"This could be interesting." I thought.
No, it just sounds like terrible pop music but with the (presumably) vapid lyrics in a different language.
I walked through the woods on a sunny winter day, with a thick layer of fallen leaves all around, a dog charging off a head and only a vague sense of direction. It was an ideal listening environment this positive folk stuff.
Someone added this to a playlist with an image from Scott Pilgrim comic, which I thought encapsulated that DIY indie grunge aesthetic.
Lyrics were often inaudible due to the reverb, guitars were fuzzy as fuck, but that was kind of charming.
3.5 stars
I got a bit melancholy listening to this one, which chimes with the record label boss not wanting to release it as it was about his friends' divorce.
I didn't think I enjoyed it that much, but then happily listened to another couple of hours of John Martyn and Martyn-adjacent music, so I think not enjoying it was very much the label in this section of the record shop (file under dour).
A little slice of disco magic.
Like a cute friend (who is obsessed with Dr Who and won't shut up).
So middle of the road; I snoozed through the whole thing, safely buffered by that central reservation.
I don't know why I despise Dave Matthews, but I do.
A lot of fun.
The Distance was always a firm favourite and the rest of the album is good (but not as good).
Slightly painful to listen to, but I also admire them for the work they have put into this mess of commercial adjacent work, which shouldn't sell any records.
It is a bit too art school, but has a good sense of humour.
Noisy blaring pop
Whiny and annoying.
I really enjoyed this. It snuck up on me as gentle background music, but then I found myself really enjoying bits and relistened.
Very chilled out, very skilled musically. A lovely find.
Nothing good about this: Goodbye
I've never really sat and listened to Vampire Weekend.
They are a nice little american indie band, aren't they?
Incredibly average dirge based guitar band from the eighties.
Surprisingly lovely.
This band should have had a better name, as I keep thinking they are going to be The Partridge Family.
I liked the classical bits and the chilled out vibe. I liked the arty bits.
I mean ... Once I complete listening to the 1089 out of the 1001 albums to listen before you die, I too was angry and twisted, tempted to inflict pain on other listeners just out of a sense of anger. Unlike the wanker who nominated this piece of pop, unfit for a pub quiz trivia question I learned that the anger was because a deep seated insecurity that I can no longer blame on others and instead I must learn to accept and nurture myself instead of never quite getting the sense of justice I aspired for by tearing aural holes in the minds of others.
Remove this from your Guantanamo playlist and place a daisy in the barrel of a rifle.
Good old Nik Kershaw. A nice face of eighties pop.
Proper anarcho punk, I expect. I didn't listen to any of the lyrics though because I was too busy being tied to my desk for The Man, enslaved in the corporate mechanism or something.
I was tired and dreamy when I started listening to this, yet it still annoyed me. I have to give it a listen on another day, but I'm fairly sure I don't like it.
On the tin it ticks my boxes: modern chilled stuff, pastoral and charming, but it was too MOR.
Mumblecore indie folk. Kind of beatific, kinda depressed.
A nice Christmas album if jazz fun.
Stadium synth rock/pop. I'm kind of enjoying the auto-generated stuff that's coming after the album finished playing It was alright. 3.5 stars
Marilyn Manson joins The Backstreet Boys in 1998 Ibiza.
Werewolves of London is kinda fun. The rest is a recommended skip.
I see why people like this, but I personally find this kind of country folk rock to be dull.
Indie meets prog. The tunes are quite catchy and the musicianship is strong, but the long improvised bits are a bit too much.
It has the feel of a band looking for a break which never came.
***
Another album of long sets of improvised guitar and drums.
As usual, the musicians are good and the tunes were nice.
It was kind of jazz funk.
***
Fine. Nice. Good. Charming.
Special? No, not really.
**
It all sounds a bit same-y to me. One track of guitar noise blends into the next.
Not too angry, but not my thing.
**
Like a quite good version of the Foo Fighters or something.
I may be just in a rock mood today though, as I'm now enjoying Witchcraft.
