Electric City
User

Reviews 135
Approval 95%

Soundoffs 127
News Articles 12
Band Edits + Tags 58
Album Edits 83

Album Ratings 746
Objectivity 75%

Last Active 11-12-21 3:34 pm
Joined 05-25-05

Review Comments 15,756

Average Rating: 3.60
Rating Variance: 0.74
Objectivity Score: 75%
(Fairly Balanced)

Chart.

Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name


2017
Brand New Science Fiction4.5

2016
Bon Iver 22, A Million4.5
The Avalanches Wildflower4.5
Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman4.0
Deakin Sleep Cycle4.0
Teen Suicide It's the Big Joyous Celebration..3.0
Japanese Breakfast Psychopomp3.5
Nada Surf You Know Who You Are3.5
Animal Collective Painting With2.5
Kanye West The Life of Pablo2.0
Blithe Field Face Always Towards the Sun4.0

2015
Archy Marshall A New Place 2 Drown3.5
Kid Cudi Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven1.0
more like pursuit of crappiness
Beach Slang The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel2.0
Foxing Dealer4.5
George Clanton 100% Electronica3.5
Skylar Spence Prom King4.0
Ariadne Tsalal4.5
Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion5.0
Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment Surf4.0
Hop Along Painted Shut3.5
Kamasi Washington The Epic4.5
katie dey asdfasdf4.0
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly4.5
Jeff Rosenstock We Cool?3.5
Hecq Mare Nostrum3.5
Kreng The Summoner4.5
Title Fight Hyperview3.5
Mount Eerie Sauna4.5

2014
Weezer Everything Will Be Alright in the End3.5
triumphalist
Flying Lotus You're Dead!4.3
Beach Slang Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street3.0
Thom Yorke Tomorrow's Modern Boxes3.5
Interpol El Pintor3.0
Ariana Grande My Everything2.2
Joyce Manor Never Hungover Again4.0
Alvvays Alvvays4.0
A Sunny Day in Glasgow Sea When Absent4.0
Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence3.5
wait a minute this might be everything she should've been from the beginning
clipping. CLPPNG3.5
Stag Hare Angel Tech4.0
Swans To Be Kind3.9
Trophy Scars Holy Vacants3.5
absolutely thrilled to give this, another record from a band that has had a wonderful career releasing some of the best 3.5s you'll ever hear, a 3.5.
Todd Terje It's Album Time4.0
RATKING So It Goes4.2
Mac DeMarco Salad Days2.5
"take a nap"- this album
Future Islands Singles3.5
Nothing Guilty of Everything3.6
The Men Tomorrow's Hits3.7
Pharrell Williams G I R L2.5
Nmesh Dream Sequins4.3
St. Vincent St. Vincent4.0
The Hotelier Home, Like NoPlace Is There4.5
Sun Kil Moon Benji1.0
fuck. this.
Have a Nice Life The Unnatural World3.3
I'm really glad you're all excited, that's so nice!!
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything3.5
Alcest Shelter3.3
Ricky Eat Acid Three Love Songs4.0
Against Me! Transgender Dysphoria Blues4.1

2013
Chop God Beyonce (chopped and screwed)4.3
Burial Rival Dealer4.5
Beyonce Beyonce4.5
Arcade Fire Reflektor2.7
The Dismemberment Plan Uncanney Valley3.2
Friendzone DX3.8
Danny Brown Old3.0
HAIM Days Are Gone3.7
Janelle Monae The Electric Lady4.2
Factory Floor Factory Floor3.8
Ariana Grande Yours Truly4.0
Kayo Dot Hubardo4.7
thank fucking christ i was so sick of them sucking
The Dodos Carrier4.5
King Krule 6 Feet Beneath the Moon4.0
Superchunk I Hate Music3.7
Nam Le Nam Le3.9
might be the only post-hardcore i listen to from 2013 and I'm totally okay with that http://namle.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanye West Yeezus1.0
Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If i grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Yeezus might impress me, but I didn't, so it doesn't.
Sigur Ros Kveikur4.1
i was listening to something but then the new sigur ros leaked and i forgot
Deafheaven Sunbather3.8
Saint Pepsi Hit Vibes4.2
it turns all your bad feelings into good feelings trust me you dont want no part of it
The National Trouble Will Find Me4.5
Daft Punk Random Access Memories3.5
Chance the Rapper Acid Rap4.5
Nmesh Nu.wav Hallucinations4.0
The Flaming Lips The Terror4.1
The Knife Shaking the Habitual4.0
James Blake Overgrown4.1
Tyler, the Creator Wolf3.7
this is way more fun to listen to than goblin, if less trainwreck-style compelling
Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience4.5
how dare justin timberlake write pop songs longer than 4 minutes just who exactly does he think he is entitled little bitch
The Men New Moon4.5
Iceage You're Nothing3.9
Yo La Tengo Fade4.1

2012
Circle Takes the Square Decompositions: Volume Number One3.0
Captain Murphy Duality4.0
Andy Stott Luxury Problems4.0
Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city4.5
Godspeed You! Black Emperor 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!4.0
Sun Airway Soft Fall3.0
Green Day ¡UNO!1.0
Animal Collective Centipede Hz3.5
listening to this as it was streaming was special fuckin experience
Mount Eerie Ocean Roar4.0
Farrah Abraham My Teenage Dream Ended4.0
Swans The Seer4.8
4.8? psh, sputnik hype train blowin its load again, bet this is like a 3.5 at best lol lets try this shit holy mother of god
Jessie Ware Devotion4.5
Buffalo Blackfoot I Don't Mind4.0
Frank Ocean channel ORANGE4.0
DIIV Oshin3.7
Cousin Brian First4.0
Japandroids Celebration Rock4.5
Zelienople The World Is A House On Fire3.5
Neutral Bling Hotel In My G4 Over Da Sea4.0
THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME EAT MY DICK 50 CHARACTERS
mewithoutYou Ten Stories3.5
Hop Along Get Disowned4.5
You Blew It! Grow Up, Dude4.0
Lovelock Burning Feeling4.0
Disasterpeace Fez OST4.7
i want to live in this game and soundtrack
Pop Winds Earth To Friend5.0
yeah sorry i sat on this for a year and didnt tell anyone but this is pretty fuckin good
The Men Open Your Heart4.5
tl;dr version: it is less noisy

but it is also good
The Menzingers On the Impossible Past2.5
Farewell Republic Burn the Boats4.0
Burial Kindred5.0
be honest, who saw this coming?
Dead Bugs Of a Feather4.3
Power Animal Exorcism4.0
Lana Del Rey Born to Die2.5
sam feldman accusing sputnikers of being too high to like something now ive seen everything
Cloud Nothings Attack on Memory3.5
Pop. 1280 The Horror4.0
Kayo Dot Gamma Knife3.6

