Reviews by ultraclear

Emo-inflected modern day punk's a pretty big ask for me. Not a lot in that genre space that I like very much. Given all that, this wasn't so bad. Kind a gave me the same feeling as that Ty Segal from earlier.

Got that dusting of 80s sparkles in the production, which along with the disco in the mix always risks sounding silly in hindsight, but at least it's got some personality. Really decent R&B

Decent enough 90s punk

Sill very aggro and deliberately grating, but way more structured and recognizably “songs” than Kollaps was

Quebec single-handedly keeping the Canadian entries interesting. Like hmmmmm do I want more identical fucking post-punk, emo, and slow alt-rock out of Toronto? No, I do not. I want something like this, that's actually trying to do interesting stylistic work, getting adventurous with things.

Handling the onset of the 80s better than basically all of their peers. Channeling Talking Heads a little bit, but still doing something that's 100% their own style. Big fan of this one

Super surprised The Cranberries didn’t have anything on the main list, they’re solid and they have a very distinctive sound. Gothy maneuvers brought out of the 80s

I mean it's more of the New Order 80s gothy throwback sound. Not bad, but I gotta be in the right mood, which isn't often.

Bog standard pop punk

Brazilian R&B, meaning it's a little bit bouncier and more energetic than usual, but it's still R&B. Rounding down the 2.5

Every now and then I worry about myself that I don't have it in me to enjoy slower downtempo stuff, but I think the secret is I like the music to be super textured when it goes slower. This was great

As usual with 90s stuff it goes too long and wears out its welcome, but I liked the cut of their jib alright. Decent blues

In which industrial metal broke containment and caught on a little more in the anglo world. In the time since this came out I've picked up enough german to understand most of the lyrics, which is mostly useful for revealing that Rammstein is very funny. Like for all the intensity of their music, they distinctly have a sense of humor and irony about them. It's a fun extra layer.

Bumping them an extra star for cultural relevance, they really should have had something show up on the main list.

Every time I see their band name I brace for something whiny, and every time I actually listen I get pretty decent post-rock. I didn't care for their other one on here, but I liked this one quite a bit.

"Ambient Techno" fits pretty well, yeah.

1978 is a wild year for this to have released. Even though it's presented as disco, it's got a lot in common with electronic music that was being produced 15-20 years later. Like it sounds a little dated, but I'd have 100% guessed the actual date wrong.

The first couple tracks were giving me a little bit of a "The Black Keys are back in their evolved form" feeling, but then branched out into some more sounds as it went on. At the ned of the day wasn't totally groundbreaking, so much of a sign that "hey this kind of music might coming back into fashion again soon." Solid pick.

oh jesus christ this is from THAT Amanda Palmer? Bold fucking choice to be submitting this in 2026, especially since out of context, the music is just kind of ok. Very overwrought piano ballads that sometimes hit and sometimes don't. Prior to 2024 I'd probably write it off as cheesy music for theater kids, but I'd give it 3 stars on here, no harm done. With the human trafficking of it all in VERY recent memory, though, I don't think I have a responsibility to be patient.

Klezmer is extremely fun and sounds extremely distinctive. Was super excited to draw this one

First became aware of them with their second album from 2012, which was somehow shoutier, with even Bigger production. This one's very recognizably 2010s indie pop, despite technically predating the decade. So what we have here is something that shows its age a little bit, but it's an age that a lot of my College Music was born out of.

Anyway, fun.'s never been my favorite act from that era. They aim for catchy music, but all of their big earworms just get on my nerves. A little bit too relentlessly major-key, cloying, and candy-coated, and doesn't reach the level of "party music for people on uppers" that other candy-coated major-key acts like MGMT were able to hit