Reviews (page 6 of 7)
During lockdown, I was reading up about various Bristol music scenes, and hadn't heard Roni Size before, so listened to this album. It's one of those "in the right setting, it'd be awesome!", e.g. late at night when you're half cut. But listened on a weekday during school half-term, not so much. 2.5
I'm not sure whether the album format is a notable art form in drum 'n' bass circles. Either way, a 2 hour 20 minute long record with 8 minute long tracks isn't really compatible with how I listen to an album. That said, a wise man once enthusiastically exclaimed "I can't understand how anyone doesn't f****n' love drum 'n' bass". And he's right, in a sense. When you're standing below a massive industrial fire breathing spider, with music blasting out at 120 dB, D'n'B is pretty irresistible. Even outside of that context, there is something about the boldness and simplicity of a beat that is easy to pick up and get involved in. Who needs melody when you have rhythm? It is a strange decision, therefore, to add the awful vocals. As an example of drum 'n' bass, this is probably very good. It's not designed for the album format, though. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Brown Paper Bag Date listened: 28/05/23
Golf is a good walk spoiled, and this is a good d'n'b workout befouled
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney, 2003). Timestamp: 1 hour, 33 minutes, 40 seconds.
Uninspiring, boring, redundant
Here's a little personal story that took place during the nineties, at the time this album was released. In those years, I knew a guy who had ditched or sold all his indie-rock records (that he had bought at the start of that decade) so that he could buy all those expensive drum'n'bass vinyls (most of them "white label", as people said in those years). To give you the overall context, both of us were radio hosts at the local radio. I was listening to all sorts of music back then. He, on the other side, was only listening to "jungle stuff and the likes, and wouldn't discuss any other music styles anymore. He was pretty active: hosting a drum'n'bass show on said radio, DJing in the local bars and clubs. He was a nice guy, but I couldn't help noticing that he sort of looked down upon people attracted to different music styles. You could tell that he was thinking drum'n'bass was the music of the future, and that us proles were out of touch with what was really going on in the world. Oh, the irony. That bloke left town after a few years. I wonder where he is now, and what sort of music he's listening to... Does he still have all those expensive vinyls at home? Did he ditch those to follow yet another "trend", electronic or otherwise? I'll probably never know. To be fair with him, he was not the only one who fell for this drum'n'bass craze in such a extreme manner. David Bowie fell for it as well, for example (there are some good songs on his drum'n'bass-laden *Earthling* album, but there's just no way you can say that record has aged very gracefully). The Mercury Prize jury also fell for it (hence why they gave their 1997 prize to *New Forms*). Forward-thinking people easily embrace new modes of artistic expression, which is a good reflex in itself. The thing is, barring a few exceptions (such as German 'Kosmische' Music in the seventies), one should always be cautious when proponents of a new style label the latter as the "music of the future". It's often a sure sign that very quickly, said music will look incredibly dated... Don't get me wrong, I *like* drum'n'bass, generally speaking. I like this idea of an accelerated breakbeat pattern being the foundation of a dance record. I even own Goldie's *Timeless* and *Saturn Returnz* at home, and if I would never listen to those double albums in a single sitting now, I can still enjoy playing a few tracks from them here and there. I have the same overall feeling about Roni Size's *Reprazent*: The first three tracks are great, and they even go to very contrasted directions, which helps you finding them fresh and interesting. And the iconic upright bass sound in "Brown Paper Bag" is pretty iconic, I remember it from back then. That upright bass thing is a trick that Roni Size uses to nice effects in many parts of his own double album here, along with some sparse (but also subtle) shiny jazzy arrangements. So the album gets off on a great start at least. That being said, let's face it, folks: that record is also long, VERY long. I've just read there's even another LONGER version of it available on CD (and not on streaming services if I'm correct). But honestly, I don't have the heart to look any further. Blame the borefests that a lot of those lengthy tracks turn out to be after two minutes or so (minus an occasional exception here and there). Also, blame those absolutely corny, overaffected female vocals right in the middle of the tracklisting. Those two or three cuts were singles, I hear, and honestly, they're pretty embarrassing. Goldie's *Timeless* had its share of awkward moments as well, including through its use of female vocals, but there was also an epic ambition to his sonic constructions that could help you swallow such a pill. And this is the sort of ambition that is cruelly lacking in the case of the jazzier Roni Size. I understand he's going to a smoother direction here, compared to Goldie. But the outcome of this is that most of his music sounds bland as a result, instead of "groovier". Speaking of "directions", the two last tracks of *New Forms* fare better than the corny stuff found elsewhere on the album. One of them, actually named "Directions", even adds latin/tropical colours to the proceedings, capping this lengthy thing in a satisfying way at least. But at this point, it's too little and too late... Drum'n'bass is (was?) an interesting music style. But I can't help feeling that it's the way it influenced *other* genres, from big beat to rock and jazz, that makes it something to write home about. Maybe it's unfair. But hey, there are tons of non-western traditional styles that are not represented in this list either. Even with 1001 references, you just can't cram in all the music in the world. Number of albums left to review: 556 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 216 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 104 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 128
I have no idea how to review this. This is an album that is highly regarded in a genre that I know nothing about, have no particular interest in, don't particularly like, and is far more niche in the US than it was in the UK. I believe it when drum and bass fans say that this is an important album, but I have absolutely zero basis to agree or disagree. I don't particularly like electronic music, but I've heard a few things during the listening project that I enjoyed in fits and starts. Maybe that's the big issue with this album - it's over two hours long, which makes for a repetitive listen. I won't say it's bad, but it's also something I will never go back to again.
New Forms doesn't hit for me, lasts too long and doesn't stand out in what it's doing where it should. 2.
Yeah, this is not my cup of tea, but I don't think it's even a particularly good example of what it is? Other than Brown Paper Bag, the rest all sounds quite generic - this relatively minimalist music with no/minimal lyrics really needs to have something to give it an edge to be memorable, and the vast majority of this doesn't. Also, an hour and 20 mins of this is far too much when I'm not on something. 2/5, better than Goldie.
i find a lot of this music annoying
Ikke helt min greie litt rart
You know you're in for something fuckular when you check and see that the "short version" of the album is 78 minutes long. Well yeah, this was definitely a lot of D&B. Way too much D&B for one man in one day, to be honest. Obviously very important historically and the hits slap, but... 140 minutes, man. That's insanity even for the late 90s (the era of the most bloated albums known to man). Highlights: The first three songs, "Heroes", "Destination", "Trust Me", "Electricks". That might seem like a lot but remember that this album is 23 DAMN SONGS LONG and only 6 of those songs are under 6 minutes. So basically in conclusion, this is awesome but I also fucking hate it.
very generic 90's trip hop elevator music
Pretty daunting at over 2 hrs long. Couldn’t tell if it was actually that long or just Spotify bonus tracks, but after reading more it is really about 140 minutes which is somewhat excessive. It’s definitely enjoyable and the songs are well crafted, but can’t see what made this standout enough to win a Mercury Prize over fucking OK Computer! (or over Dig Your Own Hole and Vanishing Point for that matter). Going to knock a star off for that royal fuck up. I feel somewhat bad at not really getting through the whole thing, but I’d rather listen to Massive Attack.
