Cupid & Psyche 85

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Sat May 20 2023

5

Scritti Politti performed at my nan's 70th birthday party. They hopped on stage and began sucking eachother's dicks like their lives depended on it. My nan couldn't mask her disgust and stormed out. The rest of us enjoyed the rest of the show and later ate sausage rolls and had chats about our latest diets and the podcasts we were currently enjoying. Nan was found dead, hanging from a tree in the woods outside. The funeral was a sad occasion and we all consoled ourselves by hiring Scritti Politti to perform, where they proceeded to suck eachother off once again, this time on top.of her stupid coffin.

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Thu Apr 20 2023

4

4.1 - Around the 2010's I was listening to lots of bands like Oneohtrix Point Never, Com Truise, Haim... that incorporated 1980's synth sounds. To me, this Scritti Politti record, which I'd never heard before, surpasses most of that 80's revivalism, providing the very source material for its imitators. All of the tricks and tropes are on here, and SP weave this smattering of elements artfully. It's an impressive album-length timepiece of swirly and colorful bubble gum.

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Thu May 04 2023

2

Pretty good mid-80's fare. It's not bad to listen to, but every track is just the same template. They had the one hit, but didn't do anything to standout from all the other similar bands of the time.

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Fri Apr 14 2023

1

Three words will make my blood run cold now: 80s British pop. Getting that out of the way, I don’t really understand why I needed to hear this before I slip the mortal coil. I’m happy for Mr. Gartside’s success in the 80s, but this is just like Wham! without George Michael. It was fine at the time, but feels redundant in this small list of albums to hear before I hear no more.

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Wed Aug 09 2023

3

80s in all the clichéd ways possible. Tropes galore. Not bad but definitely a personal pass.

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Wed Apr 12 2023

1

Aw hell nah miss me with that 80s bullshit.

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Fri Apr 14 2023

1

This is a mistake, right? There are a total of four reviews for this thing (3 one star reviews and one generous 2). Was there suddenly a massive revisionist history on this album that suggested it suddenly and immediately get added to the list? I'll give it this much: Perfect Way is a pleasant little pop song. For 1985. And one that '80's stations can't even bother to dust off now and then. Everything else sounds like it soundtracks an awful '80's movie like Zapped or Short Circuit.

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Sat May 06 2023

1

This guy listened to his contemporaries, learned all the wrong lessons, and then tried to copy them

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Sat May 20 2023

1

Sounds like a camp Michael Jackson, without the noncing...probably...maybe not.

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Wed May 10 2023

5

cool

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Mon Aug 07 2023

5

Masterpiece!

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Fri Apr 14 2023

4

Ces gars-là enchaînent les michaeljacksonneries sans aucun complexe et qui peut leur en vouloir ? Eltrapeze ?

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Fri May 05 2023

4

4/5 the weeknd com michael jackson e notas de depeche mode

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Sun May 07 2023

4

Almost painfully 80's. I liked it.

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Sun May 07 2023

4

Oddly enough I actually enjoyed this one. Very typical 80s sound by the book. Interesting mix of sounds on this one.

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Fri May 26 2023

4

Sounds like Michael Jackson. Not so bad, always nice to hear such a music at home.

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Fri Jun 02 2023

4

What a strange brew. Equal parts synth-pop and rock leaning. This is one of those albums that I had no idea what it was going to be. What I walked away with was an utter surprise. I really enjoyed this weird ass music.

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Mon Jun 26 2023

4

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 80s synth-pop at its finest

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Sun Jul 02 2023

4

I only know Scritti Politti from Rhodri Marsden on twitter, and he wasn't in the band when this album was written and recorded. If he was, I'm sure the lyrics would have included many witty observations of Christmas sleeping arrangements and tips on fatherhood. I only knew Green Gartside from 'Between the Clock and the Bed', and I like his voice here as much as I do on that record. It is GG's voice and the high quality production that is most striking about this art pop album. It really elevates the fairly average song writing, creating a instantly recognisable, unique and luxurious sound. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Perfect Way Date listened: 01/07/23

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Fri Jul 07 2023

4

Koffor har eg aldri hørt på detta, da va jo jævlig cheesy og bra. Nesten på høyde med Modern Talking

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Wed Jul 19 2023

4

Catchy tunes. Nice new find. I went on to listen to their entire catalog.

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Wed Aug 09 2023

4

This is about as 80's bubblegum pop as I can imagine, which makes it simultaneously disgusting and irresistable.

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Wed Aug 30 2023

4

new-to-me and I like it (4)

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Thu Aug 31 2023

4

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: The world girl, Absolute, Small talk, Don’t work that hard

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Fri Apr 14 2023

3

Cet album mettait en scène un Michael Jackson encore plus pâle qu'à son habitude, presque transparent. Et pour cause, après quelques chansons, le visage de Michael finira par se déchirer, laissant entrevoir la mine dépourvue de Scritti Politti. Une belle tentative d'escroquerie, mais le déguisement de Scritti n'aura pas tenu les 40mn d'album.

