Gentlemen

This band is brand new to me and I’m honestly surprised I enjoyed this album as much as I did. Perhaps a week ago I would’ve hated this and who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll hate it. As for now though, I enjoyed it quite a bit!

This is one you have to turn up loud to appreciate. Urge Overkill meets Fugazi meets Dinosaur Jr; vulnerable, aggressive, raw, passionate and regretful. If I heard this at 15 it might have changed my life.

Not for me

A few good tracks. I can see why people call this the breakup album

Sometimes we all need to listen to a real run of the mill 90's rock album, and this is a real meat and potatoes, straight up and down, beef Wellington, "Don't trust the Argies!", dick in the vagina, cheddar cheese, and chicken tikka masala album. Pretty boring, and done to death. I genuinely barely even remember anything off this record except for a few of the songs having pretty horrible lyrics.

Male vocalist was whiny at best, annoying at worst which made a half-decent album a pretty miserable one to sit through. The last track was a good send off and a nice reward for having suffered through this. Debonair stood out as the only track I wrote down in my notes having enjoyed and the song with the female vocalist was fine but not fine enough to have committed to memory its title. Highlights: Debonair

Nuobodus balsas ir tekstas. Nebaigiau.

It was alright, some songs i liked while others not (if i had to choose the order, i would have listened to it backwards). Not so much my taste i guess but i get the theme behind it and i can appreciate expression through a sensible and raw (or just complex but human) perspective.

Rien de spécial

Fine ig

C’est sympa ça pourrait limite être un 4 mais ça manque d’un son qui sort du lot

I was OK with a few songs but most were rather annoying with scratchy screaming vocals.

It’s listening to bands like this that I understand why I sing flat most of the time

Absolutely desperate stuff, strains of Chris Cornell and Lou Reed and Billy Corgan set to some sick riffs. Favorite artist I never heard of since Thin Lizzy. +0.5 each for female vocals on The Curse and cello on Closing Prayer.

as a precursor to a lot of the emo music I listened to in high school, this is cool to discover. i really like the songwriting, and the guitar is great, but this dude’s voice just stinks. what’s special about Billy Corgan, or even Brendan Boyd, is clear in what’s lacking here.

3.5

90s rock break up album sitting squarely in the second stage of grief. Bitter and angry lyrically, supported by cutting guitars and yet somewhat funky beats. A great new discovery

Bought this album in my youth - not sure if I still like it because it is familiar or if it is just good. Either way I was happy to listen to it again.

I criticize some of these albums for fading into the background while my mind wanders to something else, I found the opposite to be true on this album. I’d be trying to figure what he’s trying to say with the lyrics but then an unexpected new guitar riffs pulls my attention to the music and then there’d be another interesting lyric and I’d get pulled away again. It kind of reminds of of the Fugazi album in that regard, something interesting seems to be happening in every song. I thought the Afghan Whigs were a 00’s indie rock band, I think I probably thought that because they must be referenced often as inspiration for those acts. You can definitely hear the influence in acts like Kurt Vile, Big Thief, War on Drugs, the National (they’re even both from Cincinnati) even if those bands softened the edges quite a bit. Very cool album, will listen again.

2.5 Sounded a bit generic on one listen, I should try again when Im not in a foul monday morning mood. cool cover though

dope album cover

I’ve never heard of this band. They are pretty good. I like the last song a lot.

Really good album. I've always liked this band. It's not as good as 1965 though.

Meh. 90's alternative rock sound, but there are better representations of the style elsewhere.

The question I suppose is whether the singer is glorifying the objectification and belittling of women in a relationship or whether he is dishing up a critique of toxic male arrogance and flawed world views? Band-wise, very strong and enjoyable. Conflicted on the lyrics.

Am I going crazy, or is this genuinely terrible rock music? This sounds like a band that would place 3rd in a battle of the bands at your worst local rock venue. It's sorta grunge and it's sorta emo-ish post-hardcore, but it's played REALLY badly. Every song sounds a little off beat and a little out of tune, and not in an intentional way. This band just has a horrible sense of musical feel. And I get there's a "concept" for the album where the lead singer is (presumably) playing the role of a macho jerk, but it sounds like a pioneering influence on the worst butt rock of the 2000s, so the irony/satire is a little lost on me. Jesus Lizard, Shellac, Jawbreaker, Rites of Spring, At the Drive-In...pick any album from any of these bands and put it on the list instead of this.

Flashback to the 90s. Wasn't never a real fan of this sound, but listened to this style ad nauseam in highschool because of friends who loved it. Always really liked single Gentlemen. And had no idea the theme of the album. Ok listen.

Not sure about this one.

Decent Fave track: Debonair

It’s always quite exciting when you come across an Artist and Album you’ve never heard of. Then you listen to it and you sort of realise why. 2.5/5

I can appreciate what’s going on, however nothing really landed for me and my taste. The instrumentals are very cool and well-done but vocals remain pretty unpleasant and the songs are overall forgettable.

This was alright

4.0

If you asked an AI to whip up 90's alternative rock, it would be based off this album.

Overall alright, pretty chilll album that you can just leave in the background while you're doing stuff. Nothing too exciting, but it can definitely be worse.

6/10

It feels like forever since I made a mental note to listen to Afghan Whigs. Well, today I did and I thought it was ok. Honestly thought I’d enjoy them a bit more. Had me thinking of Dinosaur Jr. at times and there were moments I was getting into what the band was doing, I thought from the title track to Debonair was a good run for the album but they just didn’t do anything special enough to fully hook me. Mostly, this album had me feeling uncomfortable and kinda sad. They are from Ohio so the feelings do make sense. Cool album art though. 3 stars

Really liked the guitar and atmospheric nature of a lot of the songs, particularly the first and last tracks. Conceptually cool but I just didn’t like the dudes voice, it was more often out of tune than in, which marred the whole thing for me

Gotta love when this list introduces me to an album/band that I’ve no idea existed. Where have I been? This is a helluva album.

This album is up my alley 👍

While listening to this album, I kept overhearing other noises through my headphones: birdsong, construction equipment, and what sounded like a helicopter, though I could not see one. This album is evil. I'm tempted to leave my review at that one sentence. When I say it's evil, I mean it as a high compliment: Gentlemen explored a toxic, abusive relationship powered by manipulative behavior and substance abuse, from the point of view of the abusive partner. Listening to the state of mind expressed in the lyrics is uncomfortable and off-putting in an artistically perfect way, and the instrumentation itself is dark and aggressive to match. I have a particular fondness for art which explores the worst inner thoughts and impulses of people; in terms of musicians, one of my favorite artists of the sort is Alex Cameron, but where he uses these caricatures with a satirical, tongue-in-cheek tone, The Afghan Whigs push it to a raw and painful place which is so viscerally upsetting I felt obliged to give my fellow listeners a trigger warning just in case. This is a compelling artistic statement with ear-catching hooks on every song, with a seamless flow of narrative and energy from beginning to end; I went into this album completely blind, and I came out a huge fan. What an emotionally potent piece of art. Highlights: If I Were Going, Gentlemen, Be Sweet, Debonair, When We Two Parted, Fountain and Fairfax, What Jail Is Like, My Curse, Now You Know, I Keep Coming Back, Brother Woodrow / Closing Prayer

I've never heard of them before. I expected the usual Alternative/Grunge stuff and was positively surprised—a concept album, interesting lyrics, well-written songs, and a good production.

