Skylarking

Early part of the album doesn't stand out but is still somehow a distinct sound. Can't care for that 80s flat voice style. Do care for fun instruments. Back half really got me. Man who sailed around the world and dear god. Will listen to more CTC now. 3-4 rats.

nice enough

Это был необычный опыт, скорее приятный, эта музыка вводит в состояние другого восприятния

Swindon's finest 🤘

Listened

Wow, the adjectives that come to mind would be heavy, thematic, contemplative, and compelling. Musically for the most part I liked the first half of the record, while nothing in the back half particularly engaged me. The lyrics though always seem so eerily literal, with just enough similes and metaphors to keep still keep them engaging. Seems like they had a lot to say with this record and it shows; the backstory behind the album doesn't disappoint either. Will be revisiting this.

More Beatles-y than I was expecting.

Weird album to categorise for me. Initially it sounded like prog, then there's psychedelic rock, suddenly a Beatles-like song, new wave here and there... It's certainly a bit confusing first listen and that doesn't happen to me often these days. That's makes it all the more interesting though. I feel like I can't really give this a very decisive rating based on just one listen but I did like it in the end a good amount. Probably have to listen to it again later on.

Moderately enjoyable but pretty forgettable. This sounds like it didn't make it past the demo stage.

NEXTC

I didn't engage with this album.

Expected a bit more from the album, but it definitely has its moments.

⭐⭐ Inte alls min grej. I bästa stunder påminner det om Beatles harmonier och låtstruktur men inte alls samma nivå. Inte Pop inte rock, vet inte riktigt vad man ska definiera det som, lite inslag av New wave och lite jazz. Känns mest pretentiöst utan riktig substans. Det här kommer jag aldrig lyssna på igen. Det får bli en 2a. Bäst är Dear god

My admitted early thought was, "What the pseudo-prog rock theater kid '80's shyte is this?" But it grew on me like a fungus. I do like me some ELO, and I see what these guys are up to. It's not my favorite, but it ain't half bad.

Second album après ‘Apple venus volume 1’ que je n'avais pas apprécié (noté 2/5 - ennuyeux). Celui-ci est tout aussi ennuyeux et parait beaucoup plus long qu’il n’est réellement. Pas désagréable mais sans intérêt. =>2/5

Weer erg inoffensive

Klinkt jaren 60, maar is uitgebracht in 86. Dit is beter dan het vorige XTC album op de lijst (Apple Venus Vol.1). Nog steeds absoluut geen fan van de vocals. Ook is het soms tot op het irritante vrolijk en klinkt het vooral als andere artiesten, maar dan afgezaagder en gewoon minder goed. Dit is de laatste XTC plaat die langs komt, dus voor mij is dit ook de laatste keer dat ik XTC luister.

Gut, zieht sich aber etwas.

Mag die Stimme nicht und es klingt lahm, also wenig für mich zu holen.

Loved listening to the album, it kind of feels like moving from summer to fall. XTC are somewhere between super cool and musical geniuses to me. It’s fun to see Todd Rundgren produced it. Grass and Ballet for a Rainy Day are incredible but there’s lot of good stuff especially when all together. Kind of meanders and drifts too much near the end but they bring it back

This is the music that connects The Beatles with the likes of Talking Heads. Way more interesting than I would’ve thought, oscillating between 60s folky rock and more modern sounds but sticking to the psychedelic energy even when singing about marriage. It’s one of the good albums from artists I haven’t heard of before.

Lousy. Boring, generic and uninteresting.

Cool album, a bit like a based Duran Duran. The last song is a little on the nose, but it's not a bad album at all

3 stars just for Dear God. Love the song and video growing up. It would be a hard call between a 1 and 2 if it wasn't. The rest of the album is just there. Nothing stands out.

Hell yeah, I've listened to this a million times, and I will gladly go another round. XTC almost peaks here, so much creativity and imagination in how these songs are put together.

