Reviews (page 7 of 8)
What a weird way to trash on a country that they're not even from. On top of it all, they sound so bad doing. Like, it's SO bad.
Nothing memorable. Nothing bad either. 5/10.
Not a huge fan
Probably would have enjoyed this more if I paid closer attention to the lyrics, but overall I found this album to be sonically grating. Standout track: The Mercy Beat
Didn't care for it, seems like it throws silly sounds in just because it thinks it should. I've heard a couple songs from them previously that I liked, but this album was just annoying
Incredible band name, incredible cover. Excited for this one. 1 HMPH dude bass line goes hard af and the drum beat is insane, that snare sound? And all the percussion stuff? Immense amount of personality in lyrics, and everything is super big and bright in the EQ. 2 Great story telling, and super great inflections. The instrumental really compliments the tones, and even provides diegesis like when the sirens turn into synths. Way weirder than most music that sounds like this, which I think is cool. Goddamn that snare sound is crazy lol. Fade out works for me here 3 omfg the vocals and lyrics have so much BITE and that piano?!? Great bass line, and continued perfectly 80s drumkit. The backup vocals could be so schlocky but they’re pitch perfect. Harmonica and strings could not work with this song like they do, but it’s all so cinematic— feels like a track from a musical in a good way. LOVE this song. 4 Counterculture has never been so catchy! Or something, lol. Love the choice to strip the drums out of the verses, the congas and string bass are dreamy and it all gives the vocalist a lot of space to work with. I dunno man I could see these lyrics being read as corny, but I think it’s kinda campy in a Susan Sontag sorta way. Sincere, yano? And I’m down to buy in. Def some og theatercore music though lol 5 This is a really sudden drop in quality. Vocals are super aimless and inessential, the spareness of the instrumental gives you way too much time to sit with how each snare sounds exactly the same and equally loud, and simple but effective bassline is not nearly catchy enough to make up for a lack of important melody. The percussion stuff is fun but kinda extra. 6 There’s a lot less INXS and New Order in these last couple of tracks and a lot more proper post-rock/punk. Some parts work, like the bari sax is good on this and the bass an effects are really fun, but it feels like the vocals are just pretending to have fun now, and the blown out rimshots really wear on the ears. Don’t fully buy in to this duet kinda thing either. Fades out to avoid have to create an ending. 7 This bizarro broadway is grating as hell. What a bummer of a cliff dive from the earlier songs that I legit enjoyed. The lyrics have cratered to, the social commentary was at worst vague but at least it was pointed and seemingly passionate— this is just nonsensical and noncommittal to boot. 8 Bit of a return to form in terms of energy that ends up dragging way too long, diluting the success. The outro’s stupid too. Damn, lotta promise, I’m s sucker for this kinda scene’s sound— but I feel confident in saying this just isn’t a complete package, and the punker aesthetics are diluted.
Couldn't help but feel like I was missing something, like it should have been better but it just wasn't.
Not for me
Soul mining is better anyways.
Not the most horrible thing on this list
For some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about these two guys who were at the open mic night at my favorite college bar literally every week and seemed really old to me at the time
The title track is almost enough for me to give this album 3 stars. ...ALMOST
Bad.
It was fine
The opening song "Infected" stomps but that's the only real standout track. Johnson's affected singing quickly wears thin across the span of the album. The overly-long and overstuffed songs wear out their welcome after a while.
Before getting into their early 80s stuff, I always thought The The were a tacky and forgotten late 80s new wave/funk band like Shriekback or The Escape Club. While Soul Mining is pretty good...this does solidify why I had that opinion to begin with.
A bit too 80s.
Don’t love growling. Sometimes it’s a good effect, Bjork does this very well. But ALL THE TIME in every song: it gets old fast. Not subtle lyrically, not a reflection on how he feels about things. Just moral absolutism. Underpinned by a strange Soul style, there’s just too much dichotomy. Can’t tell if the dude is mad or sad or what’s going on, and it certainly isn’t making me feel anything. Very tight musically though, no rough edges (except for the aforementioned growly affectation). Not all bad but a bit pretentious and insincere.
I only really know one other track by these. The Twilight Hour. I do quite like it but this is much more poppy and not particularly me. Cant give it more than a 2 I'm afraid.
What surprised me the most about listening to this was that I remembered pretty much every track. I must have owned and played this back in the day quite a bit. Surely it wasn’t the strongly political lyrics that drew me in? However, seeing how I can’t have listened to it in over 25 years, and I forget owning it, it will get the 2 stars it deserves and not a star more.
not for me
I did not like this, not my cup of tea, it’s like Barry’s and I prefer Lyons
Maso
Feels like a band that doesn't want to commit to a sound. It's almost generic and experimental at the same time since the record is including a lot of electronic music concepts for being released in the mid-80s, but it's so reserved in its use that it almost seems accidental.
Didn’t really stand out. Not bad tho
Middling indie pop. I didn't find much to get my teeth into here, Certainly nothing near the majesty of Uncertain Smile, which is an absolute classic.
Não é que falte qualidade à banda, mas a falta de hits também conta para que uma banda prospere.
Kinda liked it. Some tracks more than others.
Dumb band name. Interesting video. Unmemorable songs. 2/5
At first I was thinking this was just "meh" but by the end I was really bored and thinking that the album kind of sucked. Pass.
Kind of boring
What the heck just happened? This album is infected with cringey music. Seriously, why are there so many British Albums on this list? We haven't cared about anything they do since 1776!
It's ok. Out Of The Blue was kinda nice. The rest were fine but forgettable. Best song Out Of The Blue
I've tried to listen to this several times but it just falls into the background every time. Infected lacks the appeal and fun of earlier The The albums.