2011
The Weeknd Echoes of Silence3.0
well house of balloons grew on me eventually
Macintosh Plus Floral Shoppe5.0
this is probably the best album of the modern age
Sepalcure Sepalcure4.0
Alvin Band Rainbow Road4.0
M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming4.5
Future Islands On the Water3.5
Bjork Biophilia4.0
Zola Jesus Conatus3.0
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan YT//ST4.0
blink-182 Neighborhoods2.5
AJJ Knife Man2.5
Cymbals Eat Guitars Lenses Alien4.0
Das Racist Relax4.0
A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen4.0
.L.W.H. The Tape Hiss Hooligan4.0
The Horrible Crowes Elsie3.5
The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms4.0
Balam Acab Wander/Wonder3.5
Circle Takes the Square Rites of Initiation4.0
Stag Hare Spirit Canoes4.0
'nother stag hare album, 'nother 4
Jay-Z and Kanye West Watch the Throne2.5
Danny Brown XXX3.5
Bomb the Music Industry! Vacation5.0
Iselia Life From Dead Limbs3.5
Trophy Scars Never Born, Never Dead4.0
Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday1.5
John Maus We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves3.0
Shabazz Palaces Black Up4.5
*shels Plains Of The Purple Buffalo4.0
Mountainous climaxes
Epic cymbal crashes
You know this shit is
Fuckin' lugubrious
Bon Iver Bon Iver, Bon Iver3.5
2011's been full of pretty, good albums from yesterday's heroes. But who's gonna step up, rmake good on their name, and release the masterpiece? Not Bon Iver; goregeous, even moving rat times, but I suspect there's a reason they (note the 'they;' did you know people other rthan Justin Vernon are in the band? I forgot) released the lyrics early. I'm trying to find rsomething to latch on to, and I get these pretty melodies that make me want to love this, rtruly, but I don't. Throw me a bone here, Justin. What are you saying?
Beau Navire Hours4.0
Prawn You Can Just Leave It All3.5
WU LYF Go Tell Fire to the Mountain4.5
Cults Cults3.5
Holy Other With U3.5
Algernon Cadwallader Parrot Flies4.0
The Men Leave Home4.5
Chad VanGaalen Diaper Island4.0
Andy Stott Passed Me By4.0
Dark atmosphere! Accessibility! Beats that go BSHHHHHHHHHHH BM KAH AHAHAHAHAH and samples that occasionally pop up to add the ever important human element. Strong listen straight through, highly recommended, blah blah blah just listen to "Execution" if you don't believe me.
Moving Mountains Waves2.5
The Antlers Burst Apart3.5
Tyler, the Creator Goblin3.5
Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues4.0
Laura Stevenson Sit Resist3.5
and the Zooey Deschanel Award for Convincing Scores of Lovesick Post-Adolescents that They
Have a Chance With Her and Should Therefore Overrate Her goes too....
Panda Bear Tomboy4.0
Little Kid Logic Songs3.0
Swarms Old Raves End4.0
CunninLynguists Oneirology3.5
The Weeknd House of Balloons4.0
The Dodos No Color4.0
Radiohead The King of Limbs3.8
Frank Ocean Nostalgia, Ultra.4.0
Yuck Yuck3.5
Something tells me this must be what growing up in the 90s was like
Glassjaw Coloring Book4.0
James Blake James Blake4.0
Spokes Everyone I Ever Met3.5
Braids Native Speaker4.0
Joyce Manor Joyce Manor4.5
Iceage New Brigade4.0
Go to an Iceage show, get beat up, email them a photograph of the evidence, and they’ll put your bloody face online. Nice reward of sorts for supporting their furious, fuck-all skronk. Same kind of ethos on record; New Brigade is confrontational, violent, with vocals delivered like swear words, guitars choked, made to shriek, drums punching like boxers’ fists, on repeat to smiles marred by bleeding gums. Not the temperament that promises jams, but New Brigade bursts with them. Album’s defined by its sawblade hooks; “Remember,” “Broken Bone,” “Eyes,” “Never Return” come to mind but they’re all good, interchangeable even. Not in a boring way either; 24 minutes is not long enough to earn complaints. This is monochromaticism in the best way; a “changeup” track would be bullshit. Iceage get in, kill it before it dies of natural causes, and move on to the next song, similarly fated. But “White Rune” is the big one, 2:30 of a pulsating bass drum that goes from bludgeon to full anthem around its third eight. Song really has no right to be as catchy as it is- it’s just fast and loud, no real melody to the thing- but it’s your microcosm for New Brigade: no tricks, no shit, just twelve fuck yes uppercuts to the face. And you’ll wanna dance, occasionally.
Glassjaw Our Color Green (The Singles)3.5

