There's probably a reason why The Verve Pipe didn't catch on beyond The Freshman. A lot of people, including myself, bought this album because of The Freshman, which was the band's chance to gain or keep fans. That didn't really pan out because most of these songs are unremarkable, and there's too many of them. My rating of 72 is probably being generous, but the record does have some good guitar riffs a couple memorable melody lines here and there, just not nearly enough to sustain or justify, ... read more

I can't say that I recommend this entire album. It loses steam melodically after track 6, Godhead, which is a banger, but meanders a bit after that. The weakest part is not actually the music, but the lyrics, which, at times, sound overwrought, and as another reviewer said, "cringe." I get that Shirley Manson is trying to convey anger, even rage at the system, but take it from Rage (Against the Machine), anger can be funneled through lyrics in a clever and poetic way.

Other standout ... read more

I don't say this much, but I really like the atmosphere of this album, the general sound and tenor of the music and the effects on Damon Albarn's mic. The record definitely has a cohesive sound all the way through. As for the songs and melodies, The Ballad, Barbaric, St. Charles Square and The Narcissist are far and away the best tracks, but Russian Strings, Far Away Island and Avalon are worth a listen.

Ben Folds' first solo effort in years is an easy listening, pretty album musically, but for a songwriter of Folds' calibre, I would have expected better vocal melodies.

Some of the melodies like on What Matters Most, Kristine From the 7th Grade, Fragile, Back to Anonymous, Moments, Winslow Garden, etc, kind of just meander. I guess this is supposed to be in service of whatever Folds wanted to say lyrically, but hooks are what make listeners want to give a song repeat listens, so unless ... read more

I usually don't review albums from my all-time favorite bands, but suffice it to say that Jimmy Chamberlain's drums on Zeitgeist are something to hear. When compared to the subpar and, more times than not, boring drums on Atum, I have to shake my head.

A solid debut that would preface things to come. A couple songs in the middle of the album - Suffer and Snail - fall off a bit for me, but Gish is anchored by now-classics, I Am One, Siva, Rhinoceros and Bury Me.

I don't write reviews for some of my all-time favorite albums because I'm obviously biased, but here are my ratings for each song.

I don't write reviews for some of my favorite albums, but here are my song ratings. I will say that - and I know this is Smashing Pumpkins blasphemy - but "Disarm" has never been one of my favorite songs of theirs. It's OK and certainly would have been one of the best songs in any other band's discography, but I hold several others tunes on this album - Soma, Silverfuck, Cherub Rock, Mayonaise, Geek USA, etc - in higher regard, mostly because I can't get enough of that Big Muff ... read more

I'll go on record and say this is Noel's Gallagher's best solo effort to date since his band formed some 12 years ago. With the exception of three tracks on the backend - There She Blows!, Love Is a Rich Man and Think of a Number - these songs show a songwriting maturation that wasn't always apparent with Oasis. Oasis has some killer tunes. That's indisputable, but musically, the songs are pretty simple to be honest. The tunes on Council Skies have musical depth while also being accessible ... read more

After giving this another couple listens, I have to say that Adore is a beautiful, haunting album. Not everything song is a winner for me. Tear, Pug, Annie-Dog and Shame were low points from a purely melodic standpoint. But the record also includes some of the best songs in The Smashing Pumpkins' catalog, including To Sheila, Ava Adore, Apples + Oranjes, Crestfallen, Behold! The Night Mare and For Martha, which is one of those lengthy, beloved epic Pumpkins songs.

Adore is definitely a mood ... read more

The problem with Monuments to an Elegy is that it has quite a few average to better-than-average songs, but no great tunes and little that is interesting or compelling about the instrumentation. While there are a couple good guitar riffs, I don't believe I heard any solos. Songs like Tiberius, Run2Me, Monuments, Dorian and Ani-Hero have good enough vocal melodies, but the tracks feel almost incomplete. They are short, and there isn't much, if any, evolution to them. If these songs had more ... read more

Oceania might, or if it doesn't, it should, go down as the best Smashing Pumpkins record since Machina, and that includes the newly released, Atum. Oceanic doesn't wear the listener out with sheer volume. It pulls you in for 13 - more or less - solid songs with some catchy melodies and Pumpkins-esque instrumentation, and then let's you go about your day. It's self-contained, and there's no need to sort through a voluminous lyrical saga to enjoy it. Also, and this is sad to say, but the ... read more

Remove Glass and the Ghost Child, The Crying Tree of Mercury and Blue Skies Bring Tears, and this would have been a nearly perfect album. I think the melodies are weakest on these songs, and as for Glass, etc, I've never been a big fan of the spoken word either right before or in the middle of a song. Also, while the music on this one is interesting, the melody leaves something to be desired. Everything else on Machina is top shelf as far as I'm concerned, and I consider many of these songs, ... read more

You know, it's been like 20 years. One would have thought that The Hold Steady would have come up with something else to write songs about other than drug use and dereliction in the streets. I wouldn't even care if the melodies were better or if some of these songs had any semblance of a chorus. It's a wonder his bandmates have indulged Craig Finn for this long. Has he tried writing a novel? If not, he should, and put more effort into writing melodies. In any case, I knew going in that one ... read more

I hadn't heard of Hamish Hawk before, but this is a solid album with some good tunes. His voice is similar to Morrissey's, which I don't necessarily care for, but just based on the strength of the melodies alone, I'll give this one some more listens.

Yeah, I guess someone needs to explain to me why this album is so popular. The record has almost no compelling vocal melodies. Track seven, Quarry, has the best one in the verses and the chorus. Got Shocked is unremarkable in the melody department, but it does have a good guitar riff that pretty much carries the song. Bull Believer, which I guess some listeners consider to be the centerpiece, suffers from an overuse of that vocal lift technique, which is normally used sparingly for emotional ... read more

Final Thoughts

Now that I've given several listens to part three of Atum, I can say that the last part is definitely the best 11-song collection of the bunch. Other Smashing Pumpkins fans like the opener, Sojourner. I thought it was kind of a slog to get through the full seven minutes. It has an OK hook in the chorus, but I'm not eager to hear it again. This act features three heavy burners: That Which Animates the Spirit, In Lieu of Failure and Harmageddon, the latter of which has the best ... read more

May 14, 2023: My original review for Atum: Act II is below. Like part one, I bumped up my rating for part two by a little after relistening for a fifth and sixth time. Given the numerous listens I've given to all parts of Atum, the band can't say I didn't try to get into it. On this disc, Avalanche, Empires, Every Morning, To the Grays and Beguiled are the strongest tracks, and I'll give a nod to Moss. I don't like the latter as a song, per se, but it has a four-bar guitar solo that was pretty ... read more

"The Record" by boygenius is a little better than the Phoebe Bridgers album that I reviewed awhile back. I likened "Punisher" to "unengaging, indie folk, coffeeshop music." Some of the same criticisms apply here. Half of these songs have meandering, unfocused melodies with musical arrangements that sound lifeless.

That said, the album does have some great moments - the alt-rock riffs that center "$20," "Satanist," and "Anti-Curse"; ... read more

First, let me address the first nine tracks of this album. With the exception of Nothing To Hide, which is a kicking rock song with a good guitar solo, and Periodically Double or Triple, which sounds like a cross between any blues song and The Beatles' Taxman, much of this album is a bit on the dull side, to be quite honest. The first nine tracks of the record has some decent-to-good vocal melodies and pretty musical arrangements here and there, but a lot of these songs sound kind of sleepy, ... read more