Microshift

Wow, this is currently the absolute newest album on the list. No surprise, then, that it happens to be British, because why else would an album this unremarkable be chosen to represent that year? Be honest, who really thinks that this is something we MUST hear before we kick the bucket? To name a few from 2018 alone, I think Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour, Earl Sweatshirt's Some Rap Songs, Tierra Whack's Whack World, SOPHIE's Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides, hell, even Travis Scott's Astroworld are all leaps and bounds closer to being "must-listens" before you die. I wouldn't say this album is bad music, but it's a pretty bland selection (and current conclusion) for this list. I liked a couple tunes, but I can't say I'd return to it. The bias is strong with this one. Favorite tracks: Static Resistance, Opener. Album art: The saving grace here is that the album art is pretty neat. I like the colors and the smooth, abstract art. Made me expect something funky and groovy, and the music didn't quite deliver. 2.5/5

Bribery is the only explanation as to why this is on the list. Notice how almost all the reviews for this album start with "Never heard of this band...". Seriously, who the fuck are these guys? Even you, currently reading this review, have never heard of this band before. I thought Wikipedia would help me understand why this could be considered an essential listen, but 75% of their page is about sexual assault allegations and their official site is an uncustomized Blogspot blog. Okay let's talk about the actual album now. It's nothing special. The first three songs are actually really good, but after that I think they forgot they were making an album. No fucks were given by anyone after that point. "Boxing Day" could have been the best song on the album, but it just abruptly ends without any rhyme or reason. 3/5 from a musical enjoyment perspective, but who cares man.

Fifa15 bakgrundsmusik med krautrock beats???

In the interest of full disclosure, I was tripping out in a nice way when I listened for the first time. I'd like to report that it opened up a whole new world for me. And it actually did for a while. But then I started feeling like I was in the middle of the panic scene of Batman Begins when Cillian Murphy throws that fear gas at a young Katie Holmes, which made me realize she was in that movie before Tom Cruise entered her life, so much so that she didn't do The Dark Knight and we just had to accept that Rachel Dawes is now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don't really have anything against Maggie Gyllenhaal, it's just, you know. Tough beat. Show up for half of what is considered the greatest superhero movie ever before your character is killed off. So yeah that's the rabbit hole I went down with this album. The shrooms did the heavy lifting, and I eventually stopped listening to this and chose some Fat Elvis alternate take of a Righteous Brothers song that the King allegedly performed after Midnight in front of a rapid Vegas crowd. I bet the Colonel was passed out, but I'm telling you, Elvis was BRINGING IT! He even came back and did the "Baby Baby, I get down on my knees for you..." part again at the end of the song. If there's anyone who could ever will you into bringing back that lovin' feeling, it's Goddamn Vegas Elvis in the wee small hours of the morning.

Yeah, so I really enjoyed this. A lot. So much so that I had to look up Hookworms - an act I'd literally never heard of. And I rather wish I hadn't. This album game me strong Spiritualised vibes - and that cannot possibly be a bad thing. Catchy, melodic and multilayered, this album stands up. I might even go an listen to their first two albums. Just don't go looking into the band and you'll be blissfully unaware of the need to separate art from artist and the context its made in.

I went on a fruitless search to find a reason for this to be on the list. In addition to finding that this album's only distinction may be the very fact that it's on this list, I instead I found that they disbanded the same year this album was released following allegations of sexual assault against the lead singer. I thought the album sounded fine, but I'll take Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer instead, thank you.

It's albums like this why I love the generator. Who the fuck are Hookworms? A 2018 album is essential listening? And I've never heard it? Well fuck all that, regardless of who made it or when this came out, this album is fucking fantastic. Hookworms magnum opus, so obviously they haven't made another since. No way to top this masterpiece

first impressions: sounds like a Hot Chip side project? should I know this? seems like peak p4k bait from this era. pleasant enough, some fun songs that I imagine could have been singles. after listening through: i enjoyed this and appreciate that it sounds like a culmination of a lot of other work in adjacent genres (e.g., Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, some lower-fi stuff) it doesn't seem like it merits a place on this list for innovation, though. post-reading reviews/wiki: yeah the reviews about this band falling apart after some allegations of s*xual abuse are not great. its also weird that there's so little information about this band even though they're so contemporary (relative to the rest of the list.) I know the question of separating art from artist is challenging, and i am v sure that MANY of the artists on this list have had similar allegations and if not/if they were downplayed bc "it was a different time" that that doesn't make them any better/worse... relisten?: I've added some of the songs I liked to my monthly favorites playlist, and might carry them over into my working playlist for this year, but I don't think I'll listen to the whole album again.

