Microshift

Initially, I was expecting something more along the lines of Django Django. I'd say this was more like Arctic Monkeys with synths. It didn't blow my mind, but it was very well done and a good listen. I started a second play-through, and was finding more to enjoy about it, so that's always a good sign.

Not bad a bit of airy prog rock - soft vocals

many of the songs are far too long for me to call it pretty good so i guess its just kinda good

Very low key techno vibe

Eh not my favorite. Loved the last song. Started off very funky which is fine but not my cup of tea. Some songs were alright. Meh it was ok. Didn’t care for most of it. Lower end of 3

good enough

Who? Honestly though, not a bad album. Some dreamy nice instrumentals with complementary vocals to boot. This is very competent, there is just more memorable records in this style that I'd rather return to. Some pretty terrible allegations against the lead singer I saw after researching though which always sucks attach to a piece of work.

While the second half loses a bit of the quality that defined the first, Microshift is an incredibly tasty mix of krautrock and psychedelia that trades between moments of sheer synthetic beauty and anthemic rock hooks with deft ease.

New Order-ish

Decent album, not sure how it got here though. I definitely had this Negative Space track play listed previously but know nothing about them. 3.3/5

I was super on board with this for the first couple of songs, then it lost me. Then, when I thought it had won me back, it was Parquet Courts playing on Spotify radio. RYM: N Saved a song: N

This was fun

I enjoyed the listening experience, bit of an extra electro Death Cab for Cutie vibe. Unsure why this album has made the list, however. Pretty confident there are a bunch of similar sounding records before and after this one was released. Maybe I'm missing something.

It was fine, but I'm not amazed. In fact I don't remember most of it at all Standouts - 3/5

Helt grei.

Another album where I'm finding it difficult to hear why it was selected for the list. It was fine to listen to, some psychedelic influence with a slightly more electronic undertone... it's good but not great! It was not without its shortcomings... and I'm not referring to the closer! 😉

I’ve just come right off the back of another drawn-out, psychedelic record, and this has the similar kind of problem for me. So much of it is just incredibly samey and non-impactful. I do quite like the synthy soundscapes, and there's moments where I'm into the vibe, but a lot of this album is played in the same tempo and style and it wears thin after a while. Too many songs are just the exact same thing and don’t stand out enough. 2.5 rounded up.

Ballt men hitlöst

Rätt intressant!

another not bad record. would probably get better with more listens

6/10

Pleasantly surprised by this, hadn't heard of them and wasn't expecting a whole lot from description and reviews. They're interesting, hooky (befitting their title), and create a nice trance-like feeling. I especially like the first three songs (the leadoff song "Negative Space" being my favorite) though it gets a little repetitive and I began to tune out further in. Still, a worthwhile listen if not deserving to be on this list.

Blind album and artist. Not really sure who this is or why they are on the list. Generic modern electronic pop rock?

This album is the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, and I will not elaborate on that. Favorite Track: "Negative Space".

547/1089 - In Rainbows with a dash of Stereolab. It ain't bad.

Uplifting and different enough to earn its place. 3 - deserves to be on this list

Sounded ok. Quite Stereolab ish.

I put this album on whilst in the mood for something electronic. I was in the right frame of mind for it. Statis resisteance: strong stereolab vibes from the organ sound and bass Vocals remind me of Frog and Animal collective. High pitched. If im honest, probably the weak part of the album for me. Ullswater had an electronic beat that reminded me of LCD Soundsystem. Went into this expecting a full electronic album from the album cover + intro of first song "opener" had a great first 3 minutes of shoegazey noise. The rest of the song let it down. Impressed with the abrasiveness of Boxing Day. Feels like an industrial track. Whilst the vocals are a weakpoint, the tracks with no vocals at all (Reunion) aren't highpoints either. Ambient/electro shortie that doesn't do much. Shortcomings..apt name. Felt pretty lukewarm about this track. Overall, this album certainly had some interesting moments. Perhaps it is a grower. I'd be interested in checking it out again someday. Whilst it wasn't precisely what I expected, that is fine. Currently it feels like a mix between different bands, who must have surely been influences on the album: Stereolab, LCD Soundsystem, Animal Collective.

Interesting sounding between early edm and rock/punk sound.

Smooth and easy to listen through. Works well as background music for me but not something I would listen to actively or have as the main part of an experience.

Ugh… like it’s fine but absolutely nothing special.

2.8

7/10 - some pretty good indie synth light rock, some of the longer tracks especially

Not saying it's completely bad, but really struggling to see how it's relevant. Especially when Wikipedia categorizes its genre simply as 'Rock'.

Didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it. Respect the author for making an attempt at including recent things in the latest release of the book. Didn’t land with me, but I can see how people would love this.

O

A new discovery for me and its all very pleasant electro/ indie and would undoubtedly grow on repeat. Only managed two run throughs and I enjoyed it - but nothing really grabbed me. All sounded very similar to foals/ pale impala - both of whom I'm partial too. Confused as to its inclusion on the list. Especially when fellow Leeds band Alt-J are omitted and their album won a mercury prize and I think had a much greater impact on wider music scene.

Microshift Musically I was immediately into this, I love the drums and instrumentation, a kind of Depeche Mode and 2000s indie-disco combination that is very enjoyable. However vocally and melodically I found it far less engaging - I don’t really like the tone of his voice, and combined with the melodic style it puts it very much in the 1993-2010 indie also-ran’s bracket, to the point it kind of turned me off a little. I think I’d really enjoy an instrumental only version, as there is some nice stuff going on, the guitars on the standout Ullswater, the organ and sax on The Soft Season, the pulsing motorik rhythms and Baba O’Riley-ness of Opener Musically it's pushing a 4, but as a whole it's somewhere between 2 and 3, the vocals and melodies drag it down and consequently give it an indie-generic feeling, and that there are plenty of other bands who do this better. However I think I’ll just tip it to a 3 a 🪱🪱🪱 Playlist submission: Ullswater

This feels of the stable of festival electro - The Foals, Metronomy, Everything Everything perhaps Future Islands. 'Each Time We Pass' gave a hint of the whimsy of Bombay Bicycle Club. All bands I've taken something of an interest in. I therefore like the 80s/retro aesthetic borne out of heavy synth work, but I don't think it's best in show. It lacks some of the killer hooks of their forebears, and it's a wonder why this particular album has made the list. The song that comes close is 'Negative Space' with its excellent grand atmosphere and epic build. Even then it's a pretty linear number relying on a circling melody for 6 minutes. After a lull, things do pick up; 'Each Time We Pass' is based more on a melody than a groove and is excellent; and 'Boxing Day' has a pumping beat with unhinged horns. 'Reunion' a palette cleanser before closing out with 'Shortcomings', one of the best electro-grooves here. It's an album full of elements I like but the product feels way less than the sum of the parts. It doesn't quite capture ambience, nor punchy melody, not the festival vibe - 2pm on the Pyramid Stage on a Saturday would work just fine for this respectable album.

