Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Its the electronic driving vibe that's a little dark and ambient that really works for me. Enjoyed.
Meh
Boring and bland meh.
Pretty funky, actually
Reminds me of the band Hot Chip. Not as good IMO. But an easy listen all the same. We'll produced.
The music was excellent. The singing was a bit too 2010's for me. But still, well done Hookworms.
I was worried about the journey ahead when this album started, like what the goodness was the first few minutes? Settled into generica.
There were some ok moments on this but I'm not really sure what this band is. I read about why they folded so not keen to follow up.
Sounded like a less creative, less fun, less hooky Animal Collective. 5/10
Strong 3 to light 4
Hookworms MORE LIKE HOOK LINE AND SINKER HAHA. No but really this is some of the freshest stuff I've heard this year. Didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised along the way. It's been a while since I've been surprised by an album that wasn't meant to be something experimental. The high pitched vocals tickle the prog-rock fan in me in the right way. The lyrics are touching but floaty enough to zone out to if one wishes to do so. The songs feel high energy at first listen, but the synths, keyboards, and the at times appropriately monotone guitar riffs provide enough calmth to hone in on.
Just very mid: released in an era where new rock music is slowly falling away this was nothing to break the trend. There are so many better albums on this list but this wasn't bad. It was just rock music, I can see this being outro music to a show or film, nothing notable but just there to fill the space. If you're looking for the most average music out there bc for some reason you just want to settle, this is it.
I really enjoyed this one. It's got a good energy and it's a well-crafted album. I don't know that it's anything exceptional, necessarily, but it was a good time. That band name, though. Hard pass.
Some songs are nice, some are not...
was pretty good
Moderne britisk rock, tunge beats, stemningsfyldt
Groupe de rock néo-psychédélique. La voix du chanteur s'écoute bien. Les sons électros sont juste un petit peu trop too much des fois. Oubliable pour moi.
That shit was lit.
Nice
Started off promising but really fell off after the first few songs
Very enjoyable 3.5
it was pretty interesting. Good stuff
Aardig op de achtergrond
Cool plaatje. Volgens mij door Arie ooit aangeraden.
Interessante band, maar was toch wel wat negatief beïnvloed door het nieuws over de frontman.
Heel creatief en divers album. Boeiende band, en live ook heel goed!
Really enjoyed this one. Never heard of the band but I'll be listening to their other stuff now.
Really enjoyed this one quite a bit. Pretty cool, full sound, especially in the instrumentation. Albums like this tend to sound the same from track to track, but that certainly is not the case here. Favorite track: Opener
Aucune chanson qui ressort du lot. un peu comme du Hot Chip, mais moins bon 6.5/10
It's a pretty good retro sounding album.
I've been getting a lot of techno/electronic stuff lately. Not my jam. I was prepared to hate this one too, but I actually really liked it. It gave off some serious 90s vibes (Blur/Weezer, maybe a little Pumpkins). It was fun. Shortcomings was the standout track for me. Great way to close it out.
Very interesting album. This sounds unique
Don’t understand why this would be a top album, but has nice electronic beats!
I'm struggling a bit with rating this album. Didn't hate the music, but the synth sounds annoyed the hell out of me. It's like someone is playing old school video games in front of the mic. In the end, not worth listening again.
Didn't know this before but really enjoy it
Enjoyed this a lot from start to end
Weird one to be on the list. Feels very much like it's a 2010 album instead of a 2018 one. Might've been a fan had it existed and come to my attention at that time. For now it's just decent
Was listenable, the singer had a decent voice, but beyond that it didn’t do a lot for me.
Never listened but based off of feedback I did myself a favor
not even an album i needed to hear before the year ended. This wasn't even a relevant sound the year it came out.
Kind of cool
Wow this was a fantastic surprise. Never heard of them before and this was right up my alley. Moody almost progressive like, easily one of my favorite discoveries. This will definitely be getting added to the main rotation.
In a time where songs have become more important than albums, I'm happy to have listened to an album again. I was aware of the singles Static Resistance and Negative Space that have been played on my alternative radio stations, but for some reason never got to listen to the entire album. And it really didn't disappoint, the album is listening to a heavy trip.
6/10. Not bad, but nothing memorable for me either.
Sounds like Weezer doing a King Gizzard album. Ironically enough, neither of those artists are on this list. 7/10
As one for whom mid-career Arcade Fire is basal, I dig it but... Punch through the ceiling instead of reaching it.
# 49 : What? Who? Why?
Good listen, doubt I'll listen to it again though
Never heard of them. Enjoyed it though.
