1001 Albums Summary

Well, here we are, my first album of the user submissions. I’ve never heard of Anaïs Mitchell before, hey, Justin Vernon is on this album! I haven’t fucked with Bon Iver in a minute, but I know I’ll encounter at least a couple of albums of theirs on this list. In addition to not being up on my Anaïs Mitchell music, I’m also a little rusty on my Greek mythology, so this album should be a good refresher. Let’s go down to Hadestown! Hadestown isn’t the type of album that I gravitate towards, but I thought it was really good. The music on this album was really beautiful, and it did a fantastic job of creating a really vivid setting, realistic characters, and a haunting atmosphere. Rock opera-style storytelling tends to be hit or miss with me, but I thought this album did a great job of crafting a story with a lot of emotional weight that felt eerily relevant in today’s political climate. Orpheus’s struggle, though unwinnable, still had glimmers of hope throughout it, and even though he was doomed, I naturally felt myself optimistic that he might succeed in rescuing his love. I didn’t care much for Greg Brown or Ben Knox Miller’s vocals, and a few songs in the middle kind of dragged, but other than that, this was a really solid album, and an interesting submission from a fellow user.

Other than Lady Marmalade, I don’t think I know any songs by Labelle. I honestly had no idea that Patti LaBelle was in a group; I always thought she was a solo artist. I tend to enjoy funk and soul music, so I’m sure this will be a fun album to listen to. Hmm, well, this album wasn’t really for me. “Lady Marmalade” is a really fun jam, and the vocals and lyrics on this album are really good, but musically, there just wasn’t a lot that I enjoyed on Nightbirds. When it comes to funk, I expect a bit more pop in the music; I like good bass grooves and fun keyboard riffs, and this album didn’t deliver on that. As for the soul elements on this album, while the vocals were good, I didn’t feel like there was any oomph to the singing, and despite the meaningful lyrics, there was just no emotional weight to anything. Every now and then there would be an element that I would like, but it was just rare that any song was able to put it all together and create something that I liked listening to. This is a cool addition to the list, but it’s just not for me.

I don’t think I’ve heard of Al Stewart before, but this is certainly an interesting album cover. The soft rock albums from the seventies that are on the main list were a bit hit-or-miss with me, so I’m not sure whether I’m going to love or hate this album. Tomorrow marks the start of the year of the horse, so I guess it’s good to experience the year of the cat for now. Year of the Cat was a really fun album, and I would have never sought this out on my own. I thought Al Stewart did a great job of conveying so many different emotions and moods through his arrangements, and he’s a really good vocalist as well. Musically, the string arrangements were my favorite part of this album, but there were plenty of other elements that I enjoyed as well. “Lord Grenville” was a fine opening track, but “On the Border” really hooked me in with its excellent bass playing, beautiful strings, and the Spanish guitar. I really liked how this song had a southwestern feeling to it, without going completely into a typical Latin music sound. The keyboards on “Midas Shadow” and “Sand In Your Shoes” were really good, but they were really great on “If It Doesn’t Come Naturally.” The bass playing on “If It Doesn’t Come Naturally” was really good as well. On “Broadway Hotel,” I really enjoyed the guitar playing, and the string arrangement on the outro was really great. There weren’t any songs that I thought stood out above the rest, but the album as a whole was just really solid. Kudos to whoever submitted this album, because it was really cool and unique.

I’ve never heard of Angelo De Augustine before, so I’m not really sure about what to expect from this album. The cover is certainly interesting, and it reminds me a bit of the cover for The Drums’ 2011 album Portamento. I’m curious to find out what this album is all about! Overall, I thought this album was fine. The arrangements were really beautiful, and I enjoyed how a lot of the songs had subtle little melodies layered under the main melody. There was a somber mood that permeated this whole album, and I thought the music did a great job of conveying that mood. While I applaud the consistent tone of this album, I wished that there had been some fluctuations in the intensity of the emotion. I feel like I could have picked six songs at random off of this album and skipped the rest, and I wouldn’t have really missed anything. The vocals on this album reminded me Elliot Smith, but for some reason, ADA’s vocals wore me down quite a bit over the course of this album. While this wasn’t really up my alley, I can understand how this album would mean enough to someone for them to submit it for this list.

