Reviews (page 5 of 8)
At the tail end of Britpop comes a kinder, gentler Oasis. Nothing truly exceptional, but the sea shanty influences make for an interesting listen.
Friends have banged on about Mick Head's bands for ages now, I've heard this and thought it was alright but I'd already been listening to Teenage Fanclub for years so just hear that in it. I'm told Shack had that sound first, I don't know, but Sparky's Dream existed for years before 'Comedy' and I can't help but hear the exact same chorus. Although, that is a delightful song. Beta Band vibes on the backing vocals of Captain's Table. Streets of Kenny is really great. With a really weirdly abrupt ending. So, to my ear nothing original, and tbh, after Streets of Kenny nothing really holds my interest (except Since I Met You). But it is really well done. Had I heard this back in 1999 I would very likely have been all over it.
Easy listening 90s rock vibes
Okasis?
This is a fun Brit pop album. I’d rather come back and listen to this than arctic monkeys or Coldplay
Never heard of Shack before. I like this genre, and this all felt familiar -- too familiar. A lot of sameyness on here.
Album passable de la voix française de Shark.
3 1/2
more britpop
Generally pleasant.
Enjoyable, but nothing I’ll revisit.
A solid album. My review may be skewing more positive since the last album I listened to was by the Incredible String Band. This was an enjoyable listen.
Swagg… ganska bra!
Fun, easygoing (with some exceptions). The strings arrrangements are well implemented. I especially like the song ”Streets Of Kenny”
This is a good album but did not resonate with me that much. Daniella is my favorite track and it is very different from the remaining tracks.
Pop
A ratos muy Oasis, a ratos muy James, este disco de 1999 captura muchos sonidos de la época aunque no siento que aporte mucho por sí mismo. Aún así, es un disco agradable con un par de canciones movidas (a-la-Pulp, pre-Kasabian) y está bien ejecutado. Sólido 3.
¿Es este en serio un álbum que debo escuchar antes de morir? O sea, no se me hizo malo, hasta un par de rolas tendría agreagadas, pero no le veo lo especial ni histórico ni nada. No lo bajo a 2 estrellas porque no es "malo" pero creo que sobra.
One of those bands I'd heard about, read about but never heard. I like this, there's some good stuff on it and yet I know there'll probably be a whole bunch of stuff from this late/post-Britpop era that's more deserving of being included in the 1001 (e.g. both of Mansun's first two albums).
Serviceable post-Britpop tunes from the end of the decade with some songs that are better than expected or anticipated. Favorites: Comedy, Pull Together, Streets of Kenny, Re-Instated, I Want You, Cornish Town.
3, generally good
Reminded me of Rhcp some.
Generic 90s indie
Solid indie/folksy brit pop. It's better than it doesn't go into britrock because they start sounding too much like the era that was dominated by oasis. It's not a bad record at all, but doesn't really leave much of an impression
Good album but not particularly interesting enough to listen to it twice
Solid late 90s Britpop/rock, good but not super memorable or anything. I have to confess though that I inadvertently listened to the whole album on shuffle, didn't realize till the second to last song. In hindsight I remember hearing at least one song that kind of faded out in a weird way, probably was supposed to fade into whatever the actual next song was. I just thought it was a weird production choice.
Good solid indie album, if they had been a few years earlier they would have sold thousands more copies. Fills the space between the Las and Embrace, which I never knew needed filled. Natalie's partly and beautiful ate my favourites, with an honourable mention for lend's some dough
Ship shape
Good enough alternative rock music. They remind me of The Wallflowers. There's also an REM vibe that has some Tom Petty roots. I like the basic sound they make; lyrically, it's pretty middle-of-the-road. I can see these songs showing up in a 90s romantic comedy movie in the background, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
A really solid, interesting album that delivers with every song
A little out there, but not terrible. Nothing I have any real attachment too, but it doesn't hurt me.
Inbegriff von geschmeidigen Pop.
Not to bad
This was enjoyable for a rainy morning drive
eh it’s pretty mediocre I don’t really know why it’s on here I’ll give it a 5/10, it’s not terrible but it’s really not anything special either
The third album by Liverpudlian band Shack, 1999. H.M.S. Fable was well received by the critics, but I'm not a critic. So this one was a bit boring for me. Not my type of music, but sounds good.
Buen disco. Interesante
It was OK. But I don't think I'll listen to it again.
Escuchable. Sin más. Un 3.
You know, Comedy is one of my all time favourite singles, and it really breaks my heart that the album doesn't get anywhere close to it. They set the bar too high, they did. So it goes.
This was fine but never quite gelled for me. All over the map stylistically; going from Beatle-esque to post-folkish to pretty standard alternative pop. Grabbed me in a few places but mostly faded into the background.
leggero leggero, apprezzabile l'ultima solo chitarra e voce
Sounded like the type of thing you'd hear on the OC soundtrack. Pleasant enough. Also profoundly uninteresting.
Was not familiar with them, this is a lovely album
bit of this, but of that, long been recommended but never quite got it
Good, inoffensive britpop. Not sure if I really love this or if I've just spent a lot of time with it, so a 3 feels right. I Want You is #realmusic tho Saved: Pull Together*, Beautiful, Streets of Kenny, I Want You
Pretty good!