With a band name such as The The, what do you expect? The album is supposed to be some apocalyptic Punk Rock music, but it mostly fails due to its lackluster sounds, subpar singing, and repetitive rhythms. Favorite Song: "Slow Train To Dawn".
I thought I liked The The because I was already pretty familiar with Soul Mining, an album with some genuinely great tunes on it. This one is clearly keeping to their sound, but I found it more grating and hard to latch on to any particular tune, including the title track which seems to be the most popular. The vocals are a little over-wrought and growly, and the 80s new wave production is similarly over-the-top. The songs themselves are also pretty blunt in lyrics and topics. I don't hate it, I just found it more forgettable.
boring
Trash
I just don't like Post Punk, but this is tolerable.
I remember when this came out, people loved it! I didn’t understand it at the time and now that I have listened it it again, still don’t understand it. The the. Cool name!
This album is weird theatrical 80s jazz new wave tedium - pick a fucking lane TheThe! Wikipedia says thats exactly what Post Punk is, really? This is not what I think of when I think of post punk! I tried to get into it, but really it was just too much and I was glad when it was over.
Unapologetically 1986. It’s trying to be bold, but it just feels over the top. The sound is too polished and ends up feeling flat. It doesn’t connect.
There’s a line between weird and suck. They crossed it. I gave them a chance, but nobody wants to listen to this more than once. Music is not supposed to be a chore.
Wasn’t my style of music
Conocí a The The con The beat(en) generation de su album Mind bomb, aquel en el que participaba Johnny Marr. Me gustó mucho, con un estilo elegante y distinguido sin perder el gancho comercial. Su disco más reconocido es Soul Mining, pero Infected no desentona en absoluto: Sonidos típicamente ochenteros (entre Duran Duran- Midnight Oil-INXS) y canciones de calidad como Heartland o Infected, lo sencillos más evidentes de un álbum con solo 8 temas y 4 singles (además de los dos citados, Slow Train to Dawn- con Neneh Cherry- y Sweet Bird of Truth). Las letras, con fuerte componente crítico y político, ya tienen otras influencias como podrían ser The Clash, The Fall o The Style Council. Todo ello compone un buen álbum, bien producido, planteado e interpretado aunque lejos de otros editados ese mismo año. Los vídeos del disco, uno por canción, no están a la altura. 1986 fue excelente año de publicaciones: TheHousemartins: London 0 Hull 4, Spacemen 3: Sound of confusion, RUN-DMC: Raising Hell, Felt: Forever Breathes the Lonely Word , PeterGabriel: So, THE CHAMELEONS - Strange times, THE CRAMPS - A date with Elvis, THE SMITHS - The queen is dead, R.E.M. - Life's richpageant, NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS - Kicking against the pricks y Your Funeral my ...Trial, THE GO-BETWEENS - Liberty belle and the black diamond express, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED – Album, L OVE AND ROCKETS – Express, The Bangles: Different Light, Anita Baker:Rapture, Pet Shop Boys: Please, Prince and the Revolution: Parade, Born Sandy Devotional: The Triffids, Candy Apple Grey: Hüsker Dü,Flaunt It: Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Jean Michel Jarre: Rendez- Vous, Cocteau Twins: Victorialand, Bruce Hornsby & the Range: The wayit is, Queen: A kind of magic, Europe: The Final Countdown, Sonic Youth: Evol, Madonna: True Blue, Eurythmics: Revenge, Cameo: WordUp!, Crowded House: Crowded House, On the Beach – Chris Rea, Bananarama: True Confessions, Lionel Richie: Dancing on the Ceiling,Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet, Paul Simon: Graceland , Tina Turner: Break Every Rule, Cindy Lauper: True Colors, This Mortal Coil:Filigree & Shadow, Aretha Franklin: Aretha, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live/75-85, Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill, SpandauBallet: Through the Barricades, Duran Duran: Notorious, Talk Talk: The Colour of Spring, Miles Davis: Tutu,, Throwing Muses:ThrowingMuses. Alaska y Dinarama: No es pecado, MECANO: Entre el cielo y el suelo, EL ÚLTIMO DE LA FILA “Enemigos de lo ajeno”, OS RESENTIDOS “Faiun sol de carallo”. GABINETE CALIGARI “Al calor del amor en un bar”, DUNCAN DHU “Canciones”, LOS NEGATIVOS “Piknikcaleidoscópico”, LA FRONTERA “Si el whisky no te arruina, las mujeres lo harán”, PATA NEGRA“Guitarras callejeras”, CIUDADJARDIN: Auténtico, LOS NIKIS: Marines a pleno sol, Los Toreros Muertos: 30 años de éxitos, La Frontera: Si el whisky no tearruina, las mujeres lo harán.
Good, intelligent pop. need to listen to this more often.
You know? Not as bad as I thought it'd be! Something told me it would be awful, low-talent, high-anger noise, but it had a certain charm. That being said, it's not for me.
Très bof, très daté années 80, et pas grand chose à garder. Si le début peut promettre un truc un peu funky et upbeat (“Infected”), c’est vite relou et long, comme “Twilight of a Champion”. Next.
"We have Prince at home"
# 368 : I don't love it, I don't hate it. A couple of things stood out but I thought it was very ordinary and Quiet forgettable and I doubt I'll ever go back to this. It started off alright with Infected, but went downhill very quickly after that. Infected was probably the best track IMO
It was ok....Not great but not terrible.
2/5. It started off strong but I really lost track of where it was going. The vibe was good but it wasn't great instrumentally. It seems like the kind of music I could dig but it was missing a little edge to push it over the top. I enjoyed it but it wasn't as memorable as I wanted it to be, so I don't think I'll be playing this one again. Best Song: Infected, Sweet Bird Of Truth, The Mercy Beat
fine?