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Wed Apr 19 2023

3

The album's title is a reference to the classical Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, and the themes of love and desire are explored throughout the album's ten tracks. The production on this album is fresh, with lush, intricate arrangements that showcase the band's technical skill. The album's standout tracks include "Perfect Way," which was a massive hit and remains one of the band's most beloved songs. This upbeat, funky track is characterized by its catchy chorus, infectious melody, and clever lyrics. "The Word Girl" is another standout track, featuring one of the better vocal performances by lead singer Green Gartside and a driving rhythm section that propels the song forward. Other standout tracks on the album include "Absolute," which features a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere and a good vocal performance by Gartside, and "Hypnotize," which has a hypnotic, trance-like quality. One negative about the album is how Scritti Politti sometimes fail to showcase the knack for creating innovative and unique sounds. They do the more basic stuff well though, and it’s not a bad listen.

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Wed Apr 26 2023

3

Listened Before? N Pretty standard 80's pop stuff here. Enjoyable enough but really not much special IMO. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Perfect Way

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Tue May 09 2023

3

Check out Miles Davis’s cover of Perfect Way.

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Sat May 13 2023

3

Awww, I was into them early 80's (I bought Songs to Remember and Wood Beez). This takes me back but I realise a lot of people will hate it as 80's pop. Good solid tunes but nothing special I guess.

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Sun May 14 2023

3

Sounds like band called Scritti Politti. 3 stars.

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Mon May 22 2023

3

Felt like I was stuck in an 80s family comedy soundtrack. Can't decide whether that was good or not

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Wed Jun 14 2023

3

Not my cup of tea

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Sat Jun 24 2023

3

Incredibly polished mid 80s studio produced commercial pop. Could only have been made in studios of the mid 1980s. Slick, upbeat, vocals a little under mixed. Not as lovely as Prefab Sprout or x-factor as Culture Club. I couldn’t make out the lyrics, so will listen again - as I gather they’re clever. Sound is so 80’s!!

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Tue Jun 27 2023

3

Yeah. It was alright. I had a Scritti Politti take in my collection as a teenager and every now and then I'd fish it out and be pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a shit as I'd thought. This time, thinking it was going to be a pleasant surprise, it was not all that. 3.5 stars.

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Wed Jul 12 2023

3

Atlanta night 1: I didn’t write this review right after I listened to it so it’s already pretty hazy after a full day of exploring but I remember that it had really lame simplistic production that worked sometimes and not at all in other tracks while the vocals were solid throughout. Pretty average britpop.

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Sat Jul 15 2023

3

Most of this album did not do much for me but not terrible

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Mon Jul 31 2023

3

I remember when this album came out, there was a kid at school (whose name escapes me now) who was particularly evangelical about synth pop in general and Scritti Politti in particular when this album came out. I don't think he was aware of their past as a Marxist agit-prop, post-punk collective. And in all fairness, there isn't much about this very expensive production that would suggest such a past. The singles certainly caught my attention at the time, influenced by his proselytizing, This album is probably the pinnacle of 80s synth pop. Sophisticated, polished, intricate, smooth, light. Robert Christgau wrote that "the high-relief production and birdlike tunes and spry little keyb arrangements and hippety-hoppety beat and archly ethereal falsetto add up to a music of amazing lightness and wit that's saved from any hint of triviality by wordplay whose delight in its own turns is hard to resist." I'm not sure that I am taken with the lyrics; they're clever, but I feel like Green Gartside is a bit in love with his own cleverness. Generally, I find his approach a bit narcissistic, which makes the album hard to love. Although, Miles Davis was a fan, and covered Perfect Way on his Tutu album. I love the singles, notably Wood Beez and Perfect Way, but a whole album is like eating a 10kg bag of fairy floss. Light and fun for the first few handfuls, but sweet to the point of nauseating over the space of a whole album. I own a couple of Scritti Politti albums (including this one), which I never spin all the way through. I should ditch the LPs, and invest in copies of the singles instead. That would work better.

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Mon Jul 31 2023

3

I was a fan. Really liked Green’s voice. And this album contains 3 of my favourite SP trax. Wood Beez(Pray Like Aretha Franklin) & The Word Girl still sound so fresh & Absolute is not far behind . I have the Word Girl 12” single featuring Ranking Ann, which is outstanding. It’s great that the album was co- produced by Atlantic Records legend, Arif Mardin, who worked on Aretha’s I Never Loved A Man etc. album. The production is great. I don’t think the band ever made it to Australia, but, ironically, Fred Maher, the drummer on this album & guitarist Robert Quine, who also appears on it, both toured Australia six months before this album was released, in January 1985 as part of Lou Reed’s touring band. I saw Reed at Newcastle’s Civic Theatre on that tour & definitely remember Quine’s bald pate on stage. Great guitarist.