Well hello there Iggy Pop and The Stooges, fancy seeing you guys again. With the exception of Fun House and Lust for Life, I was pretty lukewarm on Iggy's solo stuff and The Stooges' albums that were on the main list. On top of that, I really don't care much for live albums, so this album is probably not going to be my jam, but I'll try to approach this album with an open mind. As I feared, I really didn't care for this album. The recording quality was just awful, and I understand that it is what it is, but I couldn't get past that. The Stooges' music already has a raw sound to it, so listening to it live and unfiltered didn't do much for me. The things that I do enjoy about The Stooges' music was so muddled and drowned out on this recording, that I found this album pretty boring. However, as a piece of music history, this album is pretty cool. Iggy's bantering with the audience and his profane ad libs were pretty funny. I thought it was interesting that I couldn't hear the audience very much, so I just had to rely on Iggy's reactions that they were out of control. It's pretty cool too that this was the last Stooges show for several decades, and I liked that it was recorded in Detroit. I can see why someone would submit this album, but it wasn't my jam.

Welcome to another edition of “I know nothing about jazz, but sometimes it sounds pretty cool.” I’ve never heard of Medeski Martin & Wood before (btw, congrats gents, you’re MMW for the rest of this review), but man, that album cover definitely screams nineties. I don’t think I gave any jazz album on the original list five stars, but I think the only one I gave two stars to was Bitches Brew. What an absolute slog that was for me. Anywho, I’m ready to jazz it up with MMW! Shack-man was a pretty cool album. I don’t think I really had any preconceived notions about this album, but I enjoyed its eclectic sound. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that MMW opted for some really fun instruments from the piano and keyboard family, and I think those choices served this album’s style and sound really well. I feel like this was the first time that I was able to somewhat follow the structure of some jazz songs, and understand what the musicians were doing. While this album’s songs weren’t particularly memorable to me, I did think that there were some fun grooves throughout it. At multiple points though, this album kinda became background music to me. It was good background music, but background music nonetheless. A few songs did stand out to me though, and I have some short notes on them: I liked how funky "Is There Anybody Here" was. What a great choice of instruments for this song, and I was actually able to follow along with the structure of what MMW were doing. “Bubblehouse” was really fun. I loved that fast tempo, and the solo drumming section was really awesome. I loved the bass and guitar on "Spy Kiss." The bass playing was particularly great, and I liked how steady its sound was throughout the song. While this didn’t convert me to being a jazz guy, I still had a fun time branching out and listening to Shack-man

I can’t remember when exactly I reviewed Eels’ Beautiful Freak, but if I had to put money on it, it was probably in my first 100 albums (ah, it was number 74). I enjoyed the overall sound of Beautiful Freak, and I liked how unique each song was. The lyrics didn’t captivate me, but the music alone was enough for me to give this album four stars. I don’t know if Daisies of the Galaxy is going to do the same thing for me, but I’m interested to find out! Daisies of the Galaxy was right on par with Beautiful Freak. The music was great, and I enjoyed the quirky but melodic sound of this album. I wasn’t particularly into the lyrics on this album either, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment at all. I thought that the songs that featured the Wurlitzer were the best songs on the album, but I also enjoyed the Beck-like vocals and drumming. I really liked how varied this album was in terms of its instrumentation, but it still managed to have a really cohesive sound throughout. “The Sound of Fear,” “I Like Birds,” and “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues” were my favorite songs on the album. Daisies of the Galaxy was a fun experience, and it makes me want to revisit Beautiful Freak.

