90

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Tue Aug 10 2021

5

This album has some of the most complex and beautiful drum programming you are likely to ever hear. Makes you wonder what happened to not just these guys but to the scene as a whole. After a masterpiece like this which is truly blueprint for that big sound that everybody attempted to immitate. Check out 'Cobra Bora'. Just when you think it has done it's thing, it takes off to another level. Pure techno jazz of the very highest order. An absolute masterpiece from start to finish. This is more apparent now than ever before and although to the untrained ear (or novice) this may sound dated, its only because of those big stadium sounds (as used on ie. Cubik) that will make people think this. Unaware to them, It was these guys and more to the point, this LP that came above all, first in line with that sound. Think again. This is a classic of monumental proportion and defines that year not just by title alone but to hear it, is to go back to the finest techno music of that that year, 90

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Wed Feb 24 2021

1

If a crappy C-movie was made music. First one I can't finish.

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Fri Nov 12 2021

1

This would be perfectly adequate if I were on ecstasy in an abandoned warehouse or condemned townhouse and wanting to dance while some dude who brought his dog, who is very chill, keeps trying to talk to me about like, deep stuff.

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Fri Sep 17 2021

4

very weird it is actually pretty entertaining

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Thu Jun 03 2021

3

Pacific 202 and 808080808 are just banging, but the rest just get a head nod here and there. Solid, but nothing outstanding or timeless.

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Thu Nov 04 2021

2

like Tubular Bells on speed

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Thu Jan 28 2021

1

I listened to this album for 39 minutes and now I'm clinically insane. I worry for the people who seek this out voluntarily. Best track: Magical Dream

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Mon Mar 22 2021

5

God so much of this is cliche now but they invented it

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Thu Jun 02 2022

5

5.0 - When it comes to enjoying electronic dance records, I generally have a spotty history. I'm not sure what constitutes excellence within this genre but for me it has a lot to do with balance between a handful of variables. First is tone: is there a balance between light and dark, heavy and floating elements? Second, is there the right amount of surprise, familiar and unfamiliar? Third involves the beat: how well does it come together? Does the beat sound canned and cheap? Does it sound cool and tasteful? I realize as I'm writing this that there's a certain alchemy to dance music that I can't presently articulate. And I can't pinpoint exactly why this particular album puts me in a joyful trance where other electronic dance albums I've listened to have failed, sometimes miserably (see "Fat of the Land", "You've Come A Long Way Baby", "Darkdancer", "Exit Planet Dust"). But I do know that I'm fully engrossed and my brain is happy.

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Fri May 14 2021

4

A seminal album that I haven't listened to until now. Absolutely ahead of its time and has so much soul for a record that is completely electronic.

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Fri Aug 06 2021

4

I remember listening to Pacific 202 and Cubik in the mix on Dave’s Dance music (CKLN) while we were unpacking & hanging pictures after moving to Toronto in 89. Compared to the so-called techno and acid-house that was all the rage (in the UK anyway) at that time, 808 State was more melodic. More songs verses tracks. The album gets off to a great start, but fades a bit at the end. The song Cubik was included on the North American release of this LP so I'll add 1 point for that banger.

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Wed Sep 22 2021

4

Quirky, catchy, and solid beats, especially for the time.

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Fri Nov 12 2021

4

This album is a great lesson on the importance of song selection and sequencing. I was linked to the US version Utd. State 90, which is significantly different than the UK version. The US version is missing one forgettable track (The Fat Shadow) and it includes 5 additional tracks. The UK version starts off with two of the weakest tracks (Magical Dream and Acodia) while the US version opens with one of the strongest (Pacific 202). All 5 additional tracks on the US version (Boneyween, Kinky National, Cübik, Revenge of the Girlie Men, and State to State) elevate this album. I’m rating the US version, which is at least a 1 star boost from the UK version.

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Mon Jan 03 2022

4

Exhaustively polished dance music, especially for a record that came out pre-1990. There are hints of electronic music to come everywhere, and the sound design still blows a lot of modern projects out of the water.