Electronica, 85 eme album =>3/5 Bien plus intéressant que l'électronica d'hier (tellement ennuyeux que je n'avais pas pu aller au bout - noté 1/5 donc). Les morceaux sont plutôt dynamiques et variés, même les plus longs qui prennent leurs temps mais évoluent. Une bonne découverte donc, que j'écouterais probablement de nouveau. Par contre il ne rejoindra pas ma collection (il manque un peu d'originalité).

Enjoyable! I sometimes like the singing more than the music, and I sometimes like the music more than the singing. Most tracks felt a bit out of whack like that. Still had a good time.

I kind of dig it (what was it?)

I really thought this was going to be a hardcore punk outfit and was all set to express my dislike. It is not hard core punk. Not exactly sure what it is, but it doesn't sound like it was released 8 years ago. Older sounding, more 80s in many ways. Interesting find.

Another band I surprisingly never heard of. I liked this album. Interesting they were cancelled by reported abuse from seemingly one woman.

decent record, surprising that’s it’s on the list, quite a random modern album to be on the list but it was good i enjoyed it, quirky sounding album and dramatic where it needs to be

Negative space - 3 Static resistance - 4 Ullswater - 3 The soft season - 3 Opener - 3 Each time we pass - 2 Boxing day - 3 Reunion - 2 Shortcomings - 4

Let's talk about that album art. It kind of feels like Giorgio de Chirico meets Adobe, which is to say something like a really cool part of the past meets the professional tool of the modern day. I feel like the first couple of songs help make sense of the art, but the feeling of it is the transition between Boxing Day and Reunion. So, for the most part, not really an album I feel I "must listen to before I die", but I think I get why it's there. Lots of classic influences, lots of modern production, very hazy-vocal-indie-rock and it feels generic until you start to 'get' the music. It's got some interesting times going on, a good feel for musical progression, but without trying too hard to feel academic, and aiming significantly more for radio play. 2.8/5

(the rotting zombified corpse of 2017-2018 voice) did you (cough) did you uh (an eye falls out of a socket) did you (wheeze) did you know tame impala is just one guy

I just don’t understand how they landed on _this_ as the bedroom pop album to put on the list. Is there _any_ Mac DeMarco on here?? Say what you will about Mr Drumstick, At least he has hooks!! That moongel drum sound is truly the spectre of rock music that will haunt “””guitar pop””” until the whole thing goes belly-up caput and we’re all scrounging gobbling up Tomato Paste out of the can with a spoon, thinking about “man what happened to a good live drum sound?” Much to be said about the millennial proto-matcha-rave ideology rooted in Thee 2010s Radio Mirror Park America (I’d say “caucasity,” but this album lacks anything that could be called audaciousness). But to say I hated this is to fundamentally deny a part of myself I’d rather not admit to right now. The first track rocks. The second track rocks. It’s Dominoslop. I know I’m a sucker. I just really like the organ sound and all the cheesy electronic flourishes. This is representative of my lack of ball knowledge when it comes to electronic music, but that’s always been the contention of indie pop, right? Combining the ”sOuNd dEsign” 102 cocky-boing-boing-esque wrist motions with that of the all-elusive art of “””songwriting.””” I’ll probably sample this. 2.5 - 3.2

what in the fuck. alright man. as someone who's used the plugin this album's named after........ the brexit geezer jerking off will continue until morale improves. this time it's a geezer with Allegations! i already gave MJ a 5. let's see if This MJ can let the "separating the art from the artist" talk again. i don't hate the first track. should've just let ratatat write it (and made it two minutes shorter). i like the second track. but how is it NEO if you're using the SAME psychedelic organ presets. requisite weird time signature track (9/4). all this hoopla for (essentially) intimacy era bloc party + congratulations era MGMT. unfortunately "the soft side" + "each time we pass" land like 2007 jake brown after the. y'know. is this positive? is this negative? find out next time on DBZ. this time on DBZ: the album starts to get good with its "opener". next time on DBZ: they end two songs too early. 3.5-4.1 (on quality basis. you don't need to hear this before you die). pitchfork bait. glad to know i made the right allegation band decision (DIIV FTW). addendum: a. damn they broke up on my birthday lmao b. apparently he sued for libel and got (i assume only in the UK) the original allegation post taken down. whether that's SLAPPy or another example of the "marx christ" leftist ouroboros taking itself out rather than punching up...... ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Interesting electronic heavy pop with a few standout tracks.

i kinda like this and i kinda don’t

never heard of these guys before, they kinda sound like a midpoint between fuck buttons and m83 that ends up being not really as good as either. and yet neither of those artists are on the list, but hookworms is? not sure why that might be, but the genre being listed as "psychedelic rock" (despite imo being much closer to shoegaze or dream pop) feels like a clear tell given the known proclivities of the folks who compiled the list.... musically this album is fine but i can't stress enough how much it feels like "fuck buttons and m83, simultaneously, but worse" to me. to the point where the electric organs repeatedly had me pausing to check they weren't just sampled from "bright tomorrow", especially in "static resistance" and "the soft season". this is a mixed bag, since it means i did mostly enjoy the sound, but also means i was constantly just thinking about how good fuck buttons and m83 are and wanting to bail and listen to those instead. which is exactly what i did once i finished my first listen. i think this one is another ascended 2 for me. i do like the sound but "each time we pass" was the only track that stood out to me and that was almost entirely down to it being the first track on the album that doesn't sound like either of the aforementioned bands. it's just not enough for me to come back to this when i could just as easily listen to those bands instead, yknow?

