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Thoughts on: Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy
Rating: 8/10 Standout Tracks: Foreword, See You Again, Who Dat Boy, Garden Shed, Boredom, 911/Mr Lonely, November, Enjoy Right Now, Today Listen if you like: extremely well produced, well crafted and well written hip hop
Thoughts: The only time I’d heard Tyler, The Creator at the start of this year was when my brother would show me his most...controversial stuff just to see my reaction. So, when he showed me 911/Mr Lonely when the single was released, I was dumbfounded. This was an excellent single, from the dark yet playful verses, the hook which I don’t think I’ll ever not sing along too and even it’s much darker 2nd part... even Who Dat Boy, a track that is abrasive and features another rapper I’ve never been that big of a fan of in A$AP Rocky, was just ridiculous in the best way possible. Both went straight into regular rotation.
Finally getting around to the rest of the album now and all I can say is wow - this is an excellent album. A lot of things took me by surprise - the vastness of the production styles (which is absolutely amazing), the uninterrupted flow of the whole album, the depth of his lyrical content...there isn’t much here to fault. Particularly, Boredom, Garden Shed, and the introductory track Foreword all deserve notable mentions.
This album really feels like Tyler went into the studio with a concrete vision of what he wanted to do and executed it to a tee. When artists do that successfully, which I believe he has done here, it’s really exciting to listen too. And even though some of the tracks didn’t connect with me as much purely because of my own taste in music, I can definitely see what Tyler was doing here and to another listener, the parts that I didn’t appreciate as much may be what really complete the project.
In short - this is excellent. Get it in your ears.
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Thoughts on: Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Rating: 6/10 (though if I was rating the first half by itself, it would be a 9/10) Standout Tracks: Perth, Minnesota, WI, Holocene, Towers, Michicant, Wash. Listen if you like: like folk or something idk it’s bon iver this isn’t new
Thoughts: I want to preface this by saying the first 5 tracks on this album are outstanding. It has some of my favourite Bon Iver moments out of their (his?) entire discography, and has arguably my favourite Bon Iver song in Holocene. Yes, this song is not new news, and everyone knows it yada yada yada. I’m late to the party. Man, I don’t know how I didn't appreciate this song a long time ago. It’s expansive, the arrangement is gorgeous, the lyrics are beautiful, it’s just amazing. An absolute achievement in their discography.
Even a track like Towers, with its almost happy-go-lucky country vibe that floats along with gleefulness, is a welcome blip of sunshine in the often cold and stark music of Bon Iver, and the middle section where the brass instruments pick up is something else. Opening track Perth is exactly what you would want out of an opening song, and somehow pulls off an almost metal-inspired breakdown towards the end.
What really made me sad then, after falling in love with the first half of this album, is the second half lacking any sort of focus. Hinnom, TX seemed like an aimless exploration in tremolo piano and Justin Vernon’s ridiculous vocal range, and whilst it did work as a intro for Wash. it didn’t really warrant the (albeit short) length of the song.
Songs like Calgary and Beth/Rest have good bones as songs but something just isn’t right with them. Calgary failed to grab me like the rest of the album had and Beth/Rest... I really do not understand the complete change of production on this song. The 80s drum machine/keyboard, the auto tune, the meandering guitar solos...it just seems so out of place. The song’s melody and chord progression are fine, and it could be a lovely closing track to the album if it was consistent with the rest of the album’s production, but it just sticks out like a sore thumb.
This album, to me, sounds like it was ultimately serving as a transition for Bon Iver and does give context to the albums preceding and proceeding it. A lot of what Justin Vernon wanted to accomplish here he either already had, or had yet too do so properly - the gentleness had already been perfected on For Emma, whilst the forays into genre exploration had yet to be done quite as well as they would be on 22, A Million. All in all, not a bad album, but unfortunately not as good as the first half suggested to me.
