Coming off of Reggae’s most defining statement, it would be easy to assume that Marley & CO’s next effort would be a ‘slump’ in some regard- not so. Is This Love May manage to take the cake as the group’s best all-time cut, sparkling like an emerald among a sea of diamonds- but every track here is pure gold
I imagine this record has the perception of being a bit weaker than the Wailers’ records that proceed it because it lacks a super famous smash anthem. However, this is still a record of remarkable quality- Johnny Was, Who The Cap Fit, War, and Rat Race are some of the group’s best deep cuts *ever*
The Wailers' hot-streak continues. No Woman No Cry obviously steals the show for most people here, but the open, Revel Music, Bend Down Low, and Talkin' Blues are quietly among their best cuts as well if you ask me
The *other* Roots Reggae essential released by The Wailers in 1973. The opener is a protest anthem for the ages, and everyone adores the Clapton cover- but even the less popular cuts here such as Put It On, Duppy Conequeror, and One Foundation totally blew me away
Marley + The Wailers’ first true masterpiece, and the first defining project in the Reggae canon if you ask me. Catch a fire indeed- this record burns with passion, but also begs you to just take it slow, *real* slow. Not the only perfect record from the Wailers, but the first
Before Marley & The Wailers would become the eternally groovin' Reggae legends they're known as now, they were well on the cusp of forming Reggae here. Sure, the recording quality sounds like it was potentially recorded with a can and string- but I'll be damned if there's not heaps of charm to be found here nonetheless
Take this record as just further proof of JID being the South’s current king of flow. Doesn’t have as many highs as The Never Story but is a teensy bit more consistent across the board- you can’t go wrong with any of JID’s LPs
JID’s debut LP has the occasional weak spot, sure, but oozes enough charm and confidence that it’s more than easy to overlook. His ability to snake across a smooth boom-Bap beat makes him stand out among his southern contemporaries- + NEVER has a reputation as *the* JID song for good reason
CSH has always felt ‘pseudo-prog’, but this seems to be the year they finally lean full-throttle into prog-epic-opera territory- to overall great results. The opening trio of tracks are particularly stellar if you ask me- I didn’t pick up on any of the overarching ‘lore’ at play here (not a big fan of music ‘lore’ in general), but this still feels like a comeback record after the tremendously disappointing MADLO
Starts out decently with a solid Bowie cover, before three truly uninspired and just all-around sloppy covers. The March of the Pigs cover in particular is *easily* CSH’s worst cut to date imo
No ifs ands or buts- a miss, and really the only true miss in CSH’s discography to this point. Some of the production choices here are genuinely… baffling (re: Hollywood, Hymns). The band’s music has always been easy to dance to, but when the production attempts to cater to pure ‘dance music’ the results are shockingly disjointed
Though it's initially billed as 'hi-fi re-recordings' of earlier CSH cuts (mainly from My Back Is Killing Me/Monomania), make no mistake- this is still lo-fi. However, there are still several superior versions found here- for me, Something Soon, No Passion, Maud Gone, and the closer in particular. A transitionary project for the band that still manages to be remarkably consistent
As the cover shows, Monomania is the sound of Toledo lighting that which he holds close ablaze. There’s an argument to be made that this is Toledo’s most pessimistic and spiteful crop of tracks to date- sure, instrumentally the band always is easy to jam out to, but on the lyrical front this time around things are *angry*. Sandwiched between the band’s all-time masterpiece Twin Fantasy and their two-hour epic Nervous Young Man, it’d be easy to write this one off- ... read more
Barring the relatively weaker Devil Moon, the four remaining tracks here are some essential lo-fi CSH tracks. It's Only Sex in particular is some of Toledo's finest (and horniest... and most awkward) writing
Mirror to Mirror & Face to Face…. which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, in this case, it’s pretty obvious which came first, but which is *better*? I’d say I prefer Face to Face, but there’s absolutely an argument that the lo-fi charm here is CSH at their most absolute and enigmatic. Both slot together so inextricably that it feels nearly vain to argue the semantics- a chicken needs an egg and vice versa
Astounding to me that even this early on in their career, and even among mixing that sounds like the inside of a storm drain, CSH were delivering noisy slacker anthems to the stars. Happy News for Sadness, No Passion, something soon, Strangers, and the closer are all among the band’s best within their ‘lo-fi’ era
Peggy’s latest LP effort may likely take the title of his most emotionally resonant to date. He’s had a bit more success in production and thematically prior (re: LP, AMHAC), but there’s a potent vulnerability found here that makes this his most emotionally dynamic project since The Ghost-Pop Tape, all while still keeping the signature Peggy chaotic-sound on tap
A DLC pack that’s worth the price of admission (free!)- game devs everywhere, take note. Hermanos would be one of the best tracks on the base STH had it been included
Create an account to rate and review albums.
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"
Advertisement