#63

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 11]

Strangely, my taste has become more mainstream over the years, rather than less. 'Miami Virtual' is a great signifier of this trend. Right at the genesis of the "I'll let weekly discover send me down whichever rabbit hole it wants to" phase, this album capitulates the kind of music I was listening to at this time - in as much as, I was deep in obscurity without even knowing it. I have to be mindful that now I am on a platform like this ... read more

#62

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 10]

And so begin the recommendations. Up until this point, my music journey had been dictated by myself, and by Spotify's 'Discover Weekly' playlists. This album signifies the first time I listened to an album through personal recommendation. Many such albums will follow, most of which were recommended by one specific person who will remain nameless (he knows who he is). He is also the reason I got an AOTY account and started making these reviews ... read more

#61

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 9]

It's Florence season! What with the new album's release lining up with my relistens of her early work, I feel like I've been spending a lot of time with the machine. And reminding myself of why I love it.

Especially the early stuff: Florence's first three albums involve her honing and cultivating the maximalist sound (which she perfects in 'How Big'), she then does an experimentation in minimalism (which is less my speed, but what ... read more

#60

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 8]

The biggest hippie to ever hippie, ladies and gentlemen I give you: Vangelis O. Papathanassiou.
This was quite frankly the last thing I expected to hear when I decided to check out Vangelis' early work. Blown away by his 'Blade Runner' OST, I thought it may be worth diving deeper into his career as an artist outside of film composition. I have to admit, I didn't like what I found.

Initially, that is. Returning to the album three years later, ... read more

#59

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 7]

The greatest album intro ever. There's a lot of greats out there, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the opening chord of 'We're Finally Landing'. In fact, that song is probably the whole reason I returned to Home's discography after being somewhat disappointed with 'Odyssey'. In fact, I think it's probably why I went on to listen to 'Falling Into Place' as well. The opening track is far and above their ... read more

#58

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 6]

Imagine if someone took an album you really really liked and said "okay, well what if all the songs were worse?" That's how I feel about this remix. I find its existence utterly baffling. It seems so meaningless to me. It's not even like they're proper remixes, with new ideas, or in new genres, or with a dramatic change in tone or length. They're just the same songs, split into their component parts, and put into the wrong order. ... read more

#57

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 5]

I used to love this album. Back in 2022, I listed it as the best album I had heard that year. I was really in my trip hop feels then, and this album spoke to me on a level that I can't quite feel anymore. My cousin says that listening to music when you're fourteen has the same effect on your brain as crack cocaine. He's never give any evidence for this fact, and I'm not completely sure it's true, but the general vibe does seem to make some ... read more

#56

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 4]

By all means, I should like this album a lot more than I do. Not only is it a Trip Hop album, it's supposedly the greatest Trip Hop album of all time. So it's a surprise even to myself that I find it strangely elusive.

I've spent years racking my brain to try and work out why this is the case. I know it's not the production - the beats are phenomenal. I know it's not the genre - that's a given. So it must just be the vocals. Although ... read more

#55

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 3]

In my opinion, this is the greatest pop album of all time.

Dua Lipa may never make an album this good again (in fact I highly doubt it), but that's okay because her deal with the devil only spanned a couple of years. The amount of domination this woman had over the late 10s and early 20s is staggering, and - unlike many other cases - totally deserved. It's no wonder I put off listening to this album because I was pretty sure I had "basically heard ... read more

#54

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 2]

I was going to give this a seven, can you believe that?

Going into a relisten of an album, I usually already have an idea of where I would rate it from memory. Quite often I end up being right: my initial hunch of "I'm pretty sure I remember an album being this good" is often a pretty accurate one. With 'Lungs', my feeling was "definitely not as good as 'How Big' and slightly worse than 'Ceremonials' and with a ... read more

#53

[2022, PART 1 - ALBUM 1]

The first of January, 2022.