More like 1,001 wrong'uns you must hear before you die. Like you, I'd never heard of this band before, but if you'd like to make your own Hookworms song, it's easy enough to program: if (vocalsound == vowel) { pitch.change; }
Synthy
Quite dance-oriented overall. And often quite pop/new-wave sounding. A couple of interesting noisy/drone tracks, and some funky moments.
Another cancelled band, no wonder I haven't heard about that. Not bad though.
This was fine I guess, but with a rubbish closing song. I found it hard to pay any attention to this while it was on
I dig the album art. The album itself is okay, but sounds too much like other better bands to me 🤷♂️
Eipä tarjonnut kummoista kokemusta tämä(kään) levy. Vuodelta 2018 ja eipä oikeastaan mitään raikkautta. Harmiton, hajuton ja mauton.
Aika höpöhöpöhöttö.
Of all of the albums added for 2018, why was it this rehash album?
Found it pretty dull
I think this was pretty good
Thought this was very good
Entirely inessential. A Can impersonation some guys from Leeds with an alleged history of abuse. No thanks.
Una de las porquerías más grandes que escuché. Es como un pop con electrónica, onda los Yeah Yeah Yes.
Ah man, Hookworms. We were rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. I remember this album coming out and being super psyched that they were on the verge of breaking into something stratospheric - then it all came out. Yes, I know, it never went to court. But enough people round here knew what happened. Terrific album. Should have been 5 stars. MJ threw it away.
Def interesting, kind of a British take on Arcade Fire
They remind me of The Postal Service but with a little too much Coldplay. Decent album but I probably won't seek it out again.
Plodded along, this kind of generic electro indie always scratches an itch for me
Middle of the road with flourishes of brilliance
It is now time to dance on Sprockets. Seriously, why is this very mid shit on this list? 1/5
This reminded me of late sixties, early seventies electronic music in some ways, when synthesizers were a new toy. I liked that. Overall it was an interesting listen. 4
This was fine...it was fine... My interest was piqued at first and then I got kind of bored. Then the second listen was better, but still not thrilling for me. With the third run-through, it landed in the "it's tolerable" to the "I like it" range.
loved it loved it loved it
Never heard of Hookworms before so didn’t know what to expect. If I had heard the music and been asked to guess the artist I might have said Stereolab. This is great to just sit back and chill out to or play in the background while I work.
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
Embarrassed to admit, I actually own this - bought on the strength of a live session at the time. Sounded quite good on the radio, couldn't really make out the sad boy lyrics. They were really lauded when this came out and then totally disappeared - *looks up why* - aha, makes sense! About as good as a mediocre Charlatans album
Space rock. Ni fu ni fa.
Pretty good
Dig it. Like U2 meets Rush.
Meh. 2/5
Sonic wankery. Boring.
It's not good. It's not bad. It's average, maybe. Some parts are annoying. I'm not sure if it's worth listening through for the decent parts.
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.
Meh
Alright, must have been a blast to see live.
If Krautrock and pop had a baby. Catchy, yet adventurous. Nice to see a newer act that knows how to put a strong album together, although it appears the band has split. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Fave Songs: The Soft Season, Opener, Negative Space, Ullswater, Static Resistance
The band and its music are entirely new to me, and I enjoyed listening to this album. I hear a nice mash-up of various styles and influences, and it all comes together quite well here. I like that there are elements of synth-pop and synth-rock alongside more 'analog' instruments and performances. Neither seems to dominate the other too much. Reminds me, too, a little bit of New Order and that sound, and even a bit of Porcupine Tree, too. (I know those references also incorporate by reference dozens or hundreds of other bands, and of course that applies to all performers -- not meant in a snarky or negative way at all; just the way music responds, reflects, and evolves in such interesting ways.)
Forgettable.
Really enjoyed this, shame about the lead singer being a rotter
I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS
weird but interesting. 3 stars.
There are a lot of good space rock/psychedelic rock songs though it is not very coherent as an album. As a whole it is isn't as memorable as many similar albums from the past 10-15 years either. I like the genre and I like when songs flow together well, but for example the end of the song 'Boxing Day' was way too abrupt compared to other songs. Overall a good album but I feel like it doesn't really deserve more than 3+.
This album is like the backing for a techno rom com set in the 80’s. If Tron Legacy had been about Flynn falling in love with a computer.
I love the album art. I mean -- as soon as I saw this as some British rock band I've never heard of before, I bemoaned this. So far the first two songs sound exactly the same - in energy and beat. Each Time We Pass sounds a little like The Postal Service. To argue that this is such an amazing album -- there are other albums I would have considered such as Tame Impala's Lonerism or Origami Angel's Somewhere City. I enjoy the energy of the album -- but it's all the same. I just don't think it is something I would actively listen to in it's entirety again or call it a MUST-HEAR album. Maybe a select MUST-HEAR songs (like Dance Yourself Clean by LCD Soundsystem). There are plenty of great artists out there that have must-hear albums that could easily make it onto anyone's subjective listening list. :)
What is this? Sounds like speeded up Krautrock. I almost like it, but not quite.