Krauty, rocky, beaty, lovely I needed this. Nice little injection of good modern music i hadn't heard before.

This is what I signed up to this site for. An album and a band I had never heard of that blew me away. Mesmeric beats and samples building up to a shimmering flow that drags me in. Sure, I couldn't tell you want the lyrics are about, or even remember them, but every song have ideas and their own hooks. No filler.

I’m not sure - is this sub par New Order or sub par LCD Soundsystem? Either way, not quite enough here to sustain engagement with the record.

The perfect balance between noisy and catchy, poppy and experimental. Call me Goldilocks, because this was just right, and I’m gonna fucking devour this porridge.

a little boring

Such a middle of the road album. definitely nowhere near the best album of 2018. Why is there so many meh albums from British bands on this list?

Heck yeah! Motorik beats for days. Neo-psychedelic space rock is what wiki says and I dig it. It's what 80's New Wave would sound like with better instruments, technology and production. Killer bassline in Shortcomings. The generator did me a solid today, saved to the library. It ticks all the boxes. An easy 5 stars for me.

Something I have come to learn about the general demographic of the userbase here is: 1. They (usually) don't like albums by British artists 2. They (usually) don't like post 2000 albums Why this is the case is just beyond me, because both have so much amazing music to offer. And this album, despite having never heard it before today, has become an instant favourite of mine. The blend of art rock with electronic and progressive soundscapes is just brilliant, and the album remains perfectly unpredictable and really keeps you guessing as to the direction it's going in next, and always pulling through with something you didn't expect, but that still sounds great.

I had never heard of this band. They are what would happen if Joy Division and Muse had a baby and then put that baby up for adoption, only to be adopted by LCD Soundsystem and Sonic Youth. I really enjoyed this album and was a bit surprised that I had never heard of it.

Enjoyed it, but kinda sounded like something I might make with a long weekend and a new bong.

Reminds me of all the indie rock albums I listened to in college. This isn't a bad thing at all, but it feels of an era pre-2015. Surprising that it came out in 2018. Probably doesn't deserve a 4, and if I really think about it, I don't "get" why it deserves a slot on this list. But I like this kind of music a lot.

Yet more incredibly average Brit rock. It's totally fine, but I guarantee you that this isn't something most of us absolutely MUST hear before we die.

I'm not sure what about this album warranted being on this list. It wasn't a bad album but I don't think there was anything groundbreaking in it. It was nice to have on while working though.

Its fine, but is it really good enough to be included so soon after release?

I had this as my 23rd favorite album of 2018, and since then I’ve revisited it a few times and would have it rated higher since then. It’s an album that starts off as a 5 star album and probably finishes as a 3 star. I remember thinking that this band has tremendous potential, and this album was a near masterpiece. Unfortunately the band will be remembered for the alleged sexual abuses by the singer, an anonymous dude named L. Its a shame and the band has broken up, they had a unique sound that had potential for some great projects.

Very generic indie pop. Not much to say about it. Totally fine.

Not painful to listen.

This has 6000 monthly listeners on Spotify, I guess most of them because of the book or the generator. -1 star for being the 999th British album on this list

You know what? I lived in Leeds 2013 - 2020, was vaguely involved in the alt electro scene… and I’ve never fucking heard of Hookworms! It’s probably a 3 star album, but I feel like people were doing kind of thing 5 years earlier. For the books selection, the people’s backstory and being a bit behind the curve I’m knocking it dow to a 2.

A joyful bounce of sound from start to finish. I loved this and I'm so glad this project introduced me to Hookworms! The only dud was "Boxing Day" but it was so quickly negated by the ethereal "Reunion" that I quickly forgot any bad feelings.

Strong Stereolab vibe wearing dirty white gloves, scarlet tunics and missing bearskin caps.

