Hello all, Tom Whittington added me to this group. I hope you don’t mind. This was a good album and I understand why it is on this list. Very cohesive. Beautiful. I feel as though I’ve heard dozens of records like it, though this reminds me of nothing pre-1972. Most of my stones exposure is 1960s, so I’m glad I listened to this. Just nasty grooves throughout. Not a life changing record, but it probably changed records that changed my life. Best track: Rip Thos Joint

I had no idea shout was by tears for fears. I guess this album deserves credit for such a hit, but what an obnoxious song. The Working hour had a beautiful introduction and a pretty silly set of messaging when set to the second British Invasion sound. I guess it is par for the course. Everybody wants to rule the world is a certified banger, unfortunately. I believe was a truly painful four minutes. Just ugly songwriting, even with beautiful wind. Fun transition into broken though. Head over heels is just a brain dead chorus. The redeeming aspect of the song is the chord progression change for the bridge. Listen is an interesting track. I appreciate the formal deviation here. I think it is the best track after Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Overall, this album is uneven. Far from a five star album with confidently cliche artistic choices, and a lot of insubstantial drama. But, when you have eight tracks, and a few remain as cultural touchpoints and one is a truly excellent song, it deserves a middling rating.

I had never heard of this album before this listen. I enjoyed the listen. Nothing felt formative or revolutionary. I’m almost surprised to see that this is a 90s record, as it seems as though it a slightly fuzzier/driven version of a 60s Brit-Pop record. By this I mean I see this as fairly derivative of a Beatles record. This doesn’t disqualify it from being good, but it does not strike me as wildly creative or formally brilliant. You can hear some studio creativity or at least novelty. That said, I really enjoyed the album. I think towards the end I saw more genuine experimentation and the last track sounds like pre-grizzly bear influence. Best track: hollow little reign

No review here.

Man what did I just listen to? I love the creativity but the performance and production were painful at points. I’m glad I listened to this. I considered stopping after the first two tracks, which frankly reeked. But this album is one of one. A few stars for being unique and compelling art. Far from an actually good album of music, though. Favorite tracks: cellular song, swift as the wind.

Worse than I remembered. Not cohesive at all. A couple of bops.

This was a pleasant album. The songs are all croony, silly, sort-of love songs but the sound is just excellent. I really enjoyed the listen and the performances. Very much a product of 1964, with pleasant but forgettable guitar riffs bookending common phrases. Performances were great. Loved some production decisions, including the warm distortion for particularly emotive moments of vocal performance. I really enjoyed goodbye baby and the closer. I don’t have a tons of context for this album. The songs were largely beautiful if not world-bending. I’m not sure this would have been received the same way when it was released. I think the style was more subversive at the time. But there are still choral callbacks to music that dominated two decades prior.

Very interesting throughout. Production was alternating between innovative and utterly lacking/distracting. Thematically interested in this album, even if the upshots were all over the place after bouts of beautiful poetry. I’m definitely happy to have listened to this though. This is another album I have very little context for but it is just fascinating throughout, though uneven. The dreaming simply has to be considered offensive. Favorite track: pull out the pin

Impressive grooves. Not the type of album I would include in a list like this. Phrasing is clunky throughout. The ideas certainly are not uninteresting but this isn’t groundbreaking. I would listen to this again. But for something so recent to be included in this list you’d think it would be uncontroversially great. This strikes me as a good album, by a developing rapper who still has a good deal to work through with respect to maturity in the turns of phrase and poetic discipline. Again, I enjoyed the production but it wasn’t world bending. Favorite track: offence

What is there to say that hasn’t been said?