Weird but interesting. A solid effort.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rating: 6/10
This was an enjoyable neo-psychedelic/electronic album. The music has strong influences from early 2000s British alternative and sounds like a British version of Phoenix, a French band who also infused indie/alternative rock with electronic influences. However, this album doesn’t seem to be breaking new ground though its pacing, flow, and production are perfect.
wasn't the most memorable thing I've ever heard.
Interesting listening to this the day after In Rainbows. I’m no Radiohead super fan but compared to yesterday this album feels completely outmatched. Other than that though there’s nothing really wrong with it. I liked The Soft Season.
I do like some good distortion and feedback every now and then. The earlier Hookworms releases were noise rock that showed its influences on its sleeves. Microshift adds pop and synth elements and it all works. Ironically, the synths tempers some of the harsher Krautrock elements. Boxing Day and Static Resistance are highlights.
I expected to dislike this album a lot, but I was surprised that I did like some of it, especially Static Resistance. If they just played the songs without all of the electronica elements, I might have really enjoyed it.
This honestly sounds a bit like the Radiohead album from yesterday in a way, though certainly much less innovative. Never heard of this group before and have many better suggestions for a 2018 album. Here are a few: Championships by Meek Mill, Scorpion by Drake, Invasion of Provacy by Cardi B, Astroworld by Travis Scott, Black Panther Soundtrack, Thank u next by Ariana Grande
Interesting sounds I guess. Cool band name.
Pretty cool album, a decent listen and one which I would revisit
The cover art, album title, and name of the band made me think this album would be weird -- which can go either way with me. The first track starts out pretty interesting, although I didn't especially like it, it was at least a little weird. Pretty soon, though, the music turns more pedestrian, a little more likable, perhaps, but I really don't see why this album is on this list. I mean, I guess its fine, but I would not have had any regrets had I shuffled of my mortal coil without having found time to listen. 2.5
Not terrible
This album sucked.
It’s ok
what the hell is this?
How did this make the list?
Singer sounds a little like Brandon Flowers on some songs… and I love Brandon Flowers. This was very good. I’ve never heard of Hookworms but will dive deeper into them now.
вау!! очень классный альбом!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3/5. A solid pop album that I had no complaints about but didn’t stand out enough for a 4.
This was OK. A bit boring. I didn't actively dislike anything about it, but I didn't actively like much of anything about it either.
Yeah nah.
Decent movie soundtrack type album
Okay album, didn't make me feel much though. I do like some of the experimented stuff they went for, but it didn't really do anything for me and also felt a bit generic at times. Another issue would be that the songs are too long with not much happening throughout. 5/10
Pretty cool rock album. Enjoyable to listen to, but a tad boring.
Meh
Had fun with this one. Cool and effective modern techno alternative something. Sometimes gave me Death Cab meets Capital Cities meets Daft Punk vibes. Hip but not cringey
The record sounds very 2010s arty alternative. The scene was already at its peak when Microshift appeared. They barely caused a microshift, rather than a landslide. I think this style is already covered with Tame Impala and MGMT. Not bad, not essential, not to my taste. There's over 1000 albums more worthy to be on the list. Favorite song: Boxing Day.
Me on my way to look up a band I really enjoyed only to find they broke up due to sexual assault allegations :D
Starts off strong (ish) and peters out. Will anybody remember this album in 10 years? Best track: Negative Space
Idk what so say about this haha
Completely uneventful and totally meh…
Positief verrast. Alhoewel psychedelische invloeden niet zozeer een plus zijn voor mij, vind ik dat ze het in dit album op een creatieve manier hebben gebruikt, en zo zitten er dan ook wat aardige nummers tussen.
Britse neo-psychedelica en dat hoor je. Laat denken aan Black Country, New Road en net als deze band is het goede muziek maar zonder een nummer dat er direct uitspringt. leukste nummer: Opener Band bestaat niet meer door geheimzinnige betichtingen aan de deur van de lead zanger
Weird but not uncatchy in places
Beetje MGMT achtig, maar beetje zweverig en traag
like it
Krauty, rocky, beaty, lovely I needed this. Nice little injection of good modern music i hadn't heard before.
