3.5/5
Short, fun songs that are full of fast punky flair.
Proper British Punk tunes to stick on when you’re in a good mood or a snarky one.
Top 3:
Safety in Numbers
Gary Gilmore’s Eyes
One-Chord Wonders
5/5
Masterfully crafted Folk-Rock songs with tastes of Psych-Rock and Baroque Pop. It’s dramatic, it’s mellow and also very fun. An instant favourite!
Top 3 Songs:
No Other
Some Misunderstanding
Strength of Strings
5/5
Some of Jimi’s biggest hits and most experimental tracks all in one behemoth Hour and 15 minute record. Nuff said.
Top 3 Songs:
All Along the Watchtower
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)
5/5
Already an all-time favourite of mine (Thanks Dad.) The best to come out of the Bristol trip-hop bands. It holds this haunting, grimy atmosphere through the beautiful, ethereal vocals floating over the top of the industrial sounding hip hop beats and creepy samples and synths.
Top 3 Songs:
Numb
Glory Box
Mysterons
4/5
A whole lotta funk, a whole lotta fun.
Top 3 Songs:
Chameleon
Watermelon Man
Sly
5/5
Top 3 Songs:
God only Knows
Wouldn’t it be nice
Don’t Talk (Put your head on my shoulder)
Absolute classic, to me this album has a bittersweet feeling that nothing else has ever given me. I think that’s the genius in the song writing that the songs can adapt to how you feel, whether you want to laugh or cry. We lost someone truly special today.
Rest easy Brian
4/5
Unbeatable vocals, beautiful songs. Nothing more uplifting than the temps.
Top 3 Songs:
Love is a hurtin’ thing
Runaway Child, Running Wild
I heard it through the grapevine
3/5
Strong vocals and clearly well crafted songs. Didn’t leave much of an impression on me creatively, almost played too safe.
Top 3 Songs:
Express Yourself
Oh Father
Spanish Eyes
2/5
I was uninspired by this record lyrically and thought it lacked creative exploration. The songs to their core had solid structures with well written melodies. Not a bad record, just not a very interesting one.
Top 3 Songs:
Slow Burn
Butterflies
Golden Hour
5/5
Elliott is probably my favourite artist of all time and my favourite song writer for certain. He has been an integral part of my life since my introduction to him from my Dad. Figure 8 is a beautiful record through and through, with more piano led songs and baroque moments whilst still showcasing his incredible guitar work. It is much grander in production than any of his other, more DIY sounding, records which gives it a Beatles-esque feel. For Elliott to evolve so much over his discography and still have a flawless set of albums shows how good he truly was. Rest easy Elliott, XO
Top 3 Songs:
Happiness/The Gondola Man
Everything Reminds Me Of Her
Better Be Quiet Now
3/5
Dramatic and atmospheric baroque pop songs with a wide range of instrumentation and influences. Rufus’ vocals are strong and create a lasting impression on you. Would be 3.5/5 if I could :)
Top 3 Songs:
Crumb by Crumb
The One You Love
Memphis Skyline
4/5
Explosive punk tunes without a censor, not one bad tune. They found their sound and style and hit you with it full throttle, without fault, for just over half an hour.
Top 3 Songs:
Holiday in Cambodia
Chemical Warfare
Kill the Poor
4/5
10 years on from Please Please me and just 3 years after the Beatles split, Paul McCartney has already put out 2 classic records. Ram is my favourite of the two I’m talking about but this record is truly special also. Such great songwriting and musicianship across this album but did anyone at the time really expect anything different from him?
Top 3 Songs:
Band on the run
Let me roll it
Nineteen Hundred and Eighth Five
4/5
Moody and atmospheric songs with strong rhythms that drive the songs along, with opposing and interesting production that trips you up on the way.
Top 3 songs:
A Forest
At Night
Secrets
3/5
A solid record that showcases his great songwriting ability and willingness to step out of genre norms. From here his ideas really sparked and we got Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life as a result which outshine this album unfortunately. Although, we probably got Stevie’s best single of his career through Superstition.
Top 3 Songs:
Superstition
I Believe (When I fall in love it will be forever)
You are the sunshine of my life