I actually really liked a couple songs enough to save them for later, but on the whole the psych noise walls of sound weren't doing enough or anything interesting to make the album memorable. Friends were comparing it to M83, or The Fuck Buttons but honestly I found myself regarding it like a very neutered Hot Chip with a fraction of the vocals. I like it, but among the precious few acts from the 2010s featured on here, it did not stand up.

Never heard of this group, despite how modern this album is in comparison to the rest of the list. Starts off sort of electronic, but morphs into rock, noise rock, psychedelia all throughout. It gets trippier early on, but past that, things sort of fall into one lane.

O.K.

Atmospheric.

I had forgotten about these guys. This is cool.

Some very good, some very bad songs

The album fails to make an impression on subsequent listens, unfortunately. The opening few tracks are quite catchy but it loses steam pretty fast towards the end of the album. The album art, however, merits some points on its own. It's probably the main reason I was excited to listen to this album when it was generated. Now that's rare.

What the hell? No clue who this band is, why is it on the list? That being said, it is not bad. I went into this thinking I would hate it, in fact I really WANTED to hate it, but it is not bad. It is no Rubber Soul or Pet Sounds, but it is not shit either.

Some fun songs but not a lot of substance

There were one or two songs that really stood out, but mostly this was generic indie.

I'm not sure what is supposed to make this special other than it's British and they needed to add something relatively recent to the latest edition to sell the book. It's ok. I didn't hate it, it's a bit boring. Krautrock vibes, which I liked. 2.5

Synth Indy not offensive elements of poppies. Will listen again.

Fun, enjoyed the autoplay after. Felt the heart in the music

Commençons par l'évidence: quel cover dégueulasse. Comme celui de Django Django et emperor tomato ketchup. Emperor Tomato Ketchup gagne encore. Une grosse soupe 00s' indie comme on les aime (ou pas)

Alexa : What's that Shakespearian quote about "Full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing"? Actually, bit's of it were OK, but other bit's edged towards suck-y.

Ah yes another British band to skew towards the author. Although it sounds a bit derivative of other music from the past, this was not too bad of a listen. Even though there’s nothing new about the way this music is put together, I do appreciate the experimental nature of this. There’s certainly way worse stuff on this list so I can let this one slide for now…

3/5 Liked the songs but none stuck out to me. Favorite Song: Shortcomings

Interesting. I was verging on a negative listen--too electronic?, then it crept up into solid out-there big-sound attentiveness. Had a Baba O'Riley moment their in Static Resistance. Similarly the bassy electronic vibe starting Ullswater gets overwhelmed by an offbeat vocal Kraftwerk/Stereolab channelling. Ullswater heading to anthemic. All new to me; didn't know what I was missing.

I’m not hooked on hookworms, but they were perfectly alright. Nothing to write home about or groundbreaking and nothing that I can particularly remember. But they were fine in the background.

This falls into that category of albums where, if someone just handed this to me and said, "Oh, you might like this," I'd give it a spin, and say, "Yeah, that was pretty cool." And maybe I'd give it another listen, and maybe it might even find its way into rotation. But the fact that it's on this list forces me to listen to it through a different filter, which isn't necessarily fair to these guys. After all, they're just putting out music; they don't realize the burden of "Must Listen Before You Die" is going to be placed on this. And so, half of me is listening just to listen, and half of me is listening, judging this against other albums that didn't make the list. Is this more deserving than, say, Of Montreal, Travis Scott, MF Doom, or Howling Wolf, etc., etc., etc? On that front, then, no. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here, and nothing that stuck with me after it passed, though maybe more listens would change that. But just as a record in and of itself? It's cool. I dig their Stereolab-esque vibe.

I listened to this twice. Casually while doing other things. I played a second time because nothing stuck out in my mind. I’m in the same predicament…nothing meaningful to report.

Loud and headbangy. futuristic synths. Not 100% my cup of tea but very cool

Interesting, didn’t blow me away.

ну тип талантливо но волну поймала не сразу. однако позже на пьяную бошку вкатило жоска. по обложке подумала будет tame impala кор, включила и услышала twenty one pilots, а по факту оказалось Arcade Fire или LCD Soundsystem, чуть-чуть the killers или sigur rós или beach house. а еще вспомнился момент примирения Макса и Вики из кухни под трек make merry, amphibious zoo music. ну хуй знает пойду поем. изменено: очень понравилась песня the soft season. а вообще я немного удивилась увидеть здесь альбом 2018 года. пс. бляяяя а трек reunion жоска фармит вайбы киномузыки blade runner, 1982.

неплохой альбом, некоторые треки зашли

AI struck early with this band. Guessing more than one person in this band has a trust fund.

Have not heard of these guys at all. When I first hit play, I thought it was going to be a purely electronic album, maybe something Kraftwerk-esque. But it quickly morphed into something much more adjacent to Phoenix. I'm not sure I ever got past the disappointment of this not being weird and different but instead sounding pretty straightforward. It's good and I like it but missing something needed to push it beyond 2.5 stars (rounding up to three). I'm also not convinced this needs a spot on this list.

Raro....mzcla de 8ndie electronico

Different kind of rock and overall experience. Long songs and a concept that travels and weaves through the songs. Interesting.

Catchy and has a good beat. I really liked Static Resistance. The album over all is well composed... beautiful. You can tell they understood how to put music together. I wrote the above and then Boxing Day just ends... weird.

Interesting little record. Why on this list? Feels like a dude from hookworms lobbied to get on this platform? Is this legit? Certainly worse records on this list but again I’m looking for must listens - not hey this is kind of cool.

Funky, but I wasn't entirely sold on it. Stand-outs - Negative Space - Boxing Day

Classic way to tell if a newer album on the list has become a “classic” is does it quickly mention being in this book? Then it hasnt. The album is fine.

IT was odd but OK

It was just ok.

Quite like Spiritualised in places. Which is nice.

Catchy but unremarkable at the same time. Also do not google the singer.

