Best of 2021
Recent Ratings
Recent Reviews
There are few if any post-punk albums that have come out since the original late-70's/early-80's era that have merited this kind of praise, but The Murder Capital's debut is simply right up there with the best of them. Opening up with "For Everything" with its menacing guitars and thundering rhythm section before exploding into swooping guitars and the opening like "I am a blissless star", you just know you're in for one hell of a ride. Following it up with the ... read more
if the early 80's could be summed up in one album, this is it. While synths, sequencers, and drum machines abound, Duran Duran hadn't yet lost their edge as for the most part the guitars and bass have a certain toughness to them that would be lost in subsequent releases. And then there are the singles: "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf", and "Save a Prayer" are among the best songs the New Romantic era would produce. What really helps this album is that for the ... read more
Another band on the fantastic Chess Club label roster, L'objectif are the label's art-punk act. Reminiscent of any number of bands, L'objectif avoid the easy comparisons to bands like Gang of Four or the Fall by showcasing a lot of actual musicianship on this. Opening with a distorted guitar riff and compressed synth note, the drums and bass kick in quick enough. What makes the track really work are the tempo changes and the way the drums drop in and out of the track. The most obvious ... read more
Sarpa Salpa have been kicking around for a while now, releasing several self-titled EP's along the way. A Feeling You Can't Replace is their latest, full of energetic indie pop songs. Both "Stick to What You Know" and "Forwards Backwards" have been out on the streaming services for a while now, and are perfectly representative of UK indie-pop even if the lyrics do feel a bit awkward at times.
It's the new songs that let Sarpa Salpa really shine. "Ghost" has ... read more
It's the new songs that let Sarpa Salpa really shine. "Ghost" has ... read more
I saw this pop up on the AOTR main page as having been released 20 years ago, and for the last 20 years this has been one of my go-to road trip and workout albums. Not particularly groundbreaking (which is why I stopped short of going into the 90's with my rating) in that it recycled a lot of the same sounds as shoegaze, especially Jesus and Mary Chain; it is nonetheless a rock solid album. Not many bands have ever married this fuzzed up and simply LOUD music to actual songs that stand up to ... read more
Shoutbox
Apr 12, 2021
Hi love your taste! Thanks for making me discover many artists like Pixey, Abbie Ozard, Laureel, Phoebe Green and many others! I really like them now thanks to you! :)
About
0-9 You didn't even try...
10-19 You tried, still bad
20-29 It stinks a little less
30-39 Perhaps a minor hit single
40-49 Three - four good tracks
50-59 A half-decent album with at least one hit
60-69 A decent effort but won't appeal to everyone
70-79 Representative of the genre but not much appeal outside it
80-89 Solid album with several radio-friendly songs that cross genre boundaries
90-99 Near greatness with broad appeal
100 Definitive
10-19 You tried, still bad
20-29 It stinks a little less
30-39 Perhaps a minor hit single
40-49 Three - four good tracks
50-59 A half-decent album with at least one hit
60-69 A decent effort but won't appeal to everyone
70-79 Representative of the genre but not much appeal outside it
80-89 Solid album with several radio-friendly songs that cross genre boundaries
90-99 Near greatness with broad appeal
100 Definitive
Rating Distribution
100
35
90-99
61
80-89
66
70-79
77
60-69
49
50-59
19
40-49
8
30-39
8
20-29
3
10-19
1
0-9
1
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