Not impressed
Overall: 4/10 I really wanted something good today due to the STRESS I'm feeling about a certain election, but I really didn't like this. The title track is actually really good and there's a couple other tracks that have potential, but it was overall disappointing. The production is really off-putting and the vocal delivery leaves a lot to be desired. This may have actually added to my anxiety instead of calming me down. No thanks. Fav Song: Infected Least Fav Song: Twilight of a Champion
80s synth rock, not my bag
Why these morons have one album on this list, let alone 2 is beyond me. This one is better than the first one of theirs I had, but still just generic 80's post punk... Nothing too exciting going on at all Favourite songs: Infected, Slow Train to Dawn Least favourite songs: Twilight of a Champion 2/5
I can't see why this made the list - nothing stands out beyond standard 80s pop-rock. 2/5
Overall I didn't hate the sound of the album, it was equal parts lush and eerie. However, I think I'm saving just two songs and for that my love, my dearest Infected by The The, you get two stahs
There are worse things to listen to on this list
I admittedly didn't listen to the whole thing so maybe I can't vote but i'm going to anyway. I enjoyed a few of the songs and one of them was giving some good 70s Queen vibes which was fun. A couple others I had to skip. Probably would not listen to this album specifically again but would pick one or two to take with me.
My only exposure to The The was "this is the day" which is a killer song that I sing in my head when anything important is going to happen. Like when we push Folders live -- that song will be the anthem for the day! I thought this was a weird album and want to continue giving it some time to process. It sounds very of it's time (the intense saxophone feels so '80s).
After track 1, it was all a bit blah..
Struggled to get through this. Not a fan of the electronic drum sounds not the vocals. At times it felt like listening to selected tracks from a musical such were the different vocal styles of the lead singer.
This palette of sounds just automatically turns me off. Sometimes i worry that this means that good albums pass me by, however i'm not too concerned in this case. The lyrics fell short of the cutting social commentary they intended i think: "This is the place where pensioners are raped; And their hearts are being cut from the welfare state" particularly stood out.
Started as it meant to go on, which was such a shame.
Typical 80s album. Somewhat “edgy” for its time. They sound much more pop than their album cover would lead you to believe.
This didn't interest me at all. Uninspired, undistinguished.
Each side of this LP starts rather well, with Matt Johnson injecting relatively gruffy, messier sounds to the winning formula of previous album *Soul Mining*. "Relatively", because we're still knees deep into eighties new wave / synth pop here. But opener "Infected", "Out Of The Blue (Into The Fire), "Sweet Bird Of Truth" and "Slow Train To Dawn" (a duet with a not-yet world-famous Neneh Cherry -- not to say a "virtually unknown artist at the time") all have some of the trademark intensity and interesting intricate flourishes of The The, transcending the temporal context in which those tunes were written. The thing is (*the the thing is*?), the end of each side is quite a letdown, with a few bad choices production-wise, and some quite awkward moments in the songs to boot, either musically or lyrically. Those rather annoying features are exemplified by a dud such as "Heartland", which sounds both bland AND a little pretentious today. Matt Johnson's heart was probably in the right place, just as he tried to evoke some blurry, vaguely-defined social concerns through his lyrics. But maybe his copious intake of drugs at the time made him self-delusional about his real assets. Him telling that it took him months and months to write "Heartland", which he considered as a very important song, sounds a little weird given the half-baked end result. The man later admitted that he had lost his way on a personal standpoint in those years. But as a subjective listener first knowing nothing about that, it gave me a similar impression when it comes to the artistic intent behind half of the cuts in this album. So it's a mixed bag, to put it in a nutshell. Not awfully bad overall. But probably not worthy of this list (or my ideal version of it). 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 2). Number of albums left to review: 37 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 416 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 243 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 307 (including this one)
Fuck sake, this was a tough listen. Had its moments when the women's vocals were put to the front and atleast it was different to the usual intolerable listens on this list. Fav track: Heartland
A style I like, but maybe have heard too much of on this project that I’m getting a bit sick of hearing in ways that aren’t a full on blow away knockout of a record. I like the band, maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.
This falls right into that Depeche Mode realm. Couple of cool bits, but has a darker tone to it. Hope that guy in the global review with AIDS is doing alright. 2 bordering on 3.
I saw that The The is playing at the anthem soon while I was there last night! Maybe I'll go if I like this. Singer sometimes reminds me of the singer from Geese. Halfway through and I really don't like it. Second half was no better. Sounds like terrible 80s music that didn't even come out in the 80's. I will not be attending the show at the anthem even though it had its moments.
The The literally has one song worth listening to and it on another album ... already on this list. The Teardrop Explodes is almost the same thing and its already here. Non-essential. Music is alright I suppose
Another The The, another miss!
not for me!
Some of Matt Johnson's melodies are good here, but I think he takes himself too seriously.
80's.
Listened to this while doing homework. Kind of a nothing album for me. I don’t remember what I had listened to. Seemed fine for what it was. Standouts: Heartland and Sweet Bird Of Truth.
Lots of 80s for me lately, and that means that I'm starting to get a bit sick of the sound. Feels unfair to go into this album with those expectations, but I don't think it would've helped it much, any way, as the production is the culprit behind the murder of a lot of great melodies here. The songs have a good outline, a blueprint for something to be just weird enough to not appear on the top forty, but have more than a simple underground success, but decades later nothing pushes this over the mark for me. It just feels safe, and while Soul Mining was weird enough for its time, by '86 I think this album is just begging to enter the sound of a new era, but it must wait until the 90s to escape the fake sounding strings and repetitive choruses. It's an album with a lot of great moments, but they're buried, and you'll have to dig to get to them. Not to mention the fact that they're all in the A side, I wouldn't even bother with the back half.
