Two Dancers

At first, the female vocalist sounded like a cross between Kate Bush and Toyah. At first. By the third song, she was just annoying. Her vocal... limitations in "All The King's Men." Yikes. The music in itself wasn't too bad. But the singing was just not good. Really took me out of it. Trying to reach notes that they shouldn't try to reach. Probably the first and last song on the album were decent, but the rest was not. Mainly because of the vocals. Next.

Never heard of this group before and it’s kind of like a less-exciting version of Alt-J. No particular song interested me and the whole album was slow and slightly dull. I don’t know if this is bad enough for 2 stars or good enough for 3. Let’s give it 2 stars.

After the first 2 songs I really wanted to turn this off, vocals as mentioned are pretty bad. Somehow it got better, mildly but I made it through. However there is nothing interesting about this at all, another choice I'm puzzled by. It's a 1.5.

Never heard of this band/album before. A pretty middle of the road and forgettable 2000s indie rock record. Fades in to the background and I'll likely never listen to this again.

The German album I just finished listening to was more intelligible than this one. Reminded me of the XX but with a fraction of the talent. The instrumentals weren't bad but the vocalist totally ruins it all. Couldn't wait for it to be over, to be honest. 3/10.

BL: I know the track “hooting and howling” but no other tracks off of this record. Will be interested to see what this is like AL: I didn’t really like this record. I still find “hooting and howling” to be an incredibly insufferable track. I find the vocalists annoying, which is a shame when the instrumentals are often very good and inflict a similar simplistic depth that the first “The XX” record did. The instrumental breaks pick up the slack for what otherwise is a band with two horrendous lead singers. I didn’t mind the opening track though. FT: “The Fun Powder Plot”, “Two Dancers Pt.2”, “Underbelly” 2/5

So I think it's safe to say this group is greatly influenced by Bowie. It was a good listen but I don't think I'll come back to it. When I'm in the mood for something like this I'll just listen to Bowie.

I liked a few of the songs in the middle of the album, but I disliked this one on the whole. Not a fan of the vocals, and the music was largely repetitive. Presumably this works for some people since it's on the list, but I am not one of those people. 1.5.

This album didn't really do much for me. It felt like if Jeff Buckley was the lead singer of Coldplay, but not nearly as engaging as I'd want it to be.

Lite sådär - för flummigt till och med för mig.

Didn’t like it

Pretentious.

Ei huono muttei myöskään överihyvä. Se mitä jäin kaipaamaan oli ehkä se että tää olis kallistunut selkeesti enemmän popiksi tai rockiksi. 2/5

I didn't hate this, but I wouldn't have chosen to listen to it, and I really don't understand how it's on this list.

A very odd but quite fun album, that unfortunately doesn’t have too much in terms of substance that makes it memorable. I really enjoyed the last song actually and was veering towards raising this to a 3, but figured I’d stick with my overall feeling

I just couldnt get into this one. The vocals are my main gripe it just sounds weird in a boring kind of way.

sort of arcade fire sounding without the emotion couldnt get into it

Love the vocal range, reminds me of Jack Stauber

I think this is an album that if I gave fans my review, they would tell me I just don't get it. And I don't get it. The singer has incredible range and can change their timbre as well as their pitch, but they switch these aspects without warning which stresses me out. It's also just more horny than I am, like, ever. Favorite track was through the iron gate

boy, this one is hard to rate. on one hand, i really liked the music. 4-5 star instrumentals here, super cool late 00s indie vibes. however, the vocals were like a 1-2 and the lyrics were absolutely a 1. what the heck was happening with these lyrics...? "disowned us daddies like the poopers of the party" really says it all. and that's from the same track talking about putting a boot up your asshole and a slipper in your bits. what favorites: the fun powder plot, hooting & howling, all the king's men

4/10 - The vocals sound like a ghost moonlighting as a Thom Yorke impersonator.

Terrible falsetto and boring Radiohead-esque instrumentals that are much too pretentious. The hole album is dripping in pretentiousness. Rhythm and percussion was okay on some tracks, especially Through the Iron Gate. Best song was All the Kings Men because the vocals were not falsetto and it was actually somewhat enjoyable.

Some of it was okay but mostly meh.

Partly heard before (I think?) Saved 2/10 Top track: All the King's Men

I enjoy the instruments and overall sound, but not a fan of the upper register of the vocals. Points for trying something different though! High 2

Strange haunting vocals but forgettable music.

- I don’t have many thoughts about this one - just meh

This one was very weird and different The vocals is either the SpongeBob "dancing in the sunlight" or sort of normal and that will randomly switch for no reason

Unique instrumentals, odd vocals.

Decent music. The singer has a grating voice. The lyrics are bizarre at best, and stalkerly at worst. While I find the music interesting, the content will keep me away from this group’s work.

I really enjoyed this album for the first minute and 29 seconds. Then the vocals came in. I’ve said before that I don’t mind bad vocals, as long as they fit the music. What I dislike are pretentious vocals, and there’s something really pretentious about most of the vocals on this record. I don’t mind the other guy with the lower range, he sounds a bit like Guy Garvey or the Bon Hiver guy. But the main singers inflection just seems so put on. There are points, two that particularly stick out, where he puts a bit more grit in his voice and it sounds fantastic, very early hard rock. On the other hand, I did find myself kinda getting into it later on. It wasn’t a hard album to listen to. I may come back to it at some point, see if my opinion of the vocals has changed. Rated two and a half but rounded down to 2

Landfill indie, but from the poorer and later end of the spectrum. Not very good, but not actively offensively terrible. Lacks any real emotion or artistic merit, but still orders of magnitude better than nico, abba, or morisey. Two dancers, two stars!

