I always appreciate the breezy dance pop albums that drop in the middle of winter. They do a much greater service to societies deep in the throes of winter. Rose Gray takes the mantle this January with a safe but still fun debut.

I don't see the Charlie xcx ripoff claim that others are hearing, other than Charlie and Rose Gray happen to be two British women releasing dance pop albums in the 2020s. Shocking, I know. But to claim this is a Charlie xcx clone is to claim that Charlie xcx ... read more

Went into this kind of blindly. I tried but couldn't get into Eidola's 2024 release, no hooks for me. This one seemed a bit more promising, musically Eidola reminds me of Haken. I just can't get by the lyrical content, which is distracting and comes off insufferable and preachy most of the time. Might be a bias on my part but it just tanks the album for me.

One word immediately comes to mind - esoteric.

I feel like critics love Ethel Cain purely because you can write basically anything to describe this album and it will work: "Perverts is a monumental album of canonically-inspired minimalist avant-garde drone music offset by haunting vocal delivery showcasing the plebeian struggle indicative of the brave new world of the post-modern era. 100/100"

Also, some major bullshit calling a 9 song, 90-minute album an EP. Actually, as an EP ... read more

Stick to Your Guns coming out strong to start 2025.

Keep Growing Flowers comprises 24 minutes of relentless hardcore/metalcore, perfect length for such an intense album. The emotional tone of the vocal delivery is this album's biggest strength. That's not to say anything negative about the music, the drums and guitar riffs are tightly woven to induce maximum moshing. But the vocals add a depth not always found on these type of hardcore albums.

Keep Planting Flowers, the title ... read more

If not for the mastering, this would be an album with a rating in the low to mid 90s. Gawd, why did they have to run everything through an empty coke can? Diablo Swing Orchestra, if you ever read any of these comments, please note the consensus on the terrible production quality. A remastered album would sit comfortably in my library of essential albums.

Decent post metal, mostly instrumental album that is perfect for background listening. Not much to dig into though, so subsequent listens are unlikely.

Unremarkable but not bad for a band of septuagenarians. No sign these guys are trying to be relevant, just sounds like they are making music for fun.

A metal album that is heavy but approachable for the most part. Nothing stellar, but a fun album overall. Standout track for me is On the Run, which has a doom/stoner metal vibe mixed with a straightforward bluesy rock beat.

This is my first experience with Paleface Swiss. Didn't expect such strong similarities to Slipknot and Korn. This isn't a bad compilation of songs but as an album it feels completely random. Still, some strong songs save this from being a complete trainwreck. I love Youth Decay, seems that all of the pieces came together for this particular song. Otherwise, it feels like being stuck on a tilt-a-whirl for a few rides in a row. Is it fun? Yes. Do I feel kind of nauseous afterward? Yes.

I hate this on a personal level, but I can appreciate what they are doing. The chaos factor in each song is intriguing, just too much dubstep and djent for my tastes.

EDIT 71 -------> 81

Think it is time to update my review of Remi Wolf - Big Ideas. Wow, this album has stuck in my rotation for almost two years. That's crazy. Such a sleeper album when I first listened, but so many of these songs have become such ear worms that they still are implanted. I mean, every once in a while a chorus from Cinderella, Toro, Motorcycle, Kangaroo etc... will settle in for a while until I listen to the album again to shake it.

I love basically every song through ... read more

I was initially impressed with this album, but the first impression did not last through the year. I mean, it is damn impressive for a band with this longevity to release a solid heavy metal album, but the cracks show after a few listens. At its core this is a band that rests on its laurels and releases albums that are solid but derivative.

Punchy but formulaic tech death metal. It's a perfectly average metal album, not much else to note.

I love classic Black Crowes. This is peak 1990s southern rock.

While Shake Your Money Maker has more smash hits than Southern Harmony, i feel like this is the better album overall. Seems more refined and focused than their debut. Thorn in my Pride is my happy place. I like the Black Crowes barn burner songs, but I LOVE their slower, soulful jams. The follow-up song Bad Luck Blue Eyes (Goodbye) amps up the blues and serves as a perfect one two punch with Thorn.

The Black Crowes faster tracks ... read more

Straight Outta Boone County West Virginia.

This is a pretty unique compilation album, composed of tracks by Hasil that span decades before 1986, when this was released. The production is straight shit, but I assume the production was hampered by the low quality of the master tracks. I mean, some of these songs (e.g. can't help it blues, Ha Ha Can't Walk) are really rough. And WTF is up with We Got a Date? Did he swallow the microphone? Geez, what a mess.

That said, Hasil Adkins is ... read more

Straightforward thrash album. Nothing really innovative but the album is high energy throughout. Perfect album for a mosh.

Man Against Machine is playlist worthy.

Overall liked Diamond Jubilee but is really long and the hooks were few and far between. Production is a bit spotty throughout. The reverb on the vocals was cranked the whole time, which is unfortunate given the diversity in the music. I could put this on at work and let it fade to the background, but replayability for an active listen is pretty low.

I see how this could be perfect for some music heads and i can appreciate that this is a good album that just doesn't click with me.

Warpstormer stands tall on the shoulders of the giants in doom and stoner metal.

Interesting and unexpected Black Friday release. I'm getting a lot of Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch, and Mastodon in a complementary way, i.e. Warpstormer adds a distinct twist to these well-trodden metal genres. There are also elements of sludge and thrash metal here but to a slightly lesser extent.

The whole album is riff city with chunky, buzzy guitars throughout. The production is on point and ... read more

Has anyone noticed that the first song Komorebi has a little vocal at the beginning that sounds exactly like Navi from Zelda? ...maybe I'm scarred by that sound.

Sounds like a Beatles knock off with subpar production.

The mixing on here is terrible. All vocals are shoved to the right channel while most instrumentals are compressed in the left channel. This is a great example of how not to produce a stereo mix. Aside from the mix, this album comprises 10 short psychedelic pop songs that scream peace, love, and flowers (and cold Wisconsin nights).

The album cover is well done (except for the ridiculous hairdos). The "Flick Disc" on the ... read more