Reviews (page 11 of 13)
I'm just not feeling this one. Nothing is great about this album. Might not be coming back to it, but I didn't hate every second. It really didn't do anything wrong, just didn't do anything.
For some reason, I kept hearing the lead singer trying to sound like something between Springsteen and Dylan, and it put me off a bit but a mellow album in all that doesn't really change it up at all so it kinda floated by without much fanfare. I'll probably have another go sometime and give it a more careful ear but for now a 2...
Boring
inoffensive sadboy songs / 5
Songs are too long. Leave that to Pink Floyd.
Buen álbum
So boring.
Nice concept
Fine Fav: Red Eyes
I totally understand why this band would have longevity; there's a handful of songs that show a real expansion of the Springsteen-by-way-of-indie revival of the 2010s that peaked with Arcade Fire. But my god is this a slog. Song after song of the same bullshit over and over. It's perfectly fine and not terrible but it's bland and boring as fuck.
They sound like Don Henley and Ryan Adams. This isn't an album anyone needs to hear.
Pretty bland, doesn’t stick out to me.
This album is a bit like a plodding dull Paul Simon out take.
A celebration of mediocrity with some nice production here and there. I enjoyed moments of this album, but the band doesn’t have anything new to say musically or lyrically.
Jeg har hørt en mye på både Under Pressure og Red Eyes. Synes det er fine låter i roadtrip sub-genren som jeg fortsetter å komme tilbake til. Men det er en grunn til at jeg aldri har hørt hele skiva før: den er forferdelig kjedelig.
Not as bad as I was expecting, but just kinda washed over me tbh.
I’m a 35 year old dad who plays guitar, this should be my shit. The first track was great, but the album never really went anywhere from there. It felt pretty one dimensional and the sound scape elements didn’t really do it for me.
This was so unremarkable I forgot I was listening to it... But at the same time not terrible enough that I couldn't ignore it.
Not my type of music, but was OK
Highlights: Under the Pressure, In Reverse I had low expectations going into this based on the description, the name and the album cover. It gave a pretentious vibe and it was a sign of things to come. Under the Pressure was an ok opener, but dragged on for too long. The instrumental ending of Suffering was nice (the riffs). As the record went on I was kinda unimpressed. It sounds like a product of its time and I don't particularly like that period of indie music. Very uninspired and meh. This white man still hasn't discovered any spice in his life. The influences are painfully obvious and it made it less enjoyable. It felt cheap. Won't be revisiting it, nor will any of the tracks remain in rotation.
Lyssnade halva, inte riktigt min grej
It wasn't unlistenable, but it was one of the most excrutiatingly boring albums I've ever heard. 2/5
Hvorfor?
This band sounds like a poor man's Dire Straits, imitation Bob Dylan, bad Pink Floyd sound-a-like, Bruce Springsteen substitute .... you name it. This album is dull, derivative and totally lacking in originality.
As I listened to the first track, I read the band’s Spotify bio. They describe themselves as “reconnecting rock’s manifold hyphenates with an ardor and ease” and “obviating the gaps between abstruse and the anthemic.” My first thought was: what a bunch of wankers. The music feels similar - wanky. It’s not awful, but it reminds me of the Eagles in that it oozes easy listening without much substance or variation. In the end, it all blended together into a bit of a snooze fest for me.
quite the nothingburger of sounds. wasn't offensive but didn't strike me with anything interesting Would I listen again? no Deserves to be on this list? no 2.3
All edges are rounded and everything is known. Nothing is new or unexpected. This is the first time but I have been here before. There is no pressure.
The answer to the question: "What if Don Henley wrote 'The Boys of Summer' 10 more times?" To be clear, I love "The Boys of Summer." And this album is not only listenable, but enjoyable. Nonetheless, I can't help but feel it's more Nostalgia-Bait than anything (even if pleasant). I saw the War on Drugs in concert a couple years ago, and they were alright, but I think this music works better in the earphones (or, say, while driving down a country road at sunset). It’s not a bad album, but it really should not be on this list when so many other, more consequential artists have been left off.
Why is this on the list? Boooooring
Fun, it was oddly familiar. A little bit 1975 a little bit Bob Dylan.
“Don’t hold back. I’m ready,” he said, as the priest unveiled his quivering member. “Did you do the enema like I asked?” He nodded, blushing and breaking eye contact.
Not a bad album by any means but it’s just a little boring for my taste. I did find connection with Suffering and I enjoyed Burning. Will I ever listen to this album again? No
70% samey, 30% badly trying to be Bob Dylan. 5/10
Knappt lyssnat på the war on drugs och var därför taggad. De är som arcade fire för mig, ett sånt där band som bara flimrat förbi på way out west och som hypeats och hyllats av en samlad indiearmé. Några låtar är fina, men efter ett par lyssningar landar jag ändå i att mängden för tråkig Dylan-cosplay-rock är för hög. Jag fattar helt enkelt inte riktigt grejen. Sträcker mig till stark 2a.
Rock alternatif, shoegazing, inspiration Neil young & springsteen. Beaucoup de musique sont qu’instrumentales et ps spécialement mélodieuses mais assez tristes, autrement c’est plat, sans nuance. Encore une fois je suis déçue surtout que c’est recent. C’est peut etre ce que je retiendrai : decalage d’epoque
Якось нудно і треки між собою занадто подібні. Проте Lost In The Dream і In reverse мені в принципі більш-менш сподобалися
Light Beer Rock
Compelling band but I got a whiff of Bruce Springsteen on it and didn’t like it.