This was a weird album for me. I heard the opening track, Natalie's Party, and thought..."okay, here we go." And then the next couple of tracks felt like severe letdowns. It's not that they were bad necessarily, Beautiful stood out to me, but it just felt like generic pop-rock. Certainly not an "Album you MUST listen to" material. You could get the same kind of experience from Goo Goo Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, etc. But then Captain's Table kicked in...and this album WENT places. A unique mix of sounds and exploration hit in the middle of the record. The direction went almost R.E.M in style and it really worked. Unfortunately when you hit Cornish Town, things start to slow back down and I lost interest. Certainly not a bad album, it probably sounded great at the time. It's just a little too fluffy and mixed to stand out now. Favorite Song: Streets of Kenny Least Favorite: Comedy
Decent enough, no bad tracks but also nothing especially memorable to push it up to the next level
Really enjoyed a couple of songs, but then some just sort of existed and did nothing for me. Average
Ya no me acuerdo pero malo no es
I was totally in the blank with this one and a bit reluctant at first. But turns out this is quite a good album, a hidden gem of Brit-Pop. At times, it made me think of a British REM of sorts (mainly because of the vocals).
I was staining a deck while listening, so I remember absolutely nothing about this album other than I was expecting sea shanties and was severely disappointed
Not really sure about this one
nice enough, pretty forgettable overall 2.8
Falls somewhere between Oasis and Third Eye Blind. Enjoyable enough, but it’s not something I’ll really return to much, as I think others have done the same sort of sound better.
Perfectly nice, and Perfectly forgetable.
Geen hele bijzondere rock. maar zeker niet heel slecht
Onestamente non l'ho ascoltato tutto, ma probabilmente lo farò. Mi è piaciuto molto lo stile fine anni '90. La prima canzone, anche qui, mi è piaciuta assai.
Enjoyable folk rock, nothing sounded really groundbreaking but I enjoyed the vibe and some of the more shanty-like tracks
Not what I was expecting from a Pop album. An easy listening Rock influenced album.
Sounds good. But isn't my style.
ik dacht ik krijg piraten muziek. was i wrong. Maar AAAARRRRR i like it.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Pull together, Beautiful
Yeah not bad.
This might be the most inoffensive Britpop I have ever listened to. It honestly is a nice listening experience, though it lacks a certain edge or memorability. Most of what you hear on HMS Fable has been done better by other artists, but none of it is done poorly here. Its a 3/5.
Undeniably well played, sung and produced. You can hear its obvious (and not so obvious) influences within the grooves. The record clearly wears its heart on its sleeve and rocks pretty hard in places too but ultimately there's not quite enough here to elevate it to classic status for mine.
Poppy
A good solid album, not really different from what I already listen too, but it's nice. It can get heavy at times especially at the beginning of the album, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. What I liked about this album is that it was weirdly real, I had a weird depersonalization session because of it. Usually when one listens to music they would imagine scenarios, or colors, but honestly I just sat in my chair, stared at the wall, and listened. Truly a blank slate moment. Most Memorable Song : Beautiful - It was such a stark contrast from the rest of the songs that I had to check if I was in the right album. It's really fun and feel good, and served as a refresher. Added it to one of my playlists ! Other moments : I enjoyed "Lend's some dough" and "Comedy" but they still really didn't stand out to me outside of this album. BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE GUITAR IN "Since I met you". Jesus christ I added that bad boy into one of playlists solely for the conclusion. It was so so good I'm definitely just going to replay that part over and over again.
A good album from an underrated band. A few jangle-pop hits as well as some more interesting stuff.
I’m sure this hits someone’s nostalgia button. I was a little bored though.
Je connais pas ce genre de musique, la "britpop" Nathalie's party (opening) : effectivement c'est pop. Mais c'est pas mal, ça ressemble à une musique de film. On dirait de la bonne soupe, genre la musique de Shrek Ca sent le 2.5 : ça me laisse pantois, même si c'est joli par certains aspects. Finalement ça finit sur un 3 C'est un peu cucul mais ça se chante autour d'un feu. Fav : Lend's Some Dough (elle représente bien l'album), Daniella (jolie)
Turn of the millenia rock with 90's angst. This album clearly is setting the tone for what would be alternative noise for the upcoming era.
Kinda boring
Not heard of this band before which is surprising. You can hear the similarities to many of their related bands (lightning seeds, cast, the las), not bad but don’t know if I would choose to listen to them over others.
Slightly above average but certainly nothing special. Everything you would expect from this genre.
Not as bad as I thought it'd be considering the previous britpop on the list. That being said, it's very forgettable and I have no desire to revisit it
Some songs have a bit of an R.E.M. vibe to it and I quite like it. Full album is a bit much though.
Good. Jangly.
By the second listen I was really starting to enjoy it. ***
Strange but enjoyable.
I’ve never heard of Shack before and I’ve never heard any of these songs. Managed to listen 1.5 times through the album, and definitely liked it better the second time but I’m still not ready to do more than a 3. Gonna save “Pull Together” into one of my playlists though
Fine!
Strangely never heard of this band before. Quite good...
Nice enough. The songs have a sixties feel at times. I prefer the sparse, mellower tracks. The horns were a nice addition to Re-instated. Michael Head is a better song-writer than singer.
3
Pop un tanto optimista, alegre y bien elaborado. Canciones con algo de ritmo y fácil de escuchar, sin destacar en ningún área especialmente. Mediocre tirando a algo mejor
Why? 5
Album tres 90. Bon son en general mais se compare pas vraimment aveci les gros albums de ces annees. Quand meme une belle ecoute. 3.25
I liked some of it and didn't hate any of it. If I could rate 3.5 I would... it's not quite 4 stars though.
