Matthew Sweet's 1991 LP "Girlfriend" is one of my favorite power pop albums of the 90's. Even when compared to the classic virgin rock of Weezer, the energetic Japanese melodies of The Pillows and the vastly underrated Spitz, the punkish style of Redd Kross, the catchy britpop of Supergrass, the quirky college rock of Sugar and the Lemonheads--it all comes down to "Girlfriend" having some of the catchiest and most simply enjoyable rock music of '91. This is a pop rock album ... read more

Alright, now that I've reviewed some personal favorite albums of mine that I'd neglected to talk about in the past, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming: Simon Continues to Complain About Unoriginal Trap. Honestly, I'd definitely rather listen to "Whole Lotta Red" over the similarly anticipated and unimpressive "Eternal Atake", although Playboi Carti's Christmas gift is more tedious in a few different ways. For one, it's way too long. Unjustifiably long. ... read more

Nmesh's first outing into vaporwave, "Nu.wav Hallucinations", is rarely considered his greatest work, but all too often I find myself listening to it over any of his other releases--I can't help but to call it my favorite Nmesh project. It's got this magnetic pull to it that always makes me want to revisit it; it's one of the most purely hypnotic, entrancing, hypnotizing vaporwave albums in existence. Its rhythmic vocal sampling and gorgeous ambient passages make for one of my ... read more

"One-Armed Bandit" is a strong return to Jaga Jazzist's jazzy roots after their predominantly post-rock masterwork "What We Must". While they started out as Norway's premiere nu jazz export, this record emphasizes the "nu" part of the genre much less--this is very much a proggy jazz fusion album through and through. Frank Zappa fans, take note--traces of "Hot Rats" can be immediately heard straight from the first seconds of the title track. In general, I ... read more

Now here's an album whose immediate, ground-shaking appeal I could never understand. Not for a lack of experience with said appeal; "What We Must" is, simply put, one of the absolute greatest LPs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. But for all the praise I piled onto "A Livingroom Hush", for as deeply as I could analyze the instrumental intricacies on any given song there...something about "What We Must" is different, and I can't put my finger on why. What ... read more

As I near my 100th review on AOTY, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite bands. As I've expressed previously, I've failed to rate some of my all-time favorite records because I want to do them justice; I put effort into all my reviews, but as you can tell for my review of "Kid A", the higher-rated albums usually get better treatment. In fact, I even think about re-reviewing records such as "Этажи", "Soundtracks for the Blind" and "Relatives in ... read more

This'll probably be the last review in the trilogy of my critically-acclaimed "Reviews-Of-Albums-My-Friends-Like". Another friend of mine, whose full name and address I could leak here without him breaking a sweat, is a big fan of this kind of alternative rock. Not just Beck, but Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cake, Incubus, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, even Ween and *shudders* 311. You may be able to tell just from his music taste that he's an easygoing, mellow fellow. Good dude to hang ... read more

In my recent review of "XX", I mentioned how I haven't talked much about my favorite albums of all time. I reviewed "Kid A" which stands as the only perfect score I've ever given, but there are more to go through yet. Because of that, I decided to listen to some music I know my friends love just as much as the LPs I've never bothered to review--"XX" was one of them, and now comes "Hatful of Hollow", the favorite album of a very close friend. To give you ... read more

I've failed to rate or review some of my favorite albums of all time on this account. Trust me, there's more to go through than just the Radiohead discography and that one coldwave album people keep getting recommended on YouTube. This is because I really want to do my favorite music justice. For as much effort as I put into every individual review, I want the most important pieces of art in my life to stand out from the rest of the LPs I rate here. Because of this, I have a very long private ... read more

"Until the Wind Stops Blowing..." had more of a potent impact on me than I thought it would.