3 stars as I'm not a massive fan of The Foo Fighters, plus a nod of respect.
Nice stuff.
Pleasant jangly background music.
Some guy and a guitar singing well, but not mind-blowing.
Very interesting and quite cool.
I checked out the documentary about him on BBC Sounds and I might find his disco album next.
Good observation lyrics and a pleasant relaxed
sound.
I probably won't seek them out though.
***
Surprisingly decent album of blues covers.
As if the guy from Erasure, Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Manic Street Preachers got pissed and decided to write a musical together. Then they wrote it with a beastly hangover.
The second best computer game music soundtrack album I've listened to this year.
Some of it was kind of charming background music.
I liked the bobbly glitchy electronic bits and the grand piano and some of the jazz numbers. But Que Sera Sera was extremely painful, and I couldn't make it to the end of the song. Cherry Blossom sounded like it was written and performed by an 8 year with over-bearing parents intent on him turning out to be a genius and willing to hire an orchestra to prove it.
Pretty good hip hop, but also pretty middle of the road.
Like, it's technically good? But, like, nothing there really stirred me? You know?
Amazing stuff containing all of my favourite things: good music, food and silly superheroes.
Classic Scratchy, boom-bap hip hop. Like Ninja Tune (yes, the whole record label), Krafty Kuts, Cold Cut, The Herbaliser or the Jungle Bothers.
Jurassic 5 on a budget.
I'm surprised I wasn't really into this in 2005.
Rather lovely chilled out hip hop.
Like a less annoying R.E.M.
OMG just THE worst kind of pop poop.
Grunge dude mumbling. He can't/won't sing in tune.
Funky French disco electro.
Dull eighties stuff.
A bit like Elvis Costello.
The singer sounds bored of his own songs.
Beautiful and weird and glitchy with soaring strings, clever vocals and niceness.
I think they would like to be The Fall. Dour singing and droning, melodic guitars.
Bored Social Scene.
Bleep boop French synth pop.
Nice.
A nice mix of blues rock and prog. Not too much of a concept album, not too verbose or waffling. Pleasant blues guitar in the style of Deep Purple or something coming out of San Francisco in the seventies.
Good, fun, grungepop.
wonderful fun funky rap jazz bass-heavy bonkers
I wasn't in the mood for feminist pop today.
Fairly standard dirty rock.
The NiN appreciation is clear, but it was also giving me Smashing Pumpkins vibes.
Wow! Funky orchestral jazz with everything dialled up to 110%
Sparks-levels of bonkers, with Georgio Moroder's inimitable synth lines slapped all over the place.
Sparks have a nice, precise approach to lyrics and their delivery. They innovate and experiment a lot, which makes them interesting.
At the same time this is the kind of seventies shit I grew up hating: Very Marmite!
Like a male Joan Baez; a strong voice and a big band, make these covers and reworkings shine and rock at the same time.
Beautiful background stuff. Doesn't have the single that I know Kruangbin from on. It could've done with more singing in.
Yeah. An irresistible powerhouse of sarky, angry intelligent punk.
I really like this, and I've enjoyed seeing them live, but the joke wears a little thin to make a whole album, nevermind a career for these guys.
Each song individually was quite nice. The lyrics were good and the tunes were melodic and not just CC DD CC or something, but nothing really shone out at me, so it's a 3-and-a-half star album to me.
Proto-Coldplay
Nice mumbly electro. Dark in tone with the odd crescendo.
Enjoyable, but such a shame that they switched styles from that edgy sound in "Whatever People Say I Am..."
Dystopian noise. I like the idea of Godspeed you! Black Emperor, but sitting and listening to them is uncomfortable.
Music for dads who say they like jazz, but really they like Status Quo.
Quite good in a background-y sorta way.
Lovely eighties pop
Terrible country. Why would someone enjoy this?
Quite nice folk. The kind of thing you'd get on a gritty modern western.
Spectacularly unimaginative music for bored drummers.
So good.
Nice to have some foreign language stuff. It wasn't bad, but didn't particularly move me.