I had never heard of this group, and I can't say I am sad about it. Not my cup of tea.

This album reminds me of my old childhood friend’s parents and somehow managed to get the smell of marijuana in my mouth. I did not enjoy this.

Surprised by this. I've heard a few of their songs and thought "meh."

Overall, I like this. Decent mid-tier rock with some angsty vocals. After listening a couple of times, I haven't really heard much of the "toxic male" stuff that people seem to be complaining about the most on this album. I mean yes, some is obvious when he's talking about his crotch, but I'm guessing much of it is more subtle. But that's because I don't really hear much of what he's saying. Sometimes I forget I'm listening with a reason and get distracted or he's a bit mush-mouthed at times. Which is one of the reasons I won't rate this much higher than I will: It's solid and fine, but not too grabby, so my attention gets focused elsewhere. It's not quite interesting enough to keep me here. When I do focus in though, I find the music to be pretty good. Cool instrumentation here and there. I like the growl in his voice. I might be the only person in the world to think about or make this comparison, but he sounds Very Much like the fella from Dramarama in the growly bits. What can I say? I like this type of music. I think if they experimented a bit more musically, it would be more attention grabbing. I'd like to give this a 3.7, and I feel wary of giving it a 4 because it's not quite super. But, I guess my distraction might have been my own fault and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Let's go with that 4.

I can never remember what these guys sound like. Not my thing which is weird because they probably should be. Anyway I'm gonna listen to Jawbox now

*1993. American Indie (from Ohio). *This band vaguely rings a bell, but I don't think I had ever heard them, and certainly couldn't name a single song. *This style is right in my wheelhouse. I love this vocal style - very 90s. *The first song is a long slow build, then segues nicely into the second song ("Gentleman"), which is a little grungy. *I can see why they didn't break through as a major player - there are a lot of bands that do the same thing, only better. RATING - 6/10

Ok but wouldn’t listen again

Didn’t do it for me

A really dark record that is criminally overlooked. Really pleasantly surprised to find it on this list. Be Sweet has one of the best payoffs I can think of.

Really cool

if i inflict the pain then baby only i can comfort you, yeah

Grunge essential. Not for me.

I've heard the name Afghan Whigs but that's about it. I don't remember ever listening to any of their songs and don't have any songs "liked" by them. Not sure how I completely missed them, I was actively listening alternative rock radio in 1993 and discovering lots of new bands then - I'm guessing they just didn't play them a lot -and maybe they played some of the "popular" songs that I ended up not liking once I heard them today. Observations... Lyrically, a lot of this album seems to be about what a shit person the lyricist (or main character?) is - does crappy things and doesn't regret it at all, and how that behavior is destroying his relationship. So it's kind of interesting to see what it's like inside that mind, but it's also very off-putting because of that. I guess good on him for admitting/recognizing it - or shining light on people like that. Occasionally, this sounded a bit like Dinosaur Jr to me, and 1 or 2 times I thought I heard a little U2 influence. 1st song ("If I Were Going") - pretty cool. The "big"/most streamed song on this album "Debonair" seems to repeat/reuse some of the lyrics from this one -> "It don't bleed and it don't breathe, It's locked its jaws and now it's swallowing" "When We Two Parted" - good "What Jail is Like" - I liked the piano on this one, it seemed more prominent here than on most of the other songs. The song "My Curse" with guest singer Marcy Mays might be the 2nd best song on the album. Her voice is much better than the main guy. They should have done more with her. "I Keep Coming Back" - dig the mellower vibe of this. Probably the best version of his voice on this album. Has kind of a soul singer feel - having just listened to the Sam Cooke live album on this list, I can see the connection. The last song ("Brother Woodrow/Closing Prayer") is an instrumental and is the best song on this one because it has no singing. I don't really like the lead singers voice that much. I like his voice better when he's not shrieking/whining. SIDE NOTE: This is starting to be a pattern with me through this 1001 albums experience - I realize how picky I am about voices. For some reason I didn't really like the 3 most streamed songs "Gentlemen", "Be Sweet", and "Debonair". I think it was the voice thing again and he comes across as the biggest whiny asshole on these I think. Liked songs on Spotify: 6/11 Rating: 3/5

Not my favorite Afghan Whigs album. But solid.

Just.......no. I don't need Songs from Underground. Also, I get it's going for grunge, but dissonant does not mean out of tune.

My curse is kinda good. I've listened to so much altrock at this point that nothing really stands out but this album is fine. 2 stars only because it's so mid

Review - I'd heard of but never listened to this band. I think I'd confused them with the (very different) Arab Strap. This album is ok. Some of it's better moments are quite good, it's worse moments are straight bad, most of it is sort of fine. I don't think the singer has a very good voice, and not in a "this isn't a generally accepted good singer but there's something about their style that just works with the music", but rather he just isn't very good. Overall this is mid. Not as good as the better indie/alt rock of it's era. Probably not the worst that was made. It's a shame I can't give 2.5 stars. I have to err on the side of 3 because I've given some clearly worse albums a 2. Rating - 5/10 Need to listen? NO

This was very good, really enjoyed it. Instrumentals were visceral at times and the lyrics (what i registered of them) were the same

Tästä levystä ei jäänyt mitään mieleen. En tykännyt laulajan laulusoundista. Oli liian kähinää. Soitanta oli ihan ok

Music was pretty good, lyrics and themes less so.

This was very bland. Band has a cool weird name I guess. Very questionable album cover too.

I like the overall musical style of this and feel like their catalog might be worth checking out. This album felt a little too angsty and sour. I know that is the point of a breakup concept album but I feel like this one might be somewhat of a "had to be there".

I really enjoyed the instrumental side of this album, but the lead singer is an insufferable twat and his lyrics are pretty terrible. Not that the songwriting is bad, I get that the point of the album was trying to "explore the dark psyche of the 90s male", I just found very little to be relatable or enjoyable about his concept of the 90s male.

Very forgettable, but at least the rest of the album wasn’t as atrocious as the opening track.

Nothing much going on here

why am i being screamed at

suck riffs but 90s alt band voice

197/1089 i quite enjoy this type of folky/punky rock, it’s very atmospheric in its production. the “folky” aspect is more in certain sections of guitar playing/production etc. i could picture some of the riffs on a Pogues or Fairport Convention song. I don’t care for a lot of the lyrics but i particularly liked the vocals across the record, and the switch up to their female vocalist on My Curse was very cool and effective. andending on an instrumental track was i choice that really worked for me faves: if i were going, gentlemen, fountain and fairfax, brother woodrow/closing prayer, my curse, what jail is like 74/100

40

Not very memorable

Given a superficial listen, this album is easily misunderstood. The lyrics cover some toxic shit. However, it is not a celebration of toxic masculinity, it is a denouncement of these behaviors. It is a raw breakup album, written by someone who acknowledges fucked up behavior and realizes that this caused Dulli nothing but misery. He found another singer for “My Curse”, telling the other side of the story, because he could not sing it himself, nor did he feel it was appropriate. The pain and melancholy are obvious throughout the record. Lyrics aside, the Whigs are great musicians. The shredding, grungy guitars are expected for any band coming from Sub Pop in the early 90s, but the bluesy, soul-influenced riffs, were different. This funky yet emotionally angular music was a different kind of alt-rock at the time of its release, and it still holds up better than many of its contemporary releases. The grunge exists, but it is mostly in the background. I love listening to Whig’s instrumentation. I can see how this album isn’t for everyone, but it is regarded by many as a masterpiece and its inclusion on the list is absolutely warranted. Those who did not listen to the record in its entirety almost certainly missed the point because this is an album intended to be listened to in its entirety.

