This record shows how much a band can improve their sound in just a year.
Comparing to their debut album, "Queen II" has a heavier sound, a more consistent song structure and a noticeable experimentation with track mixing and production.
The album is quite diverse in musical shifts and inspirations, some of them including the inclusion of instrumental aspects of genres like Metal (in tracks like the brutal "Ogre Battle"), Heavy Rock and Prog Rock (on most of the tracks on ... read more

My favourite Coldplay album.
Listening to "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" is a very cathartic experience to me.
The main characteristic that distinguishes this album from their debut is the wider use of instruments like the electric guitar, piano and synthesizers.
"Politik" opens the album in a bombastic and intense way, being followed by all the singles released to promote it.
The only defect I point out on this record is the fact that the greatest songs from it are left on ... read more

When I first listened to this Björk's record, I didn't know what to think of it.
However, as time went on I began to view it as one of the most ecletic and experimental debuts I've listened to.
Tracks like "Come To Me" and "Like Someone In Love" are so harmonious and sparkly, with lyrics that are so lovely to listen to.
Other songs like "There's More To Life Than This" and "Big Time Sensuality" captivate me with their dance/trip hop instrumentals and ... read more

After their raw debut album, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds recorded their second project in Berlin, a fact that in my opinion explains the musical freedom that is audible in this album, compared to their first work.
The album opens with the haunting "Tupelo", its lyrics revolving around Elvis' birth and references to bible passages. Cave's vocals set the tone for the whole album, and give the feeling he impersonates Elvis' singing style at some points during the track. The album's ... read more

For a really long time, "Parachutes" was my favourite album by Coldplay (I have since converted that statement to the band's second project "A Rush Of Blood To The Head").
I'd say it is because it's simplicity contributes to a warm and comfortable listening experience.

Some of my favourite tunes from the band are here, tunes like "Don't Panic", "Shiver", "Sparks" and their breakthrough hit "Yellow".

The album might have relied on ... read more

Nick Cave's first album with The Bad Seeds shows a raw but promising demonstration of the band's lyrical and sound style.
This album injected on me the immersive feeling that I was part of a Pirate crew (or a regular nautic crew) that had many stories to tell about heartbreak (on the cover of Leonard Cohen's song "Avalanche", that opens the record) and grim mythical creatures of the story of Ulysses' journey (in "Saint Huck"). This last song I mentioned also mentions ... read more

Not gonna lie: I first listened to this album with great expectation. It was the first project Arcade Fire would release since I started listening to them when "Reflektor" came out 4 years earlier.
"Everything Now" brings solid tracks to the band's catalogue like the title track, "Creature Comfort", the jazzy "Signs of Life" and "Good God Damn" (which I wasn't very fond of at first, ironically). These 4 songs incorporated elements from the ... read more

Arcade Fire won a Grammy Award for Album of The Year with their 3rd album "The Suburbs". They were at the peak of their success.
3 years later, "Reflektor" came out.
The album shows yet another turn in the band's aesthetic and sound, adding more synthesizers, funky basslines, more playful lyrics and an overall dance and jazz influence to the album.
The lyrical material vary from alienation, Joan of Arc, the greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice's tragic love story and loss. ... read more

It is the Arcade Fire album that touches me the most personally.
The album starts off with the title track, one of the greatest the band has created in both musical and lyrical composition.
The lyrics explore the feeling of nostalgia for the innocent time of child/teenagehood years and comparing it to the present day, reflecting on how much the people and society around you have changed and lost it's spark (this theme is the most often explored on the rest or this project).
"Ready to ... read more

Arcade Fire's second album is darker in both musical aesthetic and lyrical material than their debut "Funeral".
It also shows a bigger experimentation with the use of instruments like the amazing church organs (in songs like "Intervention" and the closer "My Body Is A Cage") and the mandolin (in "No Cars Go").
The record's opening song "Black Mirror" is my least favourite of the bunch, in my opinion...But I still like it a lot, especially ... read more

I'm writing this review on the 4th anniversary of David's passing.
When I first heard this album on the day it came out, it was clear that Bowie was warning us about the imminence of his death. Just two days later, I woke up hearing those news.
It's obvious that the death of the musician really gave the project more strength and contextualization to it, but even if Bowie didn't die this would still be one of his best albums, specially from the past two decades.
The album starts off with the ... read more

Queen's first project shows a group of 4 young men that are overflowing with talent in their own instruments and in songwriting, but were still developing their own touch in the rock sound of the 70s.
The single "Keep Yourself Alive" is probably the most commercial song of the bunch, having been the only song from the album that was played live throughout the rest of the band's career (with exception of the band's first 2 or 3 tours, where more tracks were played).
"My Fairy ... read more

One of my definitive albums of the 2000s.
Arcade Fire's debut still remains their rawest and most celebrated project (even with production that could be considered a bit rough).
My favourite tracks have to be "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)", "Une Année Sans Lumière", "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Wake Up", obviously. With these songs aside, the other 6 are all great, powerful and personal.
Every single song from the "Neighborhood" series is ... read more

Damn. Brian Eno made quite a difference huh?
The 3rd album from Talking Heads shows how experimental the group could get, which would culminate in their next album "Remain in Light".
The opening track "I Zimbra" is one of the funkiest of their catalogue...Even with the fact that I don't get anything they're saying.
"Mind" is an awesome track, to the point it repeats on my head quite a lot. I love the lyrical matter, and the worrying sense that David Byrne starts to ... read more

The last album was the one that got me hooked on Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, ironically.
This has to be one of the most ambitious final albums I've listened, with remarkable production.
Even though it's filled with memorable songs, B Side feels a bit unbalanced.
While the first side flows pretty well, the songs on the other side make it look like they were put together to fill the album. They should have been more equaly dispersed with the other tracks.
With that said, this project has some ... read more

My favourite album to listen to at night.
Lou has a special place on my heart for his unusual singing voice, his lyrical subjects and the collaborations he had with David Bowie and Mick Ronson (very evident on this album).
Some of my favourite songs of all time are present on this record: the painfuly ironic "Perfect Day", "Walk on The Wild Side" and "Satellite of Love".
Other songs that I like include the electric opener "Vicious", the drag queen-themed ... read more

Phoenix's 2017 album may not be as great of a project as "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" or "Bankrupt!", but it's still a respectable album on its own right.

Phoenix's career has passed the 20-year mark, and at times the overall aesthetic of "Ti Amo" feels weird considering the band's age, but it doesn't mean the music is bad.

Best tracks in my opinion are the main single "J-Boy", the lovely "Tuttifrutti", "Role Model" and "Fleur De ... read more

One of my favourite Queen albums.
After the massive success of the albums "A Night At The Opera" and "A Day At The Races" Queen did not lay down their guard, and released one of the strongest albums of their career that includes some of the biggest rock anthems of all time.
Putting "WWRY" and "WATC" on the side, it's an album that explores various moods and styles, noticeable on the depressive ballad "All Dead, All Dead" and on the grittier ... read more

To me, their finest.
It's one of the few albums for me in which skipping tracks is a personal offence. Every single song is a work of art on its own right.
My favourite tracks on this album are also some of my favourite tracks of the band, and of all time: "Norwegian Wood"; "Nowhere Man"; "In My Life"; "Michelle" and "You Won't See Me". All of these songs have some of the best lyrical work made by Lennon and McCartney.
The instrumentation ... read more