4/5 - Unmistakeably 80s, very New Wave - Space dance - Angular, synth pop - Notes of Bowie, Devo, T-Heads, Tears for Fears, The Cure - A good warm-weather record!
5/5 - Blues roots in an eclectic mix - Smooth grooves thru a set of murky spaces - Smart pop, reflective in abstraction - "I have never met Napoleon, but I plan to find the time." - "Those days are gone forever, over a long time ago." - The Dan does it again!
4.5/5 Funky trance French city pop (aka Pastry Pop lol) Electro groove Alt-rock edges Soft chill vibes
5/5 - Pleasant, uplifting, sentimental - Airy and eclectic - Reflective pop - Folk-adjacent - Quiet power
4.5/5 - Soft, emotional, folksy roots - Reflective and quiet - Dreamy, symphonic elements - Easy uneasy resolution - Feels like the closing of a chapter
4.5/5 - The origin point of Hard Rock - Warm and driving - Electric and urgent - A record with something to say ... Fuck the War Pigs - RIP Ozzy
5/5 - Blues roots in an eclectic mix - Smooth grooves thru a set of murky spaces - Smart pop, reflective in abstraction - "I have never met Napoleon, but I plan to find the time." - "Those days are gone forever, over a long time ago." - The Dan does it again!
5/5 - Classic, unbeatable Soul, with a capital-s - Reflective, emotional grooves - Live crowd adds to the vibe - Sam was the Man.
4/5 - Unmistakeably 80s, very New Wave - Space dance - Angular, synth pop - Notes of Bowie, Devo, T-Heads, Tears for Fears, The Cure - A good warm-weather record!
4/5 - There is an urgency to this record. Most palpable in the first half. - Driving rock infused with punk angst - Nu-metal adjacent - This is hard rock that grew up in Hip Hop Culture.
5/5 - Folksy ... Immediate presence ... Can imagine them playing Newport - Relaxed at times, urgent at others ... Good flow - "Dreamy" production ... - Slides towards jam band territory at times - A record that feels like it was made by people who really believed in their art to transgress and transform.
4.5/5 - Complex Rock / Smart Rock? - Classically funky - Contains some lovely moments of Classical melody and stylistics - Yes has created a very dreamy record that shakes and shimmies at its loudest and twirls softly at its quietest. - With a good balance all front to back, they never seem to get too clever for their own good.
4/5 - Fun riffs with some urgency - Solid precursor to hardcore punk - Some screaming, but those moments are fleeting - Unclear which "i" wins, but it appears to be a win-win scenario.
5/5 - Space pop, computer music - Definitely gets into Trance territory - Clever modulations; they do groove - The record captures, as the group name suggests, the atomic or the aeronautic. - This is a good ambient record for your stacks if you like Aphex.
4/5 - Boom Bap! - Catchy loops and samples - Lyrical chops fading between conscious and "gangsta" states of mind - Young kids making art and trying to be Big Dawgs. They take it seriously. - While it may be a forgettable record, it remains an enjoyable listen.
5/5 - The essence of the Grunge period concentrated into one final record. - (Nevermind) The Production: Sounds like it was recorded in a gas-station bathroom. Could've been recorded in a womb. The sounds of being born. - Catchy riffs, dirtier fuzz, less polish, looser feel, tighter - They couldn't make another and even if they could have maybe they wouldn't have recaptured the vision. This is lightning in a bottle.
5/5 - Atmospheric punk/post-punk - There is an elegance in the urgency. - Unrestrained at times but in total control - Groovy even through it's darker tones - You love to hear these banshees scream. An impressive debut.
4.5/5 - Lovely little synth-pop record. Added to my Buy list. - Spacey, light, dark, moody - This album conceals a quiet energy that flows front to back. - I felt the first half of the record was strongest, but the back half doesn't feel less composed. *Hear: "Being Boring" and "How Can You Expect ..."
5/5 - Southern Rock in its purest form. - Boisterous and rowdy, fun - At times quiet and reflective - Blues-infused (truly) Good Ol' Boys - Hell of a debut record. Gimme 5 Stars.
3.5/5 - Smooth and vibey; maybe early Trance -Solid music for the dancehall or headphones working in the library. - Full of Soul and that fawnk - Solid effort and some good work, but this is a tape that is best fit for the background noise to living.
5/5 - One of my favorite Beck records. - Blues-tronica at perhaps its finest early-aughts peak. - An album full of grooves and funk, blues and riffs, and, of course, what may or may not edge on gibberish. A must-own if you're a fan of Beck or if you only know about "two turntables and a microphone."
4/5 - The shroom surfers who were into nu-metal on Fungus and S.C.I.E.N.C.E. have become rockers who are beginning to dream of a new sound. - Strong rock album with many lucid moments throughout, though it never quite reaches the crescendo of the tapes that follow it. - "Drive," "Stellar," and "Pardon Me" were the big radio hits, but don't overlook "Privilege" and "Make Yourself"
5/5 - True Classic Rock ... Soulful and smooth - A record with heart and soul. If you like Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Lionel Richie, The Spinners, etc., this is a record for you.
Ray Charles but Glam Three cheers for one of the founders of Rock and Roll. This record is full of soul front to back. Wish I could've seen him perform live.
It is serious Rock, but it isn't exactly 'Love' ('85). They probably come closest on "Love Removal Machine." It's not an unlistenable record; it embodies the driving sound of the genre, but, really, so much so that this one doesn't really stand out amongst the crowd.
4/5 The Beach Boys or the Blues-Rock Boys? - The social record isn't their forte, but it's refreshing to hear them step into the protest song space. - Interests in the environment, students, the marginalized, and others show up in these tracks. - The record was originally going to be called "Landlocked" and this album certainly feels like a surfer with cabin fever. It ain't your mama's Pet Sounds, but it's a fun tape nonetheless.
A lovely collage that takes the listener on a journey. I remember being in awe learning how the record was cut, and it's amazing how fresh it still feels.