"Songbird" is boring.
Otherwise, this is basically exactly how it's done. I have no notes.

I often reserve a boatload of cynicism for the term "supergroup"; it often sets a high expectation of a band's sound before you hear a single note played. That said, this is one of (very) few supergroups that I can wholly get behind. It's a title that doesn't feel overstated for them.
I first heard this album somewhere around its release date, and I remain almost as fond of it now as I was back then. There's just something about its undeniable confidence and ... read more

For some reason, I'm lacking cohesive wording to explain *why* I loved this album so much, but, golly gee, I really did.
Sure, it's quintessential 70s soft rock, but it's in the best kind of way... a shining, glorious example of softer, pop-leaning progressive rock in its earlier days. Each song feels delivered by passion and intention, like they all know exactly what they want to say and how they'd like to say it. The only skip track for me is "Lord Is It Mine" ... read more

This album was a genuinely interesting listen. There's a fair bit to appreciate here. Acoustically, there's great structure and flow; however, you should also prepare yourself for being inundated with 34ish minutes of pretty relentless, high-energy noise (there's not much in the way of lulls or quiet in here).
I'll openly admit that I am not commonly a fan of punk music, and it's almost always because I don't generally jive with the lyrics and/or vocals; I ... read more

Another album that is inoffensive but, in the long run, trends towards being pretty boring. It's fine. I liked Eternal Daughter a LOT better.

This is well outside of my typical listening interests, but I enjoyed (most of) this album. I like its theme and structure, and the melody, production and lyricism is generally well managed. There's considerable talent, energy and passion here. I'm not a huge fan of cheesy, romance-oriented lyrics, and there does seem to be a *lot* of pining over love interests in here, but she delivers those lyrics in such an impassioned way that it *almost* makes up for it.

Not the best thing I've ever heard, but it's certainly an impressive compilation (and debut) for a group of four teenagers who met in a high school not too far from me. I can't help but appreciate the blatant, unapologetic, and indisputable feminine rage present in this album, particularly in a genre that was (and still is) largely male-dominated. Angst-ridden, teenaged me would have gobbled this up; slightly-better-balanced, adult me is less moved, but still appreciates their ... read more

Impressively boring.

The very first time I heard this album, at the ripe old age of 13, I knew it was something special and that SOAD had found a life-long fan in me. To this day, it remains one of my favourite albums of all time, and it's one of very few compilations that I consider to be almost completely without fault.
Listening to this it time, I tried to ask myself specifically what makes it so special, and it's so many things. It's the fact they brought something completely new to the music ... read more

Once again, it seems I've failed to connect with what's "popular", even when it's controversial.
I kind of enjoy some parts of this album. I like the vaguely retro vibe and the cohesive theme in lyrics. Despite that, I found most of it to be boring and lackluster. Almost all of it feels overly cautious and safe and doesn't really feel like it's trying to grab or speak to me. It felt inoffensive, but also uninteresting. Not my vibe.

I'm so conflicted about this album.
I love Fox Stevenson and have for a long time now, and I *adore* about half of this album. The other half is just so underwhelming that it drags down the pack. As others have pointed out, Stan suffers pretty badly for banal, vapid lyrics (although he's improved a bit in more recent years), and I'll be the first to admit that a lot of his songs are formulaic and repetitively structured. Sometimes, that works, or he manages to mix it up just ... read more

A great representation of 90s "grunge". A little heavy on experimentation and maybe *slightly* front-loaded, but it remains cohesive within the chaos, and each song has its own unique flair. No song is quite as good as "Possum Kingdom" (one of my all-time favourites), but there's lots of other good to be found here.

Despite the title song being excellent - so pivotal and progressive at a time when it was not common to rally behind LGBT+ people - I hated almost everything else on this album. It's a repetitive, boring, lyrically lacking slog from one end to the other with no redeeming qualities, which is extra sad because it's so long. Can I have those 100 minutes of my life back?

This remains one of my favourite EDM acts of all time - although they've since disbanded - and, despite evidently being in the minority, I think it's a great compilation. The only song I don't get much value out of is "Out of Touch", which I find to be a bit of a snooze. I have mixed feelings about "Squid" because, although I feel it stands its own quite well, it's a fairly abrupt departure from the remainder of the album - it really sets you up to end ... read more

It's... fine. Actually, though.
Don't get me wrong, I don't really have anything against this album. It really is just *fine*, though, and I'm guessing most people don't produce art in pursuit of making something that is just okay. It has a small handful of songs that I genuinely like, and everything else is just decidedly, completely, and immediately forgettable. It feels tepid and mediocre.

Not for me.

As someone who had never heard of Sunglaciers before and had no idea what to expect going in to this album, I was pleasantly surprised. I found it to be (generally) cohesive, soulful and introspective. There's an oddly pleasant dichotomy between the songs' mellow vibes and their decidedly more bleak lyricism; overarching themes trend towards melancholy, sadness, isolation and loneliness. It's some of the catchiest and well-packaged emotional turmoil I've heard in a while.

A pretty concise example of exactly what you'd expect a mid-90s stoner rock album to sound like. I found it to be somewhat front-loaded, but it's an enjoyable enough listen from end-to-end if you're just looking for some sweet guitar riffs to bob along to.

Despite legitimately great song structure, I can't get past Ronan's lyric delivery. The lyrics are, in large part, spoken and not sang; their conveyance lacks flair and emphasis. To further complicate matters, he doesn't rhyme.
I have known about VNV Nation for quite a long time and have several friends who are big fans. I do enjoy some of their songs ("Chrome" and "Control" come to mind first). However, VNV's efforts to reinvent the wheel are, in by ... read more

This album is impressively fluid and well-structured. On a ten-track album where I was already intimately familiar with the three singles that have been floating around for years (Time to Pretend, Kids, and Electric Feel), I didn't have high hopes for the remainder of the album. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the listen-through; the rest of the album holds its own quite well. For a pair of 20-somethings slapping together a debut album, there's truly admirable ... read more