I feel very similarly about this- and really most of First Aid Kit's stuff- as I do about the Noah Kahan album. The vocals and production are super slick and great, and I 1000% understand why their music appeals to so many people- but I just do not enjoy the writing. There are some great moments on this record but generally I was pretty bored with this
Honestly one of Mac's best crop of instrumentals to date. You can definitely tell this thing is from 2015 just based off of the sound and how far it strays from his more modern instrumentals- the instrumentals are far more 'weird'. Miles better than Five Easy Hot Dogs and a really pleasant surprise drop for the day
Definitely the most immediately catchy and melodic of his stuff, as well as his most rock-leaning. I don’t like it quite as much as Break It Yourself or Noboe Beast but it’s damn close, honestly I think this is best record to listen to for those first getting into his stuff just bc of how accessible it is. Fantastic
This I feel like is generally considered to be his best work, and even though it isn’t quite my favorite of his I can understand why it’s a favorite for others. This is easily his most eclectic and ornate sounding project that’s for sure. The way he blends his signature songwriting/whistling mix with some more electronic leaning production is fantastic, and tracks like Fake Palnindrome and A Nervous Tic Motion are genuinely stellar tracks
Definitely Andrew Bird’s most folksy project but in a very, very good way. Of what I’ve heard of his stuff thus far this is probably my favorite. This project combines his incredible, alliterative and almost riddle-like writing with sprawlingly beautiful acoustic production. My fav song of his Tenuousness is on here but honestly nearly all of these tracks are just phenomenal, one of the most underrated folk records of the 2000s easily imo
A really interesting way to structure a project. The title track is absolutely phenomenal
The writing isn’t as good as My Finest Work Yet but holy damn the instrumentation here is so incredibly superb that it makes up for it. The combination of plucked violin, beautiful orchestral arrangements, and his freakishly on tune whistling makes for some of the most lush and blossoming instrumentation I’ve heard in a while
The way Andrew Bird both sings and writes is incredibly subtle- a lot of these tracks have writing that requires a lot of introspection, and vocals that are, at first, somewhat messy sounding. But, over time, the orchestral production, plucked strings, and frankly just absurdly talented whistling from Bird captures the listener. I enjoyed most of these tracks quite a bit, with standouts like Sisyphus, Bloodless, and Proxy War standing out particularly well. Excited to listen to the rest of this ... read more
I definitely want to be fair and give this album credit where credit is due: His vocals are genuinely incredible, and the way in which he writes about truly relatable situations is great. Not only that but tracks like the title track are incredibly catchy and honestly quite enjoyable. That being said, I just personally cannot enjoy listening to him very much. He writes folk music in the way of modern country music- surface level troubles but done over with folk instrumentation as opposed to ... read more
This fellow has a fantastic falsetto and some superb writing, that much is inarguable. But, as many others have said, his similarity to Sufjan is so similar that it’s genuinely distracting. I think I’ve listened to A Beginner’s Mind so many times that hearing just Angelo’s voice feels empty almost? Idk that’s not entirely fair to him but either way this is certainly not a bad album, just feels empty
My gosh the vocals on this thing at some points are so grating and obnoxious that I just cannot listen to it, which is unfortunate because there’s sprinkles of greatness in this
Perfectly fine production, vocals, and writing but idk next to nothing about this album really grabbed me
Phoenix is an utterly incredible track and is the closest thing we have yet to a Fleet Foxes x Bon Iver collab and that is incredible. Unfortunately apart from a handful of nest production ideas and Bon Iverisms the rest of this record really fails to live up to Phoenix even remotely
This thing reminded me of Portishead mixed with the velvet underground, which made for quite an interesting and compelling listen. The first half is undoubtedly better than the second half and by the end I was really struggling to stay engaged, but the production is so interesting and the lyrical highlights managed to still hold my attention. Def an underrated little project
The vibes here are off the charts, butter smooth guitar mixed with genuinely god-tier drumming makes for such a lovely mix for the ears. The track w Freddie Gibbs especially was mindblowingly great
This thing honestly completley blew me away. I was expecting a subpar, maybe even cringe metal album but damn this thing ruled. The high points on this thing are astronomically high and epic. The playing is on point and the vocals fit the theme of the album’s fantastical nature so well- this album feels like a Judas Priest fantasy album which to me is so sick. Easily my fav metal album of the year
The fusion of Pop-Punk and Math Rock that’s present here is honestly a really cool concept, and tracks like the opener really nail this idea. Unfortunately though I think more often than not this album relies on just off-kiltered noise and weird vocal melodies to carry it through. Still an entertaining listen nonetheless
Slick production with really uninspired vocals and writing. Nothing bad by any means just quite bland
Some pleasant guitar tones and beats but generally highly uninspired and bland, reminds me of a Dominic Fike album
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Recent Review Comments
On Jalen Ngonda - Doctrine of Love
"@Shayden 100% agree, it’s a throwback record done right"
On 2Pac - Me Against The World
"@Cloudboy019 yeah I def get what you mean. Pac’s cadence and energy is so infectious for me I was able to look past the production being relatively ‘one-note’, even though like you said it is excellent production. That’s an excellent analogy"
On 2Pac - Me Against The World
"@Cloudboy019 that's a fair critique, I will say flow is not Pac's strongsuit, though a lot of people would probably disagree with that. The production is pretty much perfect here imo but it is definitely uniform across the record so I could see it growing stale if G-Funk adjacent stuff isn't as much your bag"
On David Bowie - David Bowie [Space Oddity]
"@usur_disc350 I’ll admit I’ve not revisited this much at all in the last couple years, but I’ll definitely stand by it having several great cuts beyond the title track"
On usur_disc350's review of McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive!