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Wed Jul 20 2022

4

I generally like this as it stirs up a fair amount nostalgia for this aesthetic. The fact that this came out in 1989 simply blows my mind. I can't think of any electronic music from that year that is as sonically dense as this, balancing samples, synths, and drum sequencers so fluidly. I have newfound respect for their place in the evolution of electronic music. Kinda prefer the Utd. State 90 version that starts off with Pacific 202.

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Fri Oct 21 2022

4

Except for the parts that sounded like the alarm on my phone, I very much enjoyed this. Fun dance grooves with tiny melodic surprises.

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Mon May 30 2022

3

as far as dated dance music goes this was pretty good

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Sun Feb 21 2021

2

> leftism shit

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Fri Feb 19 2021

5

2/18 Can't wait till I get a car. Standout Tracks: Cobra Obra, Pacific 202, Donkey Doctor, 808080808

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Wed May 26 2021

5

tum tum

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Wed May 19 2021

5

Never heard of this group or album before and really loved it.

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Wed Apr 21 2021

5

Not as good as Underworld but not far off. Early 90's Manchester Techno? Yes please

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Fri Apr 29 2022

5

Takes me back to listening to the House music radio station with Hans on GTA san andreas

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Fri Nov 04 2022

5

I just always thought of 808 State as the Pacific 202 band, and little more. But this is a great album, and Pacific 202 actually proves to be one of the weaker tracks.

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Sun Jan 08 2023

5

Now THIS I can really jam to. 808080808 goes hard af, "Sunrise" is pure bliss, and "Cobra Bora" sounds like a 90's Sonic stage. That's good stuff right there.

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Thu Mar 30 2023

5

Awesome, the influence on a lot of electronic albums in the 90s is obvious.

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Tue May 23 2023

5

This era of electronic music is still refreshing in 2023. In fact, it's amazing what 808 State could do with much less technology. This album is a classic of the state of the art in 1990.

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Wed Jul 26 2023

5

Really great and clearly very influential

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Thu May 20 2021

4

Classic slice of Mancunian techno.... ticks all the boxes including nostalgia!

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Fri May 21 2021

4

Funky and cool. Good work music.

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Wed Jan 20 2021

4

-really good fam

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Wed Feb 24 2021

4

Surprisingly good

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Sun Feb 21 2021

4

i like

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Sun Feb 21 2021

4

nice beats. best electric/house one so far. dancey dance :)

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Fri May 14 2021

4

3.8 perhaps good ambient tunes

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Wed May 26 2021

4

Liked every song . Great music and techno beats. Shocked how old it is. Good to workout 🏋️‍♀️ with and have never heard of them before

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Wed Apr 21 2021

4

I like this. Start to end it is good.

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Tue Mar 23 2021

4

I

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Fri May 14 2021

4

Enjoyed that - ambient music great to work to and recognised a few of the tunes. 3.7 for me

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Mon Jul 19 2021

4

I like the atmospheric, even vaguely jazzy beats , such as Sunrise, mixed with more conventional elaborations of the old funk-soul sound. (7/10) Favourite Songs: Pacific 202

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Wed Jul 28 2021

4

I get around this energy. Pretty wild for pre 90s

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Thu Aug 26 2021

4

It was a very vibey album. I enjoyed it a lot, even if it had no real "substance" other than interesting instruments, sounds, and samples. Every song is something that I would put on in the background, but I wouldn't really actively listen to any, save for me favorite. Favorite track: Pacific 202

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Fri Sep 10 2021

4

Liked this, great to work to. Would have been fun clubbing in 90s to this

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Fri Sep 10 2021

4

Imagine this was really fun to rave to in the 90s. Would love to get ham and party to this at a festival.

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Wed Sep 29 2021

4

This shit is so acid

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Mon Oct 18 2021

4

Better than I expected, doesn't fall into the massive hit and filler trap as the whole album is definitely a piece of work as opposed to some mashed up half ideas. I'd almost go as far as to say it's worth a listen even if you took Pacific state off it.

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Wed Nov 10 2021

4

-"Ancodia" is pretty catchy with the upbeat backbeat and "L-O-V-E Love" line -Nice driving groove in "Pacific 202" -Lots of good grooves and stuff for an electronic album

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Wed Nov 17 2021

4

Excellent, that's the good stuff.

