Reviews (page 7 of 7)
Pleasant. I don’t think I can say anything else.
Meh
i’m not sure how to feel about this. i was okay with some of the songs and just didn’t like some. i liked the diversity of the songs but i just didn’t click with it
As a political message, it makes a point. However, it's reminiscent of Lisa Stansfield. Would be a shame if Affection isn't included in this 1001 list.
Though there are a number of times that the music finds its vibe and balances electronic, classical, jazz, and indian music, nothing strikes me as very compelling. On the other hand, The Conference, Nadia and Pilgrim are irritating and felt like suffering to make it to the end of the track. Some highs, but more lows on this.
I think I even bought this album. Now I only quite like it. Very 'polite' in retrospect. some of it very nice, other bits a bit noodly jazz.
Kind of interesting, almost a 3. It still sounded very 90s to me and too many rubbish tracks
What a mess of styles. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here, but there is one point where consecutive songs switch from hip hop to instrumental jazz to drum and bass with Hindi vocals to piano pop. There is apparently some deep meaning according to the artist, but it’s lost in the telling. Also very surprised to see this on the list. Most things on the list have had some popularity in the US, with a focus on genres and artists popular in the US and UK. This seems an odd choice, though the artist has apparently won lots of awards in England and worked with lots of famous people.
Because of all the references to India, this album reminds me of my biggest life travel regret. In the mid-2000s I could have gone to India with my friend and his family. It would have been great because his parents grew up there and speak the language, and it would have been great insider guided tour. Plus I really like Indian food. I didn’t go because I was doubling up on grad classes, while working full time, and I didn’t want to miss two weeks of the hardest class I ever took because I would not have recovered. I regret not going because I’m almost certainly never going to go to India and I feel like I lost my chance. Missing my opportunity at India was not worth the better grade in fluid mechanics. Homelands is definitely more appreciated following along with the lyrics. Without them the first time, I wrote the song off as gibberish because I didn’t understand what was going on. But seeing the lyrics, I reassess the song as a beautiful melding of several cultures. Most of the songs are well put together and pleasing enough. However, I don’t think this album knows what it wants to be. Thanks to jkav for pointing this out because I can’t unnoticed it. This just is not my thing. Side note: For Father’s Day I request a 5 star album. No whammies!
Weird album. No need to listen to again.
Loved the concept of the album and glad I listened to it.
Well it is certainly...interesting. The themes of nuclear war between Pakistan and India is clearly interesting but it is hard to get past some of the musical features to listen to this again.
Too sincere and miserable and well produced and humourless for me today
2/5 Indian sounds kind of ambient. Didn't do anything for me though
Decent background music.
I don't understand what is significant about this album. Didn't do much for me at all. The story felt like a bad TV movie.
Niet echt mijn ding
The Conference is my jam, the rest sucked a bit
Snoozeville
What a bizarre album. I'm at a loss for words to describe anything about it, including genre. Ambitious?
J'ai pas été bin bin émoustillée... Je trouve les beats de plusieurs pièces redondants.. C'est correct mais je ne suis pas certaine que je le réecouterais
It was ok
De nuevo un disco al que no le veo el sentido o razón de por qué está aquí. Lo único que me imagino es a alguno de los editores insistiendo en que es una "hidden gem" pero incluso en ese caso eso no hace que TENGAS que escuchar este album. Después de escuchar leí un poco sobre Nitin y al parecer se dedica últimamente más a hacer soundtracks, lo cual creo le ha de cuadrar bastante bien (y sin tratar de oírme agresivo, también algo dice el hecho que como compositor de banda sonora tampoco se ha hecho famoso). La música por todos lados, creo abusa de tratar de fusionar y hacer todo, poner flamenco, jazz, funk, electrónico, cantos de taal, cantos de qawwaali (en donde por cierto no me gustó mucho que literal copia las líneas de Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)... Termina sintiéndose en 80% como música lounge pretensiosa de gente en bar platicando sobre que "étnico" es este "proyecto." El concepto de ser un album para hacer consciencia sobre las pruebas nucleares en la India... me agrada... los insertos de noticiarios y los ambientales bien puestos... pero con ese estilo de música la verdad siento se pierde mucho (más tomando en cuenta los giros de estilo sin ton ni son entre canciones). Tres canciones muy buenas (Homelands, Nadia y The Conference), que aún así tampoco es como que fueran brillantes. El resto del disco olvidable.