2010
Stag Hare Sandpaintings4.0
Daft Punk Tron: Legacy4.0
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy3.5
The Soft Moon The Soft Moon3.5
Girl Talk All Day2.0
Trophy Scars Darkness, Oh Hell3.5
Avey Tare Down There3.5
Kids and Explosions Shit Computer3.5
Gold Panda Lucky Shiner3.5
Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz4.0
GDandBlinkfan76: if i see one more perosn say something about sufjan stevens not fucking aroundri am going to stop posting forever
Deerhunter Halcyon Digest4.0
Women Public Strain5.0
How to Dress Well Love Remains4.5
How To Dress Well's Tom Krell warns us at the beginning: "There's nothing to really worry about, aside from being a little run down." He?s probably speaking ironically, since all of Love Remains carries the weight of being immensely run down, but what is Love Remains if not completely run down itself? It crackles and clips, pushing its lo-fi aesthetic to its alienating extreme, and yet it emerges vulnerable, like its collage of sound is held together by tape and Krell could effervesce into nothingness at any moment. It's not inviting, sporadically catchy, and technically a compilation of several How To Dress Well EPs released earlier this year, but it's vital listening. Because despite its defenses, despite its unwavering loneliness, there?s nothing to really worry about. Love Remains is an incredibly beautiful album.
The Walkmen Lisbon4.0
Interpol Interpol2.0
Envy Recitation2.5
S. Carey All We Grow4.0
Sufjan Stevens All Delighted People4.0
Animal Collective ODDSAC4.0
Lights Out Asia In The Days Of Jupiter3.5
Arcade Fire The Suburbs3.0
Kerouac Cold and Distant, Not Loving4.0
Chuck Person Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 14.0
BE REEEEEEAL IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYWAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
Touche Amore/La Dispute Searching for a Pulse/The Worth of the World4.0
Max Richter Infra4.0
M.I.A. Maya3.0
Baths Cerulean3.5
so close to a 5, this shit's gettin perilous
Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot4.5
The Roots How I Got Over3.5
Eminem Recovery1.5
The Flashbulb Arboreal3.5
The Ascent of Everest From This Vantage3.0
Star Slinger Volume 13.5
The State Lottery When the Night Comes4.0
Male Bonding Nothing Hurts3.0
Far At Night We Live3.5
Keepaway Baby Style3.0
LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening4.0
Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid4.5
Phosphorescent Here's To Taking It Easy3.5
The National High Violet4.5
The fact that this isn't a disappointment in any way shape or form is amazing considering how astronomical my expectations were for this. Just saying.
OFWGKTA Radical4.0
Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record3.5
Future Islands In Evening Air4.2
Sed Non Satiata Sed Non Satiata4.0
Flying Lotus Cosmogramma5.0
Kayo Dot Coyote2.0
more noodly bullshit at least this time there are some beatz
Circa Survive Blue Sky Noise3.5
Dark Time Sunshine Vessel3.5
Pop Winds The Turquoise4.0
letlive. Fake History4.0
The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt4.5
Jonsi Go3.5
Earl Sweatshirt EARL4.0
Alcest Écailles De Lune4.0
Wait What the notorious xx4.0
The Dillinger Escape Plan Option Paralysis3.5
Gorillaz Plastic Beach4.0
Titus Andronicus The Monitor5.0
reminds me of what its like to believe in punk rock
Gonjasufi A Sufi and a Killer4.0
The Men Immaculada4.0
Have a Nice Life Time of Land3.0
Eluvium Similes3.0
Fang Island Fang Island3.5
it's a good thing there are whoa-ohs in this it definitely would not be as good without the whoa-ohs
Joanna Newsom Have One on Me4.0
Yeasayer Odd Blood3.0
Pantha Du Prince Black Noise4.0
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Kollaps Tradixionales3.5
If Mono is like Waior- traditional, wordy, somewhat pretentious and divisive- and Do Make Say Think is like StreetlightRock- chill, consistent, generally solid all around- then Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra is like BallstotheWall- eccentric, loud, a little bit out there, but definitely unlike anything else you'll come in contact with in this context. Kollaps Tradixionales is another Silver Mount Zion release chock full of their idiosyncracies, including Efrim Menuck's bleating, unutterably pretentious song titles and structures, and a kind of "fuck convention, I'll do what I want" atmosphere to it that makes it fun to listen to as an alternative to what everybody else is doing in post rock.
Bomb the Music Industry! Adults!!!: Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!!!!4.5
The Knife Tomorrow, In a Year4.5
Cars & Trains The Roots, The Leaves3.0
Jaga Jazzist One-Armed Bandit3.5
Four Tet There is Love in You4.0
Emancipator Safe In The Steep Cliffs3.0
Surfer Blood Astro Coast4.0
Owen Pallett Heartland4.0
Dangers Messy, Isn't It?4.0
Only kingsoby1 would think this is average. Don't be like him.

