Chore of Enchantment

This album sounds like it was leaked from an alternate universe. Like there is something so liminal about this while also just being so…chill? It seems as this album is existing on a slightly different plane of reality than our own. It leaves me slightly astonished and puzzled. I appreciate it, but I’m having a hard time connecting to it exactly. It feels like I’m having taken on an auditory tour of the backrooms, there’s this weird sense of dread sewn into the fabric of the production. Temptation of egg made me laugh and I enjoyed that song. Shiver sounds the most…normal? Enjoying the middle instrumental break in Way to End the Day. (Are we sure Giant Sand didn’t compose the OFF video game soundtrack?) I think that I will think about this album on future rainy days where I feel like I’m at a loss of what to do with my time. 3/5

This album sounded like Shawn Mullins put out a spoken word record.

Len Houmous once locked himself away for 4 days when we were holidaying in Gran Canaria. He took too much acid during a small Saharan Sand Storm - he was convinced it was full of giant sand. Like hail sized grains of sand. It’s when he actually wrote Sandstorm for Dario G. 3.7 13/16 Satellite

We have Wilco at home, but they all took Ambien.

honestly, I really liked this one. it was raw, it was weird, and it was what I needed in my late night grind.

There are like 10 albums on this list with the same early 2000s freaky hipster vibe that sound and feel exactly like this and none of them deserve to be on the list

I like this. has a nice sound

It is good, and there are some moments that I think are great, but as the title says this album is a "chore" to get through. Too many of the songs just kinda drag on and really delude those great moments. High 3.

It’s ok, not my particular groove but I like X-Tra Wide

Add Lou Reed, Pavement, The Eels, subtract what makes them great, and you’re left with a mediocre but interesting album. More like the Al Gore of Disenchanment. Additional notes: On Spotify, the album has additional tracks. Some of these are alternate versions of the originals and remixes. They are much better than the originals. Standout track: Shiver

Musically, it was decent. Lyrically, it was plodding and unimaginative. Chore of Enchantment is an ironically precise album title.

"Shiver" was decent, "Satellite" was good except for the vocals. Unfortunately, the only chore here was staying awake through the album.

Not bad. Very background music. Not sure why it's on this list, though.

Really enjoyed this American gothic country rock expanse of music. Such a massive discography to dive into one day.

It’s better than what I got the impression of from the reviews on here. I think I’m going to listen to this again in the future.

Mixed bag on this, some of the cuts I enjoyed, others, not so much. This was another new band for me, which in general terms is a positive for me.

I don’t hate this album, but I don’t love it either. Overall it’s a good album especially if your into Lou Reed, Leonard Choen, however I found this band to lack the depth or lyricism those artists have.

Better than I anticipated

I did not know this, It is a very nice discovery. A mix between folk and trio hop. Listened to it twice. 4 stars.

It has a vibe, I'm just not sure it's "my" vibe.

Yikes, this was pretty bad.

Interesting band, I'd not heard of them before and a lot of their previous albums don't have Wikipedia articles. Which is maybe an unfair barometer of stature, but it gives you an idea This album is very mellow, with the subtle instrumentation and baritone whispered vocals creating a very chilled vibe. I found when I listened closely they were songs I could get lost in, the rhythm section is unspectacular but creates a nice groove that allows the listener to just float along with the music.

Uhh I like slowcore and alt-country enough ig, but this was kinda boring as shit. 2.5/5

Somewhere between Andrew Bird and Beck? Oddly compelling stuff

Mislim da je ovo zadnji gelbov s calexicom kao ritam sekcijom. Vrlo je beckovski zapravo kao i dosta od tih kantautorske albuma s kraja devedesetih

This might be my favourite type of album to receive on here. Something completely unknown, but which a lot of people seem to be slating. The expectations are low, but you come to realise almost right away that it's just full of surprises and invention, and totally go with it. The first song is so moody, with that undercurrent of strings, and a sitar? It works! Throughout the album there's discordant noises, scuzzy guitars, piano, sound effects, industrial soundscapes, operatic moments.. Parts of it sound like they could be on a film score. The thing I really appreciate about the music is that it never seems to take the obvious route. Even something like the addition of piano.. it has it's unique sound. It's a bit off-key maybe, but it works. I'm not put off by his voice as some others are. It's a very deliberate approach, and it works for the songs. Taking something like "Raw" as an example, it's really quite effective in setting that sombre tone, and it helps to build real atmosphere and mood. I listened to it twice through, and that may have been too much in one sitting to be honest, but I remain pretty impressed by this! 4.5 rounded down.

Not bad! Not super exciting, but clearly better than your average rock album.

Спокойная музыка, в основном. Не высшего качества, но иногда фоном послушать можно. 5,5 из 10.

-meh this is… definitely an album i guess. idk how to describe the sound, kind of reminds me of Wilco but a little wackier?? i had pretty high hopes after that second track, which i liked, but it failed to live up to that standard -it didn’t sound bad but it did sound disorganized and forgettable imo. generous 3 stars -Favorites are (Well) Dusted and Wolfy

Never heard of this album or band and I'm Gen X. I'm sure this sounded right for its time. But at 16 tracks, interest wanes 5 tracks in. No wonder it's barely survived its era.

some good instrumentals but his vocals are boring

Knew nothing about this. Not sure I know much now tbf.

This was way too sleepy for my taste, but that's a subjective thing, right? So I'll just say that it wouldn't be the last album on my list if I chose to relisten to 1001 albums again.

Didn't understand a thing

I also think this album is underrated. Maybe not 5* like some others are rating it. But I think it deserves some credit. It's got a Leonard Cohen meets Lou Reed meets Bright Eyes meets Butthole Surfers meets The Pixies with a touch of Country and Shoegazing. I don't know how that's possible, but it's definitely a weird vibe and has a strong garage quality to it. I fee like only the TRUE lovers-of-all-genres will appreciate this. But the music is good, vocals are nice, and whoever the bass player is... I hope he or she has become famous, because for me that is the best, most consistent trait across the whole album.

I don’t like Lou Reed. Why would I like a Lou Reed wannabe?

Meh

There’s nothing I hate it just sounds like an album of indie cliche’s

I had never heard of this band or album, but it was a really interesting listen. I enjoyed some of the odd production choices. The wikipedia article has 22 contributing musicians! Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming and crowded, like they just kept adding more and more instruments and choices without thinking how well it was all going together, but overall I think the complicated production really made for enjoyable and interesting tracks. I will almost certainly be revisiting this. I wish I could give a half star, but I will instead be rounding down. 3/5

myah i think i would rather listen to one of their early cowpunk albums. a voice like this would work much better with that sort of rough energy than the slow and laid-back country flavored indie muzak on this album. get a lot of Eels vibes. if that's ur thing that's ur thing i suppose. sorta reminds me of the background music from Wild at Heart. vibe pieces don't do much for me though deserves to be one of the 1001? no. the alt-country selection isn't horrible but this should not snub Uncle Tupelo

This was good. But only if you are in a vibe for slow and low.

The lead singer kind of sounds like Lou Reed, but he’s not Lou Reed, and that’s okay.

Kinda quiet and a little boring, but its chill

Giant Bland.

Complete lack of personality from the singer and this band. Just utterly boring and lifeless.

I’ve never even remotely heard of these before. It was a bit one paced and laid back but sometimes the day leads you to a different pattern, and here I ended up listening in the evening and appreciated the vibes, perhaps more had I listened in the morning or indeed, on a weekday. There are definite Lou Reed vibes in the vocals, probably some Leonard Cohen too. It’s an album I think some will really like and others will just be bored. I think it would benefit from further listens but I’m not sure it’s done enough to compel me to revisit, I’m just not sure when I’d come back for this.

Just okay

I'm going to be honest with you all. I'm starting to get kind of upset with this album list. Time after time, day after day, I generate an album only to find that it's completely irrelevant and has no business being on a list like this. But hey, I've got to keep an open mind, right? Well, sometimes that doesn't matter because the album ends up being boring as shit. This album does nothing for me. This thing is aggressively mid. Even the album cover is boring! I guess I can praise some of the instrumentation, which I liked. The instrumentation on songs like "Shiver" is solid. Other songs like "Wolfy" don't do it for me. It's a mixed bag. I don't like the vocals. Others have compared Howe Gelb's vocals to a mix of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, two artists who already have a crap-ton of albums on this list. I agree in all of the worst ways. I don't like Howe Gelb's voice. It's grating. The writing just exists. I guess I can commend this album for not being 16 versions of the same song, but when the songs aren't great, that doesn't really mean much. Also this thing just goes on for too long. I guess the "chore" part of the album title was accurate. The "enchantment" part? Not so much. This thing is going to leave my brain as soon as I finish this review. This thing has no reason to be on this list and I find it boring. High 2/5.

