Algiers - Algiers

musically this is pretty dark and a little sinister, beautifully composed post-punk and no wave music fused together with soul and gospel vocals in a wonderfully engaging and enjoyable way. there's some noise and industrial influence here too. it's f*** great all the way through, a super great album. i'll definitely be revisiting this one a lot. it's unique and fantastic and super fun all the way through. i loved it.
8/10
Fav: Claudette (but that one isn't on youtube so i'll post But She Was Not Flying instead.)

@towk imo demon days isn't a great album as a whole but it does indeed have a few great songs on it. im looking forward to your thought son TLOP : )

Pinkerton by Weezer



I'm glad I decided to do this album again. The first time I listened I was pretty unimpressed and dismissed it as stupid and goofy. I think that's the point though. The album is Rivers Cuomo's way of expressing his loneliness and frustration. It sounds to me like the voice of an anxious, sort of geeky loser, but the album doesn't really get that dark, it's more of a bittersweet atmosphere thanks to the silly, sometimes whiny lyrics paired with generally upbeat alternative rock music. The whole album has a ragtag, raw production, which works well cause it seems like an honest expression of a dissatisfied rock star. Tired of Sex works well thematically. Getchoo is annoying and the weakest track. No one Other picks up, and is kind of an emo anthem. So is Why Bother, with lyrics that reek anxiety. Across the Sea is about a penpal crush, and it's lyrics are kind of touching. The vocals work well with the rest of the band, though the drumming is pretty nice here. The Food Life is catchy, and has strong lyrics. El Scorcho is my favorite track, it has a really catchy chorus, it's weird, happy, and the tempo changes are a nice touch. Pink Triangle is cheeky, in the good way ("Oh God she's a lesbian!") and it works well with the theme of loneliness. Falling for You was okay, didn't notice much from it. Butterfly was an almost entirely acoustic track and a great way to end the album. It's really up to the listener to interpret the song as stupid or charming in it's geeky, weird way. My second listen really convinced me of the latter. Definitely give it a listen, it's only 34 minutes. Stand out tracks were No Other One, Why Bother, Across the Sea, The Good Life, El Scorcho, Pink Triangle, and Butterfly.

8.5/10

GOD DAMN you half japanese girls
do it to me every time

Beat by King Crimson
Preview: Waiting Man

I'm not really feeling it, if I'm being honest. Might just be the state I'm in right now, I might just not be in the mood for a prog rock record. It's a lot of technical proficiency with little interesting substance in my eyes. I mean it's not Animals as Leaders bad but I just find it really uninteresting as a whole right now. This is probably something I'll revisit when I'm more in the mood to give this kind of thing a more honest listen

Rating: Okay



Week 2 favs: Bjork, Sufjan Stevens
Least favs: Pixies

The Lemon of Pink by The Books
I super enjoyed this album. I was really digging its sound. The quick cut editing of the strings was a really cool idea that sort of gave the illusion that time was passing by more quickly than it was. The female vocalist was so good too. It was just a brilliantly constructed album that I have never heard anything like before. I don't really want to put any highlight songs because I think this one works better as a single piece, but here's the first track to get a feel for what it sounds like. I'd probably recommend this as highly as luke does tbh. Probably in top 5 albums for me.

im so happy

I'm happy you're happy : )
But yeah I can definitely see why you like it so much. I forgot to mention it but the atmosphere the sound gives off is soo good. I could compare it most to Bioshock in how it made me feel immersed

That's too bad, you should give Lizard a try if you haven't.

it's one o the greatest atmospheres i've ever experienced, music-wise and of all time, really. definitely check out their other 3 albums too. they're all amazing.

I'll try and catch up with Dio today

Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters



This album was entirely played by Dave Grohl. He literally did everything but some of the production and guitar on one song. It was made for fun and supposed to be a cathartic experience after his depression from Cobain's death. It's good, alternative/grunge rock and distinguishes itself from Nirvana just enough. Really not much to talk about here so no song-by-song analysis. Stand out tracks were This is a Call, Big Me, X-static, and Wattershed. Not bad, but nothing special.

