Sinternet
Tom Read
Contributor

Reviews 9
Soundoffs 149
News Articles 11
Band Edits + Tags 2,166
Album Edits 1,317

Album Ratings 7271
Objectivity 63%

Last Active 02-15-23 2:12 pm
Joined 10-12-14

Review Comments 26,567

 Lists
04.08.24 [R3] Build-An-Album³: Wub 2.0 02.27.24 [R2] Build-An-Album³: Out With Old, In
02.06.24 [R1] Build-An-Album³: Everybody Listen 01.28.24 LAST CALL [SIGNUPS] Build-An-Album³: T
01.21.24 Sin's K-Pop Roundup 2022 Part 3/3 FINAL 12.29.23 Sin's K-Pop Roundup 2022 Part 2/3
11.17.23 Sin's K-Pop Roundup 2022 Part 1/3 10.06.23 Recent vinyl pickups ver.29403
07.29.23 Vinyl update 2k23 edition04.08.23 2023 Q1 Part 2
04.04.23 2023 Q1 Part 1 10.09.22 Vinyl update shit
03.15.22 can you separate the fart from the fart02.20.22 VOTE SKRAMZ
02.09.22 my FAVouRiTE LYRICS!!! 10.17.21 7 years of sin >:)
08.17.21 heyheygbh4ryugyweiegwrfeikugf07.18.20 Going through my CD collection
More »

[R3] Build-An-Album³: Wub 2.0

Quit yer yappin' I'm here.
1Talking Heads
Fear of Music


After many unfortunate delays (I’m a busy man) we are finally arriving at Build-an-Album Round 3. You can now stop spamming the Round 2 thread or discord channels for me to hurry up and finish. Huzzah! Let’s see how you did first.
2The Clash
London Calling


Round 2 was an easy for you, tough for me situation overall. Tough for me, because I love cheesy new wave shit and liked the vast majority of songs here, so criticism was a much more laboured exercise than usual . Easy for you because I’m such a sucker for upbeat pop fromage and easy to please.
3XTC
Black Sea


Unfortunately there were a few slight violations of the rules of last round again (although much better than the first - you’re getting there!). Some of them were pretty silly - not enough 90s songs, or picking American artists. Minor shame on you! More forgivable but still costly were submissions of songs that just weren’t new wave, or by artists who had new wave albums and songs but not the ones you picked. I don’t know what the fascination is with that 90s Duran Duran album but new wave it ain’t. And can someone find me one song to show that The Church were ever new wave? Jangle pop is not what we’re looking for here. I have taken these infractions lightly unless you managed to mess this up more than a couple times in your playlist.
4The Cars
The Cars


As such, bonus points will continue to be given to those who diligently follow the requirements until I deem them unnecessary. The weighting for this round however has changed:

No rule breaks/violations - +1 points
A couple of minor violations - +0.5 points
A few or more violations - 0 points

With that out the way, let’s see how you all did!
5INXS
Shabooh Shoobah


SlothcoreSam's album

Summary: What a way to kick things off! Love this one, lotsa heavy hitters and I love (bar one track) that you pulled an all Down Under playlist. Some massive tunes here including an early INXS banger and one of the highlights from the one Regurgitator album anyone cares about. Last three tracks aren’t quite as essential as the rest, the Divinyls cut is great but the Midnight Oil one doesn’t have the hooks that make his voice more bearable that later releases do. Pretty excellent overall all things considered.
Highlight: INXS - Don’t Change [4.7]

Tracks: 4.1/5
Flow: 4.0/5
Did it Meet Requirements?: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 9.1
6A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls


Kompys2000's album

Summary: A solid album with some big highlights early on. Nena was an obvious but excellent choice, and as someone who has never knowingly heard a Flock of Seagulls track outside of I Ran, Space Age Love Song was a revelation. However the ending stretch brought this down a little bit - both of the 90s picks (Duran Duran and Chumbawamba) were solid songs on their own, but neither really got new wavey, the former especially being straight up trip-hop pop rock. Unfortunately as well, the ‘Til Tuesday closer (whilst an amazing track) broke the no American bands rule. Outside of this though, it was pretty damn good overall.
Highlight: A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song [4.6]