2009
Tyler, the Creator Bastard4.0
HRVRD The Inevitable And I3.5
Animal Collective Fall Be Kind4.5
Lady Gaga The Fame Monster3.5
how the fuck can anyone classify this as avant-garde
Elder (USA-PA) Reflect4.0
We Only Said We Only Said3.0
Weezer Raditude2.0
pg.lost In Never Out3.0
Do Make Say Think Other Truths4.0
Atlas Sound Logos4.0
So Bradford Cox made a pretty damn good album then approached Channing Freeman to be on the cover
Daitro Y4.0
Thrice Beggars3.0
Converge Axe to Fall4.0
The Drums Summertime!3.0
Why? Eskimo Snow3.0
Girls Album3.0
Volcano Choir Unmap3.5
Brand New Daisy4.5
You know how Jesse Lacey always seemed like he was about to lose it on previous Brand New albums? Well, now he's lost it. Daisy, the latest (and final?) studio album from the band neatly packages everything the band does well in a wonderfully new and different aesthetic. The sheen of Deja Entendu and The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is replaced with messiness and danger. Daisy finds the group expanding into genres unfamiliar to them and potentially offputting to their fans (The first song is skramz influenced for fuck's sake), but Brand New remains artistically intact. The power and impressive ability to turn a simple song into an emotional ride is still there. The first wave of connections links Daisy to In Utero, and while stylistically the albums are generally different, the aura around each record feels similar. Daisy is purposefully alienating- dissonant when it could be harmonic, abrasive where it could be smooth, yet those looking for the emotional resonance that Jesse Lacey can deliver with an unhinged shout of a startingly immediate hook will not be disappointed. "Vices," "At the Bottom," "You Stole," "Sink," all feature some of Jesse's best vocal performances. rIn short, Brand New are still so c-c-c-controversial, but that's precisely why Daisy is the album you need to be listening to right now.
A City Safe From Sea Throw Me Through Walls4.0
If we still had staff picks, I'd be picking this shit all day. Awesome, catchy as fuuuck post hardcore that John Hanson might review but probably won't. So much goodness here. Solid 4, required listening, etc. Don't you kids all go nuts over bands you only find on sputnikmusic?
Caspian Tertia2.5
A Sunny Day in Glasgow Ashes Grammar4.0
Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II4.5
The Dodos Time to Die3.5
While no one will consider Time to Die a bad album, it certainly is an album that will incite ponderous thoughts of what could have been. This could have been Feels to Visiter's Sung Tongs; the follow up to a breakthrough record that propels the band to superstar status by expanding on the good of the previous record while eliminating the bad. Instead we get The Dodos' cliffnotes. Time To Die is a pop rock less-freak-than-folk record that despite being consistently solid, lacks the oomph that made The Dodos a special act in the first place. Everything sounds so in-check; the melodies are generally orthodox, the drumming (while always peppy) is generally tame, and- the worst crime of all- there is no risk to the project. So while the album will give its jollies and be an impressive release and all that, it's the untapped potential that will be most memorable from Time to Die.
fun. Aim and Ignite3.5
It's pretty obvious that I think this is the worst thing ever and no one should listen to it 3.5/5
Mew No More Stories4.0
As Tall As Lions You Can't Take It With You3.5
Julian Plenti Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper1.5
Jonsi and Alex Riceboy Sleeps2.5
stellastarr* Civilized2.5
Kiss Kiss The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left4.0
Kreng L'Autopsie Phenomenale De Dieu4.0
There's something really, really unnerving about Kreng. His first official release, L'Autopsie Phenomenale De Dieu, can be considered a masterpiece, a chore, or just creepy as all hell. The most likely reactions will probably be the first and third choices. Kreng is an ambient artist who experiments in jazz and classical while interspersing devastatingly unsettling samples between tense and dark music. Kreng's willingness to allow silence and static to create a definitive atmosphere recalls Godspeed You! Black Emperor circa F#A# (Infinity), and Kreng's expert use of melodies and dissonance is as impressive as it is disturbing. It's a record that needs to be heard for itself, preferably while alone in a dark, quiet room. For one of those "transport-you-to-another-place" records, L'Autopsie Phenomenale De Dieu should fit the bill perfectly.
Pianos Become the Teeth Old Pride3.0
Regina Spektor Far3.5
Awesome stuff, but lets face it, sometimes she gets irritating. Not enough to detract too much from a light collection of songs though
Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca2.5
dredg The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion3.0
I'm pretty sure this is not as good as everyone says it is and I hate when that happens so I will listen to this a lot and my opinion will stay the same then I will be very pissed because I wasted my time.
Gifts From Enola From Fathoms3.0
Taking Back Sunday New Again3.0
New Again is an ironic title for this album considering it sounds just like everything Taking Back Sunday's put out since Where You Want to Be. Same pits, same thrills, same general consistency without being all that special save for a couple songs. Adam Lazzara still sings about girls and the songs all have that early 00s powerpop edge that's defined Taking Back Sunday for their entire careers. Is this a bad thing? No, New Again is the type of record that provides earnest enjoyment in its familiarity and wordy choruses. They might consider themselves "new again," but this current Taking Back Sunday are comfortably holding down pop punk with the same old tricks.
Grizzly Bear Veckatimest3.5
The Paper Chase Someday This Could All Be Yours Vol.14.2
Passion Pit Manners3.5
mewithoutYou It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright!4.0
Green Day 21st Century Breakdown2.0