I knew that someone added a Sophie album to the user submission list, and I’m glad that I’m getting to review this today. I only know the first song off of this album, but I think it’s a beautiful song. On top of that, I love synth driven pop music, so I think this album is going to be right up my alley. Well, despite a strong start with “It’s Okay to Cry,” I really didn’t care for this album. I expected this album to be a gentle sort of dream-pop, but that idea was dashed pretty quickly once “Ponyboy” kicked off. From there, “Faceshopping” was more of the same, with some bass so strong that it ratteled my fillings. “Is It Cold in the Water” was more up my alley; despite the chaos and the sharp sounds it utilized, it was a lot gentler and more melodic than the previous two songs. But from that point to the rest of the album, I just wasn’t impressed. I expected some beautiful and lush melodies like the first track, and I think this album lulled me into a false expectation. Back to “It’s Okay to Cry:” this song is really great. The gentle vocals are excellent, and it’s just a simply beautiful and melodic song. The crescendo at the end came out of nowhere, which made it really effective. I wish more of this album had been like this song. I guess I’m just not into this particular brand of pop music.

I’ve never heard of Tally Hall before, but I hope they’re better than Tammany Hall! No Gilded Age fans here? That’s okay, I don’t watch it either. I prefer to get my Carrie Coon fix by rewatching The Leftovers. But I digress. Time for a trip to Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, which I hope is better than Mr. Magorium’s… I’ll see myself out. MMMM isn’t really my cup of tea, but I thought it was a pretty good album. Tally Hall has some fun songs on this album, and I thought their lush arrangements and vocal harmonies were unique and refreshing. Their best lyrics were pretty fun, but sometimes these songs descended into something annoying, cringeworthy, or both. But this record shows that Tally Hall was out to have a good time, and that they wanted their audience to feel that sense of fun as much as they were. This album didn’t always work, but when it did, it produced some bright, toe-tapping songs that were fun to get sucked into.

I’ve never heard of Protomartyr before, but I do enjoy post punk and noise rock, so this album will probably be right up my alley! This album was a bit short of five stars for me, but I still thought it was really good. The guitar playing throughout the album was consistently great, and I enjoyed the moments when the violin and the synthesizer were used as well. The guitar playing did such a great job of crafting a really dense atmosphere, but there was a nice balance of different melodic techniques that were used to craft that atmosphere. It took a minute for the album to get going for me, but once it did, I really got into it. Some notes on the songs that really stood out to me: “A Private Understanding” grew on me the longer it went on. By the last stretch, I was really into it. I really liked that shift that it made towards the end. The guitars on “My Children” were really awesome. I loved how the tempo increased, because I had no idea where it was going to go, and that anticipation just made the song so much better. The guitars on “The Chuckler” were really great. The way those notes oscillated was awesome, and the guitar on the chorus was really great too. This was such a really well-fleshed out song, and the violin was incredible too. I loved that segue from “Night-Blooming Cereus” to “Male Plague.” Both songs were really good too. While this album wasn’t perfect, I thought it was really good, and it’s the type of thing I would go back to.

I'm not very far into the user submitted albums list, but this will be the first album I've gotten that I've already listened to. I haven't listened to The Shins in a hot minute, and I can't think of a good reason why I haven't, because I think they're great. I saw them live back in 2012 when they were touring for Port of Morrow, and I had a great time. I'm pumped to fire this album up today! This isn't a five-star album for me, but it's pretty darn close. The Shins (okay, James Mercer) packed this album with fun and beautiful arrangements, and some solidly poetic lyrics as well. This album is really fun to listen to, with some of the best indie rock from the aughts. The lead and bass guitars are great, as are the drums, keyboards, and synths. James Mercer may not be at the top of anyone's mind when it comes to great vocalists, but I really enjoy his singing, especially on the album's best track, "Phantom Limb." While we're on the subject, "Phantom Limb" absolutely rules. The opening fuzzed out bass tones, the driving rhythms of the bass and drums, the shimmering guitar notes, the infectious refrain of "ohh, oh-ohhh, oh-ohhh"... man, this song has it all. What a beautiful piece of music. "Sleeping Lessons" is wonderful too. I love how the dreamy intro shifts into an absolute pop-rock blast, with some incredibly dance-worthy drums and guitars. "Sea Legs," "Turn On Me," and "Split Needles" are great too, but "Sleeping Lessons" and "Phantom Limb" are in their own galaxy. The songs that don't stand out on this album are a touch boring and don't really add anything to the album's overall sound, but thankfully, those songs are few. Overall though, Wincing is a really solid indie rock record, and some of the best work James Mercer has ever put out.