strano strano
Este disco empieza muy muy bien y después creo que termina muy muy mal. La primera parte es variada, por un momento me recordó el soundtrack de Cowboy Bebop, con diversos géneros y buenas ejecuciones. La segunda parte supongo es de mucha influencia africana por tantas percusiones y la mayor parte del tiempo se la pasan haciendo scat (supongo) y es terriblemente aburrida. Lástima el cambio. 2.5 estrellas que no puedo subir a 3 porque sí es muy dramático el cambio.
kind of all over the place
Cuando empezó pensé que iba a ser un disco de trip hop o algo similar y ya todo se fue al garete en la rola 2. Tiene muchos ritmos que tratan de homogenizar pero la verdad es que no le vi mucho sentido al disco, the conference nos hizo bailar a Elin y a mi como si tuviéramos ataques de epilepsia y fue divertido
De esas cosas que me parece rarísimo que estén en la lista: siento que no aporta mucho encima de otras decenas de discos de la sección de “World Music”; sin embargo, de hecho alcanza a la segunda estrella por el cuidado de algunos detalles. The Conference funcionaria para ponerle de despertador a alguien que odies.
Interesting but not my bag
Ganska tråkigt
Kändes mer som ett konstverk än ett musikalbum vilket för vissa säkert är awsome men jag pallade chi.
This is okay! Good vocals, interesting production Some of these songs are a bit too long Not keen on the rapping? These songs really do not need to be 5/6 mins 💀💀 they're repetitive enough as it is The genre mixing is cool though! Faves - Broken Skin Overall - some interesting ideas, but most of the songs are just way too long and repetitive No songs saved or added to playlists Rating - 2/5
Nitin Sawhnwy - Beyond Skin ⭐️ Only three weeks into the project and I feel like some of my reviews are already a bit repetitive. I guess there’s nothing wrong with the technical musicianship on this album, but boring music like that does absolutely nothing for me.
I really want to like those albums that are a little more 'out there'. This one is, with both a rare language and cultural background. But I really cannot like this album. There is just a bit too much weirdness. It seems like it really wants to send a certain message, but it doesn't come across to me. 1/5
This is probably the worst album suggested so far. Nothing really stands out musically or lyrically.
I, just no.
Boring as fuck...
The mall Sephora-type beats. “Homelands” and a few others had some cool instrumentals (“Tides” and “Immigrant” were actually pretty good). WHAT THE FUCK WAS “The Conference”?!?!?! https://youtu.be/p69XxYjfx-k&t=5s
Awful
Previously unknown. I didn't dislike this as much as I expected to.
No
Bit boring, liked the first song but it got hard to commit to finishing it
You’ve heard of English guys doing a bad take on good Indian music, but what about an Indian guy doing a bad take on bad English music?
No.
Sounds like something that would be played in an overpriced clothes shop with annoying white lighting
Clippings from radio interviews is a cool touch, but not enough for me to enjoy the actual music. Fave track: Homelands
not bad but genuinely can’t think about anything this album does than any of its contemporaries. feel like the production doesnt hold up to the conceptual and artistic aspects, especially with the Indian vocals. Very striking but it’s applied in a dull way.
lol this was trash but people need to understand that this walked so Jai Paul could run.
Hoping every trace of this album is wiped out in the nuclear winter.
This was so bad! Even in the 90s this would have annoyed me. Incomprehensible how this ended up on this list. Mediocre at best.
Nah
I did not enjoy this album at all.
Beyond shit.
What an odd album, I am all for experimental jazz, but this was an odd mix that frankly was not that pleasant to listen to. It strayed too far from the norm and was just bad. it was up there with Untitled (Black Is). Music can carry a message but after a certain point its lost and loses all musicality that would entice me to listen
(20/100)
Extremely boring
When to listen: uhh... Idk it's hard to rate albums that make me physically uncomfortable to listen to.
Like the music, not the vocals.
Couldn't even finish..
Thought the album started off well enough with Broken Skin. Nice smooth sounding song. 2nd song not as good, but Ok. Then went off the rails for me. Turned into elevator music mixing in some weird chants and by the middle I was ready for it to be over. The .5 is for the first 2 songs, mostly Broken Skin 1.5
Didn't finish, wanted to stay awake.
“my identity and my history are defined only by myself” 🤮
Beyond...World music fusion.. that goes nowhere
Beyond rubbish
Something different for sure. Starts off with Broken Skin, a pretty relaxing song. Homelands has some neat drums in it, it kind of fell off for me after that. Wouldn't relisten or keep any songs from this album.
This album generator is proving to me that the late 90s produced terrible music. What the hell was this shit?