Like on song the rest was dull
Ni vrit ni mimo, srednja žalost, malo gore od toga još. 2/5, 3/10
Me gusta las vibes medias ambient rock etereo pero que aun asi experimenta con sonidos que no suelen ser parte de este genero. Siento mas equilibrio y originalidad en los momentos mas minimalistas que cuando juega a un sonido tan cargado y amplio. Likes: Under The Pressure - Suffering - In Reverse
Fantastic background music. Honestly some really interesting guitar parts, but lacks the excitement or lyricism to really make this an album worth revisiting. Could be good ambient music in a film.
i mean ok
I thought I knew this band but I think I have may have confused them with another band. Yeah I don't know, this album is boring and sounds like some weird 80's soft rock. Couldn't finish.
Lite sömnigt va.
I could see how this could be transformative and a necessary album if this was made in the 80's or 90's. But 2014?? This must just be the authors bias of the music tastes he likes. I swear, if we don't get one Taylor Swift album, I'm rioting.
I quite like what they're trying to do, but the drums are awful and the overall feel is a bit light.
Lost in the Dream by The War on Drugs is long, intense, dark and, at times, a little dull. There’s no denying the atmosphere they create, but the problem is how rarely they stray from it. The band clearly has a formula, and across this album they stick to it almost rigidly. The same chord progressions, production style and overall mood repeat themselves, which means the record never really evolves or goes anywhere. What starts as immersive gradually becomes monotonous, and the running time only amplifies that feeling. That said, the album does finish strongly. When they tighten things up and add a sense of momentum, it finally clicks, reminding you why this band is so highly regarded. Favourite tracks: Burning and Lost in the Dream, the closing stretch is easily the album’s best part. Least favourite tracks: An Ocean in Between the Waves drags on and offers very little to justify its length. Album artwork: Moody and understated, much like the music.
“The War on Drugs are this century’s great rock ’n’ roll synthesists, obviating the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the abstruse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present. The War on Drugs have never done that so well as they do with I Don’t Live Here Anymore, their fifth studio album and their most compulsive and bold set of songs to date.” -posted by the band I mean…I’m my own biggest fan, too, but Jesus, this is a lot of hot air. First song was pretty good, but it was meh from there. Jackson Browne might have made this record.
Impressive variety of sounds- they definitely want to sound like a Springsteen/dylan combo. No bangers but a fine listen. Sounds like something Julia would like. I get the feeling they’d let just about anyone play harmonica in this group.
This album was blah.
not for me, a lot songs just extending run time for no reason
Kind of suprised to find this here ...i think its okay...An Ocean Between the Waves has a vibe..but that's about it. I hear the album and I think groups like Beach House does this so much better.
Favorite track(s): please there was more music coming out in the 2010s that wasn't trying to salvage rock please we can't keep doing this
Hintergrundgedudel. Highlightarm, aber zumindest nicht nervig.
As a garden variety indie rock snob, I knew about TWoD early on and in keeping with that disposition mostly forgot about them. So it was a bit of a surprise to me when this leaked and folks were losing their minds over it - the dude from Kurt Vile’s side project is a big deal? Anyhow, that all aside, by the time this arrived I was well over the heartland rock thing, not to mention the incredibly long songs that are Granduciel’s stock and trade. Good for him keeping a bunch of sidemen employed in his live band I guess?
Nice listening. Nothing stood out in particular but I like the vibe.
Kinda nice, but far too generic. Babbles away in the background.
Ikkje for meg
Dreamy & kind of ethereal, peppered with some Bruce Springsteen-y overtones in the instrumentation.
Gepflegte Rock-Langeweile.
I really love the sound but I find that most of the songs are a bit too slow for me, probably should've listened while being in a different mood. Also none of them struck me as particularly memorable. I will listen to this again but probably not the full album.
Started off decent but dragged on
A noise but not an abhorrent one
Album 22 Top 3 favorites off the album: Red Eyes, Disappearing, An Ocean In Between The Waves I will begin by saying that I love it when neither the name of an album nor the band whose album it is gives me an idea of what style to expect. This was one of those albums and bands. This style falls under some of my usual tastes. It's fairly cool, consistently smooth, the kind of thing I enjoy listening to at night. I'd put it on a playlist with Cigarettes After Sex, maybe. One of those albums that's distinctly That Band in a repetitive way. I think it's probably a combination of... the everything. We've got very similar drumming for entire tracks, a sort of wall of sound without much adding or dialing back of instruments across tracks or the album as a whole, not much variation in vocal technique or even volume, a consistent few drones on synths and guitar in some cases, all of it contributing to that smoothness/consistency but taking away from the overall musical interest. The most interesting tracks came around the halfway point to the latter half of the album, especially those that felt more country (?). Eyes To The Wind had a slightly different sound that I enjoyed. The lyrics aren't bad (I've been really bad about giving them all the attention they deserve these past few albums... oops). Very summer night vibes, very background music. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Really, truly neutral on this one.
Could understand someone really liking this, but I thought it was quite bland
Really enjoyed some aspects of the album and can definitely see myself coming back to some of their tracks, but can’t really see myself listening too in-depth to it. A lot of the stuff sounds like it has been done before and better. Very similar to Dylan and Petty for me. Enjoyed a lot of the guitar tones and ambience however
Easy listening for indie rock fans. I can see these folks are competent musicians and production is solid but I simply found this boring and had to force myself to pay attention to it. Very textbook above average band with nothing particularly unique to their flavor.
honestly not for me, a few songs i liked (the slow ones) but i fear im not cool enough for this one
It didn’t blow me away
Born in the USA Springsteen-esque dream pop that wasn’t good when it came out, and continues to not be good now. For people with bland taste to “feel indie”.
this is what plays in craft beers commercials
#236/1001. According to the bands self-written description in Spitify, "Folk, indie, kosmiche, noise, roots, arena, psychedelic, soft, whatever—The War on Drugs are this century’s great rock ’n’ roll synthesists, obviating the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the abstruse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present." According to me, they sound like mediocre shit.