Tracks: 3,8/5
Flow: 3.7/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 8.0
7Kissing The Pink
Naked


ReefaJones' album

Summary: Really really good again from Reefa. It’s weird to think that the first two tracks are my least favourite here despite both being excellent, but around track 3 this really hits its groove, and boy does it groove. Love the Lizzy Mercier and Bill Nelson tracks, but the closer just about pips them to my favourite of the bunch. No real weak points at all here - tracks 3 and 4 are somewhat debatable in their new wavey-ness, but manage to retain enough of that character to be an acceptable choice. Keep it coming!
Highlight: Kissing the Pink - Big Man Restless [4.7]

Tracks: 4.3/5
Flow: 4.2/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 9.5
8Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Organisation


ffs' album

Summary: Really strong start here, brought down by a more so-so finish. Covers a nice variety of sounds up to and including track 5, but the final three track run either ends up feeling low-energy or very dated (and not in the cheesy 80s romp kinda way). But that first half and a bit is so good it makes me forget all that. Enola Gay is an excellent choice (I’m not trying to get into the synthpop/new wave distinction policing here, it absolutely counts). Love track 5 - didn’t realise until halfway through it was the singer from Bravo (who are also excellent). Flow unfortunately is tanked a bit by the finish, but up to that turning point is solid. Didn’t quite stick the landing as a whole, but has some very high moments.
Highlight: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Enola Gay [4.6]

Tracks: 3.8/5
Flow: 3.6/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 8.4
9Depeche Mode
Violator


Shemson's album

Summary: Some real bangers here, and were this just a general playlist rather than aiming to meet the requirements of the round, it would do super well. However, there’s just one too many non-new wave cuts here to get me fully in the new wave mood. Depeche Mode is darkwavey synthpop, which strictly speaking isn’t new wave, but I’m giving synthpop a pass. That Cure would also fall shy in that camp normally, but the guitar tone just about passes it. However The Church was not really new wavey at all. Also I fucking hate The Boomtown Rats, sorry. Now onto the good - everything else. Tears for Fears? Yeah mate, boom. Really liked that Vapors track too. It’s not a bad playlist overall, flow is a little disjointed but the tracks are there. Just watch out for hitting the right vibe.
Highlight: Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence [4.8]

Tracks: 3.9/5
Flow: 3.5/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 7.9
10The Cure
Wish


PitchforkArms' album

Summary: Big Country continues to be a band for me who have literally one song worth hearing and nothing else, and the Republika track, whilst they were a new wave band in the 80s, is straight alt rock. That’s it, that’s all I can complain about, because the rest is super jammable and fun. Minor rule infraction overlooked, there is so much to love here, kicking off with an XTC banger, peaking with one of The Cure’s most perpetually underrated album tracks and still managing to fit in Talk Talk, The Damned and Bowie? There are recipes to success and they were diligently followed. Very nice.
Highlight: The Cure - Doing the Unstuck [4.7]

Tracks: 4.1/5
Flow: 3.8/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 8.9
11Ekatarina Velika
Dum Dum


anat's album

Summary: This a greater than the sum of its parts album if I’ve ever heard one. Individually many of these songs are very good, but not world-changing - what you’ve done is hit an immaculate vibe journey through a world of dark-ish but hopeful eccentric new wave hits that never were. Has plenty going for it with how quirky and alternative some of these choices are - love the focus on non-Western artists in particular. Is it lacking a massive banger? Maybe a little, but it could also disrupt the balance to have a big powerhouse anthem amidst all the Cold War ennui.
Highlight: Alexey Vishnia - Kamikaze [4.3]

Tracks: 3.9/5
Flow: 4.8/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]
Other: Best Flow [+0.5]

Score: 10.2
12Pulp
His 'n' Hers


neekafat's album

Summary: Consistency across the playlist was great, really nice flow all around. Pulp’s Lipgloss was an unorthodox pick but you know what? It does have a bit of a new wave tinge to it. In any case it sits perfectly amongst its more authentic peers. That middle stretch from tracks 3-6 is really a fine piece of work, but I was left wanting a little more oomph out of the bookends. Not to matter though because I can definitely feel the journey with this one, flow is on point.
Highlight: Pulp - Lipgloss [4.3]

