The cover at looks like the asshole of a polar bear covered in lice. You know you see it too.
The actual album is definitely not ass. I will absolutely see this show when it comes through town. Every song is on the thrashy or techy side of melodic death metal, and solidly arranged for max mosh potential. That's a big plus in my book. Only drawback is it feels a bit repetitive, but I'm sure the songs will differentiate with more listens. Panic Hysteric and Mammoth's Hand are ... read more
2024's Motomami?
Big fan. Sassy delivery with funk and boom bap undertones that makes the flow so smooth. Highlights for me were Dumb, A+ and guest spot from Ravid Plotnik, who I've never heard of before but the duo worked well on the song, and Sad Generation Happy Pictures. The only song that grinds on me is AYAYAY. I started skipping after the first couple rounds, and subsequently dropped my rating from an 87 ---> 84. Otherwise, great album, lots of fun.
Like: Vandalist, Dumb, ... read more
BUTTTTTTTTTT ROCCCCCCCCCK!!!! Man, this would have been the shit in 2002 but in 2024 this sounds pretty dated. There's nothing innovative in here at all, just generic mid-tempo butt rock songs. Disturbed and Seether never fail to release essentially the same album over and over and over and over. I mean, this isn't a bad album but if I want to hear this sound I'd rather just go listen to a Staind album from the late 90s/early 2000s when the sound was still fresh.
Wow, these tracks are terrible. And this is coming after I listened to the new Katy Perry album. Holy shit, I don't think her voice lends well at all to the super processed hyperpop sound. This comes off sounding like the sound person at an NBA game accidentally put two songs on at the same time and both at the wrong tempo. I'm going to guess she's just messing around and experimenting here...certainly hope she doesn't go in this direction for a full LP!
Legit like Lifetimes but there's a lot of baggage with this album that the music can't cover up. All the Love and Nirvana are decent but I spent a lot of time in uncanny valley because I swear these sound exactly like either a Lady Gaga or Demi Lovato song, which is slightly annoying. Like, without the non music-related baggage I think this would probably be a low to mid-40's type album. Considering the whole package, this is a generous 33.
Decent album that suffers from a lack of pacing. Tough to vibe with an album that skips from fun dance-inspired tracks (e.g. Love Bites, Honesty) to insipid slow songs (e.g. Better for Worse, Floodgate) and back again. The album could've been mapped out a whole lot better than it was, but that is probably an issue of having like 15 producers on it. Save Your Breath might be my favorite cut. The SG Lewis-produced tracks (Love Bites, Honesty) are also highlights.
Like: Love Bites, Honesty, ... read more
Note to self: Nick Lowe = good mood ...remember this next time you are stuck in the shit and trying to dig out.
Really well-produced rockabilly album. Crystal clear, simple but compelling instrumentation and Nick Lowe's smooth delivery works real well.
I was standing in line ready to join the hate parade but I just can't do it. Yeah, I'm just going to own this review and own my hypocritical opinions on music. I find this album to be a very experimental LP with ideas that aren't fully cooked, but some of these songs are pretty infectious. Yes, there's a cringe factor here...BUT that's country music, so she's right on form there. I'm hoping she develops more of a signature sound and doesn't get lost in ... read more
Trap metal might be my least favorite genre. I need to explore more but every album I hear is worse than the last album. This just sounds like amateur hip hop masked by maxing the fuzz bass and distortion functions. The best part about this EP is that it is 11 minutes long.
Pirate metal FTW.
I feel like Alestorm is a band that needs to be experienced live. After you see them live, all this cheesy, cringy shit will make total sense. Curse of the Crystal Coconut is a solid album front to back. I should probably rate it higher but I do feel like there is a ceiling here, musically it is fairly straightforward power metal mixed with pirate shanties. This is the formula on all Alestorm albums. They do it well, but they pretty much copy and paste on each album. Still, ... read more
When I put on this album as a teenager I thought about walking around Manhattan in a snowstorm. Even before I ever visited Manhattan, I knew this would be the soundtrack to me walking around Manhattan in a snowstorm. I can't help it. It's just what happened when I played the album.
...and the first time I visited Manhattan in the winter it snowed, and the city moved in rhythm to Kind of Blue
...and just like that, this album became a 100.
I bought this album day of release and probably wouldn't have bothered reviewing it at all since it's so well-known but i was a bit shocked at how low the score is so wanted to give it a closer listen in 2024 before rating. I'll keep this short and just discuss the main positive and negative of the album, IMO.
Positive take home: Buckethead - I really like what he brought to the album. The dude is on another level when it comes to guitar playing. For Chinese Democracy brought a ... read more
Beautiful album. There's a layer of dissonance that seems to resonate through the whole album that really works for me. Not often can an instrumental post-rock or shoegaze album keep me attention for the entire album, but I was totally vibing with it.
I threw on the new 40 Watt Sun album today on a cloudy, cool Saturday while feeling a bit under the weather. These circumstances are probably optimal listening conditions for this slow-burning album. I found it to still be a little slow. I appreciated the aesthetics, just didn't get much out of it after the first couple songs because every song sounds so similar to me. Little Weight is not my forte, but I appreciated the listening experience.
