I love TDCC, but Gameshow has always just been painfully meh to me. It's got a couple good songs, but the others are either boring or grating. The disco-y sound that many of them have combined with the often obnoxious vocals just drive me crazy. They would go on to greatly improve the sound in False Alarm, so I at least have to appreciate it as a stepping stone.
Favorite Song: Are We Ready
Least Favorite Song: Je Veins De La

I had heard and really liked a few songs from Magdalena Bay before, but nothing could have prepared me for the metric ton of force this album would use to knock my socks off. I tend to be rather selective when it comes to pop music, but every single song on this album landed with me, including the interludes! Each song has something great to offer with their creative instrumentation and amazing vocals. It's been almost a year at this point so I think I can say that, hands down, this is my ... read more

While I enjoyed Chronologic well enough, one of my biggest hopes after that album was for Caravan Palace to return to their roots. My wish came true as Gangbusters Melody Club feels like a culmination of all the albums. It doesn't feel like it's doing anything too new for the band, but it's still a highly enjoyable collection of songs. Portobello, Avalanches, and Villa Rose are all great to chill out to, and City Cook and Mirrors are great upbeat tracks. And on Spirits.... they ... read more

The story of how I came to listen to this album is kind of crazy, but to put it in a nutshell: I discovered Poe from Alan Wake 2, liked the songs she made for the game, read House of Leaves like a year later due to its influence in the game, saw Poe made a companion album for the book via a mention on the back, lost my mind, and the rest is history. As a companion piece for HoL, Haunted is really interesting. While many of the songs are obviously about various concepts and characters in the ... read more

It was cool to hear Caravan Palace do more pop-like music, but in retrospect, this album feels pretty underwhelming. The songs are definitely fun and groovy, and on first listen, I was wowed, but over time, most of them have lost their charm. Much of the album feels kind of boring now. I can't rate this album too low, though, as there's definitely some heavy-hitters here. Plume is universally loved among the friends and family I've shown it to. April is a really unique and ... read more

This album totally blew my mind as a young teenager and changed my taste in music forever. I've grown out of it over the years as I've connected less and less with the angstier songs, but it's still amazing and holds a special place in my heart. I've always found the lyricism to be really impactful, even if some of the songs do feel aimed at middle school girls. Songs like Rootless and Obsessions still manage to hit me in the ribcage with a pipe wrench.
Favorite Song: Oh ... read more

I've been a longtime fan of Marina, but I went into this album with a lot of hesitation. Butterfly, while not a terrible song, wasn't a good first impression for the album with its extremely cliche and uninteresting lyrics. While that cheesiness does carry over to a few other tracks, the album is otherwise quite good! Even if it doesn't reach the same highs as her earlier albums, I found myself seriously enjoying so many of the songs. I was especially impressed with the ... read more

While watching some random video as background noise, I ran into a short clip of this song and was immediately blindsided by the instrumentation. It sounded absolutely nothing like anything I'd ever heard before. I immediately ran to give it a listen, and I was in awe. It sounded NUTS, it sounded CRAZY, and yet, the vocals were kind of beautiful. They tied the chaos together in such an amazing way. I've never been so wowed by a song before.

I don't remember what compelled me to look outside of C418's Minecraft discography, but wow it was one of the best moments of my life. I love this album, like, a lot. It's definitely not perfect, as several of the songs on it are a bit boring, but the ones that are good are *really* good in my opinion. Septic Shock? Ample Time? Round Up to the Inevitable End? So good... and my overall favorite song on the album is a contender for my favorite song of all time. It's just a ... read more

It's probably crazy to say this, but this is my favorite rock album. Do I think it's some all-time legendary hidden gem everyone is missing out on? Absolutely not. Not all of the songs sound 100% finished due to the mixing being kind of wonky, so that's already a major point against it. Still, I seriously love all the songs on this album. They're so gritty and angsty, and they speak to me on a primal level.
Favorite song: Overshadowed
Least favorite song: Break Me