Reviews by z_e_q

at least a four. we'll see how it magnetizes me over time.

god i love it. steve howe is a classical maestro, bluesy arena shredder, and avant garde jazz player in one dude.

gnarly playing all around. the shorter tracks let each guy show his special thing. i love dudes showing off their special things.

today i learned the term “landfill indie.”

bruh

everything i want except for a voice i can stand.

if this didn't have "all mixed up," i'd give it a five. i even could have looked past the other meh moment, "don't cha stop," which doesn't add much, but at least delivers on the promised good times. because when they roll, this album rules.

v good, but i’ve never heard another one of theirs that matches “in the court.”

whole thing hits

anemic. lacks the muscle of patsy, loretta, emmylou, lucinda. the love that dolly gives to you. nanci saves it for her green eyed man.

at least a 4

review after two listens and a bit more research: think we've got a grower on our hands. goddamn if these strings aren't incredible. i'll take freaky over twee. there's a lot going on here, and it's wonderfully recorded. unorthodox song structures that employ repetition to cover linear ground. was able to take in more of the chants, and the whole thing washes over you nicely if you lie back and let it. the playing is beautiful.

what if The Band were a collection of Beefheart-loving mental patients?

chaotic good. good weird. weird i can believe in.

the singles are very good. the rest is sunshiny, low stakes, kinda bops along. it's well produced. "no one said it would be easy" is good. the jazzy song is bad.

bonnie raitt lite. lucinda without the miles on the wheels or the gravel in the voice. if this was playing while i was in a bar on santa monica boulevard some summer tuesday afternoon, i'd be cool with it.

i could not care less.

pffff

enjoyed this like i do most thrash metal: like a bout of diarrhea. it’s loud, propulsive, and a little cathartic. good in an intense way in the moment, but i’m never dying to do it again right after.

too many jack raps, not enough jack riffs. i’m shakin is great.

the most context dependent album so far. good if you listen to it under the exact right circumstances.

expected a kinda pretentious sonic soundscape thing, and it delivered that, with some moments of beauty. but it all wore kind of thin. kind of annoying. it's an hour-plus soundtrack to luxury cars on winding autumnal roads. a soft-focus tribute to the lexus december to remember sales event.

the king arrives. we going in reverse chronological order?