Solid
ei nouse mulle massasta, kuulostaa geneeriseltä brittiläiseltä kitarapopilta
Folky 90s altrock
this one was kinda sadly forgettable. i was psyched because i'd never heard of them, and they were from liverpool, which just seems like a good thing...Streets of Kenny was great, but nothing else really stood out here to me.
Decent.
Alright, bluetones-esque 90s fodder.
A lot of songs on here felt like they were mimicking the style of other bands; beatles, red hot chili peppers and even Blur. it was enjoyable but ultimately forgettable
Fun stuff. Nice driving music
Pleasant Surprise
90s british rock. Decent but not amazing.
Not really my style, but I can appreciate some heroin-fueled pop rock as much as the next guy. Has its moments... fleeting ones, but perhaps it's better that way.
mixed, it's pretty smooth but nothing too crazy. I have listened to other songs from them, not a bad band.
Levy alko ihan lupaavasti, mutta loppua kohden hyyty. Kuuntelin kahdesti.
Decent BritPop, but nothing special.
nice music to work to. didnt have to think about anything too hard.
It was fine. Beatles -esque. It works for background music
This feels like some slow paced country bumpkin music, vocals by non-native English speakers mumbling and trying to produce weird al type music, but not ending up funny. I didn't hate it, but even actively trying, couldn't find my enjoyment of it.
I was right in the middle of the Britpop and indie scene in the 90s, but somehow HMS Fable by Shack completely passed me by. I'd never even heard of it, so I was interested to see what I'd missed. Unfortunately, I don't think I was missing much. HMS Fable can be summed up quite simply: bland, boring and largely uninspired. Very little ever seems to happen, and despite giving it my full attention, I struggled to find anything that really grabbed me. The songs came and went without leaving much of an impression. There are a couple of decent moments. “Comedy” and “Pull Together” are enjoyable enough, but they’re not enough to lift the rest of the album. Too much of it blends into the background and feels instantly forgettable. Overall, this is another album that left me wondering how it made the 1001 list. I know it has its fans, but it did very little for me and it's not something I can see myself returning to. Favourite tracks: “Comedy” and “Pull Together” were both enjoyable Least favourite tracks: Much of the album blends into the background and is instantly forgettable Album artwork: I do love a good ship, and the album cover is probably my favourite thing about the record
A guy eventually hears so many nth wave Brit rock albums that it feels like a real treat when one doesn’t totally stink. This is one of those, but it’s not like I’m gonna go crazy with the score or anything
2.5
Ok but uninteresting
like a warmer version of Cream/The Birds....not for me
why is this on the list? sounds like something i'd hear in an "irish" pub Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: no 2.3
This is not something that should be on this list.
Boring 90s pop slop
Initially reminded of REM. Boring and bland. 2/5
Mediocre
If I have to listen to one more of these boring ass britpop albums I'm going to scream
Very much whatever. I will not remember a single song from this album even if it sounded Simon & Garfunkel adjacent at times.
There is nothing about this album that merits inclusion on the list.
Sehr mid 3/5
At times interesting but more of a bore than anything else.
Boring. British. Bullshit 2/5
Poppy crap.
Pre Listen: Haven't heard of these gents, but based on the "H.M.S." in the title, I reckon it's a UK band of some sort. No expectations. Notable Tracks: Daniella - My favorite track. The simple acoustic guitar contrasts the overdone nothing burger songs that fill this album. I really like the distortion effect at the end of the song, very unique. Lend's Some Dough - Least favorite track. Embarrassing. I would say this is AI Generated, if it wasn't for this album being from '99. Post Listen: UK Band of some sort indeed. It sounded rather generic to me. Like a watered down R.E.M. mixed with something else. I already dislike R.E.M. so I was pretty bored by this album. I don't have anything particularly negative to say about any one element, it just sounded meh to me. I couldn't understand the vocals from time to time. I normally enjoy albums with wide instrumentation, interesting vocal effects, harmonies, etc. This one though, it all felt almost corporate in a way? Hard to explain. This is background music you'd hear in a restaurant you'll never return to, not because it was bad, but because you were only passing through. Even still, if you were to pass through again, you probably wouldn't go here. 2/5
I don't know about this one man; it made me kinda sleepy. Pull Together and Cornish Town were really good but everything else was a bit dull. Kept checking to see how many tracks were left until this album was over. Might be worth re-listening to outside of work/driving (I can imagine Daniella is good for relaxing) as it was fairly good music.
Two random albums in a row. This one is a bit less "random" than the previous one by virtue of being British and there being a very obvious bias for British music. It is also a better album, at least I'm a bit more into this style of late-Britpop, but it's still nothing that I would deem essential listen.
Pretty boring
i really wanted to like this, as a fan of potentially-undersung jangle pop and proper-noun song titles, but god it's a shame about the production. Comedy has the structural grandeur to pull it off, and Re-Instated is stripped down and lovely, but the rest just feels like it's drowning in bad choices. there are more tracks here that have the sturdy, commendable bones of a Flying Nun band or a Go-Betweens song, but the songwriting is so consistently shouted over by horns and strings and two million guitar tracks that it all turns to mush. sad, was pulling for these guys for some reason :(
por momentos te entretiene pero por muchos otros aburre y satura, not my thing 5/10
Forgettable
Fine to listen to at 2am (which is when I listened to it… but completely generic and forgettable
If AI existed in 1999 this would be the prompt....Hey we are some cool guys, but not traditionally cool, that just started a band. We really like Oasis and their vibe, I mean we are brothers too. Can you write us an album that fits our style? Then they all looked at each other and said yeah this seems easy enough that we can all play it. And poof HMS Fable, another generic (likely pretentious full of themselves) britpop album was made.