Drone rock. Wow another genre moniker that fits perfectly. This is hard driving good beats by a band that I never heard of. They must have liked Kraftwerk back in the day. I didn't get time to discover too much of the lyrics but I did check out lyrics to Negative Space; they deal with emotions and hallucinations after a good friend dies. Very well done. I like that the list is augmented with recent stuff and I will be generous with rating more recent albums that I like. When we're done and we look back at our ratings, I don't want all my 4s and 5s to be bands comprised of old grey haired fothermuckers like me.
I've favourited the opening track Negative Space on Spotify so it comes up quite often on my playlists, but I hadn't heard the rest of the album until now. Its actually quite decent, I get some Built to Spill x MGMT x Tame Impala vibes, with some hints of Krautrock. The hypnotic driving beats are pretty mesmerizing. Opener is also a banger of a song, its great if you crank it up.
First time listen. This is a good driving album, the songs run together nicely, the beat fits a road running pattern Will check it out again
I like this. Reminds me of LCD Soundsystem. Never heard of them, but it's good stuff.
I wanted to like a couple of the songs but they didn’t ever hit
Hidden little gem loved their downtempo songs
Pleasant but mostly unremarkable, the first few tracks hooked me more than the rest if the album. Hard to say anything more meaningful than "middle of the road."
Indierockkitapasta. Kappaleet sulautuu ja linkittyy hyvin yhteen, ei kuitenkaan ihan yltänyt alun odotuksiin. Vaatii varmaan uuden kuuntelun
Great album. Less loud and punk than their previous two, but still got that familiar krautrock/pysch sound with the addition of more synth / electronic. The antithesis of laddy indie rock. Lyrically too they don’t shy away from sensitive themes, which made the allegations about the singer even more shocking at the time. Pleased to see other members have found success elsewhere- they’re far too good to have their careers cancelled by the actions of one idiot
That was really good, just the right blend of electronic loops and indie. Heard a lot of other bands in there and this was better than most of them.
Can appreciate the sounds, just not for me.
I didn't like this album at first but felt there was something there, so I gave it another listen and I'm glad I did. I preferred the more electronic/psychedelic tracks and the longer songs were some of were my favourites. Highlights were "Each Time We Pass", "Opener" and "Ullswater".
Never heard of these before.... Really enjoyed it, right up my street. This site says it is "rock" but it isn't. Not sure what I would call this but it reminds me of the shins, the postal service, or public service broadcasting. I'll be listening again
3.75
Derivative, but not bad for that. There's significant filler, but some very good tracks.
I've never heard of Hookworms before, but this album reminded me in parts of some of my favorite music from the Indie Sleaze era of the 2010's. I thought the instrumentation was great, and all of the songs were really catchy and well written. I enjoyed the lyrics as well, especially on 'Negative Space.' Even though I enjoyed listening to it, I don't know if it's something that I'll necessarily seek out again, but I'm glad I can appreciate it for being a really well made album.
This is one of the few albums I had to listen to a second time to figure out what I think about it. I'm still not entirely sure, but I now know enough to call this very good. The first few tracks left me underwhelmed at first, but the album gets better with every track, and I'm quite fond of tracks like Opener and Shortcomings. Somehow, I find this mixture of electronica, pop and rock very fascinating, and my second listen intensified that feeling for me. I suspect I will listen to this again multiple times, and I still don't know what I like about it especially. I just do. Perhaps it's best not to overthink it. 4/5 ish
Not a fan of this.
Meh. Plus hate the name.
An interesting choice for an album from 2018. I liked it and I dug the synthy vibes. Will check out the other albums from this group (although another artist that had a sexual creep in it seems). 4.5/5
Borde nog gilla det här. Kanske gör jag det. Kanske gör jag det inte. Behöver höra mer.
Efter ett briljant nledningsspår blir det lite tristare fortsättning.
Inget för mig alls...
Interesting but didn't fully hook me
Solid but unremarkable
Heard of, without hearing this band (knowingly). Excellent on first listen.
Not bad
Synthesize. Not for me.
Interesting. Not my style but pretty good!!
Didn't find anything interesting for me.
Given there are so few albums from 2018 here, one has to ask what the to die for factor of this album is. And the obvious answer is: no. I suspect no one (but family & friends) would list this album in the year’s top 10, or even top 50 or 100. Especially when looking at the music produced all over the world, as opposed to limiting oneself to the English speaking world. If ever we needed proof this book turned into this website is rather bizarre/eccentric/myopic, or even nepotic, we have it now.
Not my cup of tea
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.
I was excited by the music... at first. I can go for this sort of textured electronic thing. Then the vocals came in and immediately started to get on my nerves. Like a weird piece of candy that has a curious flavor on its outer shell, but when you bite down it becomes sickeningly sweet, and you want to spit it out.