A little slow and ambient for me
Not my favorite. Wasn’t pulled into the music, and there is nothing memorable for me.
good album for a road trip... ambience vs active listening. not really my style, but kinda reminds me of julie!
Why is this here? It's filler. Friendly advice: if you are going to make a list of 1,001 things that something, and you struggle to get to 1,001 of those things, change the name of the list. Influence 1. Hits 1. Quality 3. Intangibles 1. It's not offensive, but it may be the definition of mediocre 2.
So uneventful, I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over. It wasn't horrible, but very boring and uninspired.
This was pleasant-sounding enough, but it was also boring as Hell and overlong. If there was depth to the lyrics, I couldn't tell since the vocals, like the music, were blurry and undistinguished. It's pretty much a fail, but I've given out too many 1s already.
I don’t get why this was on here. It was fine. I’m just seeing parallels to prior artists that did it all a little better. I’d give it a one but it wasn’t bad enough to get that. It’s going to get the lesser desired 2 for seemingly being lazy and unoriginal.
I think maybe I didn't find the time to give this album what it needed. The songs were dreamy but also could be just background music, not as notable as other albums on the list so far.
Listening session: january 2nd, while eating breakfast and getting ready Listened to before: no Thoughts: didn’t hate or love this, just isn’t my cup of tea Favourite tracks: Suffering
What if Bruce Springsteen was really really boring? 2/5
Kuulostaa normaalimusiikilta ollakseen huumemusiikkia
The War on Drugs is a great name for a band, but this is a pretty milquetoast album.
Just not my cup of tea unfortunately
This album was OK enough. I'm not exactly sure why this is considered an album I must hear before I die. The 80's style arrangements were nice, but nothing really jumped out and stopped me in my tracks. It was more or less background music for me.
did not really like it
3/10
The third song is called “Suffering” because that’s what I was doing while listening to this album
The songs are overly long. There's nothing really wrong with them, but they're all sort of underwhelming and forgettable. If beige were music, it would be this. Fine for background music. I feel like I'm at a pretentious coffee shop. You shouldn't strive for your art to be inoffensive. And yet, here we are.
It tries very hard to be "epic" and big but at it's heart, it's an ambient pop record. The critics love it and it was a big hit in it's day but I didn't find it especially interesting. It makes good background music.
Nothing exepcional, but ita not bad as a whole, it just not mark the listener.
I don't get the appeal. This feels like a rainy day album that just drags
One song was pretty good, but the whole album sounded like the same song 10 times. Sounds pretty, but way too monotonous for my liking.
Bruce Hornsby for millennials. Really middle of the road and boring.
I never understood the hype for this album.
This makes me sad and I'm only half listening.
This was pretty boring to me.
Funny album this one. If you listen to some songs by themselves, they stand up. "Red Eyes" is good, and I think it was somewhat famous at the time it came out (don't quite remember). But as a whole, it sounds like one huge giant song segmented in tracks. It's not bad by any means, just unispiring, imo. I think I can trace some singer-songwriter influences, like Dylan, but that was it. Could be my fault, but still.
Why are all of the songs on this album so long. MORE THAN ONE seven minute single?!? And they're not even that good.
Honestly, started off with a ratcheting noise and then warbling tremolo guitar, and those are my least favourite noises in the world so my view was tainted from the 0:00 mark. What follows is dreary, dreamy, pretentious indie bullshit, so in hindsight the 0:01 mark was the high point. Its not 1 star bad, but it's like 1.5 stars....
Not a fan of Springsteen and this is just as boring as it was 10 years ago when it came out.
Nice but generic indie rock album. Fav track was probably Suffering.
War on Drugs is a well known name. post rock/rockNroll sounding musicwith multiple instruments blend in. melody driven and dreamy, honestly their music is dragging. for your information i listen to Long music. Earth2, SunnO, Drose, khanate, boris, mono and Swans. overall wise War on Drugs is the hippie version of Mogwai with to much Pink Floyd influence.
meh
Not exceptional.
Their meandering style has never really worked for me, and it will take a lot to convince me that I urgently needed to listen to this before I died
What’s almost worse than Bob Dylan? A moron doing a shite Dylan impression over music your mum would like.
Boring and predictable.
These songs are interminable. Complete vibe album that wishes to journey nowhere else but the same 3 foot by 3 foot space. That's fine for those who want it, but I find this terribly dull.
I finished listening 39 seconds ago and have already forgotten everything. I don't understand why this is on the list; it just doesn't stand out in any way shape or form. Not catchy enough to be great poppy, not edgy enough to be great rock, not experimental enough to be great avant garde or alternative. It's definitely a well-executed album, like don't get me wrong, it's not bad and I can see it really appealing to hardcore fans of indie rock, in the same tier as other greats like Arcade Fire and The National, but it shouldn't be in the canon of albums you need to hear before you die and those latter bands have much more interesting albums than this, in my opinion.
I put it on a few times, got half way through and realized I hadn't heard anything. Started again and turned it up. How do they get such big fonts on festival lineups? I guess snoozecore is big with the kids. Soft rock with minimal, repetetive instrumentation and lullaby singing. I once read a review that said The XX is music for sleeping babies. I like The XX, but could not find the lie. An Ocean In Between the Waves and Burning do pick up, but most of the latter half coasts on Pink Floyd vibes. Disappearing sounds like it could be a languid cut from The Division Bell, but unfortunately David Gilmore or Roger Waters never turn up. I think theyre too quick to judge drugs.
For a 2014 album this sounds very 80s to me. I don't know if it's the tibres or the cords or the eq but something in the music made me feel uncomfortable? Tense might be the right word. And I'm sure for normal people listening to this is probably relaxing but as i listened to it i kept thinking "what is that" and "why do i feel so uneasy" before remembering it's the music. like having a random rock in your shoe. I think the way i don't like this is like the difference between eating bad food and food you're allergic to. I think I'm allergic to whatever's in this
Yep, sounds like Don Henley. Did we need another? It's fine, but very little variation between tracks.
