Chore of Enchantment

Heillä on esteettinen visio, jonka he haluavat välittää kuulijoille - verkkaisesti, rauhallisesti ja luonnostellen. Välillä toimii. Mutta kyllä tämä myös puuduttaa.

As others have noted - this indeed is a chore. Sort of alt-country, sort of indie. There are some interesting moments- but they don’t outweigh the sameness.

Didn't find anything exciting about this album. It was okay I guess. Wouldn't listen to it again.

chore is right...

I tried.

Oh it's a chore alright. Really great if you suffer from insomnia. Perhaps this could be considered spicy elevator music. Also... 30 songs and nothing to say? 3/10.

Weird, leonard Cohen sort of crap.

Folk rock alternativo. Ni fu ni fa. Pues mira, iba a ponerle un 3 pero por meter más canciones de bonus track que las que tiene el propio disco al final le doy un 2. Por pesado.

No, but interesting, sort of.

Just a chore.

like being stuck at the back behind a bloke having a chat with his mate during the support act

It was okay

Just a nondescript album, most of it I did not like. Not quite Per Ubu though.

Leonard cohen meets Tom waitts

honestly whatever

SO BORING. never bad or anything but my god not sure it could’ve been more dull

This certainly was a chore (haw-haw), it drones on like nobodies business, there are a few highlights but they are few and far between and overall I just got bored.

I felt like this lasted longer than a root canal. Turned it off at track #29. Maybe 30 seconds of one song felt like it had a nice groove, but the rest had flies buzzing around it like a cow patty on a hot summer day.

Fine Quite dull Doesn't deserve a place in this list

This album could really benifit from being about half the length it already is. I don't *hate* it, it's just too long sounds exactly the same all the way through.

The answer to the question “what if Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen were mediocre writers and had no personality in their voices?” A chore indeed.

There's occasionally a decent tune but most of this just made me want to listen to a better Lou Reed album.

Right away I'm left with a feeling that this just isn't doing it for me. I don't mind the instrumentals, his vocals leave a little to be desired, and it's all a little boring. I get the feeling the majority of listens this album gets on Spotify are because it's on this list. It's not bad, it's just boring. I think I need a nap...

Has a bonny prince billy vibe

Strange and drawling, and some of the poetry is good, but I don’t think there’s enough musicality to tie it all together.

Until the vocals started, this was actually quite interesting. Then the vocals came in and everything came crashing down. Seriously, how do some of these albums get signed with such shit singers.

I got bored this this pretty quickly

Yup, that was a chore! I liked how several of the songs start off, then they seem to drop off the cliff edge.

Chore of Enchantment is a studio album by the alternative rock band Giant Sand, originally released in 2000. Never heard of this band before now. There's not too much information about them on Wikipedia either. They're based out of Arizona, and they've got a bit of a country vibe to them. It's a bit reminiscent of Wilco, only not as good. The lead singer's voice can get weird at times too, almost like a whisper. Not unlike Nick Cave (which is probably why it was on this list). This was not bad but pretty forgettable, it's no surprise to see this entry was removed from later editions of the book.

This band just isn’t for me. One listen and I haven’t been able to connect with the lyrics or music in a single song. Gives me a lot of Nick Cave vibes, and I just can’t bring myself to a second listen to try to maybe have it click. I don’t like the spoken word singing or the slow roll country. 2/5.

Country con toque sureño, me gusta. Me sonaba el nombre de la banda, pero creo que nunca los oí. A pesar de que en Wikipedia no hay nada, lo cual suele ser una bandera roja importante, me ha parecido interesante. He guardado X-Tra wide, no creo que lo vuelva a escuchar. Aunque sí al autor, debe tener cosas mejores.

Ok

One of those annoying 'talking as much as singing' kind of voices and albums. Musically I kinda liked it at several moments but not a voice that I love. It's like Wish.com Neil Young in some ways? 2.5

Pretty shocked this came out in 2000 feels like it could’ve easily blended into the early 90s but either way this was an incredibly generic and boring album. At least some albums that I’ve disliked are just because of taste and are still unique. This was just white paint bland yet still palatable to listen to I supposed. 3.9/10

I thought this might be great at the first song. Kind of hazy Dinosaur Jr. or Grant Lee Buffallo vibe. Then came the slide guitars. Goes on too long, horrible country influence, directionless.