Tracks: 3.9/5
Flow: 4.1/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 9.0
13Virus (Arg)
Locura


Pangea's album

Summary: There are a fair few tracks here that effortlessly hit upon that synthy groovy goodness that is so key to a banging new wave playlist, and that goes for more regional acts like Virus and Portable Rock just as much as it does for heavy hitters such as Bowie and New Order. Trackwise, the only downers were the two Dutch tracks, which neither bopped nor hit upon a campy tangent that inspires. Really though, my main sticking point here is the flow - rarely was there a transition I thought worked as well as it could have, and while listening I was mentally reorganising the album myself in a more satisfying way. It’s new wave, so there’s a pretty high base-level of fluidity between songs for the most part, but it failed to draw me in quite as much as it could have. Great tracks though.
Highlight: Virus - Tomo Le Que Encuentro [4.4]

Tracks: 4.0/5
Flow: 3,3.5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 8.3
14BUCK-TICK
Kurutta Taiyou


JohnnyoftheWell's album

Summary: A couple of moments here tread a more post-punk line rather than new wave, but the experience here is well worth the slight stretching of genre boundaries. That run from tracks 2-6 is pure perfection (Am I gonna have to actually listen to a full BUCK-TICK album at some point? Answers on a postcard). What’s most noticeable here though is how cohesive the entire package is, equal parts angular and tongue-in-cheek kookiness. Definitely not afraid to be a little oddball but making sure the foundations are secure beneath. Very good.
Highlight: BUCK-TICK - Machine [4.5]

Tracks: 4.1/5
Flow: 4.2/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 9.3
15The Passions
Thirty Thousand Feet Over China


Jash's album

Summary: A distinctly uneven effort with some very enjoyable parts brought down by a couple of pretty mediocre ones. I never bothered to check that Gang of Four album due to its reputation, which I now discover is well-earned. Not sure who Images in Vogue are, but that one was also painfully uninspired. The good news is that most of the rest was pretty decent - The Passions, OMD and Talk Talk were all very solid choices. Unfortunately, the XTC song is great but not new wave in the slightest. There were some interesting choices here and I respect them, but this wasn’t super my thing.
Highlight: The Passions - I’m In Love With A German Film Star [4.1]

Tracks: 3.4/5
Flow: 3.6/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 7.5
16The Jam
Sound Affects


Zac124's album

Summary: If you take out tracks 1, 4 and 7, this is a really consistent and enjoyable new wave album that lurks around the outskirts of the genre to keep itself fresh. How could I, a Brit, resist Madness or The Jam? Excellent work in that aspect. However there were numerous violations here that pushed too far past the genre boundaries for my liking, King Crimson almost was on that list, but just about had enough about it to remain acceptable. Republika and Soda Stereo were less fortunate - both great new wave bands in the 80s, but far removed from that camp by the late 90s. Cardiacs, I’m not even sure what you’d call it, but whatever I heard was some weird art punk stuff, and definitely not new wave, sticking out like a sore thumb in the playlist. Definitely not the worst playlist here in terms of content, but it misses the mark when it comes to meeting the criteria.
Highlight: The Jam - Start! [4.3]

Tracks: 3.7/5
Flow: 3.8/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Not Really [0]

Score: 7.5
17Generation X
Kiss Me Deadly


anode's album

Summary: This was so close to being one of the best playlists of the round, but somehow you managed to pick not one, but TWO tracks that had already been taken, one of which (Come Undone) is not really new wave at all. This is a lesson to pay attention to what other people have already submitted. Now saying that, you managed to pick two of my favourite new wave/synthpop songs ever, those being Bizarre Love Triangle (of course), and the ridiculously underappreciated Dancing With Myself which has one of the best choruses in pop history. Outside of the two slip-ups this was really good, but please double check your submissions.
Highlight: Billy Idol/Generation X - Dancing with Myself 4.9

Tracks: 4.0/5
Flow: 3.9/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Not Really [0]
Other: Best Track [+0.5]