I can appreciate the soundscapes the band creates with the guitar effects, drum loops and bass lines, though none of the songs really stick.

The instrumentation was very well done but I did not enjoy the vocals on most tracks. Overall, not really my thing.

Just not for me. His voice grates.

I basically forgot I listened to this as I listened

Pretty boring, drab "indie" music. Incredibly annoying singer.

Not really something I enjoyed, I couldn't even get through the whole album. The music itself isn't that bad, unremarkable at times, with some fancy, baroque-like melodies, but what brings it down is the vocal. Hard to get through the song, if vocalist is exposed like that, firmly standing in the first row. I will just calmly forget about this band.

Honestly this had a lot of potential for me. I really liked the first song until the voice which kind of ruined a little but not totally. I would be open to hearing more but it was on and off.

Love the music. Diverse in terms of instrumentation focus, good variety in moods, this could bear repeating.... BUT. EXCEPT! Once again, I'm having considerable trouble with the vocals. I'm being kind. More-than-considerable. They're awful. I don't know - maybe I just don't like singing much or at all and it's time to admit it to myself? I realize the biggest reason I don't like most of modern pop music isn't actually the over-production and perfection-to-boredom aspect of the repetitive 3-4 chords, but it's the ~90% focus on vocals for every artist. That doesn't or wouldn't seem to apply here as this music is very much not-poppy, but my terrible point is that I suppose I hear vocals as an instrument not to be placed up front and on top of everything but as an at-most 20% engagement with the rest of the music. Which doesn't entirely apply to this (again) as the mix isn't really the issue here - it's the actual singer/s (I looked. there are 2. I don't like either of them) and vocals themselves. They're terrible and distract me to the point where I don't like the song. Songs. Falsetto howling, low moaning, god it's like a bad opera or musical. It's frustrating OKAY!??!? leave me alone. fk. I don't know... 4.5 on the music, absolute 1 on the vocals ... eh I was gonna compromise (or be generous) and give it a 3 but thought about it during the last song and realized I'll probably never listen to this again which means 2. Make me an instrumental version, someone. 5/10 2 stars.

Just boring. Not awful, mind, but I that is the most positive thing I can say about it.

Wake me up when something interesting happens, like I get a coupon book in the mailbox or a re-run of the Sopranos comes on.

The instrumentation was good, even quite good in parts but the falsetto vocals were just a little too weird for me to vibe with.

Another example of the difference between what Dimery picked for the list from 2009 and what I would have included. There's some decent indie-pop here, but it's marred by the kind of vocals that ruined much of 80s British post-punk for me. So of course it made the 1001.

Doo doo indie

Two Dancers is the second album by British indie rock band Wild Beasts. It is certified silver in the UK and remains their best-selling album. This indie rock / dream pop album was well received by critics and was a great second project by the band. I liked the vibe from this album and enjoyed listening to it during my workday. I recommend this to anyone that likes indie rock or that similar type of mood that chilled-out indie rock gives me. IYKYK

Album #: 213 first impressions: The guitars, percussion, and production are very in line w the indie sleaze of the time, but going for a (much) more polished presentation? Its like Bloc Party x Shiny Toy Guns with ANOHNI singing. after listening through: I don't think I understand why this album is on the list. It was interesting, I guess? post-reading reviews/wiki: Love that the wiki refers to how British indie is more buttoned up. This really does feel that way, other than the absurd lyrics and the dramatic vocals. I never know what "art rock" is, but I suppose other people labeling it as such makes that sound like a fitting genre. recommended for: shopping at urban outfitters; adding a (single) song to a playlist from this era. Not sure which one though.

I probably got up on the wrong side of the bed. Nothing here got me hooting & howling. I found this a bit on the pedestrian side. Reasonable background music.

Irrelevant and pretentious wallpaper. Was 2009 such a crap year for new music that critics had nothing else to praise but this tepid blancmange? According to Wikipedia,this is Wild Beasts best selling album, having shifted a grand total of 55,000 copies in ten years. Clearly, the punters know what the critics don't understand. Which is that this is dull and unimportant and no fun. You can happily go to the grave without having heard this.

Didn't notice it had finished for quite some time so i guess i blocked the whole thing out

Liked the music disliked the vocals

Who ordered the uninspiring indie again

Kind of ok here an there, but overall not hat special

The hardest part about rating albums is when an album is undeniably well-made, but for whatever reason doesn’t resonate with me. Often when i don’t like music that I can still recognize as good, I’ll go back to it periodically and eventually something clicks for me. Here, I only have one day to listen and rate it. The music reminds me of XX, the vocals are very different. I don’t love the high-pitched vocal parts, but I do think without them this album would be too bland; the vocals at least add a different element to it. I can see how polarizing the high-pitched part is to listeners, and I can’t figure out if I like it or absolutely hate it.

Não para de aparecer discos indies. Não incomoda, mas é passar o tempo sem graça.

Seriously, WTF did I just listen to?

I just couldn't get into it. I think I'm sick though.

Just ok. I don't really love the falsetto singing. My favorite parts were when they were singing in their chest voices.

weirdly reminds me of a lo-fi Talking Heads/David Byrne recording.

The falsetto gets cringey at some points but the music is not bad

Yeahhhh, I don’t know. The vocals take centre stage in this one, for better or for worse. It was more worse, for me than better though. Opera-like singing at moments left me feeling queazy 🤢 Some of the lyrics seemed forced (Underbelly). Decent riffs and rhythms. And overall ‘meh’.

