Wasn't sure about this when it first started, but after the first couple songs, I started getting really into it. One of those albums you just can't help but move your body to. Standouts for me were "I'm In Touch With Your World", "You're All I've Got Tonight", and "Bye Bye Love". Short, too--when it ended, I actually said "damn!" out loud because I was so disappointed there wasn't any more. Definitely has the potential to become a favorite.
Some very nice orchestrations here, and Dusty has a great singing voice. However, throughout the album, I had a sneaking suspicion, and looking it up on Wikipedia once I was finished confirmed it: Dusty didn't write a single goddamn song on this album. She didn't even play on it! A really blatant attempt to whitewash soul music--which most white music of the early 60s was, but come on, at least try to put your own spin on it. Ultimately, while it was pleasant enough that I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Been meaning to relisten to this one, and I actually liked it less this second time around. It's fine, but Dream Pop is so completely not my thing. Nearly put me to sleep. There were a couple moments where my ears perked up, at least. Just not something I would ever choose to listen to unless I was in a very, very specific mood.
Really nice funk-y fusion. Maybe a little overlong to be something I come back to too often, but the range of styles and moods explored here does somewhat justify the length. It's worth a revisit, that's for sure.
Wow. Only listened to Mellow Gold before this, and I really liked it, but I came into this one not sure what to expect. It's a much smoother album than Mellow Gold, but still really nicely displays Beck's unique take on folk music, this time combining a traditional Singer-Songwriter sound with some gorgeous orchestrations and then layering it with genuinely fascinating electronic textures. It's a beautiful, deeply touching album, and the subtle range of sounds that the album presents kept me fully engaged and left me sad when it ended.
Liked this a lot more than I expected to. Maybe not my exact aesthetic, but I have been wanting to get into more female rock musicians, and this was a really fun album from an artist I'd never really thought of listening to before. Just the right amount of grunge influence and lyrics that only rarely cross the line into goofiness or cliche. I'll definitely come back to it.
Honestly, I did not expect to like this at all. 00s indie rock with one of the ugliest album covers I've ever seen both go a long way towards lowering my expectations. However, perhaps in part because of those lowered expectations, I found myself really enjoying this one! They're clearly really talented songwriters, and the typical 90s garage rock guitar noise is broken up nicely by some skilled deployment of other instruments here and there. That's not to say the guitar work is bad, though: it's really skillful, and manages to stay fresh throughout. Ultimately what makes this work so well for me, I think, is the clear inspiration taken from 60s psych rock. Feels very Stooges- or Beatles-esque at points.
Genuinely did not expect to enjoy this at all given the genre tags, but it kind of fucked? It feels understated, with touches of minimal synth and really emotionally affecting vocals and lyrics. Definitely the kind of album I never would've picked out myself, but I'm really happy I've listened to it!
Really good. Definitely gonna have to come back to it, especially given how short it is. Wish it would let loose a bit more like it threatens to do in the first track, though--if it did, that'd easily bump it up another star.