This is the soundtrack to Derek Zoolander's one day working in the West Virginia coal mines.
Yeah I'm fully on the 'fuck this shit' bandwagon. I think I'm mostly pissed at him comparing this album to Bruce Springsteen. Yeah, totally nailed the blue collar struggle with the AI generated lyrics and generic new wave backing tracks. Next time Benson is on stage doing a cartwheel in his sequined onesie I'm really going to really think about the struggle. Most of the ... read more
I've been stuck on Lotus for two weeks, nothing has knocked it out of my rotation. Nearly perfect album save for Young, which gets grating after a few listens and the only song I periodically skip. Favorite tracks (currently) are Thief, Free and Blood. The jazz in here is top notch, right up there with Low End Theory and Things Fall Apart. Just ear worm after ear worm, setting the stage for the lyrical content, which really comes alive after a few listens.
Like: Thief, Flood, Only, Free, ... read more
This might end up being my favorite country album of the year.
Never heard of Pug Johnson before this morning (apparently neither has AOTY). El Cabron is a mix of classic everyman country vocals (with a nasally tone sort of reminiscent of Hank III), with dashes of New Orleans dixieland jazz, zydeco and maybe even some Norteño. Album highlights for me...well, every song is pretty good, but Big Trains, El Cabron, Buy Me a Bayou, Believer, and Change Myself Today are standouts for me. ... read more
Been a fan of The Cat Empire since seeing them at the 9:30 club in DC when they were touring on the Two Shoes album. Bird in Paradise seems to harken back to the early 2000s latin-jazz inspired sound that first hooked me. Breezy, fun album that doesn't quite reach the pinnacle of Two Shoes (IMO their best album) but is a solid entry for a band more than 20 years into their existence.
Why is Anatolian psychedelic rock so freaking catchy? Between Altin Gun and now these guys I'm now fully ready to immerse myself in all things Anatolian rock. I don't know how to explain the way I feel when listening, but it's like a 20% mood elevator for me. So if I'm at 50% shitty day, this shit will put me up to a passing grade, easy.
Yacht rock mixed with Anatolian spices makes for good ear candy.
Gonna set this one at 80 for now. Overall very positive feeling about this album but maybe a tier down from their bast.
Coheed and Cambria is probably one of my top 10 bands. Seen them a bunch live, I'm one of those, 'the best Coheed album is the one that I currently have on' people. Not entirely sure that the case with this one. I love Searching for Tomorrow, banner song for sure. The combo of Blind Side Sonny and Play the Poet is about as heavy as Coheed gets and I am here for ... read more
I should've known that this was going to be good just by seeing Shooter Jennings with a producer credit.
This is my first experience with Charley Crockett and I like what I heard so far. Jamestown Ferry, Under Neon Lights, Never No More and the cover of Amarillo by Morning are highlights for me first time through. The sound is crystal clear...you can hear every single click of the Hammond. The bluesy guitar on Never No More...heck yea. Actually the whole song is fantastic. Instantly on ... read more
I mean, gotta give Norman North some credit for living on the edge of genre fusion. That said, this is a rough album to listen to for more than 10 minutes. I think for me the main weakness comes down to percussion. A click track would've been more compelling as a percussion option compared to the lazy programmed percussion here. Country music can be simple on the percussion side, but it needs to be authentic, which is not the percussion backing Norman North.
I think there's ... read more
in one ear, out the other. Feels lifeless, mainly the canned percussion and monotonous vocal tone kills this album for me. Feels a bit soulless. It's a pass for me.
Decent effort but I can't help but notice how Lady Gaga has fallen from being a pop innovator to a pop imitator. At best she sounds like an echo of her early pop efforts. At worst she sounds like a poor clone of David Bowie's style (Killah), and even seems to tap into Taylor Swift (How Bad Do U Want Me) with reckless abandon.
There are some decent efforts on here for sure but after the first 5 tracks it dissolves into some mediocre parrot pop.
Devastatingly beautiful album with an immediate emotional impact that keeps growing with repeated listens.
The eponymous song Foxes in the Snow has a line that sums up Jason Isbell's brilliant songwriting in one brief passage..."All the diphenhydramine it took to put my soul to sleep" As a recovering addict this hit me in the feels. Diphenhydramine is/was at times the only salve that would quiet my overactive brain at night so I could sleep. Whether that was a crutch or a ... read more
Tsunami Sea hits true to its title: starts with a massive wave of energy and continues to flood the eardrums throughout nearly the full runtime.
First listen: I mean...damn...this checks so many boxes for me, aggressive harsh vocals mixed with floaty cleans, djenty guitars but not overly so give off mechanical undertones, a smattering of electronics here and there to bring the electronic flair. All put together in perfect balance.
Black Rainbow and Soft Spine are absolute jaw dropping ... read more
This is how my inner voice sounds when my crippling anxiety is not trying to convince me that I'm dying.
Rude World and Art House are amazing. A+ for a quick mood check, will return.
I think Kameron Marlowe might have a drinking song problem...maybe using too many chat gpt prompts to "write me a country song that sounds like generic Chris Stapleton."
I'm going to overrate this album but I can't help myself, this shit gets me pumped up.
New Killswitch Engage, hell yea, been a fan of these guys for the long haul. The Consequence is solid front to back. Only weakness is the album is a bit formulaic, so not so much innovation, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. Main highlight for me: Justin Foley lays some superior drum tracks down throughout.
All tracks are strong, but Where It Dies is my current favorite.
Like: ... read more
Sam "don't call me the Boss" Fender
I want to start off by saying this is my first Sam Fender experience so it's going to take a bit of time for me to vibe with his sound. First impression is this comes off a bit too much like Springsteen fan fiction. It's a solid album but I'd probably default to throwing on the Boss if I felt like some good ole sweat of the brow rock. The music underlying the vocals is fun and shares that kind of 80s/early 90s mainstream rock ... read more
54--->15
I've decided that swipe right girls is the death of this album for me, with an honorable mention going to the insufferable monologuing. Posner's interpolation of Matisyahu's One Day is the most egregious piece of music he's ever made. To rip off a song is one thing, but to replace the strong, anti-war message with a song whining about dating on tinder is unforgivable.
‐--------------------------------
First listen notes:
Damnit Posner, I really wanted to ... read more
End of year edit 83--->76. Still a solid album but the back half really drags on the tempo and momentum established in the first half, which is a weakness for considering this as a complete album.
Bartees is strange.
Loved this so much I immediately hit repeat. I get a lot of similarities to Gary Clark Jr (e.g. Loop Defenders). I think perhaps it's the heavily distorted guitars on the uptempo songs that reminds me of Gary Clark Jr, but Bartees Strange is more optimistic (at least in ... read more
Create an account to rate and review albums.
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."
Advertisement