Greg Walker
“You made your bed, now dream of nothing,” Liquid Mike and his tight knit band sing on their latest album, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot. Like much of punk rock before it, it is one track of catchy nihilism after another.
2y
His humor and genius wordplay make the harder realities of life palatable, and his brilliant song construction invite you into a world where you can be sad and still be hopeful at the same time.
2y
You leave the album changed by her depth and honesty. If the first half of the album were as much like the second half of the album, I would have considered this a rousing success. As it is, it’s a bit of a hit or miss album, one that succeeds in its melodies and lyrics, but not always in its full song delivery.
2y
She has a sense for nuance and feeling, in both her storytelling and in her song construction; a sensibility that I find more mature, perhaps, than Taylor Swift’s lauded writing. But like Taylor Swift, before her, she is soundtracking the toughest, most memorable years of her listeners’ lives, with grace, creativity, and hope.
2y
It’s a promising debut, and creates expectations for the direction that she’s going to take from here. It is something of a “strange delight.”
2y
Peter Gabriel is a fascinating character, and his music hits on many beneficial levels, in his latest record, an attempt to capture the wonders and cure the ills of the world.
2y
This album ... is a treat from an artist who approaches art like a marathon runner, fit with plenty of satisfying three minute sprints.
2y
It may one day become a classic, and captures live shows in a bit of a rawer and realer way than a lot of live recordings that you get these days. It’s a good introduction to his music, if you haven’t heard him before. And I’m sure it’s a real treat for the already initiated.
2y
Bachman is a consummate string player and his simplified arrangements on this record breathe life into the meditative nature of the album, in much the way contemplating upon a blooming or dying rose (or a separation from or reunion with a loved one, as it may be,) is not soundtracked so much by bells and whistles as perhaps a sole bell or whistle of feeling in the heart. His album certainly plucks a heart string.
2y
It’s a quick listen, 12 songs at thirty minutes, something fit for the punk-influenced music that she composes and performs. And it’s good that we have this music on record to replay during our iciest times, to fan the flame of inspiration and meaningful activity.
2y
It’s ultimately a triumphant album with its share of darker moments. A pop alternative work of art.
2y
Like Bob Dylan sang before her: it is good to be SAVED! We can be happy at least, that some of Hayter’s grief has turned to joy, and that she wants to share the path that she’s found to salvation, in compelling artistic form.
2y
Having Damon Albarn on the album seems to be a statement of intent: we might be getting poppier, but we’re gonna hold to our artistic standard and deliver music that will continue to challenge and thrill in good form.
2y
In celestial words and sound, she captures the poetry of the natural world in her latest album, and passes on her triumphant hope for a world worth protecting.
2y
They are both great albums (the first a bit more in-your-face than the second, a look Price wears well, a record deserving a 9 rating), but don’t feel like you’ve gotta do it all in one sitting.
2y
Between the familiar tenor of his voice, his unique crafting of melodies, his sparse but always satisfying instrumental accompaniment, and his heavenly poetry, you can face the void confident that life has offered something beautiful and meaningful.
2y
You get the feeling like Lattimore feels that she is communicating more and going farther than the music is really willing to travel. The range that she gets out of the harp, a difficult instrument to compose with, I imagine, is still worthy of a serious listen.
2y
Burch knows in releasing this album that she’s making her mark, and she seems confident that it will find a home in hearts, young and old. It’s an astonishing feat, the ten tracks; songs that are well-written and well-performed.
2y
It is visceral, passionate, moody, and as she said, something to provide a little catharsis in the midst of life’s romantic complexity.
2y
Halo is able to relay the feelings of anxiety, euphoria, beauty and distress, and many other feelings, in the ten tracks that she recorded with her friends. It is an artistic feat worthy of note, and I wonder what these songs would sound like in a live setting, if that would even be possible.
2y