Best Song: Hookworms. Fun and experimental, with an almost Daft Punk feel. Worst Song: Reunion. This is just fancy elevator music. Overall: What started as a fun, experimental album quickly degraded into fairly ordinary, indie rock fare. Inoffensive, but disappointing because it showed brief glimpses of being something more.

Favorite Track: Each Time We Pass

Ni idea de qué es esto! Pero si me dices que es al música de fondo de un documental de los 80, me lo creo. Descubrimiento interesante. Me guardo: "Static Resistance", "Ullswater", "Opener" y "Shortcomings".

Given the band name, I was a bit surprised that the album was actually pretty good. Ultimately though, it'll disappear into the unremarkable middle of my experience listening to these 1001 albums. It does, however, have the distinction of leaving me with just 69 more until I'm finished. Nice.

increibles transitions y background noises y todo, se siente como una cancion eterna y no como varias. me encanta que hagan esto!!!! howeverrr no es super mi estilo, puedo apreciarlo pero no es algo que escucharía yo.....mas que alguna que otra

Some interesting tracks - Kraut rock, and maybe a bit of shoegaze.

nic fascynujacego

🎧Pretty musically adventurous, all around okay to good listen.

++: Static Resistance, Ullswater, Each Time We Pass, Boxing Day +: Negative Space, The Soft Season, Opener, Reunion, Shortcomings 7,2/10

This did the trick as background music while I completed work tasks, but it did not contain anything that jumped out at me to really draw in my attention. Not bad.

A new discovery for me and its all very pleasant electro/ indie and would undoubtedly grow on repeat. Only managed two run throughs and I enjoyed it - but nothing really grabbed me. All sounded very similar to foals/ pale impala - both of whom I'm partial too. Confused as to its inclusion on the list. Especially when fellow Leeds band Alt-J are omitted and their album won a mercury prize and I think had a much greater impact on wider music scene.

It was alright. A couple of interesting tunes, and a lot of non-descript. Others in the genre have higher profiles and maybe better tunes. Nothing fancy, nothing crap, nothing revolutionary, nothing especially interesting.

3/5

Ok

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Fun psychedelic rock. I hear a bit of Hot Chip and Tame Impala in their sound. Those are bands I'm a big fan of, so I connected with this right away. But the songs didn't ultimately land. Maybe I'll revisit this in the future, but right now I feel like I'd sooner listen to this other bands before returning to Hookworms.

The album flowed very nicely and it was fun to listen to but it was also very standard indie and felt like a bit of a filler album.

This was a nice indie album! I don't have much else to say about it other than that I liked how the songs flowed into each other.

decent but not my typa thing

Surprised I had never heard of this being it was released less than 10 years ago. And it was pretty good not great. This indie rock / alternative album starts off really strong and trails off as you start to work your way through. The first 2 songs in particular are awesome with cool guitar work and some interesting layered instrumentation. I feel like they don;t kinda that same intensity after that but it's a consistent listen. I probably won't come back to this but it's nice to know it exists...

I actually quite like this Shame about the rapey cunt

2.5 really Was okay, but i just couldn't be arsed with it. Pretty forgettable. Doubt ill return to it

Every song has a distinct texture to it!! Apparently this is kinda krautrocky which is p cool and makes sense cos I really liked Faust IV last month. The vocals and beats in this are top. I think the first 3-4 songs reach a very high high which the rest of the album doesnt quite match BUT i still loved it!!

If you love late 70s electronic before the synths were any good, and British punk, this album is for you. (It’s not for me)

kinda indie krautrock neo-psych pop

Solid hipster pop-electronica. Resembles alt-j just without the refinement. Most songs are missing seemingly one element to complete the scope, or perhaps too many elements? Hard to say.

Aivan päällisin puolin hyvän kuulosta indierockia, tai mitä ikinä onkaan semmosta. Ei ehkä säväyttäny niin paljoa, että uudestaan laittaisin kiertoon.

Fine and forgettable

Too..techo

I appreciated the abrupt changes between songs

Started off fairly strong and went mildly downhill.

Didn't connect with it at first but then they started to sound like Passion Pit more and I was able to slip into some enjoyment. Might revisit a song or two.

I enjoyed this, but it didn't seem especially ground breaking or anything.

Album isn't bad. It's very easy listening. I wouldn't mind listening to it again!

Like everyone else I have never heard of.them before. It’s ok. Grew on me on second listen. Starts off strong then fades away somewhat. On the plus side it prompted me to have a Foals listening session. They should be on here instead

Very tame impala esque

This is certainly not terrible but it is far from an essential album to listen to before you die. I am not going to vote it down just because it’s far too average to be on this list, but this is just taking up space that could be given over to something that provokes actual emotional responses.

Listen to the whole album without skipping but probably couldn’t recall a single song I hear because nothing stood out.

Not my thing. A bit boring. All tracks sound the same.

I enjoyed this album, BUT I can't get away from the fact that the electronica elements of this album tend to make it sound technically homogeneous with ambient music. The vocals are often deliberately muted and ambiguous. There are some interesting hooks, but I would have to spend a lot of time with this album to unpack it and possibly embrace it. Maybe one day.

I liked this at the start but then it got incredibly boring for a good 70% of the album, and then the last song was pretty good. The 3 good songs on here put it at 3 stars but this is pretty boring indie rock stuff

reminds me of the Heartstopper soundtrack

2.7 stars

Interest albums I’ve never heard of. Reminds me of a quirkier/poppier LCD Soundsystem.

It's nice music. Interesting, it reminds me of MGMT, or Phoenix, at times. I am not that much into that kind of music, but there are several songs that sound great. Others leave you easier.

Okey okeyyyyy. Intros interesantes, pero está padre. (No lo acabé srry)

Feels like a weird album to select from the late 2010s, and I would bet money on it not surviving to the next edition of the 1,001 book. It gets an unenthusiastic "it's alright" from me. The sound is interesting-ish. Cool album cover though.

Rv

first half of the album was fire then it became ermm..

i cant tell if like it or not, its like a sometimes...