Boring

Little slow and boring for me. Was expecting something diff than what this is. Wouldn’t say bad just not me.

Naw

Shite

A band I've always meant to listen to, sounds quite similar to some stuff I like a lot but none of it is as memorable as I'd like it to be

It just never seemed to get going

Shite

wtf is a big sand anyway? a rock? this was pretty boring, we get it dude, you want to be Neil Young. wasn't an awful listen, but a swing and a moss nonetheless

Was a guy rambling some stories while whispering with some basic chords and instrumentals mostly through it. Guess there were some catchy parts but none of it was memorable.

Wtf was this

Too long and not good

The indie sound is there, albeit basic. I've known too many guys with bands that sound like this. The 'aren't-you-lucky-I-got-out-of-bed-to-mumble-sing-to-you' vibe is tiring.

What a load of nonsense

This album was a wild ride. Every time I thought I knew where is was headed it would surprise me with another twist. I could do with a little less of the weird vocals. The backgrounds tracks were the real star of the show here.

Definitely loved how it was a departure from the last albums we listened to. I absolutely loved the back tracks/instrumentals but then that man started weird talking whispering on it…?? And every track? Got old very fast, if they had a legitimately good singer on this album it would’ve been amazing. I love how the instrumentals were a variety of styles and were beautiful/sad simultaneously. Temptation of Egg fucked heavy.

It’s as if Modest Mouse, Wilco and Tom Waits had super weird music baby. I honestly didn’t hate it. It was weird but refreshingly different and NOT 70S PUNK!!! Loved the genre blending. Waaaaaayyyyyy too long but I enjoyed wondering what craziness was coming next. Not generally a fan of the whisper singing and it’s my least favorite part of the album. Stand outs for me - Shiver, Dirty from the Rain, Astonished in Memphis (the ending with the oboe???), No Reply

what a ride! looooved the playful use of different instruments on each track - they almost felt like featured artists! the flutes, piano, guitar, OBOE, and i feel like that band would be amazing to see live! absolutely enjoyed the music but then, the singing. i mean, you can't really even call it singing. more like whisper talking. as if the guy was recording the vocals next to a sleeping crocodile he mustn't wake. and the lyrics themselves. i could almost SEE him reading every line in the rhyming dictionary and deciding to use them ALL. i mean shiver, river, deliver, we GET IT. while i did not hate the whisper talking entirely, it should have been on maybe three different tracks MAX. too much of it. hilarious really. get a singer. however TEMPTATION OF EGG. IS. THAT. GIRL. LOVED her. also really liked the bonus track HARD ON THINGS. especially when he whispered "let me show you how hard i am on things".... and then continued to whisper into the bridge/breakdown.

Well it wasn't punk, but it also had a similar issue where all the songs had the same tempo. But I'm happy they tried to make every song different with a large amount of effects and instruments. The lead singer did his talking sing thing, and threw in a surprise by really belting it out at the end of one song and after that, all I wanted was more, but it never came.

• 2/5 • not offensive, but not engaging

Eclectic, folky, storytellery music. I quite enjoyed it overall. Some of it reminded me of things I couldn't place. Might need to check out more of their stuff.

Interesting album, did not mind at all, did get a bit tedious on the bonus track but don't hate for a mellow melancholy country-ish feel⭐⭐⭐

Reasonably decent. We enjoyed it well enough - a good backdrop for getting some work done.

I kept checking to see if the song was over, and it never was.

*Listens to album.* ‘This sounds like the cutting edge of 1978. When was it done?’ Oh dear. After two stomping albums we get a reminder that no one seems to be taking this list seriously. The overwhelming mediocrity of this - how it didn’t win a Mercury award? Too mediocre and predictable? 2 because it’s a mediocre score. If it was a bit better, it might have got one star.

It sounds like it was AI generated. What is the point to this stuff? This sub sub sub sub genre noodling and nurdling to say it is a cliche is a cliche. Here goes, here's a lyric made up on the spot: "Armadillo sunset, beavers growling. She's a windswept thief, digging around for Jesus"...fuck off!

All chore and no enchantment. It's nice that Howe Gelb has a hobby, I guess.

Soo good. Unique unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Just a few songs that don’t fit. Otherwise would 100% be a 5/5. Three songs are just basic and boring but the first like 7 are unlike anything I’ve ever heard unfortunately went on for too long and those three songs didn’t fit, but if it weren’t for that this would be the best album I’ve ever listened to.

Parfois, ce projet des 1001 albums, ça ressemble à une putain de corvée. Une liste sans fin, une montagne de disques à gravir, et de temps en temps, on tombe sur un album qui nous regarde droit dans les yeux et nous dit : "Ouais, je sais ce que c'est, la corvée. J'en suis une. Mais une corvée enchantée." Et là, tu sais que tu tiens un truc spécial, "Chore of Enchantment", rien que le titre, c'est un poème, une profession de foi. Giant Sand c'est Howe Gelb et pour ceux qui, comme moi, ont passé une partie de leur jeunesse à fouiller dans les bacs de disques indépendants, ce nom est une vieille connaissance. Une sorte de totem du désert, le parrain d'une scène alt-country qui n'en était pas vraiment une car trop bizarre, trop dégingandé, trop libre pour n'être qu'une simple étiquette. Et cet album, "Chore of Enchantment" est souvent considéré comme son chef-d'oeuvre et pour cause, car c'est un disque qui porte en lui les cicatrices de sa propre création, une création qui fut un véritable enfer, un disque maudit qui a failli ne jamais voir le jour. Gelb l'a enregistré, ré-enregistré, perdu les bandes, l'a mis de côté, y est revenu… C'est un processus qui s'est étalé sur plusieurs années, une véritable odyssée chaotique. Et au milieu de ce chaos, le drame : la mort de son ami et collaborateur de longue date, le guitariste Rainer Ptacek, qui plane comme une ombre bienveillante et tragique sur l'ensemble de l'oeuvre. Mais "Chore of Enchantment" n'est pas un album de deuil larmoyant, non. C'est bien plus complexe, c'est un disque sur la persévérance, sur la beauté qu'on trouve dans la douleur, sur l'obligation de continuer quand tout s'effondre. C'est une corvée, de vivre, de créer, d'aimer, mais ça peut être un enchantement. Le titre, encore et toujours. Musicalement, c'est du pur Giant Sand, mais en version panoramique, presque cinématographique. On a ce son poussiéreux, ce rock du désert qui sent le sable chaud et le bitume craquelé. On passe d'une ballade folk déglinguée à une embardée quasi-punk, d'un murmure lo-fi à une orchestration quasi-luxuriante. Il y a des guitares acoustiques qui pleurent, des pianos de saloon désaccordés, des cordes qui déchirent le coeur, et des éclats de larsens qui te rappellent que sous la poussière du désert, le chaos n'est jamais loin. Howe Gelb, lui est au sommet de son art avec sa voix, ce filet fatigué et pourtant si expressif, qui te raconte des histoires de doutes, d'amour, de perte, de rédemption. Il ne chante pas, il converse avec ses démons. Et c'est là toute la force de l'album. Il ne cherche pas à impressionner, il cherche à toucher. Il y a une humanité folle qui se dégage de chaque sillon, une vulnérabilité qui te prend aux tripes. Cet album c'est le son de l'intégrité, le son d'un type qui n'a jamais cherché à faire des tubes, mais simplement à faire sa musique. "Chore of Enchantment" n'est pas un disque facile, il est long, dense, parfois il prend des chemins de traverse et on se demande où il veut nous emmener. Il faut lui donner du temps, le laisser s'installer, infuser. C'est un disque qui se mérite. On évite ici le détail de chaque morceau, ce serait un sacrilège. Il faut le prendre comme un bloc, un monolithe érodé par le vent et le chagrin. On y croise des invités, comme Juliana Hatfield, dont la voix vient apporter une touche de douceur fragile au milieu de ce paysage aride. Chaque intervention semble juste, nécessaire car ici rien n'est gratuit. Ce qui est fascinant, c'est que malgré le contexte tragique, ce n'est pas un album plombant. Il est mélancolique, oui, profondément mais il y a une lumière qui perce, une sorte d'acceptation, de résilience. C'est la beauté des choses imparfaites, des vies cabossées. C'est le son d'un type qui continue de jouer de la musique sur le porche de sa maison alors que le monde autour de lui part en couilles. Pour un amateur de la frange la plus rêche du rock américain, cet album est une évidence. C'est un disque frère, un cousin éloigné qui vit dans un autre État mais avec qui on partage le même sang. C'est le genre de disque qui te réconcilie avec la musique car dans un monde de produits formatés, il te rappelle que l'art peut naître de la douleur, du désordre, des accidents de la vie. Il est la preuve que les plus belles oeuvres sont souvent les plus fêlées, celles qui laissent passer la lumière. À l'heure où je coche les cases de cette liste des 1001 albums, celui-ci s'impose comme une pièce maîtresse. Pas une de ces évidences commerciales et consensuelles, non. Une de ces évidences intimes, profondes, qui parlent directement à l'âme de ceux qui ont toujours cherché dans la musique autre chose qu'un simple bruit de fond. C'est un disque qui demande un effort, une "corvée", c'est certain. L'enchantement n'est pas systématique, il faut aller le chercher, le débusquer entre les fêlures et les moments d'égarement. Ce n'est pas un chef-d'oeuvre parfait, mais c'est un disque immensément important, et c'est déjà beaucoup. C'est un disque essentiel, mais pas un sans-faute. Un 4 sur 5, pour l'effort, pour l'honnêteté, et pour les moments de pure magie arrachés à la douleur.

