Went in one ear and out the other. Mostly a pleasant and inoffensive listen, definitely something you could put on while driving and have a good time, but that's the extent of its merit. The only moment that stuck with me after the album was over is the very ending of the last song, Rip Off, when the music dissolves into noise and guitar feedback, which made for an interesting auditive experience. The rest of the album is just by the book 70s glam rock (which also might be because this was one of the pioneering works of the genre, alas I am not a music historian so I don't care about that) and the tracks ranged from borderline interesting to straight-up unremarkable. Nothing that David Bowie doesn't do a thousand times better.
5/10
A pleasant surprise! I didn't think that Depeche Mode would be my cup of tea necessarily but I was enjoying myself quite a lot during the first half of the album. Never Let Me Down Again and Strangelove were especially strong. Loved the spacy and lush sound of the record, it made for a great atmosphere. It was also very reminiscent of The Colour of Spring by Talk Talk, which is a positive. Overall a solid record but it loses momentum in the second half and save for a couple of songs, the songwriting was not that captivating. Still a positive impression given that I thought I would dislike Depeche Mode entirely.
This album could've been made yesterday and it wouldn't feel out of place, that's how ahead of its time this is for 1973. A wondrous sonic journey in true sense of that phrase due to incredible dynamic songwriting and a great sense for progression and atmosphere-building. It builds upon the more avant-garde and experimental side of In the Court of the Crimson King while also anticipating what's to come with post-rock in terms of texture and a few crescendos for a good measure. Beautiful jazzy touches sprinkled throughout as well. Band's aforementioned debut probably has the higher peaks but at times it also sounds archaic, while Larks' clicked better with me as an overall experience. Subtle, elegant but also loud and chaotic when it needs to be. Great stuff.
The best Radiohead album and one of my 5 favorite albums of all time. A beautifully melancholic and vivid sonic landscape painted by seamlessly blending cold electronic textures with the traditional rock instrumentation that's bearing the feeble humanity of a man grappling with loneliness, anxiety and alienation of the increasingly more unnatural modern world. The genius of this album lies within the stylistic and formal subtlety with which it handles its concept and nuance of the aforementioned opposites - the subject is always stretched between the extremes yet never torn by the dual nature of their existential condition, the music gets depressing and pessimistic yet never ultimately leaves the listener hopeless; there's a gentle note of humanity permeating all the states and emotions that the album puts us through that ultimately elevates this album and makes it a deeply moving experience.
Also Let Down is a special song for me and probably a favorite by Radiohead alongside How to Disappear Completely - by the time I hear its first couple of notes I'm instantly magically transported to a specific time and place, it always makes me almost physically feel the atmosphere of December just before the New Year's Eve, the snow and the specific smell of air that I don't know how to describe. It's truly one of a kind.
Great stuff! I'm not usually into hardcore but this was much more nuanced aesthetically and emotionally. They really found a perfect middle-ground between punk, post-rock and noise rock and explored it in quite a compelling way. It's punk in it's mature stage - Repeater retains the angst that's inherent to the genre but makes it more complex and introspective in a way that reminded me of a more aggessive version of Spiderland by Slint. I certainly can't wait to explore the catalogue of this band further, a great find!
An underrated Zeppelin classic which sees the band venture into more blissful, folkish sonic pastures. It doesn't have as high of peaks as Led Zeppelin I or IV, but it's a consistently beautiful record that features some of the band's most interesting and unusual songs such as Friends and Gallows Pole, some of the most beautiful in the form of Since I've Been Loving You and That's the Way, and some straight-up rockers in Immigrant Song and Out on the Tiles. Certainly the prettiest and most pleasant Led Zeppelin ever got and maybe the album that has the strongest aesthetic identity in their catalogue alongside the debut.
After some time of not listening to Led Zeppelin consistently I always forget how great they are at songwriting - it's one of those classic bands that one almost starts underrating and overlooking as times goes on because of their status, yet every time I come back to their music I get pleasantly surprised without a fail. This is an album that I myself don't appreciate enough because their bigger records take the attention, but I adore the deeper cuts such as this that always remain fresh and make you look at the band with a new set of eyes every time you rediscover them. Not one of my absolute favorites but a stellar record nonetheless.
A generational artistic achievement and truly worthy of all the acclaim. Kendrick is a master of storytelling in rhymes and this entire record, as it's ever unfolding form reflects, is a work of poetry above everything else. I am not a hip-hop aficionado myself but I am familiar with it enough to know that what Kendrick does on this record on every level is unprecedented and a groundbreaking feat. From funky bangers like King Kunta to life-affirming anthems like Alright, TPAB tells a profound story that only an artist in Kendrick's position is able to bring to light and make it sound so damn good. Certainly a more difficult record to approach than GKMC or DAMN but all the more rewarding for it. I don't think one listen is enough to fully comprehend the scope and depth of this record and I look forward to revisiting it many times more. This is what got Kendrick the Pulitzer prize, DAMN was just a confirmation. Literature put in sonic domain.
Top 3 Radiohead and still underrated despite garnering some well-deserved acclaim in recent times. It's a testament to the incredible artistic ingenuity of each member of this band that they were able to reinvent themselves and create another monumental masterpiece so deep into their careers after having already made such monuments that OK Computer and Kid A are. This album sees the band at their most emotional and vulnerable yet - the aforementioned classics are notorious for their lethargic and alien atmosphere which In Rainbows abandons for a more inviting and resonant sound. It is an album equivalent of a drunken 3AM hangout with your closest friends - it has you dealing with some of the most intimate and difficult thoughts and feelings but it holds your hand through it and lets you know you're not alone in whatever's going on. It's the most down to earth and relatable Radiohead record, stripped from any kind of heady concept or weird experimentation. It's immediate, warm, sensual, gentle, touching and you will need some tissues by your side if you truly let it speak to you.
I still think that OKC and Kid A are better records but by a very slight margin and honestly, it depends on a day when it comes to which one I favor the most. It certainly is a must hear record, it sounds like nothing else and it redefines the boundaries of rock music yet again, as Radiohead does habitually at this point.
