I Fight Dragons Project #4

.....Wow
I wasn't sure how the band would follow up Kaboom! But The Near Future is a masterpiece in chiptune and Geek Rock.

On the surface, The first 10 tracks, labeled The Near Future anthology, is a coming of age story about a young man overcoming fear in a moment of heroism, getting himself caught up in a world he doesn't understand, pushing onwards anyways, and finding love at the end; which is then followed up by 5 seemingly irrelevant tracks that ... read more

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #40 1971

One of the most highly acclaimed albums of all time, it's really exciting to finally have an excuse to force myself to give it a listen!

Written during a time where the end of the Vietnam war was still a few years away, Marvin Gaye's "What Going on" is a Conscious and Progressive Soul record tackling the subjects of the war, racial tension, spirituality, and the lack of the morale in the American people.

Quick and to the point; ... read more

I want to love this album, I really do.
But my bias against albums over 40-50 mins just REALLY bogs down this experience for me.
The obvious 1 and 1/2 hour long complaint aside, time for an actual review.

I think we really could've ended at Track 10. While a slow start in my opinion, after track 2, Hurry Up Tomorrow is some of the most fun Synthpop we've had in awhile. Ever since After Hours, Abel has really perfected his sound and that continues to be true on this record. Synthpop ... read more

Some quite immersive Post-Rock with some really fun tracks like 5 & 6, it just doesn't do enough to warrant a relisten or keep my constant attention.

I Fight Dragons Project #3

I'm so giddy that is album still holds up.
Taking it's place as the bands first actual album release, Kaboom is the creative effort and combination of their previous two ep's that brings real life to the band's sound.

Perfectly fusing together Chiptune, Power Pop, and Geek Rock, I couldn't help feel nostalgia as this album lyrically tackles subjects such as getting older, learning from trauma, cherishing your loved ones, seeing the truth ... read more

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #39 2017

So many amazing albums and contenders for this year! 2017 is definitely one of the year I'm really excited to return to!
But since we've listened to a decent amount of albums from this year; here we are with SZA's Ctrl!

Honestly, I will never doubt Sza's vocal talent and this album makes for a chill listen. It's just a bit too samey for my enjoyment.
The features on here really didn't add much. Arguably one of ... read more

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #38 2008

*lighter flick*

Even I can't deny the impact Weezy and Tha Carter III has had on my upbringing; you couldn't escape Lil Wayne. So many famous and impactful artists have been influenced by Lil Wayne and honestly? Listening to this in 2025? We had very little standard. Wayne's approach to his more melodic R&B focused tracks are pretty fun, the singles like A Milli, Lollipop, and Got Money are still bangers, and a few of the features ... read more

I Fight Dragons Project #2

Leaning much heavier into the Power Pop aspect; their sophomore EP "Welcome To the Breakdown" feels so late 2000's weezer inspired. (IN A GOOD WAY)

Higher production quality all around since at this point the band was able to sign a record deal and gain an actual budget. The only things I really don't like on here is that Track 4 is filler, Track 3 is a poorly done cover, and overall the writing on this album isn't as strong as their debut. ... read more

I Fight Dragons Project #1

I've been meaning to give this band a discography delve and review, I've just been very lazy in doing so until now.
I Fight Dragons holds a special place in my heart, along the lines with Imagine Dragons, My Chemical Romance, Twenty One Pilots, and etc as one of the bands I grew up with a heavy attachment too. They helped shape my love for Power Pop, Chiptune, Synth, and nerdcore; being one of the only bands I've seen live back in my hometown.

Not ... read more

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #37 2011

We can't deny that no one was doing it like Adele in 2011.
While not my personal preference, "21" brought to life this style of bombastic Pop Soul which helped shaped the genre-scape in the mid to lates 2010's.

Snippets from Tracks 1 & 5 are still randomly quoted by me.

A bit too somber as it tends to lose my attention, but I overall enjoyed my revisit with this album.

While Twigs gives us really strong opening and closing tracks; the rest of the album is a bit too experimental for my personal preference, albeit a bit fun.

I don't know what Track 8 is though, it's so out of place and questionable.

Pretty in it's writing and context; just a bit too samey and slow paced for my personal preference. While good, I wish for a higher energy performance and some more power vocally. (With track 11 giving it a bit of that.) I think there is plenty to explore here, just needs more confidence.
Kind of the same issue I have with boygenius.
Overall solid though and will be interesting to follow Jasmine's continued growth as an vocalist and the band's experience.

I was going to call this Sematary at home but that's disrespectful in retrospect.
While The Peak does nothing new lyrically when compared to literally every single other project in the genre sphere (doing drugs, getting head, doing more drugs, pretending to not want to be famous, getting money and doing more drugs) with the exception of Track 8 which decides to be more self aware and introspective; this project is really elevated by it's fun melodic beats and wavey atmosphere.

While ... read more

From Eiffel 65 cadences, David Guetta copied beats, and even sounding like Brat at home; you'll find almost nothing original on this album.
It's Electro/Dance Pop at it's most generic, and while the plethora of sampling is serviceable; it's such a blatant BRAT hype chaser (4 months after Brat summer ended) that I feel almost disrespected as a fan of the genre as it fails to capture the charm it's trying to replicate from 2000's Electro House.
It's not without ... read more

Let the man rest already

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #36 2006

Such a strong year to be completely honest. But very few albums have impacted me as much as The Black Parade has. So here we are! With the deservingly prestigiously acclaimed Rock Opera, Pop Punk experience that is My Chemical Romance's (in my opinion) magnum opus. The Black Parade.

Where to begin. Contrary to public perception. The Black Parade is not an emo album by genre definition. Sure they wear make-up, dress in black, and etc. But you ... read more

First time listening to Franz Ferdinand, so I don't know the historical context surrounding this band and am ignorant to them at their peak, but this is pretty solid Indie New Wave. Not my preferred genre, but it had me moving along.

Fav Track(s): Audacious ❤️

The Historian's JukeBox Stop #35 2001

I can't believe me of all people decided to listen to a Bjork album.
I will admit I've been really scared to give Bjork a listen. Maybe I was just introduced to some weird stuff from her discography, but Vespertine for the most part was pretty accessible. So here we have it! My first ever Bjork album listen.

Honestly more enjoyable then I was expecting. Sure, this album is basically one really long sex session followed by the drama ... read more

Never really been fascinated by any member of The Beatles' solo careers, but Ringo is still around enjoying himself. Giving us a serviceable older sounding Country album with some solid vocal performances. Doesn't do anything new, but it doesn't need to.
Good for what it is and will earn you some bonus points with your grandma for listening to "real" music.

Give it a listen if you enjoy pre 2000's country.

It's true to the genre, that's for sure.
I'm sure this album has it's fans but I didn't like Riot when I was younger, and I still don't resonate with it.
Has a few fun moments that get you hype, it's just not for me.