Not what I expected from what I have heard from them before. This album is not straight up new wave. I doesn’t even really fit in with the weirder stuff coming out of the US at the same time like Talking Heads, Devo, B-52’s, etc. There are hints of those genres, but also prog rock, 60’s pop and rock, and even more folk moments. Kind of hard to digest in only one sitting. The one track from this I have heard before, and the one I’d say holds up best, and is unlike what I previously described is “That’s Really Super, Super Girl”

Pure unadulterated cheese. Big horns, happy sounds, schlop. A spoonful of maple syrup may taste sweet but if you eat the whole jar, you'll probably throw up. It really hit a low point at The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul. Uggh. 1/5

Good! Listen to more

1000 umbrellas - strings (particularly the cello lines). If the rest of the album was more like this it would be more up my street. As it is, 2.5

I think it’s a toss up between Skylarking and English Settlement, but I won’t hear arguments against this being among XTC’s quirky, angular, catchy, poppy, best work. Straight up, some of the best pop music made, period. This album is one of those ‘greater than the sum of its parts releases’ - Summer’s Cauldron, That’s Really Super, Supergirl, Big Day, and Dear God are all standouts, but the way the whole thing flows and comes together is a big part of what makes this such an enjoyable listen. I appreciate it when the list brings me back around to an album I already know I love but haven’t listened to all the way through in some time. Thanks, list!

Really strong set of songs here. Very much its own thing, but reminiscent of McCartney. But then, also super influential on future music. I hear a ton of 2000s era indie rock in the songwriting and style. Very cool album.

Funny to see this appear, I've been mad listening to a lot of XTC for the past week and this is the only XTC album I have left on the generator. Now that I've been getting into the best pop band ever, this is a good inclusion but apple venus is not over English Settlement. My favorites that I've been listening the days before this album was generated was summer cauldron, grass and season cycle, the latter inspired Blur's Sunday Sunday apparently during the Partridge sessions on Modern Life is Rubbish. I'm going to see Phish at AC in a couple of days and I hope they do an early Halloween Costume and play English Settlement in whole after they busted out Melt the Guns after ~40 years. I can only hope this happens.

Really fun! Yippee! Lots of good ones! Liked the soundscape of the first one and the Organ on Season Cycle (reminded me of Derby Racer at Blackpool Pleasure Beach fr fr). Great time!

music is love

The cover art is obviously two people playing flutes, which makes sense because this is an album of music. It also kinda looks like two people sucking their own dicks, which also makes sense because this album sucks dicks. Ok, that’s mean. I listened to this album 3 times and still don’t have much of anything to say about it. It’s fine. It’s like the definition of fine. One of the top reviews talks about how much he loved the Beatles until he discovered XTC, and that makes total sense. This is Miracle Whip to the Beatles Mayonnaise. That little bit of extra tanginess is from New Wave, but it only goes so far. This feels like a prototype for the extremely nostalgic Brit rock we get in the 90s and all the bands desperate to recapture the magic of late 60s psych pop rock.

Very bland, just didn’t get me excited. But not the worst so I’ll give it 3

Saw Skylarking and got excited for the Horace Andy album *sigh* At least this is well produced by Todd Rundgren.

This album has a great name and I really hoped to like it, even with the tepid reaction I had to the other XTC album on the list, but I just didn’t. At least “Mermaid Smiled” was interesting in a jazzy, poetic kind of way. (“The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul,” too).

Never heard of xtc before so excited to rate. Song reviews: Summer’s Cauldron: I like crickets at start and bird sounds. It sets the mood and makes it feel more human. The vocals aren’t for me. I like drums and keys. I enjoy how the animal sounds keep going. I warmed up to the vocals. Song had a good vibe. 3.5/5

Black Sea is my favorite XTC record but most critics believe it's their best. This one has some great pop songs all very orchestral. Nice record

One stunner of a song - Dear God - and a lot of perfectly fine English, bookish pop. Fascinating band and, like many others on this list, I'm impressed they built a whole career out of this even if it's not something I would regularly put on.

The more XTC I hear, the more I'm ok with the handful of songs I like. This certainly has some—"Summer's Cauldron," "Earn Enough for Us," "Another Satellite," and of course, "Dear God"—but it felt longer than its 50 minutes. And "Dear God" feels a little adolescent now that a few decades have passed since I first heard it. 3.5 stars.

Better tan cowl play

A + production

I've heard of this group, not sure if I have listened to a track, I may have. Kind of know what they are about. Cool tracks, kind of had a feeling they had this music style.

