It's some of the the most amazing music I know.
Smilers won't give you Long Shot live at St. Ann's Warehouse. It won't. It won't give you carefree and juvenile Ghost World.

Yes, Fuckin Smilers is entirely mid- or low-tempo. Aimee's patent writing caught up to her melodies and took the whole ship down. First-time listeners may even groan when they finish the album. There's really not much electric lead guitar on it (which Aimee wouldn't be playing ... read more

I regard this EP super well since it brought me Lean On Me.
Still, there's no real bad song here. Beth is great.

I like Because I Was in Love.
But I don't ever listen to it.

I return to the best song, Keep. It has that rather crushing inclusion of piano in the back behind the guitar line. This gives the arrangement more depth and for me, makes it the most memorable. Something about the whole song feels more whole and filled-out. Whereas with the rest of the songs, there's a slight air of their being demos or something. They feel sort of tenuous.

Anyway, while I'm not usually one to say ... read more

Just captivating. Really.
It is impossible to become bored of In the Evenings of Regret

Just great.
Best listened to whilst staring at a bug

I think this album is really good.
Ironically I like the instrumental moments best. Maybe I just want this to be a Dirty Three album.
Invitation Day is remarkably beautiful though I don't love the sound of Lordy

Guys what has gotten into you! This thing is terrific.
The better the album the less I have to say.
I find Queens to be just incredible. Aimee's lyrics and vocal delivery are crisp, perceptive, and occasionally devastating.
I really think this record includes some of Aimee's best songs.
We're used to stellar multi-instrumental arrangements from Aimee Mann songs. This does not differ there. Arrangements really make these songs
Queens is analytical of both the modern depressive ... read more

Okay.
The playing here is really exquisite. Drums are notably great, and, of course, so is violin
But sometimes I just wish Andrew were singularly an instrumentalist.
I've never been a huge fan of his voice. Here it is certainly on display and I find it gets in the way.

Andrew's words come out in forcibly stylized languid ribbons. Sort of sensually. He's trying really hard to sing without trying.
I get it. Everyone wants a vocal shtick.
Everyone wants to be heard on the radio ... read more

I like this a lot.
While I understand the french on this album myself, I don't get one of the previous reviewers' comments on how understanding the French is necessary to best understanding the album. Notice how in Berceuse you get the feeling the saxophone at the end is repeating what Myriam sung prior.
That's to say--everything has a means of expressing emotion--I don't speak saxophone.
Lully Lullay is truly a remarkable song. Jim White is, as always, really really great

Great just great!
Feels like an album for sure. It's a varied catalog of wholly intriguing and cinematic tunes on upright bass, piano, voice, drum kit and occasional brass. Soar When I'm Alone is really terrific.
Je me sens si fragile de temps en temps!

Often do I talk about my confusion regarding Spotify's hiding the original recordings of albums whilst displaying only the deluxe releases in artists' discographies. And while extra tracks can be welcome, the original release is the original release for a reason.
I was acquainted originally with the directors' cut, so to speak, of Real Life, without even knowing. It's not labeled any differently than the original, only with a whopping six more songs. This made the album ... read more

Here's the thing.
I had never been a raging Camera Obscura fan, and I'm still not, but when I was taken to see them on tour for this album in Boston it was terrific.
There are certain bands that are best live. Camera is certainly one of them. It bothers me a considerable amount that the band hasn't released a live album, as if they had, it would actually be in my casual rotation.
After coming home from the show I listened to Look to the East a second time through and some of ... read more

It's easy to be charmed (or rather, left comfortable) by An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, which seems to get by, or drift by, on a cloud of misty indecision.

I was brought here by a review of Beth Orton's outstanding Weather Alive. That record is so distinct and massive that I was really excited to listen to this.

While I think the writing is the leading aspect of this record, I find much of it very inoffensive.
Cassandra's vocals seem not to know what they are either. They're rather ... read more

In short, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too is a terrifically amazingly stupendous 4-song EP.

For me, there are two ways of rating this album: giving an aggregate view of the whole release in a very professorly way. It would probably look like a 74. And then I could give it a super high rating by measure that it brought the song Hearts Club Band to me. That's what I went with.
Hearts Club Band is an outstanding song. The arrangement is amazing. The lyrics are stupid good. ... read more

I don't own records
So I was disappointed that this was the prevailing version of One Foot available on Spotify being that often only the deluxe reissues are listed on an artist's discography, but when the album is looked up you can find the original too. That was not the case here.
I'd like the original a lot better if I could just listen to it. Whatever reason it is Spotify has decided to hide original versions of re-released albums is beyond me.
Anyway, 32 is a lot. And I often even find ... read more

Alright.
This album is tough.
While I appreciate that some of Suzanne's best songs are on here (Caramel and World Before Columbus namely), both are greatly improved upon in Suzanne's concert album Sessions at West 54th, not available on AOTY but on Spotify. If it were considered an album among the studio ones, I'd call it her best. On it, her recording of Caramel is, in my opinion, her best song to date. It's a stripped-back cut, isolating that frankly intoxicating baseline you barely hear in ... read more

Guys--this thing is golden.
Try giving it a listen while staring into your coffee.