Wow. How depressing.

Lazy pun, I know, but when's it's served up that obviously, it can't be ignored. On a drizzly, grey, Wednesday morning, the week after a disappointing holiday and just prior to a compliance review....that was a CHORE. Maybe on another day, on another week, anywhere other than my work desk and just after a Full English with a decent cup of coffee, it might have enchanted me...but .....I doubt it

Good

This was a complete mystery to me. Going into AND after listening, that is. This is pretty one-note and beatnik-like. It gives off the guise of alt rock at times, but plods along with its spoken word-like poetry musings all throughout. Bit of a tough one to trudge through in all honesty.

I like this. It's as if an angsty cowboy heard Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division and thought that's something country music needs. He was onto something. It's not as bold or off-the-wall as that record, but I still like what's going on.

Very Lou Reed. But without the grit, poetry, and gravitas of a Lou Reed album. Not overtly offensive, but just a wee bit unremarkable. ⭐️⭐️

I'll be honest, this album did feel like a chore so at least it's been named correctly

Ya estoy cansada, y escuchar esto se sintió como tener que arrastrar mi peso muerto por 20 cuadras. La voz me mató, y me hizo volver a pensar que si la lista incluyera más artistas internacionales este disco sería de los primeros en salir de aquí.

Very cool. Definitely dug it

Bit melancholy for me

55/100 what an absolute drag oh my lord. some real quality sprinkled in the cracks of this project but its overshadowed by the fact that listening to this album felt like a task rather than an experience.

I liked this a lot, good dreary indie/alt-country. Maybe needed an editor because it goes on a bit but overall strong stuff.

Kinda interesting but too long

Never heard of this band before today. This felt very generic.

New to me, and went in blind, and really enjoyed. Not groundbreaking maybe - there's been a lot of this kind of stuff over the last 30 years, and even just from the Marks I can hear echoes of Mark Linkous, Mark Lanegan and Mark Everett - but it's stuff I like, and there are some lovely songs along the way. 3.8

Who or what is a "Giant Sand"? Do you know? I don't know... So then, what is this album? Why does it have an overture? Is it a musical? A rock opera? Should more albums have an overture? Is the overture actually an overture, with themes from various songs throughout it? Answers: I still don't know what a Giant Sand is I don't know why it has an overture This album is neither a musical or a rock opera More overtures could be cool, I dunno I don't think it's like real overtures Glad we cleared all that up This album sounded like a lot of things. Sometimes it felt like if Tom Waits chilled the fuck out and wasn't creepy or weird or sounded like a complete demon at times. Then it also sounded a little country...? It was a little psychedelic at times. Metal, hard rock, experimental, lo-fi and softer piano music are all things I heard on this album. It would be easy it write this off as an experimental album, one without much direction or cohesiveness. You could say that the only real thread is the singer's voice, which is just ok and sometimes sounds a little out of tune. But I don't really want to do that because that feels too easy. Ultimately, though, I don't really know what else to say, other than that I liked what I liked from this album and really, largely was either ambivalent toward or just didn't like the rest. Two stars. And I feel weird giving it that because I have five standout tracks from this one. But those tracks are exceptions, and I really don't think the album comes together as a whole. Standout Tracks: Temptation of Egg, Wolfy, Shiver, Astonished (In Memphis), No Reply

Not awful but pretty boring. Knocking a star enough because it didn’t need to be that long.

Too long. Too slow. If you want to sink deep, this is the one to go.

Not for me. Maybe it’s just a matter of taste but I didn’t care for the singers style. Like a low pitched talking chant more than singing. It got old pretty quick for me. I much preferred when he sang and felt like he put something behind the lyrics beside a sense of melodrama. Maybe the depth of the Egg song was lost on me as well or maybe it wasn’t deep at all as I suspect. The music itself was pretty haunting and I dig that. 2 subjectively, 3 subjectively.

i think the second half of this record, with all the bonus tracks and additional items, really detracted from the album as a whole. i think i would have rated it a bit higher with just the first like 10 tracks, but overall this album fell flat for me

Reminds me on Tom Waits and Nick Cave, with a little bit of Eels. Two of those make for a terrible mixture. Not surprised I hadn’t come across this band after this listen.

Ok, I actually really like this! It's part noise, part ASMR, part poetry, part emo. I shouldn't like it, but for some reason I do.

Truly shows you can write a song about anything and write music to any lyrics. Not sure this doom floats my boat.

Heavy Lou Reed influence, and that's not a bad thing. I enjoyed listening to this.

Nothing really wrong with it, but will I ever listen to this again? No. Will I even remember that I listened to this album a couple of days from now? No. So in a way an "okay" album that's thoroughly forgettable and unremarkable is a lot worse than an album that's genuinely bad but at least leaves a memory and a mark with its awfulness. This is just lukewarm and irrelevant.

giving it a star for being good background music while i worked. i cannot think of a single album that meets 'scaring the hoes' criteria for my girlfriend more than this.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

This sounds like it could have been on a soundtrack for any of the Farrelly brothers movies back in the early 2000s, which isn't an insult. I just don't know how I feel about it yet. Is this Lou Reed speaking to me while someone is playing instruments in the basement with some Pete Yorn thrown in? I'm so confused.

Never heard of this band before. Really enjoyed the record.

Its ok

This is quite good.

It was an interesting sound. Quite sparse

All the songs on here can be in an indie coming of age movie. The album would be much better without the vocals. Favorite song: Temptation of Egg

Nice

Chore of Enchantment is a highly poetic and atmospheric album, where Giant Sand create a dreamy, dust-filled universe full of subtle musical details. Howe Gelb’s dry vocal delivery and fragmented lyrics give the record a distinctive character, and the mood is consistent and carefully crafted throughout. Still, it remains more interesting than truly moving, something you admire rather than fully connect with emotionally. A strong mood album that just doesn’t quite hit 100%. 3/5

Does not feel too worthy of being on the list. A handful of okay to decent songs but just pretty forgettable outside of those. 4/10

Reminds me of more of the semi nonchalant, slightly depressed music from that time, maybe stuff like eels. Enjoyable but not too original. 3.5 stars rounded to three.

Mellow interesting album - not heard of them before this - reminded me a little of the eels

The chore was getting through this album… At least it’s unique, which always gets bonus points from me. Otherwise this was headed quickly for a 2. 3/5 Highlights: Temptation of Egg Shiver Satellite

I don’t understand the inclusion of the list. It’s so incredibly boring and nondescript

After listening to the 10 seconds of the opening song I new this was trash!

This one confused me. It had moments but it just dragged on and on and on. It didn't know how to end. Cut a few tracks and this would have been passable. But nope, it just kept going and going. Yawn.

Good

This record has a very cool vibe that I'm very much into. It sometimes feels like a Mr. Bungle album that's been turned down from an 11 to a 6. I wish the wiki article had more than 4 curt sentences to say about the album, but overall I kind of dug it and would interested in revisiting again down the road. 3.75/5

This album reminds me of a little more alt-country version of Eels, but I like this more than Eels. Some songs are sorta boring, but some are really good. Overall, this is a good album. 3.49/5

*Let me just quick read the ENTIRE Wikipedia for this album so I know what I'm getting into* "Chore of Enchantment is a studio album by the alternative rock band Giant Sand. It was released in March 2000 by Thrill Jockey." And that's all we know about it. It's an album! Could be anything. Lets give it a go... My thoughts on the record? The beatnik style of singing is interesting in small doses, but I was over it about halfway through. None of the songs made me go, "Heck yeah, I need to hear more of this band!" It's bad, and the people who wanted it included in this list are flat out wrong. I've never heard an album that made me physically ill before, but this one did it. I had to stop and come back to it later. It did not get better. Is it possible to enter a negative star rating?