Rock, 1986 -> 2

Really first exposure to XTC. Love the transition between Summers Cauldron and Grass. Dear God is the only song I think I've heard before, which is an undeniable classic. Best tracks: Dear God, The Meeting Place, Earn Enough For Us Rating: 6/10

This was a interesting album, not bad but interesting lol

So many of these bands are led by a man who nobody is brave to tell they can’t be the singer because they’re not good enough. A bit like Tears For Fears but not good.

Listened before?: bits and pieces of it, yes. not the full album though. i know Dear God technically isn't part of the original tracklist, but i'm including it in my rating this time because it's one of the few tracks i recognize from previous listens Summer's Cauldron - 5/5 Grass - 5/5 The Meeting Place - 4/5 That's Really Super, Supergirl - 5/5 Ballet for a Rainy Day - 5/5 1000 Umbrellas - 4/5 Season Cycle - 4/5 Earn Enough for Us - 5/5 Big Day - 3/5 Another Satellite - 3/5 Mermaid Smiled - 4/5 The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul - 4/5 Dying - 4/5 Sacrificial Bonfire - 4/5 Dear God - 5/5 Average score: 4.3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some great songwriting here. It is very English in a way I find hard to explain, also very 80s. It is really evocative of being young and hanging around without knowing what to do with yourself.

Me gustan The Beatles y a XTC y su productor también.

Overall, enjoyable

i feel like i should like them more than i do. an excellent singles band.

Pretty good listen. Nothing outstanding, but nothing annoying either. Enjoyable

I enjoyed this one

Somewhat boring, inoffensive, meandering slop. Nothing really notable here, but ….hey, their English so naturally gotta out em on this list. Minus one for the UK bias BS.

I’ve always loved “Dear God” and I’ve actually owned Skylarking by XTC for some time, but somehow I’d never sat down and listened to the whole album properly. So I was really looking forward to finally giving it the attention it deserved today. My main thought afterwards was, why on earth did I wait so long? I really enjoyed this album. There’s loads of variety, but it still feels like a complete record that flows beautifully from one song to the next. It’s full of clever songwriting, great melodies and wonderfully catchy pop songs. There are so many good tracks here. “Season Cycle”, “Grass”, “The Meeting Place” and “Mermaid Smiled” are all great, while “Summer’s Cauldron” is a brilliant way to start the album. There’s a slightly psychedelic feel running through parts of it, but it never gets in the way of the melodies and songwriting. Then there’s “Dear God”. I’ve loved this song for years and it remains the highlight for me. It’s a perfect pop song with a fantastic melody, but it also tackles religion and belief with some genuinely interesting and thought provoking lyrics. It’s one of XTC’s greatest songs and easily one of the most memorable on the album. Skylarking is just a really consistent, beautifully put together album. There isn’t a weak track, it never becomes boring and there’s always something interesting happening. I’m slightly annoyed with myself that I’ve owned it for so long without properly listening to it! I’ll definitely be coming back to this one. Favourite tracks: “Dear God” is a perfect pop song. I also really enjoyed “Summer’s Cauldron”, “The Meeting Place”, “Season Cycle” and “Grass”. Least favourite tracks: Nothing. There isn’t a weak track on the album. Album artwork: Cool album cover. Simple, distinctive and suits the slightly psychedelic feel of the music.

I'd always intended on listening to more of XTC because of Dear God, so it turned out nicely that this album was in the challenge. I really enjoy the vocals throughout and the overall production. Each time I listened I picked out more details that I liked, and I think this will only grow on me with time.

Skylarking? Performed by a guy named Partridge?? I found this whole experience very 'gull'ing.

What a waste of an amazing band name. Wouldn't this be better served as being put on the best indie singles list? Because the rest of the album is garbage

At times during this album you're like wow this is a 5/5 album. Other times you're like wow this is a 0/5 album. The duality of Man. Highlight: Ballet For A Rainy Day

I was a huge fan of Apple Venus, but this one didn’t feel as impactful. Apple Venus felt both innovative and cunning, this record feels a bit more twee and a few stepping stones away. Mostly just a product of time, AV was released a dozen years after Skylarking. This felt a little more like typical new wave and art rock merged their mediocre bits to get a mediocre result. “Ballet For A Rainy Day” sounded like They Might Be Giants snuck back in time a bit to speak through XTC. Speaking of which, it makes sense that “Dear God” was a college radio success, this whole album has a college radio sound. 2/5 unnecessary