21st Century Breakdown expands upon American Idiot in almost every way imaginable. It?s bigger, more ambitious, and somehow more conceptually vague/ridiculous than American Idiot (seriously). This time around, Green Day discard anything resembling subtlety, which is not to say that subtlety was ever their forte. It is to say, however, that listening to 21st Century Breakdown in its entirety is an experience comparable to masturbating multiple times in succession. Every corner of the album is laden with production gimmicks and song constructions that make it clear that Green Day wanted to make 21st Century Breakdown the most epic experience ever ever ever and to their credit, there sure are anthems abound in these eighteen tracks of driving power chords and soaring harmonies. But rhyming ?fighting for? and ?dying for? can only be inspiring so many times before sounding trite, and 21st Century Breakdown spirals out of control in its own heroic glory and never regains focus, thus ending with a product that Green Day couldn?t afford to produce: an average record.
maudlin of the Well Part the Second4.0
Thy Catafalque Roka Hasa Radio3.5
Burial and Four Tet Moth/Wolf Cub4.0
Gallows (UK) Grey Britain3.5
Japandroids Post-Nothing4.5
Manchester Orchestra Mean Everything to Nothing3.5
Spires (USA) Flowers And Fireworks4.0
For all intents and purposes, Flowers and Fireworks is the type of record sputnik should eat up. It's magnificent entry into skramz, longer than the average record, but just as consistent and solid. On Flowers and Fireworks, Spires are exciting, methodical, and mesmerizing all at once. Sure, a general homogeneity hangs over the record, but if that is the record’s most egregious flaw, then Flowers and Fireworks must be heralded as a success, for it takes a band in a stagnant genre offering something mostly unoriginal, and yet on almost every level, it works. Here’s to hoping Spires stick around, because if there’s one thing emo doesn’t need, it’s another promising act calling it quits after their first record.
Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career3.0
There are three kinds of 3 ratings. The first is when you acknowledge an album is good but don't really listen to it (see: overrated). The second is when you think the album's ok and listen to it sometimes. The third is when the album isn't your bag at all and you'll probably get sick of it in a week but right now it's all you're listening to. This is the third.
Yonlu A Society In Which No Tear is Shed...3.5
It?s unfortunate that a substantial amount of people will get into Yonlu primarily because he killed himself at the age of sixteen. If history is any indication, the buildup for his only record, A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed Is Incredibly Mediocre, will only be astronomically heightened with the infamous ?posthumous? tag that turns mediocre albums into intriguing ones and great albums into legends. Still, with Yonlu (aka Vinicius Gageiro Marques), it?s practically impossible to talk about A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed without mentioning his imminent suicide. The record is drenched with a stark loneliness and melancholy that defines Marques? work and foreshadows his fate. Toying with every style from Elliott Smith aping doubled-vocals folk to breakbeat techno, Yonlu creates an impressively diverse work with the kind of shit-to-the-wind mentality and experimental approach one would expect from a well-listened teenager. Cross that with his exceptional ability to articulate emotional turmoil and the results speak for themselves. A Society in which No Tear Is Shed Is Incredibly Mediocre is a sprawling and yet unmistakably unified collection of intensely personal songs by a gifted artist cut down before he even approached his prime.
Snowing Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit2.5
Dan Deacon Bromst3.5
Good. Even Nick Greer likes it. It'd be better if he hated it though.
Mono Hymn to the Immortal Wind4.5
If You Are There didn't convince you that Mono deserve a spot among post rock's upper echelon, Hymn to the Immortal Wind certainly will. In pretty much the pulverizing record released so far in 2009, Mono deliver seven gorgeously orchestrated gems bookended by the two best songs of their career, "Ashes in the Snow" and "Everlasting Light." It's sometimes dragged out by the sheer hugeness of it all, but Hymn To the Immortal Wind consistently amazes with beauty and heaviness while staying on the good side of pretentious.
Trophy Scars Bad Luck4.0
Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz!2.0
More like It's Glitz! Karen O and those two other guys drop the acoustic folk/rock and start doing cheesey dance pop. Results are predictably bad.
Cursive Mama, I'm Swollen3.5
The Antlers Hospice4.5
The Appleseed Cast Sagarmatha3.5
Bomb the Music Industry! Scrambles5.0
Ben Lee The Rebirth of Venus1.5
The Lonely Island Incredibad3.0
P.O.S Never Better3.5
Franz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz Ferdinand3.0
Andrew Bird Noble Beast3.0
Cymbals Eat Guitars Why There Are Mountains3.5
Bon Iver Blood Bank4.0
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion4.5
Don't look now, but Merriweather Post Pavilion might just be Animal Collective's best album. MPP finds Animal Collective exercising the perfect amount of restraint in making their most consistent, easily accessible album. Grumpy fusspot purists who listened to (and actually enjoyed!) Sung Tongs and considered themselves Animal Collective experts might try to tell you that this is a bad thing, but they'd be wrong because the fact is: this album is fucking fun. In a way, Animal Collective has been heading towards this album ever since their rise in popularity. On MPP, they take the best parts of their last few albums- the duality of Sung Tongs, the heart of Feels, and the catchiness of Strawberry Jam- and combine them into a ridiculously fun 50 or so minutes. It's impossible to not get taken in by the glorious harmonies of "My Girls" (the part where it goes "OOHHHHH" might just be the best moment in music) or the beautiful purity of "Bluish." I could ramble on every track's merits, but to keep a long story short, Merriweather Post Pavilion is arguably the best record from a band with an already astounding catalogue. Let the argument for best band of the 00s begin.
Brother/Ghost Black Ice3.5