Score: 8.4
18New Order
Low-Life


tyman128's album

Summary: Some of this was really good, and some of it was just okay. A couple of these really stretch the definition of new wave to breaking point (XTC, Tears for Fears) and others (The Church) are way past that line. Big successes though in the one Big Country song worth hearing and a pretty underrated (compared to their big hits) New Order track. Whilst this was not my favourite collection of songs here, this definitely had a well-crafted flow to it that boosts it’s score a bit. Not bad overall.
Highlight: New Order - Love Vigilantes [4.3]

Tracks: 3.7/5
Flow: 3.9/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 8.1
19Talk Talk
It's My Life


Uzumaki's album

Summary: Minus tracks 4 and 5, this is what my dad would have come up with if I asked him for a new wave playlist. The result is not bad, but maybe lacks a little pizzazz as a whole. The last trio of tracks are really good and have a great flow between them, which makes me wish that was what it focused on from an earlier point. Talk Talk is a bit of a cheat code, and using their biggest new wave hit might be considered a little uninspired, but hey someone had to, and it paid off well. The real problem here is two-fold: a) that Republika track, other than being god-awful, is straight up 90s alt rock cringe, and b) you only used one song from the 90s! Stay vigilant people.
Highlight: Talk Talk - It's My Life [4.7]

Tracks: 3.8/5
Flow: 3.6/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Not Really [0]

Score: 7.4
20Divinyls
Desperate


bellovddd's album

Summary: Again a wonderful commitment here to highlighting Australasian contributions to music, and this one flows really really well. Love how semi-obscure some of these artists are, no easy Men at Work picks here. Good jo0b on having one of the best 90s picks too - that Real Life track is cheesy but hits the spot nicely. One or two little slip-ups though - Crowded House, whilst fitting with the rest of the playlist quite well, are just not new wave. Similar complaints about The Church, who several other people picked - what are you all hearing? They must have at least one new wave song for this many people to submit, but none of you found it clearly. Oh well, excellent effort.
Highlight: QED - Everywhere I Go [4.2]

Tracks: 3.8/5
Flow: 4.1/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 8.4
21Depeche Mode
Music for the Masses


FowlKrietzsche's album

Summary: The first couple of songs here skirted around straight new wave a little, but aside from that no issues here with any of your tracks. Great Depeche banger, was surprised to see no one else take a Strawberry Switchblade song, and Blue Monday is always welcome, even if it’s the inferior ‘88 remix. Maybe I’m a little disappointed with the flow here, there were some decent transitions but I couldn’t quite grasp a thematic journey or an airtight mix from this, which could have seen a few quite easy tweaks in sequencing elevate it. Still, you got the tracks right and that’s half the battle, and you stayed on task. Good job.
Highlight: Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again [4.6]

Tracks: 3.9/5
Flow: 3.4/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Yes [+1.0]

Score: 8.3
22Soft Cell
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret


Squiggly's album

Summary: This opened with one of the objective best new wave tracks ever made and didn’t quite live up to it after, which is a shame, but this is mostly pretty enjoyable outside of another pretty un-new wavey 90s Duran Duran track. Unfortunately I have to dock a bit of the bonus points because alongside that, neither the INXS track nor the Depeche Mode one really gave me much in that area either despite both being great songs on their own. Luckily there were some other good picks here, I liked both the Naked Eyes and Blancmange cuts - both bands I didn’t know beforehand, which raised the average considerably. It’s not bad, again some issues with flow not being quite optimal, but not enough to make a fuss about.
Highlight: Soft Cell - Tainted Love [4.8]

Tracks: 3.9/5
Flow: 3.6/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 8.0
23The Cure
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me


gryndstone's album

Summary: This REALLY stretched the definition of new wave at times, but you know what? I’m here for it - most of this just about passed the examination. And that’s a good thing, because this is one of the best track selections of any submission. Out of the stuff I didn’t know already, the Indochine track really got my attention. Is starting with Just Like Heaven cheating? I don’t know, but no one else picked it so have the free points on that one. Your one mistake? That Oingo Boingo song. It’s pretty average on its own, but I hate to be that person but they do happen to be an American band. An impressive entry though for someone who jumped in hot to take Mars’ place.
Highlight: The Cure - Just Like Heaven [4.6]

