Being my introduction to Primus, Sailing the Seas of Cheese seems to be a very essential part of the outsider-metal type music of the 90's. The very odd and quirky lyrics from Les Claypool & Co are what makes the album stand out; his storytelling and vocal inflections make the band unique and one of the most innovative groups of the past 30 years or so in my opinion. The instrumentation is impeccable, groovy yet rough around the edges, with an authentic metal feel. Primus doesn't really ... read more

In a mesmerizing collection of psychedelic experimental rock tracks, Kairon; IRSE! delivers a very chilling and cohesive release, which is a great combination of all types of shoegaze. The noise-pop aspect is there, along with mellow and calm vocals, and heavy use of guitar effects and pedals. The band doesn't push any boundaries or recreate the wheel, but Ujubasajuba serves to be an album that keeps you hooked because of all it has to offer.

fav tracks: Tzar Morei, Rulons

Being one of the more versatile bands in recent years, Ulver created a sensational synthpop project in The Assassination of Julius Caesar. Even though the songs don't really have anything to do with the title (it would have been cool if they did), each one was a terrifically crafted tune that continued to keep my attention. The record is far from innovative or anything, but it is a really great listen that proves simple albums can still triumph over the bloated and schizophrenic synthpop ... read more

Unlike Kendrick's last two albums, DAMN. does not have one central idea. TPAB was heavily focused on political and social issues, and GKMC was a concept album that told a story of being an adolescent boy growing up in Compton. And because of this lack of an idea or theme, I think that DAMN. is the perfect balance between the two projects.
There are introspective songs that move along slowly (FEAR.), bangers that retain Kendrick's lyrical excellence (DNA.), and unapologetically commercial ... read more

Without a single radio hit or song that really stands out, Prolonging the Magic is just Cake being Cake, nothing really special, but a set of tracks that is a decent listen. The entirety of this album is the same sort of tracks that filled the space between the more popular (and better) songs on their previous albums.

fav tracks: Satan Is My Mirror, Mexico (standout)

There is no progression musically across this EP, and nothing that really is any different than what was on Oaklandazulasylum. Even slower and more boring than what was on the album.

Josh Tillman's follow up to his spectacular I Love You, Honeybear, is an album that can be listened to once and I would never feel the need to listen to it again. Every. Single. Song. Is. A. Ballad. And that is what causes the downfall of Pure Comedy.
After the third track, the lyrical organization of this album gets old. Tillman has some clever points to make, and does a solid job at telling a story with his music, but there is nothing else to this album. The instrumentation is ... read more

the most commercial, overproduced, and painfully trite albums of the past few years. i can almost feel the sweat of disgusting ravers rubbing next to me while listening to this.

My inner child wants to give this a perfect score, but this really is a pretty lackluster soundtrack if you take out the context of the movie. A few of the songs are painful (Avril Lavigne's theme, Bikini Bottom), but then there are actually amazing songs as well, like Ween's Ocean Man and Prince Paul's Bubble Party. I feel kind of ridiculous for rating an album intended for children, but at least I'm not the asshole who gave it a 3.9. Indie rock was in a great period at the time of this ... read more

Many of the best political rap albums succeed by saying a lot without saying much at all; oftentimes by not directly alluding to the topic at hand and using extended metaphors and other figures of speech. But there are also many political rap albums that get their message across by being blunt and direct with the topic at hand. Joey Bada$$' take on this genre is an awkward mix of the two, which does not work in his favor most of the time. His flow remains the same as it was previously on ... read more

Cake improves their songwriting and diversifies their instrumentation for the better, but the bands still doesn't have anything too special to make them stand out, aside from one huge radio hit.

fav tracks: The Distance, Italian Leather Sofa, I Will Survive
least fav track: Stickshifts and Safetybelts

Reviewing albums like this is one of the hardest things to do for me because there really isn't much I can say about it. Ween made an album so weird but so musically appealing that it works out. Different voices used on songs like The Blarney Stone and Ocean Man make the album stand out even more from the rest of the alt rock from this time period. And even on the more accessible tracks, Ween shows some very impressive skills on the guitar and drums, along with really clean and psychedelic ... read more

Good album from the overall impressive 90's alternative rock scene, but one that doesn't quite make itself special. Cake really was playing like the bands that also sounded like them at this time, and later crafted their sound to be more unique.

fav tracks: Rock n Roll Lifestyle, Mr. Mastodon Farm, Comanche

In a daring attempt to expand the palette of its listeners, ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead made an indie rock album that does a great job at being adventurous, but also gets old very fast. The band does their best to use prog rock elements in their favor, but it ends up making the album very bloated and overdone. I think that there was a really good image in mind for Tao of the Dead, but the execution was too grand to be done correctly, and came out sort of ... read more

Nearly 50 minutes of sweet, melancholic indie rock which helped create the blueprint that the thousands of "aspiring indie bands" attempt to imitate. Sparklehorse set themselves apart from the rest of the 90's alt rock groups with a slower and much more emotional take on the common rock formula of the decade. The minimal take on rock on Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot is what makes it memorable for me; definitely one of those albums to listen to while unwinding after a long day ... read more

cLOUDDEAD and it's frontman Yoni Wolf have created some of my favorite rap songs, experimenting with ambient electronic music and hip hop, and spitting really abstract and nonsensical bars over those beats. So, with Oaklandazulasylum being released very shortly after cLOUDDEAD's best work, I was obviously very excited to check out the work of Wolf's next band. But I haven't really been this undecided on an album in a long time.
The production is great. In some ways it is similar to ... read more

Sounds a bit more like a rock song than the rest of their discography. I like it, but it is a bit overproduced, and doesn't really have much of an identity.

A much mellower vocal pop album of the 60's, when compared to many of the hits of that decade. The Paris Sisters' voices are softer and more atmospheric than their counterparts, making for an almost easy listening-style album, especially with the acoustic instrumentation and harmonizing. Nothing on Sing Everything Under the Sun is really amazing or different from the rest, but it makes for a really good listen.

fav tracks: It's My Party, My Good Friend

An absolutely essential hip hop album for any casual listener or enthusiast. Fast paced and fun lyrics with some pretty punky production, which was special for the time, are what makes up the musical compositions of the project. Licensed to Ill has some decade-defining hip hop songs like Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, which are still heavily played tracks up to this day. The overflow of energy provided by the group throughout is something that was not too easy to find in ... read more

With lo-fi production and a very DIY aesthetic, the debut from Lithuanian shoegaze band Suicideoscope is very solid and surprising. The entire project has the mood of something that Dan Barrett would create; very depressing and gloomy with an insane buildup. At times, I feel like there are moments where the band is trying a little too hard to emulate Have A Nice Life, but they set themselves apart with their unique production. The majority of the album has fuzzy production, at times sounding ... read more