Yo - this is awesome. I don't know WTF is going on half the time but I'm in for the whole roller coaster. In some ways this reminds me of the 100 gecs released last week - HOWEVER, where I hated that album I love this one. Trying to figure out why that is...both are super schizophrenic productions with mixed quality, possibly on purpose etc... but this one feels serious whereas 100 gecs felt like a cheap knockoff comedian. I don't know...all I can say is that this album strikes me as true art - ... read more

It is always a good day when a new Depeche Mode album drops. Memento Mori has a different flavor to it compared to Sounds of the Universe, Delta Machine, Spirit. There is a more classic feel to it that brings with it a sense of warmth, like walking into a warm home after a long cold commute home from work. A kind of instant familiarity that was lost in the dissonance of the previous three releases.

I am not a huge lyrics person, I usually gravitate toward the instrumentals and production ... read more

Decent album - lots of good ear candy, especially in the first half of the album. Starts strong with What they call us and Shiver (definitely a highlight track). Not sure why the cover art looks like Chris Elliott in Scary Movie 2, but it actually kind of fits with the atmosphere of the album. Unfortunately the album ran out of steam for me after song 4. Just became sort of repetitive, and the final two tracks are downright boring. Still, a decent-enough album that will probably have one or two ... read more

You remember that episode of South Park when everything Stan listens to sounds like crap? That's me with this album.

November update: Yep, still sounds like a wet dog fart. Solid 10 (out of 100).

Why do I feel like at least one dude in this band is someday going to be charged with assaulting a minor? If that's what they're going for, they nailed it. This is probably a big hit at the frat house. I'll pass...next!

End of Year Update: No change - happy to leave this one in the trash bin.

OK album - first word that comes to mind is "safe." It's certainly approachable but I can't find anything below surface level that would warrant more than two spins of this album. Frontman is kind of cool, nothing else stood out to me.

Not my brand of music, much like the album cover the songs fade quickly into the blurry ether. Critics be damned.

Had an odd reaction to this album. On just about every song I was totally into it for the first half of the song but that flipped to being annoyed by the end and a constant urge to skip to the next track. The only track that was totally awesome was RATATA, and I attribute that mostly to Missy Elliott...OR maybe this song rocks because it is only 2 minutes long. Yes, that's it. Skrillex songs are good for 2 minutes, anything longer is detrimental to your mental health.

Overall, great album for ... read more

Man, I was so excited for this album but it is just so meh...I don't know...I guess it exists, so that's a bonus?

Been trying to figure out this album for 6 months now but I think I'm finally realizing that there's not much to figure out here, this is just an average album. What seems to me is that the boys had two great songs - Blacklight Shine and Graveyard Love - and then just said "f*** it, let's turn this into an album" and made (or dusted off) 12 additional tracks to fill in ... read more

Pretty good album from Orbital. Been following Orbital since the 90's when I first ran across them on the Spawn soundtrack. This is a good, albeit more mellow offering from Orbital. Gave this a couple spins before writing about it - it's not a paradigm shifting album in any respect, but it is a solid album with some fun ear candy, especially when listening with headphones.

Favorite tracks are 'Are you Alive' 'You are the Frequency' and 'Home'

Overall this is a solid album that will slide ... read more

This is my first time listening to Katetonia so perhaps I am not the best critic here. My first impression here is that the production on this album is so. damn. flat. Nothing pops or stands out to me. Great solos, OK, but why hide them? This is like a 2D black and white photo version of the Grand Canyon. Might be beautiful and complex music in real life, but it's buried in bad, bland production.

It's all just so droning. Too bad because it does seem like there is some talent and creativity ... read more

This is a perfect example of a 100 album, IMO. Just scratching the surface, the production and sound quality of this album are perfection and especially powerful to listen to on headphones, where one can hear every single nuance of every instrument on the album like the band is playing in front of you at a small concert hall. This perfect production/sound quality sets the stage for a cohesive concept album of the life lessons learned the hard way (and advice given to hopefully prevent our ... read more

This type of dreamy folk music really isn't my bag. It's perfectly neutral for me. I appreciate the instrumentals throughout the album and honestly, if this was a purely instrumental album I probably would have a higher opinion of it. Just not a big fan of the breathy vocal tonality throughout, which is a droning distraction from the music. I'm sure the lyrics are deep and meaningful and whatnot, but really just ends up drowning out the beautiful and understated tone of the music.

60/100 - ... read more

This is such a cool album. Sometimes I throw it on just to subvert people's expectations of music. It is so different from the norm, unhinged, yet somehow also grounded in traditional flemenco. I'm not going to wax poetic on this album, it already has a ton of critical praise and other reviewers. Just adding to the crowd that is totally enamored with Motomami.

90/100, will stick in my rotation for a long time.

---08/18/24---

Re-review: Still a good album but lost it's luster ... read more

Gawdzillionaire by Otherwise is certainly an album of rock music. That's about as specific as I can get with this generic, cookie cutter mainstream rock. Sounds like Shinedown, if Shinedown was created by chatGPT. And to note, I like Shinedown but even they sound generic from time to time, so a copy band is by nature going to be mediocre at best. First two songs sound exactly like album leftovers from any Shinedown album. 3rd song changes things up a bit, chat GPT adds some Linkin Park ... read more

This is a perfect album. Transcends time and space - sounds futuristic and classic at the same time. Not much I can say about this album that hasn't already been said.

One of my desert island albums for sure. 100/100

It's great to see Shania Twain back at it after all of her issues with vocal chords etc... but this album is real weak. It seems like she is trying really really hard to fit in with a much younger generation of music, instead of finding her own more mature voice. Seiously, some of these lyrics are really, really bad. One might say that Shania is not music for contemplative moods, which is fair. There is certainly a time and place for the simple life. But there is also a time and place in an ... read more

This album is tight front to back. Sound is tough to place, in a good way. I suppose I most frequently think of PJ Harvey when listening to Che Aimee Dorval, but there is an individual quality to this album that avoids classification. Tracks are dark and poppy, but not droning or overly quiet/monotonous like much of the singer/songwriters of the present day. I think this album will stand the test of time, in fact, I would bet that this album will sound just as fresh 10 years from now as it does ... read more

Solid album throughout. I'm not a huge In Flames fan so not sure how this relates to prior albums - I'll leave that discussion to the super fans. This is a perfect album for my daily commute. Just angry and noisy enough to break the monotony of the traffic jams, but also melodic with interesting instrumental portions and clean vocal sections sprinkled in throughout the course of the record. That said, the heavier songs like The Great Deceiver are where this album really shines. Killer solos and ... read more

Gave this album a couple spins to be certain before giving the album a 20. Man, I don't know...I used to like Godsmack. I loved the first album, bought it the day it came out and saw them in concert whenever I could. The music and lyrics, so aggressive and raw. They weren't the most creative, albeit some of the Wiccan inspired songs are pretty awesome and definitely bring a level of lyricism that other butt rock bands don't match. However, this album seems like a total phone in. Red, white and ... read more

A really strong album overall. Tracks 2-9 are all fire, I could listen to these on repeat. Album falls off a bit toward the end, but honestly still stands stronger than most pop albums released in the past few years. I don't know Raye very well, this is my first impression of her music...but I LOVE Amy Winehouse and to me this is a spiritual successor. Lyrically there's not a ton I can directly relate to as a 40 year old male, but the lyrics are strong and the resilience in each song is ... read more