Like my friend who also does this project, I heard the vocals of Giant Sand and was immediately reminded of the likes of Leonard Cohen. They're often dark, often gritty, and often delivered in a half-sung, half-spoken manner. Also, there's some occasional piano tinkering that also feels reminiscent of Cohen. The fact that they even mention Leonard Cohen in one of their songs leads me to believe they very much know and acknowledge that he is an inspiration. This album sounds to me like the standard indie folk that became popular in the early 2000s, and I'm not quite sure what is special about this inclusion in particular. I will say that all of the Leonard Cohen-isms make this album stand out a bit from the other indie folk of the time, but I still just wasn't particularly captured by this.

This was not good at all, the music was eh but the singing style was lethargic at best. Meh.

Mi pare un mischione. Tutte cose diverse, non pessimo, ma niente di particolare.

i've tried with these guys before (different album) but the results were the same. nothing stuck with me. maybe if i gave this some serious attention and several listens i'd be able to delve into the nuances of this music. but i doubt it. i swear critics rave about random bland bands just to troll us.

First listen Saved 5/16 Top track: (Well) Dusted

Never heard of this at all. Obviously banished from the book and Wikipedia isn't much help. It's quite nice and chill, for a weekend morning, good for that. Some of it sounded like Eels verses, ie without the big tuneful chorus. Doesn't stand out for me. I get huge 'random thing found in a bin of cheap CDs on the floor in Vinyl Exchange' vibes from this record. I am also here to rebut the Lou Reed and Bill Callahan comparisons as I will be keeping those please and leaving this. I did like Satellite though.

No longer in the book. Bland alternative, and a bit too long.

The fastest way to improve this album would be to just cut out the lead singer completely

The very definition of unremarkable. Don't really recall a single redeeming thing about the listen. 1.5/5

Kinda weird, can't really tell what genre it's supposed to be. Holy hell this is a long album.

Alternativ rock, ret stille til tider, ikke vildt ophidsende

This is a decent enough noisy alt-rock album, but there is nothing that draws me in or makes me want to return to any of it.

Nothing special

Wow, didn’t know you could make music in only a speaking voice. Sounds like the music the bar puts on to kick everybody out. Very dull.

Some redeeming tracks, but nothing special. Vocals remind me of Bill Calahan, but musically it's lacking.

I wanted to like this, I really did. There is much that is lovely and poetic and thoughtful but it really is a slog to get through the whole album and the lack of tonal variety makes it disengaging to attempt to decipher the lyrics. Best guess, there is a five star album in 'em but this ain't it.

Fooled me in the first few minutes thinking this would be post-rock. Turned out to be generic 90s slacker alt country. It's very long and boring with a few novelties thrown in to make it look cool. Favorites: (Well) Dusted, Temptation and the Egg, Shiver, Astonished

A Lou Reed wanna be album. 2/5

Boring

Not much is grabbing me here, either lyrically or musically. The lead vocals tend to be pretty low-key, sometimes spoken word. That already makes this a more subdued listen. I hear the influence of Lou Reed, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen (who gets name-checked on one song) but outside of a few interesting production choices here and there, nothing hooked me.

This was just OK for me. I didn't love the singers voice, it felt kind of "put on". I also wanted so many of the songs to get somewhere, and they seldom did. Ultimately it's pretty forgettable for me.

Not great, but interesting enough to keep my attention

Interesting. Not one I'm planning to come back to but nothing I disliked about it. 2.5 stars

Tedious and boring. Can't really sing, uninteresting lyrics on top of pretty uninteresting music. 2/5, not actively unpleasant, but it's a low 2.

I wanted to like this. Gave it a good few listens. Alt country removes the brassiness and directness of country but for me if you don't go the whole hog and end up at bleak, weird or desperate you get this sort of amiable gentility that is probably good for a Gen X dinner party but makes for a boring solo listen. I didn't dislike it as much as a 2 really but could not give it a 3.

This album always seems to be trying too hard ..... 2.5 for the risk taking ......

Pretty boring.

Rather long and self-indulgent

There is a version of this album with 30 songs on it, fuck that. Weird, tone def sometimes, slightly annoying. Simply did not vibe with it. 3/10

An interesting album. It starts off with a slacker stoner feel, and then shifts to full on industrial. Are they fans of Beck by any chance? There wasn't enough here to hold me through to the end.

interesting!

