| | Full Review | Ratings (256) |
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| 4.5 superb | DaveyBoy EMERITUS | October 22nd 11 |
Far from rehashing their 3 superb EPs, Aussie quartet The Jezabels use the long-play format to fully explore the boundaries of their sound on debut LP 'Prisoner'. The eye-opening organ & synths of the opener, the catchy melodcism of lead single 'Endless Summer' & the cinematic 'Long Highway' propel this captivating album to great heights. With all 4 members working double-time to compose near flawless music, 'Prisoner' is the rarity of a debut LP adding to an already superlative discography. The Jezabels are just getting started & the sky may be their only limit. Recommended Tracks: Endless Summer, City Girl, Horsehead, Deep Wide Ocean & Prisoner.
4 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.5 superb | Trey STAFF | January 22nd 20 |
It’s hard to describe this album without gushing. To me, it has elements of early Killing Joke (Night Time-era) and The Cure (Kiss Me-era) wrapped in an alternative container, with just enough indie pop to make every song stick in your head. This makes the music, despite its deceptively simple melodic overcurrents, more complicated than it originally seems. Each song ebbs-and-flows through different movements, while the drums rarely just play a simple beat, and electronics and waves of keyboards wash over the entire affair. Their vocalist, Hayley Mary, perfectly complicates the busy musical accompaniment with her soaring, yet soothing, vocals delivering a convincing performance on every track. This is another album that could just as easily move up a few spots on my decade list depending on what mood I’m in.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.0 poor | AtavanHalen | January 20th 12 |
All style and no substance, The Jezabels make the kind of dull-as-dishwater AOR that resides squarely in the middle of the road. Brooding and self-serious to the point of hilarity, the band inadvertently express everything about the current batch of chart-topping Australian acts that is just plain boring. There's no heart or personality to be found, just some psuedo-atmospheric bullshit for indie kids to sob to and festival bogans to put proudly next to their Coastal Chill and Xavier Rudd records. This mediocrity might seem harmless, but it's slowly eating away at the core of Australian music and needs to be stopped. Right away.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Bedex | November 25th 19 |
This is a band that knows what they're doing. The record isn't just their EPs in a longer format - it is masterfully and carefully constructed, and bears a feeling of grandeur as a record the shorter EPs didn't quite have. The album retains the post-rock influences seen on Dark Storm, but in a much subtler and more integrated way which is delightful to hear. The opener is sublime and quite literally one of my favourite album openers, period. The following track is also an incredible jam, and both are godtier tracks with huge intensity and voluminous instrumentation. 3 retains that intensity but is perhaps not quite as strong a track, then the record gradually descends in intensity which is welcome - 14 tracks of that would have been too much. The record is very dense and quite long (without being too long) and I'd be hard pressed to pinpoint all the jams and weaker tracks. The descent gets to its calmest on 11, with a lovely keys-based ambient interlude (jam), then picks it right up with 13 which is also a jam. 14 is a questionable closer in my opinion, in fact the bonus track felt like a better closer. Throughout my listen I was hesitant between 4.2 and 4.3, but the closer tips it down. This is really dense and I can't commit to a 4.5 range rating just yet. Still reaches a solid upper 4.2
Bump |
| 4.2 excellent | Erwann S. STAFF | July 25th 19 |
Fantastic Cocteau Twins-influenced, female-fronted The National release. The first half is deeply hypnotic, and while the second half is not as good, there still are some marvelous cuts (Deep Wide Ocean magad).
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | denboy | April 7th 24 |
| 4.6 superb | A.R.O. STAFF | April 29th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Pangea | December 27th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Porklips | September 26th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sowing STAFF | May 11th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Krelkin | January 21st 20 |
| 3.0 good | casey | January 16th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Josh | November 20th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | mallen- | December 30th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Roomex | August 17th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | Tom R. CONTRIBUTOR | June 11th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | RobotE | April 29th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | p4p | April 4th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | SJK | February 15th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | YaelPol | January 25th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Arctick | November 22nd 15 |
| 4.5 superb | Gawarin | October 23rd 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | pumi | February 28th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | Louis04 | October 10th 14 |
| 3.5 great | jmh886 | March 21st 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | ryan10 | March 3rd 14 |
| 2.5 average | Tobmast | February 22nd 14 |
| 4.5 superb | aob9 | November 10th 13 |
| 3.0 good | adr | November 9th 13 |
| 4.5 superb | Zeg | October 23rd 13 |
| 3.5 great | Zephir | August 24th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Cakey | July 25th 13 |
| 3.5 great | benkim | July 12th 13 |
| 4.5 superb | JS19 | April 9th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Hjertify | February 16th 13 |
| 4.5 superb | DJD | August 31st 12 |
| 4.5 superb | John L | July 31st 12 |
| 3.5 great | Feels | June 11th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | MrMagby | April 15th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | TanMan | March 15th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | jeggers | February 11th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | uman32 | February 7th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | ILJ | February 2nd 12 |
| 3.0 good | lobby | January 30th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Zion | January 16th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Giles | January 5th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Deathcar | December 22nd 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | fuckzack | November 26th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | seifer | November 24th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | blabony | November 11th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Smevin | November 10th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | BlueW | November 8th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Ayon | November 1st 11 |
| 2.5 average | Tupik | October 31st 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | DrFraud | October 29th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Aids | October 28th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | ZuZo | October 25th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Hens | October 24th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | maciej | October 23rd 11 |
| 4.5 superb | hamid95 | October 23rd 11 |
| 4.5 superb | gosk8n | October 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | kanker | October 17th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Tinco | October 17th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Dimor | October 16th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rudy K. EMERITUS | September 27th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Mikesn EMERITUS | September 27th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Dwap | September 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | RedSky | September 15th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Douglas | September 15th 11 |
| 3.0 good | Rowdy | September 14th 11 |
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