The instrumental section is servicable, and sometimes pretty nice (though wears thin over time), but the vocals and lyrics are just AWFUL.

This slaps! Really took me by surprise but Gentlemen was a pleasure. Not much variation between tracks - it's pretty much a flat horizon in terms of sound and tone throughout - but it's good indie alt-rock. Solid basslines throughout. Some weird stuff going on lyrically (+ with the lyrical delivery) but it doesn't feel too up its own ass. Kind of loses its steam towards the second half of the album (sans My Curse) but I'd give this a relisten any day of the week. Really hemmed and hawed over giving this a 5 but I can't really imagine this album sticking in the memory as thick as some of the best on this list. Fav tracks: Be Sweet, Gentlemen, Debonair, My Curse, Now You Know

All the Afghan whigs albums sound quite the same to me which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesnt encourage to listen to them too often. However there are couple of exceptions and this album is one of them. It has really strong set of songs and band playing at their very best. The top track for me is ’My Curse’ which is really emotionally sung by Marcy Mays as a guest vocalist. Probably 4,5/5, but not quite 5/5.

It started ok, but then it slipped more to the boring side.

Afghan Whigs has been on the uninteresting side of the grunge movement for me. While they have moments here and there, they invariably manage to ruin that moment just a little bit later, which is incredibly frustrating. On this one I dislike the dragging, off-beat vocals and especially the off-key parts, along with the overall artsy-fartsy take on the music, where it is simultaneously beautiful and really fucked up because they decided to play or sing sloppily. This album is consistent in it's uninterestiness for me.

sorry team i don’t really like his voice

I did really like this about 10 years ago, and still enjoyed it. Some of the incel lyrics that washed over me before were more noticeable. Be sweet, debonair great songs.

It's as if REM wanted to be Nirvana

I didn’t really care for this album

Smashing pumpkins did it better.

I listened to this several times. I can see this music helping many through a tough time.

I try to love this album, but always end up just liking a few songs and not listening to it again for years. The instrumentation is excellent, but I get tired of Greg Dulli's vocals. Favorite song: My Curse

Kuuntelin tämän kahdesti pitkällä automatkalla. Ihan hyvää ysärin altsu rockia Pearl Jamin ja Pixiesin hengessä. Varmaan kuuntelen tämän uusiksi vielä joskus, mutta ei tämän albumin välttämättä tarvisi tältä listalta löytyä.

This surprised me - l liked it a lot.

Breakthrouh alternative album. Propper Rock music.

I really like this Hard Alternative Rock. Gives me a little bit of Nirvana vibes but not 100%. Every song is a blast, and I adore the fact that they added an instrumental track for the outro. Crazy I had never heard of these before.

Even before listening, I’m really intrigued by this album! I’m excited for another alt rock record. Starting off with If I were going. That subtle drumbeat fading in is a really cool effect. This is super cool so far. The title track, Gentlemen, was a great listen. Like this is the type of stuff that makes music so fun. I never knew this band existed before, but they’re probably going to be in my daily rotation now. Be Sweet and Debonair are also both really enjoyable tracks. Specifically I loved the guitar in Debonair. When we two parted also had some nice guitar work. A bit of a change of pace, but may I say a welcome one! This track is honestly beautiful in its own way. It’s being dropped straight into my moody songs playlist. Fountain and Fairfax was alright. I enjoyed it, it had a lot of good vibes, but it wasn’t my favourite off this album. I loved the piano in What Jail is Like. In general, that was a really solid track. My Curse was awesome. It was a bit jarring to suddenly have a female voice on the record, but oh my god was is perfect. I keep coming back was another slower song, I really liked the lyrics. It’s one that I’m going to have to listen to again I think to get the full effect. Brother Woodrow/closing prayer, as a closer, was a lovely piece of music. I’m still not sure how I feel about primarily instrumental tracks closing, but this one was a good one. Overall, great album, I really needed this! 4/5 ⭐️, almost perfect. A good portion of this album is getting added to various playlists of mine. 21/1089

I’ve seen so many bands like this open for the one you want to see. At first it has promise, but within 5 minutes you hope it’s over soon. There is a distinct lack of fun here.

It was okay, didn't find myself liking any of the songs that much

It's whiny and depressing 90's slop. Usually I love this stuff but the lyrics were equal parts hateful and empty. It really didn't do much for me

Quintessential 90's: Gritty, sometimes messy, sometimes angyy sometimes soulful.

Great rainy day and night drive album

Pretty boring. Some ok lyrics but nope.

For some reason The Afghan Whigs were never on my radar when they were coming on to the music scene. I expected to be familiar to some of their songs, but they were all new to me. I enjoyed the listen. 3.5 stars

I was due for a swing and a miss. Still can’t get in the swing of most of the alt rock genre, and I really like the concept behind this album and can tell it’s been crafted from a meaningful place. Maybe if I was going through something then any of these songs would have landed, but ultimately the vocals just don’t land with me at all, even if the supporting band was impressive. It’s deeply moody, almost angst-filled music, and most of it went right through me.

I wasnt my thing, the lyrics was interesting tho and its certainly an interest experience that I do think everyone sjould listen at least once, its good for having a conversation.

I did not like this. The one positive thing I can say is that from a songwriting perspective this is good. The songs are well composed, and I can understand how someone else may get more out of the lyricism on this album. To me however it was difficult to listen to. I understand the lyrics purposefully try to portray an gross and awful character, but it feels like the album's mostly just wallowing in that unlikability instead of deconstructing and analysing it. It just feels like a shitty guy trying to excuse his abusive behaviour in a past relationship by trying to shift the blame and gaslighting you into feeling sorry for him. Pair that with the singing not being quite to my liking and this made for a grating listen. A few reviews here describe this as 'incelcore'. If I wanted to be equally dismissive, I feel like 'restraining order core' would be a better description. 2/5 (not far from a 1/5, but the instrumentals save it from that fate)

I thought this was good. Grungy/ alt rock with a few more soulful tracks and a very emotional vibe given the lyrical content. The whole package definitely comes together to communicate the songwriter's feelings about his breakup

4⭐️ feels like a controversial rating like the lyrics aren’t the most beautiful (lol) but I don’t think that’s what this album’s trying to do! it’s grungey and I LOVE the heavy guitars. songs I already knew: n/a fave new song(s): debonair

ever really a fan. I scanned my entire collection of favorite songs by year and found only one track from them and it just so happens that it is from this album. It's "My Curse" but the title is not ringing any bells, will see how I like it this time around. | During: I'm not a big fan of this genre but I don't dislike it either. The album cover is interesting but the music is not. It's OK as background music. By the time I'm half way through I decide to start skipping through a little. Now at "My Curse" which is number 56 of 57 on my 1993 favorite songs list. I have to say I don't recognize it but do like it a little. It's the only song on the album with a female vocalist, BTW. | After: I'll give it three stars. I don't dislike the music but I don't really like it either. |

5.8

Loved this one!! One song I wasn’t a huge fan of which coincidentally is according to Google their most well known song so lol. The vocals at times weren’t my favorite but mostly were great and I LOVED the instrumentals!! Added a few of the songs to my main playlist

It takes too long to get going and too long to end. There’s a lot of expression, and it’s dense. It almost felt like drowning on dry land.