Bullshit
The primary offense of this album is it is boring. In 1999, it was possibly more interesting than it actually is, but time has filtered it away to let better examples like Massive Attack and Portishead stand. It tries so hard to be a vibe album, a concept album, and finally a fusion album. It succeeds at pleasing no one and being very mid in all it attempts. The primary offense of this album being on the list is it confirms what many know: music critics fail too often to separate what they think is cool or relevant (or by their estimation will be) from what is actually good. Time fixes these issues but, in the meantime, we had to listen to this album.
I made it about half way through before giving it up. It’s really not very good, but more importantly it’s all the same really, well except that attempt at Hindu Hip Hop or whatever they called that. This album feels like a DEI hire for the list.
An album in the 90s about the India-Pakistan nuke crisis is somehow still relevant
Eesh.
Var ganske behagelig helt til herrestemmene dukket opp. Da ble det automatisk stryk fra meg.
not for me
Generic, repetitive and boring. More British mediocrity.
Kept checking to see if it was almost over.
The vocals are so irritating and cringeworthy; the fusion aspects sound so insincere Tides was beautiful, there's a small instrumental section of Homelands that was also gorgeous
meh
DNF; got around halfway through before i thought i’d heard what i needed to form an opinion. interesting mix of sounds but just.. a little confusing? not for me
Yeah, not for me. A strange choice for the list
Never heard of him and this is almost 30 yrs old. Maybe if I heard it back then it might sound better than it does today. I found it kinda generic and not all that inventive. Her vocals were nice but boring, the Indian instruments and singing added flavor but not impact. "Homelands" was the only track with over 1M listens and I was annoyed by it from the outset. Poor man's Thievery Corporation with female vocals, Indian influences and hip-hop thrown in. I was drifting off to sleep by the 6th song. Apparently this is about the hardships of being Indian in England? This is yet another Brit album that never hit anywhere else that we're all being forced to endure but you should not consider this a must-listen before you die album. 1.5 stars, didn't enjoy it - no hits, no impact stateside, no longevity and no real joy on it.
Objectively bad.
Why would you make me listen to that
Irgendwie finde ich den Zugang nicht
I want to give 1 stars. I really do. I REALLY do. It's bland and pretentious. If modern art was an album. Superficially "philosophical" and "socially conscious" and "cultural" to try and mask the lack of any real talent. However, some of the piano work is rather nice. The instrumental track "Tides" is quite nice. And I wanna reward the piano playing by bumping it up a star. But man, everything else. Actually, you know what. Back to 1 star for you. Just looked at the album cover again. Absolutely awful. Disgusting. Don't wanna think of it again.
Hard pass
An instant classic… in the genre of ‘records specifically engineered to clear a room.’ Bland, derivative Indian spa-lounge drivel that somehow manages to be both irritating and completely forgettable.
Intended to have a strong message but is sonically very boring
Это современное индийское звучание ну совсем не мое
There is nothing interesting, memorable, or essential about this. 1/5.
So the first three songs were pretty mellow and relaxing. I was thinking this is a two, maybe even three star album I was listening to. Then came an unlikeable rap song by someone that sounded like Q-Tip. After that, pure nails on a chalkboard.
Swings between tedious and annoying, usually some combination of both.
Huh.
With the screaming dude on the album cover and the subject matter about nuclear weapons, I half-expected some industrial clatter instead of South Asian-inflected pop. Fair enough, but is the pop music that's on this record interesting or moving in any way? Does it have any emotional weight? Not in the slightest. On this album all of the eggs were put in the production basket and little attention was paid to actual composition or songcraft. For an album that centers on such a heavy topic, the whole thing leaves no impact whatsoever.
Hand crafted for the most boring humanities professor at Uni to put on at his dinner party
Didn't enjoy it, felt like it didn't know what it wanted to be. Didn't finish.
Just bad
How on earth did this make it in to the 1001 list!
My patience is being tested
The nuclear weapon theme was interesting on paper but the album itself bored me
I had to turn this off.
Why?
Glad I didn't buy this book. I know music is objective and you have to include all genres but this album is a "must" listen before I die. Come on guys? Terrible
Hard time getting through this. Didn't like any of it.
I really disliked this album. Way to many songs I wanted to just skip.
Boring late 90's electronic music but make it Indian. Just to be clear, I'm giving it 1 because it's terrible, not for any more nefarious reasons.
At its best, it’s pleasant background noise, but I’m afraid I found a lot of this quite boring and it gets pretty grating towards the end. Not for me.
When I'm checking after every track to see when the torture ends, I know it's just not for me.
Did not listen to whole album.
Shit
The only redeeming feature of this album is the artwork which clearly depicts my face when someone adds spoken word excerpts about nuclear war to hotel elevator muzak.
