I mean, yeah, it's not bad or anything. Just not amazing or life-changing enough to be on a list like this. I liked the sound of this album; the way a soundscape was carved was satisfying, and I like the somewhat unique tones and sounds created. But other than that, I didn't find it to be that interesting, in lyrical content and actual song composition. The vocals also bugged me on occasion. I found myself disliking the two 'hits' of the album ('Drive' and 'Pardon Me'), favouring 'The Warmth', 'Make Yourself' and 'Battlestar Scralatchtica' the most. This is my first time listening to Incubus and I'm honestly not very impressed. May or may not give another listen.
I already knew I'd like this, given I already loooooove the Cure <3. I hadn't given this much of a chance before now: but I can say it's decent. I enjoyed the consistent atmosphere, gloomy, but without the entirely despondent feel present in other albums such as Pornography. There is something charming about the simplicity in this album's sound, which morphs into an almost playful atmosphere at times. With this album I found myself floating amidst a sea of instrumentals often, but I did not feel as though I was drowning. The lack of vocals was like a calming drone (in the best way possible.) I think upon further listens this will continue to grow on me.
This was so fun!! My favourite tracks were Girls and Boys, Bank Holiday, To The End and London Loves. Whew I struggled to pick favourites...so many bangers. In all fairness I do have to say the second half of the album was a bit weaker. Excitingly British (who could've guessed britpop would be?)! Playful! Beautiful! I really like the way this album juggled the calm songs with the more energetic ones: there was no jarring switches in mood. These different songs fit together like puzzle pieces, managing to have both fun and serenity without one trivialising the other. This album is quirky. And sometimes silly. But also...soothing? I finished this album feeling very satisfied.
holy moly this was awesome! I honestly can't believe I've managed to avoid the Arctic Monkeys thus far, I was unaware they did some proper good rock like this. didn't take any proper notes while listening, but it's got everything... it's energetic, groovy, rockin. a struggle to pick favourites as well. I felt... nourished? after listening, very satisfying. rated as a 4 rn, but will probably grow to a 5 upon relistening.
GOD THE BRITS ARE GOOD.
yippee! another cure album
Just as pretty much anyone else who has heard this album, I love it. So going into this listen I already knew what I was going to hear; but that doesn't take away from the wonder.
It feels as though every single track is as the height of its potential beauty, crafted to perfection, creating an incredibly cohesive and immersive experience. And I call it an experience rather than a listen because you're truly feeling Robert's emotion as he presents them. The despair and longing permeates each track through to the end, culminating in this very potent devastation as the final track fades to silence.
I adore the way this album transitions into its final form throughout, that feeling of depression creeping in through the edges of each track. I could go on about every single one, but I'll spare myself the time. Plainsong opening this album feels deceptively positive. To me this song sounds like marveling at the wonder of experiencing life, being able to love, how magical it can feel to be in awe. Lovesong is, of course, the ultimate love song. There is something amazing about the way Robert captures love... he gives true meaning to it. The repetition of 'I will always love you' just hits the nail on the head. Fascination Street sees this album truly take a turn to the dark... it feels the last hints of playfulness die, and something more foreboding takes its place. With Prayers for Rain and The Same Deep Water As You, we sink deeper and deeper. This feels like a point of no return, a sadness that just may never lift. A lack of hope for the future. I adore the imagery and symbolism related to water that link these two tracks, talking of a longing for love and then the despair when it becomes overwhelming. Eventually we end up at Untitled, the sickeningly crushing final track overwhelmed with the prospect of having given up. The defeat felt in this is almost too much to bear. I'm unsure I've ever heard something so depressing.
"I'll never lose this pain
Never dream of you again"
I have to sit and wallow in all these overwhelming feelings each time I finish this album. It doesn't feel right to just resume life without pondering over this emotional journey.
Favourite tracks:
ALL OF THEM!
Congrats to Seven Nation Army for being one of the few songs overplayed to hell and back that made it back relatively unscathed and still a banger! What an awesome opener for an awesome album.
Black Math has always been my favourite White Stripes song...they've got something special there, that raw sound reminiscent of punk. So energetic and lively, love it
This listen really gave me a fresh perspective on songs like I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself that I'd previously written off. Glad to hear some of these with new appreciation
In The Cold Cold Night is beautifully simple...love to hear Meg's voice and that intense dissonant hum, really unique on this album but one of its best
And Little Acorns is crazy, crazy good; another I have previously paid little mind! Seriously disappointed in myself
I can honestly get tired of a sound that leans too heavily into directionless bluesy ambling, but time and time again this album proves to be the opposite. I find great satisfaction in the balance of blues and riffs. Iconic bass lines as well... excellent!!!