Ummm...yeah this is right about average, I guess. Light 'Em Up is an album with very apparent influences (Aersosmith, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Kiss etc...), so a straight-up old school bluesy hard-rocker. The challenge I always have for albums like this, or other similar bands (e.g. Category 7), is if they innovate the sound at all. I can't find much of anything remarkable on this album. I will say that I can't imagine Bon Scott or Steven Tyler ever uttering "I wanna be your ... read more
I'm convinced this is all AI...well, maybe the guest artists are the only thing adding some humanity to this album. This is so generic and has that AI rattle throughout. BBA is fun, but one run-through is enough. I'll leave this one in the digital scrapheap.
Sideshow Bob makes a jazz-rock album.
This is like listening to a film-noir. The vocals and lyrics are sardonic. I had to go on a deep dive to try and figure out how to describe the feeling I get when listening to Matt Johnson's vocals. Sardonic - disdainfully or cynically humorous, or scornfully mocking. Is that right? Sardonic seems to sum up what I'm hearing. The whole album screams 1984, and not just the obvious nods to wrongthink in the first track. I mean, this is pretty much a ... read more
Definitely best alt-country album I've heard all year. The vocals are slacker-lite - kind of lazy in tonality but it is mixed well with pretty stellar instrumental work throughout. These type of albums generally fade off for me after a couple listens. I'll return to adjust my score accordingly, but positive first impression to be sure.
Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Some of these songs are definitely going on my long run playlist. I'm not going to act like I know anything about these guys, cuz I definitely do not, nor do I know anything about new rave. The major downside of Woof IMO is pacing. Songs like Clowns and I am the King play more as super long interludes - they kind of detract from the otherwise awesome flow of the album. However, if this album is an accurate representation of new rave, ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@llamaqwerty feel like it's pretty generic metal. Weak nu metal i guess. I saw these guys open for good bands a bunch back in the day and they never impressed me all that much, so went with the most generic typology i could think of at the time i reviewed it."
On By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
"@OnsPascal Everyone digests music differently. Like I said, I respect the artistic merit here, just not for me, probably for the exact reason that you provide here. Doesn't mean I shouldn't share my thoughts."
On HomeSession3's review of Soen - Reliance
"@HomeSession3 nice review. Agree on a lot of points, and I like the straightforward alt-metal sound, but found it a bit conservative given their talent. I wish they would lean just a bit more into their prog roots and juice the instrumentals a bit."
On Systematic - Somewhere in Between
"@Kendrickgoatedg they were contemporaries... but yeah, pretty close in sound. I think they were trying to hit a nu metal version of soundgarden. Maybe a bit better musically but a bit generic."
On Hayley Williams - EGO
"@Killuah K Stan"
On DJ-SLIM's review of Norman North - Over the Influence
"LOL I almost added this last Friday but felt the same way."
On Bugeater_'s review of Squid - Cowards
"Agree 💯. The Narrator is still stuck in my head, nothing from this album is anywhere near as innovative and has the ear candy that the first album had."
On Orgone - Pleroma
"@Pangota72 💯 more people need to appreciate this masterpiece. 6 months in and it only keeps growing on me."
On Ethel Cain - Perverts
"Makes more sense re Dr. Luke. That dude ruins everything."
On Andwella - World's End
"@parannemi Thanks! It's airways fun stumbling on an old hidden gem like this album. I felt like it needed someone to pay homage."
On Alkymist - UnnDerr
"@chemjay300 even their tiny cookies are awesome."
On NTTR's review of VOLA - Friend of a Phantom
"You were spot on with the similar bands! Maybe a little Soen in there as well."
On Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
"@Zackhy the last three minutes were awesome! I get that layering sounds too create the end stage of each song is a process and I respect that. I'm sure that my opinion would change drastically after seeing them live."
On 40 Watt Sun - Little Weight
"@Doofy Fair point. I will leave this one in the rotation for a bit to see if it grows on me."
On Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God
"@leoxmi You're right, I should. My favorite Nick Cave song is the Passenger off the Batman Forever soundtrack...I'll check out some of the early/mid-90s albums."
On Orville Peck - Stampede
"@dasturbo totally agree. With the right manager he could end up a legend in alt country. Just needs to steer clear of all the pop country industry nonsense."
On The Marías - Submarine
"🤷♂️ I didn't expect to be a citric but I'm not feeling this one."
On Maggie Lindemann - HEADSPLIT
"Cool. I'm going to have to check out the first two albums. Thanks!"
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"the self-titled album is much better. The lyrics are still a liability but the music has a lot more originality and funk to it. There were some good musicians in the original line-up, but they're all gone by now. It is tough to put the self-titled album in any one genre, but this album is kind of a one-trick pony."
On DiceBloke's review of (Hed) P.E. - DETOX
"Lyrics have been a problem with this band for its whole existence."
On Inherus - Beholden
"I have to be honest with you, XsVrits...I don't know what you're trying to convey with your statement here."
On The Lemon Twigs - Everything Harmony
"Yeah, maybe t's not so much the harmonies as it is the actual lead vocals remind me of a mix of weird Al and Tiny Tim. The harmonies are actually decent, but that only exacerbates the weak lead vocals. Maybe that's my issue with it. I don't know, every time I turn this on to try to analyze it I just get a visceral reaction to something in the vocals."
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