Reviews by ultraclear

Started pretty strong, but fell off for me near the end. I wanted more glitchy from it than it ended up delivering

It’s better than the one in the main list, but that’s about the only nice thing I can say about it

Not super familiar with Fado and what it does. As a compilation that spans a fairly long career, this kind of runs into the same issue as some of the pre-60s albums, where there's different rules for how to best listen to it

"Alternative Country" AKA a bunch of Chicago guys LARPing. I don't even like the real version of this kind of thing very much.

This one is interesting not just on its own merits, but also helps make sense of what that Electric Callboy album from earlier was trying to aim for. Bit of a meme band though, they're a very fun departure from usual listening, but the bit gets old pretty quickly.

Some of the songs made the cut for my highlights playlist, which I didn't expect from him. I do generally prefer something like this or CRJ for casual pop music, but it's not a genre that I have a ton of enthusiasm for

Obnoxious name/album title. Above-average 90s UK Electronica, the world music angle is refreshing, but ultimately this one would be right at home on the original list (derogatory)

Extremely solid moody droning music, though it does fall off a little bit toward the end

Sounds older than it is, which is mostly mean as a compliment. Tough to keep listening as it goes on, though; it’s long, and doesn’t have a ton of variety

Forgot to read up before playing, and spent the first third or so trying to figure out what language this was in lol

Gold standard of Christmas tunes, which is maybe damning with faint praise a bit. Very nice arrangements, though, with the exception of Christmas Time is Here, which is a terrible song and a miserable slog.

The Peanuts cartoon was a little while before my time, so the only exposure I really had was the holiday specials. I remember the music always being the notable highlight of those.

Man, right when I was starting to feel bored with all the post-rock/adjacent on here, this completely gets me back on-board. Outstanding album.

I don't really like Dolly Parton's music as much as I just kind of enjoy her as a public figure. Similar to how I feel about Snoop, honestly

Man if all you've got is biting from 60s psych rock, you should make an album that's half as long

Slow rock that slid directly off my brain. Few too many ballads

After going through the original list, "...the debut album by the English electronic group..." is a traumatizing series of words to see on a 90s entry, but thankfully this one's from the *late* 90s, meaning it's a little bit funky, a little bit whacky, and sounds like it was made by cartoon characters.

Horribly dated, but that's what's kind of charming about it.

Mellow bluesy jamming. Didn't stand out or really make the cut for highlights playlist at any point, but made for pretty good working music

Lo-fi indie punk, and a fun enough concept for the concept album. Warmed up to it as it went on.

Snoozefest of a folky album

An offering from my preferred Talking Heads era, and more deserving of a slot on the original list than most of their actual entries. The film's definitely worth your time, but even the album on its own has a lot to offer. Really shows off that they were a great live band. The middle section is mostly songs from Speaking In Tongues, which was one of their more mediocre releases, but the live versions one here really bring them all to life and make them sound like some of their best work.