A masterclass of smooth male vocal harmonies. Makes a barbershop quartet sound like Slipknot. This album should be sold as a bundle deal with some bath salts and a rubber duck. Your girl is going to unwind in the bath to it and compare you negatively to these cookie cutter perfect men. It threads the line between whispering sweet nothings to make women's legs buckle to a level of emotional over vulnerability where they're bending knees in apology. As if their target audience ... read more

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

Neil Young has such a wide discography but doesn't get the same brand recognition as some of his contemporaries. It's a reliable product but doesn't have the ubiquitous identity to it. Bob Dylan is the Coca Cola to Neil Young's Pepsi Max. He's truly an original though, not just some knockoff. Although people are generally are happy to have either, your preference is an indicator of your personality.

Selena is an icon for some of the world but I'm not familiar. Makes you wonder who is the most famous person for your country that is not internationally recognised. Granted, most Irish celebrities never hit those heights and can still buy a pair of socks in their local shop without being swarmed with fans. Selena seemed to be on a different level. I had known her without hearing a second of her music which highlights how she transcended. I studied Spanish for 6 years and thought I had a ... read more

I hadn't truly grasped the impact Oasis had on Ireland and the UK until they announced their reunion gigs. It was like getting the Beatles back together, same haircuts and all. It seemed more likely 10 years ago that Paul McCartney would play alongside a propped up Lennon corpse than getting these two brothers back together. People love the drama of a feud in the music industry but it's only surpassed by a resolving reunion. Guns and Roses and The Eagles both addressed their public ... read more

Only Bjork could follow up her Debut debut album with something this experimental. She continues her typically up and down pitched vocals like Woody Allen on a rollercoaster. Oh so quiet was my first introduction to Bjork when it was released and it perked up my child ears like a jack russell to a dog whistle. I had never heard such a thing. There hasn't been many since who were so inspired by Bjork's style that they mimicked her voice. It's unsettling ethereal with any ... read more

First proper deep dive into MF Doom's discography. There's so much going on here it probably isn't best appreciated on a first listen. Madlib is using some unexpected beats and samples here that don't transcend to mainstream all that easily. Interesting though as it keeps you guessing. Doom's wordplay is next level. Questlove said he's your favourite rapper's favourite rapper so there's more mastery elements here a novice can't recognize. Either way ... read more

The Rolling Stones have 5 albums on The Rolling Stones Top 500 Greatest Albums. It would seem a bit nepotistic if not for The Beatles having 9 on this list. Should two bands really take up 3% of the list when albums since 2000 are largely forgotten? Dropped needles in a haystack instead of on a record player. This album has some great moments with Miss You and Beast of Burden and set the groundwork as inspiration for more to follow. I should have listened to more of The Rolling Stones earlier ... read more

James Murphy is too cool to care but he cares so much anyways. Such a vulnerable record for a dance album. The disco ball is even more vibrant reflecting in your tears anyways. This is cynical, heartfelt but still comedic. Wearing his heart on his sleeve only to look down and see he's giving you the finger too. Someone Great and All My Friends has a yearning for better times but Sound of Silver doesn't glorify youth which is a nice change. Would you really want to be a teenager again? ... read more

Not what I expected given the name and album cover. I was expecting some gnarly drop in over the falls. Instead I got pitted by an epic wipeout. Two songs are named Blues which is fairly on the nose like a surfer's sun cream so I should have known what to expect. Any other Blue names and it has to be legally registered as a colour wheel. Fairly lo-fi production, you can almost hear the sand between your toes which adds to the overall experience. Some great lyrics across this but the ... read more

Interesting genre blending for easy morning listening. Pop in some dream pop for some vitamin C, a drop of bossa nova for your anti-oxitant kick, a dash of garage rock to boost your iron, a slice of indie folk for Omega-3 and top it off you a hint of zingy psychedelic for the overall flavour. This is less a Jack of all Trades, master of none type set-up, more of an ambitious career reaching display of talent across all genres. Like how Donald Glover went from YouTube sketch artist to writer to ... read more

Naming the album #1 Record even though it never charted due to a botched distribution is more ironic than anything Alanis Morrisette cooked up. Which is hard to believe because it's so heavily Beatles coded for an early 70s album it should have been a guaranteed success. There's enough originality going on here to set them apart as more than just an off branded tribute act. The 70s show intro was an unexpected treat. I realize this was later covered by Cheap Trick but I don't ... read more

This was a spiritual journey. As expected as this was Alice's intention. The album should have been called Alice Coltrane as the first half is very wandering down the rabbit hole (Alice) and then trumpets out the jazziest jazz (Coltrane) that would leave Louis Armstrong breathless, a man who famously had some lungs. The harp throughout was played in such a way it felt like any time a character in a film has a daydream or fond flashback. Even the oud notes are almost stereotypically ... read more

Ozzy Osbourne is such a surprising character to me. My first knowledge of him drunkenly scattering about his early 2000s mansion on MTV teaching his kids to swear was so locked in as his entire persona. To think he was capable of everything he achieved before is remarkable. Black Sabbath brought Heavy Metal to the world and a new era of what music could be. Arguably they brought the MCU to the world too with their Iron Man song popularising the character for better or worse. I used to stay ... read more

I wasn't familiar with Linda at all before this. We hadn't been introduced. I thought she may be a hidden gem like a new generation discovering Kate Bush but this gem is of value to others more so. Wanted to like it more but her ethereal quality vocals mixed with a slightly country edge backing just wasn't what I was up for. I thought the album cover would have been more of a moody piece but that's my fault. Don't judge an album by its cover but if I didn't would I ... read more

Who Would You Fuck is just a would you rather conversation amongst friends about famous babes to a backing track. If that counts as music, then my teenage friends and I need to get the band back together and tour our many albums.

"Anita Baker" sounds like a Bart Simpson prank call to recruit a pastry chef. That's a big hurdle for such a talent to overcome. Luckily Anita baked a fresh tasty batch in her second studio album. An influential figure in the 'quiet storm' genre. I had to research this further as this could easily be the 10 hour looped recordings of rain that help people fall asleep. She burst open the floodgates with this and inspired Mary J. Blige and Toni Braxton. Even Alicia Keys ... read more