Definitely caught me off guard switching to Homelands from first 2 songs. I like Pilgrim NOT a fan of Nadia. Cannot remember the song, but the one with all the piano was beautiful. On second listen, it was Tides Not a fan of serpents, especially from 2:30-3:30ish Def not a fan of The Conference.
Definitely not my thing.
⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS: # 77 Beyond Comprehension… What in the world did I just experience listening to this ‘music’, a messy blend of styles that lacks cohesion, is derivative and feels extremely didactic to the listener. Incorporating world music influences would be a fine approach with results that were at least somewhat entertaining, instead we are left to endure yodeling East Indian chants over random jazz, techno, hip hop and ambient soundscapes that sway between acoustic and upbeat pop textures. A head scratcher to say the least for how this should all be interpreted. 🎧 Least Objectionable Track: Broken Skin 🚫 Skip Track: Homelands While the overall theme of the album is impressive, the genre-hopping execution is disorienting and inconsistent leaving its flow to suffer. The pacing is scattered and veers into soundtrack-like background music, lacking the dynamism of the more polished songs. 🖼️ Album Artwork: As uninviting as the music Most collaborations do not land powerfully with the vocal delivery feeling flat or out of sync with the musical tone. The rotation of vocalists, while diverse, hinder emotional continuity—there’s no single voice guiding the listener through the entire narrative. The recording feels too clever for its own good, overtly intellectual, keeping the listener at arm’s length emotionally. It occasionally tells more than it shows, which significantly limits emotional immersion.
This is what would be playing at a pretentious hipster coffee house, isn't it? The best of it faded into the background. The worst (which was over half of it) was actively annoying.
This album feels like it's trying to do way too many different musical styles and they all suck.
Fine at some points, awful at others. 1.5
Keeping an eye on the world going by my window...taking my time...lying here and staring at the ceiling..waiting for Nitin Sawhney...
2/10- as I said to my wife, this is massive attack from temu, obsessed with India's nuclear programme and some ok vocals although the English singing is so generic from its period
unfortunately wasn’t my thing at all
Nightmarish - and not in an elucidating way, but rather a painfully miserable way; like being the only kid at a party that the adults love.
Does this come under the world music heading? For me it comes under Crap. It doesn't seem to know hat it's supposed to be. You get anti-nuclear news broadcasts followed by what sound like love songs. No not for me.
I really don't like Indian music
Beyond Skin blends traditional jazz with Indian musical influences—a combination that, while ambitious, didn’t quite land for me. From the start, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be my kind of album. The opening track showed some promise, but overall, the album felt like a slow decline. The fusion of styles just didn’t resonate with me, and I found it hard to connect with the mood and pacing. Favourite Track: Broken Skin stood out as a solid moment with interesting textures and rhythm. Least Favourite Track: Homelands didn’t work for me at all—it felt disjointed and overly dramatic. Album Artwork: The cover is a bit jarring—Nitin looks like he’s in pain, and it’s not the most inviting visual.
What a weird mix of stuff. Some of it was fine but I skipped the last few songs.
Moeilijk om uit te luisteren. 'T is mijn ding niet, en da's oké, maar dan is het ook oké om 1 ster te geven.
Not really for me
Terribly boring
Zero stars deserved.
Hot Trash.
Beyond listenable. It sounds like the generic sample music that comes with digital recording software.
The opening song really interested me with it's R&B flare and electronic elements. As the album progressed, I became more and more disinterested. I can't quite pinpoint what it was, but it fell flat for me. I don't think it was cohesive and don't believe that the experimentation was done well -- it just felt weird.