It's not bad. But it's not great ether, sounds closer to the indie from 2014, and I'm a fan of that, but because of this I already heard it all before

Honestly pretty good, although a few tracks kind of pulled me out of the flow of the album. Favorite track is probably "Opener."

Listened Before? N A surprising album. I've never heard of them before, but apparently they made 4 albums in their group's lifetime with this being the final. Its a great chill record with lots of synth influences from the 80s. I really enjoyed it and may check out some of their other stuff. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Opener

spacey indie that will probably get better the more you listen

1001 Albums Vol. 0021: Microshift ============================================================ Introduction: We have finally made it to something that was released in the last decade...and I couldn't be more unsure of how to feel. I really don't listen to much that was released in the last decade or so. By the last decade, I mean from 2016 and on, not the entirety of the 2010's. I'll occasionally listen to albums such as Ants From Up There or Imaginal Disk because I hear really good things about them, but that's about it. As far as I know, there's really not been a huge influx of music or albums that could be considered masterpieces in the past two decades unlike the decades which came before it. That's not me stating a fact or opinion, that's just me dumping my musical knowledge. I know Anthony Fantano gave an album a 10/10 recently. That's about it. I really just don't keep up with modern music. That's pretty much the gist of it. My kinda stuff was released from the 60's to the 2000's at the latest. Anyway, this album is apparently one of the most recently released to be added to the 1001 albums list. We're really in need of a new edition, huh? The album in question, Microshift released by Hookworms in 2018, is considered influential for...God only knows why. The Wikipedia excerpt for this album absolutely sucks and gives almost no insight into the actual album or its sound. My main takeaway is that this album was dedicated to someone by the name of "Archie". That's really all I have to go off of. From additional research, I've seen some pretty mixed statements regarding this album. It was apparently a huge deviation from the band's previously established sound, which will always understandably anger a portion of your fanbase. I've already made the Bob Dylan comparison in the past so I won't make it again. Point still stands. It apparently charted in the United Kingdom as well. Good for them, they need it...because their Spotify numbers are absolutely abysmal. I am willing to bet that a good number of their streams on Spotify come from users who either own the book or use this site listening to the album. I'm willing to bet that. It kinda checks out since the majority of their streams are from this album. You really can't help but feel kinda bad for them. Their albums have performed so poorly and they're somewhat trashed on by casual listeners and critics. I would hope that they'd make a breakthrough someday had they not already disbanded. Anyway, with all of that said, I've rambled on long enough. Let's just get into what might possibly be the worst performing album that we'll generate from this site as a whole. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track 1: Negative Space Score: 10/10 Track 2: Static Resistance Score: 7/10 Track 3: Ullswater Score: 9/10 Track 4: The Soft Season Score: 5/10 Track 5: Opener Score: 7/10 Track 6: Each Time We Pass Score: 6/10 Track 7: Boxing Day Score: 6/10 Track 8: Reunion Score: 8/10 Track 9: Shortcomings Score: 7/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion: You know, I forgot to mention something in the intro...who the hell even are these guys? This question came to me more and more throughout the entire album. I ended up looking at some other people's reviews on this site, and nobody seems to have a clue either. Seriously, why was this album picked out of everything else that could have been picked from this year. Uh...I think Mac Miller released something that was considered good this year...yeah, this is how little I am aware of music. Anyway, this album is an extremely, extremely mixed bag. The first track makes it seem as if this album will be a huge experimental project full of lushness and life. The first track almost sounded Shoegaze-like in a way with the way the instrumentation and vocals were layered. In a way though, this album was extremely experimental. It was unique and it did a lot of things I've never quite heard before. That being said, a lot of this isn't necessarily that good. It took a lot of influence from the kinds of pop albums being released at the time and mashed it with the echoey style of Shoegaze and the electronic style of...Electronic to make this amalgamation of sound. All things considered, there isn't a singular point on the entire album where this unique sound is bad, but it's almost always just decent at best. Again, the obvious exceptions to this are the three songs that got above a seven. Speaking of which, Reunion, the only song to get an eight from me, is literally just an ambient track. It's one that's well-written and produced, yet that should say a lot about the quality of music when it comes to the rest of the album. There's just a lot of strangeness with the musical direction this album decided to take. I've given a basic explanation of it, but there's no real way to get a real idea of what it sounds like without actually listening to it yourself. Now, with the album's music out of the way, I have to move onto the album's weakest point: its vocals. Look, they are pretty decent on some songs, but they are absolutely abysmal on others. It's really the music that saved these songs from getting a much lower score. No better word describes the singer's voice other than "annoying". It's just so annoying at times. There are exceptions to this as well such as Negative Space and Ullswater where his voice actually sounds pretty relaxing and peaceful, but it's bad majority of the time. It's high-pitched, it sounds autotuned, (and may very well be) and the layering of vocals on top of it only adds to the annoying factor. He also does the forbidden thing in music where...sometimes...when he's singing a word...he quickly changes the pitch of his voice from low to high before going back to low again and so on....Look, this will literally never sound good to a large majority of people. Whatever you call this way of singing a word is lazy, sounds stupid, and is annoying. There's an infinite amount of better ways to make a singular word sound so much better. Anyway, the general point is that the voice is horrible and sounds almost anthemic in a way. Moving on. Lyrically, I'd say this album is pretty decent. It delves into a number of different themes such as loss, breakups, and so on. Ullswater is one that's especially emotionally vulnerable for the listener and the band due to it being based on the singer's father passing due to Alzheimers. It goes into themes of forgetting and time. I'd really recommend it. It may be because I used to be a huge Everywhere At The End Of Time fanboy, but this song actually kinda hit me. I'd call it great. Now, the same can't be said about the overall album. Like I said, it is such a mixed bag. Overall, I can't help but call this album a very average listen. To many, nothing much will really stand out as all too good and nothing will stand out as all too bad. For that exact reason, despite the song average saying otherwise, I can't give this album anything higher than a six. I can't. Song average can reflect the overall song quality, but I won't let that interfere with my projection of an album as a whole. Guess these guys are pretty unknown for a reason: the world would be the exact same without their music. Seriously, why the hell did we have to hear this before we die? ============================================================ Microshift Score: 6/10 Song Average: 7.2/10