Wow. That was bizarre. Like the boring part of Leonard Cohen meets the off-beat humor of late 90s alternative music.

Now I know why I've never heard of them before. Musically quite o.k. and here and then some sparks but the Cohen-like vocals are missing badly the quality of the original. Overall too lame.

Don’t really remember it.

Chore Of Enchantment is kind of fighting an uphill battle. While this is pretty good, and has a lot of things I like, it also happens to be a Folk tinged indie album from the late '90s. This was a time when there was an absolute bumper crop of great indie albums (folk tinged or otherwise). And like I said, this falling into my niche is nice on one hand, I even like the vocals, but on the other this is basically competing for bandwidth in the same space as some of my favorite albums ever, so I am not sure if this really made a huge impact on me. It honestly kind of feels like an odd choice for the list, but I am glad I heard it, so I can't complain too much. This is a lot of very down-tempo indie, with deadpan vocals, and some fun little detours, and like I said, I did enjoy it. This is the kind of thing I can recommend for one full listen, then pick and choose some favorite songs, you maybe don't need to keep exploring this if you're not that into it though. Some songs that I did really like were (Well) Dusted, which is a pretty great Country-slanting start, the interesting, but criminally short 1972, Satellite (my favorite here, probably because it's a little toothier than most of the album, and thus sticks out), and the Leonard Cohen-esque Bottom Line Man. Like I said, worth a listen, and I may even check out more of Giant Sand, they seem to have a lengthy discography.

30 tracks. 2 hours. The Overture is whiny and harsh. Oh boy. Luckily I saw that the last half of the playlist was bonus tracks, which by my rules I don't have to listen to. Good job too, because this whole album was really irritating. Musically nothing much going on, lyrically and vocally too. A big waste of time where I was waiting for it to be over. Awful, but not in an interesting way.

Far more interesting than I expected, will investigate further

This is utter crap.

14/08/2025 This would have been so much better released as two albums. How many bonus tracks can one person have before it becomes silly?

kinda slow / meandering - not a big fan of "guy talking" as the "singing"

This was tough to get through

Great production, but not a fan of his voice.

Not bad initially, but the whole album is very monotonous.

Et sted i nærheten av sånt æ har hørt på før, men likevel ikke nokka æ har vært borti – sannsynligvis fordi æ langs veien svingte mer i retning kvinnelige artister og feminister. På wikipedia så æ at Juliana Hatfield hadde bakgrunnsvokal på den ene sangen, ho har æ ikke hørt på på lenge, så det frista med en gjenlytt, får se om det skjer en dag.

Honestly it's albums like this placed on lists like this that really make me believe my music deserves to be heard by way more people. It got better but it started out very rough

This was a journey. At the start of "Overture" I almost just skipped the whole album, but I hung on and then googled if the lead singer was Shawn Mullins, he isn't but I still like it

NGL I can't remember this album's name or the band or any of the tunes on it, even though I know when I listened to it yesterday I was like "a little long, but not bad". So I don't even know.

Raw but tender was a great description. Varied rock. Largely pleasant....30 songs (12 bonus tracks) and 2 hours is a bit much

YABA!!! (Yet Another British Album) Seriously, what is the point of this? A chore to get through, nothing new added here. 1*

cacca

I wanted to like this, but the singer is truly obnoxious. There are vocalists out there who could have made this work, and I liked the eclectic feel to the music, but this ain't working as-is.

thoughts: maybe i’m not listening as actively as i should, but these songs are kinda all running together and there haven’t been many moments that have grabbed me and made me pay attention. it’s pleasant sounding and all, but unspectacular songs: “wolfy”, “dirty from the rain”, “satellite” rating: 4.9/10

Frankly, Chore of Enchantment is tedious, dare I unoriginally say it's a chore. It shuffles along like a pale imitation of Lou Reed generated by an AI model, all muttered half-songs and desert ennui without the bite, wit, or danger that made Reed compelling. There’s one bright spot “Shiver” which briefly hints at the emotional resonance the album could have had. But one decent track can’t save an experience that mostly feels like listening to someone strum their way through a sandstorm of self-indulgence. By the time it’s over, you don’t feel enchanted you feel like you’ve just endured a very long sigh set to music.

Okay

Some of the songs that sounded more authentic alt-country I liked, but still kind of a boring album. Singer reminds me of Shawn Mullins. lol. Not a bad listen though. Satellite and Shiver stood out. 3/5.

Giant Sand is going for a bland, stripped-back sound – represented visually by the cover artwork – and they definitely succeed. Not only do most tracks only consist of 2-3 instruments, the vocals (which are one of the few instruments present) are often in a low, almost atonal register and lack any easy-to-remember melody. I haven't heard much music like this, where it's unapproachable not due to excessive experimentation but (rather) to a complete lack of commitment to make anything interesting. But there you go, I guess. Songs like Raw, X-Tra Wide, and Dirty from the Rain are good examples of this husky atonality that isn't necessarily bad, but is so goshdarn frustrating to hear from a 21st-century album. And an album in a list of the 1001 most important records of all time. The heck? A scant few factors save this from being dreadful. There are a few decent acoustic tracks, often featuring a glimmery piano or guitar line that completely props up the main vocal. Temptation of Egg and Bottom Line Man are two of the best examples of this. Many of the dullest tracks, like 1972, Overture, and Shrine, are thankfully very short. This is in sharp contrast to a lot of hip-hop, where the best musical ideas tend to be found in these interludes. I also enjoy the backing vocals on Chore of Enchantment despite their rarity. NME's description of the record as having "raw but tender empathy in songs full of unexpected departures" is maybe a little soppy and generous, but I wouldn't fully disagree! The arrangements and vocals need some serious work, though. 2/5 Key tracks: (Well) Dusted, Temptation of Egg, Shiver, Bottom Line Man

All chore, no enchantment, hehe... Damn, somebody else thought of it first. Point stands though: this is pretty drab stuff.

Well-crafted country/americana rock album. And yet, I found it fairly uneventful. No real song highlights that either rocked or reached me on a different level emotionally.

Something like this can pack an emotional punch ala Elliott Smith or Silver Jews. A lot of this is very good in that regard. Not everything works, and it is a little too long, which means it loses some of that impact, but it is overall very good.

I enjoy a singer songwriter or even a folk album but boy this one is brutal.

We're on a rough streak here. This isn't the worst but the vocals are really hard to get past. The guy's voice is just so awful. 3/10 (1.5/5)

NICE

I am not aware of this artist, so I'm going into this completely blind. Unfortunately, I'm just not feeling this.

Oooh, a bona fide five star for something I'd never heard of before. It turns out that they're part of the Calexico universe, which now I know, is quite apparent. In that vein, it's a really lovely bit of Americana, with particularly good vocals. The best way I can describe this is that I feel like I've always known it.

Easy listen. Cool concept behind Giant Sand as a collective musician group just jamming for 30+ years.

Great Value Lou Reed. Chore is right - this album is dreadfully boring. Couldn't wait for it to be over.

I don't really understand why this record was chosen over other, more influential, Americana-tinged Slowcore records, such as anything by the Red House Painters. Very same-y and too long for it's own good and not really relevant from a historical prespective. Baffling pick.

Interesting album. I thought it was going to be a little bit better

Chore of Enchantment suffers from little variation in mood and tempo, with an abundance of tracks that lull you to sleep. Songs like Raw feel less like a reprieve and more like a drag when you're already half-meditating. And I usually love chill music and slow-building tension. Satellite stands out in this album, not because it's necessarily better, but because it offers something different in a sea of samey songs. Take (almost) any song here separately, and it's really good. Some instrumental parts are refreshingly original. But after listening to Chore of Enchantment straight through once, I don’t think I’ll revisit the full experience anytime soon, even though I adore some tracks, the band’s sound, their poetry, and their experimentation. It leaves the impression of a 3-hour album instead of a 1-hour one. This enchantment is too potent to cast regularly. That said, I’ll definitely return to select songs and remix versions.

Quite lovely sounds with enough different instruments (a cello pops up, for instance) and layers to demand some respect for the musicianship. I lost patience with the whispery, angsty male vocals on every track. It’s a mood, and that mood is from the year 2000. Not everything in as dramatic as it appears to 20-something rockers, even in this current much darker timeline. High 3.

Inoffensive but extremely dull; it was indeed a chore to get through this. Two stars.

don’t get what all the hate was about I sure as hell enjoyed it - 9/10

Pretty cool tbh. Weeeeird first song but it recovers well.

like itt

Woof man. Like if Shawn Mullins made lullabye into a whole album but bad.

Okay I guess. Not a fan of the singer at all.