I've been on a bit of a Franz Ferdinand spree lately, so this was perfectly timed. I was familiar with some of these songs (all of which are great) so I was quite excited to get into it.
That riff on Jacqueline immediately hooked me. Oh my god exactly what I was looking for. I adored the slightly...darker? atmosphere.
Tell Her Tonight is an odd little song. It'll probably grow on me.
Take Me Out & The Dark Of The Matinee are of course FANTASTIC, CATCHY, HEARTWARMING, and many other adjectives I'm sure apply. It's no wonder Take Me Out is their biggest hit...that switch up... I already knew I liked these songs so no surprises but I'll never complain about hearing good music.
Auf Achse is rather more emotional than I expected.. This kind of threw me for a loop, that anger. This felt musically distinct from the previous songs in a way that i'm not talented enough to describe. Maybe it's that keyboard/piano or whatever it is. Overall, I did enjoy this one. I can definitely see myself feeling this song more as it grows on me.
Cheating On You was very straightforward in both its lyrical content and that biting, straining eagerness carried in the riff. I really liked the fast, pummeling drums, reminding me of dnb or something at times.
I have to admit...I've only fully listened to the new version of This Fire. Every time the intro of the original version started playing I immediately switched it off as I was disturbed by the stark contrast from what I'd grown used to. Anyway. God this felt so slow after hearing the other version; while listening I felt like an ipad kid being forced to read a book rather than dribble on tiktok all day. That's not to say I dislike it, will just take some getting used to. I like the raw sound and the echoing guitars, the delivery on some specific lyrics, and that erratic, explosive ending.
Darts Of Pleasure had me immediately bobbing my head and moving and all that stuff. Absolutely excellent atmosphere here, I felt as though I knew this melody naturally despite never having heard it. THE BASS. OH MY. And then that silly little German ending felt very on brand.
Michael is highly danceable and catchy. My first inclination was to cringe at the lyrics but honestly that quickly went away. Little bit intrigued at the homoerotic storyline. This song stood out to me a little less than others, but still solid.
I couldn't really manage to form an opinion on Come On Home. A little unremarkable, but the ending was quite sweet.
Liked the dark and groovy atmosphere on 40'. Maybe I had some bias since I knew I was approaching the end of the album, but something about this song feels quite final, a good closer. It could've been the laid back atmosphere and simple lyrics.
Good grief this was a great album. Unfortunately I think the quality drops off at the end a little, but I would not let that detract from my overall enjoyment. By the final moments of this album I was left feeling quite satisfied; I think the length of this was quite perfect. The absolutely groovy bangers make it so worth it. Will be listening again, maybe the last few tracks will grow on me more.
Très cool...........I have to admit, I was put off by the negative reviews, but I can confidently declare they are all wrong. I love how this barely melodic musical concoction sounds like a bunch of anxious guys banging scrap metal together at a construction site - it totally works somehow. I do have to say that my expectations were set a little too high from the banger of an opening track, Broken Witch, but the rest of the album was still enjoyable.
In conclusion, noise is cool, give it a whirl
nothing like some of the first doom metal to bask in my misery. I'm still in shock a little. What can I say that you don't already know? It's awesome, it's Ozzy, I am not recovering from this anytime soon </3
oh look, an album i've heard many times!
what is there even left to say about nirvana that hasn't been said before? don't get me wrong though, this is goddamned outstanding; the aggressive grime and despondence is almost unmatched. an absolute classic from which came the foundations of my music taste. there will always be room for nirvana in my heart. I still prefer Bleach though... sue me!!!
this listen did remind me of what a hell of an opener Serve The Servants is, ditto for All Apologies as a closer. Although this can also be attributed to having listened to this at 1am, I found myself getting emotional during Pennyroyal Tea in a way I haven't previously observed...a testament to the raw emotion imbued in this album, I suppose
I feel obliged to give a 5 here... you cannot understate this albums' influence, and while it is not my personal favourite, out of respect for its sheer gravity I shall award it THE BIG FIVE
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE! You've found me at a very QOTSA time of my life. Genuinely, they are my favourite band of all time and have defined a very distinct period of my life, no I will not shut up about them - I've pretty much constantly got one of their albums on. With one concert under my belt and another coming up later this year it is safe to say that no other band have had such an impact on my life as these guys have.