Not bad, not great

Didn't stand out to me, not bad though

It was musically ok but the vocals are so inconsistent from track to track.

Ergh. This late 00s indie phase was not the best. I remember seeing these at Coachella in 2012 and mostly shrugging. I find it quite annoying really.

I don't like this record. The music is too monotonous for me and the singing is annoying, but it sounds completely intentional. I'm convinced they tried to sound like this and succeeded. Favorite song: All The King's Men.

Did not like this at all. The crazy vocal style was a major factor, of course, but also the songs overall felt rather pretentious to me.

Ik vond dit een beetje saai

I don't like this very much but it's okay but I'm just not really into it

Chill instrumentals. Not a great overall listen with vocals.

First time listening to this album - didn't love the falsetto, thought it was overused.

Lousy vocals on great music.

If the singer didn’t sing it wouldn’t be as bad. Maybe it wouldn’t be good, but maybe somewhat listenable. Rough.

When Kate Bush sings like Kate Bush it's cool and original, when this dude does it, it's super annoying. When he isn't doing that this isn't bad, it's kind of spacey and interesting but he kind of does it a lot.

File under “where did they dig that one out of” (apparently, this website does a lot of digging!). Also, what an annoying voice (sorry!).

If this isn't satire, it is painfully "arty" and pretentious. Like Yoko Ono levels of self-indulgence. The only reason why it is not 1 star is that the instrumentation is pretty good; too bad about the vocals.

It's ok. Indie isn't my favourite genre.

I would have liked this better if the falsetto vocalist didn’t take himself this seriously.

If Bjork had a back up band, this would be it.

The shtick gets old and this one sags in the middle. “Underbelly” is great and refreshing near the end but not enough to make up for the previous 4 or 5 tunes straight with no perceptible shift in tone.

Ok: it's from 2009, has a savage name despite looking wimpy... hipstery "dream pop" is my guess. And I've never heard of it before, so it's gonna be another "didn't chart outside the UK" pick from the clown author of this book. aaaand I was VERY close! Seems to be a mix of dream pop and indie. English, barely made a splash even there and totally unheard of outside the UK. Quite toothless, as was expected. You can tell it really wants to be taken seriously as high art, especially in the singing. But fuck that, this is hipster nonsense. Unknown, beige and forgettable, but here they are eh? 2/5.

A bit experimental pop music. I didn't find much memorable about it.

Never heard of wild beasts before. Can’t say I really clicked with this album. Similar to other more recent albums not sure why this is on the list over under albums around the same time.

The music is good but I really disliked the vocals, it really wanted to make me skip. 2 / 5

Heard it once and could not remember anything.... Started it again and to be honest the genre is probably the only good thing I can take away... It is not pop, it is no rock it is something I woild say pretty fresh but the execution is not what I like especially when compared to other artists.... 1.5 because it is OK to listen to... But let's move on....

Just about everything I hate about modern indie wrapped up in one package. Sterile, bland, ultimately forgettable navel gazing “rock”. You could put this record in playlist with a dozen other late aughts/2010’s “indie rock” bands and you wouldn’t be be able to differentiate this band from any of the others. That’s because “indie” has gone from being an ethos to a marketable sound. …and that sound is boring as fuck.

Maybe I'm too old but I just don't see the appeal of this semi electronic indie folk stuff. It's ok background music but there's no soul, no attitude and very little to hold my attention. With different (better?) vocals there might be something here but I will leave this in the listened and moved on pile. If it's your bag then enjoy it but I just don't see it. A very bored 2 stars.

I am usually a sucker for this sort of indie art rock sound, but man, this just didn't really hit like I wanted it to. The songs almost always started nice but never wanted to develop or change much throughout. Not to mention the singer really straddled the line between unique and annoying.... this was just didn't do it for me I suppose.

Beautiful background music but the singing is terrible. The vocals attempt to be overdramatic and powerful, where a subtle, soft voice would've been much more fitting

Sucks.

Instrumentation sounded okay until the vocals came in and... I definitely am not a fan, not my style at allllll.

Not a fan of the style of music nor the singing style. Indie rock is just not my thing.

I only listened to half of the Album and so far I have not listened to a song I would like to sing or dance along to.

favourite song: all the kings men least favourite song: when im sleepy... alright instrumentation, but shockingly poor lyrics and unbearable vocals.

I don't think this album belongs to the list of 1001 you must hear before you die. It got some Kate Bush-esque songs and is overall art pop/rock but doesn't bring anything interesting. The vocal style is shifting from good to annoying. I could barely make out the words but that is usually not a problem. Very forgettable in my opinion.

Fully unremarkable. It does nothing for me. I doubt I'll even remember it was even on my list in a few weeks time, it just has no resonance.

My biggest pet peeve with Indie music is how it sounds like the singer is singing poorly on purpose. This is no exception. Instrumentals are cool though. Favorite track: Two Dancers (I)

Weird but ok, not a general sit down and listen

meh 2/5

I can see what they're trying to do here, and I feel like I'd be down with all these elements. But together, it's a miss.

Interesting, but I don't like it.

Boring

Disappointing. Sounds a bit like reheated early Suede, but the theatrical (histrionic) vocals get annoying pretty fast and there isn't much going on elsewhere in the music that is very interesting. Nah

OK - similar to their other stuff, but not as funky or immediate. Won't listen again

Some bjorkish stuff with real strong love concept I just didn’t like it

Unsettling indie album. I could tell it was inventive, but I really didn’t like it.

