Honestly, I did not enjoy this album. While I am by no means saying it's not good, because it is, I could just never relate to MGMT sound. Maybe it was too artsy for my taste, maybe too experimental in some ways, or maybe it's the keyboard and the electric parts, which I have not loved even in the bands I absolutely adore, such as The Who and The Doors.
All in all, I have to give credit where credit is due - sound on Oracular Spectacular sounds innovative, brazen and even fun at times. I obviously knew Kids even before this listen, and that intro sequence is just a vibe.
Vocals on this are just not my thing. While I have no knowledge of music in any sense other than my limited subjective enjoyment, the vocal is kinda grinding my ears, and the same goes for higher notes throught the songs.
Overall, I would say that there is no doubt this album was influential and spectacularly produced. While I don't enjoy the vocal or the melodies, I respect the innovation and understand this is a question of taste, not quality.
With that in mind, I will be rating this album purely on how much I enjoyed it, not on any more objective criteria.
There are only a handful of albums greater than Zepp IV, and no band greater than Led Zeppelin. From the groovines of Four Sticks and tenderness of Going to California, all the way to the raw power of When the Levee Breaks, this album has it all. Absolute masterpiece, singular presence in the world of rock and roll. Giants.
This album is gorgeous. There are very few weak songs, and the first two opening tracks are some of the most intricate stuff I've heard from this band.
I would say the album is underrated, but when you are competing with Four Horsemen of Kid A, OK Computer, In Rainbows and Moon Shaped Pool, you are appreciated enough just by being lumped together on ocassion.
I was really lucky that the two of the first three albums on this site were from some of my favorite bands of all time. While Radiohead is a specific band to say the least, which is to say they are not an everyday listen, the impact they leave once you discover them is pretty significant. I believe I have never heard the vocal and musical innovations being as interesting and heart-wrenching as with these guys. I firmly believe they are one of the best artists of the past century, and cannot wait for their next masterpiece.
Until them, ocassional relisten is all we can really do.
God knows why I haven't listened to Leonard Cohen before, but oh man, am I glad I did now, because this shit slaps. And this voice, sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Eerie.
He paints an atmosphere more than he sings. It's like every song is aesthetically pleasing, with no redundancy or excess. Ocassional instrumentals are ethereal and provide all the more poise to the sound. Absolute beauty through and through.
Just some good old soul, nothing wrong with that.
Cute, but not my cup of tea. Either/Or packed a punch, this one doesn't.
All in all I think I just don't like the acousting guitar/mellow vocals genre.
This was surprisingly beautiful. At first I thought I was going to be underwhelmed, but there might still exist a small place for mellow vocal/acoustic guitar in my heart.
