| Alcest Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde | 3.0 |
| Belong October Language | 4.0 |
| Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago | 4.0 |
| Burzum Hvis Lyset Tar Oss | 4.5 |
| Christian Death Only Theatre of Pain | 4.0 |
| Haram Haram | 3.5 |
| Joy Division Substance | 3.5 |
| Joy Division Permanent | 3.5 |
| Joy Division Unknown Pleasures | 4.5 |
| Joy Division Closer | 5.0 |
| Kayo Dot Blue Lambency Downward | 2.5 |
| Majority Rule Interview With David Frost | 4.5 |
| Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas | 3.5 |
| Metallica St. Anger | 1.0 |
| Morrissey Ringleader of the Tormentors | 2.5 |
| Morrissey You Are the Quarry | 3.5 |
| Morrissey Vauxhall and I | 4.0 |
| Morrissey Bona Drag | 4.5 |
| My Bloody Valentine Loveless | 5.0 |
| pg.99 Document #8 | 4.5 |
| Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Talk About the Weather | 4.0 |
| She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge | 2.5 |
| More or less the manifestation of averageness, this album is a pleasant enough listen if you're in the mood for some dark, mellow, dance-able pop songs. Unfortunately, the band doesn't have any of the genius of the bands they're most often compared to (Joy Division and Interpol among them). A few stand out tracks, a few pleasant-but-forgettable tracks, a few absolute grimace moments. |
| Slowdive Pygmalion | 3.5 |
| Slowdive Souvlaki | 4.5 |
| The Chameleons Script of the Bridge | 3.5 |
| The Mars Volta The Bedlam in Goliath | 3.0 |
No one will ever deny that The Mars Volta are real, in-the-flesh virtuosos. And why will no one deny it? Because that virtuosity is on display in every single song they play. The problem is that the band is at it's best when they're able to dial down the pyrotechnics a notch and focus on the underlying elements that make some of their music so damned amazing: latin-influenced rhythms, always-original guitars, caterwauling vocals.
When The Mars Volta decide to truly explore the extent of their abilities, which is most of the time, the end result is always interesting, always impressive, but hardly fun to listen to. This is music that one appreciates, in the way that we appreciate all modern art: with our intellects, but not with our gut.
Is there a place for music like that? Absolutely, and an important one. Do the Mars Volta occasionally leave experimentation aside and produce extremely addictive, intelligent music? Absolutely they do, several times on this album, in fact...But part of me can't help but wonder if all this virtuosic, rambling experimentation was really necessary in the first place. |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | 4.0 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream | 4.5 |
| The Smiths The Smiths | 3.5 |
| The Smiths Meat Is Murder | 3.5 |
| The Smiths Hatful of Hollow | 4.5 |
| The Smiths The Queen Is Dead | 5.0 |
| The Sound From The Lion's Mouth | 3.5 |