This is remarkably forgettable.
Cookie-cutter pre-packeged pop rock. It's just ok, if not a little annoyingly dull. It's listenable but it feels like it wants radio play without doing something special, I guess it might just be the stripped down radio sauce that existed prior to that more iconic 2000s pop-rock sound. I find it hard to believe this album is a must listen, it's feeling pretty uneventful. 2.1/5
Nothing particularly bad about it, but it just did absolutely nothing for me. Just came off like a local band with a descent following that never made the jump to anything more.
Irgendwie zehn Jahre zu spät Und dafür nicht gut genug
Not a Britpop fan
Meh, pretty mediocre in my opinion. A little too boring
I was so, so bored.
For a long, long, long time I just kinda figured all British bands were a bit askew. If they were ever conventional - Oasis - it was in the direction of classic rock trappings. Otherwise, they could communicate emotions without being overbearing, usually carry a tune, not as much screaming, but still scanning as different, alternative, not “pop” exactly (but not not - part of championing alt and indie rock was a belief that this music should be perfect for radio etc). So to my surprise, when I was part of a britpop scene in late 90s/early 00s Boston, I found out there was plenty of straightforward, very basic rock and pop that hailed from the land of the Cure, Ride, and Blur. When the “post OK Computer” bands arrived, groups like starsailor or jj72 or even the more successful Coldplay and Travis, they had a built-in audience that liked Gene, Shed Seven, The Bluetones, Dodgy. Not bad groups, but not terribly remarkable and largely unheard outside UK radio. This is where we find Shack. A consistent part of the second and third wave britpop bands is that they were made up of lifers. They’d gone through trends in the 80s and early 90s and were still looking for a hit. This is not dissimilar from most of the grunge bands associated with the “Seattle Sound.” Go back a few years earlier and you’ll see STP and AiC flirting with hair metal and alternative funk, pre-Pearl Jam bands Green River and Mother Love Bone both more than happy to share a bill with Poison or Whitesnake if that would get them in front of an audience. The Pale Fountains were the pre-Shack band. This story is replicated all over britpop, bands ending and starting anew the same way attorneys go from firm to firm or a tech bro with start-ups. This isn’t entirely a bad thing. The music fan’s wish is finding a rare gem, a sui generis genre creation all via one song, but also, sometimes, a group that has enough talent and craft to evolve their sound, chasing trends, muses, an entire zeitgeist if they’re really lucky. Blur were a not very good baggy/indie band called Seymour and didn’t really hit their stride until album 2, Radiohead likewise. But you still have to retain that spark or what in acting is the impression of the first time - youth goes a long ways in disguising material that is rudimentary or basic because, well, passion and looks sell. That’s enough to get you in the door, but absent a songwriting team, the rest is down to luck, perseverance, deals with devils. Shack never caught fire the way even Travis did, registering a blip on American radio and MTV, doing theatre tours, opening for major label artists. Instead, they somehow made it into a compendium called 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. I had only ever heard of them by accident trying to track down a song from the aforementioned Boston britpop scene (years later: still looking). The HMS Fable is adult-oriented Oasis, perfectly fine to throw on at home on a weeknight maybe while you’re making dinner (like I did last night in Toronto). Well-made, workmanlike, 1 pretty good song, and a bunch of album cuts.
boring britpop. like why is this on here??
Big empty music. Attempts to sound grand and sweeping, but nothing about it ends up sticking. Everything is competently made but there's barely any standout lyrics, hooks, melodic ideas, instrumental passages. There were many instances where I assumed I was 5 minutes into a song's runtime, checked the progress, and discovered it was only 3 minutes long. It gets slightly better towards the end, I think Cornish Town, Reinstated, and Daniella are solid songs, but not enough to save the whole experience from being too boring to remember.
Ok but nothing to come back to
In which we learn that whoever wrote the book this is based on is British, because how else would this be here. "Those chaps across the pond probably never 'eard of SHACK - gotta put 'em on." I discussed with John while listening to this that a mark of a mediocre work of art is that the best you can say about it is that it purely evokes a specific time and place - and with this one can maybe I can somewhat grasp the feeling of being 10 seconds away from being carted off in a NHS ambulance due to being mutilated in Liverpool over soccer or some shit while piss drunk in the late 90s. A very saccharine, overwrought, and uninspired by anything but Oasis + strings 10 seconds. Good god, the chorus of one of them is "You and I .... gotta pull together!" C'mon. Any list like this is going to be impossible to get right but there's like one Coltrane album and here we are with some C - tier britpop. It has it's moments, it's got a novelty to it, and I wouldn't say it's bad, but wildly undeserving of such a spot.
Lameeeeee
Not great.
Worse than cold play
This album is easily forgettable.
I feel like I should like this because it’s folky, Beatlesque, Brit-pop, and the songs are all pretty distinct from each other, but it just feels very derivative. I like it when you can tell what artists influenced the album, but maybe there’s a limit to that. Or maybe the album’s just kind of bland for as much bells and whistles it has.
Don't get me wrong, the music is somewhat okay and not bad. It just does not belong onto this list as it does not offer anything new or special. It's standard pop without any extra. There are definitely better records that are there for the masses to play on the radio. 2/5
Boring 90s background music
At first I was like, this ain't too bad. Then the next track was meh, then again, and again, and again.