2008
Moving Mountains Foreword3.0
The Killers Day & Age2.0
Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak3.5
Fennesz Black Sea2.5
La Dispute Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair 4.0
The Samuel Jackson Five Goodbye Melody Mountain3.5
Lady Gaga The Fame3.0
Cynic Traced in Air3.5
Up-C Down-C Left-C Right-C ABC + Start Embers3.0
DJ Sprinkles Midtown 120 Blues5.0
Mutyumu Il y a3.5
Max Richter 24 Postcards in Full Colour2.5
Tigers Jaw Tigers Jaw4.0
Ohana Dead Beat3.5
TV on the Radio Dear Science4.0
Straylight Run Un Mas Dos2.0
Oh, how far Straylight Run has fallen. Since their promising albeit at-times-generic self titled debut, they've descended into obscurity, with the Un Mas Dos EP offering no hope of resurgence. The only reason to get this is to hear what the group sounds like without the dynamic Michelle Nolan, and the results aren't pretty. Minus their most interesting performer, Straylight Run sound directionless and almost comical, caught somewhere between elite indie rock and emotional pop-punk without the pros of either. The generic soft-verse, louder-chorus weighs down Un Mas Dos till it can't recover, despite the nice bridge they play in every song. John Nolan's lyrics are particularly disappointing, especially on the faux political "Ten Ton Shoes," which makes no statement of any significance. Straylight Run are circling the drain, and if a follow up of Un Mas Dos continues in the same vein, don't be surprised if you never hear from them again.
United Nations United Nations3.5
hitide.lotide The Forest3.5
Friendly Fires Friendly Fires3.0
sgt. Stylus Fantasticus3.5
Deerhunter Microcastle4.0
Lights Out Asia Eyes Like Brontide4.5
When Chris Schafer cries "Where is your God now? He isn't here..." on "Psiu! Puxa!" Lights Out Asia cements its position as one of 2008's most intriguing acts. The first three songs off their third studio album Eyes Like Brontide are all beautifully orchestrated electronica/post rock pieces in their own right, but that brief, glorious climax in the fourth announces their presence with a deafening resonance. On Eyes Like Bromtide, Lights Out Asia envelops their listeners in a cold dead place, and doesn't release until the final crescendo of "Six Points of Fire." You can't get more gay post rock descriptions, people. Seriously though, all homosexual metaphors aside, Eyes Like Brontide is an extremely entertaining, mesmerizing record. It very much plays to a specific atmosphere, isolating the listener in Lights Out Asia's reverb heavy drum machines and gorgeous piano lines. Chris Schafer's voice, when present, is incredibly strong and always heartbreaking, such as on the album's first full track, "Radars Over the Ghosts of Cherynobl," when one can feel the dejected cynicism in his voice. He alone makes Eyes Like Brontide an impressive release, but Lights Out Asia's consistency propels the record to the top of 2008's post rock heap. In Eyes Like Brontide, Lights Out Asia have created one of the most intense, beautiful, and dare-I-say epic post rock albums of the year. And with song titles like "If I Die, I Wish You A Horrible Death," how can you resist?
The Gaslight Anthem The '59 Sound3.5
Vessels White Fields and Open Devices4.0
Post rock with beautiful vocals and asymmetrical time signatures? Count me in! Vessels' White Fields and Open Devices is an impressive debut from the british quintet, boasting ten tracks of scorching instrumentals, pop songs, and piano ballads. No song on the album is weak, and no two songs on the record find their merit with the same tricks, making White Fields an extremely well rounded and rewarding listen. It's chock full of gems: "A Hundred Times in Every Direction" and "Yuki" use the delicately gorgeous voice of Tom Evans to create heartwrenching tracks, whereas instrumental burners "Altered Beast" and "An Idle Brain and the Devil's Workshop" are excellently crafted post rock tunes that cut the crap and get to the point for 7 minutes. White Fields and Open Devices is a long record, but it's definitely worth it, so just get it. I mean, how often do you come across a ten song post rock record with no skippable tracks?
The Trophy Fire A Lifetime in the Middle of the Ocean3.0
Mesa Verde The Old Road3.5
Black Kids Partie Traumatic1.0
Paavoharju Laulu Laakson Kukista3.0
Stag Hare Black Medicine Music4.0
Drums, synths, and happiness join together to make Black Medicine Music, an addictive entry from Arizona based solo artist Stag Hare. Awash in the type of warmth consistent with Panda Bear, Black Medicine Music is remarkably catchy and simple; each song hypnotizes with a pulsing rhythm and trance-inducing drone while enveloping the listener in a blanket of subtle melodies and effects. The charm on this record can come from sources as out there as wild harmonica and incoherent mumbling to something as beautifully simple as fuzzy electric guitar, but nothing feels out of place. In fact, despite intimidating song lengths, Black Medicine Music never feels drawn out or "freaky." The album's mesmerizing quality is masterfully executed, and on tracks like "Oz," twelve minutes of gorgeous fuzzy guitar lines and drone still leaves a craving for more. Black Medicine Music has so far been a buried gem that deserves a chance, so whip out the awesome headphones, crank the bass, and get taken away by this ambient triumph.
The Ascent of Everest How Lonely Sits the City4.0
How Lonely Sits the City is one of those albums where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Spoken word samples and doomtastic strings of Godspeed? Check. Sweet vocals reminiscent of Do Make Say Think and Sigur Ros? Check. Disgustingly long novellas for song titles? Unfortunately, yes. But while all these things are fine and dandy, The Ascent of Everest sounds just a bit too latched on to their contemporaries to say anything of real relevance. This isn't to say the album isn't a great post rock record. There's chill-inducing crescendos and cymbal smashing all around, and each of How Lonely's five tracks has some element to give it merit. The absolute standout is "A Threnody," which poignantly uses an excerpt from Mario Cuomo's speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention to devastating effect.

