Paramore - This is Why

Release Date:  February 10th, 2023

Review:  I wish I had a stronger reaction to Hayley Williams' voice, but the way she sings, it's like you expect her to go high, but she goes low. and the music is funky, but do I care? I have trouble feeling anything. I tend to like the mellow tracks more. the title track chorus "This is why i don't leave the house" sounds ugly. in context, i get it. we all get social anxiety, but it doesn't sound enjoyable to hear.

Summary: I wish I cared.

Favorite Songs: You First, Liar, Crave
Rating: 6/10

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Release Date: June 28th, 1988

If you google "best album of the 80's," you'll find this one.

Review: I know I heard "Bring The Noise" and "Don't Believe The Hype" somewhere, and both are still great. But to my surprise, I wasn't bored for the rest of it. Yeah, hearing Flavor Flav be the hype man is a nice contrast to Chuck D's baritone voice. I only knew him because he was on some VH1 show. anyways, I actually like him when he was lead on "Cold Lampin' With Flavor." and hearing him say "yeahhhh" throughout the album. I'm not sure what to say about Chuck D, his voice is awesome, and a lot of rappers these days also sing, so its interesting that he doesn't have to do that here. of course, i gotta mention that its good to hear rappers talk about real issues and not just brag about money or sex or drugs. "She Watch Channel Zero?!" is interesting because its from 1988, but its still an issue today where people can be braindead watching TV.  I know it's a product of its time, but hearing that DJ scratch noise is interesting and it's something i'm gonna look out for in other rap albums to see when it stopped.

Summary: I respect this album.

Favorite Songs: Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Type, Caught, Can We Get a Witness?
Rating: 8/10

Plains - I Walked With You a Ways

Release Date:  October 14th, 2022

Waxahatchee and Jess Williamson

Review:  I'm a big fan of Waxahatchee, if i was consistent with my blog, all of her albums would have appeared on my "end of the year" list. I never heard of Jess Williamson, but I really like her voice here. I think her voice is more suited for the really country stuff. As for the music, it's a country album. If Katie wasn't on here, i think i would still dig it. It's only 30 minutes so it's an easy listen. There isn't enough time for me to feel bored.

Summary: It's a country album.

Favorite Songs: Problem With It, Abilene, Last 2 on Earth
Rating: 7/10

Pup - The Unraveling of PUPTheBand

Release Date: April 1st, 2022

They have a song called "Kids" on their 3rd album that always gets me pumped.

Review:  I wanted to check this album out, but I especially wanted to check it out when I read that Peter Katis had produced it. He, of course, had produced many of The National's album. Anyways, based on the sound, I never would have guessed that Katis was involved with the project. It sounds very punk rock. I thought the first track was witty and I like the line about how some people stop listening to new music after college.

Then the next four tracks is basically really fun party music for the punk rock soul. It just sounds like fire and it's a really good time. I didn't think the interlude of the "four chords" song was needed. So after that part, I kinda thought the album went hard. "Waiting" sounded extra crunchy, and i could see an instrumental version of the first 30 seconds used as a wrestling entrance. "Grim Reaping" was dizzying. And the last song was just rock. I don't know, it sounds dumb to say because the first half was rock too, I guess it felt like auto pilot to me, like a version of sum-41 that isn't juvenile. There is one song, "Cutting off the corners" that is probably the slowest song on here, and I like the slow burn on it.

Summary:  I really like the first half of the album, and the second half made me realized that this isn't pop punk or an emo band, they are punk rock so it's going to be loud and noisy and you're gonna hear those guitars make sounds. It sort of bleeds together, but the more i spent time with it, it does get better. Still, the first half is great.

Favorite Songs: Totally Fine, Matilda, Relentless
Rating: 7/10

Phoenix - Alpha Zulu

Release Date:  November 4th, 2022

Why did I stop listening to this band?  Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was believed to be a modern classic, but in hindsight, it was carried by two great songs. I don't remember Bankrupt! much, but nothing on it could top "Lisztomania" or "1901," so I didn't even bother to listen to Ti Amo.