I enjoyed some of this, but it dragged at parts.

I liked the grungy, post punk sound right away. It has a dark, moody vibe that works and feels very much of its time. The attitude is there, and the album definitely commits to that bleak tone. That said, nothing really stuck with me once it was over. No song jumped out that made me want to immediately go back and replay it. It was a solid listen while it was on, just not especially memorable.

Meh 90's grunge rock.

Solid member of the 90s underrated albums hall of fame club. Greg and company made history with this tormented work. The production is flawless and the sequencing delicious. Always in the mood for Gentlemen

1.5/5. The first album I’ve heard in this project where I question why it’s even really part of the list of “1,001 albums to hear before you die.” It doesn’t really do anything that tons of other albums from the 90’s already did significantly better. And it doesn’t really seem to have left much of a cultural impact, I never hear it talked about. An album for me that’s just in one ear and out the other.

5.5/10

this shit sounds like horny man slop 😭

"Oh, Afghan Wings. I'm vaguely aware of them and feel like they might be a band that I should have been more into." Hmm.

1.5. Maybe 1. Really not doing it for me. I actively despise the vocals

Generic grunge-ish alt rock that puts all of its chips on the over-the-top vocal performance of singer Greg Dulli. Unfortunately his hyper-emoting comes across as ridiculous and does little to compensate for the dull melodies and unimaginative music on this record. (Seriously, if dude wrote better songs he wouldn't need to try to act them out in order to get them to work.)

Cover Art 4 Music/Melody 4 Lyrics+Vocals 1

Boring is the word that comes to mind… Would not listen again

I don't know what I'd call this, but I think I like it. A wide variety of styles here, from the experimental ambient instrumentals of "Brother Woodrow/Closing Prayer" to the slow sinister blues of "I Keep Coming Back" to the almost folky "Fountain and Fairfax". It's interesting and engaging, and though some of the tracks go on long enough to outstay their welcome, it's overall a very pleasant surprise. Favorites: "Gentlemen", "Debonair"

Media literacy is truly dead given the amount of people who hear this album and think it’s somehow celebrating the lyrical content? The main character of the album is a piece of shit. He’s like a child, hence the album cover. This album makes me deeply uncomfortable. I hate the main character, he’s a pig, he says horrible things. And it’s great. It actually elicits an emotional response while also sounding catchy.

Be Sweet // When We Two Parted // My Curse // Now You Know //

histrionic vocals, embarassing lyrics, straight-ahead boring instrumentation? where do i sign!

A band I'd always heard off but never really listened to, which is a shame.

Grim. Don’t listen to this if you’re depressed.

Do not know this band, quite like their sound. I felt I drifted in parts, proof it did not completely hold my attention.

This was pretty typical to what I would have been listening to on release, although nothing sounded too familiar today. This definitely gets a little bump from my previous 2 days’ albums being bad.. overall fairly average for me today

The opening song sets an immaculate tone and the rest keeps up with that energy

When to listen: I wouldn't listen to this album again. It just... wasn't an experience that added anything to my life.

Unremarkable.

I really do not enjoy this type of singing - it’s not bad but just that kind of forced air so every line sounds like the singer is running out of breath with desperation. Made the album pretty hard listening tbh but otherwise musically inoffensive but equally not all that gripping soz

I wanted to like this and get into the angsty space required but my angst just turned into angst against this album. Be Sweet would go well in a Buffy scene where Angel or Spike are being an emotionally villainous, with some good fake rain and too much hair gel. My Curse was the stand out song for me by far, but then I got angsty at Spotify for not listing the woman doing all the heavy lifting in it - love your work Marcy Mays!

Divorced dad rock and not the good kind.

there were quite a few moments that sounded so close to going into something I would really like but it didn’t get there

I don’t dislike grunge or 90s alt rock, but this album is neither nostalgic to me nor interesting to listen to with modern ears.

They're labelled as grunge but I didn't think of it like that. Alt-rock in the 90s, jangly guitar over heavy bass, I imagine it's where people who were into grunge would say there's more to it than Nirvana and Alice in Chains. I saw it connecting to Sonic Youth and Mogwai.

A lot of moaning about a girl who still loves him after an affair. Followed by moaning about how she no longer loves him after an affair. He is unhappy with both

Not for me. Not sure this should be on the list

Delivering fresh energy and new ideas to alt rock music, without fundamentally altering the form, is an undervalued contribution. Barring some slight grunge leanings The Afghan Whigs feel to me to be a straight up rock band who deliver all their points of interest through snappy and dramatic songwriting. The album gives good insight into men's failings, this being most effective in the first half though I enjoyed the inclusion of Marcy Mays on vocals in the last third, which has made me want to check out her band Scrawl. I have to admit though that it did bring into focus that I slightly preferred her as a vocalist…!

Hits a nice alt rock grunge spot for me with touches that remind me of emo like Sunny Day Real Estate. I like that when they go for it they really go for it and it’s all very unashamedly emotional. A little to misanthropic in parts for me mind. Solid to high 4.

Not sure why I haven’t listened to these guys before. My generation alternative, making me think of soundgarden and the like. 4

Great music ruined by inane lyrics and a whiny singer. Different vocalist and this would be close to 5 stars.

Een album dat duidelijk geworteld is in een mannelijke, broeierige jaren-90 rockesthetiek, maar voor mij weinig emotionele of muzikale houvast biedt. Ondanks het aandachtig luisteren bleef het afstandelijk en generiek aanvoelen, zonder momenten die nieuwsgierigheid of herkenning opriepen. Interessant om gehoord te hebben binnen de context van de lijst, maar persoonlijk raakte het me niet en voelde het niet als iets waar ik naar terug wil keren.

There was potential but didn’t really connect 2.5/5

I’ve heard worse.

Some tracks had interesting melodies; others not so much.

This catchy alternative album is more on the emo side, which sure makes the Afghan Whigs ahead of the curve in 1993. Its use of grunge is spot on, though. I found these lyrics to be exceptionally good. In some ways, I was reminded of the Smiths--the fact it was alternative, emotive, and lyrically strong. I didn't much care for the guest vocalist in "My Curse," but I won't hold it against the Afghan Whigs (much).

This was an interesting take on something very, very similar to grunge! It has many of the elements and the makings of grunge, but is not quite the same -- ultimately, you can hear the deviations from the Seattle-born grunge genre, "proper". The vocals contain a lot less yelling than typical grunge, which helps this album shine through as the proto-emo style that grunge was. There are also a lot of moments in this album where the music and singing borders on ethereally "pretty" -- a nice opposition to other angrier, harder hitting moments. "Gentlemen" was a good album listen from a band I was not familiar with. This is probably a 3.5 for me, but I'm a such a sucker for 90s alternative and grunge, this was a no brainer round-up for me.