Did I listen to the right album? I'm pretty sure calling this "rock" is a stretch.

Well... meh? This album didn't hook me. It didn't delight me. Nor did it offend me. Or challenge me. I didn't hate it, or like it. There must be some reason it is on the list, some reason why I "must" to listen to it before I die. But I can't discern it. The vocalist generally sounds like he's half asleep. The playing is competent, but laid back. clean and clear, but nothing memorable. At best it hints at Velvet Underground, but without the edge, the spirit, the ... well the danger. Maybe Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night" without the raw emotion and angst. My first thought was to give this a 3, because it is certainly competent. But it creates no real emotional response at all. The Allmusic review sums it up nicely: "Many of the songs tend to drift by without grabbing hold". And a reviewer at Sputnik Music said: "There’s just enough meat to keep the listener interested throughout the sixty minutes of Chore of Enchantment." No, there's not enough meat. Boring is a sin in music. That'll knock it down to a 2.

A terribly mixed bag – gets more disoriented and unsure of itself as time goes on, stumbling from the discordant to attempts at standard guitar ballads. Unsure of what the aim was here but the whole LP feels jumbled and lacks cohesion, maybe I’m missing an art piece statement but this just sounds aimless.

Bemüht, aber nicht gut.

Has a lot to say but somewhere in the middle my attention gets weary

No thank you

A few years ago, I listened to a few Giant Sand albums to see if I could get into the music. This album was not one of those that I listened to, but it may as well have been. The sound of Giant Sand on "Chore of Enchantment" was not terribly different on those albums as heard on this one. I could not get into their music and unfortunately this album does not change that. As I have said frequently about other artists, this album is not "bad." It is simply unremarkable and I have no clear idea why it is in this book. The write up about this album is short, the Wikipedia page is short and there isn't much information about the greatness of this album. It's all mid-tempo "alt-country," though I would possibly argue with that description. So no, I do not see where this album has a place in this book. It's unremarkable and I am not sure the gap in music this is intended to fill.

Rating: 5/10

Just a little too strange. Jumps all over the place and I just can't quite get to that enjoyment point without a spike in the wrong direction.

Dit album had precies niet veel om het lijf. Het was oké voor op de achtergrond, maar dat is ook alles

could i write poetry to this? n

Some songs came close to being good, but none quite got there.

low-rent lou reed and I don’t even like lou reed that much to begin with

More like Giant Bland

Just didn't feel much of anything on this album. Aside from the 1 or 2 songs that I saved I won't ever be coming back to it

Some interesting ideas on this album. I like the range of styles and the music in general. Not a huge fan of the vocalist’s pseudo spoken word style. Not a lot of dynamic there and not very interesting, from my perspective.

This guy must have listened to Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and/or Lou Reed and decided he could do the same thing. Bad news, Howe - you aren’t any of those guys. Quit smelling your own farts and calling it music.

2.5

Canciones demasiado tranquilas y relajadas. Algunas con algún toque más cañero, pero muy planas y muy parecidas entre sí. Aparte, la voz demasiado melancólica. Me ha dejado un poco frío

Shiver is okay but the rest are just meh. If I wanted to hear spoken-singing, I'd listen to Cake; their songs are are fun at least

This was just boring. There isn’t much going for it besides some nice sounding instrumentals, but they are few and far between. The vocals are not good and actively drag this album down. DNF.

Not really my genre, and this one really dragged.

Much was strange. Did not enjoy.

Mmm

some good songs here and there but too much filler

Man this guy REALLY likes Nick Cave, doesn't he.

Quiet, intimate and simple. All things I personally don't value in my music much.

Saai, wel prima gemaakt. Niet mijn ding

#58. I spent the whole time this album was on thinking Man, this guy sounds like the guy that sings that Lullaby song. So much so that I don't remember anything about this album. He sounds a lot like the guy that sings Lullaby. This isn't the guy that sings Lullaby, right? Edit: this isn't the guy that sings Lullaby. That guy was Shawn Mullins, and this guy is Howard something. 2/5: meh Song added to playlist: Shiver I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

I was not a huge fan of this. A bunch of semi-musical meanderings that felt pointless.