Tracks: 4.1/5
Flow: 3,9/5
Did It Meet Requirements: Mostly [+0.5]

Score: 8.5
24Franco Battiato
La voce del padrone


With your Position Points™ added, our scoreboard for this round looks like this:

Rankings:

1. anat - 10.2 + 1.0 = 11.2
2. ReefaJones - 9.5 + 0.8 = 10.3
3. JohnnyoftheWell - 9.3 + 0.6 = 9.9
4. SlothcoreSam - 9.1 + 0.4 = 9.5
5. neekafat - 9.0 + 0.2 = 9.2
6. PitchforkArms - 8.9
7. ffs - 8.6
8. gryndstone - 8.5
=9. Pangea/anode/bellovddd - 8.4
12. FowlKrietzche - 8.3
13. tyman128 - 8.1
=14. Kompys2000/Squiggly - 8.0 - 0.1 = 7.9
16. Shemson - 7.9 - 0.2 = 7.7
=17. Zac124/Jash - 7.5 - 0.4 = 7.1
19. Uzumaki - 7.4 - 0.5 = 6.9
25Sumo
Llegando los monos


…Leaving our current overall scoreboard as follows:

1. ReefaJones - 22.2
2. anat - 19.5
=3. JohnnyoftheWell - 19.0
=3. gryndstone - 19.0
5. SlothcoreSam - 18.9
6. Jash - 18.6
=7. anode - 18.2
=7. Zac124 - 18.2
9. Pangea - 17.7
=10. neekafat - 17.6
=10. PitchforkArms - 17.6
12. ffs - 17.5
13. Kompys2000 - 16.6
14. Uzumaki - 16.3
15. tyman128 - 15.9
16. FowlKrietzche - 15.3
17. Squiggly - 14.6
18. bellovddd - 14.4
19. Shemson - 14.0
26Oingo Boingo
Good for Your Soul


A big lead for Reefa at the moment and a very tight middle section. The bottom is also heating up - having revised my original rules for this phase the good news is that with 19 participants, only 3 of you will be eliminated (leaving us with a nice 16 participants). It’s all to play for now as we reach halfway in Phase 1, leaving me to introduce Round 3. Your genre is… (I’m sorry guys)
27Tubeway Army
Replicas




28Burial
Untrue


GENRE:

DUBSTEP

I can’t tell you how painful this round is gonna be for me. Not because I dislike dubstep, far from it, but I really don’t trust your guys’ taste in it at all with a couple exceptions.
29Kode9 and the Spaceape
Memories of the Future


CONSTRAINTS:

Mercy is the name of the game here. You have 5 TRACKS each. NO TIME LIMIT but I may kill you if your playlist consists of five shit eight minute long vibe ruiners.
30King Midas Sound
Waiting For You


BORING RULE:

Any and all types of dubstep is allowed, I’ll leave you to decide what I’m most responsive to. This includes pop and other songs that majorly include dubstep elements, but I will be ruthless if you just send me an electropop song with a couple wubs in the chorus - you have been warned. For the aficionados out there, you need to be challenged, because this may be far too easy for you otherwise. And so, I’m proclaiming that NO HYPERDUB TRACKS are allowed. If it was released by Hyperdub at any point (yes I’m counting reissues if they have any) it is forbidden. Expand your horizons.
31Darkstar (UK)
North


WEIRD RULE:

I couldn’t think of anything actually related to dubstep, so allow me to ruin your day. Your playlist must spell out the name of a (real) place with the first letter of each track name. For example:

1. J…
2. A…
3. P…
4. A…
5. N…

This can be countries, states, cities, towns, lakes, mountains, etc. As long as it’s real I’ll allow it, although try not to go too obscure. No fake fictional stuff - I don’t want to see you Jar Jar Binks your way to submitting a righteous ragga Naboo playlist. And anticipating technicality questions from the dorkiest of the bunch, it must be the current, Anglicized name for the place. No Burma for you.
32Zomby
Zomby


TL:DR

Genre: Dubstep
Constraints: 5 tracks, no time limit.
Boring Rule: No Hyperdub releases.
Weird Rule: First letter of each track name must spell out a real place.

Deadline: 17th April.

Have at it!
Show/Add Comments (60)

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy