Reviews by ultraclear

phew damn, sometimes there’s albums that aren’t really my genre, and then there’s albums that aren’t really my genre done by someone so undeniably talented I get swept up in it all the same

Vacillates wildly between danceable funky all-time bangers, and very dull R & B

Not quite as electrifying as *Juju*, but rock solid

Silky smooth dad rock. Like smoooooooooth, which I appreciate them committing so hard to that

Probably not getting the most out of it for not paying enough attention to the lyrics, but was fun to sit with for a while. I think there’s a song about gooning on here? I am somebody who’s more on board for solo peter gabriel in general, but all eras of genesis have good stuff

the very presence of a secret song saves this from a 1 because it made me laugh. Dreadful

This project's taught me that I don't like the wider world of 60s psych rock as much as I thought, so it's great to find something that sounds like what I actually had in mind. Y'know, jam music

Got some high points on here, but it's a crowded time & genre space, and I'm putting them below Arctic Monkeys, who I'm already not super big on

K between this and the Dracula guys up the list, gotta have a stern conversation with 90s groups about what in fuck they think "screaming" is, because this is not screaming, it's pretty good psych jamming

Probably my favorite Lou Reed to come across here, and I liked it alright. On the whole, though, Lou Reed solo and Velvet Underground both have a lot of albums on here, and while I think Velvet Underground deserves about that amount of exposure, the glut of solo stuff on top of it pushes Reed over into territory of "OK I've had about enough of this guy"

ooh, early Bowie! Probably the most consistent album from him I've heard so far, there's some great highs, and nothing that I'd really call a stinker on here. Makes me more excited for ziggy stardust/aladdin sane era, which I've never listened to

Weather Channel sounding. Morning Commute to The City sipping coffee from a travel mug ass. Pretty good.

Seeing a lot of Björk comparisons, which, sure I guess. Less artful, but more groove, which for most days is a trade I'm ok with

UK electronica of the era, fine background music, but objectively a snoozefest, *NEXT!*

Worse Hot Chip, basically. Only the first song was all that worthwhile, and also 2018's a bit late anyway to be doing electric indie pop and still have it sound fresh. Fun album art, though! Reminds me of a geometry textbook

Got nervous when I saw the year & genre, but turns out they're more interesting than a lot of 60s pop. Less Beatles/Beach Boys rip off, and more proto-The Doors, which is a pretty alright space to be in

ohhhh lol this is a Frank Zappa project, got it. I only really know Zappa by reputation, so it surprised me to learn he was making stuff as far back as this. Interesting to see some hippy-punching coming from someone contemporary to that whole scene and who can't exactly be written off as a stuffy conservative of the time

The songs that Grace solos are *noticeably* better than the ones where she's having to support Marty

hoo man, I thought I was neutral to mildly positive on RHCP, was never sad to hear one of their songs come up randomly, but holy moly they become grating *fast* when listening straight through an album.

I think it might be kind of a meme to give mild credit to Flea while criticizing the rest of the band, but yeah the bass is usually very good, even when the full songs are mostly mediocre.

Last one through the door before "Remain in Light" kicks them into transcendence. Pretty good, but suffers a bit from the same issue as "Speaking in Tongues," where all the live versions of the songs on here are not just better than the originals, but completely blow them out of the water