Another new one to me. First thought was it sounded a bit like Lambchop or Calexico without the energy. Second thought was that I hope Mark doesn't lump Smog/Bill Callahan in with this, as they are superficially-similar but Giant Sand appear not to be half as clever, inventive or elegant. Not horrible, but too long and gave me a mild headache.

ca commence en 2 mais ca finin a 3. C'est pas tr;es mémorable, meme c'est générique. 2.95

Surprisingly good for a band I have never heard of. Will I listen again? No. Was it ok? Yes. Competent but not spectacular.

A little skeptical of this, as it was sounding suspiciously like someone's pet addition to the list. Spare instrumentation, and low talk-singing were sounding a lot like some kind of Nick Cave impersonation. My skepticism was pushed further when the only thing listed under legacy on Wikipedia was its inclusion on this list.

It's like Bill Callahan and Pavement desperately trying to collaborate on the soundtrack to a David Lynch film. Sounds kinda interesting, right? No, unfortunately it's a boring slog.

Not a huge fan of the deadpan vocal deliveries, not a whole lot here I really like to be honest.

Pass. This was weird, and I suppose the lyrics were different and interesting in a good way but overall this was a snooze.

Many whispers

It's OK? But I'm not super into the vocalist

Folk rock alternativo. Ni fu ni fa. Pues mira, iba a ponerle un 3 pero por meter más canciones de bonus track que las que tiene el propio disco al final le doy un 2. Por pesado.

A generous review might call this album "sparse" or "intimate". I'm not going to be generous. This album is empty and unfinished. It sounds like someone turned in a demo tape and the label didn't know better. The ideas are just sketches, the production is incomplete, and the performances are lackluster. I wish they'd spent the time and energy to make it great. But it's really just not very good.

doesn't really do it for me 2.4

This album is an interesting mix of genres—jazz, rock, country, folk—but it all has one thing in common (except maybe one track): it's all down-tempo. It seems like a great mix for background music at a coffee shop, or lounge, or bath, something to enjoy a good book and/or a glass of wine to. However, at least for me, listening to it straight was a little... boring. I might bookmark this to try for one of the aforementioned purposes, but otherwise I probably won't revisit this album.

While I really enjoyed listening to it I doubt I will return. The moment I realized how much it reminded me of Lou Reed my interest waned a bit.

Ça m'a saoulé

The only Chore here is listening to this. Soft spoken vocals, and a tempo a turtle could vibe to. I don’t mind the medley or instruments and quirkiness, however it’s not enough to save the lackluster delivery.

Is this more Nick Cave? It was some kind of a chore.

Some of this isn’t bad. Some of this is really bad. Not too much of a spoken lyrics kind of guy.

Yet another Lou Reed album served to me here

The bonus tracks help it be twice as boring... Great job!

Really difficult to rate because they sound familiar (Lou Reed impression) but some of the lyrics are too cute and rhymey.

I mean it’s fine but there are so many other albums with exactly the same sound and more compelling songs

Meh

Quick to become back ground noise and lose my interest.

Just one word ... boring. This was so beige and dull it actually riled me up. Is that normal? None of this felt identifiable or interested. Confused why it's on the list

This was pretty dull. It kept feeling like it was about to get going. It had kind of Lou Reed or Nick Cave vibes but very weakily done with no pazzazz.

There were some good ideas here but it somehow didn't jell together and nothing stuck with me. It reminded me of Sparklehorse, but it was way less interesting, and the lead singer has a Lou Reed vibe going as well. I like the records that Thrill Jockey puts out (particularly Tortoise) so I really tried to like this, but liked I said nothing stuck.

weird, and almost in a good way

Strange album. Musically I enjoyed most of it. The vocals really brought it down a lot.

Kind of interesting sound that never really takes off. Chore was a good word for this one

Varför är denna sunkiga slowcore med då I Could Live in Hope av Low inte är det...

Of course the singer is the mainstay of the group. He's only good for that raw whispery voice. And that only takes you so far. A whole album of it, blech. His voice reminded me somewhat of Neil Young's voice on "Unplugged," but there was more to Neil's; there was a weightiness that there isn't here. The lyrics feel like they're trying too hard. I needed someone who could sing at least in one song. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Indie for sure. I'm gonna say NOT UK though. Looks more US. Oh yep indie and pretty boring. Meandered around from slightly interesting to fucking dull. Went too long. Also: reading wikipedia, that's a lot of band members for an album that most of the time is just vocals and guitar or piano lol. 2/5.