Infected Heartland Sweet Bird of Truth
Kinda lame
All over the place. Felt like I was listening to several albums at once. Too many unfocused ideas that sounded like a hot mess to me.
..
I... don’t like this. How can you be so close to being cool, but miss so hard?
None for me thanks.
I honestly didn't remember what I had just listened to five minutes after the album had finished. Maybe I missed the best album that ever was, but I'll never know.
This was to date the first and only album by The The that I have listened to. I didn't mind it but did find it a little bit repetitive and kind of lost interest in it half way through although I do admire the talent and work that Matt Johnson puts into his music.
wasn’t looking forward to this based on the cover and it wasn’t THAT bad but did I like it? ultimately no
p549. 1986. 2 stars (just) Angry but average 80s Brit synth band that wanted to be Heaven 17. No memorable tunes, and the production has not aged well. No idea why this is on the list.
Скажем так... Я ожидал большего. Странным образом, несмотря мою большую любовь к овердраматизации и театру в музыке, конкретно здесь чувствуется перебор. А в сочетании с этим отвратным звуком восьмидесятых... Лучшая песня - Twilight Of A Champion.
Disco-inflected new-wave
Alternative without the Rock, grooves grooveless, vocals occasionally amusing.
Meh
A bit of a surprise that it sounded nothing like their tracks I was familiar with. Nothing really grabbed me though
Ik wist eigenlijk niet zo goed wat ik bij The The moest verwachten. Als ik de info bij het album zo lees, dacht ik in eerste instantie aan wat rauwere punk, dan wat ik nu te horen krijg. Het is meer new wave, een soort kruising tussen New Order en Billy Idol. Ik moet zeggen, het heeft zoals gewoonlijk alles om een hekel aan te hebben, maar ik vind het op een bepaalde manier best intrigerend om te luisteren. De songs hebben wel alle elementen van normale nummers, chorus-verse-chorus etc zeg maar. Naast de typische jaren 80 drumcomputer en de typische jaren 80 synths zit er ook een typisch jaren 80 pianootje in regelmatig en typisch jaren 80 baslijntjes. Je zou hieruit kunnen concluderen dat het typisch jaren 80 is, en dat is het ook wel, maar het is toch niet zo voorspelbaar als ik zou verwachten. Na een paar nummers ken ik het wel en ben ik er wel weer klaar mee. De nummers zijn ook lang, 8 nummers van 5 minuten. Het wreekt zich waarschijnlijk dat ik er geen 1 van herken. Nog even opgezocht: het top2000-hitje is uncertain smile van een eerder album. Maar dat maakt me nu niet direct enthousiaster. Het begon als een 3+, maar aan het einde van het album zit ik eigenlijk op een redelijke 2.
Very 80s! Not in a good way.
Not much to note here on my end - great band name though 😆
I found it very confusing and noisy
Definitely my favorite article (“the”), definitely not an album I enjoyed
The The The album isn’t very good. Damn it now The doesn’t sound like a word anymore
Heartland saved this from a 1 star rating
Meh
It's kinda not good, right? Like... almost good... but then not.
Never heard of these guys. Talented, curious, a bit unusual. 2 stars for now, maybe another after listening some more, we'll see.
Not a bad album, but also not an album that I'd likely return to in a hurry; unsure why it's made the list.
Meh. Another post punk album that's not for me.
Not for me 2/5
I thought I might enjoy this, but I did not. Very mediocre and forgettable.
Good late 80s stuff
Meh. Even for British post-punk (which I may now hate), it was just middle-of-the-road.
This never grabbed my attention at the time and now listening to it in isolation it still doesn't. The problem is I can't decide if the creepy vocals and over-the-top plastic sounding 80s production are ironic, or if they actually wanted to sound like that. It's just too bright and in your face and jumpy. Contrasts badly with more thoughtful pop stuff from that era such as Tears for Fears whose albums sound great still.
This was not for me, found it a little boring. The songs were all a little long, thankfully there wasn't that many to get through. I do like the album artwork though
This album didn’t really have an impact on me. I get the sense it was supposed to convey some kind of cynical commentary on life, but the distinctly ‘80s rock feel somehow took away from the message. Amusing band name, but that’s not even related to the album.
Like most post-punk new wave stuff I dig the sound, but don’t get much depth from this
Did not enjoy the singer. Music was.cool, had a fun 70/80s rock vibe to it. Cool use.of cow bell
This is the kind of music that led me to stop listening to popular music in the late 80’s / early 90’s. I suppose it could be worse, it’s not actually offensive. None of it is especially bad… but I was happy when it finished. 2/5
Finally heard a The The album - definite 80’s - and good production though Angels of Deception only tune I liked…. 2*
Boring
The 80s have so much good music, a lot of which has been left of this list. Instead, we get .... this. The book article rambles on about the lyrics, and while they may be significant for the time, the music is just dull. Production is typically 80s, which in this case is not a compliment, with too little bass and too much highs, resulting in a rather icy soundscape. Instrumentation could have been better as well. Poor 80s. 1.5/5
Weird one this one. Liked it but only one outstanding song in my opinion. They are all over the place with all generes combined but not in a great way cause the orde rof the songs was not right. They are a totally 80s band like timbuke 3 and a few other bamds that didnt evolve from that mid 80s vibe. Cool to hear but nothing special for me
Certainly never have heard of The The. Pleasantly surprised by track 1! This has some promise. Track 2 started out a bit rough but ended up in a really nice place with the strings and backup vocals. There's a quote in the wiki article about track 3 and how the front man talks about how its the best song he ever wrote and about the social commentary... Well... I didn't really like that track much so... yeah. Sorry you poured your whole soul into the social commentary. I would focus on making the song good first. Track 7 Twilight of a Champion reminded me of a proto-version of a much much MUCH better song. I'm not really sure exactly why. NIN - Kinda I Want To There were some other decent tracks and on the whole the album was fine. Nothing I feel like I have to revisit.