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Mon Jul 31 2023

3

The type of band you’re supposed to like, but I wonder how many actually listened to this album more than once or twice, though enjoyed having the cd cassette or album prominently on display - all the while listening to Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, Born to be alive, the eagles, pink Floyd, yes, ELP, etc and other horrid dreck, or mega selling crowd pleasers. not bad at all, but there’s a reason it’s more of a cult classic. Perfect way was good actually.

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Mon Jul 31 2023

3

Not bad but, as far as 80s synth pop goes, this is far from the best I’ve heard Favourite tracks: The Word Girl, Hypnotize

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Wed Aug 09 2023

3

This sounds like you asked chatGPT to generate an androgynous 80s pop album. Almost comes across like a parody at certain points.

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Wed Aug 09 2023

3

A very 80s sound. I knew the song Perfect Way, but that was it. It is heavy on the drums and I like the beats. Singing was eh….. Still I did enjoy the listen… Standout: Perfect Way 3/5

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Mon Aug 21 2023

3

Decent album but ultimate uneventful

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Mon Aug 21 2023

3

Typical 80s album, a bit of a Prince and MJ rip off.

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Fri Aug 25 2023

3

The couple of hits on this record are interesting tunes... this was pretty early club music i.e. something you wouldn't really hear on the radio with any real frequency, but you'd hear when you went out. Definitely also a bit of a mishmash with a few different elements -- funky, electronic, a bit of a reggae feel here and there. I would say it's aged somewhat poorly, as it isn't nearly as complex as music became.

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Thu Aug 31 2023

3

This is a great pop album. The '85 in the title is perfect. It sounds exactly how a record made in 1985 should. The production is sharp and sweet. The songwriting isn't always there, but it feels like an album, and not some random songs put together.

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Thu Aug 31 2023

3

Solid 80s synth pop. The album builds nicely toward Perfect Way but can’t maintain that peak. Enjoyable but odd.

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Fri Sep 01 2023

3

Surely a hidden gem for me. This late summer day in the city was a perfect fit for this kind of pop. Love the production and there are some real good tunes on here as well. Maybe a little uneven. Yeah, it's pretty uneven unfortunately.

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Wed Sep 06 2023

3

Gostei, me surpreendeu.

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Thu Sep 07 2023

3

Good background music

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Thu Sep 07 2023

3

Okeyish

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Tue Sep 12 2023

3

I have an ice-cream headache.

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Thu Sep 14 2023

3

This must be where Bill Wurtz found inspiration.

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Thu Sep 14 2023

3

Very 80s, but enjoyable

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Fri Sep 15 2023

3

Fun synths, started strong, tailed off in the middle, got a bit ridiculous at the end.

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Mon Sep 18 2023

3

50/50 nostalgía og innumannaðútumhitt

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Fri Sep 22 2023

3

An interesting period piece but the sound is very, very dated. A fair bit of it also kind of all sounds the same.

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Sat Sep 23 2023

3

Treball fora del seu temps. Enrevesat, creatiu, amb un so que sí se situa a la década que l'origina però amb unes composicions que no poden estar més allunyades del synth pop comercial o del hair metal en auge que triomfaven l'any 1985. No és l'èxit monumental de la música en el qual alguns l'han volgut convertir, però sí un disc que mereix ser recordat i disfrutat cada cert temps. Cada escolta donarà una nova capa d'enteniment al seu contingut

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Tue Apr 11 2023

2

Perfect Way was lyrically interesting, but the music did absolutely nothing for me. In general, I think the issue was probably my feelings about generic 80s synth pop. The songs that were musically slightly more interesting did nothing for me lyrically. Some more boring to me on both fronts. The description says that there is preoccupation with politics in the lyrics, but that doesn’t really come across very much. Interest in words and wordplay, sure, but barely anything here seemed intensely political.

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Fri Apr 21 2023

2

It's interesting? But it's very 80s and sounds super dated. A historical curiosity but nothing more than that.

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Fri Apr 28 2023

2

Varmaan merkittävä levy Briteissä mutta vaikea ulkopuolelta saada kiinni. En kauheesti ehtiny keskittyä sanoihin, jotka on kai hyviä. Kakkoseen jää.

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Fri Apr 28 2023

2

Ei tääkään nyt lähde mulle yhtään. Tylsää 2/5

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Mon May 01 2023

2

J’ai juste trouve ca vraiment trs moyen… 2

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Thu May 04 2023

2

This is like male Madonna stuff. very clinky and synthy. how ultimately dull.