Pleasantly surprised to see this gem from Howe Gelb on the 1001 list, even if it's one of his popular albums. Super important to the U.S. Southwest alt-country / indie scene, massively prolific, and yet he rarely seemed to be on the rise in a predictable arc — more like he just appears in the timeline, mirage-like, to deliver the shiver. Chore of Enchantment is lazy-day, lo-fi Americana drifting through a world that turns at its own pace.

Some good songs. Not bad overall Standout songs: Wolfy Shiver Satellite

I enjoyed this. Maybe that’s not a surprise since I’ve previously rated Neil Young, Cowboy Junkies, and Eels favorably. It’s certainly not an album for everyone, but it works for me. “Overture” was not a very promising start, but things got easier once they dialed back the synth strings. "(Well)Dusted", "X-Tra Wide", and "Shiver" were my standouts

dislike.

Appropriately named chore, as this was an absolute shit listen. Boring, droning, monotonous, no direction, running out of descriptors for boring. It goes without saying I did not listen to the remixes or bonus tracks. 30 songs and almost 2 hours of run time is offensive.

Ein atmosphärisches Album, das mit ungewöhnlichen Klangelementen und nachdenklicher Stimmung punktet – doch nicht jeder Song entfaltet seine Wirkung. Insgesamt interessant, aber nicht durchgängig überzeugend.

I wanted to like this so bad, but I just couldn’t find a hook to make it stand out to me. Sorry, but I’m not listening to 2 hours of what sounds like the same song.

♫ Listening to "(Well) Dusted" by Giant Sand (Chore of Enchantment, 1999) ♫

1. overture - 1 2. duzted - 2 3. zun - 1 4. uuide - 1.5 5. 1972 - 0 6. egg - 1 7. rauu - 1.5 8. uuolfy - 0 9. zhiver - 1 10. rain - 1.5 11. aztonizhed - 1.5 12. reply - 2 13. zatellite - 1 14. man - 1.5 15. day - 1.5 16. zhrine - 2 17. zhiver - 0 18. opera - 0 19. duzted - 1 20. aztonizhed - 0 21. thingz - 0 22. francoize - 1.5 23. zun - 0 24. chore - 1 25. zeldom - 1.5 26. arcade - 1 27. zhiver - 1 28. catapult - 1.5 29. dilemna - 0 30. bad - 1

I am once again asking: singers who sound like they're bored while singing, how do you expect me to enjoy what you're performing?

This was a very mixed bag. Some songs I kind of liked, but then there would be a song of discordant noise that brought everything back down. I don’t fully understand the inclusion of this one on this list.

Around "X-Tra Wide" I had the thought that they sounded like a Lonely Island parody of an alt rock band, and after that I couldn't unhear it. I don't know, this album made me laugh—probably not the band's intention, but oh well. I was entertained. I also appreciated the genre swings they took, even if they didn't all connect. Bonus tracks were more upbeat, which I guess makes sense for live recordings.

This one was actually tough to finish. I just didn't like much on this album. The melodies were sometimes nice. Mostly boring. I don't listen to lyrics that closely the first time I listen to a song, but I would just hear snippets that make me raise my eyebrows. It might be the way he sings the words...it was weirdly ASMR-ish at times.

What is this wannabe Brooklyn-ass nonsense.

Starting out strong with shitty synth strings. Tom Watts-esqe vocals are the cool way to not sing. I like the band, a simple but solid groove. Interesting, but nothing flashy. Every time the shitty synth strings happen it ruins things. The middle of the album falls into being a bit same-y and generic. Not bad, but living up to the 'chore' in the album title. Punishing sun is a bit generic

Not fan. Too emo and experimental.

Strange album. It has a southern feel, with occasional twang. It often drones and mumbles. At times it's harder rock. I listened to the full Spotify album which is 2 hours, and that's my biggest gripe - it took so long to get through it. The members are related to Calexico, but that album was more enjoyable.

Two thirds of the tracks on thisnalbum go for a striped down, minimalist feel, but to do that your need excellent lyrics and/or vocals, and most of the time those fall short. As a result, this album isn't so much bad as just half-baked feeling (and overlong), buoyed by a smattering of songs that are more sonically interesting. I think I liked this more than most in my group, but it's still just barely a 3.

Mostly found this exasperating. His voice is aiming for some kind Leonard Cohen folk mumble twang but is mostly sounds tone deaf and incompetent. A bummer given I 1) like Calexico and 2) generally don't mind folk mumble twang. A few songs weren't entirely unlistenable (doesn't matter which ones.) Barely saved this from being a 1.

Listened a couple of times and whilst there were some nice moments (particularly the strings/ classical bits) they were eclipsed by longer periods of meh. Its a borderline 2/3 for me - but I doubt I will return so its probably a 2.

Chore of Enchantment I’m not entirely sure where I land with this. On first listen I really liked it, lots of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen in the vocals, and a nice low key folk-ish, country-ish, loose, homemade vibe, with some good songs, some interesting twists and turns and nice unexpected instrumentations and sounds - the repeating snatches of Una Furtiva Lagrima, the sitar, strings and wonky keyboard on (Well) Dusted for example, or the little organ stabs, backing vocals and mangled guitar on the Temptation of Egg. However I became slightly less enamoured on repeat listens, the arrangements and off kilter instrumentations can’t hide the dirge-like quality of many of the melodies and tempos, and the slight air of self-conscious whimsicalness and its lengthy run time meant it started to drag a little over the course of the 16 songs I think I would have loved this if I knew about when it came out, it would have been right up my street when I was 21, but it's a slightly different proposition now. I do think it’s an interesting album, and there are some very good songs, but it does lack a bit of dynamic variance over the 16 songs, so I think it might be a bit limited for me in relistenability and sustained interest. I had initially thought that it might be a bit of a rough diamond, but on repeat listens it slipped from a 4 to a 3 I think. ⏳⏳⏳ Playlist submission: Temptation of Egg

A meandering record that never quite finds its footing, Chore of Enchantment feels both loosely stitched and occasionally affecting. There's a clear debt to Neil Young. Among the sprawl lie some lovely melodies, 'Shiver' and 'No Reply' being other standouts. A very apt title, because it feels like a chore of enchantment listening to it (ammirite??!). Bloated, ragged, but not without some great touches.

Cool variety. Dark bass. Interesting sound design. Would definitely revisit.

I like Calexico when they're being Calexico, but I've always ignored Giant Sand. Howe Gelb is an engaging enough singer- and it's got that southwest vibe- good stuff.

This beast is all over the place but at the end of the day it's just a whispery guy with a guitar and some drums

Chore of Enchantment was a chore to slog through.

That makes two albums in a row that mention thin Leonard Cohen. A couple of the guys from this band are in Calexico and that’s neat. I liked this one, but can get why many wouldn’t. It’s noisy and dissonant at times. Favorites were Dusted, Temptation Of Egg, Shiver, and Satellite.

I have to imagine this is about as obscure as this list gets. It started a little rough, but I was on board by X-Tra Wide. There are some standouts here, like 1972, Temptation of Egg, and Shiver. Sometimes he tries too hard to be Leonard Cohen, but overall I’m glad I listened even though it’s not a favorite

Another niche 2000s indie album. yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Favorite track: No Reply 2.5/5

OK, not catchy but OK for some chill time

There’s a person out there who was a teenager when this album came out. Who knows how they stumbled across it in 2000, maybe at a really cool record store, maybe in the review pages of NME. But somehow, they listened to this and connected with it and it became their favourite thing. Whoever you are, I bet you’re a really cool person.

"Chore of Enchantment" is the 15th album by American musical group Giant Sand. They're from Tucson, AZ so that name makes sense. Alternative rock and folk rock are the Wiki-listed genres. Yeah, they fit. They had an all-star producer line-up of John Parish, Jim Dickinson and Kevin Salem. The core bandmembers were Howe Gelb (guitar, piano, vocals), John Convertino (drums) and Joey Burns (bass, cello, guitar, backing vocals). There were 19 other musical contributors including Julianna Hatfield on backing vocals. The album has favorable reviews. The first song with vocals is "(Well) Dusted (For the Millennium)." Pounding drums, a bass and Gelb whispering. A very sparse arrangement. A cello. I think of David Berman immediately. "Temptation of Egg" has an electric guitar, an easy beat and Juliana Hatfield on backing vocals. The organ gives this a funky edge. Gelb describes in a roundabout way of why he's attracted to women. In "Wolfy," Gelb's voice is noticeably weary in a bluesy song. "Shiver" has an acoustic guitar melody and folk-country vibe. There's a slide guitar, banjo, mellotron and organ. Nice imagery with shivers and the desert. An operatic opening leads to pounding drums, a rattling noise and loud guitar in "Satellite." The mostly rockin' song on the album and he also mentions Leonard Nimoy and Leonard Cohen in the same sentence. The majority of this album has sparse music either in the folk or bluesy style. I had a tough time enjoying this the first time through but really started to like it more with repeated listening, especially the melody. Gelb's vocals are weary, strained and at low volume. The lyrics are more stream of consciousness and observations than storytelling. I guess an apt motif for desert living imagery. The songs had nice uses of additional instruments like the slide guitar, cello, mellotron and piano. This music really reminded of David Berman and his music with the Silver Jews and Purple Mountain. Overall, I don't think is an album for everyone but if you like folk or David Berman, it's an album to check out. Burns and Convertino went on to form Calexico and they have some interesting music.

