Like the build on the opening track Get Innocuous!
Didn't care for the vocals on Time to Get Away, nice bassline though.
Opening riff of North American Scum reminds me of Rockafeller Skank. Find the male vocalist annoying, sounds like he's getting sodomized.
I like the deep synth lines on Someone Great, otherwise pretty forgettable.
All My Friends has this really annoying insistent piano.
Us V. Them has a fun bassline and cowbell, sounds like Talking Heads. The handpan(?) and female vocals make the track good.
Title track goes kinda hard.
End track is lame imo.
Notes: Album might grow on me, but track by track felt hit and miss for me. Production was good all around. I just didn't care for the yelping vocals.
Hello has a powerful vocal performance, doesn't rely on fake vibrato. Her voice is clean in the upper register.
Send My Love reminds me of Cocteau Twins. Don't really care for the chorus.
I Miss You is driving, dramatic, and sensual. The production defeats the rawness I think it's going for, it sounds too clean.
When We Were Young is a more stripped back piano ballad. I like this one the best so far. Feels like she has more room to breathe. She doesn't need so much lavish production.
Remedy is also more stripped back. I'm noticing that all the tracks are dramatic. There hasn't been a fun track yet.
Water Under the Bridge has a brighter instrumental but I don't care for the chorus. Don't care for the fact that the choruses are so predictable across the album. Repetitive song structure.
River Lea has a gospel/blues influence with an organ. Nice change of pace. But like the rest of the songs it is rather toothless.
Love In The Dark has some nice strings. I think the album could have used more orchestral production.
Million Years Ago is an acoustic ballad. She does some nice humming. I liked this one.
All I Ask has annoying lyrics tbh. Comes across as clingy and pathetic.
Sweetest Devotion has lighter tone to it. Wish the album had more hopeful lighter tracks.
Overall I found the album heavy handed and saccharine. Adele is a talented singer but this is clearly an albums of ballads for the masses. Overly dramatic and hyper emotional. Felt like songs for a soundtrack. Doesn't reward contemplative listening, lays it on thick, feels manipulative. She doesn't draw me into her love life, instead it feels like she's erecting an edifice out of it in order to impress me. I think this kind of romantic balladry needs to feel inclusive in the sense that it draws me into her emotional headspace. Every song feels like things are falling apart and that gets tiresome after awhile. Doesn't capture the warm enveloping side of love. The album comes across as cold and distant. Production needed to be stripped back and could've used more real instruments. Was not a pleasant album experience. TOO MUCH
Welcome To The Jungle is a classic.
It's So Easy has fun chauvinistic lyrics.
Nightrain has good guitar work from Slash.
Out Ta Get Me is favorite so far.
Mr. Brownstone has a funk to it, nice change of peace. Axel Rose has a nice blues affectation across the album.
Paradise City is an anthem for drunk retards. Overrated.
My Michelle kind of annoying.
Think About You has that horrendous clapping.
Sweet Child O' Mine is overrated and annoying.
You're Crazy is when the album is starting to wear on me. I'm glad they kept the balladry to a minimum and stuck with anthems.
Anything Goes sounds like everything else from the album.
Rocket Queen has some interesting guitar work. Has a switch up in the middle which I appreciate. A good closer and probably my favorite.
Overall I found the album repetitive and vapid. There are better metal and hard rock albums of this era. I don't know why anyone would pick this over what Priest and Maiden were doing around this time. Screaming for Vengeance has more variety track to track and just as impressive guitar playing and vocal performances. This was enjoyable enough but I don't get the hype.
Cherub Rock has a nice fuzzy guitar. Vocals are laid back and poppy. Distinctly 90s. Drums are punchy. The band members sound like they're having fun. Good opener.
Quiet has crunchy doom laden guitars. Even the solo has effects on it that make sound more like Nirvana than Judas Priest. So far this album is a fuzzy dreamy wall of noise. I find it pleasant.
Today has a nostalgic riff that sounds like summer break. The fuzz makes its return. Billy's vocals are soft and vulnerable. This is the type of song you'd listen to with your crush on a first date.
Hummer is making me wish the production wasn't so washed out with guitar noise. The album cover reflects the samey tone of it all.
Rocket isn't worthy of note.
Disarm has some nice strings. I like this one.
Soma has a psychedelic vibe. Nice guitar solo on this one. It's like they were getting better towards the end of recording this album.
Geek USA has an interesting break in the middle that sounds mystical. Guitar is more varied at this point. This is the best track so far.
Mayonaise is a sweet song.
Sweet Sweet is a interlude.
Luna is a sappy love song.
Overall this albums is pretty homogeneous and kind of sits in the background. It didn't grab my attention particularly. I won't return to it.
Down On The Street has a lot of attitude. Good opener. The guitar solo has a spaciness about it that I enjoy. The bassline sounds like something from Joy Division.
Loose has a lot of energy. This album sounds ahead of its time thus far. Iggy sounds like an angry cat. Vocals are lo fi.
TV Eye has Iggy shouting and snarling insistently. I like the way he performs these songs.
Dirt has blues affectation fed through a distortion pedal. Reminds me of the Joy Division song New Dawn Fades. The guitar solo is nasty and biting, like rusty barbwire.
1970 has a bouncy bassline. The guitars on this album are once again gorgeously abrasive. They perfectly match Iggy's animalistic singing. Surprise saxophone. This one really goes off the rails towards the end.
Fun House is the craziest song yet. Iggy is yelping over these whining guitars and saxophones.
LA Blues is experimental in its complete cacophony.
