Wonderfully funky. Reminiscent of a carefree summer afternoon.
An album that’s dark, yet warm in its sound. It feels similar to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s album Organisation. This was a strong, emotionally-packed record!
Incredible. If you’re a fan of American blues, then you’re bound to appreciate this gem. The incorporation of Malian music is delightful, and it is, in fact, what allows the blues to transcend on this record.
Incredibly relaxed electronic album with a strong blues influence. Definitely a worthwhile listen and one I’ll return to.
Incredible composition and instrumentation.
I much prefer their previous album to Black Metal, but this album solidifies Venom’s influence in what would become the extreme metal subgenres.
Misogyny runs amok in this album. It cannot be denied.
The influence this record has had on future hip hop cannot be denied either, but Ice Cube’s misogynistic crusades really harm this record’s ability to shine brighter.
Rather uninspired. Much of this sounds like Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles leftovers. This record doesn’t really go anywhere, and while this album is easy listening, you’re better off employing it as music for an elevator, or as hold music.
I guess even among Stereolab’s fans, this album isn’t regarded very highly. This was a pretty boring listening experience, and this was on account of the repetitive and dragging nature of most of the tracks. The vocalist also sounds like she phoned it in.
Plenty of rainy-day gloom within this album. Despite being released in 1987, Darklands would certainly fit the mid-90s sound. While this album is seemingly innovative, my ears are so accustomed to the various grunge and alternative bands of the 90s, that this record unfortunately sounds like a pale imitation of them. This is not to say that Darklands was a tortuous listen, though. This record still carries the dark and carefree spirit of post-punk, and a song like “Fall” demonstrates this. Overall, this album merits a 3.5.
Great, soothing listen, especially the final track.
A fantastic record showing the increasing experimentation of the Beatles (such as the harpsichord piece within “In My Life”). The shift from a teeny, pop band to a mature rock group was in process.
Aside from having heard “Every Breath You Take,” I hadn’t ever listened to The Police before. I came out pleasantly surprised by this album, and I genuinely enjoyed: “Mother,” “King of Pain,” “Tea in the Sahara,” and “Murder By Numbers” (assuming your copy includes that bonus track). It’s refreshing to hear Sting actually make use of his bass instead of hiding it away like other acts do, and I think his style of playing generally added an appropriate bright feel to slightly-reggae-influenced New Wave sound the band has here.
The album ultimately merits a solid 4/5.
The band name, and perhaps even the title of the album, would have you thinking you’re about to listen to a sludge/doom metal band (or something adjacent), but this could not be risibly further from the truth. This album is full of bright, sunny tracks that mix forms of dance/soul/blues/funk/jazz/psychedelic! These songs have one feeling as if they’re floating through the summer air.
Something rather striking about this record is how “modern” much of it sounds. A few tracks would have one thinking this was released within the 2000s as opposed to the 1990s. Perhaps this quality can be explained by the album’s solid production, and elements of the songs’ composition.
This album merits a 5/5.
This is a double album, and it was absolutely worth the 2 hour and 15 minute runtime. Speakerboxx is primarily conscious rap, and The Love Below can best be described as a beautiful mix of soul, pop, funk, and hip-hop. Speakerboxx was strong, but this entire record truly starts to shine with The Love Below, in my opinion. On The Love Below, Outkast transcends hip-hop, or any other genre invoked, and they simply become “musical,” so to speak. The best artists do this. Speakerboxx/The Love Below ultimately merits a 5/5.
Fuck, what do you even say? Coltrane is a legend, and this record attests to that. The only thing preventing me from loving A Love Supreme even further is the piddling 32:47 runtime. This should have been hours-long.
5/5
I get that campy glam rock might not be everyone’s thing, but this is such a straightforward and easy listen, that I’m surprised this album is sitting at a meager 3.05 on this site. Some of the higher-rated albums on this site are more inaccessible than this one!
I’d say this record sits at a 4/5 because, while bolder than most accessible music, it sounds like Eno was attempting to appeal to an audience that doesn’t appreciate him. Bring on the experimental!
Just by the name and album artwork, I had assumed this was going to be the aural equivalent of a shitpost, but I was pleasantly surprised by this psychedelic record!
The Dandy Warhols generate a hazy atmosphere and trip which is neatly capped off with the final two tracks (“Pete International Airport” and “The Creep Out”). The band plays a grimy form of rock that occasionally reminded me of desert rock/metal, which would make sense seeing as drugs play a central role in these forms of rock. This record deserves a 5/5!
This might not be the greatest work of synth-pop of all time, but I don’t believe this record is nearly as abysmal as many of these reviews aver.
The first half of this record has some funk in it which is evidenced by the very prominent bass. Truthfully, the bassist is what makes this first half interesting, but the songs sound the same. The band exchange the funkiness for a more electronic-influenced sound in the second half (starting with “Geisha Boys and Temple Girls”), and this is where the whole thing starts to pick up some steam, however, right as I’m getting invested, the record is over.
I am not totally impartial as I have a fondness for electronic music, but this album would have benefited from sticking to electronic as opposed to having two distinct sounds. Ultimately, this album is a 3/5.