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Thoughts on: Julia Jacklin - Don’t Let The Kids Win
Rating: 8/10 Standout Tracks: Pool Party, Leadlight, Elizabeth, Motherland, Small Talk, LA Dream, Hay Plain, Don’t Let The Kids Win Listen if you like: singer-songwriters with a slight yet inoffensive country vibe + beautiful voices
Thoughts: Julia Jacklin is an artist I’d been meaning to check out for sometime after seeing her at Laneway Festival earlier this year (where she performed her absolutely gorgeous cover of Someday by The Strokes). I’ll be honest - her set didn’t exactly blow me away, but her gentle voice left me curious. The sombre tone of her songs felt somewhat forced in a festival atmosphere, but in the comfort of my own home they are warm and go down quite smooth.
Her off-kilter story telling keeps her lyrics interesting, yet still riding the line between personal and relatable - a track like Small Talk personifies this perfectly. It’s cute, but there’s a darkness underlying her words - take a stanza like... “Zach Braff you look just like my dad Back when I thought I had the best one Oh what a life it could have been Me in the cradle you on the screen”
It’s funny on the surface but there’s a continuous feeling that something is lacking (not in her musical ability, but as a lyrical theme) there that permeates the album’s lyrics. Also, Don’t Let The Kids In is lyrically outstanding.
Her guitar playing is rhythmic, measured and keeps her songs ticking, with her band backing her up when needed, but what makes these songs work is her voice. Tracks like Elizabeth and LA Dream are arranged completely minimally with a sole guitar being the main accompaniment for most of the song, allowing Jacklin’s voice to star. And it really is worth the price of admission - her voice is gorgeous.
I’m a sucker for singer-songwriters, and while this album does misstep in places (looking at you, Coming Of Age, + the melancholy vibe becoming sliiiightly heavy after a while), it’s an album that I’ll be revisiting often.
#julia jacklin#don't let the kids win#thoughts#review#album#folk#indie#alternative#country#australian#this album is really good
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Thoughts on: Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon
Rating: 8/10 Standout Tracks: Shaolin Monk Motherfunk, Laputa, Breathing Underwater, Swamp Thing, Fingerprints, By Fire, Molasses, Building a Ladder Listen if you like: jazz/soul/funk/music that is just too ridiculously weird but cool that you can’t help but be curious about it at least
Thoughts: There’s no hiding how inexplicably strange yet awesome this album is. It took me like 4 months to finally finish listening too. I’d always stop about halfway/3 quarters of the way through because I’d just get lost in how weird it was or I’d get distracted because of it’s length...it’s an experience, that’s for sure.
It comes straight out of the gate with the title track as a warmup (which despite being obviously an intro song, it’s actually quite cool in a Breathe by Pink Floyd sorta way) before ‘dropping into a daze’ with Shaolin Monk Motherfunk. Straight away, you know that this album isn’t really one you’re gonna be pulling out at parties or anything.
There’s so many facets to this album it’s kind of disorientating (which works both in it’s favour as well as against it) - an extremely chill electronic vibe comes through on Laputa, compared to the more aggressive vibe found on Swamp Thing. There’s no mistaking the soul influence that drives these tracks however, which is ever-present. That’s not even mentioning the production on these songs - the extremely dry production (notably the drums and vocals) add a flavour to these tracks that is extremely subtle, but adds to the overall character of the album.
The only place it falls short is rather than focusing on a collection of songs and perfecting them, Kaiyote have opted to jam pack 18 tracks, some of which are less than a minute long, into this thing. Along with the dizzying collection of styles, this is both a blessing and a curse. In my mind if an album is going to be as long as this one is with the amount of sonic experimentation that it does, I want it to justify itself with something...a concept, or something that otherwise ties the whole thing together (To Pimp A Butterfly anyone?) and this album doesn’t really do that in a way I would’ve liked.
With all of that said, this album is unique, for which it deserves a lot of credit. It’s also a lot of fun to listen too. A bit more focus and it would’ve been right up there with some of my favourite albums ever.
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worst blog writer ever?
lol @ when i don’t have time/forget to listen to anything new for like 4 months
will hopefully start to get back on the horse now. things coming soon.