Overall it is impressive for an album this old to be these committed to noise and aggression. Extreme music today struggles to reach this level. It never feels hokey or like a put on. It's the sound of things coming undone. Of pure aggression. I enjoyed this and will definitely return to it.
More of a historical interest than a fun listen for me. Sampling and effects were pretty basic. Flavor Flav got tiresome. Rapping was good though. The Slayer sample took me by pleasant surprise. I don't see myself returning to this album.
Rehab - I don't find the lyrics charming but her singing is impressive
You Know I'm No Good - Compared to Adele this album is a lot swankier and more charismatic. I like the drums on this track.
Me & Mr. Jones - She's like a one woman version of a Phil Spector girl band. Favorite track so far.
Just Friends - Reggae vibe on this one. The last two tracks were of a nice short length.
Back to Black - Sunburnt guitars aide the angst on this track. Strings are a nice dramatic touch. Very evocative chorus.
Love Is a Losing Game - The perfect comedown from the title track.
Tears Dry on Their Own - Sounds like ain't no mountain higher.
Wake Up Alone - Weakest one so far
Some Unholy War - Didn't care for this one either
He Can Only Hold Her - Nice backing vocals and layers on this one
Addicted - Song about weed is cringe
Overall this album has a lot of class and some impressive singing. The backing instrumentation had enough variety to keep me engaged. Her vocals came across as effortless in the best way possible. Sad we lost such a great talent. Don't do drugs.
Pharoah's Dance - I liked it. I don't think I'm qualified to assess a jazz record. But I like the, what sounded like, improvisation on this one.
Bitches Brew - Menacing bassline to start. Wailing reverbed trumpet sounds dystopic. Drummer is having fun on this one. Like the way they bring it all back at the end.
Spanish Key - This is the most structured track so far. Guitar is nice on this one. I prefer the controlled chaos of the last two tracks.
John McLaughlin - Short track.
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down - I like this better than Spanish Key
Sanctuary - Was really paying attention to this one.
I'm not the target audience for this one. I don't know enough about jazz or do close enough listens to fully appreciate this album. It was enjoyable enough for me though. It's made me more curious about the genre.
Bamboo Banga - This track layers like a house song. Promising so far. Kind of a silly chorus.
BirdFlu - Bird sample is a bold choice. I like the ethnic flavors. The drums are cool but this one gets old fast.
Boyz - I've heard this before. She hasn't shown her rapping chops yet. I think these very bold production choices would be better served with a more commanding rapper.
Jimmy - A disco cut. I like the less maximalist production as compared to the others so far.
Hussel - This sounds like Yeezuz before Yeezuz. The male rappers sounds better than her tbh. The chorus is kinda dumb.
Mango Pickle Down River - They got the abos on this one. Reminds me of that petrol song lol. MIA sounds buried in the mix. Digeridoo is cool. I'm starting to get a third worldist vibe from this album.
20 Dollar - Death Grips vibe on this one with the synth. This is the best rapping she's done so far. Blue Monday interpolation is cool. She rips a lot of lyrics from the Pixie song Where Is My Mind. Says a lot that one of the more enjoyable tracks is ripping from two other songs.
World Town - Has the same the production as fucking Shake It Off. Chorus is really annoying. Worst track so far.
The Turn - Pointless track. Could have made this an interlude.
XR2 - She sounds like she's falling asleep. Doesn't work with such an energetic beat. She starts dropping a bunch of acronyms, I guess she thinks it's clever. I found out she was 32 when this album dropped.
Paper Planes - Her lazy delivery works with this production. It's properly airy and carefree. This track is a classic. The gunshots and cash register are iconic.
Come Around - The flow on this one is actually good. They got Timbaland on this one. I would revisit this track.
Overall production was really cool on this one but MIA didn't carry most of the time. She was buried in the mix and the only time she had charisma was towards the end. All this album needed was a more energetic performance. I'm curious to look at her other stuff and I will return to some of these tracks.
Down To The Waterline - Atmospheric intro. Playing is airy and crystal clear on the articulation. I liked that as an opener.
Water Of Love - Western twang here. Again I really like how you can hear everything. "You know it's evil when you're living alone".
Setting Me Up - Another twangy song. Solo is nice here.
Six Blade Knife - I like the way the singer emotes on this one. Felt like an interstitial track.
Southbound Again - Bouncy guitar rhythm. When a big strum comes in it's a pleasant break from the main rhythm. Could of used more of them.
Sultans of Swing - Always liked this song growing up. Kinda crazy this band is British. They capture a vibe that feels uniquely American. This feels like a driving down the southwest album.
In The Gallery - Not much to say about this one
Wild West End - Full warm sound on this one, with a piano.
Lions - Closes much how it ended
This is a different take on rock music of the era. It's not a wall of whaling distortion, nor is it jam band noodling. It is a clean articulated sound that isn't trying to pull off any tricks. I'm not sure if I'll return to this band but I can respect it for being so understated.
Boring and bland. Singer was awful. No edge or interesting musical experiments. 80s backwash isn't a vibe. People back then hated New Wave! Why do we need more of it three decades removed? This should not be on the list.
She has a nice voice. Good variety and energy on these tracks. Not my cup of tea but I'll likely revisit this album and maybe some of her other work.
Clicky bits of british rock. I can't say I'm a fan of this type of music. It lacks any edge to me and the lyrics are always dumb teenager shit
I was surprised by this one. This album has enough variety to keep me engaged and has some nice compositions. The lyrics weren't too preachy and I came away with an appreciation of reggae I never had before
Outside of the hits this album has a lot of filler. Also he isn't a pedo, that's a lie concocted by jews and the media
pretty good. too many ballads
Boring. Stupid slutty woman
Comparable in quality to Violator