This sounds pretty dated with the synthesizer and electronic drums.
No
With that kind of album cover, I expected a more experimental approach to the New Wave phenomena. Instead I was faced to boring Art Pop that didn't age that well.
The art pop/post-punk sound is great, but the album somehow becomes more and more bland and irritating.
Not bad, but a lot of the instruments used are painfully 80s in sound. Makes the album feel extremely dated.
mi aspetto sempre il metallo pesante o il prog e invece sono una boyband e si perde un po' via. 2/3
Tampoco es terrible, pero es bastante flojo
I can’t get into 80s very easily and this isn’t an exception. Too pretentious for me.
Probably great for ‘86. Today…meh
I had learned of the existence of the band The The from Trent Reznor interviews in the late Eighties and throughout the 90s. When INFECTED came out in November 1986, I recall that it made no impact in our lives in the United States. While termed post punk, with its synth bass and song arrangement it feels like your typical, fun, quirky 80s album. Fun, but there were more interesting albums at the time. Having said all that, a new album came out exactly 1 month earlier than this one, that everyone actually listened to, and that album was Wang Chung's MOSAIC, which seems like a criminal act that it is not on this list. Just sayin'
- Did not know this group. I will admit that I am not very enticed to learn more. - It is...fine? I am probably being too harsh, but I found this largely unremarkable. - Looking up the album, there is a lot of praise for the lyrics...considering that I listen primarily for overall sound and vibe, I am not shocked that this did not click for me.
Sounds like midlife crisis
I like a lot of other bands that sound similar to this, just not this one. Music is better than the singer, and it's mostly forgettable once over. 2/5
Nich mein Ding
Eka biisi oli oikein lupaava, kaikki sen jälkeen pettymystä. Tässä(kin) oli hieman ironinen sävy läpi levyn, sitä ei olisi tarvinnut. Ihan taitavaa popia mutta liian kikkailua hakevaa.
Repii kakkosen parin biisin melodisella rytmiikalla. Mutta herra laulaja - mitä sinä teet?
Welcome back to the weird 80’s! Hard to digest
amusing at some parts but overall pretty bad. for a short album it really seemed to drag on
It was fine. I listened to it all morning yesterday and honestly can’t remember a single song.
Ich kann für die 80er meist nicht viel geben.
One good thing about this list is sometimes it does dispel some of my preconceptions. I had the The pegged as standard punk: something like The Fall or The Damned. I was wrong about that, seems like they were closer to INXS (without the hooks) or even moving towards Nine Inch Nails. I don’t care much for the music, but at least now I know about the music I don’t much care about.
This didn't do a whole lot for me. I occasionally heard some Oingo Boingo or Haircut 100 adjacent phrases, but over all it just seemed kind of bland. Probably won't listen to it again. 2/5
This reminded me of a more boring Foetus. I didn't care too much about it. 2.49/5
Not feeling this, y’all. Help me help myself: what am I missing?
This really sounds like super old. The instruments, the voices, everything. So stereotypical old music.. It's okay but I would not really listen to it.2 stars maximum...
Ganz okay
It's a bit hard nowadays. Some weird vocal choices.
Pretty good in places, particularly some of the flourishes in Heartland and the end of Slow Train to Dawn when it finally finds a groove. But far to all over the place to be great. Would be a good debut to build on. Since it isn't and he didn't I'm not sure I actually needed to listen to this whole thing. I was leaning towards three stars but by the end I was down to two. The album is frustrating the whole way through, wandering in the neighborhood of something I would like, even stumbling into nice bits here and there, but never staying there long. It wore me out.
An album packed with all of the bad from 80's music, with almost none of the good qualities from that decade.
Not my favorite, it is OK. Just not what I was expecting
Some of the songs were good but overall wasn’t for me.
Disappointed by this one. I assumed from the cover and title that this was gonna be some punk. Sadly, it’s only 80s “post punk”. Some of the political lyrics were pretty cool but I think this record is definitely held back by the dates production. God, that 80s snare tone is horrible.
Well let’s see, it’s British, it’s from the 80s and I’ve never heard of it before. Sounds like all the albums that could’ve easily been replaced with culturally more significant choices. The good of this album is overshadowed by the overtly dated 80s sound. It has unique sound but it just isn’t that good. Nor is it a top 2000 album ever made. 4.9/10
I was interested when this popped up as really like some of The The's stuff but nah, sorry, not a fan. Was surprised how little I liked it. No doubt deserves another attempt at some point but it left me fairly cold this time.
I like that the sounds is a little dark and dirty but not my music
Some parts of songs were good, but I never had a song that I liked the whole things. Mostly not very fun 4.5/10
Post-punk British album from the mid 1980s, which has a very 80s sound which I don't really like. It's not a very bad album but the songs aren't too memorable to me either.
kinda good, almost not good, but then ok. Felt very 80's
If you like 80s musicals (a la Chess) you’ll love this album. I don’t like 80s musicals
I cant think of a single reason why this album would be on this list. Its not a good example of brit post punk, or 1986, nor does it have great production or sound. It kind of sucks? 2/5
Some interesting New Wave stuff on here, but ultimately just okay.
Without the color and inventiveness of "Soul Mining", "Infected" is just another filler in the '80s pop/rock scene. It doesn't have the bloated synths and the annoying vocals of such things though, so I guess kudos for that.
did not enjoy
Fairly annoying. One good song.
