Review by: Amateur Music Critic and Middle-Class Marxist
It was the haunted, hallowed faces, the splash of the red and the evocative "Ocktobre" that lured me in. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew I had to hear the album named after my favourite revolution.
The October Revolution promised emancipation of women, mass education, even the state handing you your first flat (if you could stomach the queues). Maybe I was hoping for some of that hope, an album to sit alongside ... read more
I first "discovered" Gang of Four while watching a Leeds, Bielsa documentary. Great man. Anyway, Damaged Goods is a fantastic song, and this albums treads a nice line between an indie and post punk sound. It's an enjoyable, low effort listen.
It's curious that this is rated on par with Unknown Pleasures. In my estimation, Unknown Pleasures is much better. For me, this is a very, very good but not great album. That said, Decades is one hell of a track.
I'd love to rate it higher but it's just not entertaining enough. It is supreme quality though. Some of the sounds that have been constructed are delicious.
I love the instrumentals on this. The first track is commanding and sets the tone then it just continues excellently for an hour. The only thing holding this back from a perfect score is the vocals. I have always liked Muse but the vocals fall just behind their other qualities in my opinion.
Not bad, but it was a little vanilla to me. I might have enjoyed this more if I was 16 and a goth.
When I listen to an album I try to forget my preconceptions and just enjoy it, as if I was studying a piece of art I'd never seen. I don't always manage to let go of what I already know, but I try my best anyway.
So having listened to this in full for the first time in many many years, a couple of things struck me.
First, the music and singing itself is very, very good, her voice is terrific. You know sometimes people die and everyone says how great they are even though they ... read more
With Radiohead, while some people think the way the falsetto blends into the music is brilliant, I am more inclined to say it sounds like chalk on a blackboard or maybe a banshee that's feeling sorry for itself. Therefore, being promised that falsetto is at a minimum on this album, this is really my final attempt to 'get' Radiohead.
Final verdict: I don't mind this album, it didn't make me want to turn it off immediately, BUT the band are massively overrated. I ... read more
This is a very beautiful album, that much can't be denied. However, it wasn't as entertaining as Marchita, which was the better listen. Her voice is really good though. If she was playing somewhere you could sit there and just listen to her for hours.
It's pretty solid and enjoyable. I group Last Dinner Party in the same category as Haim. This is the type of album you can just stick on, it's a bit edgy but there is nothing too offensive, with the occasional really good song.
I'll start by saying I've listened to the original probably 70 times in the last three months. Sometimes an album just clicks. Now this remastered version is absolutely delicious, you can hear everything just so much better than the 2005 version.
I am genuinely in awe at the music production on this album. The sounds and textures are just perfect, the timing and organisation of every sound is perfect, there is no other way to describe it. Every song is different yet there is a ... read more
Yes I liked this!
It was an easy listen, unpretentious with a nice playful energy, I'd say. All the sounds were nice on the ear, it was no emotional labour at all to listen to this. Good vibe, nice sonic texture and nice rhythms. Overall, ideal for any mood.
Sometimes the simple ones are the best.
Not so good
But I hear that Speak for Yourself will be remastered on October 17th and I can't wait for that!
I feel a bit bad attacking an album with only 23 ratings, but this was atrocious, unfortunately. I imagine if you ordered Bjork or Imogen Heap off Wish, they'd send you this. And Bjork doesn't need a Wish version of herself, her music is bad enough already.
In places this is superb. At its best it is very emotive, powerful and has fantasic beats, plus The Cranberries' sound is unmistakable. A few parts of the album drag a little though, which is why overall the experience is not perfect, but still enjoyable.
If you like Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas, or Slowdive - Souvlaki, you might like this cool this little album!! It was very dreamy and ethereal. A bit of melancholy, a bit of warmth etc. Lovely soundscape
WTF!
This is genuinely fantastic. Her voice is incredibly powerful and it's extremely entertaining. It's a little punkish too almost.
I love when I find an album that reminds me of why we do this.
Masterpiece.
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Recent Review Comments
On MARINA - PRINCESS OF POWER
"@HomeSession3 She is only a little older than me, so we have been listening to her since she was a new artist. My friends and I agreed that her progression was incredible, and it was beautiful to see her realisation on stage. She has definitely still got it, her performance was exceptional 👏"
On russky's review of David Kauffman / Eric Caboor - Songs From Suicide Bridge
"Agreed, brilliant album"
On Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
"@MiNeAn I never got around to reviewing it but I listened to that already and I liked it"
On zygote's review of Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
"Yeppppp and if you ever feel like listening again, give the reissue a go, the sound quality is much better and you can hear more nuance in the melodies than the original 😄 one of my favourite albums, and I feel the same about a couple of tracks"
On Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
"@MiNeAn dunno, a bit of atmosphere, tension, melody, texture, progression or something, nothing happened"
On Nas - Illmatic
"@broker I liked the lyrics I could hear not withstanding a few dated tropes. I suppose I just like my music a little more rhythmic/melodic/bouncy. That said, I didn't dislike this. I loved NY State of Mind, that was a banger, when I was listening to that I thought I might love the whole thing."
On zygote's review of Silvana Estrada - Marchita
"I liked this one a lot too. I was thinking in the car the other day, you love your folk so there's a chance you might like Clube de Esquina or Acabou Chorare, they've really landed for me and I've listened to them loads recently. I also really enjoyed a lot of that album by George Harrison but it was very long"
On Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
"@ar9ui 0 is fair, it has destroyed my overall enjoyment of the album and now has zero replay value"
On Milton Nascimento - Clube da Esquina
"@DarkHorse I have Molagre dos Peixes on my to listen list, but I'll investigate the others too, thank you for sharing more detail 😄 It's the melody, rhythm and percussion of Brazilian music that I like so much. My favourite so far has been Jorge Ben, A Tabua de Esmerelda"
On regalitooo's review of Harry Styles - Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
"Yeaaah, say how you feel 😁😂"
On julessReviews's review of Talking Heads - Remain in Light
"Agreed, I preferred Speaking in Tongues for being for funky all the way through!!"
On zygote's review of Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
"Ahhhh I understand this angle completely.
Glad to read that some tracks have made it into your rotation and that overall you enjoyed it despite some parts you were less fond.
I love how relaxing it is but without sacrificing tempo. I imagine how vocals might be offputting depending on preference 👍"
On zygote's review of Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
"Nooooo 😅 Have you listened to Skeleton? It was on the taster but didn't make the final album for some reason. In my opinion it's as good if not better than the best tracks on the album and should've made the final cut!"
On By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
"@jognwiliam I heard what I heard 😁"
On By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost
"@airis_latte 😂 What's that got to do with it"
On Nujabes - Modal Soul
"@zigote Yes it was right up my street!! Thank you for the recommendation 👍"
On zygote's review of Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
"@zigote there's method in the madness. No worries and no expectations 😁"
On zygote's review of Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
"Thank you for the recommendation you sent me Zigote, it looks great. I have sent back the album that tempted me to listen to this album in the first place, but which I thought was brill!"
On DJZorrit's review of Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
"I also prefer this to Remain in Light and LOVED Stop Making Sense - the quality of it is insane for a live album"
On pearlfm's review of Depeche Mode - Violator
"@pearlfm I love it! But I started off with the very best of Depeche Mode compilation many years ago, it was a nice introduction"
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