Not bad per se, just really fucking dull...

6/10 At times it's almost beautiful, raw and tuneful. At others it is the sound of a coma, dragging you down into a long, endless sleep. I like the guitar and some of the songwriting, but I think it is the sense of energy actively draining from my body as songs lull past that means I can't fully fall into it

OK. I didn't enjoy it, but I didn't hate it

Bit of a chore. Definitely a snore.

There are some gems in here, but not enough. 3/5

Bit boring

I am not going to cut any corners here: I cannot for the life of me understand why this album is on this list. While the "music" itself isn't terrible...it lacks energy or range. Its incredibly repetitive and nothing special. The lead singer is frankly terrible. I was completely unfamiliar with this band, and my first response to the second track (the first one isn't really a song so much as half symphony/half noise) is "Oh no it's bad". The lead singer sounds like he's trying to combine the musical styles of Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison...but only the bad traits of each, as if two negatives would make a positive. This album has almost no plays on YouTube Music, my preferred listening platform. This isn't because it's some unheralded gem. It's a bad album. I was starting to give up so decided to skip ahead to their most popular song, "Shiver", and it wasn't any better. I had to cut my losses, I wasn't about to subject myself to two hours of this...and I can't imagine any of this would sound better live than studio produced. Easily the worst thing this project has put in front of me. It's place in this project is an absolute mystery to me. I cannot recommend avoiding this album enough.

Was it a "chore" to listen to this "entertainment"? Yes, definitely. Was I entertained? Not really. Quite annoying.

Very nice surprise. I loved the lo-fi sound, the understated vocals, and the tinny guitar sounds. Sounded like the guy was barely singing but still had some good melodies and a flexible voice. Definitely a hidden gem I would never have found without this project. They add up!

Fijn, beetje wacky, wel relaxed.

Snoozefest.

Fantastic! Not a daily listener, but for certain moods and vibes, seems like it’d be undefeated

awesome desert mood

Interesting, though probably not something I'd re-listen to. The album is too long! His voice has shades of Lou Reed to it.

So many “bonus tracks” I didn’t want to hear

2/5. This was an interesting listen, I was concerned as it first started out, with nonchalant everything. As it continued, it seems to gradually add more sound and instrumentation, as if other members got up on stage as the performance continued. It culminates in Shiver and then drops again. I think it's just hard for me to get over the lyrics and vocals, which kind of feel like he doesn't want to be here which then makes me not want to be here. I think there is a balance to the monotonous singing/talking and if it goes too far to the bored side, it creates a bad experience. The music is great, changing with the vocals while still playing a song of their own. If this was a fully instrumental album, it would feel more like a movie soundtrack or video game soundtrack. I think the vocals make or break this one and it depends on the track. Overall, it was okay but not great, not enough to really revisit. Best Song: Shiver, Temptation of Egg, Wolfy

if I wanted to listen to Leonard Cohen I would just listen to Leonard Cohen

I’m such a hater. Forgive me lord but chore is the word I too would use to describe my experience listening to this album.

Going to go listen to the Challengers (2024) soundtrack as a palette cleanser

Meh

Mother of GOD this is awful. They tried way too hard to make this sound half-assed, and the resulting pretentious undertones killed any hope in hell that this could deliver a single shred of value. I am worse off for having listened to this.

Interesting, folksy, dark 3.5

I think I’d rather listen to actual sand

Really dark, mysterious alt-country that sounds a lot like Will Oldham or Vic Chesnutt. I got on its eerie vibe.

Dull, pretentious talk-singing over uninspired musical backing. The dry production on the vocal makes it all the more insufferable.

This is #day307 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… the album's name speaks for itself. I mean, alternative country is still country, and it's among my worst genres on this journey. The music is at times okayish, but I can't say the same about the "beatnik" vocals and delivery (didn't feel like going through the lyrics). Almost halfway through, I stopped. Fuck, how many great albums could have made the list instead of this... I'm giving it a low 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day308.

Never heard of! Was not prepared to like it but I was surprised. It was a chore of enchantment. Low vibe musings as you go about your day. 4 stars for this.

No context for this and mostly liked it a lot. Sometimes very much the opposite but mostly enjoyed its goofy explorations.

I have no idea where the "1001 Albums" editors picked this band and album out of the dusty corners of the turn-of-the-century American musical landscape, but this is a much more fun discovery than some of the other unknown (to me) albums. The Wikipedia entry for the album is basically useless, but in some ways that's not such a bad thing, and I kind of enjoyed listening to the album without any real context (the "1001 Albums" entry is much more helpful, though, and I was impressed to find out that Giant Sand had been playing and recording for at least two decades before this album came out). The first full track, "(Well) Dusted" is really strong, and kind of set me up for a little disappointment in the subsequent tracks, but I also really enjoyed some of the later songs on the album, especially "Temptation of egg", the back to back tracks "Wolfy" and "Shiver", and "Bottom line man" (for some reason "Satellite" didn't quite do it for me). I also liked the fairly broad range in styles, at times reminding me of Magnetic Fields and/or Daniel Johnston, and the country-esque infusion in a number of the songs is an interesting take, although the album definitely could have been about half as long and been stronger for it.

Feels more like a solo album than the work of a band, and the singer's voice reminded me of Lou Reed's, esp in "Satellite." I found this easy to listen to while working but I don't feel compelled to listen again.

very deep and sad music.. not my favorite but i do appreciate the musicality

Wannabe Tom Waits wishing he was half as good

Not that good!

more dire American "alternative rock"!

More depressed sounding Bill Callahan with cool production touches. Pretty nice man!

The music is quite good but unfortunately I find the vocals pretty weak.

Not great

Quite atmospheric but no song really standout

I probably need to give this another listen.

Reminded me of Sparklehorse a little bit, but I'm not sure if I like this kind of lo-fi melancholic music overall, apart from Grandaddy, who managed to at least make it feel like it wasn't made by someone about to have their life-support machine turned off.

not really for me but kinda has some vibes throughout Will I listen to again: 17%

Temptation of Egg okay, the rest not so good

Album deserves to sit in the rain

Don't really care for his voice. Instruments are fine but not super memorable for me.

