This is a great album that makes some poor choices.

I love almost every song here. This is a shame, as most of them are buffered by a filler track or spoken word. I have nothing against poetry, to be clear. I read and write a lot of it, and have some understanding of how deeply powerful that medium is. Still, choosing to start this album with almost 4 minutes of it is doing a disservice to the listener. Why? Because the instrumentals make this album so much stronger.

It strikes me a little ... read more

I'm always down for some post-punk-art-rock. This album does it well.

I usually don't start with criticisms, but I'll say that the vocals can be jarring at times. Just because you can hit a note doesn't mean anyone wants to hear you do it. I feel that sentiment here sometimes. “We Had to Disappear” makes me feel this a lot. The staccato vocals just don't work for me. Thankfully, a powerful instrumental follows the slight cringe.

Most of the time, though, the vocals on this album ... read more

I didn't know what I was getting myself into here; I saw jazz fusion and got excited. I'm glad I did! This was a fun album with a lot to enjoy.

Like many other listeners, I found the into track to be a compelling start. Actually, I thought the first three tracks were all quite good. “Borderline” had a very nice beat, and the feature on “Aged Eyes” had an incredibly smooth flow.

My criticisms here are nothing devastating. The vocals on this album seem to have too much ... read more

People can be…. too dramatic.

This is a good album. It's not great, and not even significantly better than its average rating. Still, it's good. The instrumentals are well mixed and produced. The songs are cohesive. The pacing is fine, although many people will likely have problems listening to a fully instrumental album without many exciting moments.

I very much agree with the assessment that this is 'wallpaper music,' but I heavily detest the implication that wallpaper music is ... read more

This will be an incredibly disjointed review: I have a lot of thoughts about this album.

The mixing is incredible. I've never been so satisfied about samples I can barely hear. This is what noisy sampling should be: difficult and rewarding. Listening on Grado SR60x.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Danny Brown's style before, but it's incredibly appropriate here, and I'm really coming around to it. I will absolutely be listening to more of his work in the future.

The samples are absolute ... read more

This album is a smidgen above "good" for me, hence the 81. I felt it did enough to deserve multiple listens, and I had a lot of fun with it. The pacing was quite good, and none of the tracks felt like they dragged. I'm usually wary of albums with random 8 minute songs thrown in, but In Verona felt varied and appropriate enough to deserve the length.

The vocals are very consistent, and are very much a high point of the work. The instrumentals can be a little unimaginative in some ... read more

This is a good album. I honestly don't find myself listening to shoegaze super often, but I'm glad I gave this a shot. The instrumentals are very well done, and the synthetic instrumentation was appropriately used. The vocals are very pleasant, although nothing incredibly noteworthy or boundary pushing.

Despite it sounding very cohesive and pleasant, I do have *some* gripes. This album loses me in the same place other shoegaze albums do: somewhere near the middle. The soundscapes are ... read more

Really enjoyed this album- It starts off very strong with 4 very memorable tracks and then slows down a little after 'Sunset.' It picks up after a few songs, but the biggest weakness of this piece for me is how it drags a bit in the middle. Otherwise, the production is very appropriate. The mixing is incredibly clean, and Ms. Polachek really gets the most out of her impressive vocal ability. The last three songs on the album are notably strong and filled with good ideas.

This is easily a ... read more