Rate the album you last listened to

[Logan812]

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (reissue)
9/10

Really was kinda ambivalent on this album when it came out.

Anymore? Not so much. Apart from a couple of tracks, it's not only held up outstandingly well, but seems to have gotten better with age.

I agree. The Mellon Collie deluxe edition remasters are terrific as well and the differences are audible (unlike most of the Gish remasters, but that's still worth the money). Some of the "bonus"/unreleased songs are better than some of the filler songs on the actual album ("Cupid de Locke", "We Only Come Out At Night", etc.)



Count Zero - Little Minds
8/10

I was already a big fan of the song "Sail Your Ship By" from Guitar Hero 1 and I like "Radium Eyes" from GH2, so I bought this album on iTunes (which includes "Sail Your Ship By" BTW)

It may or may not be instantly gratifying on the first listen, but it gets a lot better if you give it a chance. It sort of reminds me of Incubus's Make Yourself at some points but with a more experimental approach. The highlights of this album for me are "Dream A Million Stars", "May", "Sail Your Ship By", "Schizoid Astroplane", and "Heaven's Balloon." I do hope they add more Count Zero DLC for Rock Band in the future. "Shake" isn't one of their best songs, and it's one of the worst on Never Be Yourself in my opinion.

[HardRockerBrazil]

KISS - Monster

If you like old-school rock, then you'll fall head over heels for it.

KICKASS/10

[SuperTigerMario]

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

Pretty great album. Tons of variety but what else do I expect from the artist.

8/10

[killer_roach]

Lalle Larsson's Weaveworld - Nightscapes
8/10

Good modern symphonic prog effort with an emphasis on being darker and heavier than most in the style. Downsides are that the synth parts are a bit less varied than I would like (they sound a bit dated) and the album's instrumental nature means that longer tracks drag on a bit.


iamthemorning - s/t
9/10

Russian neoclassical pop act with influences from folk, classical, jazz, and acoustic indie rock. Haunting female vocals, intricate piano and string arrangements, and a well-developed sense of pacing make this a surprisingly well-done debut.


Atoma - Skylight
8.75/10

Ostensibly a variant off of doom metal, Atoma's heavy use of atmospheric and theatrical elements bring to mind bands like Alcest and Magma - very good company indeed.


Profusion - Rewotower
8.25/10

Eclectic rock band that embraces a surprisingly wide range of influences, yet wears their melodic Italian roots on their sleeves. A bit underdone at points, but this is still an outfit that seems to be working on a shoestring budget. Nonetheless, they show considerable promise with this sophomore release.


Passion Pit - Gossamer
8.5/10

It's not Manners, but the band avoids a sophomore slump with a fun and surprisingly engaging effort, and solidifies their position as one of the best modern synthpop acts.

[GandWuser]

Bis - The New Transistor Heroes (8.5/10)

90's indie pop that still holds up well today. The sometimes childlike sound the music has seems to contrast a lot with the lyrics - take "Popstar Kill" for an example of this. This isn't a bad thing though. The obviously default MIDI drum machine, which can sometimes become aggravating in its fakeness, is probably the worst part of the album, but overall this is still a great song. Highlights include "Tell It To The Kids", "Sweet Shop Avengerz", "Popstar Kill", "Monstarr", and "X-Defect".

[Gowienczyk]

I honestly don't know or care much about anything Odd Future related. I'm not going to lie, the enormous hype relative to people like Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt is dumbfounding as from what I feel is anything explementary. Though, I do try to be ahead of the curve when being aware and I admit this is a year where I was mostly far behind due to a minute apathy for media beyond cinema. That said, Frank Ocean isn't certainly bad, but is he great on Channel Orange? I am thinking no for my own opinion on the matter. Frank Ocean has slick production yes, but he also has a matter of style and songwriting that get's criticized when it is released by R. Kelly, Usher, and Chris Brown. Sure, each of those musicians don't have the drive to implement influences that Frank Ocean does and tend to release the same song twelve times per record. Perhaps I'm a little biased in regards to contemporary R&B, but that's because its devoid of much soul in the first place and is partially responsible for killing the soul in soul music.

Channel Orange isn't a bad record, especially on songs like Pyramids, which features a overladen synthetic funk composition under Ocean's run-of-the-mill vocals. If this is what Frank Ocean has to offer then I'm honestly not interested. Of which is fine as he has plenty fanbase to go through and has a place in this era of soulless consumerist contemporary R&B. In the meantime I'll actually listen to records with soul, both nostalgic and progressive.

I'll pass on Channel Orange.

2.5 | 5.0

[GandWuser]

Lauren Bousfield - Locked Into Phantasy (9/10)

Best thing I've heard in a while. Out of the like 3 albums I've listened to that's been released this year, this is my favorite. Really really good experimental electronic that you just can't listen to only once.

[HardRockerBrazil]

Aerosmith - Music from Another Dimension

To be honest, I'm more a fan of 70s Aerosmith than their modern stuff, but I'm willing to listen to a band that, for all intents and purposes, I like, especially when they spent such a long time without releasing a studio album.
I wrote a review here (in Portuguese, which is my native language), and gave it a 6/10, i.e. I found it a pretty mediocre record.

Just an addendum: I actually wanted to give it a 6.5/10, because in spite of the downturns, the good tracks there are pretty good, but that site where I posted my review doesn't allow decimal-point grades.

[Nirvaniac]

Dead Sara - Dead Sara

8.5/10

[GandWuser]

Zomboy - The Dead Symphonic EP (8.5/10)

An interesting blend of what I think is dubstep and house. What I like about this EP is that it seems at least slightly more creative that the more typical EDM I tend to hear.

Graveyard BBQ - Greatest Hits Volume 1 (8/10)

Decided to check these guys out for two reasons: 1. Cheat On The Church, and 2. I literally live two towns away from where they are from. Anyways, review. Despite being from way up in Massachusetts, these guys play Southern-fried metal, and boy do they play it well. They call it "dirtcore". Sure the songs are all about sex, booze, and BBQ, but what else would you expect? The only thing that comes to mind as a fault besides this is that the singer sometimes starts to sound like King Kai from Dragon Ball Z. Other than that, a fun, BBQ-glazed album that's better than you'd think.