Good to hear this again - still sounds different enough to be interesting.

I quote like the music, but not the singing. No desire to listen to this a second time

Not keen - one song fades in the next creating 40 minutes I just don’t care about.

Sounds like a Kate Bush drag act backed by a Foals tribute band... (This is not a good thing)

Decent band, laughable vocals.

Poo dancers

It sounds like they tried to come up with a bunch of songs that could be played over credit card ads or perhaps the end credits of Grey's Anatomy. Best track: Two Dancers (i)

Not terrible, but this vocal style definitely isn't for me.

All very pretty but not very interesting

Un memorable album

meh

It's not my kind of music I like.

There are some good grooves on this album, but as a whole it's pretty mid. It definitely doesn't feel important enough to be on this list, especially for such a recent album. There are a lot of indie artists (and mainstream artists) that seem to have been snubbed from the list that could take a spot like this. Highlights: 1, and 9.

It's interesting and enjoyable to listen to but not for me at the moment.

I did not care for the album. It is an indie album. I was not familiar with the band or any of the songs. Nothing about the songs are noteworthy.

This album is fine, and I appreciate that it is a more recent record, but that doesn't mean it is worthy of its place. While largely forgettable tracks, this is a prime example of indie, but with a British Bias for its "spectacularness".

Nope

Inoffensive, and I'm not sure it's a compliment.

Aika mitäänsanomaton levy, menee samaan kategoriaan kuin kaksi aiemmin arvosteltuakin. Ei tarttuvia biisejä eikä myöskään muutenkaan mitään erikoisuutta. Semirauhallisen tempon biisejä, konemaisia taustoja.

Aivan vieras nimi itselleni, mikä on hieman erikoista genren huomioon ottaen. Tykkään kovasti musisoinnista ja yleistunnelmasta, mutta laulajan ääni on vähän liian erikoinen varsinkin falsettiin mennessä. Varsinkin enemmän levyä kuunnellessa laulajan ääni alkaa häiritsemään enemmän ja enemmän. Myöskään kappaleiden laatu ei ihan riitä. Ensivaikutelma levystä oli kolmonen, mutta nyt joutuu kyllä pyöristämään alaspäin.

At first I enjoyed it a fair bit, with The Fun Powder Plot to All Kings Men being enjoyable. But as it went on I began to lose interest and it did get a bit repetitive in a negative way. It's alright but wouldn't listen to it on a regular occurance.

Seemed alright

sounded a bit like the cure - a bit less moody

Definitely not bad at all, but also nothing special.

It's fine. Not super good. Decent music to ride a scooter to though.

I really was not into this one. I was raised on alternative music and never really understood what people who don’t like alternative music are hearing when they hear it, but now I do. This was not unlistenable but irritating. Track 6-8 were ok. Really couldn’t stand the singer, and the music was boring

It was OK but I wouldn't listen again apart from that All the Kings Men song.

I half listened to this once. I really couldn't get into it.

First Listen

Way too weird for my liking

This was bad. All the songs blended together.

Niet helemaal mijn genre. Wel een goed album met leuke overgangen in de nummers.

It wasn't to my taste

Music was cool, but didn’t like the vocals.

it’s ok

Are there different tracks or is this just one mediocre song repeated in other, worse forms?

Liked the music, not the vocals

Thought this was nice … for about 30 seconds - then they started singing. Feckin shite 👎👎

I smell hipster Bullshit. I sHoUlD gIvE ThIs FiVe sTaRs JuSt tO bE iRoNiC. Type of hipster bullshit. The harmonies are good at times & so is the music. Then. The voice(s)? Show up Just dreadful. Makes you long for instrumentals & the end. A bad, boring My Morning Jacket impression. 1

Would have been a much better album without the vocals

what a colossal waste of time

One more album that sounds indistinguishable from dozens of other albums on this list.

Really, really, bad Orange Juice rip off.

1.2/5 I've never heard of this band before today and by tomorrow I think I'll have forgotten them again. Completely unremarkable music with a singer who's voice really grated on my ears. Tough listen

My first review of this wasn't very nice, but thanks to this being a weekend album, I dared to give it a second listen, and... well... I still have to say I really don't like it. The kindest thing I can think to say about this is that the instrumentation is adequate enough to have earned it a 2 - maybe a 3 - but the obtuse lyrics and terrible vocalization irreparably kill it for me. If they had zigged more into Tom Fleming and zagged less onto Hayden Thorpe this might have been passable, but damn that falsetto ruins everything it touches. And regardless, the lyrics are mostly artsy garbage, so I guess it really wouldn't have mattered who sang them.

and the worst voice of all time award goes to

Decent enough electronica RUINED by hyperactive falsetto. I almost fell for the first track, and the vocals kicked in and I was immediately turned off. The entire album felt like a college performing art project that was weird for the sake of being weird, without doing anything with the weirdness. Made me feel like a plebe for not getting the purpose, when no purpose was attempted. My rating: 1/5

#443 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ Revisit? ❌ ✅ I'm quite annoyed at this being called rock music. They're a pop band with rock affectations. I'm also finding this very pretentious, reminds me of the "chamber pop" fad that swepts the mainstream at one point where the plainest of songs were praised like it was Beethoven's sixth symphony. This is one of the albums that got under my skin. I became increasingly annoyed while trying to listen to the whole album. Spiteful 1/5

Tiny Tim and Yoko Ono were playing with us, right? This was just ear-numbingly horrid.. Oh wait, if my ears were numb it wouldn't have been so painful. Beyond that --- mysogeny.