This Wilco/Drive by Truckers adjacent down tempo indie is from a past time where mysterious and minimalist music was unique. Now its just aggravating. So sloppy, lazy and kind of unimaginative. Theres some charm with the acoustic melodies and instrumentals. But that breathy art douche voice is agonizing. And squanders any clout.

3/10 - very mediocre, just not my thing

this album had zero personality

i cant

No thank you do not do this

Started ok and quickly got worse

Boring

I can't help but wonder what album could have been on this list instead of this real shitty Leonard Cohen wannabe.

I didn't like it when Lou Reed did it, and I hate it when this guy does.

Are you the Eels? Are you Lou Reed? Get OUT of here with this whisper singing >:( This one couldn't have ended faster. A Chore as it were.

YAWN. this dude CANNOT sing

This album opens with "Overture," a track that sounds less like whatever the artist was aiming for and more like the sinister soundtrack from Terrifier right before that creepy af clown appears with a hacksaw. Things somehow get worse from there since every song in this album sounds so identical you will be on track three thinking track one still hasn't ended. The title is a self-fulfilling prophecy-- listening is an absolute chore, and the only "enchantment" is the mind-numbing boredom that makes you lose all sense of time. Save your ears and turn on a squeaky ceiling fan instead, seeing as it would offer far better rhythm and significantly less mental anguish.

Bruh what a chore. Not sure what made this album make this list.

Really really boring indeed, very very average, pretty pretty bad. Listening to this somehow killed my ability to express myself, boring indie dude, at most 2, deserves 1 star

Wow. This is without exaggeration possibly the worst vocal performance I've ever heard in my life. Pair that with extremely boring instrumentals and lyrics to make for a terrible album. If you want an example of just how bad the songwriting is on this album, the best one I could give you is on the song "Raw" where he legitimately says: I'd invite the devil in and his entire nation What in tarnation? That is an actual line from this album, and the rest is not much better. Plus, the delivery, like with the rest of the album, makes it so much worse and even funny. I would give this a 5/5 if we were talking how good is it at being bad, but since that's not how these ratings work I'll give it a 1. Possibly the worst album I've listened to yet, only competing with ABBA's "Arrival."

"Chore of Enchantment" by Giant Sand is a bad experience for me. It is not a worst album but not a good album also. The album production level is raw and experimental. I love few tracks like "Dusted" and "Punishing Song". Besides this all the other tracks are average to bad. The songwriting is narrative driven with vivid lyrics. But most of the tracks feel same and monotonous. The album dragged too much long for like an hour. There are too many tracks on this album some of them unnecessary like "Bottom Line Man"and many more. The vocalist try to make emotional depth with raw and gritty voice delivery which kind of makes me feel boring and not appreciating. The album feel disconnected within after few tracks. Overall bad album I have listened from the list and one of the undeserving album to be included.

Nothing here to hear...

Ruim e sem sal

Absolutely not

It certainly was a chore

Didn't love the vocals on this album which I think made it hard for me to really listen and enjoy. Very one tone to me as well, not the genre for me. Top Songs: None

Wish I could give zero stars. What the fuck was this album?

Madre mia vaya PEÑAZO.

Ni lo escuché entero

wtf is this even? Where did they dig this crap up from? Sounds like the lead singer of Bare Naked Ladies if he was tone deaf and super depressed.

Un poco sin más, me ha dado un poco igual. Supongo que está bien pa tenerlo de fondo pero sin más

Not for me 1/5

Nope. Flows between folk rock and alternative country. He floats between singing folksily and "singing" like Lou Reed. Hate it.

Certainly is a chore.

Not mine!

Must be terrible album day on this list. Oh wait, that’s every day.

10% des albums sind nicht gut. mit den anderen 90% kannst mich jagen. war ne qual hier durch zu kommen & hat mich drei (!) tage gekostet

Yes, just go away!

Tenker vi lukker den døra

This album feels like the raw demo of a precocious singer songwriter. You're a freshman in college and your buddy's weird but chill roommate asks that you listen to it and tell him what you think. It's got some good stuff on it. The chord progressions are neat. Instrumentation is varied and can be novel. Lyrics are alright. But he refuses to actually sing on most the tracks. He does this weird spoken word thingy and you cannot tell if its insecurity or a misguided way to give gravity to his songs. But all in all, it's a really good first try for an 18 year old. It isn't that though, this is Giant Sand's FIFTEENTH album and the song writer was in his early 40s when he wrote it. Man, this bites. Imagine writing, arranging, and recording an hour's worth of pretty good alt folk rock only to make it a drag to listen to by talking weakly over every track. It is almost an accomplishment to take an otherwise solid stable of songs and make them near unlistenable with the addition of the vocals. It's like if you took a good song in all respects but had the rhythm guitarist put his guitar slightly out of tune, strum messily, miss chord changes, and keep an off-putting tone on his amp for the entirety of it. Just ruined.

