Raucous, sure, but moreso dull. The vocals are passionate but instrumentally Vivid is anything but- sounds trapped in a limbo between a throw back sound and a raised fist proclaiming ‘let’s save Rock music guys!’
Jazz Guitar that *is* incredible! I’m a shade more partial to Grant Green when it comes to jazz guitarists of this timeframe, but I’d be a dunce to denounce Montgomery’s virtuosic talent on the fretboard
My impulse pick for the best New Age record ever released. The atmosphere and universe Enya cascades the listener in manages to be all-surmounting, yet hypnotically cozying, like a lullaby
Every bit as intense as Nightside Eclipse, just with a stronger focus on atmosphere and varied instrumentation (as far as ‘varied’ can go for this style of metal). Sits with Northern Sky and DISSECTION’s works as 90s Black Metal staple
A totally enthralling clash of frenetic, whirring electronics with sublime orchestral and classical instrumentation- the whole thing sounds like holy matrimony by the end
Not quite as watertight as Youth, nor as scrappy as Is This Real- you’d expect that to leave this record as something of a footnote but that’s far from true. Killer performances all around
Certainly a scrappy debut, but in all the right ways generally speaking- Wipers work best when they’ve got something to wipe away naturally
Wholly influential and necessary for the wackier, off-kilter side of New Wave- no Oingo Boingo, XTC, etc. without this. That said- I 'appreciate' it more than I truly enjoyed it
The Clash shoot straighter after the total cluster-clash that was Sandinista. The results? Two of their best, most immediate tunes, a killer would-be sample… and some perfectly fine if forgettable New Wave clogging up the remainder
Contains three of The Clash’s best cuts- the opener, Somebody Got Murdered, Police On My Back- but the whole thing feels like searching for needles in a haystack. Takes the experimental nature of London Calling and twists Punk and its adjacent sounds beyond recognition
The moment 'Punk' and its infinite connotations to us now in music discourse would gain said infinite connotations. No doubt, punk had already evolved potentially quicker than any rock subgenre in history, reaching a point of 'post'-hood as early as '77/before depending on who you ask. But here, The Clash take the idea of 'punk' and squeeze, distort, expand, and compound it into its very essences- all just a couple years after punk rock's proper ... read more
An awkward middle-step between The Clash's tried-and-true Punk debut and the punk kaleidoscope that's London Calling. Has some solid moments no doubt, just less definitive
Marginally my favorite Monk record. The sharpest set of selections from the auteur, including masterpieces such as I Didn’t Know About You, the title track, and Japanese Folk Song
One of Monk’s best collections, including the titanically impressive Well, You Needn’t
When played, the whole *room* becomes brilliant, not just the corners! Absolute dog-shit joking aside, Brilliant Corners is still aptly titled, demonstrating the genius Monk possesses early on in his career. One of Hard Bop’s torch-bearers as the subgenre coalesced in the 50s. Always love to spot a Wu-Tang sample in the wild too
Exists in that floaty Neo-psych zone that calls to mind i,i era Bon Iver or even Mk.gee, though noticeably floatier and less definitive. The vocals are pleasant though often monotone in a way that dampens the beautiful textures on display. Encroaches on- at points, proclaims- brilliance
Killer performances, immediately palpable riffs- it’s among the more ‘approachable’ Death Metal records, Melodic or not, I’ve heard in some time. The vocals are really the only heel here- not quite scratchy enough for Death Metal nor defiant and ‘booming’ enough for Power Metal. Still, they’re serviceable and don’t detract from this being a classic either way
The whole thing certainly is minimal, to the max- too much so maybe at points. It’s impressive no doubt, but for an hour it admittedly grows stagnant midway through
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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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