Drum and bass can be entertaining in small doses, but it was never meant to be listened to for over 2 hours straight. Probably felt fresh and daring in ‘97, mostly a drag now.
Couple of tracks that brought back some fleeting memories of ungergrad (a lot of my flat mates in the dorms enjoyed Roni Size) but over 2 hours of this was unnecessary
Pretty unnecessary on this list, but listening to it while doing work makes the experience less annoying.
These songs did not need to be 6 minutes long each, and there did not need to be so many of them, and they did not need to all sound the same. Otherwise, it had its moments
I did not need to listen to this.
It would be an ok road trip album, especially late night long distance driving, but not a home listen
First song slapped. Then it was just beats and stuff. Kind of cool, but not really my jam.
Was not expecting to come across DnB here. Anyway, not really a fan
I think it's close to a genre I would really enjoy but didn't quite click for me. The vocals that there were were a bit low energy, and I was often left feeling like I'd already heard that track before
90s electronic dance stuff. Sounds like the 90s.
I can't imagine the second hour held anything more than the first did.
I like drums. I love bass. The drums here are electronic of course, and not programmed at all to sound like anything a human drummer would produce. Can appreciate the artistry, and didn't hate the music, but I think this makes more sense in a London club at 3am with a bloodstream that has more than just a strong dose of caffeine keeping things moving. Here and now it's just too long and too glitchy.
Brown Paper Bag is cool. DnB isn't really my bag but sure I can work to this. Digitial drags. Heroes is okay. This album is pretty dull and repetitive midway through with the occassional bright spot.
Wouw… how the trip hop beats are annoying, when you get them repeated like this over and over.. nothing against ambient electronica, but here it is getting quite boring
Just OK. Too electronic and too long!
reminds me a little of something we used to listen to in the 90s called "Jungle Music". Makes me feel a little crazy to hear it now, a bit too all over the place.
It has glimmers of greatness, but the repetitiveness that was revolutionary at the time, drains me.
There a reason this was album 185 for me, and it's currently day 476.. 2 hours+, spotify version "about 5 hours" is a true testament to my attention span... To me seemed like liquid d&b, actually quite soothing and calm beats for most of disc1. The second disc was more uninteresting, literally just some drums and some bass (I guess that's where the genre gets its catchy name). I don't see a situation where im like.. fuck it, put disc 3 of New Forms by Roni Size on.
ravee
Har ju den, men var inte så förtjust i den då. Inte så förtjust i den nu heller. Väldigt hypad men mest ok lite här och där.
Dateringen är till dess fördel, annars dansar man inte så mycket nu för tiden.
Meh. This could have been one long form song. Or a bunch of shorter songs. It drags on like someone who likes to hear their own voice.
Прослушано! Нудно, долго и скучно.
Starts off pretty good but wears thin after about 2 songs for me.
It's okay, but very samey and way too long. If this had been 40 minutes I might have enjoyed it.
2.5 It isn’t bad, but kind of boring.
Intéressant le mix D&B et hip-hop R'N'B. Ça tourne un peu en rond à la longue. Il n’y a pas beaucoup de recherche dans les beats.
Oh my. The range of emotions on seeing this as my album and then starting listening. “Roni Size? Do I know them? (Start listening) oh yes I do know them! (Keeps listening) quite like this (continues listening) oh no (looks at length of album) oh no no no (turns music off)”
At half the lengte it would have been 3 stars.
Okay I was expecting a lot worse from something Ryan said he likes
Meh
Nice beats
Electronic is definitely not my jam. Can see how it inspired other bands, but didn't dig the sound.
2 stars. Just more electronic music that I must be too old to understand (although this released when I was 5). It’s alright for the background, but that’s all
Booster, performance review, trivia, kinda eventful day, no?
All sounds the same, boring
The only version I can be bothered to find is disk 1 and I’am really not that bothered in going into another hours worth of music… The first song railing kinda reminded me of the streets in the whole talking/rapping chatting style the track has it’s nice but I don’t love it. Brown paper bag is way too long for what it is but it’s a fun instrumental after railing… I was originally gonna track by track the rest of the album but I think this sums up my thoughts across the album… The guy that programmed in the drums only knows like 5 beats I swear and the vocals are so disconnected from the music being played with the way their recorded. The album shows moments of hope jn all of the additional textures added but I still nearly fell asleep 2/5 (but it’s very close to a 1).
War nicht soooo schlimm aber nicht mein genre
drum & bass, drum drum & bass, drum drum bass, drum & bass, I am very bored
Mostly repetitive.
Drum and Bass doesn't do much for me. I understand the appreciation for fast, danceable rhythms but I'm not really that kind of guy. A lot of this album feels very samey and not all that interesting outside of the sort of jazz influence. This reminds me a lot of the music I'd hear in Parkour Fortress servers that I would play on when I was younger, which was a fun soundtrack for running around to. I'm going to go play that now.
Didn't mind this one at all and there were some fun bits here and there (Beatbox especially) but it did not need to be so long
Didn’t like this one very much. Was able to get through it but I just didn’t care for it. I thought it was kinda creative at times and it made me feel nostalgic for the 90s, but that’s about it.
Batshit
All drums all bass but gets repetitive
Sounds like a soundtrack to a third party racing game for dreamcast
This is a weird one to review. I didn't hate it but I also didn't notice when the album was over and Spotify autoplayed an unknown number of other drum and bass songs. Good background music. It's possible Roni Size influenced those additional tracks but my untrained ear doesn't know it. Favorite: Brown Paper Bag
Too long! I’ve lost patience and given up before Ben the first hour is up. The drum and bass is good enough, but too much airy-fairy ambience and electro blips. What’s wrong with distilling it down to under 60 minutes of proper songs - even Brown paper bag and Heroes out stay their (admittedly enjoyable) welcome. Another reason to see the Mercury Music Prize as pretentious, overblown and a bit snooty really. I do appreciate that they are trying to be cool, edgy and relevant by praising black music, but really?! I would have given 3 if it was under 60 minutes!
A bit mediocre, dissappointing. I was hoping for some decent edm stuff
Jollain tavalla kyllä lämpesin ja genre jäi rullaamaan videopelin taustalle, mutta ehkä kolmonen on kuitenkin liikaa.
Tää tais olla sitä junglee. Erittäin jepa muutaman biisin annoksina, mut kokonaisena levynä käy tylsäks
Ovo bi slušali u Zionu na partiju u Matrix reloaded. Dosadan mi je. Previše basa i bubnjeva.
Brown paper bag would make very good telephone hold music.. ..and that's about it for me. Lots of strange noises, beats, electronica - nothing of any interest. Mad cat sounds like a modern version of The Waiting Room from The Lamb.. and that predates this by 45 years - so not as new as he'd like to think.