Broken Skin, Distant Fears 1001 Albums Generator 35 (05/21/2025) Smiling Buddha was the ironic name of India's first successful nuclear test, which was conducted in May 1974 and which the Indian government assured was only meant to test peaceful nuclear explosions. The Pakistani government disagreed and a Pakistani nuclear physicist later stated that this test was what drove Pakistan into developing their own nuclear armament. Beyond Skin is an album by British artist Nitin Sawhney that was inspired by the ongoing conflict at the time between India and Pakistan and revolves around nuclear weapons throughout time. As of the time I am writing this, we are less than two weeks removed from a ceasefire between these two countries after they "effectively" went to war in a completely different, but related, conflict to the Kargil War that was happening during Sawhney's time. This conflict is the first time in my life that two nuclear armed countries have engaged in hot conflict and is the first time that I personally have really felt the pressure of mutually assured destruction. Luckily, this conflict was resolved swiftly, but who is to say we will be so lucky next time? So the ideas in this album are clearly still relevant. Unfortunately, humanity has not yet achieved nuclear disarmament, and once the nuclear genie is out of the bottle, I really don't think we ever will. Every great world power will believe (with some good reason to) that their enemies will not disarm alongside them. However, this doesn't mean that we can't dream of such a world, and this is precisely what Nitin Sawhney did in his third album, Beyond Skin. The sound of this album is strange, as it combines multiple styles of electronica with vocals that are at times soulful in a Sade-esque way and instrumentals that incorporate elements of Hindustani music. This certainly leads to a unique sound, but does the experiment work? In my opinion, no. This is my least favorite album thus far. While this album is eclectic, it somehow manages to have songs that are bad and uninteresting in completely new ways. The rapping on songs like Homelands and Pilgrim are absolutely cringey, with the chorus of Homelands featuring one of the least cool attempts at a triplet flow that I have ever heard and Pilgrim featuring verses in a whispered tone that just annoys me. The chorus features the line "Life is like a puzzle not pieced yet", which doesn't make any sense, but at least it's repeated like 200 times throughout the song. In the words of a great philosopher of our time: repetition legitimizes. Serpents features production that borders on interesting with its snake-charmer flute and glitchy vocal samples but my god, 6 minutes is so fucking long. Anthem Without Nation is a dreadful 6 minutes which features precisely nothing for its runtime. It could have been cut down to a 60 second interlude and it would still be one of my least favorite songs here. The two best songs here are Broken Skin and Tides. The former is the intro song and does a good job of introducing the theme of the album with a vocal sample of the Prime Minister of India after their successful nuclear test in 1998, the first such test since the previously mentioned Smiling Buddha. I also love the R&B vocals here. Tides is an interesting piece of jazz fusion in a non-traditional way. It features a piano part that sounds straight out of a cool jazz song (for all I know, it could be a sample) and electronic DnB-style drums. This is a cool combination, even if 5 minutes is a bit extensive. Nostalgia is a slower song with some trip-hop energy and good vocals in the chorus, and the title track that closes the album is split into two distinct sections, with the first half featuring an electronic 5/8 beat and the second half featuring a slow arpeggiated acoustic guitar and female vocals. Nitin Sawhney's Beyond Skin does not deserve a place on this list. The fusion of inspirations does not work and it is not a good representation of world music, which has much more interesting albums than this. 1.5/5 rounded down to a 1/5. Favs: Broken Skin Tides Beyond Skin Least Fav: Anthem Without Nation
Sounds really repetitive and mostly uninteresting.
Pretty horrible
No
It plays like a random assortment of film scores. Lush, beautiful sounds meant to be heard but not listened to; presented with no (musical) coherence. This is of a piece with Easy Listening, Musak, New Age, etc. Only it's worse because now we program computers to perform the parts. The only things I feel from this are boredom and frustration.
Successfully melting together all of the worst genres of music with some childish whining over the top. Risible. Good grief I’ve got to ‘The Conference’ which is basically the Ying Tong song. This can’t finish soon enough for me.
I genuinely do not understand how this can be on the list... 1.5⭐️
Not for me
The jazzier stuff from the album was way more fun. The male voice that sometimes comes in drags also the experience down. This is one of these albums that would work better with less voices and vocals for me. But still an interesting Listen. The Conference was silly asf. (1.5/5.0)
הכל נשמע אותו דבר
I really didn’t like this. Kind of annoying actually. I think I could’ve died in peace not having listened to this. Immigrant was ok.
Meh
I was trying, I honestly was ... and then the dude in the background started chanting, that is where I draw the line!
eh too weird/global for my taste
This downtempo triphop with smatterings of world music and glistening production is as late 90s/early 00s as it gets! Ambitious, exotic and well executed but not engaging - is it really an album about humanity's difficult relationship with nuclear weapons and the experience of Indian migrants in the UK (pretty diffuse thematic manifesto....), or does it just have some newsreel samples over the transitions between fairly boring tracks? Favourite tracks: Broken Skin, Nadia, whatever it was I listened to next...
1 bosta
J'aime pas le trip-hop, j'aime pas la drum and bass, et j'ai pas d'affection particulière pour les sonorités orientales et indiennes. Forcément, tout ça mélangé, c'était pas ouf.
Didn't really click with this one. Not sure why it is on this 1001 albums list... Highlights Include: "Tides"
# 421 : Zzzzz. Another one of those albums that make you reconsider whether there are actually as many as 1,001 albums you must listen to before you die…
Not good
I've come to realize through this list that I just don't enjoy music with Indian influence. This was... Pretty profoundly meh. Very well done, but the Indian influences really took it down several notches.