Pretty decent indie rock album to be fair! Enjoyed this one without it blowing my socks off!

What would you call the british The Postal Service? Unfortunately I thought this would be a funny joke but now i'm on the wikipedia page for Post Office Act 1969 .... Pretty enjoyable, good soundtrack for an afternoon at work.

It was alright

I didn't mind this band or album but I wasn't blown away. I'll tell you though that Public Service Broadcasting, a band that came up several times on random listen after this album was done, did blow me away. Similar genre but that band and at least one of its albums deserves to be on this list. I think my problem with Hookworms is they can't hold up for a whole album. This album starts off great. Negative Space has a sort of Kraftwerk feel to open and it's got a nice electronic or spacey rock groove throughout. Static Resistance has a more modern alt rock feel (rivaling Arcade Fire) and it's even better than the opener. And then Ullswater has such a great opening synth rock riff (reminds me of the Decemberists) that carries into the rest of the song - it might be my favorite track. It also nicely segues into The Soft Season but that's about where it turns for me. I felt the rest of the song droned on and while it seamlessly segues into Opener, that also droned on - both literally (given the synth) and figuratively (given the long, boring first 3.5 minutes). I found the rest of the album repetitive or a little plain. Again, I didn't mind it but it started off so well and then ended up a little meh. Better than a 3 but not a 4.

Last night, after listening to three songs, I decided that Microshift by Hookworms is nice and tolerably boring. This evening, the rest of the album lanced much of my contempt. I'm not in love with the record, but 'Opener' had a powerful effect on me, and the motorik-pulse soothed my scorn away. Sorry I haven't called, S, been a hell of a week x

Never heard of this band before. They were OK, didn't mind them, not sure I had to listen to them before I die though

Very chill but somewhat unique vibe. No bangers/ memorable songs to me though

This was new to me, and not bad, but nothing remarkable.

Hookworms were a great band. Great live. Their spin off project XAM is great. Their leader’s production work for others was great. Their guitarists post Hookworms work with Yard Act is great. Their first three albums are wonderful. Then they made his album, which sounds like Hot Chip meets Tame Impala and is as bland as that implies. Got embroiled in a scandal and split.

