It's certainly a soulful record, though Green's playing isn't *quite* at its best here if you sm me. There are moments like the solo on Joshua that read as just a touch monotonous for me. That said, Green's style is so approachable and relaxing you really can't go wrong with any of his early records if you're looking to just fill your space with a wonderfully relaxing vibe
Green’s guitar playing steals the show- ‘well, that’s obvious’ you may think. Yet it’s also something of a paradox given just how stripped back the whole thing sounds. One of the most relaxed Jazz records of the early 60s, though make no mistake- Green could (and did if you ask me) light that fret board on fire on the regular
I was initially leery at first of the vocals here dragging down the holistic experience like the band's debut, but thankfully by the two-minute mark of the opener my fears were quelled. The production on Deserter's Songs is awe-inspiring in the same way that a skyscraper is to a young child. As the twinkling, multi-faceted arrangements here unfurl like cascading waterfalls, you can't help but be in sheer astonishment
Mercury Rev’s debut sounds unable- or perhaps unwilling- to reach common ground between the brash and noisy, and the tranquil. On one hand, this makes for a Spaced-out pop record that stands apart from a lot of its contemporaries. On the other hand- more often than not, I was irked by the purposefully discordant guitars and often downright abysmal vocals. Frittering manages to actually successfully land this union of approaches in a way that is stunning, and is by *far* my favorite from ... read more
Even seven years after their opus, EW still manage to put out an absolutely essential Stoner Metal record that often rivals their best. The first three tracks + Saturnine are right up there with your Funeralopolis' and Return Trips as the bands best if you ask me
An atomic bomb-sized dessert between EW’s two best works. Neither of these tracks are quite among the highs of said two works, but they’re still seriously solid slices of stoner doomsday prepping
Nearly as heavy (maybe even moreso…?) at points than Dopethrone- Come My Fanatics isn’t just some prelude appetizer to EW’s more acclaimed masterpiece. In and of itself, this project stands tall as one of Stoner + Doom Metal’s absolute finest works. Bursts your lungs and blows your mind
Electric Wizard's debut establishes the cult stoner-doom metal arbiters' plodding, ground-tearing style with unquestionable presence. Sure, EW would refine their formula as any self-described Wizard ought to, but there's a lot to be said of just how defined the band's sound is here
Anyone who’s ever watched all of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch in its entirety has already had their brain chemistry forever altered by O Superman- seriously, one of the most chillingly gorgeous electronic tracks I’ve ever heard and never fails to affect me emotionally in an incredibly potent way.
Though the remainder here obviously doesn’t affect me in quite the same way, it’s still some eclectic and bizarre electronic nonsense that manages to be both charming and creepy. ... read more
Unbridledly angry for the time. The production is absolutely all over the place on Zen Arcade, despite the title having you think otherwise. However, it’s all well-intended- the fits of rage undergone by Mould and co. are backed by explosions of sound interlaced with calmness, leaving you unsure of what exactly will happen next. Things reach a climax with the double-whammy closer of the *epic* Turn On the News, before sprawling wayyyyy out with Reoccurring Dreams, a 14-minute dissection ... read more
The mega-hits here are tolerable enough to keep the record out of the red unlike many of Journey's contemporaries a la GNR & Bon Jovi... just barely. Never dips into offensively bad like 80s stadium-rock often does for me, but still offers very, very little beyond tunes that we all know
The Colours of Chloë never has an issue setting a scene. Between its lush keys, sweeping strings, and even fretless bass at some points, the sound palette here is *stunning*, in every sense of the word. If you have trouble envisioning a Jazz project that can be entirely moving even with the total absence of horns of any kind, look no further than The Colours of Chloë
A wide array of electronic influences lead to Tender Buttons feeling absolutely jam-packed with inspiration, though overcrowding becomes an issue sonically at some points. Still worth a go, though, imo
Broadcast’s weakest core project, as there’s less care taken towards delivering a consistently compelling atmosphere in comparison to their prior works. That said, the start especially is super solid- if you love Broadcast’s other albums, chances are you will this one too
Broadcast's debut LP brings in a lot of the whimsical, drifting electronics that made their 90s works so despondently alluring. Though perhaps a teensy bit of character is lost on some of these tracks, Broadcast still manage to largely nail their softly-ambient cosmic-pop approach here
A compilation of Broadcast’s early pre-LP works (and non-works, apparently). Broadcast’s early sound is clearly influenced by contemporaries such as Stereolab with their twinkling electronics, though ‘subtlety’ appears to be the mission statement here. A lot of these tracks lure you in with a pleasant, almost twee-like palette before descending into unusual, occasionally eerie rumblings. Don’t skip this in favor of jumping straight to their better-known core ... read more
Deftones’ latest may not be the band’s greatest, but it’s nevertheless proof of their resilience well into the decade. Milk of the Madonna, I think about you all the time, and the opener are classic cuts
An atmospheric and moody- yet blissful, too- folk record that draws obvious comparisons to some of Searows’ contemporaries (Phoebe, Ethel Cain, etc), yet still has enough character to stand out. Instrumentally, I don’t know that I’d change a thing here- though I do wish the vocals were mixed in a way that made it easier to decipher the excellent lyrics. I have a feeling Searows is just going to get better and better
I have no doubt Hemocke Springs will come out with a bonafide Synthpop classic in a couple years, given just how much creativity and passion oozes out of this project. In the meantime though, the apple tree under the sea is largely uneven amidst its bold production and confident vocals
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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 ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ถ๐๐'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 ๐ค"
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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