Complete Recordings

Complete Recordings is a compilation album by the indie pop band Black Tambourine. It's a collection of the songs they issued earlier on singles and EP's as the band has not created a "real" studio album. To get the full complete collection, you can listen to the Black Tambourine compilation album from 2010. Not that the six additional on that record add much. The album contains well written dream pop songs with a very lo-fi production that gives it a nice do-it-yourself atmosphere. Best songs are "Black Car" and "Throw Aggi Off the Bridge". The album as a whole is short and that makes the statement it makes more focused. It also allows you to give it another spin as it deserves that.

This was fantastic. I've complained that so many albums here are too long, but here I wish this was a little longer. Looking at wiki, they didn't release much but they should have. Some really great shoegaze that wouldn't sound out of place today. My personal rating: 5/5 My rating relative to the list: 5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

What a tiny little joy. I’ve not read up on this group so I’m not yet aware of why they only ever recorded 10 songs, but they have such a lush ethereal sound. Leaves you wanting more but also it’s such a perfect little object.

What the hell, this is insanely good. Get them back in the studio and lock the door immediately. So great I went and listened to the extended 40 minute re-release as well. This is very much up my alley, thanks for submitting it. Five outta five.

Even as someone who listens heavily to 90s' noise/grunge, I don't think I would have stumbled across this brief but powerful diamond in the rough. Never knew there was a spiritual predecessor to Velocity Girls, the mix of early MBV/Jesus and Mary Chain/Mazzy Star influences on this EP is a heady brew that feels familiar yet in a world all its own. Great wall-to-wall production that highlights the expansive instrumentals as well, my only qualm is how the brevity of the band's collected discography here shows a clear trajectory forward that will unfortunately never be realized. Thankful to have this put on my radar, though, this is what the user list should be about.

Awesome! Love some old indie. Fun songs that also have some tricky drum parts here and there. It is funny that this is the ”complete recordings” but a later release included 6 more songs.

3.5

Rather wonderful addition to the list, by a user I already discussed with on the Discord server. It's the sort of situation where you want to be nice in a review about their choice, and hope the person you exchanged views with didn't select terrible dross. Fortunately, this is absolutely not the case here. Whiffs of many other pivotal bands can be scented when you listen to Black Tambourine. The Pastels, Stereolab, Galaxie 500, My Bloody Valentine before *Loveless*, a lo-fi, low-budget Cocteau Twins, Jesus And The Mary Chain... Yet quoting all those possible influences doesn't do justice to the band's abrasive-yet-dreamy sound, or to their inspired songwriting. I for instance consider that the handful of great tracks found here are superior to most Pastels songs that I know (an act I have incidentally seen play live once in London). So this American response to a nascent shoegaze scene that's for the most part British does indeed feel retrospectively important, as obscure as the band was at the time. Two things prevent me from giving a 5-star grading to this record. A) It's technically a compilation, even though aesthetically speaking, the artistry is so unified and cohesive the whole thing feels like a proper album (honestly, that would be ridiculous to exclude this album from the list because of this). B) I have spotted two duds in the tracklist: that cover of Love's "Can't Explain" and also the subpar "I Was Wrong", where lackluster sound (even by lo-fi standards), along with the lack of chemistry in the performance, all take their toll. With an original record that's so short (24 minutes), I just can't pretend I haven't seen those warts. But very sincerely, everything else already sounds iconic in the genre for my ears, especially "For Ex-Lovers Only", "Black Car", "Pack You Up" and "By Tomorrow". Black Tambourine's cover of Suicide in the extended version of this compilation is also great, by the way. So thank you very much for making me discover this American band, "filmstarforaday". How nice it is that a user submitting a very good album is not totally anonymous for once. Have fun exploring the rest of the original list. :) 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship and production values + 3.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 120 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 137 (including this one) Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 302 ---- Salut Émile, Tu pourras lire ma dernière réponse sous le *Little Criminals* de Randy Newman. A+.

This is really good. I could only find this particular album on Youtube but they have other music on Spotify. I was really into this sound as a student during the 80s but must have just missed them! Really authentic sound - basic but so pleasant. Thanks to the person who added this!

3.75 Short and sweet.

Quite good shoegaze music. The fact the vocals are so in the background make it kind of mysterious.

Loved this. Absolutely right up my street with the layers of guitars and that slightly hazy, noisy sound. The music itself is brilliant and I can see myself coming back to it. My only criticism is that it’s far too short for an album, although I suppose that’s partly because it’s technically a collection of EPs rather than an album. I just wish there was more of it!

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Black car, Throw Aggi off the bridge

It was fine

Un disco indie un tanto con connotaciones oscuras o, por lo menos, muy arraigado a su estilo. Alguna canción más melódica que otra. Un poco de guitarreo y de sonido sucio.

Seems fine. 3/5

How can you be mad at a 24 minute album? I'd be all over this, but the vocal production choices bothered me so. Waaaaay in the background

Apparently there was some kind of indie rock scene in Maryland in the 80s/90s? I can't see the appeal here, and it's clearly seminal product of this particular sound which went on to have pretty serious legs (to this day in fact). Perhaps it's intentional but the production feels excessively muddy to me and it detracts from the sound. I got the more actually complete Black Tambourine album because that's what was on YouTube Music and even that clocked in well under 45 minutes. I can't help feeling that was probably about all this band had in it.

You know a band is prolific when their "Complete Recordings" contains a whopping 25 minutes of music (yes, I know it's not actually their complete recordings, but not far off.) It's okay, I can see why they were influential but at the same time I don't love the washed out sound. Just sounds like a big pile of mush to me. 3 stars.

Good stuff

I listened to it and it didn’t really make me feel anything. 3/10

Ffs..... Not more shoegaze.... Ever wonder what it would sound like if vocals were recorded in a cave (more mumbled than sang), and then was way overtopped by fuzz and distortion that has been turned up to 11, thereby rendering the vocals useless and the constant drone of music making you feel like you're trying to listen to music underwater? This is the album for you. This sounds exactly like My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus and Mary Chain. Another fascinating thing that only those who like shoegaze would enjoy.... You have to have a forensics license to find the original "Complete Recordings" album. The Complete Recordings were never the complete recordings... They just called it that. But the rub is that 11 years later, they added 6 additional songs to the original list, and re-released it with an entirely different name.... It's now longer, and known as their self titled album. Who overwrites an albums existence as opposed to just releasing a deluxe edition or extended cut? Fuck shoegaze. Favourite songs: Throw Aggi Off the Bridge, Drown, Lazy Heart Least favourite songs: idk, it all kinda ran together.... Pack You Up maybe?? 2/5 I will admit, the style grew on me as the album went on, but still not something I'd ever listen to again.

Oh boy… more music that sounds like it was recorded in a busy metal shop. This kind of thing is very challenging for me. Turn off the grinder, we’re trying to record an album here!

It was ok. Not sure why, out of all the albums in the world ever, this was the one chosen. Would be interested to know why.

Not on Apple Music so that's an auto-one byeeee