album listens #11 - new last name - courting

 

new music from courting! i played the singles to this album absolutely to death, which in hindsight may not have been a good idea because it's sort of harder to listen to the album as a whole, but i love this album already. it's no where near as flashy and glitchy as their debut but, as they say themselves, its more genuine and pop influenced. i just get a really warm feeling when i listen to it, it's not technical or crazy its just very good written guitar music. i've seen a lot of people complaining about the autotune but personally i really like it, i think it adds sort of a weird character. the songs are so catchy and the guitar tones and the vocals are really satisfying (?). its a completely different vibe for courting but i really like the way that they're going. can't wait to see them live again on their tour and for them to play this new stuff live. very nice album !

FAVOURITE SONG(s): Emily G, Babys, Flex, The Hills, Throw, The Wedding

RATING: 8 or 9/10

album listens #10 - magical mystery tour - the beatles

 

this album reminded me of when i was younger and my parents had 1 on cd, the album with all the singles on it. i already knew most of the songs on here but for some reason have never listened to the album all the way through, i think it's great! it definitely is a singles album and the back half is infinitely stronger than the first, i wasn't crazy about the flying and man on the hill, though they are good songs. there are so many classics on here that i didn't even realise were on this album. blue jay way is one of those beatles songs that i'm surprised isn't more popular. every song on here is such a classic and obviously strawberry fields forever is just one of those songs that is beyond perfect, one of the best songs ever made. a good mix of songs on here, maybe doesn't do it for me in the same way that sgt peppers does, in the same way that amnesiac is to kid A, even though I actually prefer amnesiac in many ways! i feel similarly to this, the songs are sort of more unique though, on sgt peppers perhaps, which is not the case for kid a. anyway is the beatles reaching their peak and for that time its an incredible triumph and to this day a really great listen. relistening to a lot of the singles i've known for a long time was nice and gave me a little nostalgia, but also i got a lot of new meaning from the lyrics and the sounds that i don't remember hearing when i was younger.

FAVOURITE SONG: Strawberry Fields Forever (obviously)

RATING: 9/10

album listens #9 - apostrophe - frank zappa

 

this album is COOL and FUNNY and AWESOME. perhaps the most consistent of zappa's albums that i've listened to in terms of sound but this thing is all over the place. every song is silly but also jazzy and a little prog-y. he just has such an interesting way of writing music and i love how stupid it is and how much he leans into it. cool af album and i can't wait to listen to more zappa.

FAVOURITE SONG: Cosmik Debris, Uncle Remus, Excentrifugal Forz

RATING: 9/10

album listens #8 - master of reality - black sabbath

 

ehhhhh honestly i was kinda underwhelmed by this album :/. i've been really enjoying the old style, rock n roll, hair metal kinda vibe recently that i used to be into when i was 16 (more specifically i LOVE that AC/DC live album If You Want Blood You Got It, even tho i was never really into ac/dc) and i felt like this album was gonna satisfy the urge for some fun, maybe slightly corny rock n roll riffs that were lively and cool but this really wasn't it. i can see why people would like this album when it came out but listening back to it now it's sooooo underwhelming. the riffs are so basic and rigid, all with the same boring guitar tone and honestly most of the songs are just so uninteresting. there's a few moments that are fun in the middle of songs, mostly on bridges and such but on the whole i would probably never really listen to this one again. the more laid back songs on the acoustic are just  plain lifeless. everything on here just sounds so uninspired! boring. rock. !!!

FAVOURITE SONG: Children of the Grave

RATING: 2/10

album listens #7 - grown backwards - david byrne

 

this album is just so david byrne. it's so unique and so fun, i love the strings and the other odd instruments he adds and it's really cool to see him experiment a little after being in talking heads and you can tell that the sound is very personal to him. lyrics are witty and funny and the songs are funky and waltzy and sometimes even classical-esque. a very pleasant listening experience, maybe not as interesting or experimental as some of his stuff with the heads but i still enjoyed this one a lot. the closing track Lazy is crazy funky mixed with this orchestra and those really cool retro synth sounds?!? so amazing!! it's silly but not tongue in cheek; it's extremely sincere. definitely one i'll be listening to again :)

FAVOURITE SONGS: Lazy, Who, Dialog Box, Glass, Concrete & Stone, The Other Side of This Life

FIRST RATING: 9/10

album (RE)listens #6 - brave little abacus - just got back from discomfort we're alright

 

i remember loving this album but i really don't remember loving it this much. i think it'd be easy for someone to be put off this album, purely based on the vocals, and yeah sure i can see if you were on the fence about how u felt about it it would probably sway you. i'm really not normally a fan of them normally either, i feel like the whole shouty, midwest emo vocals are way over done, but brave little abacus just does it so perfectly. this album is so creative and i just love the lofi production (they recorded this album at home as apposed to their previous studio album). maybe i needed to pay more attention to the lyrics and i definitely will and maybe update this post when i relisten with that in mind, but the parts i remember are, for the same reason i love the csh album, just so personal. the songs are relatively basic in terms of chord progression but the where they are mixed just sounds so satisfying. i love the sound of loud, somewhat distorted guitars, there's something so soothing and also really emotional about the way they sound on this album; how do you do that with a guitar tone?!?!? you can tell adam demirjan the vocalist is just pouring every single fiber of his being into the lyrics it feels extremely cathartic and enjoyable to hear him just get everything off his chest as it fills this album. one of the things i love most about this album is also the amount of instruments that are crammed into it, it really refreshes the sound of generic guitar based midwest emo. this album is so great and emotional and bittersweet (as well being that it was their last album ever :0) and i can't recommend enough!

FAVOURITE SONG: (CAN'T CHOOSE) Pile! No Pile! Pile!, A Highway Got Paved Over My Future, I Drive It Getting To School, Aubade (Morning Love Song), Bug Infested Floorboards Can We Please Just Leave This Place Now

RATING: 10/10

album (RE)listens #5 - twin fantasy (face to face) - car seat headrest

 

honestly i don't know what the rhyme or reason to these posts are now but oh well. this one's kind of obvious if you know me (to the 0 ppl reading this) i've always loved car seat, but for me their best album has always been teens of denial. don't get me wrong i've always loved twin fantasy too but i guess i never got it properly i don't know. but yeah, after sitting down and reading the lyrics while listening to it it really is one of the greatest albums of all time. every lyric really just touches me and its so personal? will intertwines these crazy catchy, anthemic choruses with moments that are so unique and personal to him that surely no one can relate to him but it just works so well ?! the production on the 2018 version is far superior in my opinion, i can completely understand liking the lofi original version and i do respect it but its just not for me! i do tend to love lofi production (i love makeout videotape) and i get it does make it more personal etc but idk it just doesnt do it for me. this album is just the perfect mix of well written and personal lyrics i love this man, i just love how much of himself he puts into this album its so great. i guess its meant to be a breakup album but i find it to be just a whole story that's so intimate of one of will's relationship and then at some point it ends, but i guess it's also about his life at the time too. idk the writing is just so good i feel like im right there with him. this album deserves all the praise it gets, not overrated at all. parts of it are really heart wrenching and you really feel for him, it hurts in the best way possible. i love the themes of co dependency and there's just lots of little details and callbacks to previous songs about how the relationship starts to deteriorate man its just such a real album i don't know how else to put it ! but yeah aside from the songwriting the guitars sound great, it's loud and head bop-py but also has these long passages of story telling. yeah maybe i'll write a full review for this album at some point cuz i really can't say enough about how good it is !

FAVOURITE SONG: Famous Prophets (Stars)

RATING:10/10