Some excellent, bitter stuff here. I'll need to check it again

I really enjoyed the instrumentals on this album and enjoyed most the last song, Brother Woodrow / Closing Prayer. I do agree with some other comments that the lyrics are a little, crude beyond crude for many of the songs. Overall, I enjoyed the album.

Overall, didn’t love it. My Curse is pretty good in my opinion, but the rest wasn’t particularly engaging for me. As someone who normally digs indie rock, this was a bit of a letdown.

A slightly interesting take on grunge with a few decent songs. But the lyrics are fairly cringeworthy. "Gentleman" is often described as one of the best break up albums ever. But it sounds like the kind of break up where one side is pretty much entirely at fault. You know when you want to be supportive of a friend but you kind of just think they're an asshole? Well that's this album. The lead singer is clearly aware of this and gave the album an ironic title. He claims that the lyrics are only semi-autobiographical but I'm not sure that that makes him look that much better. If you're going to embellish your own character, you could make them more sympathetic. Overall, there are some songs (such as "Debonair" and the closing track) that I am really tempted to enjoy more but the lyrics and grating vocals make it hard. It could have been a better album but I think it's not for me.

Toll gefühlvoll

Never heard of these guys - or at least don;t remember. Epitome of 90's rock...which apparently according to my rankings is my wheelhouse.

- This guy definitely can’t sing. So. off. key. - The incelcore lyrics are so embarrassing. - The instrumentation is better than the vocals, but is pretty forgettable and one-note - this band seems allergic to an interesting chorus. - Yeah, I hate this album and am absolutely not surprised this band is from Ohio.

Some solid rock and roll. I liked it and would give it another listen.

Not really properly listened to this album before (or if I did in the day I can't remember it now), really great album, not mind blowing but I do really like The Afghan Wigs sound in general, a 4.5 so bumping to ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, solid grunge era album

I was leaning toward 4, so im settling on 3.5

Anybody else think Gentlemen was going to turn into I Miss You?

Wow, surprised this has so many haters. Cracking good guitar rock, with the distinctive scream of Greg Dulli, makes for an engaging time. The seemed to be lumped in with grunge around this time, but they actually had a lot more of interest than most around that time, and the songs still stand up today. ‘Gentlemen’, ‘Debonair’, ‘Be Sweet’ and the closing ‘Brother Woodrow’ are my highlights.

This was alright. Definitely got bored by the end of it and skipped through the final instrumental but stayed engaged with it pretty much the whole time. Interesting, sad/disturbing themes and lyrics in it, genuinely hope whoever this is about got away from this dude (permanently) he seemed like a dangerous arsehole/incel. I liked the musical style itself.

Pretty good

Afghan Whigs have never really come to my attention and I'm not sure why. I quite liked the music here, the lyrics less so.

This was pretty great even though no individual song jumped out at me. Feel like it would benefit from a deeper listen but even so it really popped.

Never heard of The Afghan Whigs before today. The initial version of the band was called Black Republicans which is pretty tongue in cheek and funny too. It's very dark and moody but I really like the music itself. I really like alt rock that gets heavy without running into metal or punk territory, it's more like post-rock in its heaviness. Excellent bass playing and the kick sound is very thumpy more like R&B which is cool. "My Curse" has a totally different lead singer, because the lyrics were too honest. That's definitely a neat footnote, especially for a first major-label release. The Whigs were definitely doing things their way. The lyrics overall are really out there, it sounds like the lead singer is kind of a nightmare. Very honest, and kudos for that, but he also got in a fight in with a bouncer that put him in a coma (6 years later) so maybe it's more a diary than a retrospective on "who I used to be". It's hard to listen to in places because this guy is really in pain about losing his relationship but it's also pretty starkly his fault in a lot of ways, and he knows it. There's a tough thing to consider there - you can feel really bad about something and it's still inevitable that it will end due to your actions. Definitely a highlight so far on my 1001 albums journey and a true unknown for me.

You have to give credit for how well this concept lands. It digs deep into self-sabotage and being terrible at being a partner. It can be a lot to take in at once. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Gentlemen - Debonair - My Curse

I always feel like this is a band that I should listen to more of. Solid, high 2s.

Never heard of this band but they sounded ok. Typical 90s music with some grunge leanings.

incel rock anthem. half-decent grunge instrumentation, but with the most whiny and angsty vocals i've heard in a minute that are absolutely dripping with misogyny. every single track is expressing entitlement towards woman as sexual objects, plain and simple. "you think i'm scared of girls, well maybe, but i'm not afraid of you" is a real line. cartoonishly bad songwriting. this album is described as being "about a toxic relationship" yeah it's about a guy who is transparently an abusive slimey gross piece of shit who should get a job and stay away from her. the most surprising part about this is when i googled "greg dulli politics" and found an article from 2022 where he (the lead vocalist and songwriter) described himself as a socialist. growth, i guess.

Y'know I think the world does not need another breakup album from the perspective of a man about a "toxic" breakup that is, in fact, just a collection of songs where a dude whines about wanting to fuck. Sounds like the type of album from a guy who goes through a bad breakup and then starts obnoxiously talking to his coworkers about how he has been "blackpilled" and how women suck. I'm gonna go now and listen to yesterday's album instead.

Much of a muchness really. Nothing special.

I LOVED it

A lot of pleasant songs

relatively decent album, starts to sound same-y after a while, but luckily doesn't outstay its welcome

Never heard of them before, but damn they go harrd. Energizing 90s rock, switching between laid-back melodies and then melodically punching you in the face again

Like a bland and chewy piece of meat. Unappetizing.

Fun, not super memorable.

Just fine really. The end track was kinda cool but sounded a bit rushed. Literally no reason to be on this list, that I can see.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. This sounds like the opening band at shows in the 90's. It's awful, and you wish they'd shut up and get off stage so you can see the headliner.

Day 14: The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen I really was not in the mood for exploring "the dark psyche of the '90s male". The album title is ironic and the songs seem to be a bit of humble bragging about the self-loathing of the “90’s male” and his bad behavior. I added “What Jail Is Like” to my Generator playlist but eventually skipped it so often I decided to remove it.

Fantastic record or at least it was at the time of release, I can still go back to it and enjoy it front to back and it hits the old nostalgia button so I'm a little biased on this one

I can 100% see how this album served as a link between late 80s/early 90s grunge and the alternative rock that came in the mid-late 90s. Despite enjoying both of those eras, that doesn't mean that I enjoyed this in-between. It's ok, but lyrically hard to listen to. And somehow the singer manages to channel Steven Tyler and Lenny Kravitz at the same time.

This is pretty close to right in my wheelhouse. I'm sure I've heard a few of these before but never really got into these guys back in the day. It does kind of have a generic proto-grunge sound, could've been any of a number of early '90s bands. The ballads -"When We Two Parted" and "I Keep Coming Back" really make this album a chore to listen to.