Pretty dope grooves. Some of the songs are a little meh in comparison but in general I enjoy the vibe and vocals.
pretty good
meh
basically stereolab if they were mid. the synths, instrumentation, and production overall, were pretty interesting but the vocals and songwriting were pretty lackluster. which really brought it down for me.
Nice to hear something I wasn't already familiar with that I liked a lot. Very reminiscent of Arcade Fire. 4 stars.
It’s always more exciting for me when there is a more recent band on the daily album generator that I haven’t heard of. It makes sense if I haven’t heard of a band from long before I was born, but something from just a few years ago then went under my radar is always good fun to explore! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Ullswater, Negative Space This was such a fun album. I’m always a sucker for a good synth, and I got the feeling from only the first few notes that I was going to like this. The synths stay throughout, but it is much more rocky than those first few notes would suggest. The music is high energy throughout, and the vocals sound great - somehow reminiscent of playing sports games as a kid despite this album being released long afterwards. Overall, an easy album to recommend if, like me, this album passed you by when it released 4 years ago.
Fifa15 bakgrundsmusik med krautrock beats???
Wow. Dehär va ass
Some nice synth and grooves. Nothing I haven’t heard before, but still pleasant.
Att blanda en boss genre som krautrock med en medioker genre som britpop verkar inte ha lett till en ny och fräsch take på någondera stilen. Istället blev resultatet långtråkigt, oinspirerat och sterilt men helt ok att passivt lyssna på.
Great. It hit me in the right mood. Good mix of modern indie electronics and psychedelia
yeah nice cool cover not really for me
Second rate MGMT
Voice is slightly annoying but the music is really good and Im into it. Great album
Eine langweilige Platte, die genauso klingt wie jede andere Platte aus diesem Genre in jenem Jahrzehnt.
Experiential music. Would make good movie music. A little too repetitive and lacking something. Maybe too technical in its approach and maybe self hypnotic in some way.
Before today I had never heard of Hookworms before, so I had no idea what I was in for. What I discovered was a very ambient, almost atmospheric sound, with heavy electronic backing, and distant, layered lyric delivery. The music has strong phychadelic rock/electronica vibes to it, with a very strong beat. Although I have had issue with most electronica on this 1001 Albums Generator, I enjoyed this stuff. Perhaps it was the inclusion of a singer, perhaps it was the inclusion of an actual beat, either way it worked. Hookworms sounds similar to MGMT who I have reviewed before. A lot of the songs on this album run into each other like a compilation, which I enjoyed. It made it a better listening experience. Apparently this album was a huge change from their previous works, and it ended up being their last album as a band. Overall, I enjoyed this album. It isn't something I would gravitate to often, but it wasn't bad at all. Favourite songs: Ullswater, Negative Space, Static Resistance, Opener Least favourite songs: Boxing Day, Reunion 3/5
Inte alls oävet.
This was a pleasant surprise. Likeable and contemporary
3.8 - Energetic and urgent. Reminds me of LCD Soundsystem.
Ayant accumulé un retard monstrueux au sein du générateur et n'ayant plus le moindre souvenir de cet album, je vais procéder de manière inédite ; ma critique sera intégralement focalisée sur un passage de cinq secondes pris au hasard au milieu du projet. Le passage en question écouté à l'instant ne m'a pas particulièrement procuré d'émotion. J'y ai décelé un gloubi-boulga d'ambient électro sans le moindre intérêt. Robert, si tu me lis...
Robert tu es vieux arrête d'essayer de faire croire à tout le monde que tu n'es pas dépassé par les évenements, tout le monde deteste tes albums de merde post 2000.
I can't remember the first Hookworms track I heard or when but it was streaming era randomness (which is to say either partly or wholly governed by the algorithm). It felt like just a song on a playlist somewhere in the Spotify Sea. Off the coast of Wherever, it was enough to make me look into them. And, I really like this record. It sits squarely in that sweet spot for me of psychedelic, fuzzy, synthy rock. Some tracks edge into pop territory more than I might prefer, but it feels holistic to the band rather than calculated. It doesn't feel like a coincidence that it's Neu! 75 for me one day and Hookworms' Microshift the next. They, along with Maserati and Turing Machine, sound like kin to my ears — the kind of family you actually want to hang with. That said, I've only ever been a casual fan. It must be hard for bands with a lot of casual fans in today's media landscape. I've never bought merch, never bought an album, never supported them by going to a show or sending a few dollars their way. Not even bought some Bandcamp mp3s. Essentially, I streamed a song or two with some regularity, probably tossed one onto a playlist I listened to for a month before forgetting it, maybe checked out a few albums during the initial discovery phase and settled into putting this one on every now and again. And what does that amount to in terms of financial viability? A few pennies here and there from me. I understand platform math, the long tail, and how things can add up but they don't always. I also understand money isn't what drives most music, but they've got to eat too. Anyway, I hope these guys, who were around from 2010 to 2018, understand. I liked them then, and I like them now. Of course, this is also one of the dangers of casual fandom. You might not ever know if or when someone has been a creep and that can come to light only after hearing a record via 1001albumsgenerator.com, writing a positive review and then checking Wikipedia once the record ends but before the next album begins. Disappointed again.
