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Tue Sep 12 2023
4
I had mixed feelings about this one throughout the listening experience. At times I was absolutely absorbed by the beautifully balanced complexity in the way that the songs are built. At other times, I was annoyed by what seems like willful weirdness designed to disrupt the listener's flow.
In the end, I think I fall on the side of enjoying and appreciating the work that was put into this album. It was clearly a labor of love and I think that labor paid off. It's a really interesting and compelling album even if it's not something I'd turn to as a day-to-day jam.
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Thu Oct 19 2023
2
More like Hot Shits, am I right?
[rimshot]
(Sigh)
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Fri Aug 25 2023
3
Occasionally great, occasional meh. Straight down the middle for me.
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Sat Aug 19 2023
3
I’ve never heard of The Beta Band before. The band name is a little funny, it makes me giggle that they chose Beta. Yet again, Apple Music lists them as alternative which doesn’t really tell me anything. I’m hopeful for a good listen today. It’s been a really odd week for me and I need something nice.
Songs I already knew: none
Favourites: Squares
This was pretty decent. The music was generally chilled and easy to listen to. I did find the vocals a bit boring and droning at times, but it wasn’t TOO bad. I’m unsurprised to read the band are Scottish, or that this album was released in the early noughties - you can definitely hear the influence that Britpop had here, despite not sounding fully Britpop themselves. Overall, this was an ok album. I can’t really give it any better praise than that, but it also certainly wasn’t bad.
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Thu Nov 30 2023
3
Hot Shots II has crystallised impressions I had about turn of the century indie rock trends into notions.
Rock-electronica-hip-hop fusion mostly pasted generic sounds over mediocre songs, bands reaching for ‘Revolver’ and making ‘The Birdie Song’. This is somewhere in the middle of the pack. The underlying songs are decent and distinct, the production is mildly distracting novelty.
Turn-of-the-century ethereal wistfulness is here, a trend I never noticed and now feel nostalgia for on return: the post-9/11 horror show slapped away this strand of dreamy, sad pop. Mercury Rev’s Deserters Songs is a highlight that Simon and I shared, and a similar sort of sonically expansive, lyrically contemplative music here comes through squinted ears.
The song’s themselves are well-crafted with stick and structures that caught me off-guard without losing me.
The title’s clever-stupid humour displays a then-modish, self-deprecating-but-fuck-you-not-really attitude that I don’t miss.
I like this more than I expected to, a piece of a period that I don’t mind revisiting.
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Fri Sep 08 2023
2
Wimpy is how I would describe it. Like it felt like it never left first gear.
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Thu Sep 14 2023
2
Crap band name. Shit cover. But, credit to the recording engineer; it's difficult to get a good quality of sound when the vocalist's head is so far up his own arse. Good job.
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Thu Sep 14 2023
2
My first impression is that this reminds me a lot of Beck or early Gorillaz. Some spacey hip-hop/electronic sounds, so I guess this would technically be in the genre of trip-hop? idk. I couldn't really get into the vocals. Very melodramatic and pretentious. And that album cover is horrid.
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Thu Nov 30 2023
2
A real snooze-fest. Like many aspiring hipsters I grabbed a copy of The 3 EPs on the back of music paper hype, and was sorely disappointed apart from about 3 tracks. Looks like their later career followed a similar pattern. Steve Mason's voice gets pretty annoying with so little going on behind it.
Nevertheless, I am glad we got this as it clears up a Mandela Effect for me: I remember a decent tune that sampled "Daydream" around 2001, much better than "Squares" on here but I've never cared enough to dig further. Turns out it was I Monster's "Daydream In Blue", and is far superior! Furthermore, the ubiquitous "Ike's Rap II" sample underpinning seemingly half of contemporary music was originally inspired by the Wallace Collection original. Fun fact: the actual Wallace Collection is in Manchester Square, London - opposite the EMI building that framed the famous Beatles Red/Blue photos and hosted the stockroom from whence my 3 EPs copy was swiped. Time is a flat circle, dude
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Tue Sep 05 2023
5
If anal fingering was a sport, this record would be the world champion.
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Tue Sep 05 2023
5
One of the best live bands i've ever seen.
at one point they had two drum kits being played by 4 people and it somehow sounded brilliant and nowhere near as ridiculous as the concept of 4 drummers on two kits sounds.
i also saw the aliens headline the park stage at glasonbury and that was up there as one of my best festival gigs ever too.
can't help but think they were in the wrong era, bands that do similar things to them these days appear to be much bigger than the beta band ever got to.