Top 3: 1. Negative Space 2. Static Resistance 3. Opener Least Favourite: Reunion

I can't say I disliked it, but I listened to it in three parts during separate sittings and I think that was a disservice to the album as a whole. But you can't blame me, the first minute of the album is just beeps and boops so how am I supposed to be down to listen to a whole album with an intro like that. I'd like to give it another go, there are parts that caught my attention, but overall it was just mid alternative indie music.

I like a few songs and their overall sound but why is this on the list? It's not bad, but I feel like there are a lot more deserving or influential problems that should be in the spot.

It's aight. Probably won't listen again, but could easily listen through it.

552/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Reading reviews and seeing mention of how noisy Hookworms’ previous albums were and how they occasionally sound like LCD Soundsystem, I had high hopes for this album. But overall it didn’t resonate with me at all - body or soul. It was fine.

Good overall. Seems very vanilla to me.

Not bad, but not something I'd probably listen to again. Boxing Day was good, but has an abrupt ending that doesn't work.

A few really nice songs, nice album. Might listen to some of their earlier albums to discover more.

This is from 2018 and I have no idea what it is and never heard of it. So another first timer. It starts as weird dance electronica, okay. Pretty early on, I get some MGMT vibes, and it’s pretty good. Synth heavy throughout the album. Very 2010s indie rock sound. It’s kinda psychedelic at times. These long synth openings lead into some good rock music. Nothing blows you away, but I like a lot of the sound. Sometimes it does seem to get a little repetitive and certain songs feel to drag longer than they should. That being said, a lot of fun indie music here. Kinda that spacey vibe with the synths but surprisingly rocks at times too randomly. This feels like a solid 3, and something I may choose to revisit again. The compositions of a lot of the longer songs lead them to be less catchy than they could be, as they seem to meander a little and create more of a vibe. And sometimes that vibe really works.

"A book with 1001 albums chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important and influential in popular music.". Well. This album certainly was not popular in 2018, nor particularly influential. I could think of several 2018 releases that fit this criteria better. This so called panel of "experts" certainly have some weird ass choices that don't seem to fit their own criteria sometimes. All that being said I do remember hearing a few songs of this album in 2018, but this was my first time actually listening to the album. I did like it, but it's nothing groundbreaking.

hot chip did it better

The album just left me feeling kind of bored. The songs were fine. The music was fine. A lot of the songs sounded pretty much the same with an occasional held note which actually irritated me a little.

Negative Space 3.4 Static Resistance 3.5 Ullswater 3.3 The Soft Season 3.1 Opener 3.3 Each Time We Pass 3 Boxing Day 3.1 Reunion 2.8 Shortcomings 3.6 Score: 3.233333333

Interesting listen, some cool modern alternative stuff

Leuk wat nieuwe muziek die anders klinkt dan anders. Zou er wel eens vaker naar luisteren, maar zou het niet een must listen noemen

more like microshit

Not terrible, glad to hear it. But basically nothing I haven’t heard from a bunch of other alternative bands, and done better by others

Nothing really stuck out to me as well, but very unique and dreamy sonically speaking. 5/10

An enjoyable listen, but nothing super special.

Interesting sound.

This started off quite well but sort of lost me the more it went on. Quite interesting sounds going on, and I like how the beat built and built during Negative Space. I was vibing a lot but as I said it did wear on me and I feel the rest of the album didn't quite hit the mark. Also, not that there's anything wrong with listening to artists that are very unknown, but I question the inclusion of this album on the list. 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, I don't think you could really call this one of 1001 albums to hear before you die.

eerste helft was goed, tweede helft werd plotseling erg poppy

3.4 2x caught up on second listen on 1/30. really interesting album

A surprising inclusion but a fun record nonetheless. Sorta a blend of Passion Pit, Cut Copy, and MGMT. Sounds like peak 2004, not 2018.

Kind of generic rock music, but had some songs that I enjoyed. Didn't hate it. Certainly choosing a lot of other bands or albums before this one.

Better than a lot of other psychedelic music I've heard, though this album is better when it's less psychedelic. It made me think of King Gizzard.

Super fun, reminded me of arcade fire.

Sympa

Not horrible, would need to be in the right frame of mind for it.

Decent

Enjoyed quite a few tbf

This was pretty cool, but didn't set me alight. Favourite track: Boxing Day, thanks to the atonal horns.

It all feels a bit more mainstream indie rock compared to their debut that was more psychdelic freak out kraut rock. It's good, for what it is (generic indie), and when the songs start to veer more towards the ones on their debut it gets better, but I have no idea why it's on the list. Best Tracks: Ullswater; Opener; Boxing Day

This album was okay. More interesting than not, but not many reasons to come back to. They use some psychedelic sounds, but I personally don't believe that it is a novel approach.

I could have easily not listened to this before I died and been totally fine with that. Not totally awful but nothing really all that special.

Barely a 3 out of 5. This album will be a bit forgettable I think. There are little catchy bits here and there, just not enough to really hold this up as a whole.

Very interesting. A bit bubbly, a bit strange, pretty decent.

I really liked it to begin with, but the longer it went on worse my enjoyment got. And I don't think that it's because the songs got worse either. I think I just found it more annoying the more I listened to it. The synth was the main culprit for this.

Cute

A surprisingly decent indie rock album with some krautrock touches

Good album with creative songwriting. The layering of guitars and keys makes some really beautiful soundscapes, that unfortunately the vocals get lost in. Standout Tracks: The Soft Season, Shortcomings.

Not bad but kinda forgettable indie rock electronica throwback mashup. Surprised this came out in 2018--feels very derivative without much of interest. There's 2-3 semi-standout tracks on an otherwise kinda boring album, but I don't hate it.

Ok, some cool songs, others ok, very random band

5/5 instrumentals 1/5 Vocals

I will need to listen again on a day that's not so stressful, but I think I might really like this. 3.5

Alright. ★★★

Inoffensively bland. This would work great as the soundtrack to a mumbly indie rom-com.

I thought Opener was a particularly good tune. The rest was alright. A decent find.

White-people-owned-and-run ramen shop soundtrack core

Not bad, but felt like it just went on for too long. Shorten some of this shit and you got yourself a decent album.