Jungle DJ has too much rhythm to trip himself up while finding his feet.
Very repetitive. Each song sound like a repetitive loop, played over and over again - repetitively. (Notice how repetitive I was there?) Not one song really stood out as unique or interesting. It is worth playing in the background when you don't care what you're listening to, so, I give it a 2 of 5
I remember absolutely hating this when it came out in 1997, I was a guitars-and-bucket-hats indie kid and this was just painful, particularly Brown Paper Bag which was *everywhere*. People were raving about this album and I just didn't get it. 25 years on, and my musical horizons have widened, and although I don't hate it quite as much, I don't really get the fuss. It seems to be the same beat all the way through with noodly moogs. I won't turn off Brown Paper Bag in disgust anymore these days, but I don't really want to listen to a whole album of it. Especially one that goes on for 78min.
Hmmmm. Yeah this is a strange one... there's some musical stuff to be heard on here, but I just don't understand the purpose of this music. Is it techno, is it soul, is it pop? Whatever it is, it sure ain't for me. Strange to deem this one of the 1001.
Outdated raver stuff from the 90's. This was hard to get into, the tempo was too fast and the samples outlived their usefulness and were way more repetitive than necessary. Was bothersome to listen to, I felt like I was on the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland or inside a microwave on a carousel that wouldn't stop.
I had already listened to this on a road trip in November based on it being part of jkav’s musical journey. Its looong and I don’t need to hear it again although I tried for about 10 minutes.
Although I could appreciate the quality of this album, no studio release should be over two hours long. I had to skip the final five tracks as it felt as though the same one was continuing indefinitely. This would get a 4 for the quality, but as a listenable album it just makes a 2.
Mais de duas horas de batidas que se perdem.
Not a huge drum and bass fan. Unless you are I think you will find this album too long and too repetitive.
D&B isn't really my style of music, so I wouldn't have listened to this on my own. It was mostly not unpleasant and totally fine in the background, so I guess it was a good experience to expand my general music knowledge. That said, it was never much more than "not unpleasant" and there were a couple of unpleasant parts or tracks, especially on the first disc. Speaking of multiple discs, this album was definitely also way too long. I'm pretty surprised at myself that I finished it, I wasn't expecting to when I started listening to it. Some of the individual tracks were too long considering how repetitive they were and the album quality would certainly be higher by just cutting some of the less interesting tracks.
I will confess I didn't get through the whole album, but with about half I think I heard enough to rate. I haven't had a lot of exposure to drum and bass so it was nice to be able to check some out. It was entirely inoffensive but didn't do that much for me and wasn't really very interesting to actively listen to.
Its just not really my thing
I wasn't feeling it.
I found this grating and unedifying.
Not my style. Chose to listen to this album first thing in the morning. Wrong choise, couldn't get into it. Feel like album would click with me if I listened at night.
A couple songs were interesting. They all kind of started blending together after a while
Is this what they meant by repetitive beats? It's ok but long-winded. At least Jazz and Prog kind go places. This just plays the same riffs over the same drum patterns without going anywhere
How can something be mysterious and devoid of character?
couldn't finish
Not my cup of tea
Okay I guess.
Could have been a few hours shorter. I appreciate that not every genre can or should appeal to everyone. If it did, it would be so generic and lowest common denominator that everyone would rate it as 2 or 3 at most. While I'm sure this isn't a very popular album on this list, the idea that there are people out there, throwing down the 5-stars and rave reviews, to me, is a good thing. I'm glad you like it!
Tämä oli aika turha levy, ylipitkä konemusiikkipläjäys ja ei mitenkään erityisen kiinnostava. Levyn alussa olin positiivisella mielellä, että nythän on mukavia rumpurytmejä, mutta innostus lopahti hyvin nopeasti.
Tylsää jumputusta ja vaikka luultavasti onkin jonkinlainen genren pioneeri, en saa tästä oikein mitään irti. Lähinnä häiritsi työntekoon keskittymistä. Kax.
Amazing how certain places can spawn so much in a certain genre - another electronica group from Bristol. I didn't hate it. Well, at least the first 4 tracks, which had cool bass lines and beats (I really enjoyed Railing). But they did get a little too repetitive and monotonous for my liking (don't need 7min of the same bass line and drum beat). I couldn't stand Digital (9min of repetition and not even good beats) and that started a steady decline of electronic junk. So I guess I liked a third of the album. Maybe.
Quite dated...excessive break beats, monotonous keyboards, boring vocals. This is interesting only as a representative of its period. I'm giving it two stars to be generous but it's really a 1.5
Back in 97 this drum and bass album may have been very influential and innovative but 2 hrs of it, really? I could only listen to a few tracks before boredom set in.
Not really for me.
Musically this album is fine. You've gotta really love yourself some drum & bass to want this much of it. The beats are pretty repetitive and samey, if fast-shuffling and energetic. It would make for some decent workout music. I really liked "Hi-Potent," but most of the others kind of blur together. And yes, this album is overly long, so very, very long. I wonder when I see these long debut albums if the artist feared they would never get another album, so they throw in all the things. It rarely pans out and Roni Size really needed to pare this down. If the album were half this length, I might have given it a 3, but I don't really see myself revisiting this one at all. Fave Songs: Hi-Potent, Trust Me, Morse Code, Electricks, Paper Bag
Drum & Bass genre album that sounds very typical late 90s. The album is quite long and sounds somewhat experimental. Not really my thing. 4/10.
My complaint about this album mirrors my complaint about David Holmes' body of work; There is just nothing here that warrants a second listen. The album sounds fine and would work well in a movie soundtrack, but there are 1000 artists who do similar music and do it better,
Ok, drum&bass isn't my thing. It's ok and fine as background music. Actually surprised me that there are some good, interesting tracks in there. But TWO HOURS LONG. Seriously.
Bij de eerste geluiden dacht ik " Yes, jungle!" maar het werd toch wat tragere drum'n bass met weinig leuke geluidjes. Heerlijke muziek voor een zaterdag nacht na een avond wild stappen. Verder valt het me wat tegen. Het nummer "Heroes" heeft wel wat. **
Uh, okay. Don't hate. Don't like. It kinda sounds like my computer is skipping and that's not a comfortable sound.
Fun intro to techno but not my favorite.
kinda okay
Hmm, this would be a 2.5 if I could do half stars. Of all the electronic based music I listen to, this would go at the bottom, so I suppose that's a 2.
Not as bad as I thought it would be
Erg oldschool drum&bass. Dit is niet hetzelfde op album als in een zaal of op een festival. Nu werd het al snel wat langdradig en zeer veel van het zelfde.
this has some interesting ideas but it's grating more often than it grooves, and it's honestly pretty audacious to make a 2 hour 20 minute album with such little variety throughout. 3/10
Listened to about half. What. 3
3/10. Much too long to listen to this whole album. The music itself wasn't terrible, but was a bit too frantic to be great background music, and a bit to samey to listen to actively.
