Cocteau Twins 16/?
This legit broke my heart. I don’t say that lightly. The Cocteau Twins are genuinely en route to become one of my favorite bands… but none of my favorite bands are flawless at all. Sonic Youth had the Master Dik EP (which I rate a 0/10) and the SYR stuff could be a mess, Deftones had Gore, BH had All-American Trash, Swans had Cop, Radiohead had Pablo Honey and The Bends (for the sake of not pissing off everyone I will not dig deeper into The Bends). This is just ... read more
Cocteau Twins 15/?
This was the beginning of the end. The album itself sounds like a kind of victory lap. It’s the most “indie” infused Cocteau Twins album yet. The drums are pretty standard for this time period, but over them are the ethereal wanings and wailings of Gutherie. This album sounds both horrifying and beautiful.
By this point, the band was, like mentioned, pretty much done for. This was the grandest and most rewarding experiment but all was not well. Robin ... read more
Cocteau Twins 14/?
Blue Bell Knoll is a much more worthy return to form from a kind of slump the Cocteau Twins had. Ever since Victorialand, while that album was really good, the energy had started to dissipate a bit. This album brought it back to full swing and we even had dance beats just to reinvent themselves. This was 1988. To say this band was forward thinking is quite an understatement. I can’t even say they were ahead of their time because NO ONE has sounded like this before.
Cocteau Twins 13/?
This one is not great. It’s far from the worst ambient I’ve ever heard but no one here really had a clue what they were doing. Harold Budd was truly a visionary but at the end of the day this is kinda his album. The Cocteau Twins themselves kind of half-assed their performances. Not to say there aren’t standouts, some amazing songs were “Sea, Swallow Me”, “She Will Destroy You”, “Ooze Out and Away, Onehow”… and I ... read more
Cocteau Twins 12/?
This followed Victorialand and wow is it a shift. The drums are back and the sound is much more wild and pop rock like.
Cocteau Twins 11/?
Kind of disappointed maybe a little bit. By far not bad by any means, but this was lauded as one of their greatest and its like eh. Great… fantastic even, but it’s their worst album until this point. That energy just isn’t there. Also NOT an album to introduce someone to the band. I vibed with it and I even I can admit it’s super boring.
Cocteau Twins 10/?
Obligatory “their worst is not even bad” review. Robin’s drum machine doesn’t sound great imo. Also the songs are kind of lacking. Overall, another Cocteau Twins ethereal experience though, so I don’t dislike it at all.
Cocteau Twins 8/?
I’m pretty much out of good things to say about these Cocteau Twins EPs. They’re incapable of making bad music.
Cocteau 7/?
I can see why some see this as their best album. It’s the true beginning of their dream pop sound. A few tracks didn’t impress me but then I took a step back and realized this was 1984. How forward thinking this band is almost scary.
Cocteau 6/?
I can see why people love this one but I do think it’s ever so slightly overhyped. Every song on here is great but none stand out too much besides the self-titled.
Cocteau Twins 5/?
The Cocteau Twins casually release one of the best EPs I’ve ever heard. Ethereal and depressing in equal amounts. Too bad it’s not on streaming services tho… that sucks.
Cocteau Twins 4/?
Any worry I had from the last two EPs was quickly eroded away by this. Consistently incredible and an impressive turnaround to a dream pop sound after the gothic rock of Garlands.
Cocteau Twins 3/?
Honestly, I get the hate for this one. It’s a brutal EP. These songs are so “naked” for lack of a better term. The rawness can work sometimes but a lot of the time it leaves the EP really hard to get into.
Cocteau Twins 2/?
I’m in a HUGE Cocteau Twins mood… I just discovered them and I’m hooked. Garlands was a fantastic debut, built on a pretty standard gothic formula but characterized by its etherealness. This EP throws away literally all of the goth, and while a necessary change to get to the rest of the discography, the results aren’t very pretty. Still great.
![ๅๆฌ้พไธ [Ryuichi Sakamoto] - 12](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/573337-12.jpg)
I’ve never been crazy about classical piano music but yeah this is just depressing. Excellent musicianship but incredibly sad. Hope he stays strong. Cancer sucks.
Cocteau Twins 1/?
Cocteau Twins has always been a band I REALLY wanted to check out. I was originally hesitant due to their “dream pop” sound, as I was more of a fan of “shoegaze” (the two can be interchangeable but shoegaze is typically more noise rock oriented). However, Heaven or Las Vegas did seem alluring on a brief listen through some of it, so I decided to check this band out.
Imagine if u took The Cure’s Pornography and took the fast and lively drumming ... read more
Bob Dylan 9/?