3 stars I never heard of this but this is something I would have been into in high school. I don’t know how much it would stand out in a line up of indie music but it’s a good time. I enjoyed it and would put it on again or listen to their other albums. But not revolutionary.

Some songs are actually enjoyable and fit right into what I like. Some songs are not enjoyable at all. I would give it a quantum ranking of 2 and 4.

Neither great nor terrible

I didn’t mind this as much as some of the other reviewers. It’s certainly better than the dozens of Madchester and EDM records on this list.

Was excited as the band and album meant nothing to me. After first listen was ready to slate and question why on the list. Microshift - Microshit more like etc. But on second listen it wasn’t so bad. So maybe a generous 3.

Enjoyable enough but doesn't sound wildly different from any other indie album.

Good for what it is, but it's another one that just didn't grab me.

I enjoyed this album lot more than I thought I would. Especially the more lengthy pieces.

weird but not in an interesting way

this was an interesting album. techno and cool a lot of the time. but never anything mindblowing. also i think this is the smallest band to be on this list - less than 5000 monthly listeners?? seems like an odd inclusion but overall not mad about it

Came in with very low expectations based on the brief Wikipedia entry for this album. I'm not mad that it's on the list, but again just questioning the author that why THIS album was chosen, and from what I've seen from others, why were a bunch of really good albums left off? Was it because they aren't British? Probably. 3.1 / 5 stars

I didn’t think I was going to like this. I thought it was going to be 2010s indie crap but it’s actually rather pleasant. Got that FIFA vibe.

*in Ongo Gablogian's voice* Derivative...

?Pop?

Grand, not familiar before

smooth

Grappig, Rock/Neo-psychedelia Rock blijkbaar idk

I listened to this one several times and never really got hooked on hookworms. Songs have their moments but nothing really clicked for me. I didn't dislike it. It's kind of creative and has some good beats.

This was fun. It’s combines elements of electronic dance music and modern pop rock bands. I truly enjoyed that the songs morphed into each other. I also like that the songs stretch out and breathe. It still sounds too general to be an album that I’d go head over heels for, but in time, it might surprise me. 3.5. 😄

Cçum qlbun feito para as pistas de dança. Cada a faixa é recheada pela guitarra e por efeitos, reverbs e tudo que tem direito para não deixar ninguém parado. Bom

I've never heard this album... never even heard of the band before, but there were some fun moments. I'd revisit this

Føler at kuratorene av denne lista er dårlig til å peke ut hva som er definerende for samtiden, og ergo dårlige på å single ut albumene som faktisk kommer til å bli kanonisert. Jeg liker denne skiva, men jeg synes ikke den høres kontemporær ut; jeg synes heller ikke den sitter godt nok til at jeg tror jeg kommer til å fortsette å høre på den. Det høres ofte ut som Arcade Fire med neo-psych- og kraut-elementer, noen ganger høres det også akkurat ut som Flaming Lips (The Soft Season spesielt, og selv tittelen minner jo om Lips eg. The Soft Bulletin, så det er kanskje tenkt på som en homage...?). Ingrediensene er der, men klarer ikke helt å finne det særegne. De er flinke, skiva holder en rimelig jevn kvalitet, men når det er over, så er det borte.

Helt ålreit, men ikke en plate som blir med meg videre. Føler Superfamily naila energisk poprock bedre, 120 days naila dronene bedre og at MGMT, Tame Impala og Gypsy and the Cat naila psych bedre. Høydepunktet var "The Soft Season"

Mye bra her, men føler de ikke helt tørr å gå all inn i det som funker. Når de er litt mer eksperimentelle og dronete er det ganske kult. Desverre så virker det som at de tror at de må slenge inn mye halvdårlig indierock inni der for at folk skal høre på.

3.75

jamen den er da vældig fed. Jeg hørte den i 2018, altså ikke den her, men alle de andre albums der lød præcis som den her

Får kun 3 stjerner fordi jeg ikke er helt overbevist om at det er essentielt eller skal-høre-før-du-dør territorium, men det er ret meget my shit faktisk. Hvorfor hørte jeg ikke den her i 2018?

Sounds like a copy of MGMT.

I almost love it. It has something but it's not all the way there.

This was a fun album. I like the high energy Devo vibe throughout. While it was a good album, I don't think it should be a "must hear" album. I guess it's good, because I wouldn't have found this band otherwise.

When the album started I thought I might hate this but I actually kinda liked it. Big fifa menu music energy but it was a fun, interesting listen. Shame the lead singer seems like a POS cause I would’ve checked out more of them and they loss a star because of him.

it's a fun listen, indietronica group from Britain but sounds American type ordeal. Hot Chip but worse, but not that worse.

Millor del que pensava a la primera impressió, però necessito escoltar-lo més.

Definitely hear some influence from Muse and Phoenix, not in a bad way. Some good tracks on this one. Highlights: "Opener" and "Shortcomings"

This is semi-adventurous territory for sure, a mix of driving rock, pop, and dance music. They hit some unique notes. I’ve never heard a dance song in 9/8 time before. But overall it doesn’t grab me and make me wanna listen again.

I was excited by this retro-electronica album. I don't know what to say exactly as I was somewhat distracted while listening. I think for caution i will give it a neutral rating but personally will listen a bit more to their catalog, as it may well be up my alley!

Pleasant and layered enough to make for a good listen, but sounds more than a little passionless and generic, as if a group of nepo-babies started a band with the help of AI.

This was alright in places, meh in others, and in a few cases not good at all. On average, ⭐⭐⭐? Feels a bit generous...

FIFA background music. Not bad but not memorable

Interesting sound! 3.5

Comes in with a blast but gets a bit generic over time.

A bit of a weird one, I think this album is quite good, sounds nice has some good songs but also some skippable stuff. I do however echo a lot of the other people as I had no idea this band existed and do question the inclusion of them on this list, I feel this list is for bands who have pushed the art of music forward, and I’m not saying modern artists shouldn’t be on this list but more so I feel this band is just another group that made good music in a genre but didn’t adapt or progress it forward

Kind of hated the noise used for the intro to the album at the beginning of Negative Space, but I’m glad I stuck with it as the lyrics and songs on this album are pretty good. I enjoyed the electronic music, vocal style, and themes of grief and loss explored throughout.

not really memorable for me, but certainly enjoyable enough

These guys are trying to do the dance/ psychadelic thing that is very hard to nail. To their credit I skimmed through it again after listening and I didn't dislike it. It's solid even if I don't think it really stands out.