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Wed Nov 01 2023
5
Hot Shots II has always been a favorite of mine. It's like a perfectly smooth surface with small intereting kinks and imperfections that become obvious the more you zoom in. I can easily listen to this one on repeat. Does it deserve a place on the list? It's a tough call but I do think there's something unique here, even compared to their contemporaries, like Beck, Four Tet, or Caribou.
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Mon Nov 06 2023
5
Excellent trippy sound. Definitely listen more and more
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Wed Nov 15 2023
5
Maybe this is my NEW FORMS?
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Sun Nov 19 2023
5
I was thoroughly impressed with this, as I expected a very different sound, but the laid-back energy and downtempo drones here actually compliment each other quite well.
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Mon Aug 21 2023
4
Decent.
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Tue Aug 22 2023
4
The Beta Band got an endorsement from the main character in High Fidelity and that is good enough for me.
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Sun Sep 03 2023
4
M’a fait penser parfois aux Beatles, parfois à Air. Curieux et imprévisible, même si semble convenu au premier abord
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Tue Sep 05 2023
4
Lovely ear candy
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Thu Sep 21 2023
4
interesting and different, thought it was from the 60's originally.
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Thu Sep 21 2023
4
3.75
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Wed Sep 27 2023
4
L'originalitat de la seva proposta està fora de dubte. Folk, psicodèlia, indie pop, rock... tot barrejat d'una forma molt propia i original. Mai van donar un pas més enllà de la foscor, però els seus tres discos, especialment aquest, mereixen un petit podi dins les millors joies ocultes de començaments de mil.leni
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Wed Sep 27 2023
4
Trippy
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Mon Oct 16 2023
4
pretty cool, i like that's a bit different. loved it in high fidelity
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Tue Oct 24 2023
4
I loved the soundtrack feel and instrument experimentation.
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Sun Oct 29 2023
4
FANTASTIC electronic psych rock. Grabs on and doesn't let go.
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Mon Oct 30 2023
4
wild and crazy, but darn good. 4 stars.
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Wed Nov 15 2023
4
I really like this album. Though, like the XX, I sort of feel like this is the only album by this band I need. It scratches that itch.
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Wed Nov 15 2023
4
first listen
very interesting vibe
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Thu Nov 16 2023
4
I like this! I wonder who did the sample on the first track, Squares. I love every song I hear that “daydream” sample in, so I will have to look into the original song.
But I like this sound. “Folktronica” as I read on Wikipedia. Definitely some rock and country influences too. I’m here for it.
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Thu Nov 16 2023
4
I like to discover albums by bands I have never heard of before. I really liked this trippy electronic and rockish album, very different and fresh. I will definitely come back to this later.
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Fri Nov 17 2023
4
this album was pretty cool and i enjoyed listening to it. I'm not sure how "iconic" it is or anything, but it definitely fits the early 2000s vibe of up-and-coming alt/indie rock music i remember. maybe there's a world where these dudes hit it big instead of the killers or lcd soundsystem or something. squares is a jam and the other tracks are fine to good imo. definitely some weird and trippy stuff on here though.
favorites: squares, al sharp, human being, gone, eclipse
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Thu Nov 23 2023
4
Loved so much
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Thu Nov 23 2023
4
I had never heard of this or the band before. I liked it. Such a great choice for this project. Catchy songs, well performed. I would have loved a bit more treble in the mix, though, as I felt like there was gauze over the whole proceeding. Other than that, this was solid.
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Thu Nov 23 2023
4
I first became aware of the beta band when Jack Black’s character in the movie High, Fidelity played one of their records i(Dry the Rain) n the fictional record store.
I really liked this album, it had a very peaceful energy.
If you’ve ever seen the movie High Fidelity, or read the book, or watched the recent Hulu series I recommend them all.
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Thu Nov 23 2023
4
With that cover and album name, Bot Shots II - it feels like this is gonna be a spoof or a parody. Is this really Weird Al Yankovic playing a trick? But the music is nothing like that; it’s curious and odd and dreamy. You kind of go on this mystery journey where you feel slightly airborne. There’s nothing quite solid underneath you. Your arms flail a little, but it’s still a great ride. The fact that they sample Daydream in Blue on the first track, that alone signifies you’re in for a mindbending experience. The emotional obsession in Daydream in Blue becomes a hazy, harmless fairground ride. Enjoy it.