No real feelings towards this one. Not great, not offensive. Would make a good movie car scene soundtack
Wasn't the vibe for the day
2/10 not quite my tempo
boring
Wow I did not like that. Like it wasn't horrible but damn I was bored.
This would be good if anything happened. A complete nothingburger. 1.5/5
I liked this but didn't love it
Another of those bands whose name I was familiar with but the music not so much. Started off okay, pleasant sounding tune that moved along well, until it didn't end. These guys have a serious problem of not knowing when a song should be over. An unhealthy addiction to reverb too.
Not memorable.
I don’t get it
cant hear the vocals wthelly not stunning
Lost in the dream takes a mediocre soft rock approach which leaves me listening this record had more teeth than it does. It's banal and trite with little standing out
I think I am just going to call music in the last 10 years ... The Influence Era. I have said many times during this project, modern bands are just a copy of a copy of a copy. This band was obviously influenced by my sick days from school in the late 80s and early 90s watching VH1 because there was nothing else to do. Or maybe they were just really into Bruce ... Hornsby?
Meh
Not bad, but sometimes I forgot who I was listening to, was this Dylan, or Springsteen? Both of which I don't care for. Just okay for me.
Way too samey for a 60 minute set.
Very slow, but still good.
Meh.
OK'ish
It's ok
Bland and not interesting. I could probably get into it but would take work and forcing myself to do so. Lush production but songs dont quite land. Won't listen to this one again.
Feels kinda like a modern melding Dire Straights meets The Boss. Pretty good if you're in the mood for that kind of thing, but I wasn't so much. This could have another star if I were in more of an indie flavored dad rock mood.
it just ok. my life remains unchanged
He sounds like the lovechild of Don Henley & Bob Dylan who doesn't know how to properly end a song. Your soundscapes aren't interesting enough to end every song like that. The songs tend to be needlessly long. To me the drummer makes this incredibly better then it ought to be. Fun upbeat keeping the flow really saves alot of the songs.
Oh. This sounds like Bob Dylan if covered by the Killers. Disappointingly bland.
Like an ambient Tom Petty, or a smoothened out Kurt Vile, but less interesting than both
Me childhood Lol
I will never understand all of the love this band and this particular album get. Have any of you ever heard Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, or Tom Petty? They shamelsssly steal from those three, yet somehow makes it all less interesting, more vanilla, and incredibly bland. Imagine a CD created to play in a Starbucks that will be familiar enough to get the white people tapping their toes but also inoffensive enough that no one objects. That is this album.
Not a fan
This has a lot of what I like, or at least what I liked ten years ago when this album was released. Some moody heartlock rock. But I find that the instrumentation (mainly the drums?) don't vary much across the tracks, meaning all the melody and, I don't know, musical ideas (?) are coming from the vocals only. I think that's what separates this greatly from my very special boys, The Killers, who have a sound but try lots of weird stuff, some of which doesn't work great, but at least makes each song stand apart. This review may annoy people who know anything at all about music but I'm pretty sure this is at least B- music criticism.
Meh
Correcto
Didn’t find it engaging
2.1
Damn it, I knew this was going to be an indie band the second I saw the name and the album cover. Sure enough, that’s exactly what I got. If anything, going through this list has made me dislike indie bands even more. The whole album is a washed-out blur of reverb, mellow vocals, and endless mid-tempo tracks that go nowhere. The only thing that stood out was the guitar work on “An Ocean Between the Waves.” Everything else just melted together in a puddle of forgettable background noise. I was bored before it was halfway over.
Boring
This one is a real contradiction to me. I truly liked the instrumentation on several songs and was super won over but then slowly lost interest cause I just do not care for the vocals at all. He’s not a bad singer by any means, but listening to this album made me feel like this is what Future Islands would sound like if they had a singer I didn’t care for. He just sounds too much like other singers I don’t like (ex Bruce Springsteen). But I would recommend this album to somebody if I knew they liked both Bruce Springsteen and Future Islands.
It reminds me of those buskers with too many reverb pedals.
Roller-coaster, and I can't stand it
not my style
Unremarkable (to me)
Nichtssagender, dahinplätschernder Indie-Pop. Teilweise mit New Age und ganz dezenten Industrial-Elementen aufgepäppelt. Trotzdem langweilig und nichts besonderes.
Repetitive, lackluster, exactly the type of album that someone you can’t stand would love.
I'm joining the "war on drugs" on the side of the drugs. Favorite track: Under The Pressure 2.5/5
Not my genre, but i enjoyed 2 of them. Besides of that, very generic album, everything feels the same, only thing i enjoyed are those Brian Eno feels in a couple of songs
I liked the opening song, but every one afterwards sounded the same. His voice sounded like a bad imitation of Bob Dylan...I don't like Bob Dylan.
I don't like indie rock sorry
BGM personified. 2.5 Stars
Started off as an easy listen but then it got annoying towards the end with how repetitive the songs were
The War On Drugs is another band where I just don't get the hype for, sure have some good tracks. I especially like 'Thinking Of A Place', which is not even on this album. But even 'Lost In the Dream' has some moments. Just not many. For an album praised into oblivion nearly 50 minutes out of this one hour project is just mediocre rock soundscaping.
I got an ad, and thinking that the song I was hearing was a part of the album, I looked down and immediately got kind of upset that it just an ad. Semi-Jokes aside, the atmosphere was neat. I really liked that ambient track towards the end. Past that I don't see myself coming back to this one.
A little too mellow. Nothing to really grab you. Very repetitive.