I’ve never heard of King Tubby before, but if that’s him on the cover, I think his name doesn’t really fit him. King Tubby would be a good nickname for my overweight orange cat though. But I digress. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to any dub music before, but I enjoyed most of the reggae on the original list (but NOT Finley Quaye). I’m not really sure what I’m in for on this album, but I’m excited to find out. Wow, this was a really fun album to listen to. This isn’t the type of music that I typically gravitate towards, but this was really enjoyable. I was really hooked in by the bass playing throughout this album, and I loved letting the infectious groove just wash over me as I listened. The percussive elements were great too, and I enjoyed that there were so many different instruments used over the course of the album. On top of that, the echoes and reverb just added a really great atmosphere to the sound. My only gripe with this album is that there was a handful of songs that didn’t do anything new or exciting to my ears, but even my least favorite parts of this album were still pretty good. I’d definitely consider firing this up again, and it’s something I’d love to own a physical copy of. Solid addition to the list.

Oh boy, The 1975. I first heard of them when their song “Chocolate” was getting a lot of air-play. They felt like a band that I was supposed to enjoy, but I just didn’t like that song very much. A few years ago, I listened to their album I Like It When You Sleep, but I honestly don’t remember much about it. And now we know that Matty Healy is some sort of idiot-weirdo-asshole hybrid, and that hasn’t exactly made me want to seek out more of his music. I’m not sure how this album will land with me, but I’m willing to give it a fair shot. This album was a bit better than I expected, but since I had pretty low hopes for it to begin with, that lands it squarely in three-star territory for me. I did like the overall bright sound of the album, but while those brighter songs were fun to listen to, they weren’t very catchy, and I thought the melodies were a bit bland and forgettable. As for the more ballad-y songs, I felt like they didn’t have any identity or emotion in them, and they fell pretty flat with me. I can’t see myself going back to this album, but songs like “Oh Caroline” and “Looking For Somebody” were very enjoyable while I was listening to them.

Today is my 41st birthday, and I’m delighted that I get an album from one of my favorite bands. I own a copy of Boxer, but I’m pretty certain that I’ve only listened to it in its entirety one time. It’s not that it was a bad album, but when I’m in the mood for The National, I’m going to gravitate to Trouble Will Find Me (which was on my list of possible album submissions) or High Violet, which of course is on the main list. I’m sure I’m going to love re-listening to this album today, and I’d completely forgotten that it has gems like “Fake Empire” and “Squalor Victoria” on it. Happy birthday to me! Boxer wont’ supplant Trouble Will Find Me or High Violet on my informal list of best albums by The National, but hot damn, I just love listening to these guys. Their lyrics are just the right amount of reflective sadness for my taste, I think their arrangements are beautiful and haunting, and their overall musical talents are just incredible. Boxer’s themes of the anxieties of transitioning to adult life really resonate with me, even though I’ve been an adult on my own for over two decades. I look at where I’m at in my life, with a wife, two kids, a mortgage, and four cats, and it makes my head spin that I’m at this stage of my life, trying to navigate the daily stresses of having a family. I find the daily drudgery of chores and work can really wear me down sometimes, and Boxer really made me feel validated. I love Matt Berninger’s vocals on every National album I’ve listened to, and Boxer was no exception. I loved the arrangements on this album too, from the strings and the piano to the drumming and guitars, Boxer is really beautiful. “Fake Empire,” “Squalor Victoria,” “Slow Show,” and “Apartment Story” were my favorites on this album, but there wasn’t a bad song on here. The next time I want to listen to The National, I think I’ll mix it up and reach for Boxer.