"Honestly, really well put. I still have this rated pretty highly but I'd say I feel similarly, there's a sheen over this style of 'indie rap' that's starting to feel like the sheen that's covered a large bulk of indie rock the past decade (post-Mac if you will), it's a sheen of homogenization. Hadn't really put much thought to it until now but I think this absolutely hits the nail on the head, and is probably why despite there being so much 'good' hip-hop nowadays, the bulk of it feels like one big swirl of sameness. Excellent take"
On susquatch - Water Plant
"@Rileone it is yeah but it’s also definitely math rock too"
On Faith Evans & The Notorious B.I.G. - The King & I
"@TheTrillTrolla that’s actually very informative, thank you!"
On Doofy's review of The The - Infected
"I prefer Soul Mining a shade, but I’ll agree that this record should be considered as far closer in quality than most. Nearly everything that makes Soul Mining so excellent is found here too, excellent production and songwriting especially"
On Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Clifford Brown & Max Roach
"@HomeSession3 holy shit what a story! Thank you for sharing, that certainly sounds like one of those life-defining moments, for you and Roach. Live Jazz may be the definitive form of live performing for the reasons you said- it makes the frail jolt to life"
On My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe
"@Trazyn I hate saying ‘annoying’ bc that’s reductive, there are def moments where the lyricism along with the vocal style felt really contrived and grating to me though. Overall it’s certainly not an ‘annoying’ album, just nothing particularly new for Windmill. I would say I’m annoyed with the windmill scene in general nowadays"
On Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
"@Litebill931 thank you much! I have to stop myself from over-writing a lot of the time lol"
On π©πππππππΆππ's review of Slayyyter - WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA
"First review of this project that’s really made me want to check it out- seriously excellent write-up"
On XTC - Drums and Wires
"@sher12308 you’re totally right! Major goof on my part, I’ll edit that, appreciate the call-out"
On King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
"@yusukeYYH thank you so much! His music is this really intriguing blend of abstract and extremely vivid"
On Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
"@ScaredDog6163 yeah for sure! I appreciate the compliment! Jeff Buckley is a perfect example of why 90s rock really shouldn’t be funneled into those two ‘categories’ I listed because he blends so many styles and sounds (a major reason why Grace is one of the most majestic albums of all time). I’m the same as you in that there’s very little I truly dislike that I listen to- it makes it a lot easier to be encouraged to check out more stuff! Let me know when you’ve got those reviews typed out, I’d love to check em out!"
On Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
"Sorry for the long winded answer, hope that helps! If you need help finding some specific bands lmk too and I can try and throw you some based on what you currently rock with π€"
On Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
"The other main strain in my mind is Slacker Rock (the kind I tend to prefer a bit). This is your Pavements, Built to Spills, Weezers, etc. This style of rock tended to ‘look forward’ whereas grunge took influence from a lot of its contemporaries in many ways.
In terms of what I’d do for a deep dive now- honestly, I’d determine which strain you like more and start with the big bands before digging deeper, maybe even trying out some of the influences/ similar bands. For instance, if you really fw Weezer I’d recommend other Geek/Wacky Rock bands like Cake or Grandaddy. Same goes for, say, AIC- you could check out other alternative metal bands for instance."
On Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
"@ScaredDog6163 for sure! I went on a pretty big 90s rock binge a couple years back and it’s definitely a vast canyon. This is a wildly simplified answer, but imo there are two *main* streams of 90s rock. The first is what most people think of , being Grunge. These are your Nirvanas and Pearl Jams and basically what the average person will probably think of when they think of ‘90s rock’- and it’s great! Grunge pulls a lot from heavier influences depending on the band, such as Punk and Noise Rock for Nirvana or even Metal with bands like Alice In Chains."
On The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
"@Zubb autism + long commutes to work goes a long way lmao"
On Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic
"@Iam_AKne thank you so much! It’s become something of a passion of mine for sure. The kind words go a long way, I’d love to have my own site or something one day"
On Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic
"@Iam_AKne no I’m not, it’s funny you ask because in high school I had plans to maybe become a writer but it never panned out"
On Johnny Blue Skies - Mutiny After Midnight
"Unless you find a rip somewhere or dish out thirty bucks it’s impossible for the time being unfortunately, it is an absolute blast of a record though no doubt, one of his best easily"
On Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic
"@Iam_AKne thank you much! I have fun with them lol"
On Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage Acts II & III
"@ScottShelby that does look interesting, I’ll try and get to it later today, thanks again for all the recs! You’re the Zappa guy so it’s been helpful as a total Zappa novice"
On Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage Acts II & III
"@ScottShelby honestly, having sampled a handful of tracks from his studio records to follow from here I think I’m going to bow out for the time being on his discography, I’d prefer to end it on a high note. Someday I’ll eventually go the whole distance but I think I’d honestly just get burned out going through a series of just messy subpar records tbh"
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