This is literally the most likeable album I’ve ever heard lol. It is quite heavily flawed but that smile on Bob Dylan’s face on the cover is pretty much how the album feels. He’s so jolly :)
Btw “Country Pie” had the worst ending to any song either. The first time u hear it I GUARANTEE u will think ur audio just cut out and will fervently go to finish the song before it cuts out again and then it hits u that my boy Bob was just like “yeah ... read more
Bob Dylan 8/?
Another classic from Bob Dylan, this time incorporating a more “classic” style folk sound. It slumps by the second half but overall it’s fantastic.
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Recent Review Comments
On Bonny2saucy's review of PARTYNEXTDOOR - $ome $exy $ongs 4 U
"Greedy is a really good song tho check that one out"
On maryfreegirl's review of Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia
"Honestly, fair. It should be a must hear."
On Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
"in this era. Not specifically blues rock bands like Led Zeppelin, but more folk/progressive classic bands of the era.
4. The Led Zeppelin III review was extremely harsh but that’s always been an album I hated. Even when I was young. It was just always so bizarre.
5. So in conclusion, a lot of the contradictions and moments of over-hating in this review were really just a consequence of me being younger and being new to this site. I am able to articulate my opinion way better now. But I am very thankful and flattered that you would revisit each one of my reviews now. I don’t think I could I feel like it would be pretty embarrassing lol. [done]"
On Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
"3. So you aren’t aware of my series. And that’s fine. I’m not a celebrity lol. This was the first “hate listen” I did on this site. I did “hate listens” for Led Zeppelin, R.E.M, AC/DC, and am now doing one for Dream Theater. My goals with all of these series was to hopefully get over my hatred of these bands. R.E.M. i exited actually liking. AC/DC i exited still disliking but realizing that not ALL of their stuff is bad. I’m not done with Dream Theater, but they had good earlier albums, and were a better band when they were more atmospheric, sparring, and less corny. As Led Zeppelin was the first series, and also I was just younger, I was a lot more uncharitable. But my intention was always to have them grow on me. I love plenty of bands 3/"
On Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
"other white artists took that as inspiration. i still stand by what i said even if i haven’t listened to it in a while. when led zeppelin took more soul/reggae sounds, it often flat out didn’t work. also, not to play this card, but like, i am polish. i’m not saying i can’t have opinions prejudiced against whites, but questioning a band which already has a controversial modern reputation for taking from black art, i don’t think is really that. they just try to do sounds that black artist do but don’t have the soul to do so really. just feels like a mcdonald’s burger versus a burger from a local bbq diner in the deep south. big difference. 2/?"
On Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
"@LemmyDjonsson
alright so a lot to un pack here.
1. kashmir is the band’s most overrated, not whole lotta love. i’ll cover why there’s that confusion. more in 5
2. regarding d’yer mak’er, my point still kind of stands. i’m not saying white people can’t make reggae, but reggae is an art form that comes from black areas. it comes from jamaica and the caribbean. led zeppelin made this in the early 1970s, before the internet was a thing. because of this, i was kinda worried how they treated the reggae sound. because it’s a lot easier to be aware of the history and to listen to smaller jamaican and jamaican diaspora artists nowadays, but at the time, let’s face it, a lot of white artists took black art, succeeded commercially, and then 1/?"
On Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
"@LemmyDjonsson lol i agree. this was also a few years back. i feel like i still hold the same view but i could phrase it a lot more eloquently today. cool you like it tho!!"
On Svg's review of Dream Theater - Octavarium
"@Svg that’s okay lol. what made you come around to the album"
On Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
"@dandelionpillow that is a fantastic point. thank you"
On DoubleZ's review of Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority
"the lebron james of this website was gone just like that๐"
On R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
"@BikerSK it’s okay lol. sorry my comment was kinda harsh too. i just get that complaint a lot and always get annoyed because people omit context but maybe i should just provide more context so soon i’ll probably add a disclaimer to all those reviews. i do like monster a lot! again, i came out of this series kind of liking r.e.m. even tho they have some stinkers."
On R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
"@BikerSK such a weird comment lol. you have no clue what you’re talking about so i’m not that shocked. i have a series on aoty where i “hate listen” to discographies, but it’s all done with the concept of an open mind. the first band i listened to was led zeppelin, who i came out still not liking. the second band was r.e.m, who ironically i actually ended up liking. one of my favorite songs of all time is airportman, which is on one of their weirder later albums. the third band was ac/dc who i also ended not liking. this is NOT to just pile on music, but instead a brutally honest effort to evaluate why i might not like the band. so if you don’t know what you’re talking about don’t comment. i’m not gonna tolerate your drivel."
On AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
"@BennyBob autocorrect i think ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ"
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