Yesterday on my birthday, I got The National’s Boxer, and today I get another band that I love, in Vampire Weekend. I thought about submitting Contra for my contribution to the list, but someone beat me to it, and I also thought about submitting their self-titled album, but ultimately didn’t. I haven’t listened to this particular album in a while, but I’m excited to fire it up today, because I’m pretty certain I’m going to love it. I really loved revisiting Modern Vampires of the City. This album may have a darker tone and less pop influences that its predecessor, but it’s still a beautiful album. I love how MVotC has a healthy mix of slow and up-tempo songs, but the dark lyrical themes and overall musical sound ties the album together really well. Like Boxer, I thought this album did a great job of exploring the themes of finding your place in the world as you move further and further away from young adulthood. I wish I could spend another few paragraphs heaping specific praises on this album, but I just simply love the whole darn thing. Well, I’m big on “Hudson,” and it’s a weird turn for this album to take so close to the finish line, but that’s a nitpick. There are so many clever callbacks and references on this album, and even though Contra is still my favorite, MVotC deserves all the accolades it gets. My favorite song on this album when it came out was “Unbelievers,” and that still holds true. I love the main keyboard melody, and the drumming is perfectly catchy. The bridge is utterly spectacular too, and the horns add so much. I was raised in the evangelical church, but no longer follow evangelical Christianity, so this song’s lyrical themes of religious questioning and doubt really resonate with me. This is a wonderful album, and I’m so glad I got to revisit it today.

I’m somewhat familiar with Dallas Green’s work as City and Colour, but I’ve never listened to anything by Alexisonfire before. I enjoyed the post-hardcore albums that were on the main albums list, but I don’t think there was anything on there later than the nineties. I have no idea what to expect from this album, but I’m excited to… Alexisonfire it up. I found Watch Out to be really enjoyable. This type of sound is what I think of when I think of emo music from the aughts, but this was much better than what I typically imagine when I think of that sort of music. The guitar playing and drumming on this album were really good, and I loved the overall high energy. The combination of screaming and melodic vocals was really good, and it was really head-spinning for me to hear Dallas Green perform music like this. “It Was Fear of Myself” and “Hey, It’s Your Funeral Mama” were my favorite songs on the album, but most of the songs were really good. This isn’t the type of music I typically gravitate to, but I’m thinking of throwing this album on during my next workout.

I’ve never heard of Les $heriff before, but there’s a few bands from France that I really like (although none of them are punk bands), so I’m curious to see what I’ll think of this live punk album. Even though I don’t know any French, I enjoyed listening to this album. The French language worked really well with these short and energetic songs, and I thought the guitar playing and drumming here were really good. I listened to this a bit while I warmed up for a workout, and the energy from Les $heriff was really contagious. I think that this is the type of album that I would enjoy more with repeat listens, despite not understanding the lyrics. The choruses of these songs were really catchy, and I loved the way the lead and backing vocals sounded together. It was tough for this hour-long punk album in a foreign language to keep my attention the whole time, but I’m still glad someone added this to the list, because it was a unique and fun experience.

I’ve never heard of Reincidentes before, but this sounds like an interesting album. I know a very minimal amount of Spanish, but that didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of any Spanish language albums on the main list. Let’s see what these punk rockers have in store! Overall, I thought ¿Y Ahora Que? was a good album. The high energy, good guitar playing, and cool vocal techniques made this album pretty enjoyable to listen to. The Spanish vocals gave this album a really cool flair, and made Reincidentes’ punk sound really unique. There was a healthy bit of variation to the sound of this album as well, and it sounded to me like the band pulled inspiration from a few different sources when it came to their guitar playing. The drumming and the bass playing were okay, but everything else really took a back seat to the lead guitar. I did enjoy the strings on “¡Ay! Dolores,” and I wished that Reincidentes had branched out a bit more when crafting their sound, because they’re clearly good at it. Even though this album wasn’t completely my jam, it was fun to branch out, and I’m glad someone added this to the user albums list.