I so need a break from this genre …sigh
OK i guess but also pretty bland and boring.
I really didn't know what to do with this. I was excited about their listed influences but then I didn't really hear them. Liked the beginning the most and lost it as it went on.
Dimery's taste in 90s music beyond the obvious classics is incredibly suspect. To include this completely nondescript album over In the Aeroplane over the Sea is..... something
2/5. Ganska basic?
Було нудно, лише Даніела сподобалась
More brit-pop slop and this is worse than most. “Pull Together” has some kinda cool elements at least.
Blimey, Michael Head, whatever next RGP…not the best thing in his back catalogue, which touches on remarkable quality at times, but a very solid two stars. Tom.
Typical 90s pop rock record, very soft and relatively corny throughout. Ends with a softer and more melodic song, but overall the record is quite basic. Not my forte, but I don't absolutely hate it.
This started out strong but quickly faded and became dreadfully dull by the end. “Natalie’s Party” and “Comedy” are great songs, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately this album just couldn’t keep the momentum. This is definitely one of those “why is this on the list?” albums.
Sometimes you just gotta shake your head and laugh at how British-pilled the author of this list is. Shack is one of a hundred similar Britpop rock acts from the 90s; they don’t stand out over any of the others in any way. Most of the songs on this record had around 10k listens each, wow such an influential piece of music history! Shack is the rock equivalent of beans on toast, it’s gross and a bit soggy, but i guess it’s technically food. Fuck the author for this, at least the German guys banging on sheet metal were at least mildly interesting. 2/5
This ended up being an incredibly odd-feeling album. 'Coz looking at it from a distance, it should be something I really enjoy. Even through the groan of this being **yet another** British album from the 90's I'd never heard of before now, the melodies and instrumentation are all in place. As a soundscape — which is how I tend to judge albums over everything else — it fits the bill. It fits perfectly, in fact. Maybe even a little ... too perfectly? Even from track three, I was getting a weird feeling from this album. Like if I looked closer I wouldn't see actual humans, but instead manniquens. And, sure, yes, they're polished to a sheen and **look** great — but in the end, they're still plastic. And that's how this album feels: like the perfect, plastic general idea of Britpop. This is not Oasis blowin' the roof off, and it's sure not blur getting down in the muck and experimenting. If it's anything, it's perfect for the radio and people who aren't all too discerning. It's just not terribly authentic. And if there's anything I value more than soundscape, it's that.
I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2. Eh. That really is the word to sum up the album for me: “eh”. This is just mired in mediocrity. Mediocre songwriting, often creating a feeling that the song has started at its halfway point with no context or buildup to create the emotional tissue each song is desperately trying to capture. Strong instrumentation that unfortunately loses all luster because all of its glitz & glamour feels unearned by the structure of each track. Once again, because the songwriting doesn’t really know how to paint pictures that lead up to the emotional release of the chorus as fruitfully as they’re expecting, the big solos here just feel like forced lifts as opposed to natural crescendos. They sound good, but without the investment towards the track, it’s impossible to really get into it. The real issue this album has, beyond the songwriting / structure of each track plaguing the emotional pull, comes in the production itself – listen really closely to this thing, and tell me; do you hear an ounce of natural room tone at any point in this album? It’s not there. There is no natural warmth in any of these tracks; whether it’s the wall of sound that permeates a lot of this album’s guitar work & muddying it up, or the reverb placed on the vocals & harmonizations that creates a bubble effect that compresses & insulates them, this album just feels artificial. It’s part of the reason why the instrumentation doesn’t work as well as it’s executed – the bubble around everything feels unnatural to the ears, and that cascades its way to the vocal delivery & the lyricism. There’s no connective tissue that makes this album feel as alive as it wants to, save for maybe “Comedy”, “Lend’s Some Dough”, & “Captain’s Table” as the only 3 tracks that really clicked with me on a first pass here. I just spent the vast majority of this album trying to get into it and never really clicking with it at all. If I only enjoyed 25% of the album on a first pass & can barely muster up even a loose admiration for certain aspects of some tracks past “it’s fine”, it’s just not worth bumping up to a 3. I do understand why it might click for other people, especially if some of the more localized references in the lyrics make more sense, but it really is just mired in mediocrity to me, and it doesn’t feel like it stands up with the other Britpop-adjacent albums on the list. For 1999, it feels like it’s 10 years out of date, if not a bit longer. It just did not click for me at all, and I feel inclined to bump it down to a 2. It’s not so bad as to earn a 1 but… damn, it just doesn’t feel like it needs to be on the list. Eh.
Ekkert spes. Skil ekki erindið á listann.
Favorite Song: Comedy
Pretty unremarkable. Seems like with so much amazing music in the world...
Very pleasant. Don't think there's anything here to make me come back though.
I’d rather listen to oasis 2
This is #day615 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… what the shack is this, and why should you hear it before you die? I'd never heard of this band before, but listening to this record now, this has to be some of the most generic Britpop I've come across. Is it even Britpop? By 1999, the genre was already on its last legs. If I were to pick something from this era to hear before I kick the bucket, this wouldn't be it. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day616.
As far as a band goes, these guys are fine. They sound fine. But for 1999, this is super bland and mediocre. I didn't need to hear this before I died, unless the opinion was "Look what random middle of the road album was in 1999, so you can appreciate some real greats."
