A mesmerizingly encapsulating electronic project that feels along the same vein of projects like In C or Music for 18 Musicians, though E2-E4 feels perhaps more accessible than both just on account of its dedicated focus toward a danceable atmosphere for the majority of the runtime. Definitely sounds like a prediction of the trends in electronic music that would lead to House music in the decades to follow. Fascinating stuff
Falls flat in just about every dimension compared to every other ATDI release. If you were to go into this without the context of, say, Relationship of Command, you'd probably think this is a perfectly serviceable Post-HC record to throw in in the background. With that context, however- yeah, this is a big bowl of nothing
A fierce little EP with some of ATDI's most pummeling tracks, such as the opener or Heliotrope. Even the more offbeat moments like 300 MHz intrigue with their sort of Pavement-esque off-kilteredness
At the Drive-In's sophomore release feels noticeably sharper than the group's more 'slackery' debut. The production is a little rough around the edges at points, but tracks like Napoleon Solo, Lopsided, or the closer show an incredible level of maturity
At the Drive-In's debut really only suffers from feeling too scrappy for its own good for much of the run-time, with production that is charming yet far too muted for the passion the band displays. 'Passion' being the key word- even at this early stage, it's abundantly clear that At the Drive-In are one of the most impassioned and locked in Emo-leaning Post-Hardcore bands of their era. Listen to Ticklish for proof
The dancier direction is an admirable shift from bombastic arena rock, but surprisingly leaves the record feeling like it has even less to say than some of U2’s faux-bigger statements of records past. Still, it’s well produced for sure
I certainly wish I could say I find this to be a classic among the likes of War, especially with how stellar the first three cuts are. But the rest of the record is just… not as solid, simply put. U2 seems to just not really be my bag despite the definite positives the band has
Ultimately a pretty uneven effort, even if Pride + the title track are easily among U2’s best
Certainly a ‘Rise From The Ashes’ moment given the terribly tragic circumstances of this record’s creation. But the remaining Injury Reserve members come together to make a genuinely stunning exaltation of grief, vulnerability, and triumph, all backed by equally alluring production that’s constantly weaving and unwinding upon itself. The first record so far this year to really knock my socks off
After floundering for their first two records, War shows that U2 *are* actually capable of delivering tracks as anthemic and bombastic as their presentation would lead you to believe. Sunday Bloody Sunday is the best track U2 has ever put out, to a point of near obviousness- but I was blown away by how consistent the quality across the board is here. Even the weaker, more 'us against the world' type of jabs like The Refugee are still well-considered, especially compared to some of the ... read more
On a first glance, a lot of the imperfections here read to me as blemishes- the awkward writing, for instance. By the end of the record, however, I realized these imperfections are precisely what makes I Love My Mom such a captivatingly alluring piece of indie nostalgia- a type of sound that usually falls straight into unoriginal sleaze for me. Something about the unabashed sincerity here leaves this feeling decidedly charming and successfully wistful in all the right ways
Though Birds of Fire doesn’t neccesarily melt your ears and face off with its blazing complexity in the way that The Inner Mounting Flame does, it’s still a set of meticulously crafted prog-chamber-jazz-fusion that features some of the most accomplished jazz musicians of the time. One Word is the easy pick for highlight, but I’m partial to the pseudo-bluegrass elements on Open Country Joy as well
Whereas other Dream Pop aficionados of the time constructed their soundscapes through sheer memorization (such as Cocteau Twins with their ‘alien language’ and equally alien production work), Cruise operates in largely the opposite direction here- via isolation.
Floating Into The Night never does anything more than it needs to for a given moment. Make no mistake, this does *not* leave an atmosphere that’s sparse- it’s like drifting through a desolate void with only ... read more
A relatively left-field collab that finds Converge mainly leaning into Wolfe’s Gothic sensibilities, as opposed to Wolfe adopting Converge’s pummeling grit as I initially expected. The results are decent- though it does sound largely like Converge acting as a sort of backing band for the majority of the runtime
A more ‘by the books’ Converge offering, especially compared to the band’s two projects to proceed it- but that’s okay! It’s still a pummeling experience that shakes your bones up, and that’s- ultimately- what makes Converge so legendary
I’d struggle to say if this is necessarily Converge’s best, though I am confident in saying it’s Converge’s strongest from an instrumental standpoint. The performances here are *tight*- watertight, and easily among the best metal performances of the 2000s. It all comes together for what is an enraged explosion, not dissimilar descriptively to Jane Doe, but with a more dedicated focus on making the instrumentation (the guitar-work *especially*) as potent as possible
No Heroes' fate as being one of the more 'forgettable' Converge releases of the 2000s becomes paradoxically locked-in by having what is a serious contender for their best cut, Grim Heart/Black Rose. An absolute powerhouse of sludge metal that makes the remainder of the record, which could be reduced (albeit very reductively) to 'Converge on auto-pilot', sound comparatively just not as exciting. Still a great record on the whole, just not Converge on their most exciting
Though it ends up feeling relatively not as memorable or impactful among Converge's grander discography, that's more so a symptom of the band's incredibly ethic than anything this project does 'wrong'. A similar approach to Jane Doe, though maybe a *bit* less pummeling? Just a bit, mind you- this is still some Metalcore to the maximum
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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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