The Cure can be a great goth band and a great pop band but The Top is the moment where they seemed most unsure about what to be, and it comes off a bit clumsy. These songs are mostly lacking in emotional weight and intensity, or production quality and hooks. The best songs are the ones that forge their own paths: Wailing Wall and The Empty World which focus on evocative atmospheres, or funhouse experiments like The Caterpillar and Bananafishbones (Tim waits refeference?)

Definitely flawed, the vocals and lyrics on the first verse are iffy, and the feature is underwhelming, but it's still probably a top ten Weezer song post-White. I've been actually enjoying coming back to the song, so the new album is shaping up alright. The cover kind of sucks though

A lot of this is that type of ear piercing drone music that I guess you start to love if you listen to like 10,000 albums, and well I'm not there yet so it just makes me want to take my headphones off. On the other hand when they build something around these harsh noises it can become very exciting. I guess I don't like the Experimental and I like the Experimental Rock

This is an overwhelming album so the vocals and lyrics that show a Robert Wyatt like sensitivity and oddness are ... read more

City Life is a great song, my love for it tricked me into listening to a new age album
I started spacing out of this about halfway through. I kept waiting for it to pick up and it only kind of did on the last track

I like the big Oasis sound but outside of the hits these songs don't have much substance.
Thankfully most of the albums is hits, so fair enough

What's the Story Morning Glory is better cause it feels like every song is focused on being a song and not just relying on the sound.
I think this one has the better closer though. Married With Children is probably their emotional peak as a band, cause the lyrics aren't just nonsense lol

Elvis Costello's witty, almost impossible to place lyrics; The Attractions doing New Wave/Motown; and the way these songs seem to just appear and disappear completely unbriefed make Get Happy!! feel like a jokebook of songs from an alternate reality 50s

I've had a funny arc with this album giving it an 8 on first listen, to lowering it thinking it was too niche in my taste, and now it's back to an 8

Ultimately I think this is a masterpiece and the pinnacle of it's genre ( a genre the band created?) I doubt it's ever been topped or even equalled

I would've criticized this album in the past by saying it pretty much only has one sound, and sure, but it's a darn good sound and for a 30 minute LP do they really need anything else?

Plus I've gotten over my anti Dylan cover bias to see that these are nice versions of the songs and setting themselves up as maybe the definitive Dylan cover guys right away was a good idea. Those along with a classic original (Feel a Whole Lot Better) and some inspired cover choices (especially ... read more

This is like their Tonight's the Night. Also reminded me more of GBV than I thought it would

More country than rock, not for me. I liked their country leaning stuff on early albums, but their full commitment to the sound takes away a lot of their style and personality. I will give it up for a solid side 2 and the Dylan cover bookends

Spike was an admirably eclectic album with some ambitious concepts that ultimately was held back by an overstuffed tracklist and thin production. Mighty Like a Rose almost feels like a reaction to that album with everything now put on overdrive: nonstop lyrics, in your face vocals, big production, and maximal arrangements

If you're not an Elvis Costello fan (like everybody doing 1001 albums) I can imagine this album being kind of obnoxious. I'm a big fan and I'm still thinking ... read more

Relistening to my lowest rated albums Pt2 Smashing Pumpkins-Gish

I'm 2/2 with these low rated albums being mostly because I just wasn't in the right mood. This isn't a great record, it's definitely a little repetitive and isn't on the level of them going full Shoegaze on Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie's really impressive ambition, but it rocks pretty hard and has a couple nice lighter moments.

This isn't fully formed here but compared to some similar ... read more

You really have to be into this sound to be into this

This is like a Pulp song

Is this random guy the best artist of the last 15 years?

MJ's also should had a 4 minute sound collage in the middle of the record

Good pop album, maybe too good? I do miss their stranger lo-fi period listening to this, but the big production does compliment the best songs: Deirdre, Forever, All I Wanna Do. Their songwriting also got more interesting on later 70s albums like 15 bigs ones and the wight album

Pretty much a pop rock masterpiece. I don't think Jay Bennent was the be-all end-all of Wilco or anything, but most of these tracks almost randomly include a heavenly instrumental section

Feeling a little conflicted about calling this one of my favourite 2025 albums, cause it's basically 90s 60s revivalism revivalism. But it sounds good and it's a good time man

I will say he probably should have taken some hints from the 60s and left it around 30 minutes cause side 2 is a little inessential.
I like that ominous touch to the final track Crown of Thorns though

I feel like I should be leaning more towards Bandwagonesque as my favourite from them, and it does have their two best songs, but I'm thinking this one has consistently stronger songwriting