Review:  For a band that's been around for two decades, I'm surprised that this is only their 7th album. The opening track sounded very mid 2000s to me, like the opening notes could be something The Knife would use. I think it's quirky and since it's the first track, I'm open to anything. The 2nd song has that guy from Vampire Weekend and it also sounds like a late 2000s song. I don't think it belongs on a best-of list, but it's groovy and I though both parties made the song a feel good anthem.  "The Only One" is suffice. Then "After Midnight" is really good. Maybe a bit too similar to their past, but it's nice to turn your brain off.

"Winter Solstice" is a slow burner and I like whatever synth percussion they are using during the chorus. Both "Season 2" and "Artefact" have nice melodies. It's kind of corny hearing them say "what's new in season two" or "i'm looking for an artifact." But the songs are so inoffensive that i don't mind it.

"All Eyes On Me" has a darker vibe, kind of like a villain theme and it's a nice change of pace for the album. "My Elixir" is the band's version of a ballad. it's cute. And finally, "Identical" closes the album and I thought it was really good, a steady beat and good progression. apparently it was released in 2020, but interesting lowkey closer.

Summary:  Just like with their 2009 album, this album is carried by a few good tracks. And the rest just made me go, "I guess this is good since it doesn't annoy me."

Favorite Songs: Tonight, After Midnight, Winter Solstice
Rating: 7/10

Pool Kids - Pool Kids

Release Date:  July 22, 2022

this album is really deceiving.

Review: After hearing "That's Physics, Baby," I figured they were an emo revival band, but nope, none of their other songs really have that emo guitar playing style. I would say they mostly have a dreamy, alternative sound. To be honest, I feel like there are too many cooks in the kitchen. It's like some of the band members were like, I'm indie rock (Conscious Uncoupling, Talk Too Much), I'm pop punk (Arm's Length, Swallow), I'm midwest emo (That's physics, Baby), I'm slow burning dreamscape (Comes in Waves). And it works for me.

Summary:  It's weird, outside of "that's physics, baby" which i think is a top tier song, i don't think they are doing anything outstanding, but as a listening experience, I'm really enjoying the multi genre direction the album went. The dreamy songs feel good to zoom out, but they also have songs to sing a long to.

Favorite Songs: That's Physics, Baby, Further, Talk Too Much, Comes in Waves, Swallow, Arm's Length
Rating: 8/10

Porter Robinson - Nurture

Release Date: April 23th, 2021
Genre: Electronic, synth, ambient

Is this good or is this shit? I imagine the non-EDM people discovered him from the "Shelter" music video, because that's where I came in. I'm not too big on anime, nor am I a fan of this type of music, so I felt very indifferent to the song. I told myself to not expect a full album of "Shelter," but it's the only thing I had as a reference point.

Review: I had major writer's block when I knew I wanted to give this album a score, yes, its very dreamy, ethereal, and it had that feeling of "healing" because of how light all the words were. The first two songs are basically together and it's nice, pleasing, but it's exactly how I imagine what a Porter Robinson song would sound like with the pop song formula. "Get Your Wish" has the same feel, but less showboating, more low-key euphoric.

The beginning of "Wind Tempos" reminds me a lot of LCD Soundsystem, and hearing the song unravel til the second half where we get this chopped up repeated phases of "it's so holy..." iono, feels sad in a good way. It's very interesting that you can hear mouse clicks like the song is a work in progress. The song ends as if it was leading into the next song, but "Musician" is more poppy, less ups and downs, just straight high.

I like "do-re-mi." "Mother" is fine, it doesn't stand out as much. "dullscythe" has those chopped up effects like on "wind tempos." I find the song interesting, but could use something extra. I feel like the emotional climax, if there is one, is for the song "Sweet Time." No crazy tricks, just a steady slow beat, sweet song.