The cover is one of the most intense pieces of art that I've seen in a long time. The album itself, however, doesn't live up. Having spent a fair amount of time in Cincinnati, the Whigs were pretty popular scene, but I can't remember anyone saying that they actually *enjoyed* them. And that's how I felt about this album. A lot of proto-incel "woe is me" sort of wallowing, a lot of anger, and some pretty damned good musicianship. In my twenties, sure -- but I've outgrown 'em.

The songs themselves are fine/good, if repetitive, but the lyrics are atrocious. I don't want to spend a second with this dude.

I got the impression that he was not happy about the dissolution of a seemingly toxic relationship

4 de 5

Fav track: My curse

I haven’t listened yet but I will

I like the 90s alt/grunge sound this album has, but something about Dulli's vocal delivery and lyrics just do not work for me, leaving me somewhat unsatisfied. 6/10

I’m a bit torn by this. There’s so much about it I like. It’s rawness and emotion create a real story throughout. But there’s a question mark over the vocalist and some of his lyrics. Decent listen though.

Ah Greg Dulli and his band. I used to love the way they would murder a classic soul song - he may have the padsion, but not the voice for it.. I loved Congregation. But I had moved on to other things by the time this had come out. I should have stuck with them as this is great stuff. Its certainly a darker album to their earlier stuff. It will get another listen soon.

This is why I like this project, such a nice hidden gem

Raw rock album with emotional moments.

"Be Sweet" is a pretty good song. The rest were okay to listen to....one at a time. But this is not an album to listen straight through. There wasn't anything that really made these songs memorable. 3 stars for not sucking.

8/10

Another alternative rock band from the early 90s that I've never heard of. So how good can they be? Let's take a closer look: After the boring first track comes “Gentlemen,” which has a good main groove for its time. Greg Dulli also has a great voice, which comes into its own here. This is followed by a series of nice songs, but each of them has all the characteristics of the 90s that I've heard too many times before: that rhythm pattern that never really grooves, abrupt but pointless shifts between whispering and screaming, accompanied by guitars that aren't really clean and guitars that aren't really distorted, uninspired drums, and a bass that's so muddy you can barely hear it. Back then, most rock bands avoided the clarity and sharp contrasts of the 80s, but that's exactly what made many talented bands annoying after the fifth song—then and now.

Didn’t listen

Super intricate fuzzed out grunge with a side of being desperately horny for someone who is necrotizing your heart. Like if Deftones didn’t go with the butt rock elements of grunge

didn’t know this is what they even sounded like. pretty good album!

I loved every minute. Such a heartbreaking album, but so timeless. I came to Afghan Whigs by way of Har Mar Superstar (iykyk) and while I am still digging into them, this is probably my second favorite so far.

First time listening to this band. I like this style of music, and this era, but the lyrics leave something to be desired, and I’m not a fan of the dude’s voice. Pretty decent post punk though. And the song arrangements were cool.

Grim and grimy, good album.

un peu banal

aggressiv gespielter mainstream-rock mit end-of-eighties-touch. teilweise packend, teilweise einfach nur langweilig.

Erinnert an U2 und dann doch wieder nicht.

Generic 90’s alt/rock. Not bad but certainly not mindblowing either.

Greg Dulli seems to be running the J Mascis playbook, only with more text as opposed to subtext. He can't play quite as well as J and he sings about as well (which isn't exactly a compliment), but I can live with that. I'm less sold on the less subtext, more text thing, and not just because Mascis's inability to articulate his feelings is part of what makes him signify. Dulli doesn't have that problem but here it feels like he's trying to guard himself against accusations of misogyny by accusing himself first. Thing is, self-awareness about your cad-ness doesn't make you any less of a cad (see, e.g., a long tradition of scuzzballs dating back at least to Byron and Shelley). Yelling at your ex for her not getting off, as Dulli does on "When We Two Parted," is downright ugly, ironic distance or not (which is a shame, because the Allmanesque lead on that song really works). And if he's going to be more articulate then he needs to at least be poetic - there are lots of good riffs here but too many clunker lines. He isn't an idiot but this is nonetheless full of sound and fury that I'm not sure signifies.

this album is trying way too hard to be something it’s not and it’s both lyrically and vocally trash. i thought the guitar might be able to save it in a few places but, i was wrong. i agree with the people who say this is incel rock and also with the person who said it’s for guys who yell at their girlfriends in public

Can't remember what I just listened to tbh. I remember not enjoying it though, so I guess that says it all 2 ⭐️

fucking twisted

ok? men?

1993, and we’re back in grunge-adjacent alt-rock territory here. However, the lyrics on this made me wince - when you get lines like “I’ve got a dick for a brain” you have to ask if someone is being funny, ironic or are they actually serious? The theme of this album is supposedly the breakup of a toxic relationship and sounds pretty po-faced, so make of that what you will. When the album reached My Curse, a song about domestic violence from a woman’s perspective, the overall effect is pretty gut wrenching. I really hope this is not autobiographical. Not a fun listen or a particularly edifying one.

Ok

Mediocre at best.

Meh

Pleasantly surprised, there are some really good songs in this album. The name did ring a bell, although I had never listened to anything by them. I will look for more of them. 4,4/5.

Alternative/rock band from the 90’s. Nothing great about them.

Rock alternativo de primeira! Belíssimo álbum. Moondrop May.

be sweet is really good; everything else is pretty unenjoyable

So-so.

Solid!

I mean the lyrics were just not it

Really liked the music, which reminded me of a mix of Creed and Radiohead. Lyrics were horrible, though - If an album could be a red flag, this is it.

This is something of a rarity. An early 90s alternative album that I've not heard before and really enjoyed. I was aware of the band but have never listened to them. This is a great album.

The Afghan Whigs are one of those bands I should theoretically love but never got into for whatever reason. Listening to Gentlemen, I wonder if it's because I have limited patience for louche dudes who probably worship Bukowski. (Some quick googling for Greg Dulli + Charles Bukowski turns up LOTS of results.) Not to say these songs are autobiographical, and it's reductive to classify all of Gentlemen that way. I do like this—I listened twice, once on the stereo & once on headphones, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The book refers to Gentlemen as the Whigs' masterpiece; while I'm not familiar enough to go that far, I can see the argument.

Perhaps the finest rock album to ever come out of Ohio. What Jail is Like is an all-time fav. I'm vaguely aware that Greg Dulli is unliked personally for some reason, but I totally dig their 90s output and feel like they never got the respect they deserved. I can only assume this is because people are jealous of Ohio and hating on the Afghan Whigs is the only way they know how to express that.

Pretty good

Love the music, but the voice can be a bit grating at a few points.

Voice: ok. Lyrics: not.

I can understand this one. If I'd heard of this effort during my angsty teens, I would've totally overlooked the vocals, enjoyed and sympathized with the general energy. Today, I can't get past the vocals. I've decided I'm docking an entire star because of them. The energy though, the pain, the concept, it's actually pretty cool. I like the direction, my complaints are with the producers and the lead vocalist's ego. There's an extra decimal in there for the exquisite album cover. Had I gone in blind, I might've bought this. 2.3/5

Very much from early 90s.