What in the spirit of Yoko Ono did I just listen to? I mean I'm all for weird art stuff but I prefer it find it's audience and not sneak up on me. I can see someone being really into this and playing it for friends while their friends try and not look horrified.

Llegué a activar el edit para solo dejar un comentario, entiendo porque no le gusto a la gente, uno de los albums que sencillamente no me agradó ni llamó la atención en ningún sentido. Horrendo.

More tame than wild

Painful to listen to this album. Made my ears bleed profusely.

I was very curious about this record, another one I'd never heard of, because the reviews were so incredibly divergent. Shortly after putting it on I stopped being curious and just was irritated.

Meh

A whole album of Bono's Lemon voice with a tenth of the charm.

First DNF. First few notes were intriguing and then the singing started. Reminiscent of XX but instead of being mostly mediocre, these guys are actively bad. Do yourself a favor and skip to Two Dancers first. This song is listenable. If you truly enjoy it, go on to the rest of the album. If you merely think it is “not bad,” stop and save yourself 45 minutes of audio pain.

putrid

Yeah this one was a stinker. Kind of like Django Django, the instrumentals were not bad but the vocals were insulting to the ears. I don't know why Spotify has lyrics when the words are barely enunciated.

nah

Wow.

Vampire Weekend - Contra, self-titled Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Passion Pit - Manners The Shins - any Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History Metronomy Foster the People - Torches Young The Giant Metric All albums that came out in or around 2009. All albums would have been immeasurably better additions to this list than this record. Indie electronic / indie pop was all that I listened to in high school, yet I’d never heard of Wild Beasts. And I think for good reason. Sure, Passion Pit’s insanely high falsetto vocals were an acquired taste, but there’s just not much to appreciate about the excessive vibrato falsetto of this singer. The instrumentation has some decent moments, but it’s not enough to balance things out. There have been so many deserved picks on this list, but stuff like this erodes a lil bit of credibility!

No comment

Der Horror geht weiter! Das Gejaule ist einfach unerträglich.

Decent musicianship. Lyrics and vocals are too weak to entertain.

Heard it now, not going to be convinced I needed to. 80s influenced art pop, rhythmic minimal and if we call the vocals fragile, well let’s leave it at that. Except can’t. I would rather view it as pretentious self absorbed dog shit. In an alternate universe I liked the smiths and so like this, but in this one I don’t. So Another damning I am putting at the door of Morrissey. Was going to give it a big 2 but feeling generous today so sod it let it have the full 1 star. No more please, if I had to hear this bloke again ever it will be too soon. Then I read that there were 2 vocalists wtf doing the same falsetto out of tune, theatrical bollox, wtf - why? There’s a very fine line to that kind of singing and you really need to be able to sing and have range like J. Buckley to pull it off, it’s the vocal equivalent of playing a violin vs a guitar, if you aren’t really good it just ends up sounding like an excruciating turd. No didn’t enjoy this.

Probably would have been yet another forgettable boring indie album were it not for the vocals. Now I'm bored AND annoyed.

This album comits the ultimate sin of music - being boring. I would rather listen to something abrasive as Hell than to listen to music that makes me experience boredom. If I wanted to listen to falsetto, I'd put on Tiny Tim. Favorite Track - Through The Iron Gate Least Favorite Track - The Fun Powder Plot ⭐️

The choices this list makes for the 00s needs to be studied.

It's rather uneven but inbetweeen the wtf:ness there are fantastic moments when the singer reaches the hights of Jimmy Sommerville

First time I have felt physically incapable of listening to the whole album.

Mitä paskaa

Laulanta oli jotain ihan kamalaa, jälleen kerran. Mietin monesti näiden kohdalla että miksi, oi miksi. Muuten saundit ois ihan okei, mutta sitte yleensä rääytään tai määitään biisit pilalle.

I liked two songs but that voice? Can't handle it

awful vocals

Genuinely disliked this. Seemed like a parody of music.

this sucks ass!

It was going alright until he opened his mouth.

No va

Malisimos

Not a fan. I don't know the band. I didn't like the vocal. A bad album.

Nah. Not for me.

🤨

Couldn't get into this today. Instrumentation felt dull (but I like other albums with similar stuff). Vocals were really interesting and kind of beautiful, but maybe just a bit much for where my head was at today. Reminded me of smiths era Morrisey vocals and maybe I accidentally held that against them. Sure there's a good record there but I couldn't hear it today

Love the cover, love the drums and guitar and the sound. The first few seconds of the first song was amazing. Hate the vocals, please just sing in your natural range. Falsettos can be great but not when it's strained the whole time

Klare ikke

Helt ubegripelig at det her e på lista.

I was vibing and then the singing started. And that's where it ended for me! I will say, the second song was better but that just means it was repetitive and boring. But THEN the third song started and I knew it wasn't going to get better. I gave up hope. The whole experience made my lip curl reflexively. I know it's probably someone's cup of tea but in this case I am allergic to it. The high-pitched singing actually sounds just like Gingey from Shrek decided to join an indie band.

Trying too hard

Nah, too whiny

I did not like that. The singers voice was high pitched and annoying. The instrumentals were alright but the singer drowned out any enjoyment and he sang. All. The. Time.

Can safely say I will never listen to this again. Worst one yet. Why is this on the list ahead of Alt-J’s An Awesome Wave?

Boring

Why is this even on the list? Which dope smoking music critic from 2009 thought this was a true essential?

lame ripoff attempt of protomartyr

Это какой-то прикол? Унылый инди, где периодически воет фальцетом старая бабка-кошатница? Эти ребята родственники создателей списка? Жалко нельзя поставить ноль.

nah - not even rachel could muster up something nice to say... 1/5

No.