I am in a holiday cottage in rural Norfolk. I have been there for five days. The air is frigid and crisp; I make myself a pot of Oolong tea, go out into the back garden, and press play on the first album I would listen to that year. I make a note of it on my notes app in '2022 Log'. I've made a soft New Year's Resolution to make this logging process (which will extend to events, films, TV, and books) a constant ... read more

#52

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 20]

I have never given an album more 10/10s.

Although 'Hounds of Love' is my favourite album, this is probably my highest rated one. It's more than just banger after banger - it's an ungodly run of incredible songs. It solidified Florence as my second favourite artist (this being the first album of hers I heard) and completely reinvented my taste in music. Big bombastic craziness.

I had always been interested in Florence's work, so ... read more

#51

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 19]

Before we make it to the end of the wilderness, first we must make a short visit back to the beginning.

This is officially the first album I ever asked for. I was 11? Or 12. Or something, whatever, young enough to not understand the significance of what albums have on how you're perceived. I knew a lot of the songs - everyone did: they were bloody everywhere. Now, do I agree that it was completely over loved upon its release? Of course. But I also ... read more

#50

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 18]

Now it's time for an extremely hot take. 'Drones' is probably my second favourite MUSE album.

It used to be my favourite; but time passes, and tastes mature. However, nostalgia is the sugar that makes all art taste sweet. Beyond that, this is by far the bands most ambitious album - it's the closest thing we've ever got to a real concept album from them (and I LOVE concept albums). I think this is where the dystopian motif that the band ... read more

#49

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 17]

Back when I started listening to Muse's discography, I remember not being as impressed by this record than the other stuff of theirs I had come across. On revisiting, I find that my feelings on this album actually rate higher than that of their most recent work. However, I do think it very much misses the mark in the middle. It begins with a very solid set of tracks, and ends with an electronic epic two parter, but is stuffed with some incredibly ... read more

#48

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 16]

I think my bias is about to show...

Look, I was... thirteen when I first heard this? My dad had surprised my mum with MUSE tickets for their anniversary, and as such they realised that they needed to lock in to their newer stuff if they were going to understand what was going on. So, the Spotify account (we all shared one at this point) became stuffed full of this album - the most recent at the time - and the two prior (reviews on the way). And I... loved ... read more

#47

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 15]

About a year or two ago, if someone asked me what my music taste was, I would direct them to three artists: Massive Attack, Florence + The Machine (we'll get to her), and MUSE. Although things have adapted and changed a bit from that point (it's now even harde4r to distil my taste), these three key artist have kept a hold on my earbuds until today - I mean, just look at my top five.

MUSE is the most sentimental choice of the three - in as much as ... read more

#46

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 14]

Hot on the tails of the magic that 'Hound of Love' imparted in me, I jumped into 'The Kick Inside' with high expectations. Unfortunately those expectations were not met.

Now, the album is still great: Bush is still the only person who's music can so perfectly encapsulate the feeling of English folklore. Even she isn't explicitly talking about it, her sound always imbues the smell of a damp forest, or the vast sprawl of rolling ... read more

#45

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 13]

Jack Black is probably my favourite person ever.

And as such, his and Kyle Glass' seminal album is one of my favourite albums of all time. It's silly, it's funny (qat least I think so), and most of all, it absolutely rocks. Full of epic music and dumb skits, it's an album like no other, and was incredibly seminal to me in my early teen years. It continues to be so as I become an adult.

My only criticism is: the songs are way too short. ... read more

#44

[THE WILDERNESS - ALBUM 12]

Rich gospel samples, gnarly guitar riffs, thumping pianos, and a good splash of trip hop; Play was always going to work for me. A distinct sound permeates throughout the entire album: its clean, upbeat, and dynamic, without being too clean, upbeat, or dynamic. Not all perfect, but the weaker stuff doesn't stick around for long. Definitely an essential for any fans of idm.

Track list breakdown:

Honey - Great way to solidify the album's soundscape. ... read more