Drum&Bass simple "New Forms"
1.5 fine - jungle not really my thing
I listened to a deluxe version of this album. Still only really liked one song.
Drums and bass. Vamos, música máquina. Fría, sintética, repetitiva, coñazo.
I love electronic music in general, and Aphex Twin, Squarpusher, and Autechre in particular. That said, I found this album to be boring.
Liking this a song in - sample based? Sounds like it could be contemporary. Defies genre a bit, which I appreciate. 2hrs 20 minutes? Good Lord. Meant for hookah bars and Amsterdam coffee shops with that kind of length. Halfway through getting a better sense of the "genre." This is what 2am feels like when you're trying to rally but you know you're too damn tired. The first two tracks were great, the other 21 left me wanting.
Way too long and boring. DNF.
Der 2. Song ist zu lang. Der 3. Song ist zu lang. Die Synthezizer-Figur im 6. Song nervt kolossal, nach ihrer Ausblendung wird er aber auch kaum erträglicher. Ich habe nach dem 7. Song aufgegeben. Drum 'n bass ist irgendwie doch auch immer nur dasselbe: irgendwo rasselt eine snare, kick, hi-hat oder alles zusammen und das war‘s dann.
My initial impression is that it's alright - I do like drum n' bass, and there are some great beats, but I just don't know if I'm feeling it all that much.
Not really my bag
Not for me
More scungy UK electronic shit... guess this is my punishment for complaining about it yesterday? And this time an hour and 20 minutes! About halfway in now and it all sounds exactly the same... ugh, fuck this. 2/5.
My life was not meaningfully changed by this album.
The one thing I appreciate about this album is it helps me identify artists that I need to block on Spotify. It also helps me realize how the author of 1001 albums has incredibly bad taste. I have to admit I couldn’t listen to the whole five hours, equal to ten Beatles albums, so maybe there’s some hidden gem in there somewhere but I highly doubt it.
Bad form
There is no universe or reality in which this is an essential album. It does nothing well and is not unique or memorable. 78 minutes of the same mediocre d&b beat over and over again. 1/5
More mindless techno
not my thing at allll
Oh dear, how dull! While I can appreciate drum and bass as an influence or sound effect every now and again, the 'pure form' of the genre makes absolutely no sense to me. It's just over two hours of frantic beats accompanied by a bassline and some vocals. That's it. Utterly boring. This album may have been groundbreaking for the drum and bass genre, but from today's perspective, the seemingly hedonistic reduction to pure dance rhythms just doesn't hold my attention.
I’m giving it this rating without having listened to it purely out of spite. The only version available on most major streaming platforms being an anniversary edition with a 5 hour 15 minute runtime is simply disrespectful to my time. I’m sure this is a fine album and has held major influence over other artists in the electronic music scene but I cannot listen to this and be unbiased in my review given the egregiously long run time.
There is no standout song here that would get airplay over the others, which might sound like a compliment, except that there is not a single song here that ought to be listened to over someone else’s work. Inherently, this is a two, but the 140 minute run drops it to the lowest possible mark.
Nope
A double album of drum and bass music...I'm five seconds in and can't stand it. It combines techno and British rappers? How could I not go for it? First impressions: this is going to be a looooong 1 star album. 23 songs and they are all super long. Over two hours of this? I'm ready to quit over this specific album at this point. There are ups and downs on this, and Digital is a down. The good news is that it is only 9 minutes long. The repetitiveness of this is mind numbing...which is interesting because I can only imagine listening to this when you're already high off your ass. Found sound! It feels like I've been listening to this for a week. I have listened to over an hour of this and have over an hour left...I am not sure I have the stamina for this. This is the alternate title music for Mad Men. RJD2 loves these guys. I am almost done with the first album...even if this was the end it would be awful, the fact that I have another hour is pushing this further and further down the list.
Not my style at all
I just couldn't on this one. I tried for a good 4-5 songs, but it just was meh. Maybe I'll come back to it.
Awful just noise
This is 5/5 any day as long as that day you're pilled up out of your mind in Magaluf
I went to a swingers club once and I can say from personal experience that it's the only place in the world where that kind of music is acceptable, because you'll be too busy fucking strangers to care how bad the music is.
I remember messing around with Fruity Loops, rather poorly, around this time when I was a teenager. I never once thought anything I had put together was good enough for others to hear, let alone delusional enough to think it was worth consideration for some sort of prize. Well now that I have heard this maybe I should have had more confidence in myself. That said.. this whole record feels very masturbatory and is another example of why the 1001 book probably needed another editor.
Why? 1.
Why? This is terrible.
Really disappointing that THIS is our second to last album. So boring and I don't even understand how this would be fun to dance to. It has NO GROOVE! What an absolute waste of a slot.
Gave it a go and honestly just couldn’t get into it at all. After two tracks I was completely done. It just felt like a load of repetitive beats going nowhere, with nothing to really grab onto. Maybe it gets better later on, but the opening was such a slog I didn’t have the patience to stick it out. Just not my thing in the slightest — pretty awful from what I heard.
Most of it is just noise, very repetitive noise. But the singing is maybe even worse, I do not like her voice.
This album is so longgggggg
Pretty good at some places but too fucking long
Drum & Bass...
This album makes the same mistake that hardcore made after the first wave of punk - if fast is good, faster is better, right? It's all fine if you want to listen to a formal exercise in electronica with no human emotion involved *but* it's of no value if you want to something that's recognizable as music (and not just some lab experiment in how fast you can crank up the tempo on a drum machine).
I don't know what album this is. There are at least five different versions released in the same year, so I went with the 22 track 2-CD release. I understand the value of alternate versions of a work of art, but it means that discussion of a work is hollow. I'm not reviewing the same album that most other people on this site are, because there is no agreement on what this album is. Does the album as an "album" matter? I guess not. Anyway... This is a chore of an album. I don't have any animosity toward any part of this, but it's just the same beat for two fucking hours. And then some! It's relentless. It pretends to mix things up, but no! We bought the basic drum package, and you will respect it. One song stood out to me. I didn't know there was a real "boots and cats" song, but Beatbox is just that. I guess it's something. This is an awful two hours, but it's not particularly offensive at any moment. Sometimes it's even pretty good. I have no hate for any of these tracks. But it's just the same damn thing for two hours and change. It breaks my rating system a bit, because one star has been reserved for albums I hate on an aesthetic level. It's the kind of stuff I never want to hear again. I don't think I would even notice this in the background, let alone build a hatred for it. 1.5, I guess, but I can't respect it as an album for multiple reasons.