Rating: 3/10 Sorry but I find this to be the caliber of mediocre 2000’s indie pop that the British music press raves about and gobbles up in which I find myself having absolutely nothing to latch onto. This one feels a little different as an atmospheric artsy vibe rather than hitting you with any upbeat melodies or poppy hooks. Which is great if I were enjoying the vocals and arrangements and not being sounds that go in one ear and out the other, never to be remembered again.

(1) Best track: “This is our lot.” One sentence: Melodic train set music.

Music is pleasing to the ear, I don’t really like the vocals though. This really wasn’t for me at all to be honest. Fav song is ‘Two Dancers (i)’.

Trite, contrived, mediocre, milquetoast, amateurish, infantile, cliche-and-gonorrhea-ridden paean to conformism, eye-fucked me, affront to humanity, war crime, should *literally* be tried for war crimes, resolutely shit, lacking in imagination, uninformed reimagining of, limp-wristed, premature, ill-informed attempt at, talentless fuckfest, recidivistic shitpeddler, pedantic, listless, savagely boring, just one repulsive laugh after another.

Best Song: Hooting & Howling Wow, this was terrible. Musically it wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard and could maybe work as background music to a video game. Where the real misery kicks in is with the vocals. I think this may be the worst singer(s) I have had the unpleasant experience of listening to. I would listen to Bob Dylan and Warren Zevon any day compared with this. 1/5.

I hated the vocals so much it was barely bearable. Barely!

This album to me was mostly boring and just about listenable with few moments or parts of interesting stuff. I didn't like the singers and it put me off the most. Not for me. Best song was Through The Iron Gate but with lyrics I still wouldn't choose to listen to it voluntarily again.

Pretentious without any interesting enough ideas to justify it

Die stemmen zijn echt gewoon verschrikkelijk

Nah

Not Wild nor for Beasts, like myself

I like this as much as Throbbing Gristle. He sounds like a deranged Prince with no control over his vocal cords.

horrible voice. not my vibe wouldnt listen again

1.45

this was awful

Bad

Yuck. The background music was bland, but otherwise ok. The vocals were god awful. Falsetto should be used sparingly and for effect. It was just annoying and distracting on this. But the lyrics? Yeah. That's where this goes into icky territory. They were really, really bad. This feels like the music of "performative/matcha males" before that term was even a thing. Not for me.

Eugh

Middling and forgettable indie rock would get a rating of "2" every day from me, but the horrendous vocals pull this album down out of obscurity into something truly remarkable in the worst possible of ways. Well done, fellas.

Come on. Nobody thinks this album is fantastic or groundbreaking. Their mom didn’t even like it.

I think one of the benefits of this project is giving us the ability to identify ass from peak. this is ass. 1/10

A less electronic and more indie sounding Radiohead. No thanks.

Never heard of this band. Perfectly acceptable 00s indie music, with that drum sound. And then he starts singing. Oh my god. I really can't take to it. When the other guy sings it's fine but not massively interesting, but the falsetto wailing just makes me laugh. There's something not very savoury about a lot of the lyrics too, maybe it's a character being played but it's not good enough to get away with it.

Nicht meins, schrottig popig..

Nope, nope, nope. That Voice…!

Forgettable, whiney, doesn't even work well as background music.

I didn't make it through track 3. Life is too short.

Ye gods I dislike this. Irritating in every way, except that the vocals are beyond irritating. It's like in Dumb and Dumber when Jim Carrey makes the most annoying sound in the world. I feel bad for some of the other 1's I gave.

1/5 - If this gets reissued without the vocal track, I might make it though it. Until then, no.

Mmh

Umiddelbart tenker jeg at dette er fin indiepop. Noen spennende ting her og der, men ikke så kjempeengasjerende. Jeg har hørt litt mer, og det blir mindre og mindre engasjerende jo mer jeg hører. For poppa. Nå er jeg ferdig, og jeg er litt sur

This was bad. Like epically bad. The only list this should be on is records to avoid.

That wasn't good. Music of this style from this era was really dull. I will say that "This Is Our Lot" had a really cool groove, but everything else about that song and this album was dreary and dull and not pleasant. The falsetto vocals are rather annoying.

Not impressed. Really thought that Tiny Tim was the lead vocalist.

I hate this, get it out of my ears (For the record I would have given it 2 with no vocals)

the idea that this nauseating indie pop bullshit with perhaps one of the worst vocal performances on the entire list could have ever been considered an album you have to hear before you die is laughable. truly shocking that it was removed after only one edition

It's like if The National was brighter. Honestly, pretty forgettable. Not sure why it's here on this list. Definitely better albums to listen to before you die.

more garbage

There was a lot of good music that came out in 2009. So why the FUCK am I listening to this? Simply could not finish it.

Forgettable. I didn't find any of the lyrical content to be particularly interesting and I'm not a fan of the vocal style they went for on this project.

Why?

One of the members actually had a fairly good voice but was overshadowed by some other person screeching wildly. I had to actually go to the lyrics to see if they were speaking English. That was a mistake, "lyrics" would be stretching the definition of the word. Bad, bad, bad album.

As soon as I see an artist I don't recognize on this list, it almost always ends up being a mediocre British band. Mostly hated it. Vocals are awful.

