First album of the 1000.
For context I haven't heard 99% of anything in this list before in any notable capacity, so It'll be my first time with almost the entire list. I'm like a musical hermit- I like what I like and rarely leave my musical pasture.
This both is and isn't too far outside of what I typically listen to in that I like folk but don't care for country. It's not something I'd have in frequent rotation, but I enjoyed it over all and it wasn't a slog to listen through. Nice snappy sound, lively. I'm sure I'd earn grandpa points if I told my grandpapa I listened to this. A more precise rating would be 3.5 / 5
Another review called this genericana and I frankly have to disagree as I haven't heard anything here shilled out to 500 commercials or overplayed on classic radio stations before- though I don't listen to the radio much so maybe im just uninformed.
Commotion was my favorite of the album. Fun track.
I'll be honest I've heard enough classic rock and too much about led Zeppelin to want to finish this one beyond the first two tracks- it feels like there's no hook to most classic rock. I'm here to experience new music but i know when something just isn't clicking with me.
So I suppose this is as good a time as any to state how im going about listening- whenever there's an album I don't finish or skip, OR on the very rare occasion I've already fully listened to the album before, I'll be picking a replacement album via random number generator from the user submitted list. My replacement album for this one was Dogrel from Fontaines D.C.
This is my first ever time listening to R.E.M. at all. I really wanted to like this album, but I can't stand the delivery and cadence of its lyrics- I feel like a rock and roll wizard is singing half deep wisdom at me and is about to drop some bars like "I went to a mountain, walked up the path. At the top I met an old man, who told me to eat my vegetables" or something.
I'm sorry rem enjoyers :(
But that said, wrong child was fantastic and I think I would have found a lot of comfort in that song when I was younger. The sound of it was great too. Will be saving it to main main playlist. I hope there's other R.E.M. stuff with a similar sound.
On a second listen, Stand is also fine, if not a little generic sounding.
Today I listened to this for the first time.
And then I listened to it a second time right after.
And when I got home from work I put it on for a third run.
Incredible. Im sure plenty has already been said long before I listened in 2026.
I didn't have a favorite track- to me this is one 45 minute song, and I liked it.
Perfectly fine secretary desk radio tunes. Not unpleasant or offensive in any way which unfortunately means it wasn't very memorable.
Stand outs were How Much More and This Town
Started off good but by song 4 I felt like I was going crazy. If an album is over an hour long its probably bloated. 2 because its not bad, just not my thing.
Every album I skip I pull a substitute from the user generated list- i rolled 324, Odyssey Number Five by Powderfinger
I'm at a loss on whether I like this album or not- it's unlike anything I've ever listened to before, it's like a stream of consciousness set to wonderful synths and electronic beats. Contemplative- I want to say meandering but I feel that has a little too negative of a connotation, so maybe strolling? Wandering? Overall I think this *is* an album worthy of having the title of "must hear before you die" and I'm glad to have heard it.
It's a solid 4/5 because while in total I didn't click with most of the album it is good music, and what songs were good to me were excellent:
The Anchor Song, Like Someone In Love, and There's More to Life Than This are great, but Venus as a Boy is my favorite track. That repetitive chime is so dreamy.
For some reason I kept thinking this album was from the 70s until I double checked- speaking of double checking, this band has 4.4 million regular listeners on Spotty and had radio plays judging by the reviews. We've forgotten what indie means if this is what qualifies something as indie.
My rule of thumb has once again proven true- if an album is over an hour long it's bloated, it needs revising. I've listened front to back twice- by Suburban War it all starts to blend together.
This album is like someone heard midwest emo / alternative and decided to repackage the genre in neater, radio friendly sounds for easier listening to a general audience. And that's not bad, but unfortunately it does mean it succumbs to the worse failing of just being kind of bland.
Wasted Hours is a good sound, although it reeks of that repackaging by the artist selling it to bored teens stuck at school without any understanding of why a person may feel that way.
City with out children in the best on the album