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Sun Feb 06 2022

4

1989 - Techno, Acid house, Electronica, Synth-pop, New wave, Intelligent dance music

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Mon Mar 07 2022

4

Its 808's best album which means it must be very good.

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Wed Apr 27 2022

4

Hated acid house at the time, mainly because all the big kids dressed in weird ghastly coloured shell suits knocking off tabs whilst gurning and dancing crazy style in fields and warehouses. In retrospect, quite an album.

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Thu May 05 2022

4

Whoa this was fun. Do I like house now?

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Thu May 05 2022

4

Seminal bangers.

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Fri Jun 03 2022

4

Yes yes yes. So retro future. Remembered some of it from my parents playing it back on the day.

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Mon Jun 20 2022

4

Sometimes this kind of music is good and I like it. Often it is boring and repetitive and not all that enjoyable for home listening. This album is not boring, definitely of its time, but quite delightful start to finish. Favorite: Pacific 202

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Wed Jun 22 2022

4

Je m'attendais à rien mais je suis agréablement surpris Prefs: Ancodia, Cobra Bora, Pacific 202, 808080808 Moins pref: Donkey Doctor

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Thu Jun 23 2022

4

Great but I think americans did it better

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Wed Jul 13 2022

4

A genuine rave classic.

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Fri Jul 15 2022

4

La música techno de los 90s seguramente puede encontrar muchas de sus raíces en este disco. La música de los videojuegos seguramente tomó muchos elementos de este género porque a ratos pareciera el soundtrack de algún juego de NES o SNES. Pacific 202, 808080808, y Sunrise lo mejor del disco. 3.5 que voy a subir a 4, porque de lo poco que he escuchado de electrónica, es de lo que más me ha gustado.

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Thu Jul 21 2022

4

Good stuff! Not all was ground breaking but I definitely found a hit

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Thu Jul 28 2022

4

good electronica sound. I liked it. Ahead of its time.

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Fri Aug 12 2022

4

Late 80s electronic album from the UK. Pacific 202 still sounds as great now as it did in the 80s. The other tracks are very good: 8/10 overall

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Fri Sep 16 2022

4

Like the music at the end of an epic boss fight.

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Fri Oct 14 2022

4

Okay album. I liked the strange Greco-Roman theme to the album, but at the same time they sounded like they were speaking latin through the whole thing. They have better music than Treasure and I'm not sure if I'd listen to any of these songs again. Best Songs: Beatrix, Pandora, Aloysius Worst Songs: Otterley

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Sun Oct 16 2022

4

Liked it more then expected

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Fri Oct 21 2022

4

This was a lot of fun to listen to. Enjoyed hearing shades of The Hustle and Do You Know The Way To San Jose? on Cobra Bora and Sunrise. Was a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon of housework.

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Fri Oct 21 2022

4

This was some fine electronic music. It had some good rhythm and some engaging samples. I struggle to appreciate why this album is so important to be on this list. But, I didn't mind listening.

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Fri Oct 21 2022

4

I sometimes get bored with electronic music, but this one was quite enjoyable. I loved that it sampled the Hustle.

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Thu Oct 27 2022

4

Really enjoyed this slab of electronica

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Thu Nov 03 2022

4

Stand out tracks - Cobra Bora - Pacific 202 - Donkey doctor

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Fri Nov 11 2022

4

I wish I could go back in time to when dance music sounded like this.

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Mon Nov 21 2022

4

Techno jazz, je pensqis pas ca existait, c’est vraiment pa smauvais .4

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Wed Dec 28 2022

4

Da future

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Thu Jan 12 2023

4

Got me feeling like a fruity little dance floor baby first thing in the morning. Loved this ‘bum

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Fri Jan 13 2023

4

This is one my son would be proud of me for listening to. But, he wouldn't realize I went through a Madchester phase a long, long time ago.

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Thu Jan 19 2023

4

Mér finnst þetta æði. Mikil nostalgía, dans og chill. Pacific 202 verður á rípít hjá mér næsta klukkutímann.