Not really sure i got this. Didn't sound 80s but also felt like it was missing something. At times felt generic. Grew on my but only slightly

I didn’t hate this. I own and like the song Dear God. XTC is fine. It was a little long though.

dear god is a great song but this rest of this is nothing

WTF

Thematically dense record with songs about our world, our difficulties, and our reasons for being here. While a bit too theater-kid and over-the-top theatrical at times, I appreciate the engaging subject matter they sing about. Also, Dear God, Supergirl, and Earn Enough are good songs. Better than I expected.

eh sounded generic

‘Mermaid smiled’ was my favourite track. Closely followed by ‘the man who sailed around’. These two tracks together made me perk up and listen in after letting the opening 10 tracks just sort of drift away in my background. Over them 10 tracks there were times I got pulled in, some nice strings, some catchy hooks but never enough to get me for a full track until these two tracks. After these for the final 3 tracks I was all in! ‘ sacrificial bonfire’ was great! and therefore the album needed a second listen. On second listen those first 10 tracks sounded so much better, ‘1000 umbrellas’ ‘ballet for a rainy day’ ’the meeting place’ was clearly me slow at waking up that missed how good these were first time round! There was undercurrents of Tears for Fears in most of the tracks which wasn’t a bad thing. the tracks all flowed and the album strung together superbly. Musically it was 10/10 Then the lyrics despite being so random at times and the nature of the Skylarks story just felt so good. Another great find on this journey. Worst track- I didn’t really feel ‘super super girl’ First listen 5/10 Second listen 8.5/10 Third listen 10/10 And on third listen my best track is probably ‘1000 umbrellas’ or ‘season cycle’ or ‘sacrificial bonfire’ or ‘dying’ that says all you need to know… I Absolutely love it!

XTC - Skylarking I wish I could have liked this more. I've read about it more than once over the years and been intrigued. A lifetime of birth, youth, adulthood, old age and beyond all played out over a single day. Sounds the perfect concept album to me. But I can't get beyond the Beatles and Beach Boys overtones. It's got that unmistakable 'Englishness' that I'm normally a sucker for but that bands like The Lilac Time and Prefab Sprout do so much better. I'll give it another (third) listen as I feel there is still something in there. Best Track - 1000 Umbrellas Worst Track - The Man Whole Sailed His Soul 6.5/10 (but I might be back)

#235 This album, like Bowie, needs more than one listen. I think I just dont get XTC as much as other bands, so my initial rating did not change after my initial listen. I do like some songs on this album, which generally is how I approach listening to XTC in general; there are a few songs here and there but nothing has grabbed me and made me say "these are my guys". I am sure repeated listens or a deeper immersion might improve this rating. What I find as I am getting older is I do not immerse myself in learning everything about a band. I liked seeing interviews when I was a kid, and loved repeating songs. When you get albums from groups that were popular its tougher for me to delve in and dedicate that time now. but I am sure I will just because of the artists that I do like in the same arena. Biggest Hit - Dear God Biggest Miss - Sacrificial Bonfire Hidden Gem - Summer's Cauldron

Honestly other than Dear God this was just straight up bad. Boring and pretentious and cheeky and I found myself not really caring about whatever they were saying. No thanks.

Cornball music

Very dramatic and theatrical. But fun!!

XTC is what Morrissey thinks he is

This is just bland, mid, 80s pop-pap. Just nothing to it.

Man I ended up listening to so much XTC yesterday. Underappreciated band. Great melodic sense and lyrical wit. Don’t remember if I got to skylarking though.

Some good things in this. Some fun things in this! Definitely will be revisiting.

Sloggy

Dear lord, will someone please make this stop?

I liked Grass, Earn Enough for Us, Another Satellite and Dear God. Some of the other tracks might grow on me.

One great song, Dear God. (Possibly I like this extra because of its welcome appearance on the radio while I was growing up in the Bible Belt.) Earn Enough for Us is pretty good. A few others were okay; the rest were just annoying. Barely makes it to 3 for me.

2/5 - I've always thought I should like XTC more than I do. There's something just too precious with them that hasn't aged well for me. Dear God is a good song, but that's about all I have to say here.