Vandaag krijgt m'n Spotify-algortime weer een lelijke knauw te verwerken, want vandaag val ik vol met m'n snufferd in de jaren '80 drek. Ik begin inmiddels een beetje te vrezen voor m'n Spotify Wrapped van 2024. De enorme bak reverb op de door een drumcomputer gegenereerde snaredrum op track 1 maakt direct duidelijk in welke periode we ons begeven. 41 minuten huismerk George Michael begeleid door huismerk INXS. "Sweet Bird Of Truth" legt de vinger op de zere plek: Alsof je per ongeluk in een donker steegje tussen een bende in leer geklede bears bent beland en de grootste (tevens meest harige) van de groep begint in je oor te fluisteren dat 'ie het fijn vindt dat je er bent. Er is niks mis mee als dat jouw idee van een topavond is, maar mij geeft het een gevoel van onbehagen. Dit is geen vals gezongen kattengejank of ingewikkelde jazz, dus het kan erger. Er zit wel enigszins muziek in. 2 sterren.
Ekki merkilegur pappír. Mér fannst þetta bara frekar leiðinlegt en samt ekki hörmulegt.
Meeh, 80's tónlist rúllar alltaf ágætlega í bakgrunninum en ekki mikið meira.
Thought jonny Marr was in the the? Nothing really stand out probably would listen to again. 3/10
a little bit of something here, but not enough and I hate most of the vocals. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
Eh? stereotypes are a thing for a reason. and this is definitely 80s Granted I didn't try very hard with this album. sry im lazy
The 80s: When people forgot how to record music
Pretty average.
I had high hopes for this album but it didn’t work for me at all. A little too scrappy with nothing to hang on to. Might have been my mood and the timing? But it’s not going to get into regular rotation for me.
Not good.
Some good album tracks here.
Lost track of time
Started off feeling like something I'd really enjoy and then I stopped caring. It just didn't really do it for me.
Just not into this one.
Punk/new wave blend, not memorable
Bad cover and bad music.
boring waste of time. just like the band name. 2.5
Holy 80s. Started off bearable but by track 4 I was praying for the end.
Was wondering how long it was going to be before I got a The The recommendation. I'm aware of the band. Pretty much anyone who's ever been exposed to the sort of music poncery that exudes from NME writers will have heard of The The. They're one of those bands who seem to be incredibly influential without managing to be successful. Or even particularly good. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed this album, and I'd certainly not be spending any time listening to it again, but it isn't terrible either.
This was okay. Honestly, I listened to it on Friday and now it's Monday and I don't really remember it. That's probably not a great sign.
What is this? It’s like the B52s are doing a soundtrack for an experimental Disney movie.
This one didn't do it for me. The songs were a little too out there (dark and industrial?) and I don't care for the singer's voice.
Some catchy tunes. Some quirky tunes. I kind of had this playing in the background, and the only song that really stood out to me was “Slow Train To Dawn” with Neneh Cherry. Overall, just an okay album. I might give it another listen.
This record ended up being way more upbeat and poppy than I expected. I thought it would be heavy and depressing but it was almost new wave, with lots of synths and funk vibes. Nevertheless it was quite boring for me. 4/10
Never hear of this band, so that always intrigues me! The first half of the album gives me INXS vibes, and the second half is the shiny crab from Moana vibes hahaha! It does get better the more I listen though. Listen again: maybe Purchase for my collection: no Favourite Song: Infected
I know why I didn’t get into this band back then
This is VERY 80s. I liked the first track, the rest varied between average and terrible.
Very generic 80s stuff. Nothing too good but nothing bad either. 2.5 stars
Man, I love the 80s vibes. That's why this is rated so low for me - others have done it waaay better. Doesn't deserve to be on the list frankly.
Meh
Nothing special. Went into this one expecting far more. Would never listen again. 2/5
This has almost everything people hate about 80s music and it doesn't have much of what people love about it. Favorite song: angels of deception
Tried so hard to get into this album, especially as I have enjoyed their more recent work. Just fell flat and I couldn’t tell you this would be an album worth listening to again 3/10
The the- cool sounding 80’s rhythm section and I like all the parts in the arrangements. Favorite songs were slow train to dawn and mercy beat. I don’t really like vocals/ lyrics. 2.5
I really really hate the vocals. Love the gated snare, esp on out of the blue, slow train to dawn and mercy beat. Twilight of a champion is so bizarre My bar is set so low now, I’m like so excited when something has a mildly interesting arrangement.
Vocals are super weird. Only thing I like is the snare
The genre "post-punk" always gets me. I'm like "ooh good, some punk" and then there's nothing punk rock about the album, because it's POST punk. This is one of those bands I've heard of but never listened to. I didn't listen very hard. I can't even remember what it sounded like now.
A combination of generic '80s pop with socially conscious lyrics that are really quite cringeworthy. But what really deals the deal is the vocalist. He's trying something but failing. The '80s had some great music but a lot of misses. This is bottom of the pile.
This is the second album of The The, and I think it's safe to say that I don't think I would be a fan of theirs. Their music just isn't for me. It wasn't terrible, but just not something I am into.
2.5
Based on the album cover I didn't know what the hell I was getting into with this one. This was weird, not terrible but not really good
Not horrible, but not particularly great either.
Why are there two The The albums on this list? 4/10
The music was just generic 80s sound and the singer a mediocre Prince/Bowie wanna-be
too theatrical for my taste. the affected voice also is not interesting.
Ok. A little weird for me
Post-punk står det på wiki. Detta albumet har breddat min uppfattning av det redan så breda begreppet. Det var inte vad jag tänkte mig när jag läste etiketten. Det är synthigt och New-waveigt. Väldigt, liksom, "höga" ljud, en ganska omslutande och spretig ljudbild. Mycket händer på en gång. Och soundet blir i slutändan extremt mycket 80-tal, tyvärr på det sättet som har åldrats rätt dåligt. Känns som ett album som KAN ha förbättringspotential vid senare lyssningar, men det är också ett album jag inte känner mig speciellt taggad på att återvända till. 'Heartland' är nog ändå bäst ändå. 'The Mercy Beat' också rätt ok. Bästa låt: Heartland.
