This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
Sing to God is the fourth studio album by English rock band Cardiacs. Their first album with drummer Bob Leith and their second as a four-piece, it was recorded throughout 1995, breaking a hiatus by the band that had lasted since the band's previous album Heaven Born and Ever Bright (1992). During writing and recording, Jon Poole took a greater role than before, contributing to many songs written by band leader Tim Smith, and writing some of his own. The band decided to create a double album to encompass the great wealth of material written after their previous album. As with the band's previous albums, it presents a unique sound, and is seen as more eclectic than the band's previous albums, with one reviewer describing the record as "essentially [taking] everything Cardiacs had always been and [ramping] it up to maximum," and another saying the album was where "Smith's ability to express the music inside his head really began to transcend any sort of identifiable genre and turned Cardiacs into something truly unique." The album was released in June 1996 by the band's own record label Alphabet Business Concern, originally as a limited edition double-disc CD set, before being re-released as two separate albums. Three singles were released from the album; "Bellyeye", "Manhoo" and "Odd Even". Upon release the album was mostly overlooked, with the exception of some hostile reviews, reflecting the band's unpopularity with the music press at the time. However, over time it has gained a reputation as a masterpiece and the band's magnum opus. Sam Shepherd of MusicOMH said the album is "quite possibly one of the greatest albums ever made."
An album where I often was thinking: "Wtf is this?! I love it" Not the most easily digestible music, but always surprising
One of the most important skills a band/artist can have is a keen sense of editing, a sense that is sorely lacking on this LP. I'm not opposed to the maximalist instrumentation and kind of dug the industrial, squealing guitar, but the histrionic vocals and repetitive songwriting meant this thing was doomed from the start with a nearly 90-minute runtime. It's exhausting to take in tracks this loud and relentless over that span, and even though the album seemed to hit its stride in the back half I was too exhausted and checked out by then to care.
Thanks for adding a Cardiacs album to this list, contributor! One of the most neglected bands of all time. I like “A Little Man… Window” and “On Land And In The Sea” more; this is a great album though. The music is very eclectic and overcomplicated, but full of ideas, beautiful melodies, humor and funny lyrics.
Okay, this was some wacky stuff. I would not have pegged this as coming out anywhere near 1996, so I guess kudos on these guys for being different. Has tinges of Krautrock and Zappa's weirder stuff. At its worst it's assertively annoying, lyrically inane, and way too long. I can hear there's some musical skill in there, but Cardiacs seem more focused on being off the wall than on being coherent or listenable. Mentally tapped out several songs before it was all over. Fave Songs: Odd Even, Flap Off You Beak, Fiery Gun Hand, Wireless
Hey Tim. Hey Jim. I've got an idea for our next record. Oh yeah? What's that then? Let's take every idea we've ever had and play them all at the same time. Won't that just sound like a big mess? Well, yes. But it would be *supposed* to sound like a big mess. We'll have achieved our artistic intent. People would have to respect it. Are you sure, Jim? Yes, Tim. Also, it should be a double album. But won't that mean that the good bits get lost in a sea of random dross and massively irritate anyone who listens to it? Artistic intent, Tim. Artistic intent. Fine. Whatever. Rating: 1 Playlist track: Fiery Gun Hand Date listened: 22/12/24
Always fun to see something described as polarizing in the pre-listen research and wonder which side I'll fall on. Pretty skeptical early on but it brought me around fairly quickly, and grew on me. Wielding metal tropes with real ability, plus some of the nightmare darkscape vibes of The Residents, and a gamut of broad influences. It grew on me too although in the last say fifth it was wearing on me too at significant length. Requires active listening. But thumbs up overall.
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Eat it up worms hero, Fiery gun hand, Angleworm angel, Nurses whispering verses
This was weird but not terrible. Kinda liked it a bit. 3.5/5 but rounding down because I’ll like a lot more 4/5 albums more than this one.
This was better than I expected it to be by taking some fun turns into pep band and bombastic theater sounds. Still not sure if the second disc was super necessary.
Whole not quite at the Guided by Voices level, this is an intriguing album that never stays in one place long enough to bore you.
I couldn't have disliked this much more. It felt like being pounded over the head with a hammer for an hour and a half. It's obvious these lads are talented, but I with they would use their talents for good, not this hyper-frenetic bullshit. 2 stars for the effort.
I can only assume this is a big deal if you have ADHD. 2/5.
I can't in good faith give this 1 star even though I want to. There's too much creativity on display, as well as a clear sense of authorship. I have no doubt that this is exactly what these artists wanted to produce and put out into the world. I have to applaud that. I just hated basically every minute of it.
Creepiest album cover ever? Maybe. They definitely came for that title hard in this photo.
Rock progresivo. Tostón rallante. Un 2. Pufff, el disco dos es tan sumamente lamentable que un 1.
Great talent, good ideas but it's just too much. Too long, too dense and not really well composed.
Fast-paced noise, cartoon-like sounds, random sounds...that's what I found on this album. More than an hour of the same stuff was too much. Maybe I don't appreciate this kind of proposals, but that's just my feeling.
This was like if you took meth and acid at the same time. It was chaotic, weird, and just not a good time. This album is way too long but it’s also just not very good. There’s been music on this list that may not have been my favorite but it could still be subjectively good. This album, I mean, is pretty close to objectively bad. 1.3/10