1986 Pop, rock, synth, psychedelic Bastante chulo, lo escucharía entero en general

I like the overall acoustics and the use of discordant notes throughout the album. I think my favorite songs were "That's Really Super, Supergirl", and "Dear God".

outstanding

I don't even know what genre this actually belongs to, and that's not a bad thing. There's elements of rock, pop, psychedelia, maybe some punk if you squint and tilt your head a bit. Above all else, this album is a vibe. There's an easy-going feeling to it. I was really impressed by the almost seamless transition from "Summer Cauldron" into "Grass." The psychedelic trip hits hard with "Ballet For A Rainy Day." Overall, this was a fun listen, and a few of these songs will find their way to one of my many playlists.

This feels like a cross between the Beatles, Depeche Mode and maybe Beach Boys or Grateful Dead. I'd listen to any of those bands before this album. The only saving grace imo is Dear God but even then I love Sarah McLaughlins cover version 1k more.

I liked the acoustics and the use of discordant notes throughout the album. I think my favorite songs were “That’s really Super, Supergirl” and “Dear God”

Grateful for the song/lyrics that produced Dear God so Sarah McLachlan could cover it later. I had such trouble with this album. It was produced in the 80s, lyrics sounded like they were from the 60/70s, and what feels music meant to be just instrumental. Individual elements? Ok. Together? Meh.

This album paved the way for Sarah McLachlan's cover of Dear God, so it gets a star for that. Otherwise, this is a 80's produced album with 60s/70s lyrics and music that I would have enjoyed more as solely instrumental. Together it all felt disjointed.

First thought upon starting this album is that I hated the opening song, then I checked and it turned out I was already on the second song. Second thought: I really hate this third song. It's mainly the vocals that are causing this reaction. I'll admit that the songs are probably not that bad, but this guy is just pressing my buttons. It's like the legions of people who can't get past Neil Young or Bob Dylan's voices. I love those 2 guys, but I can't get past this. The only XTC song I heard before this was Dear God and this album was not what I expected. At all.

Entirely unremarkable. The annoying parts of better bands, without any of the charm or skill.

War erst kein überhaupt kein Fan, vom Großteils des Albums bin ichs auch immernoch nicht. Der letzte Song, Dear God, slappt aber ziemlich brutal! Das kam unerwartet. Alles in allem 2.41 Sterne.

Meget beige.

2.5

I was lukewarm on this as a whole until I hit that final song. Dear God is a certified banger, and elevates the whole album a stunning song on an otherwise ok album

Very goofy but that’s to be expected from xtc Probably not quite as good as Apple Venus but still very solid Same sound as Apple Venus The Dear god intro kinda sounds like Lucy gray or something from that movie Didn’t get to listen to it a ton today but I will be coming back to this for sure 4/5 favorites: that’s really super supergirl, dear god, 1000 umbrellas

I know very little about Swindon but what I do know makes it seem about as far away from southern California as you can get, both literally and culturally. So why do I hear the Beach Boys all over this album? "Grass" desperately wants to be "California Girls" in more ways than one, and "The Meeting Place" sounds like a *Surf's Up*-era B-side, all cheerfully listless and uneasy. There's definitely an element of escapism in these songs, and yet the escape is perpetually incomplete; the Wilsonian melodies and harmonies may yearn for endless summer but they're consistently paired with tales of cold, hard, inland reality. For one thing, I don't think anybody ever gets pregnant in any Beach Boys songs ("Season Cycle"), much less does anyone ever have to go get a job ("Earn Enough for Us") or think about whether their wedding dress is going to show the baby bump ("Big Day"). Nor do any of the boys have to fight off the temptation of a wandering eye like Andy Partridge does here, imperfectly ("Another Satellite," "Mermaid Smiled"). It's all enough to make you you start philosophizing if you aren't careful ("The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul," "Dear God"). Something about Thatcher-era Britain led to a surfeit of this kind of album - about people with small lives that objectively aren't meaningful but that nevertheless are trying to *feel* meaningful, if only for a moment. There's a wonderfully English sense of understated desperation about them. And that's what Partridge, Colin Moulding, and the rest of this band are up to here - making summer songs for a place that's cold and grey often, or surf music for a place where you can't surf. I don't know if these are this band's best tunes (I think that might be *Black Sea*) but it's probably their best storytelling, which is where some of their earlier efforts lagged a bit. Figures - they're being made to grow up, and all the best stories about that in one way or another.