Maybe not exactly my genre most of the time. But it does kinda rock
Very lovely. Definitely some highs that stand above others but overall a great album and a must listen for indie pop
Bedroom pop with a whole lot more character, funk, soul, and production chops then the VAST majority of it's peers
I just can't say I love it. It sounds big but not big enough. Complex but not complex enough. I like some of the writing but some is kinda just normal for me. idk this one just doesn't speak to me although I still think it's good. But I wish I got a little more out of it.
Edit: (92 -> 95): I can't stop coming back to it.
An amazing fusion of dance and alt rock with some of the catchiest synth work ever. I don't enjoy Pow Pow and Somebody's Calling Me quite as much as the other tracks, despite the heavy Talking Heads influence on the former, but still good songs and overall an amazingly conscious dance album
Hypnotic is right. The worlds of minimalism and progressive jazz are blended together for something that feels very grounded yet somewhat psychedelic. Ambient but instead of large synth pads you have choruses of inharmonious voices. All the while cacophonous skittering horns dance with increasing intensity across the top of everything.
Electronic that Punches You In The Face And Beats You Up Cause Youre a LOSER Who Like MUSIC
Catchy, noisey, somewhat despondent. Psychedelic in a way that feels utterly colorless and empty. Industrial and dystopian almost. And through all of that is channeled a lot of beauty
Despite seeming to come from the same places of avant-garde, industrial, electroaucoustic, and Noise as their previous albums this one still sounds incredibly unique. Similar to La Foret it has intensive dynamic shifts with both extreme quiet and loud sections. And again Xiu Xiu delivers. Jamie's lyricism is as biting as ever. Xiu XIu just doesn't have noises that don't sound amazing (often in a horrid way)
An incredibly interesting piece of the Xiu Xiu catalogue. Much more folk-y than some of their later stuff. But what stands out most is the intense construct on this album. The switches between quiet and loud are often very sudden and drastic. But that works well because the album is immaculately produced. Everything just sounds good. Certainly one of the more challenging albums to process but no lesser in terms of quality.
What an embarrassing way to execute this concept. 12 songs of the most cringey, obnoxious, try-hard, edgelord garbage saying the same lyrics over and over and over. We are talking Tom McDonald writing. And only after all that do we get Guilty Conscious 2 which feels like it was supposed to be the heart of the record but instead feels like a tacked on concept to Eminem just fucking around. Sorry, but the concept doesn't translate if none of the self awareness gets conveyed for the first two ... read more
![Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips [Reissue]](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/100x0/album/886909-we-buy-diabetic-test-strips_030118.jpg)
Doves is an amazing addition to the record and makes it even better than it already was.
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Recent Review Comments
On Wu-Tang Clan - Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman
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On Brogotmehyped's review of Iosonouncane - IRA
"I totally understand what you mean when you talk about patience. I had a very similar experience attempting to listen to Swans To Be Kind and only later being able to finish it and love it. Having that experience before listening to IRA is probably what made this such an easy listen for me personally. It is truly a profound experience to have in terms of learning and growing in your ability to consume art. I will fight you a little bit because this album has also had a life changing effect on me. This album may be the single most inspiring piece of art I have ever experienced. I have thought about this album every single day since finishing it because every day I feel a fundamental Need to make music like this. It truly is a special album."
On Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
"@Mychal I've listened to his back catalogue Extensively, trust. This is the same lines about pronouns and Caitlyn Jenner for like 10 songs. Don't worry girl, I get it. The idea of slim shady doesn't just go over my head. Like I said Guilty Conscious 2 was decent cause it was the actual "Death" part of that concept. The rest is just an attempt to adapt slim shady to the modern day and failing miserably. He sounds like an "anti-sjw" edgelord in a Rainbow 6 lobby. It's just corny and cringe"
On Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
"@Dallamalla For me touching a good amount of other genres doesn't always mean that it's diverse. Yes it hits on pop, altpop, electronic, indie, synthpop, even a bit of rock, etc. But to me a lot of the diversity in that kinda gets washed away under the soft alt pop style. It all has a cool soft blue filter over it. It takes a lot of different inspirations but makes them more one note. And that may not be a bad thing cause with some albums it can make them cohesive, which it does do here, but I also think it takes away the flavor of those influences. To again reference the synths on Chihiro, they stand out on the album, but there's just not that much more to them outside the soft pop sound, ie not much diversity."
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