Two Dancers One Cup. Starts off as pretty weak dishwater Pitchfork indie then the vocals start and it becomes an almightily explosive wussy pretentious shizzfest. The high pitched dude kinda has the glassy choirboy tones of Keane but is doing hideous, gnarled Sparks tributes with them. The low vocalist sounds like the guy from Editors or Interpol but even more bored and vampire-like. The lyrics have a strong Martin Prince vibe about them too with verses like “By smirking prank of fate We find ourselves dancing late Like young reprobates By the milky light of the mighty moon Find someone to nuzzle to And waltz from the room Soon I’ll be Queen of Summertime …Uh I mean King!” Busy busy yet ultimately bland songs. Awkward, irritating, over-theatric vocals. Ultra flowery and lamer than lame lyrics. Albums released in the past 20 years are rarely a good idea but this is a particularly foul and unwarranted inclusion for 1001.

Une sorte de sous-Radiohead avec une voix insupportable.

Absolutely not. Boring music with horrendous vocals on top of it

Ass

Poor man's arcade fire. Did nothing for me and abandoned it half way through.

Almost painful to listen to. Some of the backing music wasn't too bad, but the caterwauling sounds from the two vocalists were just embarrassing to listen to. Either it toned down a little by the end, or I managed to push this to the back of my mind, but the shrieking and wailing on the first few tracks was astonishingly awful. "Hooting and Howling" is how the entire album sounded to me. One star.

Wtf. How is this on here? That voice is just ridiculous. It’s sad, because the music wasn’t all that bad. But with a singer like that…

This really wasn't my thing. But even if it was, I don't think I'd have liked it. The sounds were jarring and all over the place. Like a soundtrack to some of the worst nights of my life, but not in a comforting or funny way. Just in a 'I really hope I never hear another one of these songs ever again' kind of way.

Groupe inconnu. Le chant est très désagréable et omniprésent ... C'est à peu près tout ce que je retiendrais de cet album. En fait non, je vais l'oublier aussi vite que je l'ai écouté. =>1/5

Not for me.

definitely was not my cup of tea, still fun to listen to though!

What a joke. Doesn't belong on this list or any other list. Seriously a waste of time. The instrumentals are almost there but the downright pretentious lyrics and the dismal falsetto vocals are unforgivable nonsense. I thought I was being too harsh until after it was over that I read that in almost 9 years, they only then had managed to cross the 54,474 albums sold mark. I don't listen to this list to pretend that crap might be actually be great if I just imagine hard enough. The public already spoke on this album with its deafening silence. It is undiscovered, it is just meaningless indie drivel. Britain, what are you doing? You keep nominating what would be the most middling of bands in America for Mercury prizes?

WTF

1. fun - 1.5 2. hooting - 2 3. men - 0 4. zleepy - 1 5. tonguez - 1 6. dancerz - 1.5 7. tuuo - 1 8. lot - 1.5 9. belly - 1 10. nezt - 1 11. gate - 1.5

Musically this was okay, but vocally u absolutely hated this. Enough to make it difficult to make it through.. grasping at straws trying to not rate this a 1, but I just can’t find anything. Got this on a bad day I guess

Not my thing. Boring.

Ouch, that singer's attempted falsetto hurt my ears.

I had a massive urge to turn it off, I hated the vocals, the polyrhythms were nice but the instrumental parts were uninteresting. Like Anohni and Foals but less good than either. Bad Sparks impressions

This is no bueno. 1/5

i didn't have a good time listening to this album. despite being only 40 minutes or so, it took me all day to get through it. didn't capture me, didn't draw me in... it's a no from me

Do not like the vocals at all

This album fucking sucks. By far the worst album on this list so far. It's like it's stuck in 1990s world music. I could imagine hearing this playing in Pier 1 Imports or the Nature Store.

Two Dancers has been praised for its sophisticated sound and sensual atmosphere, where falsetto vocals and elegant guitar lines weave together in an art-pop universe marked by desire and restlessness. Many highlight the album’s poetic qualities and its subtle, dark mood. Personally, though, it didn’t grab me at all. I can appreciate the musical structure and intention, but the overall mood – and especially the vocals – drain all energy from the album for me. It feels extremely dull, like listening to something trying to be mysterious and artistic, but ending up completely devoid of edge and life. 1/5

I do not like this. The singer’s voice is too swoopy.

I didn't like this at all. The vocals were certainly the main reason. Rather than bring emotional resonance to the lyrics, they just seemed performative in a way that was difficult to endure. All The King's Men sent me over the edge and I couldn't find my way back.

Song: The fun powder plot This song is sad and weird i do not really like it but i would give it like a 1 star because it is just scary and i have no idea whats it even saying it like mumbling but talking loud i do not know but it is weird Song: hooting and howling This song is weird i do not really like it i can barely hear what it says I would give it a 1 star again Song: all the kings men this song is weird but this is the one that i really like out of this album i would give this album like a 1 star

No.

Absolutely not for me

This is truly one of the worst albums in this book by quite some distance

Loš mi album, baš ništa zanimljivo. Ponadala sam se da bi moglo biti kul u početku, ali eto, razočarenje. 1/5, 2.5./10

Bad. Just plain bad. Trying to figure out if it is more boring than Coldplay.

This was pretty painful to get through. Boring, grating, juat why.

Got about 3 songs in and wasn't feeling it

I was holding out hope but the moment they started signing it was over

really don't like this one

Yeah, this one just didn't do anything for me.

Jesus wept. It's like bands like The National and Interpol even to an extent U2 decided to collaborate with a performance art student. I looked into them out of interest and they're critically acclaimed, who are these critics? Because 9 times out of 10 when I see that I know it'll be radio 6 fodder. (Not slating all R6 stuff but they play some absolute tosh in the name of "artistry") One star as the drummer seems to have some rhythm.

