First one I listened to, and I didn't listen to this one as attentively as I hoped because I was doomscrolling about Iran, so that might've impacted the enjoyment a bit. I sometimes have trouble taking the 1960s singer voice seriously and that was definitely an issue with this album, but there was still a lot to like here — mostly in the first half of the album, which I thought was a lot more interesting and had some killer guitar playing. The second half was a bit slower and felt more like an of-the-era 1960s album, which just isn't really my music at all. Lost attention towards the end for sure. Enjoyed this overall though, fun to listen to while looking out the window in the Eurostar and feeling like you're in a train scene in a movie. Favourite tracks were probably Lost Woman and Psycho Daisies, didn't enjoy Shapes in My Mind or Mr. Zero very much.

Just a really fun album. I've been vaguely aware of ATCQ for ages but never really got into them beyond a few songs, and for some reason I always had them filed in my mind as like a "conscious rap" group, which is a genre I mostly find unbearable. Really pleased to see that this wasn't the case. Unsurprising, I suppose, but the highlights for me were the instrumentals, lots of which were really interesting and fun (some of them just made me grin) and which hold up really well. The lyrics did less for me than I imagine they might've done for other people - not sure why, perhaps because I was focusing so heavily on instrumentals and flows that I didn't feel the urge to unpack the texts as much. I do like the fact that they manage to be quite lighthearted while still broaching serious subjects, while some of the songs (ham n eggs) are just so stupid that they're pretty hilarious. Biggest criticism is the fact that some of the songs have that "hippity hop" old school rap thing going on that I just can't help finding extremely corny despite knowing that it's a product of its time. That threw me a little bit on some songs and definitely impacts replayability. But there's no arguing on the merits with this one, clearly a great album. Fav songs: after hours ham and eggs can i kick it youthful expression Least fav songs: I left my wallet in El Segundo

Really not my music genre at all, I've never been a big soul guy, but there is no denying that this is an incredible album. Just really funky and beautiful and sexy, it's hard to say more than that. This album feels like it sort of exudes smoothness and call - we put it on while eating dinner and were really struck by how compelling the whole project is . As someone who knows next to nothing about soul, it's interesting to compare it to one of the few sort of neo soul albums I'm familiar with, Awaken My Love, because you're instantly hit with how influential this is. Giving it a 5 - it's more of a 4.5 for me, but the .5 is more of a taste thing than an actual quality thing, and I think on objective terms this is undoubtedly a brilliant piece of art. Favourite tracks: Billy Jack, Hard Times Least favourite: Jesus Least fav