Second bad imitation album in a week. This time its Temu Portishead. 1/5
Moody Downtempo for testing the limits of boredom.
Haven't heard of this before. A chill, background music-esque album about nuclear weapons doesn't seem appropriate to me. The concept of this album aside, purely musically it isn't interesting either. Actually after a while the sound of the album started to be annoying. Another strange pick from the author of the original book. 1/5
this dragged for so long, literally felt like i was listening to it for hours on end, i respect the style of it but the trip hop esc sound to it was very generic and all the songs sound the same and it didn’t keep me engaged at all
point5.
Weird R&B
I would never put this on a list like this unless it’s what you should not do.
Album #14 0 1/5 Not for me. Seems like there is a great message / theme to the album (lyrics) but the music/sound just isn't for me.
The album cover is actually me having to listen to this nonsense. 2/10.
I'd rather be nuked than listen to Homelands again.
This is real weird and bad.
de opener isch etz nöd so i mim gschmack sehr dissonant mit langsamem electrobeat. find etz de zweit letting go au ultra seicht und langwilig. homelands het chli spannenderi perkussion aber macht etz au nüüüt mit mir. alles sehr melancholisch und depri. pilgrim findi au meega scheisse sorry wiso ischs so gloomy? immigrant isch de erst song woni no easy schö find. schöni melodie cooli chords. würkli recht schön. serpents isch defür wieder e rechti tortur gnüssi etz nuuuuuull. abthem without nation isch au wieder cooli perkussivi sache im hindergrund das wüschende findi cool aber es isch so laaahm fuuuck. wenns harmonisch uflöst isch no schön. ich check scho dass mega lang söll riibig sii und denn isch d uflösig no befriedigender aber bruudi. the conference goht blöööd
Shitty indian music infused with jungle. Near the end they go Deng de Deng de Deng deng deng for 2 minutes. It felt like an eternity. Horrible.
it insists upon itself...
This is #day86 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... how about music to take a dump to? Long story short, this is not an album you must hear before you die. It's a 1 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day87.
The album cover is terrible. The music is incredibly bland. Some of it sounds like it's trying to be Massive Attack, but nowhere near successfully. Also pretentious.
? My 1000 album
This is really hard to listen to
fuckin fuck
Just awful. Has the potential to be a fantastic and compelling trip hop album. Instead it's a cheesy soundtrack to a 90s British Airways commercial. At best, dentist office music.
Can Downtempo make you angry? Turn this on and find out!
First 3 songs are pretty good everything else was garbage
Beyond Skin is an album from Nitin Sawhney, a British musician that has won a number of awards. This is an odd collection of songs, with downtempo electronic backgrounds, and elements of Indian influence throughout the work. There are odd ballads, "Anthem without Nation," poorly executed rap, "Pilgrim," rhythmic exercises, "The Conference," and even near-pop songs, "Nostalgia." Some of the tracks are interesting, but the scattered collection is enough to dampen any interest.
Bit all over the place, parts were okay but other tracks I really disliked
Beyond excruciating
Released in 1999, the album aims to explore identity and culture through a blend of Eastern and Western music. Unfortunately, the album falls short, resulting in a disjointed and unsatisfying experience. The fusion of classical Indian instruments with electronic beats often feels forced and jarring, lacking cohesion. Vocally, the album is inconsistent, with guest performances varying in quality. The spoken word segments, like in "Broken Skin," come across as pretentious rather than profound. The lyrical content strives for depth but ends up heavy-handed and unsubtle. Production is another weak point, with traditional instruments undermined by synthetic electronic elements, resulting in a sterile sound. Few tracks leave a lasting impression, and the ambitious soundscapes meander without direction. Overall, Beyond Skin is a well-intentioned but flawed endeavor, failing to deliver a memorable or cohesive musical experience.
How can you even call this art
Definitely not my music - sorry!
Not for me
Wtf
This has to be near the bottom of albums on this list, like 998.
who listens to this Like sure, some of the jazzier stuff is fine, but tell me anyone’s favorite song is ‘Nadia’ or ‘Serpents’. None of this is artistically bankrupt or anything, but it seems like the artist put no effort into actually making this something people want to listen to. This made me feel nothing, and unlike other albums I could say that to, I really see no appeal to this. Probably the 1 star album I have the least hatred of, but who is this for?