This album is the British food of pop: it's not offensive but is terribly bland. I guess if you have 1001 albums, you need one album to represent music from a given era, but I will never listen to this again unless it comes on in a pub (it'll be too quite and forgettable for me to notice).
pleasant overall. a bit of coffee shop background music vibes
Yet another 90s Brit pop album that I dont like. I think England blew its musical load in the 60's and 70's and is being punished for the Beatles and Stones success with the most mediocre shite ever since.
OK...so we have a 90s album from an English band. Pretty right down the middle with not bad, not great. Lead has a bit of a Squeeze Tilbrook sound which draws me to it a bit more. "Pull Together" and "Captain's Table" are best songs. Overall, not a waste of time album but not shacking up with the Head brothers anytime soon...2.35 stars.
I'm not sure what it is about this album but something about it bothered me. Maybe it's just the Liverpudlian accent or something about the arrangement but I didn't really enjoy any of the songs. I can't really point to anything specific that rubbed me the wrong way but on paper it shouldn't have been that bad. It's some softened alt rock with a pretty down the middle approach but it just didn't resonate with me at all. I'm shrugging my shoulders as to what it is about the Head brothers and Shack that bugged me. 1.73 stars
Forgettable.
Eh... Comedy é uma boa música, de resto nada de interessante. Experimental mas não num bom sentido Destaques: Comedy
Nothing spectacular
This is the nineties equivalent of yesterday's inessential sixties record. Listenable but unmemorable.
llega un punto en el que todo el britpop de los late 80s early 90s suena exactamente igual. bye
first song "Natalie's Party" is amazing! The rest is far from it
Nothing I'm hearing here is raising it above competent late-90s small club rock stuff. Burned over sound with a 47 minutes that felt like an hour.
Mhhhh
I didn’t like this.
did enjoy the closer, the rest was somewhat forgettable– this one feels like a bit of a sneak 2.5/5
Am I not British enough to get why this is here? Just seems like generic 90s britpop to me. Nothing offensive at all, but some corny lyrics and nothing special IMO.
britslop
I was a British teenager who consumed a lot of music during the 90s and I have never heard of Shack. Reading the Wiki, I recognise basically every other adjacent band mentioned but them (I was surprised to hear one of them ended up in Cast, who I remember weirdly fondly). Under my "just because it's dull, that can't make it a 1 star" rating system, I think this gets a 2. It's fine, just not that interesting and I have nothing to really say about it. 2/5
English alt rock stuff. Can take it or leave it
Mid britpop
some aight soft alternative. feels perfect for scrubs.
I’m not sure why I needed to hear this.
2/5
Me: “Mom can we get Oasis?” Mom: “We have Oasis at home.”
Nothing bad about this but definitely nothing to point out or come back to. Generic really is the best word for it. Britpop garbage for sure but also trying to rip off REM too. Confused how this made it on the list. Another album that could be replaced with Relationship of Command.
Bland '90s Brit pop. Nothing new or outstanding. Heard similar a gazillion times before.
maan Oasis can be boring sometimes but this just takes britpop to a new level. its not that bad. is a white wall bad?
insanely generic
No private session used for Spotify. This was bland and generic rock, with obvious and hack rhymes. Background music for a sitcom. When I have to listen to an album that is so cliche on this site I start to question this endeavor.
Everything from the name of the band to the name of the record (H.M.S. Fable by Shack) suggested to me that this was going to be one of those inexplicable "England gets a win!" or boost moments, thanks to the bias of the 1001 list editors, and yet, even though this is exactly what happened, the music was surprisingly less cringe than I expected. However, it is a completely unremarkable britpop album from the late 90s that was hard to continue to listen to the further in I got. This record is for people who think there's little wrong with using "pleasant" to describe their favourite (with a 'u') music.
Dad rock, did nothing for me.
A bit forgettable…
DIE HABEN EINEN SONG MIT HAFTBEFEHL??????
Chabos know who the Babo is
Formuliac and dull. I did like Since I Met You but the rest was a dirge.
Got 4 songs in before I turned it off. Boring
Simply fine and listenable, unfortunately not quite what you want from an album You Must Hear Before You Die. Felt like it released sorely late - in 1999 the britpop ship had surely sailed? (pun intended)
one of the albums of all time for sure nothing offensive but very forgettable, really not sure why its on this list. sounds like a bunch of bad oasis songs but also if oasis were from liverpool #751 from 1999 on RYM is kinda hilarious, its struggling to make the 1001 albums from 1999 but its somehow on the 1001 albums list?? 2
I can't think of any reason why I would listen to this over a different indie/alternative album
????
-my biggest gripe with this album was that it was just. boring. pretty generic Britpop / alt rock sound and not much else. they weren’t terrible at it and it’s by no means a bad album, but all the songs just blended together to me -Favorites: Captain’s Table, I Want You
Shocker. Another album that reveals the author's UK bias. This absolutely doesn't belong here. Would be somewhat tolerable in any other context. However, by the time it got to track 4, Beautiful, it's nakedly derivative of The Verve (who I can't stand.) Lend's Some Dough is pure Beatles worship. Pretty dull overall.