6.5/10

ScHoolboy Q - Oxymoron

gangsta s*** bruh

yeah i mean it's pretty ok. i'm diggin parts of it. some of the features are pretty weak but schoolboy himself is a solid lyricist and rapper. i enjoy his storytelling and his verses. his voice isn't particularly special or amazing but it's not bad. the beats on some tracks are good and some beats aren't that interesting but they aren't bad. overall it's alright. not a record i loved but not something i disliked. also raekwon is great on blind threats so

5/10
fav: Break The Bank, probably.

chart:

The Last in Line by Dio



I loved Holy Diver, so the way album this album seemed to be trying to emulate that masterpiece didn't really bother me. We Rock is a pretty fun track. Just them showing you exactly what to expect from the rest of the album, fast, heavy metal riffs and great vocals. Last in Line has their usual slow, quiet intro, that erupts into a speedy, catchy riff. None of the other songs really distinguish themselves enough to go into, so I'll keep it short. One Night in the City had some cool devil vocals thrown in and a story of sorts. Breathless, I speed at night, and Evil Eyes were fast and sounded badass. Mystery was different, it sounded pretty happy and kind of reminded me of Rush. Eat Your Heart Out is an okay track but the novelty and fun energy kind of wears out this far into the album, thankfully it's the second-to-last song. Egypt has a pretty cool atmosphere, spurred on by the usual strong vocals, along with some restrained guitar and slower drums. This album is thankfully on the short side, cause there's only so much of the same chords, time signatures, and sound you can listen to before you get bored. Not as good as Holy Diver but still enjoyable on it's own. Stand out tracks were Breathless, Last in Line, One Night in The City, Evil Eyes, Mystery, and Egypt.

8/10

Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious by Diablo Swing Orchestra
Preview: A Tap Dancer's Dilemma

I gave this album two listens to see if it would grow on me, but it didn't. Diablo Swing Orchestra is an avant-garde metal group that uses elements of whatever genre comes to mind at that particular second (usually swing, lots of swing). I'm gonna compare them to Alestorm in that they were amazingly cool for like three tracks. For me at least, once I got over the gimmick, the substance wasn't there anymore. If you've never heard of DSO I encourage you to look up some of their material, as they have some sweet songs on each of their albums. But this felt really whatever to me, like more of the same. Would be a killer live show though.

Rating: Okay

Aqualung by Jethro Tull
This is the last of my list that I'd heard before. I'd been interested in going back to this one since hearing Hymn 43 again on the radio a few weeks ago. This is a pretty top tier dadrock album. Really cool musical style and themes that deal with marking the difference between religion and God. Pretty riff-heavy and lots of flute. Highlights are Aqualung, Cross Eyed Mary, Mother Goose, Hymn 43, and Lick Your Fingers Clean.

Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden
I've only really ever heard the Iron Maiden that was in Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but I'd heard pretty good things. I liked this album but thought a few of the songs were sort of boring. Mostly good though, and Hallowed Be Thy Name was super good.

Painkiller by Judas Priest
The first Judas Priest song I'd ever heard was You've Got Another Thing Comin' but didn't know the band name. In either Rock Band 1 or 2 when Painkiller was in it, a friend told me it was the same people and I was just kinda like wow s*** that's a big difference. Idk I thought that was funny. This album was good, I liked it's style a bit more than Number of the Beast. Real heavy metal s***. Highlights were Painkiller, Leather Rebel, and A Touch of Evil.

The Grand Pecking Order by Oysterhead



What an odd, funky, trippy album. Oysterhead is a supergroup with only one album, with members of Phish, Primus, and The Police. You can hear those bands kind of bleed in to some of these songs. They all play off each other but they still exhibit their own styles. Stewart Copeland really shows off how good he is with his erratic, crazy drumming. Little Faces sets the tone for the album well. It's funky, experimental, has odd vocals and it's pretty weird.Oz is Ever Floating is my personal favorite and it's the song that got me interested in the album. It's short, has some heavy bass lines, a bluesy, loud guitar solo, and it's upbeat. Mr. Oysterhead is funky, has some nice mixing with it's weird vocals, and sounds pretty psychedelic. Shadow of a Man is a bit more eerie and sinister. It has some sing song lyrics and tribal drumming to set the atmosphere for a song about a crazed Vietnam veteran. Radon Balloon was more smooth, slow, and acoustic. Army's on Ecstasy was my second favorite track. It's silly, and has some fast, fun drumming. Rubberneck lions has some nice bass work but it's kind of forgettable. Polka Dot Rose is a bit too repetitive and probably my least favorite track. Birthday Boys sounds very much like something Phish would so. Wield the Spade is pretty trippy, and the rhythm and percussion help. Pseudo Suicide goes back to more rock-ish elements. The Grand Pecking Order was the weirdest track and probably should've gone closer to the beginning. Owner of the World is a great ending, which was definitely needed cause the songs past Army's on Ecstasy are pretty lacking.

7/10

Hey guys, I listened to La Di Da Di today, so I thought I would join in on the fun



I'll probably review an older album next time.