Beatless

The world is a cruel place and this highlights the alienation and desperation we're capable of. Anytime I see a hate comment online telling another user to kill themselves I'm going to believe they are suggesting Suicide as a listening experience to help better understand our common mankind's love and longing. Both extremes are covered on such a short album. The desire for Cheree is sweet and cheerful but the the song Girl should have been the climax of the album. Alan Vega ... read more

Roberta Flack isn't as widely recognized today as some of the singers in her peer group but that doesn't stop her recognizing herself and her talents. She meets or surpasses her career standouts like Killing Me Softly and The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face non stop across this album. No saving any greats to headline her next record. There's love in every stitch of this and has no fluff. Makes it all the more comfortable to try it on again.

Two umlauts in a band name from Minnesota is all you need to know about this band. An interesting idea that leads to a creative pursuit. Not all ideas are great ideas though. Some of the song choices are questionable. Songs How to Skin a Cat and Books About UFOs are a different kind of interesting which may raise eyebrows as intended. It also raised my arm and leg hair due to a full body response. Sounds like Bill Murray talking about cat skins which is odd as it's almost 20 years before ... read more

Carole King is a great name for a singer. You have all these great King of Pop, King of Rock titles but with a name like that you don't need a slogan. Carole backs it up too with the most unbelievable assortment of bangers. She's got everything here from Aretha Franklin originals to iconically bad X factor audition songs. There's a mature theme throughout addressing breakups without the typical character destruction of the former lover. Even the album art is very This is Me, Take ... read more