For a post rock novice, this is a great starting point for the genre, as it's less (musically) pretentious than Godspeed and less intimidating than Sigur Ros circa ( ), but to the post rock aficionado, How Lonely Sits The City is fairly ho hum. I still recommend it though, because all in all, this is a pretty damn solid record.
Glissando With Our Arms Wide Open We March Towards...3.0
Sigur Ros Med Sud i Eyrum vid Spilum Endalaust3.5
The album whose name was the biggest pain in the ass to type this year also turned out to be one of the biggest surprises. Sigur Ros drop the funeral marches and pick up the acoustic guitars on this unexpected turn from a band trying to remain relevant in what's considered by many an irrelevant genre. 'Gobbledigook' announces the change triumphantly with pounding drums, hand claps and lalalas that more closely resemble Animal Collective, than say, Explosions in the Sky. The change works wonderfully for a few tracks, before Sigur Ros prove they're still among the best at what they do: epic post rock. 'Festival' and 'Ara Batur' are two of their best tracks in a long time, the latter decked out with a gloriously over-the-top orchestra and choir. It'll be interesting to see where Sigur Ros go from here. This album leaves their avenues completely open.
Girl Talk Feed the Animals3.0
Like a joke that's funny the first two times before everyone starts ruining it.
Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends4.0
Everyone's guilty pleasure got a lot less embarrassing to like on this, their fourth and best record, but now Chris Martin wants to go and fuck it all up. Months after the release of the beautiful, inferably celebratory Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Martin commented that the band should break up after they turn 33. If that were to happen, the world would lose a band finally hitting its stride. The Brian Eno-produced Viva La Vida is a powerful, ballad-less tour de force from Coldplay, complete with exuberance, charm, and the heart they?ve been feigning for years.
pg.lost It's Not Me, It's You!4.0
My Education Bad Vibrations3.0
Grouper Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill4.5
Her Name Is Calla The Heritage3.0
Weezer The Red Album2.5
Harvey Milk Life... The Best Game in Town2.5
Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes3.5
Snowman The Horse, the Rat and the Swan3.5
Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs3.5
Buddy Peace Wolf Diesel Mountain4.5
Kayo Dot Blue Lambency Downward2.5
Extra Life Secular Works2.5
Russian Circles Station3.0
Animal Collective Water Curses3.5
Nine Inch Nails The Slip3.0
Blue Sky Black Death Late Night Cinema3.5
The Roots Rising Down4.0
The Envy Corps Dwell3.5
Dwell is a slick collection of anthems from Iowa indie-poppers Envy Corps. The hype's already begun to hit these guys, with comparisons to Radiohead and Modest Mouse already pigeon-holing them, but don't be fooled; Dwell is a record that stands on its own, taking the best work from its contemporaries and incorporating it into eleven tracks of euphoric bliss. Look out for tracks like "Story Problem" and "Sylvia (The Beekeeper)", as they're quite liable to stick in your head for days and look out for The Envy Corps, because they've made an album that should be listened to.
Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV3.5
Titus Andronicus The Airing of Grievances4.5
your life is over your life is over your life is over your life is over
Sun Kil Moon April3.0
Gregor Samsa Rest3.5
Animalsound In the Forests of the United States3.5
With production heavy on reverb and a passionate howl that echoes earnestly at every chorus, Jones creates an atmosphere perfectly in tune with his record's title. Nothing but guitar and tambourine accompany Jones, and he places himself utterly alone, singing his soul for only the surrounding wildlife to hear. Not to say he sounds particularly happy about this; on the contrary, the setting of In the Forests of the United States suggests complete and total isolation. From this context, Jones delivers an album of songs directly from his comfort zone, and though Jones never deviates from his beaten path musically, his In the Forests of the United States is a pretty darn good record.
Switches Lay Down the Law2.0
The Dodos Visiter4.0
Mark Northfield Ascendant4.0
Ever wondered what a Sondheim musical from his darker years would sound like if it was recorded by an indie pianist and some buds? Well, wait no longer! An album that’s almost unsettling in its classical bend, Ascendant features some terrific vocal performances from a variety of singers and some marvelously crafted tunes, with arguably the most beautiful of the year in “Zero.” This albums stark, sparse, and a little flat, but Northfield’s gift for composition makes it all work in the end. At its conclusion, Ascendant leaves a distinct feeling of “…what?” But figuring out that confusion makes it worth the while.
Why? Alopecia4.0
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons3.5
With their 5th album, A Silver Mount Zion hint that their new material will be rockier, more fun, and more bitchin than ever before. Though they don't consistently deliver on that front, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons rocks pretty damn hard for a post rock record. Though Efrim Menuck's voice is getting worse as he thinks it's getting better, the record still serves up its fair share of moments such as the dynamite "1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound" and the gorgeous "Blindblindblind". Thanks to intricate orchestrations, choral arrangements, and some overall slick tunes, 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons might just be ASMZ's best release. Just maybe.
Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair3.5
Not so much disco for the modern era as it is disco in the modern era, Hercules and Love Affair is Andrew Butler pretty much having a blast creating some of the catchiest music around. Sure to incite the occasional spasmodic Caucasian hump-dance, Hercules and Love Affair runs from start to finish unabashedly in groove-heaven, pimped out with horns, octave hopping bass-lines, and uhn-tiss-kaht-tiss beats out the wazoo. Featuring the more than capable voices of Antony (of "& the Johnsons" fame), solo siren Nomi, and seductive Kim Ann, Butler's record sports ten consistently charming tracks that prove monstrously entertaining. The opening quintet is absolutely dynamite, with tracks like "Hercules' Theme" and "Blind" providing quality dance music with more hooks than you can shake a stick at, and though the second half drags a bit, it doesn't lessen the overall value of the record. An extremely enjoyable effort.
El Guincho Alegranza!3.0
Despite sounding clunky on paper and getting pegged as "The Spanish Person Pitch," Alegranza! stands as a completely singular work. Somewhere between maddening and hypnotizing, El Guincho's album achieves a remarkably strong blend between being something familiar and being something unlike anything before it. Using heavily repeated grooves and minimalist composition, Alegranza! makes for an intriguing listen, at least. There are several moments on Alegranza! that invoke a “Hey, that sounds kind of like (so and so),” but before the similarity becomes a knockoff, El Guincho takes off in a completely different direction, making the album both heavily influenced and completely unique at the same time. With Alegranza!, El Guincho takes what could have been a disaster and forms one of the most peculiar, inimitable records of the year. Chow down
Steinski What Does It All Mean?4.0
Protest the Hero Fortress3.0
The Flashbulb Soundtrack to a Vacant Life4.5
For me, the first word that comes to mind when listening to The Flashbulb's Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is Immense. Thirty some odd tracks of music ranging from hard rock, abrasive electronica, ambient soundscapes, drum solos, gorgeous piano ballads, spanish guitar suites, and whatever else The Flashbulb (aka Benn Jordan) decides to incorporate, Vacant Life commands attention, respect, and above all, admiration. As a bipolar individual, Jordan's album varies in emotions from dark to euphoric to frantic, all the while maintaining a feeling of fluidity. It helps that Jordan's musicianship is ace in all forays from percussion to guitar to electronics, as his expertise is apparent in tracks like "Steel for Pappa", "That Missing Week", and pretty much any other track off the record. Also, the amount of intricacies on this album is mind boggling. Jordan uses samples throughout Soundtrack to provide the key atmospheric element to several points in the record, the most obvious being the death-pondering theory in "Kirlian Voyager". From start to finish, Jordan delivers a record that needs to be heard, and since he pretty much asks you to pirate it (he torrented it himself), what's stopping you from picking it up? Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is an essential release for anyone who likes music.
Have a Nice Life Deathconsciousness4.0
For all the jocking Deathconsciousness has gotten here at sputnik, you'd be forgiven if you went into it expecting the perfect album. It's not; the middle simply goes on too long with a few very uninteresting parts. But there are four moments on Deathconsciousness that make it worth every minute: when the vocals come up at the end of "A Quick One...", the dejected sigh of "Arrowheads" on "Bloodhail," when the bass floods "I Don't Love," and all of "Earthmover." Deathconsciousness is remarkably well put-together conceptually, and this is coming from someone who doesn't know jack about Antiochus or whatever. The aura of this album is one of fuzzy, repressed isolation, and Have A Nice play to it with outstanding results. Epic, occasionally beautiful, and overlong, Deathconsciousness is admittedly a mixed bag, but it rewards the patient listener. So curl up in the backseat, close your eyes, and lose yourself in one of 2008's most awe-inspiring releases.
Spokes People Like People Like You4.0
Before this year started, if you were to ask me "What do you think will be your favorite post rock album of 2008?" I never would have thought that my answer would be Spokes' People Like People Like You. Why should it be? 2008 promised albums from post rock staples like Mogwai and A Silver Mount Zion. Even after I'd heard the album and the year progressed, I didn't think Spokes would hold it's place against the epic grandeur of Pg. Lost or the chilled, fresh vibe of My Education. Yet here I am, 9 months into the year, and still People Like People Like You continues to impress. It's not all that different from its contemporaries: cymbals swell, most of the tracks are instrumental (with two beautiful exceptions), but what sets it apart is how invariably warm this record is. People Like People Like You seeps with blissful contentment through sweeping violins, charmingly sweet melodies, and occasionally, achingly wistful vocals. It's refreshingly short and masterfully executed, with the production getting everything it can out of such expertly crafted songs. It's criminal how little hype this has received from sputnik when it's a record that truly deserves it.
Daitro/Sed Non Satiata Split4.0
2008's best split LP comes from an unsurprising source. As Sputnikmusic critic Ryan Flatley put it, Daitro and Sed Non Satiata are two of France's most respected emo acts, and they like to do splits. So not only was the existence of this eight song split from les hommes de France expected, its high quality was expected as well. Both Daitro and Sed Non Satiata are in top form here, both working to their respective strengths. Sed Non Satiata's side proves the more consistent, with slow burning post rock tinged epics, while Daitro bring their fair share of highlights with ‘Nous Ne Participons Pas Tous ?a M? Utopie’ and ‘Un Fl? Pour Un Autre.’ Two awesome bands just keep doing their thang, and 2008's top split earns its title.
Canyons of Static The Disappearance2.5
canyon-noun
a deep valley with steep sides, often with a stream flowing through it. See: Giant Hole