They really be giving anyone a mic

so glad mid ass indie has some representation on the list

The monotones on a lot of these tracks kinda lull me. The way the vocals are presented in this throws me off like the singer was trying to embody Curt Cobain story telling but he sounded like he was out of breath the whole time. If I was at a music festival I’d be curious about it. Listen for a few minutes and head to the food stalls or go on a side quest.

boring as hell man

This album is all the way too long for how uninteresting every track is.

so bad

An absolute skip. Sounds like your neighbour at an open mic recorded on a mobile phone. Why is this on the list? I don't need to hear this before I die.

I'm halfway through this album and it's holding up progress through subsequent days' albums because I just can't bring myself to listen to it in anything more than three or four song increments. A couple of fundamental problems: it's musically dull, and also the sound of his voice is really difficult for me to listen to. His semi-sprechgesang and the fact that he sings very quietly, meaning the volume of the vocal track has been turned up, leads to some sort of anti-asmr and makes me feel slightly disgusted. 'Shiver' would be the worst track on a good album; it's the best one on this

There's a reason I've never heard of this band.

Chore of Enchantment? More like chore to listen to! But seriously, I am not a fan of this kind of talk singing.

Yawn! I already forgot I listened to this album and just finished it 5 minutes ago.

1.25 - No.

I got bored. That was a long 1 hour and 57 minutes. Not sure many of the bonus tracks were that bonus-y either, ironically finishing with Bad (Not Good).

All the dumb things that Tom Waits does? Do all that and be a worse songwriter. Then you’ll have this album.

Not good, rambling -- incoherent musically and stylistically....

favs: wolfy astonished (in memphis) no reply dusted (in tucson) seldom matters again rating 0.7/5

Never heard of this. Don’t know the band at all so will be a brand new listen. Don’t fully know how some of these albums get on this list. Barely a Wikipedia page for this album. Early on, and do not like this guys vibe as a singer. It’s very dark moody lyrically. Vocally, it almost seems Leonard Cohen inspired except it isn’t connecting at all for me. It’s really making me disliking it all because of his voice. Overall a lot of this is a miss for me. I thought maybe was a 2, but actually teetering on a 1 right now. Thought there was some interesting things then it just fell apart in the middle, I’ll see if it wins me back at all. I keep going back and forth between finding something interesting and then really disliking it. Randomly it wins me back on a song. Why is this album so long too? Some of the back half’s songs are way better than earlier on the album. I think it saves it from a 1, but overall I don’t particularly like it as a whole and don’t think it deserves a spot on this list. But a few songs were good enough for me. I liked Shiver and Satellite. There’s a weird originality to a lot of this that doesn’t work most of the time for me, but sometimes it’s just fine. It’s between a 1 and 2 because I really dislike some of it.

I would have given this a 2, but 16 songs and an hour of not great vocals and poor lyrics get you downgraded.

Yeah this was sure a chore to get through. Just nothing interesting going on at all, and the singing is barely singing at all, which doesn't help. 1.5/5 because it's not as bad as others in this list.

1.5 - Bad

Who told this guy he could sing? Things were fine till he opened his mouth. Two hours of this? OH HELL NO!!!!

Is it too late for them to take this album back? I hope not. I'm not a big fan of Lou Reed, but this sounds like an incredibly shitty attempt to impersonate him. I listened to every song. Couldn't get to the end of one of them. I can't write good songs. We have that in common. Unlike them, I did not force my mediocre talent on the world. This has made me seriously reconsider whether this thing is worth my time.