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Thoughts on: San Cisco - The Water
Rating: 4/10 Standout Tracks: Kids Are Cool, That Boy, Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?, SloMo, Make Me Electrify Listen if you like: indie/alt pop
Thoughts: I’m not gonna lie, this album was majorly disappointing. I loved San Cisco’s last album, Gracetown, and one of my favourite memories was seeing them play nearly the whole album live when they toured it a couple of years back. The album had just the right balance of catchy hooks, varied but not nonsensical production and well-written songs. The 80s influence wasn’t unbearable, either (songs like Snow and Just For A Minute where it was most noticeable are really great tunes in an otherwise excellent album).
Fast foward to 2017, and The Water was an album I was eagerly anticipating. And if the rest of the album was like the opening track Kids Are Cool, it most likely would’ve been one of my favourite albums of the year. This song is so ridiculously funky and fun, it’s a real shame the rest of the album never lives up to it. All the best qualities of Gracetown are there, with a bit of funk flavour added for good measure. Absolutely bangin track.
Things quickly go downhill on Sunrise, however, and they don’t really ever recover fully. Some tracks come close to salvaging the album (mostly the singles and closing track Make Me Electrify) but ultimately the uninspired production make the album as a whole fall short. And, something I haven’t noticed before with San Cisco, is the absolutely dreadful lyrics in places, with the worst offender by far being Waiting For The Weekend - the lyrics actively made me want to turn the song off and never listen to it again.
This one was largely a disappointment. I didn’t really expect a huge amount of growth on this album if I’m honest, but regression? I’ll stick to Gracetown for the time being, I think.
#san cisco#the water#gracetown#alternative#indie#pop#fred astaire#awkward#music#review#thoughts#this one might hurt a bit
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Thoughts on: Sibley - nobody’s ever here
Rating: 5/10 Standout Tracks: little ghosts whispering whiskey Listen if you like: seriously blissed/glitched out psych rock/experimental affairs
Thoughts: This EP is too weird. I found it in a community playlist whilst browsing reddit once, and decided to add it to my list of music to listen too. i do have to give serious props on the effects and fragmented sounds that carry the project, but overall the EP seems to be lacking in concrete song ideas. It too often gets lost in it’s weird colourful world production wise to actually deliver a satisfying song. Opening track a secret switch! press it? for instance, has a few cool guitar riffs, some nice bass licks, a heavily reverb-laden vocal and a laid back drum beat, but the pieces never seem to come together. They seem like individual parts of a song that just happen to be playing in sync, rather than parts that form a cohesive track.
With that said - there’s definitely cool ideas going on here, and the abstract time signatures and general musical ideas that carry this EP definitely show a degree of musical adeptness. Unfortunately, that sort of know-how doesn’t really translate most of the time into satisfying pieces of work. It’s certainly an interesting EP, but not necessarily one I’ll be coming back too in a hurry.
#sibley#nobody's ever here#psych#psychedelic#ambient#rock#experimental#music#glitch#glitched#review#thoughts
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albums to travel with
I’m currently sitting in Auckland airport, travelling back to Australia after a short holiday in New Zealand. I got about halfway through writing this, when my internet crapped out and I lost the post, which is just excellent. Here goes for the second time...some of the albums that have made my transit periods quite a lot nicer.
David Bowie - Hunky Dory Apart from Fill Your Heart (and maybe Kooks and Song For Bob Dylan, though those two do have their moments), this album for me is one of Bowie’s most compelling and has a sort of disjointed cheerfulness to it (in a way only early 1970s drug fuelled semi-nihilistic Bowie can). Probably not an album for waiting around in the airport terminal, but listening to Life on Mars? as my plane took off was certainly an experience. Essential tracks: Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things, Eight Line Poem, Life on Mars?, Quicksand, The Bewlay Brothers
Matt Corby - Telluric I’ve already given my thoughts on this album so I won’t drone on about this one for too long, but listening to this on a sunny afternoon bus trip between Dunedin and Queenstown was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Essential tracks: go here
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool This was the second album I listened too on the aforementioned bus trip between Dunedin and Queenstown, except right around the point that Daydreaming started, thick low clouds came out of nowhere, and my bus was completely surrounded by this fog for the entire duration of the album. Considering the stark and brooding affair that this album is, it was almost like being in a movie scene (if movie scenes consisted of long thoughtful bus rides where entire Radiohead albums are played) Essential tracks: Daydreaming, Decks Dark, Ful Stop, Glass Eyes, Identikit, Present Tense, True Love Waits
Bjéar - Bjéar Like Telluric, I’ve already given my thoughts on this album, but listening to opening track Sierra as I took off from Queenstown airport looking out at the Remarkables (huge snow-topped mountains) was an absolutely enlightening experience. Listening to the rest of the album with that kind of landscape following the whole time was like nothing I can explain. Completely astounding. Essential tracks: go here
Will have some more album thoughts up soon. ❤️
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Thoughts on: Bjéar - Bjéar
Rating: 9/10 Standout Tracks: Sierra, Firefall, Big Sky, Hymn, Nell, Tuolumne Listen if you like: bon iver, sufjan stevens, music that makes you feel things
Thoughts: Living in Adelaide and knowing how stagnant it can be, I kind of have very low expectations of what creative output we have sometimes. Then in January a friend of mine sent me this album to listen too, masterminded by one Brae McKee. I listened to it and immediately knew it was something special, but I shelved it to delve deeper into at a later point because I wasn’t really in the headspace for it at the time.