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Fri May 05 2023

2

I don't have a purpose omission, I'm empty by definition.

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Tue May 09 2023

2

What am I missing here?

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Mon May 15 2023

2

Mid 80s soul/pop album that sounds exactly like Prince and Janet Jackson sounded at that time, but without an inkling of their respective genius. Pity. 2/5

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Wed May 17 2023

2

Dit vond ik niks

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Thu May 18 2023

2

Started off with a bit of potential but quickly became just a background annoyance.

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Thu May 18 2023

2

Although I can't deny tapping my foot to some of the bouncy, trouncy beats, overall I'm not a fan of the Michael Jackson-lite singing and this style of music. Need to go listen to some classic Who or Led Zeppelin as an antidote. 2 stars.

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Sun May 21 2023

2

Fun and upbeat, some great 80's synth work going on but ultimately not as catchy as I had hoped. Put a few songs on 80's playlists though so that's a plus for it.

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Mon May 22 2023

2

Slightly dull new wavey stuff. A lot of new wave on this list, and I have enjoyed a fair amount of it, but this one falls a bit flat for me

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Fri May 26 2023

2

it has everything to be good but honestly, it lacks soul

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Thu Jun 01 2023

2

I thought Brits were immune or allergic to boy bands? Sounds like the British pop version of Color Me Badd. It's harmless and unimpactful. Every single track sounds exactly the same; there's no tonal, lyrical or sonic variety to be found here. If the year of release was 2023 I'd assume this whole album was written and performed by ChatGPT. It should probably just stay in the $1 records value bin where it belongs.

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Fri Jun 02 2023

2

Another synth-pop band from the 80's I avoided. Until now, never listened to more than a couple songs and it's so bland I don't need to hear anymore. Kind of a British poor-man's version of Michael Jackson, though Scritti Politti seems to lack Mikey's passion and emotion and it's not my kind of music.

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Fri Jun 02 2023

2

Menudo rollazo ... como Prince ñoño, sin gracia.

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Fri Jun 02 2023

2

Pop con sintetizadores. No me ha gustado. Un 2.

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Wed Jun 07 2023

2

Mmmeh

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Thu Jun 08 2023

2

It’s weird to listen to an album with nine songs that all sound the same and somehow only one is good. 2.5 stars

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Thu Jun 08 2023

2

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Wood Beez (8) 2 - Perfect Way (6) 3 - Hypnotize (9)

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Tue Jun 20 2023

2

Classic 80s sound but couldn't find much joy with essentially a one hit wonder.

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Tue Jun 20 2023

2

Very typical mid 80s new wave pop synth music. Nothing on this stood out to me as ground breaking or amazing.

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Thu Jun 22 2023

2

Not for me.

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Sat Jun 24 2023

2

4/10 gros pop electro brit pas tant plaisant

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Wed Jun 28 2023

2

C- The Word Girl - 3 Small Talk - 2 Absolute - 2 A Little Knowledge - 2 Don’t Work That Hard - 2 Perfect Way - 3 Lover To Fall - 2 Wood Beez - 2 Hypnotize - 2 This was okay. It was WAY too 80s. Wasn't horrible though.

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Wed Jun 28 2023

2

Sounds like MJ, but I like it better...?

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Thu Jun 29 2023

2

1.5 really not amazing. Maybe a COUPLE okay PARTS but overall yucky

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Thu Jun 29 2023

2

Had to work to get through this one.

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Thu Jun 29 2023

2

A punk band turned into the worst of the 80s. Back to the British bent of this list.

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Mon Jul 03 2023

2

This was alright, but I am just not that into this kind of synth pop.

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Wed Jul 12 2023

2

Pop

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Sat Jul 15 2023

2

i was there in the 80s, this record is somehow emblematic of much of the style (overuse of electronic drums, tinny slap bass, wall to wall synths) and yet not very good

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Tue Jul 18 2023

2

Was this an album of just one song?? If you like that song, great! If you don’t, gotta say it’s a little dull.

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Thu Jul 20 2023

2

quién elige estos discos?

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Mon Jul 24 2023

2

This sailed perilously close to being a one star stinker.

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Thu Aug 03 2023

2

Didn’t get anything out of this

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Tue Aug 15 2023

2

Well, I made it through it. Not terrible, but maybe not my cup of tea first thing in the morning

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Wed Aug 16 2023

2

Not for me

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Thu Aug 17 2023

2

A strange 80s pop/synth/electro album that isn't too bad, but doesn't really grab me at all. Thankfully it's a short album and I didn't have to endure that for very long. Best: Absolute Worst: Don't Work That Hard

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Fri Aug 18 2023

2

No thanks (80's Prince knock-off?)

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