Was this list required to provide a westernized Indian album because if this was the best possible option then I guess there is still more learning that needs to be done. The first song was kind of okay. Then emit just went to shit and everything else was pretty much a mess. There were two songs I had to skip, which I usually don’t do. This could’ve been a two star album if it stayed like the first song. 2.0/10
Beyond Dull. A late-to-the-game take on mid-90’s international flavored groove like Moodswings and Transglobal Underground. Nothing to really stand out.
The deeper you get into the list the more you realized how UK-skewed it is. Also the commitment to a diverse array of music can be great but also a big negative at points. I think I need to start viewing this list as just "1001 random albums" and not the best 1001 of all time. "Pilgrim" was brutal to get through with its weak spoken-word. I feel like I've heard most of these songs in a wannabe trendy hotel lobby before. This album is all over the place, and not in a good way, with no cohesiveness from song to song. 3/10 (1.5/5)
Nope
Ugh. This is standard turn of the century stuff that had some guardian reviewer named Tim, or Ben or Miles getting semi hard for on its way to the Mercury Prize and hipster end of year polls. The music drifts between acoustic down tempo pop, Bhangra beats and female vocals that could’ve been Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps or countless others. Unremarkable
Didn't listen.
uhhhh really not for me. giving kratom bar vibes. LEAST favorite songs Pilgrim - this is what it feels like when ur on a first date and the dude asks to freestyle for you Did not end up finishing this album
Ok so I don't know how this album has made this list. Frequently bored out of my mind listening to it. GREAT background music but feels like I'm in a white washed movie about colonialism ? Like it's a attempt at fusing electronica-east asian just settles itself in the pit between where it sucks all around// The concept behind this album is supposed to be a time-line running from the India-Pakistan nuclear situation to Oppie quoting "I am become death... yada yada" Cool fucking idea. So so poorly executed. Yeah samples are taken but again just make this sound lazy and as many have said...BORING. Wieners: Homeland...I guess? It is the most popular and the only song I could get through without grimacing Losers: All.
I really wanted to like this, but, I found it waaaaay too arty for me. It went on a journey but I was not pleased to be on it.
Extremely dull. I have zero desire to ever listen to this album again.
I would never listen to this ever. I don’t like these weird albums. If you make an album it’s a project and often a description of that artists life. But at the end of the day it’s still suppose to be music. And this is not my kind
Them: Here's 1001 Albums you should listen to before you die. Me: (praying for death so I don't have to listen to another electronic British album)
Shits ass 3/10
Wank
Not for me
Did not listen. Album cover turned me off immediately! 0⭐
Boring. Not influential. Lyrics have a superiority complex.
Did not like it 25 years ago and one cannot argue it is not well made, but it still has that typical muzak feeling.
Zzzzzzzz
Virkelig prætentiøst og en træls blanding af mange genrer...
As Homer Simpson would say “boring”
If it's not being cringe world music, it's just generic late 90's pop. This is lame, do better.
What was that ?
Brutal.
Definitely not my preferred style of music at all.
Utter crap. How is this shite getting thru my filters?
Can't say I enjoyed this
Broken Skin - 4.5/5 Honestly a great groove. Honestly did not think this style of music I'd fuck with so much. Letting Go - 4/5 THE HARMONY. A bit more of a reserved song compared to the previous but still a chill vibe. Sampling a bit strange. Homelands - 2.5/5 Supermajority of the song is in Hindi, last minute is Portuguese. A bit of a strange start, but towards the halfway mark it really picks up and hits a stride. Pilgrim - 1/5 I don't enjoy the strings throughout this song or the rapping. Very generic compared to the rest of the album so far. The entire song is super repetitive. I don't care that life is like a puzzle not pieced yet. Tides - 3/5 PIANO! Nadia - 1/5 Sounds like the intro to the powerpuff girls. Entirely in Hindi. I did not enjoy the singing. Immigrant - 2.5/5 Kinda gives Disney princess music vibes lmfao. Very pleasant. Male singer detracts in the latter half, but the lead singer did an absolutely great and beautiful performance. Serpents - 0/5 This song is simply not good. It is repetitive and the instrumentation is bad. Entirely in Hindi. I thought Nadia was bad, this is worse. Anthem Without Nation - 1/5 Does not go anywhere. Sounds like its going to be promising and build to something but does not and stays relatively somber throughout. Nostalgia - 3/5 A rebound after these last few songs. I swear its not because its sung in English (the singing is just okay anyways)-- it actually has a vibe and a groove. Still probably wouldn't listen to it outside of this experience. The Conference - 0/5 oh boy. just skip it. honestly bordering on so bad its good, but still overwhelming bad. Beyond Skin - 1/5 Doesn't become a song until 90 seconds in, but what follows isn't worth the wait. Oppenheimer referenced. Overall Thoughts: Lots of Hindi which takes a lot to get used to to be honest (I am not even sure I ever did). Honestly fell off so hard after the first few songs. I will admit I am almost certainly not the target audience for the vast majority of these songs, and the language gap almost certainly contributed to that, but that didn't stop the first few songs from slapping. Feels like a majority of the songs try to be "artsy" over being an enjoyable experience; no consistency or musical through-line. Would almost certainly not have listened to it without this site, and I don't entirely think that's a positive this time around.