This album was a big part of my late teens, early 20s and I'm not sure why I never saw this band live. What Jail is Like is epic. They should have been more popular, particularly for their later album 1965. Rounding up for being the coolest band to ever come out of Ohio.

decent

Ah been wanting to listen to these properly for a while. Let’s have it:.. Yeh, nice groove and backing so far. Not as put off by the vocals as many people are. But if a soundgarden/audioslave feel. Pleasantly surprised by this and think I’ll be exploring the catalogue a bit more. Nearly 4 but probably closer to 3.5

Would not buy.

The mediocre, cliched 90's backing tracks and embarrassingly affected hipster vocal slouch were immediately off-putting. Then I heard the "Narcissist; unafraid of sexual violence. Looking for female companion to fulfill my desires" lyrics. And the whole thing became so off-putting that I directly put it off. 480 albums in and post-punk, anti-musicality has become as overrepresented on the list as Woodstock hippie nonsense and British white-blues. It's getting to where I feel overjoyed if one album a week is worth listening to.

meh

Who? Just average, forgotten about 90s rock. Does not need to be on the list.

really dont like this one. why is it here.

Fun blend of grunge and indie/alt. Like superchunk meets the pixies. A good example of 1990s experimental music within the confines of popular genres.

Some interesting musical passages here. The piano, guitar and drums make for an interesting contrast against the lyrics. The raw emotion of the album is palpable, but I am not a fan of the vocal delivery.

Although the singer has nothing to differentiate them from any other alt-rock act of the time period the music delivered by the band is next level and makes this album worthy of interest

Would not listen to this again. 2/5

Surprisingly good

3-4

I've overlooked this band because their name is stupid, but this surprised me with some real energy.

woof. musically it's pretty good / alright / of the grunge era, but man I can't get over the incredibly out of tune self-involved sing-talking about having a dick for a brain. the cover is cool though.

I've heard local teen garage bands with better lyrics. This might be the worst album so far for me.

Love the music, nothing positive to say about the vocals

What number is appropriate for "This band seems good but I hope this dude gets a particularly painful form of cancer?" Credit to this album for making me re-evaluate what's important to me about music, at least. I often like my music written by emotional disasters, and I don't think we should evaluate every lyric as being autobiographical, so... why did I hate this *so* much? I feel like normally I don't have such a hard time giving terrible POV characters some grace. I considered several possibilities: * I just don't like the genre, so I'm giving it a shorter leash - This is probably true to a degree, but honestly, the instrumentation on this album kind of made me feel differently about grunge, so I don't think that's it. * Everyone has certain lyrical triggers they just have less patience for than others, and angry bro manbaby misogyny is one for me - This is true to a degree, but I usually have more patience than *this*, so it's not quite it either. * You can be a disaster, but you have to know it - I'll forgive a lot of sins if you're self reflective about it. You don't even have to be *apologetic* about it, you just have to examine it a *little*. The closest this album comes is the song where he's like 'fuck you for being angry at me that I slept around'. * You can be shitty, but you have to be shitty *and good* - and here is why I think I truly hate this album. The lyrics are trash from a "they're problematic and this dude seems incredibly shitty" standpoint, but they're also just *really bad*. Like *really really bad*. For me to get over what a dick you seem like you have to be, idk, insightful or poetic or clever or funny or even just really mean. This is none of that. You will benefit none from a further examination of any of these lyrics. This album is also really hurt by its unwavering consistency. A concept album about the bad breakup of a toxic relationship is timeless, so, sure, but you have a whole album to examine every facet of that relationship, and, like, it's 10 songs of "fuck you" and then one song of "fuck you but the sex was pretty good i guess" and, uh, i guess that's really all you had to say, my dude?

This album. I have struggled with the rating on this one more than any other. On the one hand: this album made me reevaluate my negative opinion of grunge and alt rock. The music is interesting and varied, things I generally criticize alt rock for lacking, it had me thinking, maybe I just don't like the watered-down, radio filler I was exposed to in the genre, maybe the deeper cuts have something more to them! On the other hand: I hated listening to this album. Dulli's lyrics are awful; banal, on the nose musing about how much he hates women that repeat themselves endlessly. He says everything he's going to say, and with zero subtilty, in the first track and then beats those sentiments into the ground. The vocal styling also often feels at odds with the music and there are more than one just straight up off note. It's a shame, this prompted me to look into some of their other work and it's interesting! They do some really good covers of motown songs! As for the albums cover... whoa, I mean, I get it, but my first impression was mild repulsion. It's certainly provocative and it does fit the album's theme of people with the emotional intelligence of 7 year olds playing at romance, I'm giving it a 4/5 even though I'm still a little queasy about it.

So far a little heavier than I prefer these days. Not my style.

I wasn't looking forward to this. I don't know why. I knew nothing of the band but the name and and the cover art made me think some kind of boring Belle and Sebastian type thing. I was wrong. The first half of this was great. Didn't carry all the way through but it rocked. A low 4.

I didn't know the Afghan Whigs before this. A lot of the backing tracks were exactly what I like, I could hear lots of interesting bands in some of their parts and sounds. Really liked them... However, I just didn't like the vocals, I didn't like his style, or his tunes and from the little amount of lyrics that I figured out I wasn't overly taken with them either. I think with another singer I'd have loved this band, but then it wouldn't be this band I guess. Oh well.

Det her var ret fedt! Især første halvdel er jeg fan af! Efter et "Debonair" var jeg nød til lige at høre Miss you med Kashmir, og jeg er overbevis om at her er en klar inspirations kilde.👌 Hørte det 2 og en halv gang, og tager gerne et lyt hele vejen til og med "My curse" som burde have rundet albummet af.

Det her er et godt bevis på hvad sådan et projekt her kan. For år tilbage hørte jeg noget blandet Afghan Whigs som opvarming til at de skulle spille på en festival. Men det fangede mig aldrig helt. Men en dag med det her album gjorde at jeg virkelig kunne få det ind under huden. Det er dejlig hårdt uden at være rigtig hårdt. Og det er dejlig følsomt uden at være blæver

Just too hard, harsh for my tastes.

I’d never heard of The Afghan Whigs before, so I was curious to give Gentlemen a listen. Unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy this album. It’s very much generic 90s indie/grunge with nothing that particularly stands out. The vocals grated on me, and the overall sound felt dull, depressing, and uninspired. This was a tough listen to get through from start to finish. Favourite track: Fountain and Fairfax – it was okay and had a decent guitar riff. Least favourite track: Honestly, the entire album. Album artwork: Quite a creepy cover that fits the mood, but that’s about it.

Just your typical 90s angst. Blech.

i understand this. and as much as I like the general genre, this felt unengaging

Didn't know I needed this today. It's got Alt-Rock written all over it, but it's gritty, mature and sounds interesting throughout. A pleasant surprise. 3.5/5

Du bon indie rock un peu grungy. J'ai bien aimé les sons de guitare planante. Now you know était ben bonne. Gentlemen m'a fait penser à du Mars Volta dans les rythmes saccadés et la voix éraillée

Crime je pensais aimer plus ça! Un peu un slow burner, moins flashy que tout grunge qui sortait en même temps à cette époque. D’autres écoutes seront nécessaire. J’avais écouté quelques fois Do To The Beast, leur premier album en 16 ans en 2014 et j’avais bien aimé. Gentlemen, Be Sweet, la chanson avec la voix féminime étaient très bien! J’y retournerai certainement

Triple J music. Listenable.