As many others have said, it’s the same drumbeat on almost every song. The songs go on and on with little to no variation. It’s simply boring
This was not the mid 2010s for me. My experience of this era was bright bop, getting all tropical house with it. So coming to this cold without the cushion of nostalgia is hard. The album is ok but it's not enough to captivate me or inspire me to listen to it anymore than once. My favourite track is the one that sounds like a lost Springsteen song.
OK, but a bit dull
I don't love the Bob Dylan vocals with the somewhat generic sadboi indie music. It's not bad, but it's not very exciting. 2.5
Somewhat bland.
Very atmospheric, but i wouldn't reach for it again
Perhaps too much variation. Didn't get into this.
Wow
Inoffensive but so sleepy.
Eerste nummer klinkt erg off. De bas is nergens. Dat getik aan het begin werkt niet voor me, maar het is vooral de piano die gewoon niet lijkt te kloppen. Red eyes is een erg chill nummer. Suffering heeft een mooie staart en is verder ok. Ocean in between the waves is best leuk, maar de drummer had net zo goed een bandje kunnen zijn. Disappearing is voor mij filler in een album wat het echt niet nodig heeft. Eyes to the wind is wel weer gezellig. En hier stopt mijn rating denk ik. Ik kom hier niet zo goed doorheen. Ondanks dat ik een aantal nummers van ze echt wel fijn vind, is het als album niet geslaagd. Misschien kan mijn brainrot aandachtspanne niet dealen met dit alles, maar misschien is 4 minuten aan staart aan elk nummer plakken (hoe mooi die staart dan wel mag zijn) ook geen goede opbouw voor een album. Ik denk dat uiteindelijk the haunting idle me gebroken heeft. Daarna kwam alles niet meer zo binnen. Jammer, want het zijn wel veel nummers die welkom zijn in mijn grote spotify afspeellijst. 2/5 voor het album. Ben nu ook een beetje bang om de andere albums in hun totaliteit te luisteren. Misschien houd ik het maar gewoon bij singles.
Op papier checkt dit album heel veel boxes van dingen die ik chill vind in muziek, maar op een of andere manier weten ze het als een groot monotoon snoozefest te presenteren waarbij vrijwel geen enkel nummer m'n aandacht echt pakt. Als ik de klank van de vocals chiller had gevonden had het nog wel een aangenaam achtergrond album kunnen zijn maar voor nu niet iets waar ik echt meer van wil.
An album with a lot of emotion poured into it, especially in instrumentation. Combines folk with an almost dark synth presentation. Whole album feels like a long form jam session, which maybe feels tiresome at some points. Fave Tracks: Under the Pressure; An Ocean In Between The Waves; Lost In The Dream Worst Track: Eyes to the Wind
Ah come on give me something good
I did not vibe to this. This was uninteresting to me. I only liked the last song on the album.
This bored me. The songs were all quite simple, repetitive bits with vaguely dylan-esque vocal lines and layers and layers of instrumentation, but I didn't really get much beyond that. A few times they ended a song with 2-3 minutes of ambience - I think I'd be more interested if they leaned into that and worried less about the 'song' part. When the song did come through they reminded me of The Waterboys. Nothing wrong with the waterboys, but I feel like they already exist, so try and do something different.
Lame
Meh, didn't leave an impression on me.
Pretentious, pondering, over-long tracks.
2.5. No wonder America lost the War on Drugs when it’s this forgettable.
Entirely unoriginal and their spotify bio reflects how egocentric this group acts about their music. You aren't geniuses for playing bland indie rock with a bob dylan impression!
Otro disco que no me llamó la atención. Es notoria la inspiración de Bob Dylan en la voz y me gustan los momentos ambientales, los tiempos reflexivos que se toman, en lugar de simplemente ser canciones upbeat de 3 minutos. Es notoria la atmosfera melancólica y depresiva que el compositor intentó capturar en base a su estado emocional de ese momento. A pesar de estos aspectos, no encontré algo interesante a mi gusto.
Boringgg
Pros: Not the Kings of Leon.
There are moments when the record threatens to take off. But then it just sits down.
Boring. Not offensive, but very bland. And this is one of those albums on the list that I don't agree is influential because there's nothing new in it.
Aural wallpaper. I can't imagine how they stayed awake for an hour recording it. And didn't they win a Grammy for Best Rock Album (I think it wasn't for this one)? This is not rock.
First off, why is he doing his best Bob Dylan impression at the beginning of "Under the Pressure"? This creeped out again later in the album--not a fan of that style of inflection. As for the rest of it, the album is a bit too ambient for my taste. I can dig chill, laid-back music, but it does need to be going somewhere. I feel like there were too many moments on this album where I found myself wondering how long the songs were going to go on, even if they were enjoyable for the first few minutes.