No no no

point7.

I remember this when it was released. Listened to it once. Forgot about it until now. After typing this I will forget about it again.

It's like the arcade fire but with the worst vocalist on the planet

This is #day206 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... oh well, another late ‘00s indie-schmindie album... I’ve heard of this band’s name but never gave them a shot. They always seemed too indie for my taste, and I don’t mean the good kind of indie. No surprise that there’s nothing on this album that grabs me. The semi-falsetto vocals, in particular, grate on the ear. Prove me wrong, but like a lot of stuff from this era (at least the stuff picked for this list), this record holds little to no significance in the history of music. The only ground it breaks is the ground of sheer boredom. I couldn’t finish it. I know I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but I’m going to say it again, especially since we’re on the topic of ‘00s indie rock/post-punk revival, or whatever you want to call it: I can’t believe there isn’t an album by, say, Interpol on this list... But, actually, given the amount of crap I’ve already shoveled through and still have to shovel through, I’m starting to believe… Come on, panel of critics who compiled this, Turn On The Bright Lights, will you? Meanwhile, this gets what it deserves: a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day207.

Couldn't get into it.

The last 2 songs Underbelly and Empty Nest are the only 2 remotely worth listening to. The rest of them, ugh. Some of them are a warbling repetitive mess. Did I have to hear this before I died. No. Who the hell picks these album 1001 album worthy: No - 50/91

Two Dancers, more like 0 stars. Booooooo

2009?!?! Nyahhh. That’s my typed attempt at a disappointed noise. Trying to mix it up on this frigid Tuesday morn. Why is this the worst time for music in my head? I feel like nothing was good. I don’t even hear about things that people liked from this time. It all feels sterile to me. Nevertheless, this looks indie or whatever, so maybe, just maybe the wild beasts can deliver something that makes me forget about Taio Cruz for one day. Boy George over a medical-grade sterile instrumental. Hmm. Well. This is bad. This is really bad. They’re trying for haunting, and it’s just coming off empty. A haunted house with nothing in it. A guy who forgot to put on his Leatherface mask and a clearly visible sign that this used to be a Future Shop. Oh these vocals are going to continue. That’s good. I love unique, insane vocals, but only when they’re, you know, not 100% terrible. This on the other hand takes all the worst aspects of Radiohead and Owl City and distills them into “Hooting & Howling.” I’m hooting this off the stage. Abysmal. Get your spelunking helmets on, folks. We dive ever deeper. With any luck, we’ll be rendered into ash by the heat of the earth’s core. Tinier Tim continues to test me over this stonecutters beat. My favourite part of the album so far (genuinely) is the singer naming towns in England. Geography hypes me up to endure more of this. What is even happening? And don’t take that as my feeble mind being bamboozled by the pure intellectual artistry that Wild Beasts have bestowed upon me. I know what I’m listening to. I just can’t believe it. Horrific. There’s the dumb Strokes riff that is obligatory in every dumb indie song. I like some indie music. I am in favour of some laboured, annoying white guy poetry. Here’s the thing. It has to sound good and have some level of emotion behind it. More vacancy. Hey. Guess what. The deep vocals are WORSE. This is the squires of Leon. You can have that. And with how much I hate the Kings of Leon, to say you’re worse is one of the worst insults I can muster. Please end this. This is the HALFWAY point??? At this juncture, I think I’d test my mettle against a pack of literal wild beasts. Perhaps I return as a master of all the natural world. I shall conquer what is unconquerable. I am learning resilience. I’m really glad we’ve switched to these vocals permanently. I was getting a little too comfortable. Another absolutely wretched song to end the mid-album trilogy. I wish I could say this was a mid album. This is so far down the well, we can’t even call for Lassie. Even colder play. Oh we’re back to warble city baby. Unbelievably awful. Did I talk about Empty Nest? This one made me mad. I have 2 minutes and 30 seconds left of this album. I am trying to formulate words. My mind has been stricken. I wish I could post a screenshot of this band’s logo in Spotify. It looks like WordArt upcycled into 2011. Which I suppose is the entire aesthetic of this album. It’s attempted Radiohead mixed with other lame indie music and it is truly awful. In attempt to lampoon the warble vocals, I was going to conjure classic Tim & Eric bit, “Casey & his Brother,” but that is an insult to an incredibly bizarre piece of mid 2000s comedy. This holds no ironic value, it holds me hostage for its 43 minute runtime. As it realizes the police won’t meet its demands, the pin clicks after the pull of the trigger. Firing blanks. Even though they’re completely toothless, I think we should euthanize the beasts. They’ve caused too much pain. I use a lot of hyperbole in these reviews/writing exercises. This is without a doubt one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard. If this isn’t the list maker’s band, this has no business being here. Derivative, embarrassing, and completely unlistenable. 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Shawty’s like a Melody in my Head that is not very good actually, and I kind of wish I didn’t meet her at the mall, shopping with her friends or whatever. This album is Shawty.

One of the people who put this list together has a brother and this is his band… that is the only explanation for such forgettable shite being on the list

The instrumentals of this are really interesting, but the vocals are too much for me. 3/5 for the music, but minus two for the vocals 1/5

I don’t know why I had such a visceral reaction to this album, but I hated it. Just something about it.

I hate this album. The end.

1.5 unique but not good fav song: two dancers 2

What evil fucker told this cunt they could sing?! Then to hand them a rhyming dictionary?! I know the entirety of human history has many hells, but did we really deserve this?

Meh