There is potential, but here, it spaces out and floats away to mediocrity.

Never heard of this but I'm going to say it's UK electronica. Cover has a retro vibe that I kinda dig. Song titles look appropriate. Could still be hipster shit like chvrches yesterday though. Fingers crossed eh? Ok, album art was a bit misleading but I was semi-right - it's UK indie rock. Ever so slight sci-fi vibe and a few electronic beats/sounds here and there... but mostly 3-chord indie. Wikipedia entry is one of those where "was included in 1001 albums" anecdote is a large % of its content. Overall very disappointing. 2/5.

Very quirky and interesting sound but also kind of slow for my taste. The song trailed too long too

Blah. Copy and paste electro psychedelia with all the heart of a refrigerator. Masking the fundamentally dull songs with bleeps and swirls maybe distracts for a song or two. 'Static Resistance' sounds like that muh-muh-muh-my moustache song by Sparks - were it devoid of any wit, charm or energy.

Unremarkable songs and way too derivative to get anything more than 1 star.

not even an album i needed to hear before the year ended. This wasn't even a relevant sound the year it came out.

Entirely inessential. A Can impersonation some guys from Leeds with an alleged history of abuse. No thanks.

honestly couldn't finish it because the sounds were hurting my ears. none of the songs really stood out to me but the first one was alright. overall, not a fan.

Oof. This was REALLY not my thing. I like experimental stuff, but not this. This just felt like noise to me. I don't really "get it", whatever there is to get. Wouldn't re-listen. Fave track: Shortcomings, I guess. Not wild about any of them though.

no real hooks. boring

yet another weirdass, quickly forgotten publication-year-end-core entry to the list but man . i rly rly rly like it FHJSHJSFHJFSFSJ its krauty, synthy, and hypnotic...taking the sort of elemental and formalist qualities of krautrock and mixing them with the individualist emotion of indie rock-y vocals and even lyrics. if it is krautrock its certainly Diluted i suppose...theres little indication here that the musical dna here was birthed from postwar german youth feeling understandably disconnected from their entire culture. but as Form and Art....man its just rly beautiful and pushes so many of my autistic buttons. great great self-regulation music.

Ethereal walls of sound hit you like waves stitched together with beautiful melodies. It has lots a psychedelia yet is well grounded. I had never heard of this group before but I am a huge fan of this. It will be a repeat listen.

Wonderful album!

The amount of times I sighed as a realized early on this was going to be 5 stars for me. Who are these guys? How do they have 4k monthly listeners, most of whom must be from this site. How come they broke up? Oh, allegations? Dropped allegations. Why are they in the book? What happened. Begrudgingly though I love this. So ya know. Whoopie!!!

Great sound with heartfelt lyrics!

Woah! Where did this come from? Great album.

What a ride. At first i thought this was going to be some DJs work, some kind of minimal music, which would have been fine with me. But this explosion of guitars and synths caught me off guard. For me personally my favorite so far.

Lots of playlist worthy songs, overall a great album.

A whole wide world was beginning to open up for Hookworms. More and more eyes were set upon what they were doing, what they had done beforehand and what they were going to do next. Microshift, despite its title, was a massive step forward; an audacious synth-rock blend that never ceases to be engaging and does not fall into by-now exhausted cliches when those two styles become interconnected. Hookworms were set to be the face of what was to be the next step forward. That a sexual assault accusation in the wake of Me Too, that would soon become retracted in the coming years, became the downfall of the band is one of the more sickeningly cruel and unexpected turns in recent memory. Microshift now represents what should have been; a monument rendered incomplete and a journey grounded to a halt.

Great album!

This was great. I had no idea what to expect from this, but I loved it and listened to the whole thing twice. Five stars.

Awesome sound. Never heard before. Very few streams comparatively online. Opening track is mesmerizing

That was AWESOME!

Dit is echt top! Vette ritmes, lekker en verrassend. Hoezo kende ik dit niet?

Liked this one!

Good indy is good!