I couldn't get into it at all - I listened to it and it entered my brain and immediately exited without leaving any trace it had ever been there. As I'm leaving 1/5 scores for things I actively dislike, I guess this gets: 2/5
A pleasant listen although most of the songs are a bit long. But for three stars I'm missing at least one song to really stand out. favourite: "Burning" 2,5
Heard it before. I really like Under The Pressure but overall the album is just not really for me 2/5
Just okay
Removed Album #12 Ever since I learned of there being 1089 albums on this website I have been interested in the unfortunate 88 that have had their "must-listen" status revoked. Fortunately, I don't have to quander any longer as I have just now assembled a list of 87 albums that have been expunged from future editions of the 1001 Albums book (I can live with not knowing what the forbidden, spooky, antisemitic 88th album was). Here's the list for anyone interested: https://pastebin.com/cSThNiK9 Interestingly, no albums released prior to 1999 have been removed from the list, which is eyebrow-raising as I can definitely think of a few that are worthy ("Shake Your Money Maker", "Scream, Dracula, Scream!", "Rip It Up", "The Electric Prunes", "Back to Mystery City"). Seems like Dimery and co. are taking the easy way out rather than actually revising and updating the list. There's some strange albums that have been zapped from the list. Of particular interest to me is that every Kings of Leon album has been scrubbed, which is funny. They also hit every album from Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, which I guess I can't fault. "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned" was also struck, which I strongly disagree with despite not really liking that album. "Gorillaz". I like that album, though I can agree with the removal. "Hail to the Thief", which is bullshit. Great album. "Frank" by Amy Winehouse. Both Beta Band albums, which I know this site isn't fond of. "The College Dropout" by Kanye, which is a surprising snub. I'm pretty sure that's one of the acclaimed ones. "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City", another surprise erasure. Holy shit, I need to shut up and talk about the album. It's alright. Mid-2010s indie and nothing more. Many of the songs start out with solid guitar hooks but lose themselves in the sauce as they're drawn out for longer and longer. Sometimes this loss of direction is nice, like with the way "Under the Pressure" lowers itself into some good reverberating guitars at the end, though most of the time these tunes go nowhere and leave me feeling frustrated. Some aspects of this album flat out do not work for me. The synth is a particularly big point of contention. I don't think it sounds good and serves as a detriment to the solid guitarwork. The vocals also aren't my cup of tea, though I do like how they're mastered at points with those wavy vocal effects. It's somewhat difficult for me to follow the lyrics of this album as a result - the vocals blur the line between being words and noise for me. Why was this album removed? I would need to know why it was on the list in the first place, which I do not. If I'm to take a shot in the dark, I would guess that this album was removed due to not being culturally relevant anymore. It's a very mid-2010s hippiecoded album, which is perhaps the most superficial movement you could ever be a part of. Would I save this piece of music from the album woodchipper? Have a nice slicing.
Technically good but it's a monotonous bore for me.
At first, it unfortunately sounds like a typical “indie” album from the early 2010s—boring and overused. My main issue—similar to what I felt with Franz Ferdinand’s fourth album—is that these so-called indie tracks are overloaded with synths, which, to me, is a clear sign of mediocrity. This is especially noticeable on the second track, “Red Eyes”—ironically, the most played song on Spotify. That said, “An Ocean in Between the Waves” isn’t bad; in fact, I’d consider including it on a compilation. When listening to “Eyes to the Wind,” the band comes off more like yacht rock at best. (“The Haunting Idle” would make perfect background music for a hot night with someone—though, unfortunately, it’s too short for that purpose.) And then there’s “Lost in the Dream”—a genuinely good song, though it’s clearly a Bob Dylan ripoff.
One of those albums that are so aggressively just “fine” that you have to remind yourself to be paying attention to it. I hate Bob Dylan and Don Henley and this guy is a healthy mix of both unfortunately.
I'm not sure. It's fine to listen to but nothing really grabs me. I just don't feel much of anything here. Mayne in another headspace idk
Yawn
Still having problems getting into the sound/production of indie bands formed in the mid-late 00s .. Did see these live at a psych rock festival few years back..thought they sounded a little like an 80s Scottish Band (Deacon Blue, Texas) and largely sticking with that..more neo-Aberdeenshire than neo-psychedelia.
La voz de Bob Dylan, la actitud de Bruce Springsteen y la guitarra de Dire Straits, trasladadas al indie etéreo de los 2010. Solo que de semejante amalgama acaba saliendo un gris monótono que no termina de arrancar. Aprecio la calidad musical (aunque la percusión es súper simple), su producción y la atmósfera onírica del álbum. Es bueno y muy relajante. Un álbum perfecto para tener de fondo mientras te concentras en algo. Pero no entiendo muy bien qué hace en esta lista.
Boring, fades into the background while listening.
Nothing exciting, an album of filler tunes
if bob dylan tried to make a space rock album and ended up with a somehow more boring version of coldplay
Fine, not my scene, really. Kinda samey and a bit overlong. Pleasant enough background music, inoffensive.
You like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan? Well this guy obviously does and he's drawn out the songs to over 5 minutes so you can make sure you hear it! Like its fine but then it was a struggle to get through because the okay song then lasts past five minutes for no reason, not changing at all just still going the same... The album is a drag in more ways than just one. Tired. I'm glad its over.
I am an indie rock fan. But this is one of the most sterile-sounding albums I've ever come across. It's not unpleasant to listen to, but it's like what I'd imagine elevator indie rock music would sound like. The song "Burning" also clearly imitates the song "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart... i assume that was intentional? Weird.
Too sleepy to be interesting and too spacy to provide any solid grooves. I don't take much away from albums like this. A vibe is fine, but I want a little more from music than just vibe. I look for sounds that pique my interest, melodies with emotional dynamics, and grooves that make me want to move my body. I didn't find any of that here
That album seems like a prototype for so much that came after
Definitely not what I expected. This is like an indie tribute to a very specific type of 80s rock. I got a lot of 80s Bruce and Rod Stewart, but people nailed it with Don Henley. Here’s the problem, these songs are too long, and the singer is too mediocre to outshine those better songs. There’s a few highlights, but my god are they too long
Finns väl något där men det mesta känns bort skrubbat
Inoffensive and catchy enough. Nothing bad, nothing great. Happy to listen to this as background music but probably wouldn't want to intentionally listen to this. 2.5/5 stars.
Все какое-то однообразное, как фоновая музыка для кафе пойдет, один трек можно послушать, но альбомом это слушать невозможно скучно
Fav: Red Eyes Least Fav: The Haunting Idle “We have The Killers at home” The Killers at home:
I don’t get it
Bland
Opener song "under the pressure" feels like it matches the "theme" of the album closer to the end with the like, 3/4 minute wooey woo instrumental (he said before he realized every song had a wooey woo instrumental). Another "vibes heavy" prog rock album, the more spacey songs are pleasant but not super engaging otherwise, The Haunting Idle is just 3 minutes of reverbed guitar strumming and other random chords which i think the album could do without. It is easy to hear the Dylan/Springsteen influence in some of the guitar and vocals (eyes to the wind, burning), but like - I'd rather just listen to Springsteen or Dylan. The drums really do sound the same on every song which isn't the worst thing ever but does not help anything either. 4.7/10.