Off the top of my head, I have a word of advice for Howe Gelb and Giant Sand: you probably shouldn't include the word "chore" anywhere in your album title. You're just asking for people to lob it back at you in reviews if the album doesn't deliver. Hell, it's like you're setting yourself up on a tee and personally handing people the bat. And believe me — I am perfectly willing to swing away. Although, I'll admit up top: this almost wasn't that bad. **Almost**. Instrumentally speaking, there's not too much wrong with this album. It's perfectly passable folk-ish alt. rock adult contemporary whatever. I can imagine if I wasn't paying too close attention to the album, and just taking it off of vibes... Y'know, I wouldn't have rated it too highly, but I still would've come out of it feeling more positive about the whole endeavor than I actually did. Like, I wanna stress that the actual musicians on this thing aren't the problem. No, no, no. The problem with this album is Howe Gelb. If there's any single element that drags nearly every track down into being obnoxiously sleepy and dull, it's him and his "singing." Goodness me, the man's vocals on this album. And, y'know, I get it. I totally get what he was going for here. He's trying some kind of Nick Cave/Leonard Cohen, fried "noir vocals" kind of thing. He's delivering everything in his kind of husked whisper, only barely ever sniffing at actually singing, because, dammit, his lyrics are just **so poetically good and important** that it **deserves** a **serious delivery**. That kind of thing, y'know? I get it. I can see people being into that kind of thing, without any of the sarcastic emphasis I'd put into describing it. And to be 100, I wouldn't say these are the worst vocals I've heard from any album on this list. By technical margins, the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young are probably worse. But then, the thing about them is that, even if I have my reservations about singer-songwriters and their "poetry before anything else" style, I can accept that **what** they're saying is more important than how they sound saying it. True, I'll never **understand** what exactly they mean, but I know it has to be (and certainly feels like) **something**. Hell, their voices are certainly unique anyway; you'll never hear another artist who sounds like them. But then we have Howe Gelb. Where, if he **is** saying anything in his flowery-shit lyrics, it certainly isn't enough to overcome his vocal deficiencies. And, y'know, when you pair that together **with** lyrics that sound like they're trying way too hard to be **deep** and **serious** and **meaningful** and **poetic, maaaaaan**... Yeah, no, fukkit, I'll say it: he sounds pretentious. Like a big, pretentious dip. This music plays and I'm supposed to be hearing the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. A city in the middle of nowhere surrounded by sand and sand and sand and maybe a rock but mostly sand. But that's not the image I get in my mind. All **I** end up imagining is what I think Howe Gelb looks like, with a trilby hat and thin-rimmed glasses, and a grey scarf loosely thrown twice around his neck, and a barely grown mustache and facial stubble. I can only imagine him sitting on a high stool with his guitar, leaning so close to the microphone that it looks like he's about to try and fit it in his mouth... And he only barely avoids mumbling out the words, 'coz dammit, he's a **serious artist and a poet**, and **serious artists and poets** delivery their **serious art and poems** in **serious tones of voice**. Give me a fuckin' break. And, y'know, I hate to assume too much about people based on their art. Way back when, I determined I couldn't call the guy from The Gun Club racist just because he chose to use the N-word twice on two songs on FIRE OF LOVE, and believe, in a better world I wouldn't be assuming Howe Gelb was an underground indie hipster dip. But I cannot stress to you the extent to which he's the thing that ruins every song on this album — except, of course, for the ones where he barely features vocally on them. Like, I— I don't wanna be too mean here, 'coz there **are** scattered moments here and there where it... **Almost** works? "No Reply" gets pretty close. And there's some bits of production throughout that are kind of interesting. And again, the band's doing their best. But then Howe Gelb drops down into his whisper again to rattle off some more inane lyrics and gaaaaaaawd. I cannot recall the last time I've wondered this much why an album was placed in this book. Like, what contributions were so gungho about this thing that **this** got placement over a dozen or so other albums that I'd argue are way more worthy of being here. And that's not a prelude to a big "WHERE'S MADVILLAINY?" rant or anything; more, it's just "What was I **supposed** to hear in this? What was supposed to have made this thing worth my time that I **had** to hear it before I died?" Evidently, it couldn't have been much, given that I've heard this thing doesn't even feature in more recent editions. And I am just not disinclined to agree with that removal. Well, that leaves only one thing left to figure out: where exactly at the bottom this thing falls. And, y'know, about a 1. I try to be **incredibly** sparing with those. In over 500 albums, I've only handed out six total — and honestly, I'm not even sure if some of those should even have 1's. 'Coz in my mind, it's something you **really** have to earn. You have to be just so bereft of merit or redeeming value, that there's just no possible justification for listening to it. DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE was poser "trailer trash/pimp cowboy" rap metal sung by a rich white boy. HAUT DE GAMME was the soundtrack to commercials for cheap cruises. OUR AIM IS TO SATISFY is the most nothing record I've heard in a long time. PSYCHOCANDY was literally a pain to listen to. And does Giant Sand fall among those ranks? 'Coz again, there **are** moments I dig, even in spite of Howe Gelb's belief that his poetry is just, ugnh, so **big and important**. Am I so cruel as to condemn the entire album just because of that one element? ...Eh, fukkit. Congrats, Giant Sand. You're in some elite company now, y'know — hell, you're only the seventh artist or band to be let into this club. And, sure, maybe someday in the future I'll think back on this review and feel like I was a bit too harsh. I've done as much with CHOCOLATE STARFISH, and that's by far a worse album. But y'know what? I get enjoyment out of CHOCOLATE STARFISH. There's things about that album where I would honestly listen to some of its songs again. That's not the case with your album. There's nothing on here I'd come back to — because, yes, I'll say it since you were begging for it: it is very much a damn chore.

A bit experimental, but otherwise a pretty decent thing of folk rock. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2, though I wouldn’t blame a single person if they gave it a 1. It’s got concepts of an album, that’s for sure. Honestly, I find myself just sort of flatly unimpressed, but unbothered all the same. That’s 58 minutes of… something. It’s music, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just indescribably bland. Lots of yapping, lots of flowery language that even I can barely translate into an intended meaning, and lots of circling the wheels on each track. Eventually, it gets to the point where it no longer feels like a cohesive album & instead, a set of Soundcloud EPs on shuffle with a vague soundscape & theme connecting them all together. Genuinely, I don’t have the words to even insult it, because I just don’t understand the album. I don’t get how it possibly made the list, and I can barely hear an appeal that only lingers because each track is at least instrumentally competent in a way that’s not as bland as the album experience itself is. When this album SOUNDS good, it’s nice enough to not feel deathly bored, and it does at least consistently sound good, entirely from an instrumental standpoint. Vocally, though? It just never once feels believable. Going from a guy like John Prine where you can hear the emotions coming out of his voice, mirroring the passion that he put into his songwriting, to whatever the hell this is, genuinely shows the importance of a good vocal performance in crafting & recording an album. I had to check for myself what the book says about this, and I’ll simply copy & paste it wholesale, because I think it may be the most bold-faced attempt at gaslighting that I’ve seen in the book so far. “After a decade in Tucson, Howe Gelb emerged with the most successful incarnation of Giant Sand: a trio with drummer John Convertino and Joey Burns on bass. The band were a musical project as unpredictable as its central figure—a singer/songwriter forever changing his route, following the freedom lessons of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and emulating the idiosyncratic weirdness of his jazz idol Thelonious Monk. Like a faulty radio transmission, mixing country sentiment with volcanic electricity, earthiness with weirdness, Giant Sand made some of the best records of the American underground in the 1980s (The Love Songs, 1988) and '90s (Center Of The Universe, 1992), but none worked like Chore Of Enchantment. Recorded in Tucson, Memphis, and New York with a variety of producers, the album has a cohesive feel, the musicians losing themselves but always finding their way back. Slide-guitar instrumental "Shrine" is played by Rainer Ptacek, who died of cancer before the album's release, and a melancholy, elegiac atmosphere permeates the record, complemented by haunting Mellotron® and organ. Lyrics are both enigmatic and colloquial; arrangements move from ethereal to punkish distortion, from silence to exuberance, with the singer always distant, whispering in your ear. Astonishing from beginning to end, full of strange songs about women (the voluptuous "Temptation Of Egg"), midlife experiences ("Shiver,"an underground hit of sorts), and the downright cryptic (the arousing guitars that fuel "Satellite"), Chore Of Enchantment lodges in the mind and refuses to leave.” First of all, RIP to Rainer Ptacek, because that does give “Shrine” a bit more gravitas than just some plain guitar to end the album, but… “enigmatic & colloquial”? Did we listen to the same fucking album here? I’ll say this: Chore of Enchantment did not lodge in my mind, and it will likely leave very easily. It’s not SO awful as to give it a 1, given that I genuinely liked “Punishing Sun”, “Astonished (In Memphis)”, & “No Reply”. There’s also a handful of tracks that sounded good, but never really combined with the lyrics & vocals to make it a complete package, consistently falling short in a frustrating way. There is SOMETHING here, and with a lot of extra polish and a lot more traditional structure/production, I think there’s at least a chance to get to a wholly middling 3 that at least has a couple more solid tracks. As it stands, to my ears, it’s a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2. I almost have the frame of mind to give it a 1, just because it’s not deserving to be on the list & that review in the book reads like propaganda, but I’m not that cruel. Someone else can be that cruel though, and I would not blame them one fucking bit.

Works well in a certain conditions. Just at home didn't do it for me. Riding my bike in the sun with this in my ears helped me appreciate it more.

I like the music, but not sure about the lyrics. It does give me long life in the desert vibes, but he just lacks something to make it sound sincere. He wrote things but doesn't fully believe them. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't come back to this one.

Hi singing is slightly worse than the song writing.

Musically, I like this. It’s dusty, sparse rock with a big dash of alt-country. I didn’t expect that and I am satisfied by it. The lead singers voice though is just too detached to make this even remotely great. He just sounds so incredibly bored by all of it. In fact, the longer this trudges on, the more insufferable he becomes. There are some truly lovely songs on here but the album is too long. Not justified considering how lazy and uninvested he sounds.

Not really sure what this was. It kind of feels like the dollar store version of Leonard Cohen. That sounds mean, but that’s how it comes across to me. The lounge vibes were interesting though, and I liked some of the later songs. This might grow on me if I listened more, so I will give a 3 for potential!

This one dragged a bit. I won’t be listening again. Highlight: Nothing really stuck out.

