This was a fun 7 minute long EP. Quick in and out with no long term commitment. It definitely has that low budget demo quality in both sound and production, which actually works in its favor and aligns well with the charm of this style of music. The vocals carry that ethereal shoegaze tone, layered over raw, hazy, and distorted guitars that give the whole thing a noisy grunge feel. It also evokes a strong sense of ’90s nostalgia.

This album is proof that Dave Grohl is more than just the frontman of the mainstream pop rock band Foo Fighters. I’ve always liked him as a musician, and I genuinely think he’s one of the best in the modern scene, but Foo Fighters has never been a band I could fully get behind. I enjoy their music when I hear it, but that’s mostly because I take it at face value and appreciate it for what it is, which is mainstream alternative rock.

With Dream Widow, we probably won’t ... read more

Overall, this was a cool album to come across on the generator. It’s a well balanced mix of jangle pop, power pop, and sophisti-pop, which are all elements I really enjoy. That said, I have to admit, I don’t think it quite deserves a spot on a top album list. There were definitely some catchy and melodic segments that I found really enjoyable, but at times, I didn’t particularly care for the sound of his voice. Still, it wasn’t distracting or bad enough to ruin the ... read more

Brian Eno truly is the father of ambient music. His work makes you feel like you’re stepping into a world that exists outside of time. This album plays more like a series of landscapes rather than traditional songs. Synthesizers dominate the soundscape, shifting between warm and melodic to icy and abstract. There are some guitar elements throughout, mostly performed by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, but even those are used more for texture and atmosphere than melody or riffs.

Overall, ... read more

I’m so glad this album finally came out, I’ve been waiting for it for a while. Overall, Nuclear Daisies continue down their path of shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, and dream pop, but this time around, they feel more consistent. The album has a much more cohesive flow when you listen to it from beginning to end. One of the standout changes is the incorporation of breakbeat style drums and percussion, which gives the songs a more energetic and rhythmic edge without disrupting the hazy ... read more

I originally came to this band’s Spotify page to listen to a different album I had read about, but once I saw that this one had “Hey, St. Peter” on it, I had to listen to it instead. Considering it came out in 1978, I think this album was way ahead of its time, because it honestly sounds like something that would’ve come out about five years later. Not only that, but it was definitely released during the early stages of the new wave movement, which makes it feel even ... read more

I wish I had been introduced to this album a long time ago. I’ve known about Split Enz for years because of their hit track “I Got You,” but this entire album has so much more to offer. The bright synths and sharp hooks give off such an uplifting vibe. It’s the kind of album that can put you in a good mood.

There are also a few instrumental, synth-driven tracks that add a fun, playful, space age feel. And beyond those, there were several moments where I caught elements ... read more

This was a cool discovery when it comes to underground gems from the 80s new wave scene. The first two tracks were really solid, and the rest of the album was slightly better than average, but overall, they fell just short of having that spark that could’ve pushed them into mainstream attention. They were right on the edge, so close, but never quite found that defining moment. The best way to describe them is, they have the bright, uplifting new wave sound of The Cars, the power pop ... read more

I’ve always been a huge fan of Mike Patton, but I remember when this album first came out, I didn’t really care for it. It’s taken many years for me to finally enjoy and appreciate it. This album essentially reinterprets traditional Native American compositions through an experimental rock lens. The entire concept was inspired by early 20th century field recordings and transcriptions of Native American songs, many of which were unattributed, which is what inspired the ... read more

This was actually a pretty decent album, and I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought I would. Once again, it’s essentially a solo album from Roland Orzabal, much like Elemental, but both still released under the Tears for Fears name. This one has a darker, more atmospheric sound. The synths are still very present, but there’s also a heavier use of guitars. They’re not front and center, though, they’re more about texture and mood, blending in with the electronic ... read more

Right when I started this album, I was under the impression that Savatage had made a full fledged metal album. The opening track comes in with full force, but once you get past that, the rest of the album definitely brings back their signature symphonic progressive metal elements. Other than that, it was a pretty cool album.

I can’t say this album is as strong as their debut, but I still enjoyed it—mainly for its strong, heavy ’80s synth sound. Even though this is an all-star lineup, the album really carries over a lot of characteristics from Yes, which are especially noticeable in the arrangements and melodic choices.

This was a decent album, but I don’t think it’s as strong as some of Springsteen’s earlier work. It leans more into modern production aesthetics, and a few tracks even feature electronic, studio-produced beats and percussion. Overall, the album definitely has more of a pop rock edge, and I’d say I prefer his more traditional heartland rock sound over this direction.

That said, if I were someone who deeply connected with lyrics, I probably would’ve enjoyed this ... read more

I love this album. This is actually the era of Yes that I was raised on, so it definitely gives me a feeling of comfort. I imagine this is where a lot of fans of 70s-era Yes dropped off, since by this point they had lost both their lead vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Instead they were replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, which I just recently learned, both of them were from The Buggles, the same band behind “Video Killed the Radio Star.” I never ... read more

Let me start by saying that “Fa Cé-La” is one of the most annoying and dumb songs I’ve ever heard. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, this is actually a pretty unique album in its own right, and I honestly think the instrumental passages without vocals are the most enjoyable parts. Overall, I’ll never appreciate this album the way others do, and I think the bands it influenced, like R.E.M., Pavement, and Yo La Tengo, are actually more enjoyable than The ... read more

TesseracT is a band I’m still trying to get more familiar with, and it sounds like this EP played a key role in shaping the djent genre, which I’m also still trying to fully wrap my head around. I’m still a little unsure what exactly makes djent djent, but what really stood out to me here was the melodic and atmospheric soundscape they create alongside the heavy elements. If this is what modern prog metal is evolving into, I think TesseracT does a great job of pushing it in ... read more

This is another one of those albums where I can’t say it’s bad, in fact, it’s slightly better than average, but once again, it feels like the band is in a transitional phase. This is probably their first full on symphonic progressive metal album. All their previous records had been slowly building toward this direction, and here they finally embrace it. Personally, though, I didn’t find it as powerful or impactful as a lot of people seem to think it is.

Tears for Fears is definitely one of those bands where their albums tend to be hit or miss for me, and this one was actually pretty good. It turns out this is effectively a Roland Orzabal solo album released under the Tears for Fears name after Curt Smith’s departure. In a way, it sounds like a lot of the albums released by 80s new wave bands who survived into the 90s. It still has that post new wave sound with some sophisti-pop elements, but you can also hear him experimenting with more ... read more

Based on the last few Scorpions albums leading up to this one, I was actually looking forward to this album, but it turned out to be more mediocre than I was hoping for. It’s not bad, and it’s still an enjoyable album, but I actually enjoyed their previous two releases more.

Tropicália is a term I had seen before, but I never really looked into it, but I always just assumed it referred to traditional Brazilian music. But it turns out it’s something much more intriguing. Tropicália blends Brazilian styles like samba and bossa nova with psychedelic rock, avant-garde elements, and international pop influences. It was also deeply shaped by the political climate of its time, so much so that Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were arrested during a ... read more