Meh
Not my favorite it was not that good
Jarring harsh clean and tight Hurt me with your harsh run shots on repeat. As torturous and effective As come black instant coffee ...on empty stomach ... in a brightly lit room with harsh hard tiled surfaces .... buzzing flourescent light overhead. Place an pristine bar of Cussins Imperial Leather On a flourescent bath mat. I can't comprehend this being so highly awarded. There must be a genetical explanation for this being so repulsive to me. Again, is this British somehow? Je ne comprends pas Et je ne veux pas comprendre Arrêtez maintenant SVP
It's not often Dimery gives you a laugh, but popping into Spotify to see that the 20 year reissue is 53 tracks of the same stuff, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again...Really funny, they must be pissing themselves. Pop will eat itself will it, yep arse first. And just on legacy and influence, I don't think Stanley Clarke intended on creating this type of legacy, its an insult to his playing.
Thought it had potential but it's just SO REPETITIVE
Yea no, sorry but a five hour album is not necessary. If you listened to the whole thing, you're God's strongest soldier, because I could not do it. It just sounds like bad electro music at a club that would make me want to leave.
Gillade big beat betydligt mer än drum & bas när det begav sig. Det är inget jag haft anledning att omvärdera utifrån New forms. Något orättvist blir kanske omdömet Då musiken förstås är skapad för dansgolvet, inte för sterolyssnande. Ändock, det här är långt och trist. Svårt att uppskatta i nyktert tillstånd (ett bra album ska kunna stå på sina egna ben). Lite roligare är spåren med vokalist, men endast marginellt. Även om vi hör hyfsade röster saknar jag soul. Vi hamnar nånstans där det blir så mycket Expressen fredag att på blir av.
its actually annoying to listen to.
I made it through three songs, which seems fair. Cool that we’re still getting this kind of thing while Belly, Gaga, Courtney Barnett, Brandi Carlile, and even Charo linger on the sidelines.
1 out of 5. This was a hard listen for me. Reading other reviews I learned this album was influential for Dn'B so taking in a piece of history is cool, so there's that.
interesting sound but got old really fast. gave me a headache. DNF
Nope. This was a real struggle from the first minute. Some of the songs are so repetetive and little varied that it feels like eternity. I rarely give out 1* but this doesn’t deserve anything else.
This just isn't my thing at all. I personally cannot think of anything worse than sitting through any sort of drum and bass, never mind nearly two hours of it. This kind of music feels almost too obnoxious to me and does nothing for me. I believe that for fans of this type of music, it is probably quite a good album; it has some variety to it, but again, for me personally, I truly don't understand it. If you were to play me any of the tracks again, I wouldn't be able to tell you which track it was if you gave me all the possible guesses. They're just so forgetful to me. I don't have any favourites, but I suppose here are the ones that gave slightly more variety, to me, than the others: Beatbox Morse Code (as annoying as I found it) Let's Get It On Jazz
I just do not see how Drum and Bass belongs on this list. Maybe I’m just ignorant… but definitely seems like one of the few genres in this list that takes the least amount of talent to make.
Nope, just way too loud percussion and whiny singing. May as well listen to rush hour traffic
A bit of drum and bass on a lovely first Sunday of spring. Today’s listen is New Forms by Roni Size, and I’ll be honest, I went into this knowing it might be a challenge. It’s definitely different from a lot of what I’ve heard so far on this journey, and I always try to give something like this a fair go. But my optimism didn’t last long. For me, this is nearly two hours of very little happening. It just rolls on and on without ever really grabbing hold. I can appreciate the sound and what it’s trying to do, but it all blends into one. Track after track feels the same, with the occasional vocal breaking things up, but not enough to create any real standout moments. There’s nothing here that I’d go back to, and equally nothing that stands out as particularly bad. It just sits in the middle, a bit flat and forgettable. Favourite tracks: I genuinely couldn’t pick one, it all blurred into the same sound. Least favourite tracks: Could be any of them, nothing stood out. Album artwork: Fair play, it’s actually a pretty cool cover.
When I began this journey, I made a vow to be a completionist. My goal was simple enough to understand: Every single day, listen to every nanosecond of every track of every single album I generate(the original released versions of the album at that, not deluxe, or specialized versions). While some albums have been more difficult than others, this one broke me. I really did contemplate on quitting in the middle of this album, but I recently surpassed the halfway point of this journey, and I didn't want to break my vow at this point. The thing is, most of the other albums on this list that I've given a one-star rating, were at least reasonable in length(and the longer ones weren't marathons), and had some redeemable moments. However, the absurd length of this album compared with how absolutely terrible this album is, made this a chore, especially on a beautiful Saturday. Aside from the fact there isn't much of an influence with this album, it's just the same electronica bass drum on every track(this is basically a two hour, and nineteen minute song). I don't even want to listen to an album from my favorite artist for two hours, and nineteen minutes straight. Finally, I always select a favorite track for each album. Again, this is difficult for my one-star albums, but at least I can find mildly enjoyable tracks for these albums to be my favorite. With that being said, there was one track that sounded different than the other 21, so that was my pick. This is now the worst album I've listened to in this generator(it's even worse than U.S. Country albums, lord help me). Favorite Track: "Ballet Dance".
I'm not doing this bullshit.
I am just not into this album. From what I remember from the hip hop I listened to in the 90s, this album doesn't sound particularly innovative to what was already out there at that time. Every track seemed to be too long by several minutes and a little monotenous. I was getting bored. And then the full album (at least the 20th anniversary edition that's available on spotify) is over 5 hours of playtime. I think various editions of this album were released, so I ended my listening after disc 1, which contains all the singles released on the album.
I actually can’t - really hate this kinda music
This is another electronic album that is very hard for me to get into. I could see many of this songs being great in the correct setting but I don't think that 70 minutes of this music in a row is how this is the best way to listen to this genre of music. As an aside I expected for there to be a big bass drop or musical change that never came.
1/5. I know this album has something to offer someone. I personally found it hard to get through. Two thoughts I'll put down here as a non-electronica guy. 1. In the early 2000s British comedy series "Peep Show," one of the protagonists, Jez, is an aspiring electronica artist. There's an episode early on where he shows his self-proclaimed magnum opus to his friends. It is a frenetic D&B track with weird little licks and vocal outbursts spliced throughout, and the friends make fun of it behind his back. This album sounds like that song for 80m. 2. I was listening to this on a speaker as I was making breakfast for my family. My son was looking at the speaker with a concerned look on his face. I asked him what was wrong, to which he said, "the speaker's broken." It was not. "Brown Paper Bag" was playing flawlessly.
Favorite songs: none Hard pass for me. Felt like an hour long seizure.
siento que estoy escuchando todo el rato lo mismo. no me gustó.
This album has good pieces, but it’s way too long. Walking Wounded was a much better drum and bass album that sounded very similar in style.
Day782 - no way the powers that be listened to this and decided we all should be subjected to it also
Jesus. My brain hurts from attempting to listen to this. 7AM was not a good time to cue this up.
Shit sandwich. I am a very open to all music. I tried and made it through, but it was tough.
High tempo but slow moving drum and bass. All the tracks sound very similar and felt way too long. I didn't enjoy it and ended up skipping through the second half.