Too Long even before all of the bonus tracks. And I liked the bonus tracks better.

A different and alternative approach to country music.

Didn’t initially like this one but I enjoyed it after the first few tracks. Listened through twice and both times I started off not liking it and ended up thinking this was an album I might add to my rotation. Really enjoyed the mix of genres and the different instruments that get used. Also really liked the style of the singing. Fav song: Shiver - I also liked Temptation of Egg, Raw, Astonished (in Memphis) and Bottom Line Man Least fav: (Well) Dusted - shame it’s so early in the album because it made me think I wouldn’t like the album.

This whole band sounds a bit like a guy that brings the guitar out at a social gathering and is good on guitar but absolutely shite at singing and also fully up himself when you listen for more than a few minutes. Why all the bloody bonus songs as well. I don’t care if you recorded the shit song in a different American city why are you including it again. Specific rating - 1.7 Fav song - (well) dusted Least fav - Wolfy

Think there's a real mix of chore and enchantment on this album and I'm not quite sure which is winning. Mostly enjoyed his odd style of singing but there were a few songs where I started to really understand why other people would find it annoying. Almost gave it four stars but then I relistened to some of the earlier tracks and remembered how much I didn't like them. Favourite: Shiver or Dirty From the Rain Least: X-Tra Wide

-It was kinda boring and sorta creepy

way too long for this kind of slow music. so slow it burns my bunghole. but still kind of nice. might improve on another listen.

Tsja, dit is een klein beetje Leonard Cohen zijn stijl, maar dan wel gewoon een stuk minder. Muzikaal gebeurt er wel meer, maar ik vind de stem van de zanger mwah... Het is het net niet zeg maar. Er zitten ook best wat skits op het album, met alleen instrumentale stukken. Best interessant en zeker niet drama, maar het klinkt allemaal gewoon heel erg alsof niemand op dit album echt zin heeft om er op te staan. Alsof iedereen onder schot werd gehouden om dit album op te nemen. Ik heb best wel veel albums die ik hoger geef omdat er pure fun op klinkt. Leonard Cohen klinkt niet alsof hij plezier heeft, hij klinkt alsof hij doodop is en toch nog de kracht weet te vinden om te zeggen wat hij zeggen moet. Dit album klinkt als geen van beiden. Het klinkt een beetje alsof de zanger besloot dat het cool is om ongeinteresseerd te klinken, en dus heel erg zn best doet om vooral zo te klinken. Nee, dit is niet best, dit is slaapverwekkend en belachelijk dat dit een album is dat ik moet horen voor ik doodga. Misschien voordat ik slapen ga? Daar is het namelijk wel best wel geschikt voor. FAVO: Punishing Sun,

No conocía al grupo pero oye, disco sólido, aunque demasiado largo

I feel like if I gave this one another listen I could really get into it, but unfortunately for it I will not be doing that. At least not right now. 4/10

I often love these eclectic albums that throw in everything but the kitchen sink, but my first impression of this one was that it felt a little too hipster/millenial for my taste. The Wikipedia entry with almost no information on it just confirmed my suspicisions that this was likely a flavor of the month debut album in some music magazines and soon forgotten, aside from an additional to the list. But curiosity got the better of me and I looked into who Giant Sand is. So it was fairly perplexing to realize that the lead singer was born in 1956 and had been playing music since the 70s. The band had been together since 1985, making proto-grunge music, and this was the band's 16th album. So intrigued, I tried to give it another chance with open ears and I can definitely say that it grew on me a lot. It's another weird and wonderful album that just took some time to make sense. It's definitely a hidden gem in the indie rock scene.

The fuck is this?

Hyvin tuotettu, hienot torvet, kiinnostava artisti

01) Overture - / 02) (Well) Dusted (For the Millennium) - 7,0 03) Punishing Sun - 6,5 04) X-Tra Wide - 6,0 05) 1972 - 3,0 06) Temptation of Egg - 6,0 07) Raw - 5,0 08) Wolfy - 5,5 09) Shiver - 6,0 10) Dirty from the Rain - 6,0 11) Astonished (In Memphis) - 5,5 12) No Reply - 5,5 13) Satellite - 5,5 14) Bottom Line Man - 5,0 15) Way to End the Day - 5,0 16) Shrine - 1,0 TOTAL: 5,23 (52/100) Current ranking: 491/551

This album doesn't actually appear in my copy of 1001 albums...but hey ho, let's go... I kind of liked this, but what shifts my score down is that the sangs are all quite samey sounding.

Pretty chill, but hard to label - somewhere between alt country and psychedelic for the most part. Some of the songs were kind of boring while others were decent, but the album is super long so there were bound to be good and bad parts.

Comfy. This one was long, but didn't feel like it.

Couldn’t get into this album at all. Voice was so lifeless to me. May try again in future but had no endearing quality for me.

..

(Well) Dusted

Honestly, it wasn't as much as a slog as I was expecting. I think the lead should consider alternatives to music though; gently speaking out of tune and out of time for the backing tracks is just stupid. The instrumentals were pretty good, and I didn't mind the backing vocals either. The lead singer can piss off. All the fucking songs sounded the same too I don't get the idea behind this thing. MORE LIKE SNORE OF ENCHANTMENT 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 GET IT HASN'T BEEN SAID BEFGORE ON THIS SITE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yup, that was a fucking chore alright

Oh it was a chore alright.

8/10

The best parts of this album reminded me of what I like about Silver Jews, and the weaker parts struggled to remind me I was listening to an album at all. That is to say that I like the lo-fi folk sound on some of the songs here. The vocals are very good but it really isn't something that's suited to a whole hour of listening. I wish that the band exercised the same restraint with their very excellent instrumental flourishes with the vocals, it would have made for a much better album if it were just leaner and leaned less on the vocals. Apart from that, I found the album to be quite backloaded. An excellent opening track leading into a few tracks of nothing before hitting a good streak from Shiver onwards (where the pedal guitar really did a lot for me). I had never heard of this band prior to this nor was there a whole lot to read about the album's production. Overall, while some of the alt rock stuff was alright this would have been a whole lot better as a focused folk album. Highlights: (Well) Dusted, Shiver, Astonished (In Memphis)

I really enjoyed the last few songs, but it dragged getting there. Some good songs and happy to have tried this album. :)

Muttery indie music

I liked a few of the songs at the beginning, but they got boring in the middle and end. I felt I was listening to the same thing over and over again.

I feel... conflicted about this one because it has half of the album being so up my lane (moody alt rock with a country influence is winning for me sometimes) I almost thought I had a new favorite, but the other half being straight up country wasn't my favorite thing. Still, even if its all over the place, the songs are great and so is the singing, maybe a forgotten gem I'll have to listen to it more though

There was nothing enchanting about this The chore was to try and stay awake during this album 2 ⭐️

M'eh

Two of these startes Calexico, kept the good americana and got rid of the mostly annoying psych-rock Flaming Lipsy quirkiness. Id rather listen to Calexico

This was def interesting, chores of enhancments is one of those albus that carves a unique sound and space for me. Giant sand seems to be able to seamlessly transition between genres and flows giving a sense of music mastery. The album flows well too. I don't see myself revisting this too often but something about it , probably its uniqueness) makes me very glad to have heard it

DNF cuz i got bored because it sucks. Chore of a listen!

Not for me

meh

Cool to see a Thrill Jockey release on this list. I had never listened to Giant Sand before, but based on it's label, I figured it'd be interesting and cool enough and it was. Really enjoyed this, listened to it a couple times.

…chore is apt. I know it can be tough to fill a variety of slots on a list of 1,001 but an album that is neutral and sounds like others from the same time period isn't one that should be considered. 2/5

Relentlessly boring. Nothing to add, just make it end so I can listen to something else. I kept turning it up because I couldn’t hear it before I realized that my brain was just actively tuning it out. No other album I’ve ever listened to was as easy to tune out as this one. 2/5

This was ok. Vocals are Lou Reedish in places, which I can generally only tolerate in The Velvet Underground.

Was not the best I gotta say, hard pass on this

The instrumentation carries this album because the vocals, while largely tender and relaxed, seem to fade into the instruments. The instrumentals were enchanting, the vocals were a chore

I hated this. Didn't get it, would never listened again.

It felt a little meh at first, but it quickly grew on me. I think I'd like to listen again reading along with the lyrics, it feels like the kind of vibe I might really like. It reminds me a bit of Leonard Cohen.

A blend of country, folk, and rock, with a touch of Tom Waits. It’s solid, but falls just short of greatness. 3.5.

Fine but got tedious.

I didn't like the lead singer's voice.

A couple of the songs were bit of a chore, but overall it was fine. I could see listening to this again at the right time, but not anytime soon.