This was a pretty cool mix of neo psychedelia with synthpop and krautrock. The entire album is driven by motorik style beats and rhythm. The electronics are all modular synths that feel alive, and at times glitchy, while the overall soundscape is colorful and full of texture. It’s honestly nothing too mind blowing, but it’s good for what it is. If you like bands like Stereolab, then this will be right up your alley.

It’s been a long time since I listened to any albums by Os Mutantes, so long that I almost forgot what they sound like. What really sets these guys apart is how they mix popular Brazilian music with British and American psychedelic rock. They also have this playful, satirical side that feels almost like a psychedelic cartoon. Honestly, I can’t say much about the lyrics since it’s all in Portuguese, but that actually adds to the adventurousness of the album. I also have to ... read more

When it comes to Björk’s more experimental albums, they can be hit or miss, but this is definitely one of her better ones. It’s clearly art pop, but leans more toward the ambient, folktronica side. The production is strong, and while she maintains her experimental edge, she also strikes a good balance by keeping the music enjoyable and grounded.

When it comes to the modern grunge revival movement, Superheaven is definitely one of the top tier bands. Their guitars are sludgy, thick, detuned, fuzzy, and carry a droning shoegaze energy. The entire album is filled with tight songwriting and catchy hooks buried under layers of distortion. It pays tribute to the 90s without ever sounding like a knockoff.

Overall, this is a pretty good album for early jangle pop and ’80s indie. It’s not as good as 16 Lovers Lane, but it’s a solid album leading up to that one. It’s also one of those records that gets better the more you listen to it.

I really enjoyed this EP. This one is definitely lighter and more playful than their usual conceptual and theatrical albums. Plus, it’s more of a cover album, featuring songs originally by Television, Genesis, Iron Maiden, Tina Turner, and The Stranglers. The production is also much more slick, glossy, and pristine compared to their usual sound on full length albums. I’ve always been a Ghost fan, but I just can’t believe I never noticed this EP and that it slipped through the ... read more

This is definitely a fun EP for straight up four on the floor, piano-driven club music. If you weren’t already familiar with Nuovo Testamento, you’d probably assume they were a house music act. But they actually come out of the goth club scene.

They’ve always carried an 80s dance music edge, but without losing their modern production aesthetics. This is probably their lightest and brightest release yet. It leans heavily into house music and Eurodance, while still maintaining ... read more

Well, when it comes to an album like this, that proudly embraces immaturity as a virtue, it’s hard to call it a classic, regardless of all its infectious hooks. Instead, it’s more of a nostalgic guilty pleasure. It takes me back to my high school years, cruising around town on our lunch break with all my friends piled into the car.

Well, I hate to admit it, but this album had some really cool synthpop elements that I genuinely enjoyed. Like them or not, ABBA was definitely forward thinking and innovative with this album, especially considering the time it came out. The production is top notch, glossy, upscale, and meticulously crafted. It still has some of those classic ABBA traits, the sleazy, poppy sing along moments that I could do without, but without those, it wouldn’t really be an ABBA album to begin with.

I actually thought this was a pretty cool album, especially when you look at it as a time capsule from an era when new wave was fading out and acid house and techno were on the rise. At its core, this is definitely a synthpop/new wave album, but you can hear the electronic elements starting to shift to newer sounds and updated gear were clearly working their way into the music culture. It almost gives you a glimpse of what new wave and synthpop might have evolved into if those genres ... read more

So there wasn’t necessarily anything bad about this album, but it didn’t really offer much in terms of creativity or cleverness either. It’s very bland, watered down alternative rock from the late 2000s. Like the kind of stuff you’d hear playing on a Top 40 radio station or in the background at a random department store. It’s listenable, but ultimately forgettable.

This was a good album for the Scorpions in their late career, especially with Klaus Meine’s voice still sounding like it did back in the 70s and 80s. This album was originally intended as a collection of unreleased demos from the 80s, but it evolved into a full studio album blending archival material with new songs.

With that said, this album will definitely be appreciated by fans who have stuck with them all these years, and that’s exactly who it was intended for. I haven’t ... read more

This is one of those albums you enjoy purely at face value. The production is intentionally rough and low budget, which actually adds to its raw charm and underground appeal. It’s loud, messy, and unrefined, but that’s what gives it character. This album helped shape the sound and aesthetic of early extreme metal inspired acts like Bathory, Mayhem, Slayer, and Metallica.

This was a decent album, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that they were trying a little too hard to be a Mr. Bungle recreation. They have their own distinctive sound, but it still comes off as very dated, like something whose expiration date passed about 20 years ago. There’s some fun in the chaos, but it doesn’t really hold up in the long run.

This album marks a major shift in XTC’s musical direction. It’s where they left behind their youthful, high-energy sound and moved toward something more introspective and pastoral, which embraced themes of nature, English rural life, and a whimsical, reflective tone.

Around this time, the band officially stopped touring, largely due to Andy Partridge’s mental and physical breakdown brought on by severe stage fright, anxiety, and years of overmedication. From this point on, ... read more

I think this was definitely one of the higher ranking albums from The Pineapple Thief. Many of the tracks were originally written for earlier albums like 10 Stories Down and Little Man, but the whole album comes together wry cohesively, especially considering it was meant to be a space filler between studio releases. I really love the ambient textures and piano passages, which gives the album a dreamy and melancholic undertone.

I wish there were more indie pop albums like this. It’s fun, quirky, playful, and full of joy, but what really makes it stand out is the DIY rawness that gives it a unique, creative edge. There’s so much color and texture in the sound, and it never feels overproduced or sanitized.

This was a great album from Mogwai. I can definitely see how it helped shape and define the second wave of post rock. Unfortunately, a lot of post rock bands that came afterward ended up sounding very similar to this, which can make the genre feel repetitive or boring at times. But this album was the first of its kind. It finds the perfect balance between dark, droning passages and beautiful, colorful soundscapes. I really love the dynamic shifts from delicate, slow burning sections to ... read more

This was definitely an interesting album, because you can tell the band was still testing the waters with Steve Hogarth as their new lead singer and trying to find their new direction. The album is very radio-friendly, with plenty of catchy moments that hook you in. Some songs even sound like something you’d hear over the opening credits of a random early ’90s movie. Either way, it’s a clear change of direction for them, but I still enjoyed listening to it.

It makes no sense to me how this album gets so much hate and so many low ratings with negative comments. I’m not super familiar with M83’s full catalog, but the only explanation I can think of is that this debut sounds very different from their later work and is meant for a different kind of audience. Honestly, I think fans of artists like Boards of Canada would really enjoy this. It doesn’t sound exactly like them, but it definitely shares some of the same characteristics and ... read more