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Fri Jan 27 2023

4

An acid house release.. elements of it have dated but there are still some bangers in here

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Fri Mar 17 2023

4

groovy danceable stuff. 4 stars.

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Fri May 19 2023

4

Beep boop boots and pants but all and all pretty enjoyable

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Wed Jun 14 2023

4

Lush, perfectly produced acid house as likely to get your brain moving as it is your body.

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Fri Jun 16 2023

4

Who knew 80's synth music could be so vibey?

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Sun Jun 18 2023

4

808 State laid the groundwork for electronic dance music. It may sound dated, but they are pioneers for their genre. Gotta love when Speak & Spell was used as a musical instrument.

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Fri Jun 23 2023

4

A nice break from lots of moody rock-adjacent music. I wish some of the songs were a bit more varied, but definitely good overall

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Fri Jun 23 2023

4

This album shocked me. I was not expecting to experience this. Very early Aphex Twin type sound. Some early IDM ideas that would carry own to other genres. Very good listen.

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Thu Jul 06 2023

4

Pretty decent electronic dance music.Id listen to it again.Not a super strong recommendation but pretty good.

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Fri Jul 07 2023

4

A low 4, but Pacific 202 is such a fun track. There are other moments of being good here, other times its quite dull, and some times where its kinda bad and good at the same time. Surprised how 90s this sounded for an 89 album, and thats usually a sign of someone pushing the envelope.

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Fri Jul 21 2023

4

I really enjoyed the album. Perfect for getting some work done

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Fri Jul 28 2023

4

This is fucked up good. Every track, bar Sunrise, is a genuine banger. It's rare to have an electronic album that feels so equally at home in a club or in a bedroom (maybe it lends itself slightly more to a club, but this has enough substance to entertain no matter where you are). So impressive to me that electronic albums from decades can still up hold up, given just how far technology in the area has come. Fav Track: I'd love to say Cobra Bora but Pacific 202 is impossible to go past, one of the electronic GOATs. 4.5

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Sat Jul 29 2023

4

8/10 pretty fun, good vibes

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Tue Aug 01 2023

4

I had an epiphany while listening to this. Maybe I've been approaching dance albums on this all wrong. Maybe the purpose of things of this genre is losing yourself in the music like you would on a dance floor, and when you came to, you enjoyed what you were listening to. I think it's difficult to say whether that's right or wrong, but approaching this album like that, it definitely became my favorite dance-music album on the list. It's a little dated in spots, but you can see some of the influence it would have further down the line. Favorite tracks: "Donkey Doctor", "Pacific 202", "Sunrise"

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Mon Sep 04 2023

4

Pretty decent electronic music. This is not usually one of my go to genres of music but I enjoyed this enough to earn it another listen. Cool

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Wed Sep 20 2023

4

very good

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Wed Oct 14 2020

3

Hmmm....not as good as I expected

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Thu Nov 05 2020

3

What the hell is this

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Fri Apr 16 2021

3

So 90s! Nice collection of tracks.

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Thu Mar 04 2021

3

Alright, very 80s, lots of synth, loon calls for a bit?

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Mon Jan 25 2021

3

I've never heard of this group or record previously. It was a fun listen! This era of electronic music is a gap for me. I've got Kraftwerk, and then nothing prior to the mid 90s with Moby etc.

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Wed May 26 2021

3

I had no idea what to expect with this, but the genre label "acid house" is much funnier to me than it should be. This is pretty cool though, some really interesting electro-grooves. Nothing too special to me, but an enjoyable listening experience. "Ancodia" sounds indebted to Herbie Hancock's "Rockit." Favorite tracks: Ancodia, Cobra Bora, Donkey Doctor. Album art: Very minimal, but I do like the outline font choice, and the two little inset photos are nice if you can see them. 3.5/5

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Wed Feb 24 2021

3

Sounds cool but nothing really special on this.

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Wed May 26 2021

3

This was a very cool album. The songs felt a tad long and repetitive but it made for great background music. The album cover is both bland and baffling in a good way, I'm not sure the significance of the numbers either.

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