What the fuck was that.
Smooth and uncomplicated. Other than stopping the entire album to deliver a statement in the form of boring and repetitious vocals (not to mention the instrumental), this was mostly good. Musclecar Reform and Reprise has got some goofy lyrics though.
This one had me sleepy, especially with the ending track. Small Hours had me in some sort of trance and hearing lyrics in the middle of it was like a jumpscare. A pleasant album about loving life and being at peace with it. The tracks mostly conformed to that idea, but it was strange how Big Muff centered around class divide when that subject feels like it goes against the mission statement here. Big Muff, however, is my favorite of the bunch, so that’s a little unfortunate. Another thing that’s unfortunate is my friend Adam described poor Martyn as a 50 century Pharaoh and now I can’t unhear it. I hope he doesn’t actually come back as a Pharaoh and take his revenge on us.
This is the kind of album where I wonder how many more pregnancies occurred because of it. Marvin sure found a lot of ways to tell us how much he loves this girl and how much he wants to have sex with her. I was even a bit bored hearing about it until “Just To Keep You Satisfied” recontextualizes the whole thing. Describing the incredible high of love for seven songs straight gives the break-up song great power due to the build-up, especially because I had no idea we were going there. It brings the whole thing back down to Earth and gives the album a strong narrative punch. Despite his name, Marvin sure isn’t Gaye.
Tapestry is true to its name as it covers a wide range, from heartbreak to homesickness and even to serial murder. All solid, catchy tunes. Smackwater Jack is a personal favorite as it’s not only funny but also a nice break from the general sappy nature of the album as a whole. It is entertaining to think that the only reason I’ve heard any of these songs before is because they’re played for old people at my local Kroger.
Much like Markiplier, I was lost multiple times during this album. The songs would start, I would be sure I was listening to a different song, and then I would wonder if it was repeating. It quickly devolved in to jazz noise. I am sure there is something technically impressive about it, but I can’t detect it. The noise isn’t unpleasant, there just isn’t much going on. And the thing is, I can see the vision for the first song as it does sound like something that would play as friends talk at some food place, but then it all sounds super similar and I start getting sleepy. I believe this album might be best utilized as a lullaby.
The mission statement of this album seems to come in to play halfway through with “Across the River.” It was about what I expected based on the name, what with all the mediations on violence against your fellow man and not being strong enough to stop. It turned in to a real downer. It makes me wonder if the first half is where it is to take the edge off the subject matter for a wider appeal. However, none of it sounded bad and when it acquired its thematic through line, it maintained it.
I funks with it
Typical country fare. Perfectly listenable, not all that interesting.
Hard to get through. The lyrics are complex and fun to interpret, but the way that man sings makes me think the bad thoughts.
Solid, uncomplicated work. It’s always a jumpscare when one of these has a widely known song on it. I wonder if there’s ever a time when a band compose a song and just know that millions are going to hear it, especially if it’s the song that sounds the most different from the others.
Sounds better than most things. Fun, jumpy jazz/rock thing with plenty of variance while remaining on theme. Album’s shorter than usual and this is one of those rare times where I wish there was more.
Obviously better than typical/modern country sounds. This album tends to fall in to the pattern of Dolly singing something that is soon followed by a chorus, which gives the songs an all too similar feel. Traveling Man was the stand out as its subject is quite entertaining and it breaks out of the pattern the rest of the album follows. I can see why Dolly gets to have a theme park and sell cake mix.
Three funny things I noticed. One; “On the Surface” features Pere pronouncing the word brain as “bwain.” Two; midway through the album, I was thinking that the lyrics and some of the instrumentation sounded reversed. Lo and behold, “Thriller” was mostly reversed. Three; “Ubu Dance Party” sounds ironically like the digital screams of the damned. This album was fun alternative to music.
Moody mix of music here. I found “Angel, Angel We go Together” quite goofy and desperate, but every other track satisfies. Dramatic and thematically consistent, mostly.
The way the singer throws his voice is fun to hear, especially in something like “Under the Bridge,” which stands out tonally in an album all about its namesake. It’s hard to describe what’s satisfying about his voice, all I can think to say at the moment is that his voice fits perfectly for the genre. It is also quite nice that the songs lead in to each other as it gives the album the “togetherness” I expect from albums I should listen to before I die.
Dark and, at times, surreal. The echoey, far-away nature of the singer gives me a lonely feeling, which goes with the lyrics most times. It’s a cool sound and it reminds me of what vaporwave tends to go for. Fart tier album cover, unfortunately.
Women-core. It’s nice and loud but, oh man, her voice.
Dad rock. As energetic and yelly as you’d expect. I enjoyed how the singer let himself be taken away in “Electric Ocean,” really gave the song the electricity they were looking for I bet. All solid songs, no complaints.
Bipolar album all about extremes. The high ideal of effortless love and the reality of heartbreak. My favorite thing about Wonder is that when he sings, which is often, it sounds like he’s smiling. It’s difficult to feel any negativity when listening to him sing. “I Believe” is the kind of thing I’d play when I’m holding a boom box outside my girlfriend’s house.
An absolute gauntlet. It would be much more palatable if the singer didn’t see fit to put on his best goblin impression at random points throughout the album, most notably at the beginning. One of the clearest examples of alright to good instrumentation being utterly annihilated by an alternative idea of singing,
Typical rebellious rock sounds and themes. They sure do sound good, though!
Nice and fast-paced. They seem to be singing about some bullshit. My favorite bit of bullshit was Tony’s Theme.
Suitably edgy and revolutionary in terms of tone. A joy to listen to while drunk. Feels like I’m breaking the rules.
