The vocals... holy hell. The quiet parts sound like Britney Spears, the loud parts sound much like if Aqua became metal. The vocals, paired with highly generic metal music and similarly generic lyrics, presents a package of complete mediocrity. I'd rather listen to one of those Honda Civics with the modified exhaust than this album.

I spent 30 minutes in the parking lot because I couldn't leave until the album was finished. I was not prepared for this.

This one took me by surprise. Never thought A7X would be a contender for my album of the year, but here I stand, a fan of this new work. I was VERY underwhelmed with the singles released prior to the full album release on Friday. As standalone songs, I'm not sure any of these songs are very "single" friendly. The do, however, play a vital role in the overall cohesiveness of the album.

I fully admit that I also wasn't sold after first listen. The vocals were a struggle for me, ... read more

Yep, this scratches the itch just right. What itch? All the itches. They really hit the low end of the auditory range here. It absolutely bumps like a good hip hop album on the right stereo setup. Good mix of female clean and male harsh vocals. Not exactly aggressive, more trance-like (like stoner metal), but it's not stoner metal. This album sits on the fence between doom/stoner metal and power metal (mostly in the female clean vocals). It's epic, without being pretentious.

Favorite ... read more

Snore...good album for a nap. Not anything new or innovative that I can hear.

letstalkaboutit...a perfectly average album.

Louis Capaldi is the son of the guy who had his guitar smashed by John Belushi in Animal House.

Good god man, the lyrics are complete and utter dreck...some golden passages: "I bring her coffee, she brings me inner peace" and "I take her out to the movies, she takes away my pain" Those are from two different songs, mind you. Paint by numbers shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Chaotic album that is somehow solid throughout. I need more time to digest this one but initial reaction is highly positive.

The Bandcamp page describes this as a 70s era prog band/album. Certainly there's some lip service to that era in naming some songs with dark side of the moon. I disagree though, I think this album resembles 90s era Gilmour Pink Floyd (think Division Bell). That's not to say this isn't a decent album by any means, but just expect a highly polished, breezy romp through what is almost like a tribute album to pink floyd. I also hear some Kansas in there.

Favorite track: Lay Down

Pretty decent album. A bit random in parts, the experimentation on the album is a simultaneous strength and weakness. My sense of this album is that if Parker Millsap ever puts a whole concept together we might be looking at a future AOTY. But for now, this album presents as sort of a study piece in genre mashup. This creates some disjointed parts (i.e. see transition between "finding out" and "Half a World Away").

With a bit more cohesion, this could be a great album. ... read more

This is a near perfect album for me. On my personal Beatles album list this falls right below Abbey Road, which I consider to be the Beatles best album. Most retrospective reviews of this album tend to mark it as a transition period for the band, from a radio-friendly singles band to a more complex, album-oriented band. To me, this transition is what makes this album near perfect...there was a bit of experimentation here, but Rubber Soul wasn't over-run by conceptual pieces that would occur on ... read more

Israeli Mars Volta - and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. These guys are all over the musical map but just like the classic Mars Volta albums it all comes together in a cohesive package. I love the latin influence on Your Prophecy, the reggae on Dance of Violence, and the atmosphere of Carried Away. This is a band who definitely takes their time in establishing a mood for each song, then blasts you with the transitions to the heavy, brooding metal portions. I wouldn't ... read more

Schlock 60's and 70's revival. Store-brand hippie drivel with no real originality, this is poser shit. Vocal harmonies sound like drunk frat dudes trying to hit the falsetto on Stayin' Alive. Other parts sound like a knockoff of the Beach Boys. Let's put it this way, if Mike Love always ran the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson wasn't around, this is the type of output I would expect from them in the 60s.

This is a no go for me. First song lulled me into thinking it would be mid, but all downhill ... read more

"Hey guys, I know what will freshen up our stale nu-metal sound, have you heard of dubstep?"

This album is a tour de force of progressive rock/alt country. A concept album based on a radio DJ's last show the night before free radio is taken over by a totalitarian, fascist state. The DJ's name is Will 'o the Wisp, and is played by the one and only Stephen King. Yup, that Stephen King.

The album is a mix of narrative interludes with Will 'o the Wisp describing the current state of events as the evening progresses, along with songs from the mythical band 'Hierophant,' who play a type of ... read more

Reminiscent of Melissa Etheridge. The vocal quality is high on this album. The music...meh, a little generic. I think I saw this band at the duck pond at my university. They were good for that setting - daytime, chill out, lay on the grass and forget about life type of music. The late 90s were awesome for producing that type of sound.

Take a spin if you want music that harkens back to what an opener would sound like at Lilith Fair in 99.

Decent album. This felt almost like an album of covers in that most of the album just made me want to listen to old Black Sabbath. It's a solid effort, but plays into nostalgia with a heavy hand, which doesn't help replay potential.

Yes.

Fuck yes.

I needed this so bad after the week I had. Better than therapy.

Been listening to the Winery Dogs III off and on for a couple months, and I was fortunate to see them live in late February touring to support the new album. This is a solid album from three vastly talented musicians. The music is straightforward, rock. No theatrics, no proggy tempo changes/12 minute songs. That might not be novel enough for some, but for me it hits on a very basic level.

Richie Kotzen sounds great - his vocals have a Chris Cornell-like feel to them, although of course he ... read more

This is an easy album to get into. Not sure why it receives such poor reviews. I find the music for the most part to be a mood lifting. Can't help but to feel a bit better after throwing on this record and forgetting about the troubles of the day. Sure, it's not the most innovative music and definitely has throwback vibes/leans on the 60's and 70's, but i find it to be fairly original nonetheless. There are a couple songs going on my best of 2023 playlist, Hail Mary, Sophie and Anogo.

Just ... read more

What a strong album from St. Paul and the Broken Bones. I don't usually gravitate toward lyrics, but this album has such a way of presenting the lyrical content that I couldn't help but follow along. There's a lot of relatable content in here; these guys have just the right way to say something without becoming preachy. Musically the album is a nice relaxing jaunt through a southern soulful atmosphere.
I can live in this album for a while when I need something to put on and chill out. ... read more