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Thu Nov 23 2023
4
Cool vibes.
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Fri Nov 24 2023
4
Like if The Beach Boys had a baby with Massive Attack.
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Sun Nov 26 2023
4
Mostly dug this. Rounding up
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Tue Nov 28 2023
4
This album is a strangely smooth listen, given that I can't remember any of the songs. But for some reason or another, it pulled me right in. 3.5/5
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Mon Aug 21 2023
3
Nice early 00’s sounds. Reminds me a lot of Beck. I like the sound but don’t think it will stick with me.
3.5
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Mon Aug 21 2023
3
Great opening track, but the rest of the album is quite unremarkable
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Tue Aug 22 2023
3
Not bad
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Mon Aug 28 2023
3
6/10. Pretty good, nothing outstanding but glad I listened to it
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Wed Aug 30 2023
3
This is a top album? Ok
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Thu Aug 31 2023
3
Empieza mejor que termina...
Electronicblackrock, pero luego soul ambiental ...
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Thu Sep 07 2023
3
me gustó bastante!! 7/10
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Fri Sep 08 2023
3
This is music, and I listened to it.
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Thu Sep 14 2023
3
would have preferred the alphas
good self-knowledge tho
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Thu Sep 14 2023
3
Shots could have been hotter.
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Thu Sep 14 2023
3
The Beta Band are high on cool points with me because of Dry The Rain, that is a killer track. I haven't gotten into any of their albums or deep cuts though. This album was a pleasing listen. It didn't blast my tits off, but it was cool in it's own subtle and unique way. I can dig it.
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Sat Sep 16 2023
3
I've never listened to a Beta Band album before, but I liked The Aliens' 'Astronomy for Dogs' record back in 2007. You can tell this is by the same people given the vocals and overall sound. It's less poppy and more groove and rhythm based than The Aliens and is overall pretty enjoyable.
Squares is yet *another* track to sample/interpolate that 'daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers...' song.
Rating: 3.5/5
Playlist track: Squares
Date listened: 15/09/23
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Fri Sep 22 2023
3
it was interesting but got boring incredibly quick
broke was decent
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Sun Sep 24 2023
3
Sehr gediegen, aber auch etwas langweilig. 3.4
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Tue Sep 26 2023
3
"Hot Shots II" is the second album by Scottish musical group the Beta Band. Electronic and rock are the listed genres. That's appropriate. This album was a change from their more experimental previous album to a more minimal style influenced by R&B, hip hop and electronica. I heard the electronica. It was produced by Colin "C-Swing" Emmanuel and the Beta Band. Commercially, it did well on the indie charts reaching #1 in the UK and #11 in the US.
The album starts out with clapping and electronic samples in "Squares." An electronic beat, a synth and background piano. Very chill. Lead vocalist Steve Mason singing about dreaming and feeling numb...nothing can touch him. In "Al Sharp," they add a xylophone, string samples and a groovy bassline. Layered vocals. His girlfriend left him for Al Sharp and money. "Human Being" is the most rockin' song on the album. It builds with real drums, guitar and a jam outro.
"Life" adds ominous strings, laser synths and a cowbell. Yes! It's about unrequited love with the last verse commenting on big corporation and the Iraqi War. The last song "Eclipse" brings in a droning and washout synth and piano. An electronic beat. Nice vocal harmonization. Books, pizza, questions and answers. Sounds like my life. The song is very chill and ends the album the way it began.
This is a decent album. It reminds me somewhat of Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" with its electronica aspect and concurrent albums at the time. There's nice harmonies. The songs build and usually have some aspect that's catchy. There's not a song the caliber of "Dry the Rain" but most of them are solid.
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Tue Sep 26 2023
3
3.4 - This reminds me of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" by Wilco - nice guys with ambitions to create something beyond the limits of their nice-guy rock sound. Despite some stilted electronics, these songs are well-composed with lyrics that swipe lightly at philosophical truths rarely delving deep intellectually or emotionally. Overall, this sounds like fine background music for a nighttime work session at a coffee shop - enough ear candy to keep you focused, and a middling vibe that won't distract. Standouts: "Quiet", "Alleged."
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Wed Sep 27 2023
3
I definitely got Beck vibes from this, so I was glad to read the comments and see other people feeling the same way. This was definitely a curious album that didn't really fit quite into any one genre.