Who or what on earth is that? When I opened my '1001 Albums' app this morning, I came across an album called "Chore of Enchantment" by a band called Giant Sand that I’d never heard of. These things happen; I'm not all-knowing. OK, Wikipedia tells me that they’re an ‘alternative rock’ band. The mastermind behind the band is the American singer-songwriter, musician and producer Howe Gelb, who I’m at least familiar with by name. The album itself, however, isn’t worth mentioning. It's fairly laid-back alternative rock, similar to the Eels, but significantly more boring. It's not awful, but it's incredibly monotonous. The lyrics probably aren't bad, but I wish there was more going on musically. Not my cup of tea.

Bland, completely devoid of personality, corporate yet unsuccessful sound. Gen X music is awful, no way to defend it.

This is honest to God some of the worst music I've ever heard. I'm not exaggerating. I've been doing this project for 2 years every single day and this is in the bottom 20. The voice. The lyrics. The production. Terrible. Worse than those toothpaste flavored chocolates.

The chore of listening to this. Just nothing redeemable here. I usually save 1's for albums that actively make me angry or something like that but there is just NOTHING here to like.

Really quite boring.

Ya de por sí que un álbum dure DOS HORAS, es un descalificativo total. Apartando eso, no me gustó escucharlo, no me gustan esas voces que relatan y susurran en vez de cantar. Tiene demasiados ruidos raros y sin sentido, y son muchísimas canciones que no parecen tener relación entre sí. De lo peor que he escuchado acá

Never heard of these folks. Sounds dull and cheesy at times. Stopped at song 9 as found no reason to continue.

Yes, it was indeed a chore Like so many of the "must-listen" items on this list Almost 25% into this process, and there seem to be many more difficult days than moments of joy This was one of the dark days

100% Chore, 0% Enchantment.

what a mess

Damn I genuinely hate this.

I’m sorry this album was so fucking boring and such a slog to get through. I felt like I was actively falling asleep while listening to this. I can see why this album is appealing to some people but it was just not for me personally. This is one that I will not be revisiting anytime soon. (I did not listen to the bonus tracks because I was so bored and sleepy)

Am I missing something other people are hearing? The low speaking vocals with copious amounts of pretentious vocal fry are uninviting. There's this almost comically vocal impression of Mark Lanegan in a few songs. There is no doubt in my mind why I have not heard of this band nor why they have had 30+ band members over the years.

Bailed on track 4 after the 3rd time I realized I was making a stink face.

This bored me to sleep TWICE!

This is not on the current list anymore, so I'll skip this review and just rate.

perfect if I wanted to lay in the desert ripped on heroin

eu sou fã de álbuns melancólicos, mas eles precisam ao menos serem bons: o que não é o caso desse. em alguns momentos, fiquei com a impressão que Giant Sand deve ter algum parentesco com quem fez essa lista. 1,5/5.

Dusty alt-country and desert rock built on loose guitars, organ textures, understated rhythms, and weary, murmured vocals drifts with hazy, nocturnal restraint. Listening feels like wandering through a half-lit desert town where sounds echo without urgency and time seems to stretch indefinitely. The result is hard to bear elusive monotony.

1 - just so boring plus his voice was not pleasant to listen too

Альт кантри… Я как будто послушал ничего Возможно надо вслушиваться и понимать текст

No

A serious Bob Dylan vibe here. I will pass.

Did not relate to the advertised eccentric lyrics. i did hear the sparse quality that tucson dessert mimics. Won’t remember tmrw, sorry.

dull uninspiring droney mush

Didn’t like this. Very bizarre and too long

The fuck was this

I found this one really boring

2/10

this album is a chore to listen to, might be the worst one yet

Aggressively dogshit

Eh. A bit of Leonard cohen thanks for the dance but not for me

This was really boring. I was constantly waiting for this to end. There vocals were bad and the instrumentals were boring. It also was kinda just weird. Actual rating...1.5. Liked Songs: "(Well) Dusted" , "Punishing Sun" , "X-Tra Wide" , "Shiver" , "No Reply" , "Satellite" , "Rock Opera" , "Shiver (In Tucson)" , "Dilemma"

When to listen: On drugs and want to see sounds. As an opera nerd I liked the integration but it wasn't enough to get me into the album.

Did not enjoy any of this

God, I thought the whole thing was two hours. I didn’t see the bonus tracks at first. I'm not making myself listen to those as well btw. I’m not really a fan of his voice or how he basically talks, sometimes sings, trying to be all seductive or whatever. I’m not sure what his end goal is here. Is sounding attractive actually the point? Because as a woman, I’m dry as sand hearing his voice. Also this is a chore for sure, so they got that right as well. WHAT THE FUCK IS A WOODPECKER DOING HERE? What was this album, man? The first song wasn’t that bad, but it just kept getting worse and worse. It’s kind of the same thing over and over again, honestly. Why did I have to listen to this? Such a shame, because the instrumental sometimes feels like it’s getting somewhere, but then this guy comes in and ruins everything.