this album has a sound we've not heard much on this list. it's electronic, but it's different from kraftwerk and other electronic artists part of this project. not to mention it's such a newer sound, so i'm not surprised it came out in 2018. while it was a calming and easy listen, i couldn't get into it. it was just too little. this was not a terrible listen, but there wasn't enough to grab me. the vocals were straight forward and bland. also, yikes about how hookworms disbanded.
I found this to be spacey and unique! It was just exciting enough while being chill, just experimental enough while being familiar. It didn't grab me fully, but I was intrigued. I felt like the album had a very cohesive idea around it, musically; everything fit together well. Again, I won't debate whether or not this really needs to be on 1001, but I'm glad for the opportunity to check it out! I'd rate this somewhere above a 2.5, so might as well bump it up and call it good.
Primeira música é impressionante, demonstra opção de psicoldelia ampliada.
Great stuff! Sounds a bit like gizz, a little like arcade fire, but all around very enjoyable song writing
I certainly admire the modern krautrock stylizations of this record, but nothing really struck me.
Leuk plaatje. Blij dit te hebben leren kennen
This was an interesting album. It was a lot of electronic music with many elements that I normally like. The beginning didn’t grab me, and neither did the rest, but I enjoyed it the whole time
DFA meets shoegaze. I guess they broke up for problematic reasons.
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.
I like this type of modern rock music. Good!
i like negative space and static resistance okay once they get going - the intros and outros were not my style. Opener was alright too. pretty bold to name an album hookworms though. made me think of earworms and then made me think every song would be catchy and stuck in my head. They sound like a band that might be playing in a backroom in Brooklyn (knitting factory, baby's all right) and I'd dance my head off and be like man that was fun but never catch their name. I don't think this is special or original enough to put on this kind of a list though? But I think I need to continue to forget the premise (1001 albums to listen to before you die) and just accept their position on the list and react to them as albums alone.
My first thought when I saw this was: "who?" I listen to a lot of music, and as annoying as it sounds, I like to think that a lot of what I know isn't mainstream, and I've literally never heard of this band or album. This list has kind of surprised me with how out of left field some of the albums have come. I kind of can't tell what the impetus for that is. Are they pet albums of the curators? Are they just critical darlings? This album doesn't really feel like the latter. Don't get me wrong, I actually really liked it; it's a solid 3.5 (gonna round down), but the presence of this album on this list kinda defies reason, in my mind. Standouts: Negative Space, Static Resistance, Ullswater
Opening track started off pretty promising Latter half wasn't what I expected at all until the final track.
Enjoyed parts of it. Kinda faded into the background for me.
pretty good
funky
Very good
A tad lengthy for this style, but overall enjoyable. Up beat and fun.
Surprisingly good! Typical Indie sound of the late 2000s, few filler songs and generally songs dragging on a bit but overall catchy and easy listening songs
Decent listening. It's giving atonal, whiter Tame Impala. And the white guy's voice is like every other white guy's voice. I'm not mad at it though. Nice transitions. Good to drive to.
Solid dance-punk full of polyrhythms and melody. Loses a star for the band's abhorrent alleged behavior.
Hlustaði tvisvar, fannst skemmtilegt og mundi hlusta aftur, jafnvel í fjórða sinn.
Definitely an album i didn’t need to listen to before I died.
this was great! and totally new to me
I've never heard of this band before. Wasn't bad at all. Nothing great either but I'd probably listen again.
hookworms - microshift (2018) notes - indie rock with psych and kraut rock influences - shades of phoenix, arcade fire, mgmt - never heard of this band, wonder why this album made the list - band broke up in 2019 after allegations of abuse by frontman MJ fav - ullswater - upbeat instrumental with lyrics about a breakup - cool synth lines throughout least fav - each time we pass - nice spacey song but didn’t feel like it really went anywhere 3.5/5
Weird style. Sort of grows on you.
Completely new to me. Not bad, will definitely have to listen again
idk
"Shortcomings" is the only track that was remotely memorable. I didn't dislike this album, but there wasn't really anything unique about it.