This wasn't a bad listen by any stretch, but it was also incredibly average. I was left feeling pretty indifferent about it. I GUESS this is a very middle-of-the-road 3?
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Fri Sep 29 2023
3
Started out strong with Squares. Was pretty decent for a while after that. Then petered out.
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Fri Sep 29 2023
3
Who needs John Rambo when you've got Topper Harley? Rambo might have been all the rage in the 70s and 80s, but Harley was the hero we needed in the 90s. In a post-Cold War world, after Rambo's exploits in Vietnam and Afghanistan, a new action hero was needed for a new era. An era kicked off by the Persian Gulf War, with the specter of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plaguing US interests abroad. Only Harley was capable of dealing with Hussein. And deal with him he did. Could John Rambo have infiltrated Hussein's palace in Baghdad? Could John Rambo have fought valiantly against Hussein himself in a swordfight? Could John Rambo have pushed a piano out of a helicopter to crush Hussein? Only Charlie Sheen's Topper Harley could have accomplished such heroics, which is why "Hot Shots! Part Deux" was such a huge hit.
The Beta Band's "Hot Shots II" was not a sequel to "Hot Shots." It did not include Topper Harley (or John Rambo). It loses a star right there for falsely purporting to be a sequel. The original is almost always better (almost). Why would you want people to think you're a sequel when you're not? Despite the lack of a buff, mulletted Charlie Sheen, the Beta Band were still a decent listen. I enjoyed the "folktronica," though none of it stuck with you the way Topper Harley beating a man with Skittle-dipped fists will.
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Fri Sep 29 2023
3
Songs on this kinda blended together, they all sounded roughly the same, but I didn't mind it.
Granted, I was double-tasking, clipping my toenails and reading Grapes of Wrath as this played in the background.
Needless to say, I got through the whole album with a newfound empathy for drought, Oakies and the dust bowl, and feet 1.5 sizes smaller without feeling the need to turn this off.
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Sat Sep 30 2023
3
I really waffled on the score here and ultimately settled on a lower one because it has a feeling of incompleteness about it that I think can be attributed to the weak lead vocals. Go get yourself a frontman and you've got a good thing going. Best track: Squares
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Mon Oct 02 2023
3
A little on the boring side, but not horrible.
3/5
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Wed Oct 04 2023
3
Que ce générateur se termine au plus vite.
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Thu Oct 05 2023
3
A lot going on with many interesting ideas and sounds. I wasn't that focused in on the music, but it was enjoyable enough with an eclectic sound somewhere between Beck and the Flaming Lips. Ambitious and worth a listen.
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Fri Oct 06 2023
3
Okay
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Mon Oct 09 2023
3
Pretty groovy and very easy to listen to even on first passthrough. May not see myself listening to it constantly but it may come up again
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Tue Oct 10 2023
3
Strangely this was just what I needed on the bus on a dark Tuesday morning.
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Tue Oct 10 2023
3
A variety of trip-hop quietly smothers everything else. The record's quiet but not slow, starts and ends with opposite bookends. It's a nice project; Doesn't sound quite like anything else, is reminiscent of much.
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Fri Oct 13 2023
3
It was ok
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Sat Oct 21 2023
3
Interesting and well made! Refreshing for a 2000’s electronic music album included on this list. Strong 3
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Thu Oct 26 2023
3
całkiem przyjemne, chlociaz nic co tkwi w pamięci
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Thu Oct 26 2023
3
Rock. Alternativo
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Sun Oct 29 2023
3
This was an interesting and cool album. The album isn’t that old but it sounds like it mixes older styles with modern alternative. I found it to be similar to a precursor of bands that I like now. It is a bit dated compared to modern chill alt music but it has the same structure. Overall pretty solid. 6.9/10 (nice)
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Fri Nov 03 2023
3
I knew their song "Dry the Rain" which I liked so I had some expectations here. Unfortunately I was not very much into it and don't feel much. Meh.
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Fri Nov 03 2023
3
I like much of what they're doing musically, but for me it's the vocals that bring it down. They're so flat and lifeless. I'm mean they're consistent in their relaxed, chilled out way, but there's hardly any emotional dynamics throughout. Makes it so nothing really sticks out.
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Fri Nov 03 2023
3
I like the mood, mysteriousness of the sound. Interesting that they were relatively short lived, only producing 3 albums before breaking up despite critical acclaim and support of powerhouse bands like Oasis and Radiohead. I like this well enough, might dig into the rest of their catalog.
