Definitely up there among the heaviest albums I've heard. An assault on the senses that feels claustrophobic and unrelenting. While I do think I generally prefer the more post-rock leaning material from Swans, I do think this is very well made and there is a time and a place for it even if I don't necessarily see myself returning to it as frequently as other projects I've heard from them

This was an album that took a long time and several full listens to fully click with. Yesterday I was having a slow day at work and needed something to kill the afternoon with and was feeling tired of the music I had been listening to for most of the week, so I figured what the heck?
In the past I think I just didn't have the patience for something like this that was such a slow build while being incredibly raw and primal. This time it was different though. I found the aggression making my ... read more

Maybe someday this will click but as of right now this just isn't for me. I do get how intentional this is about the way it sounds but it just is not a sound I really enjoy hearing as of reviewing this. I will give props to people who do get enjoyment out of it because it definitely is unique and I wish I liked it

Everything You Do Is A Balloon is maybe my favorite BOC track. There's like 20 top 5 songs for me but that one's definitely up there

I discovered this looking for music to fall asleep to, and what I found here was pure synth driven ear candy that just takes me to a very beautiful, serene place. I wish I had known about this project as well as Suzanne as an artist earlier because this is one of my favorite synth albums

Just incredible front to back

This was actually the first album I ever bought after I got my driver's license as a teenager and this was before you could stream any Tool so it was a very exciting thing to have found a Tool album out in the wild as I had heard a couple of their songs here and there. I was always intrigued by them, being primarily a drummer and I remember trying to find bootlegs of some of their songs, most of them not great quality and would always be taken down. So finding this album was so exciting and it ... read more

I think this is a pretty solid live album. A handful of tracks don't quite reach the heights of the studio versions, namely with Scarborough Fair which I wish they would've had a third singer doing the counterpoint because that's what makes that song so magical to me, also on tracks like Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Boxer which I also prefer the studio versions of because I think what really elevates them are the string arrangements and what they do with the harmonies. That being said I ... read more

When I listen to this album I feel transported to another place and it all feels so warm and inviting. I think the way he collaborates with these south African artists he met from his visit adds a feeling of authenticity that wouldn't really quite be there if it was entirely Paul Simon and I think the results of the influences and collaborations make for a compelling listen

Ok wow, not only a reference to Macaulay Culkin but then a whole track named after him? Ok...

This album does go crazy though

One of the biggest slaps in the face to one of my all time favorite records. Personally I absolutely love The Wall, I've loved for years and will continue to love it for the foreseeable future. I've listened to it more times than I can count, I've seen the film several times and I think the film is also great. All that said, you don't have to like The Wall the way I do. It's a very personal album for me and it's not an album I would expect everyone to click with. But this is so clearly written ... read more

No.

Some really interesting sounds on this project but it does feel overly edgy at times. I also think there's a distinct lack of Macaulay Culkin references which I feel like could really step things up

The title track is one of the most stunning and emotional songs I've ever heard. The closest a song can be to perfection imo. The rest of the album is also pretty great, I especially think Keep The Customer Satisfied is extremely underrated with the soaring vocal harmonies throughout and the horns that get progressively more energetic as the song goes on, it's like audio crack for me. Of course Cecilia and The Boxer are big highlights as well with the former having this really fun bounce to it ... read more

Down Rodeo might be one of my favorite metal songs ever and Bulls On Parade never fails to get me unbelievably amped to a point where I wanna run through a brick wall. So many hard hitting tracks here

The cartoon sounds on one of the tracks was a bit odd but dang it if this album isn't a vibe. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. This concludes my Stevie Wonder deep dive

I think there's more here that grabs me than on the last couple albums but I'm thrown off by a few things, especially some of the midi sounds. There's this one sound I keep hearing on here that's like this sample of a feminine voice singing "doo" and I instantly recognize this sound from the digital piano I remember my parents had when I was a kid growing up. I always found that sound a bit cheesy even back then so hearing it on a Stevie Wonder album of all things was really jarring ... read more

It definitely doesn't sound as hollow as the last album but it also feels really safe. I was having this odd thing where I would be like "this sounds like it could be a Michael Jackson b-side" and then Michael Jackson shows up, or "this sounds like it could be a BB King song" and then BB King shows up. Not necessarily a bad thing, just not quite giving me what I listen to Stevie Wonder for. Like I said in an earlier review, this may be past the perfect run but Stevie doesn't ... read more

I feel like there's a fairly decent collection of fun and interestingly constructed pop songs in here but it just all feels buried by production choices that make it sound unbelievably thin and cheap at times which makes it hard for me to fully click with it from a sonic standpoint

Like I said in the review for Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants, this is the beginning of uncharted territory for me because unlike the previous stuff, from here on out I've only heard like 3 songs. I say that in both reviews because I did not know with the previous album that it's not technically a studio album so I didn't necessarily have to cover it, but I enjoyed it enough so I did. Now all that said, I think this is a solid album. Is it amazing? Not necessarily, but ... read more