Rock experimental.
Glimpses of goodness, can't say more than nice I guess, however. Too weak for proper dance music
A bit strange, can't quite place the genre but pleasant enough to listen to
A good album but it blends together. The first song is very exciting and feels like a throwback to early aughts indie’s best impulses, but by the end it has become mush.
Who cares.
Ouais c'était bien mais je sais pas trop
ma confiture fort
Interessanter sound, synthii
Starts off promising but quickly becomes background music.
Hookworms lack hooks or earworms.
a micro shift indeed
Very interesting album. The mix of post pop punk and new wave flow together beautifully.
I’ve never heard of this group but I did enjoy it. My kind of sound.
When the album started I thought: oh idk about this… but then I ended up rather liking it!
When it first started I was very displeased, but it actually got better and I didn't mind it by the end.
Ni los conocía! No me parecería que merecieran estar entre estos 1001 discos esenciales.
Bland with shitty mixing
A fun, immersive LP in the stlye of MGMT meets Soulwax meets Animal Collective. I appreciated the tasteful throwback and reimagining to 90s-era synth sounds, just not sure this one is impactful enough to warrant inclusion on the list.
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.
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.
Good neo-psychedelia, like a lesser MGMT to me. Disappointing to hear about why they dissolved as a group.
Interesting, but not something i'd but putting on my list.
2.5 good at times.
Microshift is the third & final album from British rock band Hookworms. There is not much information about this album, aside from the fact that it did perform well critically at release. I'm not even positive what genre this could be classified as because it's majority rock, but it switches forms to neo-psychedelia, space rock, noise rock, or drone rock based on the different electronic effects that make appearances. It was an interesting album for sure, but compared to other albums on this 1000 albums journey, it doesn't come close to some of them.
Ca sonne tres actuel, genre half moon run, les descendants de coldplay genre.c'edy bon dans le genre radiophoniqie rock 3'
Big Kraftwerk energy. very boppable and enjoyable.
Based on the name of the band, I was not expecting this album to be as soothing and pleasant as it was! 😄
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.
this sounded a bit experimental to me and at times it worked and at times I found the album annoying.
The name puts me off a bit. Pretty chill music that feeds a work ethic pretty well.
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.
It was okay, not really my vibe though.
Very hard to rate, it's ok, it plays as an album, but it's certainly not one of the best 1001. You'd rate as an interesting album rather than one you'd pop on for your friends (unless you live in Shoreditch).
Neo-psychedelia, space rock, noise rock, drone rock. Muy chulo. Un poco Claps your hands and say heah, pero con más guitarra.
Completely unknown to me. Sounds a bit like Friendly Fires and MGMT with a soaring and uplifting pop rock feel of The Killers. I like the electro rhythm and driving uplifting rock. Being critical, perhaps a little too many passages of ambient atmospheric electro textures and not enough actual ear worm catchy hooks and choruses on initial listen. Definitely going to listen again. The ear worms might grab me! High three with potential for four stars.
I actually thought this was sick, reminded me of Foals and sort of Arcade Fire. and Little Comets kind of, but more experimental at times. Will listen again! Summer vibe
Enjoyed this a lot, it bopped.
Interesting sound - never had heard of them before, but enjoyed the record as a whole - worth further listens. One fault is that the songs don't exactly stick after time passes - so it's a kind of a transient album.
Cool synth album
Nikad čuo za ovo
Wow.. I'm surprised how much I like this.. I'll be listening to this more for sure.
This is a really good record and I’ve never heard them before. This will definitely get another spin. Good electronic based indie pop.
Never heard of this band but enjoyed the listen. If i had to compare them to someone, they're like a more straight forward Tame Impala
Surprisingly good. I didn't know anything about it going in, but I really enjoyed the album and will look forward to listening to it again.
Had never heard of them before, but I really enjoyed this album! I don't feel like there was anything particularly innovative or stand-out about it, but it's well-executed melodic electronica which is good enough for a 4/5 in my book!
When I first started listening to this album, I would not have guessed that it was from 2018. I'm not sure that I could place when exactly it was from, but this album is a throw-back to earlier synth music in many ways. There are also many modern elements, and everything blends together seamlessly. Some parts of it compare favorably to Animal Collective's sound. Really cool synth pop with solid if not overwhelming lyrical content. Dope. 4/5
I was prepared to really dislike this, but ended up finding it quite good, though a little too much the Radiohead B-squad frankly. Very 21st century end to the band with one of these hard to pin down he said, she said ( or more precisely in this case, she said she said, he said) me-too downfalls where the actual reality of what happened will never be known.