Sigh. Metal is not my thing. I listened to most of it, so it can't have been that bad.
A lot of fun
Generic
Not for me, this fiddly diddly folk
Very enjoyable pop warbling. It got a bit samey after an hour though.
On paper this kind of chilled jazz is right up my street. I kept waiting for it to kick in on this album and it never really did
In the absence of cochones it needs more cowbell.
Perfectly acceptable indie pop, and anyone who disagrees is entitled to their opinion.
Sub optimal ska
Interesting mix of sounds. It was also good practice for Spanish!
Bland as fuck
I'll be honest, I want really listening.
File under: Country (less annoying than usual)
I may even have enjoyed the more bluegrassy numbers a bit.
You like Bruce Springsteen you will probably like this, but have probably heard it already.
Fun
Woo-woo all aboard the band wagon. This crazy train departs in 2022 and isn't looking back.
Such a fabulous album. I have it on vinyl.
They never repeated this anti capitalist anarchic chaos, sadly.
Fun noise. It's quite the gimmick record, and I just imagine the guys who did alternately giggling and cursing some subtle pitch/tempo that's just off or something.
Notably dull.
I love the music of Chet Baker, but reading about his life makes me sad and I prefer it when he sings too.
Surprisingly enjoyable Beck-esque music. Also shades of Ben Folds in there
Those Gorillaz blokes have a lot of fun by the of it. Another good album from them.
Fun funky gospel soul
This has all the hallmarks of a truly dreadful album, but yet it pulls it off nicely. Good tunes with bonkers lyrics.
As if The Grateful Dead developed a sense of humour.
Joyous sampling from lads who should know better. A whole lot of fun, with a while lot of soul, whilst somehow soulless
Whatever.
I listened to the first four tracks and then admitted boredom.
I really enjoyed this. It has just the right balance of melody and bonkers.
This album has the classic sound of a band whose singer quit and the drummer stepped in. The songs are all well written, but quite similar.
Yes, Mr Reed, good work.
Average
Thoroughly enjoyable. I think you may need to be on a long distance night drive to get the most out of it.
Ambient, beatific and (obviously) a driving rhythm throughout.
Solid grime rap.
Quite good hip hop.
Very pleasant. I didn't really listen so this is 3 to 5 stars, but it made charming sounds to my afternoon.
Very pleasant. I didn't really listen so this is 3 to 5 stars, but it made charming sounds to my afternoon.
Vapid pop.
Dull dull dull
I live in Bristol and grew up in the nineties. I used to catch the Portishead bus to school. I'm pretty much the target audience for this, and listened to it on heavy rotation.
Highly enjoyable.
Mate, I'm fucking hanging today.
How are you?
Can we just listen to some old swamp blues or one of those albums we know all the words to instead?
It's nothing against Bloc Party, they seem quite good, and if I was a millennial maybe I'd have bought their T-shirt, but today I'm old and tired and three cups of tea deep before 11am and I'm not in the mood.
Nice crazy jazz.
Simultaneously sniffing and interesting.
Not enjoyable enough to get 4 stars really, but maybe it just needs a second, third and fourth listen.
I am happy to sit down and listen to Richard Dorfmeister in any heatwave, but particularly this one. It's not busy music, but it is good to passively sweat to.
It was fine. I got a bit bored, but I've heard it plenty of times before.
Seminal? Not really.
Nice to have some humour.
The and a half stars.
Lovely but of Gambino.
Good fun.
Lovely and ascerbic.
Nice to have some New Order.
3.5 stars.
Mid level grunge.
Very background noise
Whiny singing, guitars, a touch of electronic noise, weird samples.
Some songs were interesting, some were offputting.
Nothing I'd listen to again, but I can see why someone likes it and it is different.
Nope.
From the first song every time they sang, "Don't wanna waste no more time." I was mumbling, "I don't want to waste any more time."
I'm not an angry teenager any more, and hopefully when I was I wasn't into this faux anger.
I love this old jazz stuff
Music your grandmother conceived to.