I’ve heard this band’s name but can’t say I ever knowingly listened to their music. Hey siri, play some indie rock! That’s kinda what it sounds like. Somber, with all kind of effects enveloping the songs. Overly serious and humorless as far as I’m concerned. Kind of the same feeling throughout.
Seems like they are just copying that “classic” American rock sound, done (and better) by so many before them. A lot of the songs were too long but I think that was to add to the dreamy-ness of the album.
War on war
I found this to be rather dull
# 433 : 11/03/2025 : I don't love it, I don't hate it. A couple of things stood out but I thought it was very ordinary quiet forgettable and I doubt I'll ever go back to this. every song used the same template, chords, ....everything. If you've heard one song, you've heard them all...
😳
Not really sure what i was listen to, a werid missmash of progrock and folk music. Got bored and gave up after the 4th song.
Sean Tanos Monday at 10:22 AM I was listening to this music in the car with my wife while we were driving to Minden on our break. I think I mentioned Bob music before, which is just music my friend Bob likes. My wife looked at me after the 2nd song, and asked if Bob had ever heard this band because she thought he'd love it. Definitely Bob music.
Imagine it's raining, and you hear thunder. You think "this is great weather to take a nap". That would be the scenario where this album would be okay. Otherwise, it's pretty bland.
boooorrrriiiinnnnggg. I couldn't wait til this was over. Was suprised to see this record was released by Secretly Canadian.
Felt like it never picked up. Just didn't capture my interest once.
not a big fan
the only drug they're gonna take off the streets is ambien. at least daft punk had the smarts to bring in nile rodgers to lively up their retrofetish horseshit. they worship a guy who said "don't look back" but make some Lot's wife-ass music.
This album started out with a great first song, and I was ever hopeful of a new discovery. It soon sunk into a dreary, repetitive mess. Thinking about the drums specifically I realized early on that I could play drums on this album. And that’s not a compliment.
Uh is this a album for bob dylan lovers that are also about to OD lol - idk it was downer
Man, this is tedious. I don't care for it. Lot of skilled musicianship and production, but it is clearly drawing from a lot of 80s pop rock sound. I don't know, this is some Free Willy soundtrack type stuff I can't get behind. 2/5 listen, 3/5 for the hard work and skill that went into making this.
num foi feito pra mim, mas cade o kurt vile
meh
Why would you create Bob Dylan Boomer music in 2014?!
Does Springsteen get the royalties? This passes me by in an audio soup of delay, reverb and plodding tempos. I find it dull and samey.
Meh
boringgg
I don't want to listen to dad rock anymore
Ezek a srácok is hallgattak valamennyi Neil Youngot. Meg Springsteent. Meg Dylant. 😆 Nem mintha panaszkodnék, nem rossz ez, de azt pl szeretném tudni, hogy miért teljesen ugyanaz a beat minden egyes szám alatt. Amilyen lelkes voltam az elején, olyan csalódott vagyok a végére, mert ez nagyonjó is lehetne, de így egy hallgatás után azt hiszem, hogy nem az.
honestly kinda mid. nothing stood out.
The music that plays during a dramatic scene in a teenager focused drama on the CW.
Decent album, not my vibe though
Dit is hem toch net niet
Drömmigt och sorgset. Lite för mycket domedagskänsla. Gränsen mellan tråkig och ljuv är hårfin och det lutar lite för ofta mot det förstnämnda. Bäst en kväll i en stuga någonstans i fjällen, alltså kommer aldrig lyssna igen.
About halfway through, this album is super boring. It's pretty much been the same song for the whole first side. It continues through the second half as well. I mean it's got some great guitar work, and great sounding guitars, but it's just not engaging at all. Pretty sure the drummer played one beat the entire album. It is super atmospheric, all the reviews saying to play it during a rainstorm or while driving through the woods are spot on. But that doesn't mean I would want to play this again. Even if it was raining or if I was driving through the woods. I was happy when it was over. 2/5
Ok I thought it started interesting enough. But then the songs, chord progressions, drums and even the "weird" noises don't sound original to me. I wanted to like this music but I ended up bored as fuck. It's all the same long boring crap. Where the fuck comes all the praise for this set of 10 dog turds???. Well sorry, I'm being too harsh. I'm sure this is someone's baby. But I'm still looking for the "goosebumps factor". Haven't found anything yet and, certainly, this is not it. What I can say is that I find this album less unbearable than the Wilco album I got a few days ago. So it's an improvement!. Still I'm not giving it more than 2 stars because this is not music I would listen again except for background music when I set my IPod to shuffle. Omg I just tried to listen to this album again. It's... So... Damn... Boring! :( and I hate that I feel this way about it because I need to see the positive side of life. But this is too much for me.
all sounds v similar. didn't enjoy heaps, not very interesting or emotional - just has a nostalgic feeling too it
All I know about this band is that Mark Kozelek wrote “The War On Drugs Can Suck My Cock.” Anyway, I put this on while I emptied out my shed and reorganized it a bit, and it was all fine until the wind started blowing during the last four tracks or so. And then, that’s when this record really started to piss me off. It sounds sort of like The Church at some points, but not as energetic or catchy. Apparently, what they’re going for is some sort of Heartland Rock revival (which I found out after listening to this), which it doesn’t really sound like. It sounds more like a Captured Tracks band made an AOR album. I don’t know, the vocalist seemed like he was kind of going for the affect that Bruce Springsteen or Tom Petty has, but sexless and barred out.
an album full of the 7 minute songs i play on new works hour when i need to stall to think of some actually good songs
It’s ok as a background music, I guess… very bland It’s like a mix between bob Dylan’s vocal style, arcade fire-ish melodies and the most basic indie rock sound. Not one song stood out to me, an hour long kick-snare-kick and lots of reverb
Not good. So much reverb!