I really did not enjoy a single part of this experience

Ummmmmm...... no

1 no thanks

Chore by name........

boring bland and someone who thinks they are being avant-garde but actually just cringey?

Well, this was terrible.

Not a whole album of this please.

Not for me. 1/5

Very dark and grimy. EXTREMELY long album. I’m kinda scared of these songs… Fav song is ‘(Well) Dusted’.

Utter shite

Alright people, let's not pretend this is anything other than shit. Sounds like the stuff my uncle made from his bedroom 20 years ago.

Is this worse than the Beatles? This was a horrible experience made especially worse by the spoken word vocals, wish I could give this 0 stars. Can't do it sorry, just not for me.

The voice reminds me a little of Lou Reed, but I never found Lou Reed this boring. I have no idea how this album got a positive review. There's nothing new, nothing innovative, nothing fun – the album is simply lame.

Not good. First album I intentionally didn’t finish.

yikes...

Why was this on here?

Yes, this was definitely a chore.

These bullshit wannabe Lou Reed vocals are completely awful. Musically, this has a brief few moments of interest but for the most part stays safe and in doing so just becomes forgettable. Another "Why is this on a must-hear list?"

Giant Sand can go pound sand. Dreadful.

DNF

this one felt like a chore and a major snore.

How is it worse than my college wannabe-boyfriend's music and also the longest album I've seen to date?

Not a vibe

I don’t see the point of this and doubtful anyone else does

Another entry in the 1001 albums I didn’t need to hear before I die.

Really hard to get over Howe Gelb's vocal affectations, the HARD 'R" sounds, the whispering, the little growls at the end of phrases, whatever the hell that accent is supposed to be.... SING SOME NOTES! That in addition to the incredibly pretentious nonsensical poetic meanderings, apropos of nothing, is just a waste of time. Feels like some rich kid got a hold of expensive recording equipment and fancies himself a latter-day Tom Waits. Of course, Tom Waits is still around and producing music, so there's really no need for another (possibly worse!) version of that shit now is there? DNF

Lou Reed called. He wants his voice back. Best songs: Nil

This record was quite uniquely annoying. The overbearing, mawkish sadness in the lyrics tops the list. The basic-ass music (not in a good way), the pretentious out-of-place arrangement and production calls, and the slack-ass out-of-tune singing and performances designed to telegraph authenticity and sincerity. This record is proof that Lou Reed unfortunately left open the door to allow wet men to write shit poetry and boring songs and think other people need to hear it. The thin veneer of country authenticity and Lynchian cool has the unique effect of degrading country music, the work of David Lynch, as well as simple, well-crafted songwriting in general. It appears to be a mechanism designed to lure in hordes of other sad, damp boys to indulge in the sentimentality most people mature out of by the time they’re 23. This is music for people so inwardly cowardly, they need every artistic prop they can find to justify their ongoing pretentious resistance to facing themselves and moving on with life. The fact the version of the LP I listened to has almost as many bonus tracks as LP tracks is testament to how little Howe Gleb thinks of the craft of songwriting. No one should give their time to art that uses music as an excuse for whatever bullshit this guy thinks he’s getting away with. Fake sadness is the worst.

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

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

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

Yikes, this was pretty bad.

Didn't understand a thing

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

Meh

Giant Bland.

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

Shite

Shite

Too long and not good

What a load of nonsense

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

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!

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

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.

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.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

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

*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?

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.

This is utter crap.

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

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

cacca

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

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.

dislike.

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 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.

Bit boring

Snoozefest.

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.

Not that good!

more dire American "alternative rock"!

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.

Temptation of Egg okay, the rest not so good

Album deserves to sit in the rain

The fuck is this?

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.

Oh it was a chore alright.

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

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

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

Honestly, not a fan, not sure why this one was on the list. Given Its the list of 1000 albums you should listen to before you die, I’m gonna give it a one out of five. Not for me.

This was a chore of no enchantment. So dreary. I guess this is the kind of album you make when you can’t sing.