If possible, I’d rate this 0 stars. Pretty much the same electronic drum track layover 20 times. This should not be on the list, no matter how much some fools say this revolutionized anything, or whatever silly argument would be given.
Pas tous écouté, c’est interminable et pas intéressant. 2-3 courts moments relativement un peu agréable.. définitivement pas un album que j’aurais du écouté avant de mourir, rendez moi mes minutes perdues. 1.5/5
EVERY SONG SOUNDS THE FUCKING SAME
Really??? I just had to listen to *this* before I die??? *THIS?* 1/5 Please stop with the british electro-slop, I beg of you...
Top 10 tracks to have a seizure to
ui bin bim dritte song und das wird STRENG. finds au irgendwie no geil ha eig gern drum n bass, goht uuuhuere füre. aber scho sehr repetitiv. hui ich bin irgendwie 8 songs deep und gseh nöd wie ich das ushalt. finds ultra unspannend und afoch au nöd so abwechsligsriich. ich has zum teil schono groovy gfunde. aber ich mues es protest 1 geh sorry. loses etzdenn no fertig aber bezwiifle dass öpis meeega cools no passiert.
han de erst song probiert aber s isch gad NÖD ziit für 90er drum'n'bass am morge ok 1 lorna shore spöter bini halbwegs ready railing isch na lustig aber naja, würkt fast wie es intro zu brown paper bag ok es gaht z lang aber wenn sich s sample denn "etabliert" het und de classy dnb-beat innechunnt, findis na geil vlt tüsch ich mich au, aber modernere dnb wo ich kenn isch eifach basslastiger, für mis empfinde isch s ganze wie z höch OHHH de ahfang vo matter of fact isch na dumm he würkli wenns chli aggressiver wär und d sonsg chürzer würd ichs vlt na gnüsse, heroes findi vom prinzip her eig cool NEIII NÖD BEATBOXXXXXXXXX ok nur 1 min morse code isch zwar obnoxious aber iwie slappts na hi-potent findi auno hard, de bass slappt immer wieder chlini beacons of hope hahaha OMG han denkt "ja isch bald fertig" ABER DENKSTE NOMAL share the fall WÜRKLI DIE SCHISSLIEDER SIND Z WENIG GUET FÜR 7 MINUTE muss sege jazz findi reecht funny no zweiii lieder aso ich glaub ballet dance ischs letschte lied? aber s ischmer au HERZLICH egal wenns für vo mier us 50 min die beste songs gno hetted, hett vlt es 3 ussegluegt aber eso wie s album staht isches es HERTS 1
How is this possibly on the top 1001? It’s so long and boring.
Starting off and I thought it was the theme to the Powerpuff Girls lol but continuing on with the album, what the actual FUCK is this? Super repetitive and unsettling. I have to sit with this for over an hour? Kill me now. Update: only tolerable song was 'Heroes' but even with that I don't want to listen to it again.
I seek exposure to musical artists, not computer programmers. Computer programming doesn’t move me.
blah
I interrupted my listening of The Fall Off to get whatever tf this is over with. I’m sorry Cole for wasting an hour and 14 minutes on this…. Some sick beats tho
Skipped most tracks, unfortunate automatic 1 star
Didn’t listen
2026.01.28.-01.29.
Bland vanilla electronic music that sometimes accidentally picks up a vibe. Much better stuff coming out at the time. Not worth another listen.
Maybe I just don’t get this kind of music. No thanks.
Not my thing at all.
this won awards???
🤮
I try not to be genrephobic but I don't know how many more of these crappy electro albums I can take. 2/10
Given that this list is UK-rooted, I guess I can see why this makes the list. But what started as kind of fun and interesting frenetic looped beats with some trappings, quickly devolved into a tedious slog.
Dreck
Weißt du noch, Vitali. Als wir in den 90ern Boxer waren und die Musik so seltsam war - Mhm - Die Texte hatten keine Bedeutung und die Beats waren repetitv und kamen vom Band - Mhm - Das war grauenhaft - Mhm
Terrible. Funniest part of listening to this was finding out there's a 20th anniversary edition with 5 hours of this nightmare
No and No again. This list has become tedious and full of fringe albums that were big in Bristol & Manchester but nowhere else. This whole album does not sound good today, it's dated with it's awful frenetic drum machines and robotic instrumentation. I'm starting to think Brits listen to shit music most of the time. If "Brown Paper Bag" is the crown jewel of this album (11M listens) then there's no reason I should have to endure this entire album before I die. I need a joint to calm my mind down after that scramble of hyperactive noise. This is the lowest point in modern music, I'd rather endure an entire Britney Spears LP than hear this a second time. Total crap album and the repetitiveness of it all is mind boggling. 9 minutes of "Digital" was the final straw for me. There was a Disc 2 added for the 20th Anniversary. Congrats to the 4 people who bought that~! 1 star - unlistenable, no hits, no rhythm, no warmth, no good vocals, no actual instruments, no soul, no nothing for me.
I found myself much too bored with this album. Its electronic style has a bit of hip hop, which makes for a different sound, but that's all I can say when it was so repetitive. In fact, there is no reason for an album to be this long. I've watched Bollywood movies shorter than this album!
I really hated every minute of this. This is far from essential listening. It was just repetitive beats for over 2 hours, and even then, by the time I had finally finished it, it felt like it had been at least 6 hours.
This just isn't for me. The beats were ok in places, but felt repetitive with no variation at all. I also could not stand the vocals for the life of me. This felt like some weird combo of an electronic rap beat with some of the worst rapping I have ever heard. I get that this was an important album in the drum and bass genre, but it is not something I will come back to, 78 minutes is far too long even for a good album, and I was waiting for it to end. Sorry, but 1/5.
Oh it's drum and bass run though a mixer. Great for movie soundtracks, trailers and commercials. Lame for an entire album.
No
Not a fan
Do not waste your time.
fascinating that this is the album that people cite as what made the public take drum and bass seriously as a genre when to me this album feels like a parody of itself. perhaps it's partially a measure of distance and development in the edm space, but i can't imagine ever wanting to listen to this when breakcore exists ngl. even tracks like "hi-potent" that have Something going on drastically overstay their welcome without expansion. unserious vocals across the album as well. the sampling of YMO's "lotus love" in "digital" for instance just made me want to go listen to that instead, but it's a great cut. i can't place the horns in "destination" but it's the same thing where there are glimpses of other (and better) records interwoven into The Same Generic Bassline for over 2 hours. "trust me" as an example feels like unchanging purgatory. i could've watched an a movie in the time spent listening to this instead of getting pranked by garbage. complete joke of an album. DNF in full.