Boring and bland, not really gripping song writing. Great band and sound, but I have plenty of vanilla in the cabinet
bleh
I’m with drugs in this one.
Not my thing when the vocals sound like this
Not unpleasant, I rarely find music unpleasant, but just a bit bland
I was surprised to see this on here and was originally excited to listen and learn more about the band. While the production is great and the songs are well written and executed, reading more about Granduciel and his view of the album / band has left a bad taste. I like the use of guitar and harmonized melodic sections to confer working through the depressed / anxious states, and the general uncertainty of it all. Difficult to tell at times if it is more prideful or vulnerable and the integrity of the music vs the obsessiveness Granduciel had with it.
I listened to this album on a car ride on Friday and then three times on an international flight over the weekend. Grant, on that flight I was pretty heavy into Stardew Valley on the switch, but this album did nothing for me. It was fine as background music, but honestly I could discern where tracks started or stopped. Pretty unforgettable, but not deserving of a one.
Very generic, quite inspiring. Every song kind of felt the same.
A modern day dire straits - not a good thing nor a bad thing - needs a bit more war and a bit more drugs
It's not bad and unlisten-able, but its really boring and nothing I would voluntarily listen to. 2/5
Instantly forgettable - not bad by any stretch but not something I am ever going to listen again, or recognise if it plays.
не впечатлил
Kind of generic dad rock
This album reminds me a lot of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. album, including all the things that annoyed me about that. A snare drum every 2 beats for 45 mins and mostly samesy music. I will say that this had far more ambient music than I was expecting based on the radio edits of Under Pressure and Red Eyes that I've heard. Overall though, pretty underwhelmed by this album and by most of what I've heard from The War on Drugs in general. An Ocean In Between the Waves is a cool build up of a song.
Why on earth would you try to sound like Dylan? Why?
He sounds a bit like ... Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and so on. Unfortunately, sounding a 'bit like' a genuine artist means that they aren't as good as that artist. I'm not really a fan of Dylan or Petty, but if I want to listen to someone who sounds like them....I'll listen to them!
snooze
Meh. Didn’t grab my interest at all
Not a bad record. Not much differentiation between songs but they have a nice sound
Not profound, some other reviews are lowk trolling.
Opens like some of the most derivative 80's music I've heard, and doesn't really improve from there. Sounds a bit like Bruce Springsteen with better guitar playing and songwriting, but a lot less edginess.
Reminds of U2 but softer
Sounds a bit like Springsteen if he just took a sleeping pill.
i guess it was fine. Didn't really see the hype on the album
quite bland
I guess there's nothing offensively wrong with this (except for the drums being rubbish and repetitive) It just had no personality, it's like if you asked AI to make Americana
This was just kind of boring to me. A blend of The Eagles softer rock and Bob Dylan's folk. It wasn't bad at all - it was good to have on as background, but none of it felt memorable or stood out.
Snoozefest
Once again I’m left bemused by why someone felt strongly that this warranted a place on this list. Perhaps it was close to a publication deadline and they wanted to take a punt on something new with a mildly evocative name. Sadly the music is as bland as rich tea biscuits with one or two moments of vague interest.
not for me - 2
Ok. Klinkt oprecht best prima Muzikaal leuk, zang is het standaard indierock. Maar jezus, waarom moet elk nummer zo achterlijk lang zijn? Zo goed is het allemaal niet? En ik vind het ook echt allemaal veel te standaard indierock stuff. Daarnaast klinkt elk nummer echt precies hetzelfde, een beetje variatie had fijn geweest! War on drugs? Ik sta aan de kant van de drugs eerlijk gezegd. FAVO: Suffering
More like the Snore on Drugs ha ha ok let’s hear the next one
Pretty slow and boring, quite monotone vocals
Not at all clear to me what puts this in the Top 1000? It starts promisingly enough on Under the Pressure, and even Red Eyes is ok in a kind of “meh” way, but really, there is nothing ground breaking, genre busting, innovative, or even just that catchy to anything here. Although reading their Spotify bio (written by themselves), they seem to think they are pretty good. I tend to disagree.
It's indie and atmospheric and melancholic so I should like it, but it didn't grab me at all. Perhaps it's because the album started off well then all the songs sounded the same - no memorable melodies, the basics of songs e.g the drumming was the same, so it became just a dull, boring and too long album after around fifteen minutes.
I've never been able to get into this band like I did Kurt Vile, who deserves an album on this list much more than they do. No wonder he left the band to do his own thing. Superficially it sounds similar, but I'm quite bored by this as it ends up all sounding like one long song if you're not paying close enough attention. It doesn't help that they average 6 minutes per song. I hear nothing interesting in this that makes me want to go back and listen again. It's not that it's terrible, it's just not quite anything?
Element of lots of bands influence on this. Couldn't quite get into it but was good to hear
Boring. Production too wishy washy
Didn't grab me
Oh LORD it's so boring, why are the songs so long, why are the drums the same. It's like melancholic music for the depressing scene in a netflix soap for teenagers, real head in hands because I didn't get invited to the prom vibes. The saving grace was the change in tone in the middle of most of the songs, but was this genuinely pleasing or freeing from the endless prison the songs had become.
There's being inspired by The Boss and then there's trying to be The Boss. Big difference not recognised here.
Yep, this is certainly indie rock from the mid 2010s. There are some nice bits in the more upbeat songs, but the whole package is repetitive and overlong.