"Mirror" and "Something Comforting" are fine, it has those loud bass sounds to get you pumped, but it also made me feel tired. I like the acoustic "blossom" and wish it was the last track. The last two songs have this grand worshiping feel to them. It's too harsh to say they are bad, but since I don't listen to electronic music, it just feels like another shade of the same color of this album.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Lifelike 8/10
2. Look at the Sky 7/10
3. Get Your Wish 8/10
4. Wind Tempos 10/10
5. Musician 7/10
6. do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do 8/10
7. Mother 6/10
8. dullscythe 7/10
9. Sweet Time 9/10
10. Mirror 7/10
11.Something Comforting 6/10
12. Blossom 8/10
13. Unfold 5/10
14. Trying to Feel Alive 7/10

Summary: I listened to this without knowing what the "singles" were and the songs that felt like they were meant to be singles, were indeed, released prior to the album release. I feel that some songs could have been cut because it felt like the same shade of the same color. Still, it took a while for me to adjust to hearing his voice and his vocaloid-type of voice. Sometimes, it's too dry for me, but when the music isn't relying on the electronic tropes of heavy bass and drops, there is this nice ethereal, "healing" to the music.

Key Tracks: Get Your Wish, Wind Tempos, Sweet Time
Rating: 7/10

Pitbull - Give Me Everything

From Album: Planet Pit

Maybe it's because of the coming summer, but there's something about the flavor of Pitbull's voice that when he comes on the radio, i just go hyper! also, Ne-Yo's sexy ass is here.

Rating: 6/10

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

Release Date: 3/29/11
Genre: Indie pop/shoegaze/lo-fi

Review: So very noisy. Has good tracks, but starts to blend. 

Favorite Songs: Belong, Body, My Terrible Friend
Rating: 7.4/10

Panda Bear - Tomboy

Release Date: 4/12/11
Genre: Psychedelic pop

Review: It was hard to take in the singles as he released them to the public as they didn't feel it had those "attention to detail" moments. So I barely listened to the singles, but hearing them together, i found it to be surprising well put together. Maybe my subconscious is making the connecting that i heard them before, but the sound of the first 5 tracks are a really great piece of work. The mood really switches when Drone comes on and Scheherazade two tracks later just dampens the whole flow. It's hard to tell what they add to the album. So overall, it's a strip down version of Person Pitch and standalone tracks are harder to find. Still, i think his goal of making the sound of the album to his liking succeeded.

Favorite Songs: Slow Motion, Last Night At The Jetty, Afterburner
Rating: 7.7/10

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Release Date: 02/14/11
Genre: Rock

Review: I am such a conformist, it's true.  I'm sorry. But without the positive reviews, i wouldn't have given this much thought.  Compare to her other works, i found this to be her most accessible and it flowed so well one song to the next. Good sound, good lyrics, good voice.  This album is pretty special.

Favorite Songs:The Words That Maketh Murder, On Battleship Hill, England
Rating: 9.3/10

Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd

Release Date: 03/25/08
Genre: Psychedelic Pop Punk

I know. But I could never get past the 3rd track. I always wanted to give this a full listen so alright. I'm gonna do it. I never listen to their debut, but their singles were so lame.

Review: So I did read around and it seems like the agreement was that the band matured and fans who liked their poppunk stuff will be disappointed while others will like it. Well After listening to the full album, there isn't much that appealed to me. The intro track is the best song and man, it held so much promise. "Nine in the Afternoon" has stupid lyrics, but it's catchy so i let it slide. After that, nothing really said "yes." Most of it was "60s."

So it looks like they added a backing band to give it that "Sgt. Pepper" sound, but the music just sounds like a generic rip off from the 60s. The singing is pretty harsh on the ears. Whoever is singing on"Behind The Sea," I wouldn't mind if they switched to him full time. If they wanted to sound like a retro band, I think his is more suited. The current singer's voice is too metro eyelinder for me.

Summary: Vocals and music don't match. And on its own, aren't that interesting. At times, I can see them having the right ideas, but the completed work just doesn't work for me.