This is awful. There is no other way to describe what I've listened to. Some songs are not "that" bad but, overall, it's a very uninteresting, repetitive and bad album. I'm not into this music, and I honestly can't understand the love to drum and bass and this kind of electronic music, but I guess it could be less painful. I mean, the album gets really boring by the second track, and it doesn't get any better at any time (and it's more than an hour long!). Maybe this kind of music is made for listening while being on a disco or something... I don't really know, but consciously, with all my attention, it actually is based on very long songs that are all the time following the same structures and rhythms. What may I find interesting here? Is there anything I'm missing? Because, honestly, electronic music can be interesting, all the layers and textures in the songs but, with this album, I can't even enjoy it, if there is anything to enjoy here more than jumping to it, and that is something I didn't do and that I'm not going to do – one listen has been enough. Next!
Meh
First record that I'm not listening. I don't deserve 78 mins of dnb at 34 years old, sorry.
I had to listen to this garbage in the last two hours of a road trip. It was absolute torture. This is music you make for yourself and don’t share with anyone else. I know no one forced me to listen to it, but for respect of this project, I had to listen. Good news: I still have my hearing by some miracle. But my mind is gone.
I'm going to create a new genre where I whisper in a small Styrofoam cup while stomping out a beat. I'll get my wooden clogs on, grab my favorite one-use dixie drinking receptacle, and go to the local studio to record a 139 minute album. Folks won't get it at first, but years from now it will be known as one of the pioneering albums of stomp 'n' hushcup. I'm being facetious, and I typically like off the wall music, but honestly who would go out of their way to listen to nearly 140 minutes of drum and bass!? And not just that, the fact that it won so many prizes?? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I listened to this years ago and thought i liked it, but in retrospect I made it through maybe half of disc 1. I'm sorry Roni Size, but I was just begging the album to be over by the 30 minute mark. I'll give an extra .4 for the craftsmanship. 1.4/5 -> 1/5
Crikey, this one's over two hours long! And it gets worse - the version on Qobuz comes in at 5h14m11s over four CDs. I'll give this a go, but... I played this album for about 1h45m and I thought it remarkably dull and unvarying.
I had a better review written up about this album but it got wiped away in a browser refresh. I'm not going to waste my time rewriting what a waste of time this 2 hour+ album is. My only thing I would stress is the nerve it must take for the glowing reviews of this album while people complain about the Ella Fitzgerald album. 1/5
I gave this a good go but life really is too short. Never got it and never will
No drum and base no matter how good should be in any list with the beatles and zepplin. Its ok repetitive and boring
Brutally repetitive.
11/7/25. Not really my genre so can't grade this fairly, repetitive to my ears. Rating reflects how I feel about it now, but could change if I revisit in the future.
Nope. I make my own, homemade, artisanal anxiety. I don't need yours.
131/1001 :: Roni Size - New Forms Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 1 Listen before you die: No File this under: Ain’t nobody got time for this.
This is bad, okay it is pretty bad, but more than that it’s just lame #musicansshouldntbeallowedtomakelamemusic
The sound isn't unlistenable – it's just a plain, average level of bad. In the first track, there isn't a single instrument that's worth paying attention to. The singing, if you can call it that, is monotonous, bland, unidimensional. The percussive beat is fast, and I guess it would be impressive if it were played live, but of course it's all electronically looped. The synths are strange and unappealing – not to mention they're not at all impressive for the year 1997. Brown Paper Bag is a slight improvement, featuring various acoustic instruments that present some melodic ideas to ponder over. (I'm guessing this is what appealed to masses the most, judging by streaming numbers.) The problem is, the melodies are quite bad (at least on a first listen), but the double bass one is pounded relentlessly into your skull for almost the entire 9 minutes. As the tracks continue, their quality is dubious at best. I guess the only consistently commendable attribute is the song transitions, which are (sometimes) swift and clean. Definitely gives incentive to run back the whole album rather than individual tracks/singles. But the singing continues to be terrible (Let's Get It On, Digital, and so on... it's just hoarse, drunken, and, well, bland). Mad Cat is the first non-vocal track after a long streak of suffering, and it's almost a blessing. Not a full blessing, of course, because it's not very good. The bassline is passable but gets old quickly, and the MJ Thriller narration ending is nothing special. Heroes has the most bearable version of Size(?)'s voice, plus a great bass part and atmosphere, so it gets a pass (which is apparently difficult to come by!). Morse Code doesn't get a pass, however. I don't know whose idea it was to have a loop of a woman rhythmically moaning with an irritating beep in the background. But it's a terrible idea. 1/5 Key tracks: Brown Paper Bag, Heroes, Share The Fall
Ugh....
Unbelievably boring. I managed to stomach Disk 1 but no fucking way in hell am I listening to over FIVE HOURS of this shit
This was horrible. It was the first time that I quit an album halfway through. I listened to the whole first disc which was over an hour. There was no way I was listening to another hour of this. It was repetitive electronic music. Ugh!!
Dreadful
One of the rare albums I did not finish, but in my defense the 20th anniversary edition is 5hrs long. All of these songs are bad. Who enjoys listening to this?
This album was way too long. It coulda been an email
This album, which I could barely get through 2 songs of, won the mercury prize in 1997. Other nominated albums included OK Computer and The Fat of the Land. Absolutely shocking decision.
Dafuq is this mess and why is it on the list? When the album couldn’t get more annoying, they hit us with Morse Code in a pitch that would only be heard by dogs if it was any more ear piercing.
Had this on CD as it was heavily promoted back in the day. Found it boring then and equally as boring now.
Why is this 5 hours on Spotify? I could barely listen to the singles who could possibly listen to 5 hours of thus
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t even make it a quarter of the way through this album. It’s just not my jam first of all, but second of all (and maybe more importantly) this album is LOOOONG. And I mean long…like it’s well over 2 1/2 hours long. It just drones on and on, and everything sounds pretty much the same in not a good way. I will say, it’s not bad per se. It’s just the same two or three techno beats over and over again. To be fair, I didn’t give it much of a chance since I didn’t listen to the entire thing. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It wasn’t nearly good enough to justify that kind of time commitment. There’s way too much stuff out there to listen to that I actually do enjoy.
I hate drum and bass
Album was repetitive and WAY too long.
Extremely long, very repetitive, and brutally annoying. Nothing good came out of listening to this. 90% of it was the same beat. And not a good beat. And the vocals were just god awful (on the few songs that actually HAD vocals). Never touching this album again.
Vocals sound very cheap. I hate everything.
Something went wrong today. Wrote notes about this album but when I was presented rating screen I saw that my notes were gone and replaced by the notes I had written for my previous album. Not going to write review again but suffice to say crap music and much too long 1/5 2/9/25
Hard no
Really did not like this. Too long and droning, only listened to the first disc. Very uninspiring
Yay, another house album... The hip hop addition to some of these songs make it feel less monotonous than the others but only barely. Most of these songs significantly overstay their welcome and only serve to make the album tiresome as a whole.
I always thought drum and bass wasn't for me, now I Know it. Awful stuff.
Not only is this not my type of music but the album is like 2 hours long. Absolutely unlistenable
Not enough drugs to enjoy this.