It's ok. Nothing special, but not horrible. A 3/5, very in the middle.

Geniunley awful

A bit dull for my tastes. Not one I’d come back to.

Nicee

There's 1 or 2 songs I don't see myself going back to. The rest of the album was pretty good. Very chilled

Not bad.

The only one I actually enjoyed was the one where someone else was singing. Other bands did and do this sort of thing much, much better.

Interesting bass and drum work. Greg Dulli's vocals don't do it for me. Some of his growls feel put-on, his deviation from pitch sounds lazy rather than natural and his timing and lyrics just seem to go on like bad beat poetry. Wo-man. Woooooah, man! The title track feels downright bloated, despite a very interesting and tense-feeling guitar texture. The band is tight and interesting. Their timbral and harmonic choices are compelling, with a snappy active bass tone (that's gotta be a StingRay) and a kind of Johnny Marr/The Edge guitar chime.'Fountain and Fairfax' works better than most because it's more instrumental than others; when Dulli caterwauls through the climax, it works despite him rather than because of him. But the songs ultimately drag and that's down to Dulli's inability to hold my attention. Instead of the loose, relaxed feel of Dylan or Jeff Tweedy, he sounds like someone who thinks it's cooler not to try. It's cool if you don't have to try but you succeed anyway, Greg. Sprezzatura. Coming up short because you obviously didn't try is just apathy. Which is very Gen X! 3/5 for the band; Dulli almost drags it to a 2.

Awful alvum

Began to wonder if I even liked music while listening to this. Had a headache and thought it was just annoying me but listened to something else after and no it just sucked. It kinda has the ingredients of a slowcore/emo record but instead it's like grungy and super angsty in a way that felt like the opposite of that style. Really almost felt uncanny how it just didn't work for me despite it seeming right up my alley...

I first heard Afghan Whigs when a live version of Going to Town was on a free CD I got with a music mag in the 90s. It really stood out at the time but the band wound up a couple of years later and I never really got into Greg Dulli's various other projects. I knew Gentlemen and Debonair but not really listened to the whole album. Its a great record, but a tad bleak in it's view of male-female relationships, I could listen to a few tracks but across a whole album the grievances wear a bit thin.

Someone said this is the missing link between hair bands and grunge and I can see that. However, I found it excruciatingly boring. 2/5

I feel like I should have liked this more. Nothing here is bad, but nothing here really stood out. It all just sounds like generic 90's rock (this is coming from someone who loves 90's rock). High 3.

Absolutely my vibe. A good listen

top 3: - be sweet - if I were going - my curse

Pretty terrible, both lyrically and musically. This guy sounds like a shitty boyfriend.

Thoughts before listening: My impression of the Afghan Whigs has always been that they were an alt-rock/grunge band that leaned into an R&B sound. That being said, I know very little else about them, and they represent a pretty big hole in my musical listening history. It seems like I should be into them, but I just have never really given them much of a chance. Glad to have a reason to now. Review: So the R&B aspects of this are maybe a bit overstated. There is definitely a certain vibe and groove to these songs that was missing from the Afghan Whigs' contemporaries, but its definitely still a 90s alt-rock sound. This is great, being very reminiscent of other music I was into at that time. I do see some negative reviews on here, which probably isn't surprising...I feel like these guys are the American equivalent of the Brit-pop bands that I've been annoyed by on this list. However, this sound totally resonates with me. As suspected, this was right up my alley, and I wish I hadn't slept on these guys for so long. 4-stars

12/30 mellow and Radiohead-y

Not sure why I need to hear this. Probably just not my thing.

It's a mediocre white guy rock band from the 1990s. Why is this on the list?

Blind album and artist. I like the way its mixed in some ways and the variety of rhythms and the strings were cool too. But the vocalist felt a bit in the uncanny valley between okay and good, and it had a worse effect i feel.

When i started the album, my first impression was that it was that it was an easy 3, no big complaints, no big praises just some 90s butt rock, then really quickly the cringey gen x edgelord lyrics started to come out and the music started getting worse every song til i couldn't believe how bad it was. They didn't have to make "it doesn't bleed, it doesn't breed" a repeating motif through the album but l, by God they did and it sucked

I've forgotten everything since listening to this album yesterday so clearly no lasting impact.

Butt rock in the streets, shoegaze in the sheets I wanted to like this so much more than I actually do. It makes me want to dive deeper but I’m just not finding what I want here. It’s solid stuff. It feels like Silversun Pickups meets Lit which should make me squeal but not quite there. It’s like Built to Spill with all the levity of Alice In Chains. Ok so I LOVE the last track. This is fuckin brilliant.

2.45

Completely missed this band at the time. Reminded me of Smashing Pumpkins (even has a similar cover to Siamese Dream) and Placebo in parts. I enjoyed it while it lasted but none of it really stuck in my head like tunes from the bands I mentioned do. Maybe needs repeated listens.

One of those bands that I know the name but never really given them a go. I looked at the rating and the reviews and prepared myself for the worst, but in reality it was not that bad. A couple of songs caught my attention. Lots of the album was a bit heavy for my liking though. I cannot see myself listening to this again, but it was not terrible. an Ok listen and I am glad that this project has given me the opportunity to listen to them. I am not sure why this band exactly made the list when the 90s was choc a block full of bands just like this, but I question that often with this project. 3 stars

like the last half of the album, the first part does nothing for me. 2

Despite the creepy cover, this was unexpectedly beautiful

Um tanto quanto derivativo de diversas coisas. Dá pra ouvir um pouco de grunge, um pouco de nu-metal, coisas assim aqui nesse disco. E eu entendo a polarização, os vocais são estranhos e desconfortáveis, e o conteúdo lírico é feio e perverso em larga medida. Sobre essa segunda parte, até que faz sentido, visto que este é um disco sobre separação e término, e raramente essas coisas são bonitas e agradáveis. Mas algo que salvou esse álbum pra mim foi sua instrumentalização. A banda é realmente muito boa, toda canção aqui inicia de maneira forte e proeminente, e mantém seu ritmo incessante até o fim de suas respectivas durações. Desta forma, o disco acaba ficando bem envolvente. A partir daí, vira apenas uma questão se você consegue ou não tolerar o vocalista, e eu consegui. Valeu a pena o sofrimento. Uma das capas mais lindas que já vi também. 4/5

Like if Smashing Pumpkins sucked

Have tried this before following a friend's recommendation. I'm not quite sure what it is...indie rock/grunge/rock... Some of it is quite good but nothing smacked me round the ears.

Well that sucked

This is a pretty depressing and drab album, all things considered. I guess there isn't much to consider though, as this is primarily an alt rock breakup record through and through. Sure it's raw and emotional, as your hear in the lyrics. It's also maybe a little novel, as I can't say I've heard too many breakup-exclusive grunge records specifically. Doesn't mean I enjoyed this listen, however.

Had never even heard of this band before. As a late 90's baby I listen to a lot of music from this time period and genre, so I was suprised to not know them. Saw some reviews comment on the singer and specifically the lyrics being 'incel-y'. It is kinda just a product of its time, was grunge ever really praised for its lyricism? . Some pretty good rock music all-in-all, I'll probably give it another spin in the future, but in the end its a 3 star album.

not bad, not so good