Broken Skin - 4.5/5 persona ahh soundtrack song Letting Go - 4.6/5 holy Homelands - 2.2/5 ??? some of the greatest and worst parts of the album Pilgrim - 0.7/5 absolutely nothing good about this track Tides - 2.5/5 bro found 3 samples and smashed them together, good for a lofi sound i guess. completely neutral Nadia - 0/5 extremely annoying, i was getting angry listening to this Immigrant - 1.4/5 disney's aladdin knockoff soundtrack song Serpents - 0 I'm going to go insane if I have to keep listening to this shit album Anthem Without Nation - 0.8/5 aimless, meaningless, singing is on a significantly different time signature then the background ambience Nostalgia - 3.4/5 - HOLY SHIT!!! MUSIC!!! why did they cut the strings though? why so repetitive still? The Conference - 0.4 ???????? it was kinda funny ig Beyond Skin - 0.3/5 there is literally not music for half of it, but instead Oppenheimer I've gone through every stage of grief listening to this. Get this toddler away from his DAW. I have heard real toddlers beating on drums completely randomly that can classify more as music then most of this garbage. 2.8/5 as an existentialism art piece, 1.2/5 as an album.
Nothing of particular interest musically, main intention seems to be commenting on Indian politics
Now I am become elevator music, the destroyer of interesting concept, lush hindi/qawwali interpolations, coffee-table trip-hop, and dated drum'n'bass patterns. Love the "Indian" vocals and orchestrations. Hate most of the English vocal parts. 1/5 for the purposes of this list, translating to a 6/10 grade for more general purposes (5+1). Number of albums left to review: 446 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 257 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 132 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 168 (including this one)
What? How’d this get here?
"Tides" was a nice, chill tune. The rest of it, however, was a rambling mess of musical styles, and cultures, that never should have been combined. I'm not sure how this made it onto this list.
Hmm, I have no recollection of this existence at all. Someone mentioned the Mercury Prize and that's a good shout. I do remember the Talvin Singh one though, this, nothing. Most of this screams Morcheeba to me though, coffee shop grooves but with some eastern rhythms and overtones. Also overproduced in such a way as to turn you right off. I'd much rather listen to the real deal. There was loads of it about around this time. Offensively inoffensive. Blame Moby if you want. The rap one with some dude trying to do Q-Tip badly was hard to sit through. Oh god, Immigrant was painful. What the fuck is this. Utter schlock. The Conference is the one track worth listening to, and it jumps out, so incongruous is it to everything else here. The longer this goes on, the harder it is to avoid reaching the inevitable conclusion that it is fucking terrible. Or at least terrible in places, boring in others.
No thank you. At all. Meh and argh.
the cover art is me when i go waaaaaah weeeeee
It was okay not good tho. This shit was PlayStation 1 background music which honestly would’ve been much cooler. It was music that sounded like it was trying hard to be fine art. 1.75
Säkert skickligt, men ack så tråkigt - musik att somna till
Brutal.
this is pretty terrible, boring Casio keyboard drum'n'bass with rote Indian thematic touches and a dash of pretentious samples thrown in for bad measure. down with the worst of pseudo-trendy UK music ca. 2000, dull dull dull
Heavy subject matter about nuclear war made fairly bland from that mid-late 90's trip hop production and breathy vocals. Once you've heard the first track, you've heard all the tracks. The model on the front of the album probably wanted the connotation of screaming - instead after listening to this it just looks like someone yawning. Best Tracks: Broken Skin; Pilgrim; Tides
Struggled to find any joy with this one.
Shit was wack
What?
06/02/2022 PLEASE make it stop.
no
nope
Couldn't make myself care about this album.
Nah
Nee, dat was 't dan niet voor mij.
Culerísimo.
Don't like it. Bailed halfway through as I heard nothing redeeming with it.
Ужасающие восточные мотивы. Отборное дерьмицо для извращенцев.
MEEH
neeeeope
Ethnic Music that I don't relate to.
fy fan vilken tråkig skit