I'm not sure why this is on here other than the need for "recent" music. It's once again one of those choices where it's fine but it's not groundbreaking or terribly interesting. I do like the sort of post-rock mixed with electronic music buildups but nothing other than the 8 minute "Opener" was really standout to me. It's fine, if I heard it in a bar or a coffee shop I wouldn't even notice it.

Negative Space - 3/5 Static Resistance - 4/5 Ullswater - 5/5 The Soft Season - 2/5 Opener - 3/5 Each Time We Pass - 4/5 Boxing Day - 3/5 Reunion - 3/5 Shortcomings - 3/5 Average score: 3.3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ wish i knew about the SA allegations before i listened to a couple of the tracks, i'd rather not give them a dime of streaming revenue. furthermore, these dipshits have like ~5k monthly streams. i know those metrics aren't solely what makes a group good or not but... how the fuck did they make this list when seemingly no one knows who they are? i guess if your group is british you automatically make the cut 🙄 anyways, this was pretty mediocre and i've heard other artists do this sound but better (like Hot Chip, another british group!). in fact, i can think of at least a dozen other artists who would've been better selections for this list, regardless of genre or country of origin i hope that should they make another edition in the future, they pick more artists outside of the UK for once. i'm very tired of wasting precious hours of my life on lackluster music just cuz it's bri'ish

Decent energy throughout. A clubbing record for clubbing at home. I like the way the tracks segue into each other.

This album reminds me a lot of the electronic rock from the ’90s. It’s hard to believe it was released in 2018. Maybe that nostalgic sound is part of why it was well received. Personally, I didn’t find it very original, but I can see why some people might be into this kind of sound. "Opener," which runs for more than eight minutes, has a noisy texture that I actually found quite suitable for background listening while working.

J'sais pas ça feelait genre "Music for musicians" mais en même temps, un shit de 2018 avec pleins de drama, j'le feelais moyen.

Interesting and enjoyable somewhat.

Perfectly good electro-techno-indie-alt-rock. Not exactly memorable, but not bad.

Very electronic, very fresh. Does not sound too obvious or predictive. Instead, it sounds unique.

Did not inspire me to listen again

This was a fun listen. Back in the day, a few friends of mine were obsessed with it, so for me this record works a bit like a memory machine. It doesn’t quite have the wit, the sharp political edge, the dazzling rhythms, or the mind-bending production of, say, Stereolab. But then again, who can match their brilliance? Still, Microshift is definitely worth revisiting: its neo-psychedelic, krauty vibe feels (positively) familiar/nostalgic and the well-placed bursts of noise (Hookworms wearing their Stereolab fandom pretty openly here) give the whole thing enough punch to keep you hooked (haha, no pun intended) right up to the last track. Some lengthier synth-y interludes create a sense of seamless sequencing and give your mind some room to drift (see first section of Opener, which is oddly enough, situated at the centre of the album), before the krautrock-style repetition pulls you back to earth. Checks a lot of boxes of what you’d expect from a nostalgically tinged music project.

It’s not bad, but once again don’t understand why this is on this list.

It shouldn’t be on the list; however, it sounds meh not bad not good just right in the middle

Pretty good. Would listen again

3.5 stars. Musically, first couple tracks remind me of LCD Soundsystem. "Soft Season" synth sounds like M83. Annoying noisy distortion in "Boxing Day" makes it a skip. Standout is "Static Resistance".

Seems like the arena rock version of the whole Meet Me in the bathroom scene. Album is fine.

better than anticipated

2018 Nope, never heard of this. Started brightly with shades of Daft Punk/New Order/Working Mens Club, but soon disappeared up its own backside and simply became a nonentity as the minutes dragged by. I can imagine this being a mainstay of RSD reissues in coloured vinyl and alternative sleeves! Something to cherish for 'hip' 6 Music Dads out there, desperately trying to maintain their relevance. Why is it here? I expect Pitchfork can answer. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Standard 6Music fodder ★★★☆☆ (5/10)

Der var noget på, som virkede interessant. Noget bedre af det nyere.

It's Hooky! It's Wormy-ing (its way into your brain)! you know what I listened to this when it came out and it passed me by. This on a relisten is a terrific album, kind of what Mercury Rev might sound like if they came from Yorkshire. 2018 is a bit soon to judge if this really is one of the best albums every made though. 3.5 but too recent for a 4.

Good enough to listen to twice

I saw that it was British and a feeling of dread came over my body. This list has albums on it that seem to just be here because they're British (and end up being mediocre). This album was actually pretty decent. I wouldn't go back and listen to it multiple times, but I enjoyed it.

pleasant, entertaining - never heard of them - nothing to write home about though.

This was a new one for me. I like the mix of trance with more of an underlying pop sound. It works.

Strains of albums that came out twenty years prior - Dismemberment Plan, the Notwist, third phase New Order, maybe even Stereolab - aka rock bands that didn't just use synths but leaned in - all the way in. I ended up enjoying this album more as it went on. I thought it would run out of steam. But the song writing is solid. It's highly listenable. But I really don't know why it's on the list nothing extraordinary except it's slightly above ordinariness.

This band has a sound far more pleasant than their name implies.

The mostly uplifting music (a la Fun) added ambient/electronic noises (meant to give a fuller sound) that tended to dull the emotion, rather than enhance it. Each noice that connected one ending to the next beginning became annoying, beginning with the tap “dancing.”