Not sure that this was a must-listen. It was okay. The neo-psychedelic label gets thrown around a lot, and I don’t always hear it. This was a perfect example of that.
When it first started I thought there was a problem with the file, and then it got better, but not really. It's odd, I like some electronica type stuff, but this just didn't hit for me.
It's... Alright. You can hear interesting influences. !!!, Vangelis, LCD Soundsystem. But ultimately this is a band with a brilliant drummer and some synths disguising the fact they are otherwise producing relatively milquetoast indie that bands like Freelance Whales had already done better about 10 years prior.
Microshift was new music and Hookworms is a new band for me. About half of the tracks on this album were 3.5 or more stars. At various points within the album I was reminded of the Postal Service, Vampire Weekend, and Passion Pit. Overall I liked the album. I saved "Ullswater", "Opener", and "Shortcomings" for a replay. I would listen to additional music from the band. The opening track ("Negative Space") takes a bit to settle in, and "Boxing Day" was tempting me to skip it. After only one listen, I'm not ready to round up to a full 4 stars.
Kind of reminds me of Phoenix or LCD Soundsystem if both bands weren't as... good. Let's call it what it is, this record feels very inconsequential. Overall forgettable. Favorite tracks: "Ullswater" "Boxing Day"
Decent
Aquest indie britànic, mig psicodèlic mig electrònic, pretesament lisèrgic, va tenir els seus millors moments a finals dels 00's, començaments dels 10's amb bandes com Wooden Shjips o les últims discos de Maccabees. 'Microshift' sóna a tot això, amb records també al krautrock setenter. Res memorable, res especial
Its fine, but is it really good enough to be included so soon after release?
Hookworms? Aren’t there pills for that?
meh hip indie rock.
It’s like a tamer Tame Impala.
Ágætis tónlist. Síðasta platan sem þetta band gaf út enda komu upp ljótar ásakanir á söngvarann um svipað leyti og í framhaldi af þeim hætti bandið að starfa.
Very strong Animal Collective aromas coming off of this album. The smooth synths and softened vocals make for a nice relaxing listen. The psychedelic tones are present and this record makes it easy to drift away. Based on how new this album is, I am surprised it's on this list; it's not really a new sound circa 2018, however Hookworms does a good job of releasing a solid album within this established genre. Good overall, I'm not super excited about it but it foots the bill if I'm in the mood for a neo-psych/indie album. Fave tracks: Negative Space, Opener, Shortcomings
This is a solid indie rock album that sits nicely in the niche of what indie rock does best: Layered soundscapes with a variety of instruments and styles folded in accompanied by existential pondering lyrics presented in a nice upbeat/dancy package. The influences are numerous and clear on this record - elements of MGMT, Animal Collective, The Antlers to name a few. Overall I find that it draws together these sounds well and presents it in a way that is fresh enough to not just sound like recycled material, however it has not gone far enough to be anything progressive or influential. Most of the songs are on the longer side, which is a risky move, but I find works well, especially with how they're all faded into each other. The only one I felt that dragged a bit too much was Opener. Fav Tracks: Negative Space, Ullswater, Shortcomings
This should have connected with me more: shimmery synths, Foals-style grooves, beta male vocals. It doesn't quite add up. And then you read the band dissolved almost immediately after this album's release due to sexual assault allegations against the lead singer.
This had a good feel - not sure if it's going to remain a '1001' worthy album, but perhaps too early to tell. Worth another session.
Not bad!
Another album in the "didn't mind as background music" category
I like the album cover. I dislike how much noise(?) there is. It sounds fuzzy and it drowns out the singing. I’m not a huge fan of the genre either. Highlights: -
Quite an enjoyable listen. Certainly one to explore further. A bit of a sad story but these are the times we live in. No particular fave but it does finish strong so let's say Shortcomings.
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
Forgettable.
Enjoyable album but I'm not sure there is enough here for it to be memorable. Generous 3 maybe.
Eh, not my cup of tea, night give it another shot down the road
The beats and the hooks are nice. But they cranked the volume up to 11, then whooshed it out with the classic indie rock TV static noise, at the top of that, there's these fever dream-sy vocals that only amplifies the monotonicity and messiness of the overall sound. These guys know how to make great sounds, but they probably got carried away while producing.
Música electrónica estilo Depeche mode
This is deadly! Unreal rhythms and grooves, it really digs in
Really good. I enjoyed it. The vocals were hidden in mix and should be more profound.
Never heard of this bunch. Quite like it. It’s never a 5 but glad to have discovered them. Cover art 5/5. You can beat a bit of surrealism
Pretty boring but not the worst thing ever
Very chill but somewhat unique vibe. No bangers/ memorable songs to me though