Holder seg like godt som Amanda Bynes
Not in my edition of the book! 1997. 1 star. No-one needs multiple 5+ minute drum and bass tracks, including a 9+ minute monstrosity. Fucking awful. Who decided this was essential listening, and can we beat them to death?
This was terrible. There was about a minute or so early on that delved into some jazz type stuff but that was the only part I enjoyed on the whole thing.
No thanks
Not my Coconut of milk
It's crazy thinking anyone would be into this and I've listened to some weird and actual good stuff in the same genre. Thise critics are mad for choosing this album but hey ho
I just dont understand the target audience for this album, or what im supposed to be doing while listening... Gaming? Eating? Dancing? Sex? Exploring? Gym? Everything just seems worse with it playing, it was repetitive and unoriginal, nothing made me stop and admire the talent...
I just don't get it, who the fuck is this even for? It's just two straight hours of drumb and bass. Like why would anyone ever listen to this, or in what setting? One or two songs at a time while you're at a rave sure, but an entire two fucking hour album is just the most pointless and meaningless thing ever.
Two words: S**t sandwich. I can’t express how much I hated this album. Maybe because I’m an old man, but I believe I’d have hated it when it came out in the '90s. It’s a lot of samples, drum machine, and nonsense. If it’s your favorite album and you enjoy it, God bless you. As for me and mine, we say blech. And I like a bit of dance or electronic music. Maybe I needed to be in a rave on drugs to really get this album, but sitting in my chair trying to relax, it did the opposite. I started getting annoyed and anxious. I won't listen to this again and regret having done so this time.
ehh más ruidos?
I listen to albums while working out at the gym. Today, the gym soundtrack must have been titled “The Very Best of the Very Best Soul, Funk, and R&B” because they were playing double shots of Curtis Mayfield, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Sly, Aretha, Ray Charles… it just kept going. Meanwhile, I’m listening to this electronica album. I don’t know whether to say it was a little ok, or a lot not good, but I could not ignore the comparison with the gym playlist… 😬 I took at as a sign and just stopped listening to this album after 3 tracks. Sorry Roni Size… thank you for playing. It’s a 1.
The Good: We get something NEW!!!! The Bad: The forms are illegible… The Ugly: It seems we have to fill them out a million times, all identically… Imagine you have a cousin who always stutters for about 3 minutes when he needs to say the words “one” or “nine”. Now imagine that you have 2 options: listen to him count to 1000 and receive a million bucks, or you can opt to clean the bathroom and get a cheese sandwich as a reward… I’d pick the bathroom and cheese sandwich before I’d ever have to listen to this album again… because this album is like listening to that cousin count to 1000… It’s not that I have a problem with drum and bass, except for the simple fact that, like most EDM related music, I hate it and would only be able to enjoy it if I were in a different state of mind—booze or drugs induced—it’s more that I don’t understand why I need to listen to an album that lasts about 1 hour too long… I am getting the serious suspicion that Dimery is really a sadist trully enjoying putting us through this fucking ordeal! Not my cup of tea… 1 1/2*
Not bad, but one of the most boring albums I had to endure.
2/10 Not so offensive to my ears but I couldn’t get through it
Zero Points! Crap in my ears
Not my style
At first I was thinking it was fine for the background, but God it's SO long and SO tedious. No one needs 90 minutes of quick high hats and snares. It's like a soundtrack to a 1990s technothriller chase scene except the scene just keeps going and you're watching some computer nerd ride a bike REAL FAST for an hour and a half. Ugh.
nah man, lifetime in the dungeon for this one Will I listen to again: 0%
Too weird. 1/5
gives anxiety
It’s not a genre I’m super familiar with, but I am pretty open minded (unless we are talking about shoegaze) that said, this album was pretty repetitive and boring. I think I would have been alright to not listen to this one before I die. I will never play this again.
Started out promising and went steadily downhill from there. Which is such a shame because I would love this list to mix up the genres a bit more, we haven't heard enough electronica in this challenge so far. This is scraping the barrel though, there are heaps better drum and bass albums.
Just terrible all around. Felt like a distraught cacophony of sounds
If I had 30 minutes left to live and I wanted it to feel like 2 hours then I might listen to this again. I have no grasp on the genre to really get anything out of it. Rating: 1.2
I actually like Drum and Bass, but this is quite annoying.
< the Beatles Why is English electronic music so bad and why is this album on here at all
What is this shit?
whenever I would just listen to the opening of couple of the songs I would whisper "smack my bitch up" and it would fit perfect, but then the actual song would start and dash my enjoyment. Drum and Bass just sucks and this whole experience did too. Thats all.
Regardless of how the songs start… if you jump to the middle of the song… 9 times out of 10 they are identical. “Watching Windows” was okay but otherwise this was NOT an album for me
As a lyrics-focused listener, this is not my bag.
1 stern
Nah
Damn this is some boring repetitive ass shit
Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. 78min. meines Lebens verschwendet.
I got a shitty Drum and Base album 2 days in a row wtf is this Best Song: N/A Rating: 2/10 (DNF) Stars: 1/5
No.
I could not get into this album. I tried it a few times, but just never got very far. Not for me.
Total load of crap
why
Okay so you know the latter half of the opening theme song for the Powerpuff Girls, the one with the little drum breakdown before the main motif starts playing? This entire album, and I mean ENTIRE album sounded like all the rough drafts to that mini little drum interlude. This album is not for those who get anxious from repeating sounds/noises, because there's about 8-9 noises in totality and they get slightly rearranged from track to track.
Not my style, and it wore out its welcome with an hour and a half left. Were it a bit shorter I might could justify a second star, but as is I just really, really did not care for this listening experience.
NEXT
Ugh….I think every British album has made this list! Good and bad! This one is bad!
This is the 94th album I've ranked (I did a few out of order). It's the first one I couldn't get through the whole thing. It was painful to listen to. I fell bad ranking an album without listening to it in its entirety. That sort of defeats the purpose. But this was unlistenable.
You know what, I’m glad I’ve been able to listen to an entire DnB album so I can really form an opinion on it. Having said that I never want to hear this drawn out drum back track ever again.
I could not tell when the songs started or ended because it all just sounded the same.
This won the Mercury prize??? Just awful. I really tried, but it's just relentless nothingness to my ears
Nope
this provoked in me the same feeling as when jazz makes me feel like my atoms are in the wrong place
1/5. Look, I can appreciate a good drum and bass album, and being presented with 10+ on this list was more than I was expecting. It's not necessarily groundbreaking, and it goes on the "Mercury Prize winners that are not great albums" list once again. Are we sure the people deciding the Mercury winners have ears? It's hard to tell at this point. Like sure, maybe good uses for some sample in a future rap song, but right now it feels like a lot of unfinished ideas into 2+ hours of music. I don't even remember the difference between the songs honestly. Even if it was just the first CD, it's a little much honestly. Best Song: I don't remember, I'll just choose Railing cause it's kind of short and had promise
Terrible and boring
Ugh…enough with the electronica.