I've been to Allentown, Pennsylvania once before. December 2017: dead of winter. It was cold and lonely. Even though I was there to visit family who lived in Pennsylvania, I couldn't help but feel a striking sense of melancholia every time I looked out the window to be greeted by the harsh grey emptiness of the city. I'm not used to that--I live in Maine, in a pretty nice town with people I ... read more

A seemingly forgotten relic of 80's British minimal synth, "Mortis Hora" didn't turn out to be much of a hidden gem, but it's an interesting artifact nonetheless. The opening track, "Private Crucifixtion", prepared me for a much better LP; unfortunately, the second song, "Sins", was a letdown and the record never recovered afterwards. The lyrics are shallow and creepy and the instrumentation is far more amateurish than the rest of the record. For the majority of ... read more

A simply decent album is all Arctic Monkeys needed to re-establish themselves as a worthwhile band. "Suck It and See" sucked and "AM" was pitifully boring, but "Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino" brought 'em back around. On this LP, it's clear that the songwriting was set aside to craft a fantastic soundscape, and I'd say they succeeded. There aren't any standout tunes to be found on the tracklist, but I'll gladly sit through the whole thing just to hear the band ... read more

"AM" is Arctic Monkeys' foray into heavy, bluesy garage revival. It doesn't go over well. I must say, for as little as I had to say about Alex Turner's vocal performances for the rest of the Monkeys discography, on "AM" he really stands out...for the wrong reasons. This is very obviously just personal preference, but something about his singing is just grating. Perhaps it's the way he tries to sell this uncharacteristically suave, slick demeanor? The way he croons and ... read more

One of only two Arctic Monkeys LPs I can truly say I dislike. They disappoint me as a group, but most of their studio albums are serviceable in one way or another--this is just better off forgotten. "Suck It and See" takes the most insufferably bland tendencies of "Humbug", waters them down even further, forces them through this sickeningly jangly, twee-adjacent filter, and forgoes all conventions of decent songwriting in favor of...I don't even know. I can't hear the appeal ... read more

I do not hate "Humbug", but damn, was I disappointed to hear how hard they crashed. I suppose I respect the idea behind the record; after releasing two very sonically similar LPs, the band took their sound in a completely unexpected new direction. They ditched their groovy, frantic post-punk mannerisms in favor of these psychedelic, clean desert vibes. It's not a bad concept, but the execution falls flat. Stoner rock thrives on grit, it thrives on immense fuzz, it thrives on energy ... read more

"Favorite Worst Nightmare" is the best Arctic Monkeys album, the only one I can confidently say I really enjoy with no hesitation, and the one that really hammers in my disappointment for their future. The high point of their debut's "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" isn't quite matched, but its quality is more consistent throughout this record's tracklist. No major duds. The songwriting is slightly improved, making the fast tracks more ferocious and the more ... read more

Twelve pretty good songs and one fantastic jam titled "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" make for an impressive debut for an unimpressive band. They devolved into tepid mediocrity as time went on, only showing brief glimpses of the potential they showed early on. "Whatever People Say I Am", however, ranks as one of their greatest works, simply because of the excitingly energetic songwriting of a youthful indie band with the world at their fingertips. They lost their ... read more

Arctic Monkeys perform Arctic Monkeys songs. No surprises here.

In all honesty, none of these performances trump the originals, some of which I was never even impressed by in the first place. This sound--whether it was the production job or the live setup--is far too clean for any, and I mean any of these songs. There's no grit here where there needs to be ("Arabella", "The View from the Afternoon", "Brianstorm", etc.) and the rest just don't hold up to the studio ... read more

"Visions of the Country" is an album I have a hard time reviewing in the same way I've reviewed every other album on this account. As many others have pointed out, this album is undeniably and principally connected with nature. It's a musical experience one must have themselves, much like one must experience the beauty of nature. Writers can wax poetic about the beauty of the leaves all they want, and reviewers like myself can analyze the gorgeous intricacies of "Visions of the ... read more

A charming collection of songs from the early days of country rock. "Classic rock" bands rarely impress me as much as they seemed to blow away generations past, but The Band have always been special to me. I have no nostalgia connected to them--I just think they stood out, even if they really didn't in hindsight. Their roots rock approach to songwriting made their golden period of output some of the most consistently good rock music of their time. This album, its predecessor ... read more