Key Tracks: Nine in the Afternoon, That Green Gentleman, From A Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins
Rating: 4/10

P!nk - Funhouse

Release Date: 10/28/08
Genre: Pop Rock

I wanted to hate this because P!nk is such a crazy bitch, but I enjoyed this album more than I expected. Maybe I'm bitter because allmusic kept giving her 4.5/5 stars for her last 3 albums which I though was complete bullshit. But P!nk has hook. And this album hooked me.

Review: "So What" is insane. The beginning is a little 'childish' but then the chorus is just so over-the-top that it's so hard for me to reject it. The bridge is a little unsettling, but it's okay. I love ridiculous music.

The hyperness stood with me for the second song and once that wore down, "Sober" was in its last leg and the hook of the chorus was enough to please me. "I Don't Believe You" is a well done ballad. It surprised me that she can sound really hurt and sensitive. Pretty heavy and the strings are well arranged.

"One Foot Wrong" is cool because she showed attitude and it reminds me of lounge music and she just doesn't belong, yet it works. The chorus is nice. "Please Don't Leave Me" is another slow start, but it gets better with more plays.

"Bad Influence"and "Funhouse" should turn me away, but it's so catchy. "Crystal Ball" is decent, but "Mean" has a country flavor so it's a little unpleasing at first, but again, she has a interesting hook with all of her songs and this one, hooks me.

"Glitter in the Air" reminds me of a christmas song.

Summary: So a few bad songs, but most of them are catchy that I can live with it.

Key Tracks: So What, I Don't Believe You, Bad Influence
Rating: 7/10

Pompeii - Nothing Happens for a Reason

Release Date: 10/21/08
Genre: Indie Rock, emo

I saw a picture of the album cover and it made me want to hear the album.

Review: The music is good. You can really hear the post-rock influences and the cello is awesome when it comes. The opening track felt renewing. "Rabbit Ears" is a breath of fresh air and it got carried to the next song.

The next 6 songs all run over 5 minutes. How cool. So I wanted the band to explode, but they never quite did so it all runs together and it's hard to really write something. It's nice music, but nothing too catchy or highly melodic that will stay in your brain for hours. Maybe if some of the songs cut the bullshit, or if the album had less tracks. Nothing sucks on its own, but 30 minutes is tough. I know I'm not a casual listener as I listen to lots and lots of new albums as once, so a change-up would be nice.

The cello are awesome on "Until You're Floating."

"Sit and Wait" is pretty.

Summary: A little on the long side, but it's pretty music. I wish they played with the sound more as it's all uniform. Some of the chorus don't stand out. Still, some good stuff. A 6 looks harsh, but I don't feel that it's quite a 7 yet.

Key Tracks: Rabbit Ears, Ready / Not Ready, Until You're Floating
Rating: 6/10

Polarkreis 18 - The Colour Of Snow

Release Date: 10/17/08
Genre: Electropop

Well this was a pleasant surprise.

Review: Even before i saw the album cover, my first impressions from the album were it was arctic. Like even thought my headphones, it just felt like he was breathing cold air on me. The instruments just blend together nicely.

Opening track "Tourist" has the twinkle piano and later on, an electro beat. His high notes are remarkable. "Allein Allein" is almost ridiculous in the grand scheme. It reminds me of Cut Copy because of the chorus being so memorable. It's the first song I got hooked to.

I like "Prisoner" for its use of horns and soft plucking. Made it feel like a soaring the earth was spinning so smoothly. I really appreicated the calm down track of "Untitled Picture." Very nice aura.

"The Colour Of Snow" is the album's best song. Great build to the chorus and the chorus just runs with it. "130/70" follows it and with those two delivered one of the best 1-2 punches of the year. I like how spacey his voice is and it doesn't even mean much anymore. The deliver combine with the music just feels special.

"Rainhouse" suffers from the two tracks before it so it just sounds like a anchor track to transition to the ending. "River Loves The Ocean" could the be the opening intro of a fantasy movie. It's mostly reserved but with the help of the harps, the song is pretty chilly. Maybe dark.

There's something mournful about "Happy Go Lucky." beautiful song.

Summary: I like albums to feel like albums. For 41 minutes, they kept me excited.