...All that to say that I must admit this is my least listened album of theirs after Villains (not that I dislike it in any way, shape, or form). Although it is a very solid stoner rock album that sets up the foundation for a lot of their later work, I do not feel this is the right album to represent the band at their best. Given that the first 1001 Albums book was published in 2005, surely psychedelic masterpiece Rated R (2000) or their magnum opus Songs For The Deaf (2002) would've been the obvious choices? Hell I would've even taken Lullabies over this. Glad to see SFTD added as a user album though. Anyway, time to contradict these criticisms with praise!
I really enjoy the distinct desert identity and hazy stoner sound established throughout the album - I find even reading the titles in their mentions of 'Mexicola', 'Hispanic Impressions', and 'Vinegaroons' really sets the scene of the Californian desert that characterised Josh Homme's upbringing and musical endeavours. The constantly fuzzy, at times droning, guitars and that beautiful bass are delicious! Love the atmosphere.
I also hear a lot of their later work in this album; it seems to follow the general arc of starting out with pummeling, impactful rock at before retreating into the longer, eerie tracks, then mellowing out at the end. Though, I do miss the distinct humour of Josh's lyrics in subsequent albums - his voice here takes a backseat and lets the riffs guide you, but it's done well so I'm not complaining.
I also like that some of these songs have their roots in other projects, all tied together in this beautiful stoner rock package. Avon/Nova from the Desert Sessions 3 & 4, Spider and Vinegaroons and If Only in the form of If Only Everything from the split EP with Kyuss, The Bronze and Droids from the Beaver split CD - all of them made their way here and slip into the tracklist seamlessly, perhaps revealing the consistency of the Queen's first sound before they'd even truly started...
Thoughts while listening:
The chugging riff in the verses on Walkin On The Sidewalks reminds me very much of the robotic sound on Era Vulgaris very groovy. The lyrical allusion on Fairweather Friends off ...Like Clockwork to this song is interesting ("Drink wine and screw")!
I really like the end of You Would Know when the drums truly kick in and the riff amps up from its earlier mellow drone...I think this song would be a bit dull without it.
Man... the 3 track run of The Bronze -> How To Handle A Rope -> Mexicola is legendary.That eerie, echoing, pulsating sound kicking into the erratic whirring riff and fast drums on The Bronze just does something to me. So good! And that guitar solo reminds me of later ones in SFTD. Really one of the most powerful songs on here. The intense, crunchy guitar on How To Handle A Rope make for such a great rock tune. This song is on my wishlist for the concert this year. Also, dare I say the static and beeping sounds at the end are vaguely echoic of the radio motifs in SFTD? And I couldn't forget to mention the deeeeeep, heavy riff at the beginning of Mexciola - wow! Unbeatable.
You Can't Quit Me Baby: the impeccable layering of the persistent bass drone, that beautiful guitar tone, the darker lyrical content, Josh's drawn out vocals... so atmospheric, this subtly eerie, foreboding mood that really exemplifies its story of an obsessive love that ends in suicide. Love 'you're solid gold, i'll see you in hell', probably most iconic lyric of the entire album.
Though I generally agree that the extra songs included in the reissue are essential to the tracklist (mostly because of The Bronze, crazy to me that wasn't on the 1998 version), I must say the back end drags a bit, but I do enjoy its greater instrumental focus. I like the erratic, robotic sounds and chugging rhythm of 'Droids' that do somewhat reflect its title! Spiders and Vinegaroons has unfortunately always annoyed me (more out of my own personal taste than actual fault of the song).That simple guitar work and drone track in the beginning, and then the later almost electronic chugging drums are so effectively ominous, but...argh! the visceral flashbacks to the stomp-clamp genre are too much for me!
I Was A Teenage Hand Model as a closer is interesting. The clarity here of Josh's soft vocal delivery seems to really reflect how his vocal abilities would later develop, and become a greater utilised tool of the band. A pretty outstanding first endeavour into singing I'd say!
At its core, this album feels like a sonic and thematic stepping stone between Josh Homme's first departure from Kyuss and their later, clearer-defined hard rock sound. This very specific, authentic sound of desert fuzz seems to aurally embody its oppressive dry and heat. Though my thoughts obviously come from the biased mind of somebody who has spent hours listening to this band, poring over the lyrics, scouring wikis and obscure internet threads for any information I can find, this album is truly fantastic, and still not even their best. God help us all for when I get to talk about SFTD.
Standouts: Regular John, How To Handle A Rope, The Bronze, You Can't Quit Me Baby