Why is this on the list? Best Song: Pull Together Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2
'H.M.S. Fable' by Shack is another regrettably bland Britpop album that feels wildly out of place on this list, especially when so many more deserving artists remain underrepresented or missing entirely. The band sounds like they’re desperately trying to catch the last swells of the early-’90s Brit rock boom—waves that had already broken and receded by the time this record arrived. Instead of riding them, Shack drifted aimlessly, eventually washing ashore in 1999 like the remnants of a forgotten shipwreck, hoping someone would notice. I’m not sure why this review turned so nautical, but staring at the album cover probably didn’t help. In any case, this record stands as yet another reminder that music critics, even with the best intentions, don’t always get it right.
Are you looking for an album that's a Britpop Barenaked Ladies without all the happiness? Do you crave music that's neither fun nor particularly engaging? Are you eager for an album that drones on unendingly with near monotone vocal stylings? This is the album for you! It's nothing worthy of being on this list, but here it is Ahab.... your white whale.
Do I need to be on heroin?
Quite generic. You can hear some (or a lot) oasis-influence
The bias towards UK music from 1980-2010 is beyond laughable. This is the second completely fine, completely forgettable, frankly boring album from a UK indie band from the 1990s...this week. This is an album very much behind its time. To be fair and to acknowledge my own biases, it is also too slow and mopey for my own personal taste. I frankly wanted to poke my eyes out listening to this, but I persevered in the name of science. I can see why someone else might enjoy this. I cannot see why someone wants to include this on a list of 1001 albums to listen to.
I have no idea why this album was included on the list. Every song is somehow simultaneously both boring and overstimulating. The lyrics are dull nonsense throughout the entire track list, and the vocals aren't much better. Overall, this album not memorable, it's not innovative, and I didn't like it. Two stars. (Favorite track: Natalie's Party.)
another Brit-pop band that wants to be Oasis (or probably the beatles). Of all the amazing music to come out of Liverpool, this album gets chosen. Shite
Backlogged here. Read note for full analysis.
Yay! More second tier Brit-Pop!
Very forgettable, no standouts or desire to listen again. Sad to think of all the amazing albums this took the place of.
Surprised I hadn't heard of a band from 1999. 'Comedy' came on and I realized I knew that song. And then listened to the rest of the album and realized why I don't remember the band. Nothing of any significance. Pull Together is decent tune, but lame lyrics. No reason for this album to be on the list - influenced nobody and no outstanding songs.
I don’t have much to say about this album, a product of its time.
not sure why this album is on here personally, didn't click with me
Not really sure why this made the list. Nothing about it was inherently bad. It was Just kind of generic sounding?
Nothing I recognise, wouldn’t listen again
How can people learn to become proficient in music and then write such bland shlock. Where's the sauce boys? The opening chord is an Oasis style gambit and then it just becomes proto Snow Patrol. Sad. Which makes it the more surprising to learn they signed with Noel's label. 2/5.
2.5 stars. Forgettable 90's alt-rock/Britpop. It's not awful but is pretty boring. Singers having somewhat nasally voices/accents doesn't help things. Strength is middle of album with "Captain's Fable" and "Streets of Kenny".
Average Indie at best
Well I’ve never heard of this before. Complete unknown to me. Which is weird given I was actively buying a lot of CDs around this time. Its very mid 90s, but then I found out it’s from 99. World had moved on when this came out. It’s ok, but no idea why it’s on the list. 2
its really hard for me to like this type of music (dad pub core) but there was one song within this album that really struck out.Daniella,wow what a nice song,listening to this i feel relaxed,my muscles no longer tense and Zen feelings all around. Peace has risen upon me. (only thing saving it and even then its not allat)
Its not unlistenable but its not amazing would of voted a 3 but I didnt add any songs bit too oldy feel like a sack of potatoes (Irish ones)
we have, erm, dodgy at home...?
Meh
This didn’t do much for me. Sometimes I could be swept up in the dreamy instrumentation but mostly I couldn’t get over how sometimes the singer sounded like he was sight reading the lyrics. 2.5/5
Endnu en af de der "hva faen laver den her egentlig på listen?" plader, men det var helt ok
Pretty forgettable.
Meh
Pretty unremarkable really...
I understand that the list (and the list maker) has preferences in choosing what to include. Chalk this one up to the Britpop obsession. Bland and uninspired. Wished I was listening to something else almost the entire time. 1999 had so many better albums and artists that could have been included. For example - Fanmail by TLC, First Love by Utada Hikaru, A Prince Among Thieves by Prince Paul, or The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner by Ben Folds Five? Or if you’re looking for something that was insanely popular in 1999, but not so much now, how about Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds Live at Luther College? Anyway: 2⭐️
Normally with albums like this I’ll look at when it was released and it will be a prototypical decade sound but 10 years ahead of its time. This album is that, but 10 years behind and rather unremarkable.
Music should never be boring.
bleh
This was so drab
Какой то вялый брит-поп
I just don't really see how this is much different than other Britpop from the late 90's. In fact, the genre was pretty much already on its way out by 1999. Kind of late to the party I think. The big names had already innovated, succeeded, and evolved. I understand that this particular group had a released a few albums prior so I can't comment on the quality of their previous work. But here, I can't help but file this into the "Unremarkable Britpop" folder that I've curated from this list (and am continuing to add more to...)