What a terrible opening to a really good song. This is a very good record. I love the synths, I love the vocal melodies, the ambience between, how the tracks ebb and flow, man this rules. But also where the hell did this come from, it’s so confusing that the newest album I’ve seen on this list is a 6k a month listener band on Spotify almost assuredly just because it’s on this list. It’s very good, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t know how this album got on here. I would love a backstory from Dimery on how this band found him on the street and gave him their flash drive or something. I’m rating this absurdly high because it’s absurdly good, it’s not a slight on the band, but there are bands I’ve worked with that are hitting these same streaming numbers and they sure aren’t on a essential albums to hear before you die list.

Best album I've heard thus far.

Nice and upbeat, would be good for a workout. Vaguely Arcade Fire sounding

Great album!

Good.

10/10 super fun, mildly psychedelic I really like this

Super album

I have never heard of Hookworms, so everything about this was new to me. I'm surprised to say that this was very enjoyable. Look at me--liking music from the current decade! Way to go! That said, who are these people? Is this really one of the top 1001 albums ever made? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I still liked it.

This is why I'm here - unexpected gems. Such a great combo of mellow tunes with a driving beat. An espresso martini for your ears.

This album was unexpectedly really good.

I really liked this!

Начало первой песни альбома очень психоделическое.... (Потом прочитала, что это нео-психоделический рок) Вокал прикольный, да и песня сама по себе. Первая песня на четвертой минуте так раскрывается, блаженство. Чем-то напоминает пилотов, первая песня полетела в плейлист. Боже это что за алмаз?? Я кайфую. Все песни были успешно добавлены в плейлист)

Fantastic surprise. 100% my shit.

Love this album, but had largely forgotten it. It was my #1 back in 2018 (not a great year for albums). So great front to back...a true no skips. 5/5

rock elettronico sperimentale. Ipnotizzante. tra il 4 e il 5

I actually really liked this one even though the beginning is weird

ООООО вот это моя тема,такое мне нравится!!! кайфанула

Man, did those first 30 seconds have me worried. But it turned out to be a very unjustified worry. In fact, just the opposite. Everything after that intro was fantastic. I had completely missed Hookworms’ 8 year career in the 2010s, Wiki calls them neo-psychedelia, but Hookworms has a lot of diverse influences in 2000s alt and indie rock. Radiohead and TV on the Radio and more ripple through “Microshift,” but they distill all of that into a sound still their own, and one that is very approachable (which those two aforementioned bands often aren’t). I’m on the fence between 4 and 5 stars, but I’ll give it the boost as a new discovery I’m happy to have encountered. I’ll have to check out the rest of their work.

As the children say, bruh…this album cooks! Holy shit great stuff!! MB and MJ are my synth boys!!!

A+ album cover. This album rocked. Felt like a mix of Arcade Fire, MGMT, and Kraftwerk. Was especially bumping to "Opener". Boxing Day and Reunion took me out of it a bit because I was on a run listening to this, but Shortcomings brought it right back. Contemplated a high 4, but this album deserves a 5 because I certainly want to come back to it at some point. Definitely on a heater right now!

Well what an absolute banger of an album from a band I'd never heard of, & never would have without this list. I was 62 when this came out ffs!! & it's totally brilliant there's not a track on it that isn't 5 stars & I've already played it again.

It's been a few days and I keep coming back to it. Updating my rating from 4 to 5.

The music sounds like New Order playing an Amon Duul II album (post punk, electronica, and krautrock genre mix). A very engrossing experience. While there are no "bangers", the album as a whole has a great flow and really works as just that - the album as a single piece of art, rather than a collection of songs.

I'd never heard of them before but I loved it.

Great songs with fun sounds

The most interesting and likely the best of the “modern” albums I’ve listened to on this list so far. Every song is sonically pleasing and has a lot to like. It’s a good mix of rock and electronic.

Quite the fun album. Reminds me a bit of MGMT. Would definitely re-listen.

Hvis was so fun and nice and interesting

I really liked this! This is definitely my type of music. I wasn't blown away but I'm going to listen to it again and see if it grows on me even more. Edit: 2025-01-31, coming back to change this to a 5 because I recently rediscovered it and absolutely love it.

Very much a 2000s indie rock sound, so I can't say it hasn't been done before, but it was done very well. A couple of certified bangers carried the album. Just don't try to Google the band's name

Esta muy bueno, super sampleable y enérgico. 10/10