Två The The-plattor? Då kommer väl Time bomb också. Den här är verkligen inget för mig.
Guy sounds like Mick Jagger but with none of the charm. Album is pretty ok, not terrible, not great.
Here's the the thing, some of the the musical ideas and riffs here are very catchy and inventive. The the horns and synths are a nice touch and the the piano solos were fun. Overall reminds me of a poor man's Mr. Bungle. It's just that the the execution is lacking and the the overall sound is unexceptional, also the the weak music videos don't help. 2 the's out of 5
It's lauded as a grand work of someone with a vision for what they wanted to achieve with their art. It doesn't really resonate with me. I'm sure this is right up someone's alley, but I'll pass. The stories around his music videos sound hilariously terrifying though.
80s experimental post-punk something or other. I have this album on vinyl somewhere. I got it as a promotional copy when working at a record store when the album was released. My brother thought it was great... lots horns and recording gimmicks popular at the time. I didn't play this album very often. It's too all over the place and drum machine quirky rhythms. Not very organic ir natural. There are some neat concepts and gimmicjs but too many in one place. I don't like Matt Johnson's voice so I quickly disconnect. It's not as bad as I remember but I still don't like it.
First half great, second half not so great. terribly and painfully 80s also why is the last song 7 minutes. Best tracks: infected, heartland, angels of deception
Great band name. To jam/disorganized for me.
Don't think this was as bad as a lot of you are making out - although it isn't great. I'm not going to listen to it again, but it isn't unpleasant. A bit corny, a bit cheesy, overproduced, but not awful. 2/5.
"the the"? oh for crying out loud. What a stupid name. Looks like it's gonna be metal. Ok it's just new wave, because of course. From the UK as well! Colour me shocked. Drum machine and other weird shit. It was a 3 at first but after a full 40min of it, 2/5.
Political, alright, wouldn't be mad for it
Nope
Just not a fan of this era, super 80s in all the ways I don't really like
Should have called themselves There There because there's no there there.
This is not what I thought going in. Again, the term "alternative" meant something totally different in the 80s. I am not getting a feel for why this made the list of "must hear."
I really wanted to like this album but nothing stood out for me, the way a song like This is The Day does. I was shocked to read that this is his best selling album and that Heartland is his best selling single...it's a good song but doesn't come close to TITD. I did really enjoy the 2nd tune; Out of the Blue (Into the Fire). 2.5 stars
This is alright. It might’ve sounded modern in 1986 but while some other records can seem a bit timeless, this isn’t one of them. S’alright innit?
Was expecting something different based on the cover. Ended up bein pretty dull and boring. It's not necessarily bad, but it ain't good either.
I have a hard time getting over the cheesy 80s sound. This just has not aged well. None of the songs is really that catchy, and they're not really doing anything interesting. The woman they have singing on some songs has a nice voice, but the man alternates between abrasive and breathy, neither that compelling. Their songs are extremely repetitive - "Slow Train to Dawn" is the same riff over and over again for the entire song, and "Heartland" is awfully close. And it's just low on excitement generally. Fine easy listening, but not much going on.
It’s got all the 80’s music tropes in one album! It’s a little too 80’s for me to get into but it’s not a bad listen. I’d give it a 2.5 but since I can’t do half ratings we go to a 2. A 2 is solid just won’t be exploring this again. Heartland and Infected are pretty nice, I enjoyed.
I wanted to like this a lot. My husband loves this album. But I just couldn't. At times it felt prog rock-like. Other times almost like musical theatre. Maybe at the time, it was more distinctive and ground-breaking. Sorry The The.
I did not find this particularly to my taste and I really love 80's music and had high hopes.
This This album album was was special special. Because Because somehow somehow, each each individual individual song song practically practically begged begged me me to to turn turn it it off off. In In trying trying to to define define the the level level and and meaning meaning of of the the five five star star scale scale, I've I've determined determined that that two two stars stars is is a a channel channel changer changer. I I actively actively disliked disliked every every song song on on "Infected" "Infected." But But the the hatred hatred didn't didn't quite quite reach reach one one star star level level. Also, how do you say The The? Thuh Thuh? Thee Thuh? Thee Thee? Thuh Thee?
Two two
I liked Slow Train to Dawn.
I like Matt Johnson’s politics - it’s partly what makes Heartland the highlight of this album for me. Sweet Bird Of Truth is less interesting musically but the lyrics are cut from the same cloth. Problem for me is that The The sound like so many other English bands of the 80’s. I kept thinking : he sounds like Lloyd Cole. But then I discover that Lloyd had been influenced by the first The The album, Soul Mining. So, I’ll never play this album again. I can hear the merit in it, but it’s not my taste.
More 80s pop, oh dear. This is slightly better than some of the other albums that have come through, but not by much.
Dat viel me tegen
Kon me niet echt behoren...
Wel oké ofzo. Heel eighties, maar niet vervelend. Ook niet spectaculair
Ik werd hier niet heel blij van. Had iets ongemakkelijks, en ook aardig gedateerd.
I first heard Soul Mining a few months ago and was a big fan so I was quite excited to see this come up. Yikes... This was a very different experience and just didn't mesh together very well at all, I was close to giving this one star to be honest but the last song was quite fun
Eighties “rock” (lol). First track felt like Top Gun, then it was downhill from there.
Reminds me of Bobby Conn weirdly. Obviously this came first. Not totally inspired by it, but I'll give it a few goes. I am more interested in the idea of the records with Johnny Marr on them, but this is a start I suppose. Right now it's a 2 star, but I guess it could improve on repeated listens.
