First Listen:
Not my first listen, but first listen in a while. The album bursts open the door with The View From The Afternoon. The band plays frantic, whiplashing the listener from section to section.
IBYLGOTD keeps the energy high with - wait for it - danceable grooves. The songs are messy in the best way possible.
I don't understand how Arctic Monkeys can go making this album to the sludge they've put out over the past decade and a half. I love the tom and bass interplay in Dancing Shoes.
Still Take You Home wakes you right up. The whole album has been high energy to this point, which sometimes can be tough to parse song from song for me, but the fresh riffs and Alex's storytelling keeps each song unique. That being said, Riot Van is a nice breather. Holy did Cage The Elphant base their entire sound on this song.
Red Light's groove has massive swagger. The bass and guitar lines play nice together. I love how, similarly to what Illmatic was to Nas and New York, this album feels like chatting up a British native.
I think I sang Mardy Bum with my first band. Instant nostalgia hit.
I love the distorted vocal sound on Vampires. I forgot about the breakdown. That's sick. Oh the stop is nice. Banger.
Oh my god the riff in WTSGD is so addictive. Love the story painted here.
This album gets better the further you get in. A Certain Romance is a nice closer. The song takes you on a journey.
OVERALL:
Who killed the Arctic Monkeys and replaced them with skin walkers raised on lean?
9.5/10
T3: Mardy Bum, WTSGD, Vampire
Love this album. Solid almost all way through, and I like that you can hear them transitioning into the sounds of OK Computer.
Everything on this is so crunchy. Love the flow between songs as well. Genesis is a killer opener. Also creating a song based on the stock Apple horror sound effect is genius.
9.5/10
The album's first half is perfect. The quality isn't horrible after that point, but the songs become a little kitschier and less impressive. The closing 2 tracks return to form, especially Song For Asking.
8.5
T3: Cecilia, SLFLW, Song For Asking
First Listen:
Dude's voice is not it. It sounds like a bad Bowie impression.
Bailed Out was nice. The piano was haunting and the singing wasn't distracting.
Starstruck was almost good. Reminds me of a mid 2000s garage rock song.
HCIBW was nice. Sounds like Ween almost. The beat boxing was unecessary.
I wish I was listening to Bowie.
OVERALL:
The album was a bit better on second listen, but it's not something I'd want to come back to outside of a few tracks. They're at their best when they play into the darker, rockier grooves.
5/10
T3: Bailed Out, HCIBW, the second half of Home Again (first half is aight)
NY State of Mind's beat is on some Goosebumps type beat in the best way possible. Sucks you into the world of the album.
Halftime's beat hits like a truck. Up to this point it's been all bangers. Will have to relisten to dig in to Nas' lyrics, but I've been enjoying what I've caught on to.
So many songs on this album feel like they were pieced from a walk through New York, in both the lyrics and beats.I love songs and albums that can paint a place so vividly.
Love the piano that sounds like it's off the minecraft soundtrack in Represent.
Bro really cleared an MJ sample.
I was moving so I didn't have time to give this the listens it deserves. Tentative 9, but a possibility to go up.
T3: NY State of Mind, Halftime, IAHTT
First Listen:
Really enjoyed the opening track. Singer had the same kind of Bowie/glam rockisms as The Auteurs, but far less annoyingly British.
She's Not Dead's bass intro is so creamy. This song is gorgeous. Damn that bass.
Moving wakes you right back up from SND. The tom drum breaks are a lot of fun.
And then right back into dreamy. Hits a huge crescendo in the back half.
I love the back and forth nature of the album up to this point. The Drowners is another fun rocker. Dude sounds like he's trying to do a bad English accent but it works somehow.
I love how all the textures work together in Sleeping Pills. The epiano has a satisfying clickyness to it that helps it stand out from the guitars. Reminds me a lot of The Bends era Radiohead. Wish MJ heard this one.
They do a good job of keeping you on the edge of your toes. The horn solo in Breakdown is nuts. Adding this to my horny endings playlist. Great track.
Metal Mickey was kinda mid. Another upbeat track, but this one didn't feel nearly as upfront as the previous.
Don't bring ur dogs around this band. Animal Lover is fun, though still not to the level of Moving or The Drowning. Saw people hating on this track, idk what they're on. Outro is sick.
Not sure if a piano ballad was what I wanted. Cool chord progression. The ahhs are a bit grating. Apparently that's the last track, though Spotify played He's Dead Demo which was a cool track.
OVERALL:
Suede is really good at building a crescendo. The slower tracks start with beautiful floating textures, and end in huge swells. All of the tracks I enjoyed originally got better upon relisten. I think the last three tracks are unfortunately the weakest, but even then they're still enjoyable. I didn't catch too many of the lyrical themes, but as an album I'm likely to come back to, I'm excited to explore more.
8.5/10
T3: Moving, Sleeping Pills, The Drowners
First listen:
I really enjoy the talk-like nature of Marcus' voice. Feels natural and raw.
His name isn't Marcus, Marcus is a Jamaican politician.
Really enjoyed Slavery Days' call and response. Almost like a ... slave song...
The flute in live good is really nice. Again the vocals are rough, but in a really nice way. Things feel loose and jammy.
Up to this point I've been enjoying a lot of the political messaging in the lyrics. Kinda related, but I feel like the background vocals have a lot more African influence than most reggae I've heard.
I need to check out who this Marcus Garvey guy is.
Tradition's intro is my new stim. I do think I miss some of the cultural references they make in the lyrics. Lots of political and rastafarian references going over my head.
Jordan River's groove hits so hard.
Short and sweet, the type of album that makes you want to dig in to the context around it to learn more.
Overall:
The first three tracks are an insane run. Marcus Garvey is immediate and haunting, with lyrics feeling like the realization of prophecy. Slavery Days' background vocals feel like an American slave hymn, and feels like Winston begging the youth to remember their origins. African roots can be heard in The Invasion, and another reminder of the Jamaican peoples roots.
The rest of the album is enjoyable, especially the sort of silly sounding Tradition, and the Latin influenced Jordan River, but the middle couple of songs hold it back for me.
An album that makes me want to explore Jamaican history and religions, and to try to understand Winston's lyrics.
7/10
T3: Marcus Garvey, Jordan River, The Invasion