Fast forward to April, and me and this same friend attend the launch show for this album. The room was sold out for the band’s first ever show (which in Adelaide, is one hell of a feat), and the stage was full - 3 string players, 2 keyboardists/guitarists, 2 brass players, a rhythm section and singers. They played the album front to back and...it was absolutely ridiculous in the best possible way. I’ve never been to a gig in Adelaide like it.
Re-immersing myself in this album in the privacy of my home, then, made me want to slap myself for not doing it sooner. It’s gorgeous, sad, uplifting and really quite beautiful. The expansive piano chords and powerful melody of opener Sierra begin to paint a picture that is continued throughout the album, one of pain, loss and ultimately growth. Washington is really the only song here that provides energy and drive, but it doesn’t feel out of place, nor is the rest of the album boring by it’s lack of fast tempos and driving bass (which would kind of feel out of place on the whole anyway).
Firefall and Cold, which are the centre of the album provide this beautiful contrast, with Firefall’s warm synth chords and beautiful outro, against Cold’s questioning chord progression and driving rhythm. The simple guitar plucking of Big Sky makes room for a Sufjan Stevens style Blue Bucket of Gold style outro, before giving way to the absolutely gorgeous Hymn, which for me was the high point of the album.
There’s a lot to love about this album, and it isn’t shy about it’s ambitions. Which, really, is a good thing, because it more than reaches them.
#bjéar#bjear#self titled#album#adelaide#australia#folk#bon iver#sufjan stevens#review#this album is really good#thoughts#music
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Thoughts on: Chance the Rapper - Colouring Book
Rating: 8/10 Standout Tracks: All We Got, No Problem, Blessings, Same Drugs, Angels, How Great, Finish Line / Drown, Blessings (Reprise) Listen if you like: gospel/soul + hip hop + just happy music
Thoughts: Damn man. Ultralight Beam was my introduction to Chance, and I’ve been interested in his music ever since. And once I finally put on Colouring Book, it did not disappoint. The intense focus on Chance’s faith may be a detractor for some, but I love hearing an artist be confident in their beliefs, and hearing how it’s manifested on tracks like How Great and Blessings...they’re just really great to listen too.
The production on this album is fairly consistent. From the Kanye ridiculousness of All We Got, the soul of Same Drugs (which manages to pull off drugs as a metaphor for changing lifestyles, and do it in an entirely classy and beautiful way) and the complete jam that is Angels, the album just made me smile. Really great stuff.
There are a couple of clunkers here - namely Mixtape (though I actually did like Lil Yachty and Young Thug’s contributions) and Smoke Break. Mixtape just feels a bit lazy and doesn’t really add much character to the project, and Smoke Break is really just an ode to getting whacked...which is a bit odd considering the majority of the album’s subject matter.
With that said, this mixtape is incredibly solid throughout, and an absolute joy to listen too. Will definitely be listening to this mixtape more and more in future. Also, if you have to listen to any song, just put on the closing track, Blessings (Reprise). If you don’t smile while listening to the ‘choir’ at the end...