Contains some sparks of the well-thought-out songwriting on S/T, but lacks in the memorability department. This LP kind of washed over me - I didn't mind most of it (though some parts leaned heavily on standard 80s indulgences, mostly synths), but found nothing to latch on to here.
80's sneering. The cover is more interesting than the music. Best Tracks: Infected; Out of the Blue (Into the Fire); Heartland;
Niet echt memorabel, niet mijn ding
80s experimental synth-political-pop . Title track rocks ; Heartlands and Angels of Deception are solid efforts . A little impenetrable so may need a number of listens to grow on you .
Never listened to these guys before, but they were pretty good.
Tame?
I wasn't a fan of the The when they started, I'm still not. I do get the reason they're on the list though.
Annoying as fuck
I like the band name more than I do this album. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. Feeling too lazy to go into detail...
First listen: started well but dropped off a bit. Started at 3/5, finished at 2/5, may give it another listen or two to see how it changes over time. Like: general vibe, being anti-Tory Dislike: a bit samey towards the end
Eh
Okejiš nisam se nešto uživila, možda je i do načina na koji sam ih slušala a to je dok sam vježbala
Better than the last garbage. These are all starting to sound the same... 2.25/5
Not great
Dull
When I popped this open I judged this book by it's cover, I looked at the album art, the name of the band, and the album title, and I thought to myself ok we have a Punk Album this will be fun. Well, now that the album is playing this is terrible. New Wave, singing about desire, the male vocalist even though I can't see him I can picture the eye shadow. The tone is all over the place, you have some Industrial metallic drums, sometimes there's darkness in the lyrics and then you get a nice little piano trill to follow. There's hints of something good in here but I was really put off by how poorly the entire brand of this album and band did not represent what was inside.
You know, I owned this album when it came out. I actually owned three of their albums, but I never really connected with The The except for couple of songs. I thought maybe 35 odd years later, I might feel it a little more, but nope. Infected is still a noisy hodgepodge of an album. It’s still brassy and weird (which I usually would like), but also kind of bleak and soulless, like it was built in an 80s music lab without adding any of the fun stuff. Musically and lyrically it’s tense, like it stresses me out to listen to it. Credit to Matt Johnson for beating his own drum, I mean that sincerely. It’s just not a drum I care to listen to. I guess I’ll check back in 2056 and see how I feel about it then. Fave Songs: Infected, Heartland, Slow Train to Dawn
2/5 totally forgettable album...
It was OK. Like many albums it is very much of its time. I wasn't blown away.
Heard this album a couple times. Not really famiiar with it at all though. I love MIND BOMB and I wanted more like it, but this was different. For me, I like it. Love the singers voice. Can't wait to hear more of it. 2/5
It's better then most post-punk, but it still can't rise above a 2 for me.
Liked one song
Dated production kept me from enjoying this more.
Infected Very 80's.
I know some people will love this album for this, but is just way too unnecessarily dramatic. And what is with the seductive vampire sound to this guy’s voice. Almost unlistenable. It’s a shame too because I really wanted to like this one for the album artwork alone.
There are some inspired bits of song-writing here, but the production is so 80s it hurts. The only way it could be more 1986 is if it wore a fluorescent headband.
This album wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I can't see myself revisiting any of these songs. 2/5 stars.
I'll probably never listen to this album again because it's not really my genre, but it wasn't terrible.
Danke, aber nein Danke!
Meiner Meinung nach gehört es vielleicht zu den 10 000 Alben die man gehört haben muss
Don't like as much as Soul Mining.
It's a pretty average 80's album with nothing particularly good. I think the famous 'infected' track it's actually the worst one.
Love the cover art, not crazy about the album. 2/5
Production: 7/20 Songwriting: 9/20 Innovation: 11/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 5/20 =37 Bloody racket
bland boring synth punk :/
This hit me like a blunderbuss to the face. I was expecting something entirely different. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Large parts of it were like the Monster Mash.
It was too much random noise for me, not a fan.
I thought this would be more post-punky. Actually very 80s pop for a lot of it
Matt Johnson's take on social issues is commendable... and I really like The The. But unfortunately, I probably won't listen to this more than once a year.
Except for the title track, which does have replay value/potential, there's nothing much left here to truly grab my attention.
Post punk rhythmic almost industrial vibes, singer sounds claypool-esque
Not my cup of tea
It's been 3 days and I already forgot what this album was all about. Nothing special, but not horribly bad either.
Ei kolahtanut. Vuorokausi myöhemmin en muista levystä juuri mitään?
Vähän meni ohi tämäkin, kun ei oikeen kiinnostanu toi kasarisoundi just sillä hetkellä. Tuskinpa kuitenkaan useemmallakaan kuuntelukerralla tulis mun teekupillinen
Alles geskipt ◡̈
this is shit
Not for me.
Did not enjoy this much. Right from the start I just found the whole thing icky (especially due to the lead vocal). It sorta feels like a Nick Cave ripoff for casual pop-fans. The production is cheesy and the songwriting is just uninspired imo. I somewhat enjoy the social critique (more a critique of war), but it just feels kinda flat in that self-indulgent 80’s kinda way. It’s like a “dark” version of live aid or some shit. Sweet bird of truth is pretty cool until the vocal kicks in. Angels of Deception was decent. I also enjoyed the backup vocals, but overall not for me. 2.5/10
This list is infected with crap like this.
The The is the band Who made this hot travesty; This album sucks balls.
In a nutshell: pop rock noir. Infected has a distinct darkness to it, perhaps bitterness too. A Conservative government will do that to you. It not quite new wave. Kinda post-punk also not. The band cling onto their synthpop roots here. Overall: 2/10
1/1
From the dated drum sound to the dated vocals, this album is a slog. I dont mind the strings on the occasional tracks but overall this is just eighties pup.