Worthy. Dull-ish

I walked into this not wanting to like it since it's newish (2018) and the 1001 albums list still doesn't have two of the greatest albums of the decade (both released in 2018) that could have easily taken the place of this album (Rosalia's El Mal Querer and Low's Double Negative). Despite that, I actually really liked this. A lot. I'm a sucker for psychedelic sounds, krautrock minimalism and buildups in rock. Some really great bass guitar and textures throughout. The actual opener and the track called Opener are huge highlights. Lyrics are a bit trite and the hooks aren't the most memorable, though. Has a very late "millenial" vocal sound, which is a touch grating, but overall a good album

Oke, voorop gesteld, dit is niet de muziek die ik normaliter zou aan zetten. En bij het eerste nummer dacht ik ook oprecht, oeh hier komt een 1 ster aan. Begon nogal matig met wat verschillende tonen volledig uit de maat. Daarna herpakte het zich echt (op een nummer na maar weet niet meer welke) en was het best wel blij en prima om naar te luisteren. Ga ik dit alleen nog eens opzetten? Dat denk ik niet. Daarom is het een 3

Vibey, pretty upbeat, original. Didn't like Boxing Day, thought it was actually a bit grating. Especially liked Soft Season and Each Time We Pass. Not perfect, but yeah overall pretty good.

01) Negative Space - 7,5 02) Static Resistance - 6,5 03) Ullswater - 7,0 04) The Soft Season - 6,5 05) Opener - 6,5 06) Each Time We Pass - 7,0 07) Boxing Day - 7,0 08) Reunion - 6,5 09) Shortcomings - 7,0 TOTAL: 6,83 (68/100)

I liked this! I don’t remember a single song, but I remember I liked it.

Never heard of Hookworms. Is this an album I had to hear before I died? Probably not. But I listened three or four times and it got better with each listen. Maybe it was the crunchy organ and Stereolab vibes? Welp, on my way to listen to some Stereolab.

a pa ono. ima dobrih momenata koji mi se sviđaju, ali ima i nekih skroz bezveznih. tako da za solidnu trojku

This is kind of torturous at the beginning of each song but then it starts to come into its own as a good song. If they cut that horrendous build to the song especially on songs like Opener. Turned out to be a great sounding song but the first part of it turns you off and makes you want to skip it. This album would be a 5 if it didn’t have all that.

Starts pretty poorly but thankfully gets a lot better. Great ending track as well.

Not bad.

learning the release date makes me wanna knock this down a star

fine

Tyyppillinen listan indie-levy 2000-luvulta: ihan ok ja britti.

Boppy, like the upbeat vibes

Gone for a 3, may drop to a 2 on reflection but this was better than others that I have voted a 2. No bangers, but solid throughout.

I quite liked the space rock

really like the cover, but the album is a bit meh

I, like other commenters apparently, have never heard of this band. Ever. I did find myself loving certain tracks on this, though. However, there’s just as many that seem middle of the road. 3/5

it was ok.

Good listening for my acupuncture appt but I think I liked the last album more

It's pretty good but a bit same-y same-y throughout and missing the peaks that make a real classic

Neo-psych with space elements craft a unique sound for a patient listener.

It's not clear to me what makes this record essential. It's fine but I wonder if it suffers from recency bias. THE SCIENCES would have been a more appropriate 2018 choice.

better than i anticipated

Musically solid mix of electronic rock and psychedelia, but nothing too outstanding. I didn't really vibe with it, but it wasn't offensive either.

Microshift marks a clear stylistic shift for Hookworms, moving away from noise rock and garage energy towards a more polished, synth-driven sound. The krautrock influence is strong, and there are definite echoes of bands like Stereolab. The production is sleek and carefully crafted throughout. Tracks like “Negative Space” and “Ullswater” build hypnotic atmospheres with looping structures and extended arrangements. There’s an artistic ambition here, emotional depth, themes of grief, loss, and mental health, expressed with clarity and intention. But despite its emotional weight and sonic elegance, Microshift never quite grabs hold. The songs tend to blur together, and while the synth textures are beautiful, the album ultimately lacks variation and edge. It’s an album that’s easy to admire, but harder to truly love. Impressive in sound, but a little… dull in the long run.

This album was pretty chill. Not too much to complain about but also nothing to write home about. I originally didn’t think it would be for me but then I felt like the album just flew by.

Not bad Indie Psych/space rock from a band that I didn't know of. high 2.5 rounded to 3

Sounded cool, talked over it in the car. 3/5

Albums not included on this list: Giant Steps - John Coltrane; I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One - Yo La Tengo; For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver; The Shape Of Jazz To Come - Ornette Coleman; Grand Prix - Teenage Fanclub; Under The Pink - Tori Amos; Things We Lost In The Fire - Low; Chet - Chet Baker; Goat - The Jesus Lizard; Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie; Mingus Ah Um - Charles Mingus; Silent Alarm - Bloc Party; Sublime - Sublime; In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel; Give Up - The Postal Service; Weezer (the Blue Album) - Weezer; Somethin’ Else - Cannonball Adderly; Ram - Paul McCartney; Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt; Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend; Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon; Breakfast in America - Supertramp; Flood - They Might Be Giants; The Moon and Antarctica - Modest Mouse; Aquemini - OutKast; Fly - Dixie Chicks; Currents - Tame Impala; Funky Kingston - Toots and the Maytals; Curtis - Curtis Mayfield; Mezzanine - Massive Attack; Shoot Out the Lights - Richard and Linda Thompson; Loaded - The Velvet Underground; Damn the Torpedos - Tom Petty. Albums included on this list: this one. Make it make sense. This was perfectly fine indie synth pop. Nothing bad about it whatsoever. I’d never purposefully put it on but it was not unpleasant to listen to. It was also wholly unremarkable in every sense of the word. Just a non-entity of a record. To the extent there is any validity to a list like this - which is highly questionable - this album has no place on it.

I have no memory of this but presumably I thought it was ok

Very experimental in the best way. It feels like a full experience. Definitely some I will go back to. Love the use of different instruments to make the music feel like a piece of art.

I will admit to not having heard of this band before. Sort of a bit of Phoenix, with another little bit of the Arctic Monkeys and dare I say a dash of Arcade Fire. This album was pleasant enough. No real singular standouts. But a quality listen, start to finish.

This album oozes 2010s indie. Wouldn’t be my choice on here to rep the genre (Phoenix is far superior in this idiom). But interesting album and too bad the singer is apparently a dirtbag. So it goes.

Some parts of this I really loved. When the album started, I thought it'd be a 4 or a 5, but then some of the other tracks really dragged.

5.5/10

Eh, nothing special here.