Shack made this list? Fucking Shack? They're barely a level above the worst busker you ever heard, and even the best song on this album, "Natalie's Party", sounds like the shit theme song for a shit 90s sitcom starring Samantha Janus
listened while sick but this album is decent nothing crazy
Yet another boring and annoying British Pop Rock band from the 90's. I swear... It's at least listenable, but I wouldn't mind never hearing this again. Why this album is on this list is beyond me, but after rating 400+ albums, I kind of get what the author's deal is. Introduce us oblivious Yanks to unknown British Pop rock garbage! Yay! (Not). 2.3 / 5 stars (I couldn't give it 3 stars, it was just blah and bland)
soort slechte kruising tss Oasis en Elbow (die alletwee op zichzelf al niet veel voorstellen) hopelijk vaart de HMS Fable eens naar de Bermuda driehoek
Meh
More generic samey britpop; at a certain point I question why so many of these albums are included on this project. Nothing bad but nothing noteworthy, sounds exactly like everything else in the genre. Top tracks: Streets Of Kenny, Daniella
Occasionally interesting but mostly mediocre. Standout songs: Pull Together Streets of Kenny
hard to get through. seemed irrelevant
The back half is much better than the front. It sounds very suburban dad band-ish.
It was fine. Very British. Kind of boring.
Scouse, Celtic, sea inspired. This promised a lot but just didn’t deliver despite some snippets of what I was hoping for
Classique… rien de fabuleux Des airs de red hot par moment
The album isn't bad, but it's trying to be sometime that it isn't. The result is a really messy album. Vocal melodies are very basic which is probably for the best because the vocalist can barely perform them well as they are.
2/5
This shit doodoo
Never heard of this band before and I probably will never think of them again after today. The album isn't really bad but it is a genre that doesn't appeal to me much and the songs feel really bland.
Sounds to me like very generic British pop. Not bad per se, just really bland to me. Music you were forced to listen to on the radio in the 90s.
It didn't move me in any way. it was just oke.
Meh. Didn't really care for this.
making a lists of albums you need to know (because the people who made them had a relevant role in the production of all this other music) leads to albums like this being included. is the entire list boring English rock or...? because i am at my limit already and this album wasn't even bad or anything
Not very good. But also not annoying. Like lukewarm tea.
Rock alternativo británico que a mi parecer no envejeció muy bien. Esto se ha escuchado muchísimo y creo que con mejores resultados. No me encantó.
So boring. This was a bit like The Good The Bad and the Queen. On paper just average rather than bad, but its so insultingly average that it makes it bad. 1.9/5
Ok pretty generic but a good example off UK alt rock late 90s
This album should have been left off this list. Not a single song aspires to be anything but average. Each track is cloyingly friendly and ordinary -- in a word, mild. And there is way too much orchestration going on in the background. Is there such a thing as Brit-pop Lite?
Not frightful but too over produced for my tastes.
… tbh I literally have nothing to say other than I did not think I needed to listen to this before I died
When I started this list I thought I hated Britpop. Then after this list exposed me to the subgenre I thought I loved it. Now, however, Shack has me reconsidering my position. This is mind-numbingly boring and safe rock and really doesn't deserve to be on this list. Despite this, the music isn't terrible - just boring. 1.5/5.0: Bad
"Look, 1000 albums is, like, a lot man. We have to fill it out with something."
I found the first half of this album very hard to get through. Quite cheesy/corny melodies, and not really my thing. It gets better in the second half of the album. Songs like "Streets of Kenny", "Cornish Town" and "Since I Met You" are decent enough. But there's not much interesting happening here overall.
I’d never heard of Shack and was surprised to read that they predate Britpop as this sounds like a fairly derivative Oasis/Stones-lite North-West indie act clinging to its coattails. I’d much rather listen to any number of similar-sounding acts from the same era who were writing better, more catchy and lyrically clever songs at the time. There are some half-decent moments but I have no idea why this made the list.
I love britpop more than most, and this is another good album.
Nudy 2/5
A solid but mostly unremarkable pop rock album.
It was alright.
Not an album of sea shanties
I was tricked by the first two songs
Perfectly OK minor Britpop act...Nothing compared to Oasis and Pulp, of course...Some of the songs were too long and homogenous.
Felt quite average, grew on me a bit from a very uninterested start
There are at least 10 albums from Canada, Mali, Australia or any other country that are more important than this one. Come on! Liked Songs Added: Natalie's Party
Nothing amazing
It's just not my cup of tea
Fikk ikke med meg at jeg hørte på denne. Kjedelige greier.
A few fun songs, but nothing too memorable.
More Brit pop. I’m not sure any of it is very interesting.
I liked Re-instated but nothing else really stood out to me.
Cool album cover. I’ve never heard of Shack before. This looks like an indie rock affair, if I’m to judge by the cover. Wow, not quite what I was expecting. I was ready for more of a sea shanty affair, not something this dreamy or aspirational. It ain’t bad, though it ain’t all that good, either. Still, for what it is, I enjoyed my time with this album. I’m always down for some well-meaning optimism, and this album gave me my fill. “Pull Together” is alright. I like the reverberated sound, and the cowbells during the chorus are a much-appreciated addition. I also like how the vocal delivery continually builds on itself. “Captain’s Table” is another decent cut. The guitarwork is quite intricate and I like the hymnal vocals. Checking the book. The album came from hardship. That’s about it for the entry, really. Heading over to Wikipedia reveals that this album was warmly received by critics, but not much else, really. Yeah, this could do with a snub. In place of this album, I humbly submit Velocity : Design : Comfort by Sweet Trip for inclusion on the list
2/5
yet another 90s britpop album. oasis and blur are probably enough. people who love those bands will seek out more on their own. the overrepresentation of britpop is frankly staggering, at the expense of even other influential british acts like spacemen 3. this album just sounds like watered down R.E.M. it baffles me how this is in the list.