#chance the rapper#colouring book#mixtape#acid rap#hip hop#grammy#review#thoughts#this album is really good
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Thoughts on: Matt Corby - Telluric
Rating: 9/10 Standout Tracks: Belly Side Up, Monday, Knife Edge, Sooth Lady Wine, Good To Be Alone, Empires Attraction Listen if you like: soul/funk that gives you the mad stank face
Thoughts: For a good long while, Matt Corby was just a guy who some of my friends thought was hot - I knew next to nothing about his music. Then one day at a jam session with some mates, someone put on Knife Edge. Almost immediately I was like “what is THIS?!”
That pretty much sums up my opinion on this album.
It’s smooth, it’s sexy, and it’s just ridiculously good. Matt Corby’s voice is outstanding on track after track after track. His understated performance on opener Belly Side Up is outstanding, and his triumphant belting on closing track Empires Attraction had me singing along on my second listen - which for someone who takes a while to pick up on lyrics, is quite an achievement.
He’s no one trick pony either - Good To Be Alone seriously sounds like something off of Jeff Buckley’s Grace in the best possible way, from the gentle guitar chords to the gorgeous falsetto throughout the song. The ridiculous low crooning on We Could Be Friends is just nuts as well.
It’s not often that an album floors me like this but the quality of the music, the quality of the production and some of the lyrics in particular, gives this album such a character that it’s almost impossible to put it on and not want to jam out.
#matt corby#telluric#review#thoughts#music#alternative#rock#funk#soul#australian#this album is really good
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Thoughts on: Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
Rating: 8.5/10 Standout Tracks: YAH. FEEL. PRIDE. LUST. LOVE. XXX. FEAR. DUCKWORTH. Listen if you like: it’s kendrick listen if you like music man come on
This one’s long. Oops. Thoughts below.
Thoughts: Well damn. Kendrick’s back. This album is dark, and whole ‘nother ball game compared to To Pimp A Butterfly. Before I go into my thoughts I’ll make it clear - I don’t think any album will be able to top TPAB; Purely based on it’s conceptual brilliance, it’s adventurous music, it’s downright ballsiness and masterful lyricism...it’s absolutely ridiculous.
With that said however...
This album is in a much different production vein than TPAB; the beats are consistently crazy, with beat switches coming left and right. I loved the funk/jazz influence on the last album so to see it so minimal here was a bit saddening, but the beats here are varied and versatile enough that it was definitely enjoyable and interesting to listen too. The 24k Magic sampling on LOYALTY. is one example of this.
Conceptually is where I have a problem with this album however. I might just be spoiled because both Good Kid m.A.A.d City and To Pimp A Butterfly were conceptual masterpieces, but this album feels much looser/without much of a resolution. The album opener BLOOD. sets the scene of a blind lady shooting Kendrick dead (lady justice?) but following this, Kendrick delves into various topics including his heritage on DNA. his spiritual weariness on FEEL. and the darker parts of his past and present on tracks like XXX. and FEAR. In typical Kendrick fashion, the lyrics are largely executed with style, a dark sense of humour and deep-thinking brilliance. However, what gets me is the apparent derailment of the story (as I perceive it) after FEAR. After rapping about his fear of losing his heritage, his faith...basically all the things he’s been rapping about throughout the album, he goes on to the next song to compare himself directly to God...? Rather than developing the story after this acknowledgement of his fears, he appears to disregard them altogether.
Maybe the juxtaposition is intentional, but to my ears it just comes across as a complete lack of continuity in the album’s flow. Thankfully, the album ends on a high note, with DUCKWORTH. The lyrics are top notch, the beat(s) are ridiculous and the album seals up well by rewinding (literally) to the opening skit.
Overall, if I was just listening to this album as it was, I would’ve been really happy with it. It (only slightly, mind you) pales in comparison to his earlier work, but it is no doubt a great work of art and a worthy addition to Kendrick’s discography.
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disappearing for a month?
Yeah whoops
My band’s new stuff came out though so that’s cool: http://colourmachineband.bandcamp.com
Since then I’ve bought Telluric by Matt Corby without listening to it, listened to half of Channel Orange by Frank Ocean (Sweet Life/Super Rich Kids are tunes) and done nowhere near as much listening as I would like.