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Sun Nov 05 2023
3
Very nice listen.
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Wed Nov 08 2023
3
Nice, cheesy cover. This was actually pretty good. I might even listen to it again.
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Wed Nov 08 2023
3
Didn't know what to expect, wasn't bad wasn't my favorite. Mid Beck
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Fri Nov 10 2023
3
This is a really good record but I think it never quite gets me amped up enough to get over the hump to a 4. I've heard this music a bunch in the past, mostly just randomly bumping into it on playlists/shuffle... it's a good collection of tunes and enjoyable, but not exciting to me. I get that it's very laid-back music, and it's good at doing that job for sure.
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Fri Nov 10 2023
3
dik az a sample
elaludtam
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Wed Nov 15 2023
3
I think I saw them perform live once, maybe as the opening act for someone else (looks like they toured with Radiohead). The album is extremely "meh". I think it's missing a captivating vocalist. It kind of sounds like a bunch of people around a campfire singing the songs of a band they like, versus the actual band. The general sound/production is OK.
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Wed Nov 15 2023
3
Liked Squares but the rest was a disappointment to me.
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Fri Nov 17 2023
3
I'll agree that it doesn't sound like anything else. What it does sound like is a little bit dated. It's OK.
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Sun Nov 19 2023
3
The title made me approach this with a bit of a side-eye, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. Chill and a little spacey with nuanced arrangements. Worth coming back to.
Fave Songs: Quiet, Alleged, Gone, Al Sharp, Human Being
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Tue Nov 21 2023
3
Some time around 1991 or 1992, I used to travel to Lansing, Michigan regularly for my job. My coworker and I would always go to this bar in East Lansing where the same band was playing every week, and I swear they were called the Beta Band (although it's possible I'm wrong). Obviously not the same band as this, since it was before they were formed and this was just a local band. They were kind of a hippy-dippy band, and they had this one song called "Don't Drop the Potato" that was not intended to be funny but it never failed to crack us up.
But that's all irrelevant. This album is pretty good, but for some reason the vocals are just sort of "there". They're not bad, but they sort of just cause this whole thing to fade into the background for me. I've listened to it twice and I'm not sure I've really heard it yet. It might grow on me over time. 3 stars.
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Thu Nov 23 2023
3
Super interesting, but I probably won't come back to it
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Thu Nov 23 2023
3
Started off really good, sorta Radiohead vibes but it became sort of repetitive. Even though their style was quite wide, the music was always similar. Great but unfortunate it wasn’t more varied.
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Sun Nov 26 2023
3
Ik kon dit wel waarderen, al mag het wel een tikkie spannender allemaal.
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Sun Nov 26 2023
3
3.5 I think - started off strong but by the end I was a bit bored
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Mon Nov 27 2023
3
Think they're our first Scottish band. I liked it fine. The sampling was cool. I'll give this another go sometime
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Mon Nov 27 2023
3
I did a deep dive on The Beta Band a while ago, they’ll never be my favourite band but I do appreciate they bring something different to the plate if your ever in the mood for something slower and weirder
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Mon Nov 27 2023
3
Decent stuff, quite musical and enjoyable overall
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Mon Nov 27 2023
3
C'est vrai ue par moment on ese laisse prendre par cela. En course c'était bien. Mais réécoute peu pas probable. 3,85
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Mon Nov 27 2023
3
Pretty interesting sounding for their experimental design. Positive disposition.
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Wed Nov 29 2023
3
Some tracks were great, some were just ok.
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Fri Aug 18 2023
2
Better as a kids band
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Sun Aug 20 2023
2
Ok, that album art IS a bumhole of fire, isn't it. ahahaha. That's fuckin fantastic. Deserves a prize. I'll even overlook it if it turns out to be from the UK (it will). Sadly though, there's no way it'll live up to that cover. I feel like unless it's super-catchy gay disco a la scissor sisters, it's gonna be a disappointment.
Yeah, it didn't maintain the momentum. Boring vague electronica... and UK. What a shame. 2/5.
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Mon Aug 21 2023
2
Underwhelming, not really a standout album. Some unique instrumental parts, but nothing too interesting. 2/5
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Thu Aug 24 2023
2
Good background music at work, but kinda boring. Sounds like a good Ringo Starr album - which isn't a compliment.
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