season vibes), Wandering Star (its dark, pulsing, weird, and teasing basslines), Numb (the drum tone plus Gibbons' higher voice and eerie keyboards), Roads (just all around the best pop song on the record, Gibbons' sad, resigned pleading vocals here are amazing), and Glory Box (insanely sexy - and we know where Billie Eilish got the idea for the breakdown at the end of Bad Guy from); but the whole tracklist are 10/10 winners.

Easily one of my favorite albums of all time (Isis' Oceanic is the only album that beats it for me), and THE trip-hop album to end all trip-hop albums. No albums vibe harder than this one.

I owe you an apology TLC, I wasn't really familiar with your game.

Not that I was expecting this to be bad, but aside from liking No Scrubs (and mostly because its great for karaoke), I just was expecting to be ambivalent to this one. But there are some vibes/bops on this thing. Songs like Creep and Case of the Fake People. Obviously Waterfalls is a classic.

Obviously there are tracks that I just am not into, such as Red Light Special. I think it was Todd in the Shadows in his review of Adina Howard's Freak Like Me (fantastic song, BTW. Break that out at karaoke too) where he said a lot of artists trying to be sexual felt like they were trying too hard and like it was work (which is the vibe I get from Red Light Special) whereas Freak Like Me sounds like Howard is having fun and being legitimately effortless about it.

The interludes honestly could have been cut, especially Sexy - Interlude. I'm not going to hold them against the record in my rating, but if I were to, that one in particular would knock it down to a 3 by itself. Just horrid.

Onto some more good though, I don't think they were directly or intentionally influenced by TLC, but honestly you can see the through-line from TLC to acts like Eminem and Kanye even. It's pretty impressive.

But yeah, went into this expecting it to just be OK and I'd never touch it again, but found myself enjoying it quite a bit.

Honestly enjoying this album more than Low End Theory. LET has its tracks that I love a lot (Excursions and Jazz We Got), but that album does slightly escape me. The rapping can be that old school staccato style that comes off as dated for me, and some of the instrumentals just aren't my thing.

However, despite being their debut, I think the rapping is just, in general, smoother on People's Instinctive Travels and across the board I'm enjoying the instrumentals, with them being less stripped down and minimalist. Footprints and After Hours being my standouts. Great record, and kinda annoyed I never listened to any other Tribe album because I just couldn't get into Low End Theory and figured that since that was considered their best, everything else wouldn't be my style.