I mean to get back to it soon - hopefully time permits. New Kendrick album this week though, so I’ll almost certainly have something to say about that. i am so keen though
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quick highlights
Listened to a few things briefly throughout the past week, so here are some quick recommendations:
HOLY HOLY - Paint Australian indie/psych(?) rock group. Extremely solid album, very cohesive and satisfying. Kind of like a cleaner Lonerism. Need to listen to this a bit more before I have anything specific to say, but really great stuff here.
Bon Iver - 22, A Million This isn’t a new album, or a new finding for me, but I’ve recently come back to it (and the group’s performance at Pioneer Works by NPR) and...love it or hate it, it’s one hell of a compelling project. And 45 may be one of the most minimal yet touching songs I’ve heard in a long time, and this live version is incredibly powerful.
John Mayer - The Search For Everything / Wave Two Another strong set of tunes from John Mayer - Still Feel Like Your Man, though somewhat uninteresting lyrically, is as smooth as it gets - something of a mix between Heavier Things and Continuum.
I also revisited some absolute tunes such as Electric Love - BØRNS, Never Be Like You - Flume and stuff from channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean. Thoroughly enjoying myself lately.
Haven’t done any reviews because I’ve been knuckling down on my own band’s new releases, which are set to drop in the next few weeks. Will hopefully get some more listening in soon.
#review#music#thoughts#holy holy#bon iver#john mayer#frank ocean#børns#flume#the search for everything#22#a million#paint#yeah boi
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Thoughts on: The Clash - London Calling
Rating: you don’t want to know how much i didn’t like this/10 Standout Tracks: London Calling, Jimmy Jazz, The Right Profile, Clampdown, Train in Vain Listen if you like: self-indulgent reggae punk who even knows
Thoughts: This album is just not for me. The standout tracks I’ve picked are really just songs I thought were decent, but it’s definitely not a collection of songs I’ll be coming back too... probably ever. Lyrically it failed to connect for me and musically it’s definitely ambitious, but I never really found it satisfying at all. And Lover’s Rock may be the most cringeworthy song I’ve ever heard.
It just became a chore to listen to in the end. Train in Vain did finish the album off on a high note however - really solid, catchy song. That’s about all I can say unfortunately.
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Thoughts on: The Velvet Underground & Nico
Rating: 6/10 Standout Tracks: I’m Waiting For The Man, Run Run Run, Heroin Listen if you like: Difficult songs about difficult topics
Thoughts: This album definitely has a certain unsettling charisma about it. It’s very obviously a blueprint of the time and a leaping point for everything that came after it, but as a standalone album as I am listening too it? I don’t really see the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts. Also, Nico’s voice kind of creeps me out.
Lou Reed does give the album a certain flavour that is unmatched. His performances are so odd and whacked out it makes his lyrics all the more compelling. The album is obviously a classic for good reason, but one I don’t see myself coming back too all too often.
#the velvet underground#nico#lou reed#john cale#im waiting for the man#heroin#1960s#classic#rock#album#review#thoughts
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Thoughts on: U2 - The Joshua Tree
Rating: 7/10 Standout Tracks: Where The Streets Have No Name, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, One Tree Hill, Exit Listen if you like: ...songs about 1980s America/Ireland by U2?
Thoughts: This album is good. But if I’m completely honest with myself, I can’t really say much else then that. Apart from the incredibly spacious and genuinely uplifting Where The Streets Have No Name, and the ambitious Exit, the album never really does more than barely reach it’s ambitious heights - rather, it floats around the same metaphors and never quite reaches a definitive point.
It’s a shame, because almost every song has moments of greatness (whether it’s Bono’s trademark belts, or an unexpected chord change), but they almost never come together in a way that is wholly completely satisfying. An example of this being Mothers Of The Disappeared - interesting arrangements and a minimalistic approach seems kind of empty when paired with Bono’s uncharacteristic low crooning and an abrupt fade out.
#u2#the joshua tree#achtung baby#rock#classic#alternative#the edge#bono#please don't hate me for my opinion#music#thoughts#review
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