Key Tracks: Allein Allein, The Colour Of Snow, Happy Go Lucky
Rating: 7/10

Portishead - Third

Release Date: 04/28/08
Genre: Trip-hop

This album was such a big deal this year, but I could never get into it. I never liked "Dummy" either. So here's my last attempt.

Review: I feel really dark and trapped in a smoke room. Her voice isn't lady-like and it's really just trippy. Like if where you are now is life, she's behind a glass wall that is death. And she just sounds really eerie. The music doesn't stand out to me. Like it's just there. But in the right set of mind, it's not so bad. See, I feel like I'm missing the point because the muted sound is done on purpose. It's interesting, but I can't find myself giving the album more spins. The pace is very slow motion.

Summary: Depending on the mood.

Key Tracks: Nylon Smile, Machine Gun
Rating: 4/10

The Pussycat Dolls - Doll Domination

Release Date: 09/23/08
Genre: Dance-Pop-RnB

"Stickwitu" is a good song right?

Review: I Hate This Place, Out of This Club, Happily Never After, Halo, Elevator, Love The Way You Love Me and I'm Done are ones I give a mild thumbs up to. Everything else is pretty bland. The rest of the album has those generic beats that I hate so much in hiphop music. Sadly, the ones I found easier to enjoy are the slower ballad types. I actually liked Nicole Scherzinger when she was in Eden's Crush so her voice doesn't bother me much, although at times, it feels like it's too buried in the sound.

Summary: Typical radio music.

Key Tracks: I Hate This Place, Out of This Club, Happily Never After
Rating: 4/10

Priscilla Ahn - A Good Day

Release Date: 06/10/08
Genre: Indie Folk.

She's half Korean.

Review: This album is so dreamy. If I wasn't such a music whore, I probably would love this, but just compared to a lot of other albums, it's a one mood album. Her sound is like a perfect spring morning. It works for a while, but it evens out as the album goes on. Even though the overall time is only 35 minutes, I was in need to listen to something else 15 minutes in. "Dream" is the popular choice for the album's best. It has everything that makes a song great. Her singing is incredible and the cello adds so much depth.

Summary: Perfect spring morning.

Key Tracks: Dream, Wallflower, Red Cape
Rating: 7/10

Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors

Release Date: 09/16/08
Genre: Alternative

So here's a band I listen to last year because some had them on their top 25 list, but I was turned away with it's experimental noises. I honestly didn't go back later to listen to it, but this one is brand new.

Review: Cool fuzzy warm album. The first 6 tracks are what I like, just nice and chill campfire songs. Reminds me of good folk music. All 6 are good developed songs. The second half is more split with more shorter songs with more of an abstract feel to it so it becomes less memorable in my opinion, but it's cool that it connects.

Summary: Pretty decent.

Key Tracks: Lay Me Down, Colors, Our And In And In And Out
Rating: 6/10

Peter Bjorn and John - Seaside Rock

Release Date: 09/23/08
Genre: Instrumental, Acoustic

Okay, but where's the real album?

Review: Obviously, this album will be compared to Writer's Block and I'm sure for many, this album will be shit. So let's just pretend this is their debut. The first track is uncreative and goes nowhere. The second track gets to be more playful and i enjoy it. the added faint vocals towards the end gave it more texture.

"Next Stop Bjursele," "Erik's Fishing Trip" and "Norrlands Riviera" suck and provide nothing but rubbish spoken words on top of uninteresting music. If I'm missing some deep underlying message, please explain to me, but even if i still knew, it doesn't make the song sound better. It sounds like crap.

However, songs such as "School of Kraut" show that they can create high spirit songs. If the album were more like this, I think nobody would complain. It's interesting.

It's nice that these three guys wanted to make an album towards their experiences in their childhood, recapturing the sounds and on some songs, they got the right ideas (see key tracks), but as a whole, it's just an average album that won't really shake heads.

Summary: Some good stuff, some bad stuff.

Key Tracks: School Of Kraut, Needles And Pills, At The Seaside
Rating: 5/10