static- adjective
noting or pertaining to atmospheric electricity interfering with radar, radio, the sending and receiving of wireless messages. See: White noise.

Pretty much the problem with canyonsofstatic's debut record The Disappearance: It's big and grand and doesn't say anything of significance. There's not much to say about The Disappearance, which is perhaps its greatest flaw. I could just say "epic post rock that's not really that epic" and chances are you would know exactly what this sounds like. Canyonsofstatic have potential, and with time could flesh out into something truly remarkable, but right now, they're simply another interesting looking name in a sea of bands that sound good by themselves, average in context.
Amplive Rainydayz Remixes3.0
Shangrala This Is How We Communicate3.5
Women Women4.5

2007
Jonny Greenwood There Will Be Blood OST4.0
Sigur Ros Heima (DVD)4.5
Burial Untrue5.0
Phosphorescent Pride4.0
Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II3.0
Radiohead In Rainbows3.8
With In Rainbows, Radiohead have accomplished an atmosphere that many have never thought possible for them: Fun. Starting with three straight tracks that genuinely rock- The jovial bounce of "15 Step", the low-fi distortion of "Bodysnatchers", and the slow groove of "Nude"-, In Rainbows makes Radiohead sound almost playful. Radiohead's sound here is far smaller than on any record they've put out before; The quiet feel found on tracks like "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" or "Faust Arp" dominates the whole of the album. This works most of the time, but on songs like "House of Cards" and "Reckoner", the minimalism leads to loose bolts on the otherwise tightly constructed In Rainbows. The second disc (or is it bonus disc?) is stronger than the wandering first, flipping between the hardest rockers ("Up on the Ladder", "Down is the New Up") and the softest ballads ("Last Flowers", "Go Slowly") seamlessly. It's unfortunate they didn't release the second disc at the same time as the first, as the lovely "4 Minute Warning" sums up In Rainbows better than the loopily aimless "Videotape": Relaxed, occasionally powerful, and above all, accessible. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the revolutionary "pay your own price" distribution tactic that Radiohead used that turned the music industry on its side, but that doesn't mean Radiohead put any less effort into the record. In Rainbows is a solid, human sounding album from a band that hasn't sounded human in over a decade. r
Wolves in the Throne Room Two Hunters4.0
Animal Collective Strawberry Jam4.6
Ghastly City Sleep Ghastly City Sleep3.5
The Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist2.0
Interpol Our Love to Admire2.5
Unfortunately, this is another dud from one trick pony and apparently one hit wonder Interpol. As Antics was the album got them noticed by major labels, Our Love To Admire sticks to the same formula to a T. There are some fine moments, such as the orchestral and hypnotizing Pioneer to the Falls, but most of the tracks on Our Love To Admire are reminiscent of the forgettable tracks off Antics, and there's not much worth repeating. With jagged guitars, surprisingly minimal basswork, and Paul Banks' more and more sheeplike voice, Our Love To Admire is a safe record; but not a good one.
Kidcrash Jokes4.0
Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago5.0
The National Boxer4.0
Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight1.5
Brandi Carlile The Story3.0
As far as girl-with-guitar artists go, you could do a lot worse than Brandi Carlile. He second album, The Story, is pretty good quality-wise, and her songwriting, though sometimes a bit on the generic side, is above average when compared to her contemporaries. She absolutely nails harmony on songs like "Cannonball", and on more uptempo tracks like "Have You Ever", she dips into corny, but granted she brings the listener right in with her. Her voice is terrific, ranging from a songstress's weary southern hum, to flawless falsetto, to a lovely passionate, agressive vocal style. Her album doesn't match her live prowess, but it's still good to chill to when you're sick of avant garde deep music.
LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver4.0
Panda Bear Person Pitch4.5
Arcade Fire Neon Bible3.5
Eluvium Copia4.5
Do Make Say Think You, You're a History in Rust3.5
Kiss Kiss Reality Vs. The Optimist4.0
Moving Mountains Pneuma4.0
But this time it's different
I swear to god
The sun's exploding within my arms
And it's getting warmer
And I can see that the sun
Is truly in love with me


if you don't think this is awesome yet, you need to listen again
Animal Collective People3.5

2006
Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet and Mogwai The Fountain4.0
Brand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me5.0
You know how BallstotheWall always seemed like he was about to lose it on previous sputnikmusic soundoffs? Well, now he's lost it.
My Chemical Romance The Black Parade3.0
The Killers Sam's Town2.0
mewithoutYou Brother, Sister5.0
Mono / World's End Girlfriend Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain4.0
The Fratellis Costello Music3.0
Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds4.0
Laura Radio Swan is Down4.0
Silversun Pickups Carnavas3.5
The Knife Silent Shout4.0
Muse Black Holes & Revelations2.5
Thom Yorke The Eraser3.0
Taking Back Sunday Louder Now3.0
Blue October Foiled2.5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Show Your Bones2.5
Mono You Are There4.0
From First to Last Heroine2.0
My Chemical Romance Life on the Murder Scene3.0
K-S.H.E. Routes Not Roots4.0
Gregor Samsa 55:123.5
Daitro Laisser Vivre Les Squelettes4.0
Hawthorne Heights If Only You Were Lonely1.0
Eric Whitacre Whitacre: Cloudburst5.0
A perfect match to The Complete A Capella Works, Polyphony's take on the choral work of Eric Whitacre proves equally as gorgeous as the LDS choir's. Sometimes doing this with fuller arrangements (the climax of the title piece is absolutely breathtaking, whereas the LDS version was somewhat lacking), Polyphony have performed the composer's work beautifully. Their sopranos tend to be slightly overpowering of the lower sections, something the LDS choir avoids, but their interpretations of "When David Heard" and "Sleep" are just breathtaking. Superb stuff.
Brand New Fight Off Your Demons (The Demos)4.0
Kayo Dot Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue4.0
DragonForce Inhuman Rampage2.0
The Strokes First Impressions of Earth3.5
DJ Gyngyvytus Skeet Spirit: A Crunk Tribute to Radiohead2.5
Whatever you're expecting from Skeet Spirit is likely exactly what you're going to get. DJ Gyngyvytus' formula to this devilish concoction runs as follows: Take some of Radiohead's greatest hits from the pre-Hail to the Thief era, put a two-step beat behind it, and add gratuitous amounts of monosyllabic questions and answers ("WHAT?" "YEAH!"), et voila: a two and a half minute bastardization of the original track that barely shares any melodic similarity to the Radiohead song said bastardization is based off of. The result? A "tribute" that's as polarizing as it is ridiculous. Hearing "We don't give a ***, y'all pussy like bitches" over something vaguely reminiscent of "Street Spirit" is enough to bring any Radiohead purist to tears, but discovering one's inner Lil' Jon to a "Paranoid Android" remix? Hell, regardless of the shoddy quality, Skeet Spirit is something that demands to be heard.
New Rivals Fire For Effect EP3.0

2005
Ko Otani Shadow of the Colossus: Roar of the Earth4.0
Lindsay Lohan A Little More Personal (Raw)1.0
System of a Down Hypnotize2.5
Interpol Remix EP2.5
Radiohead The Astoria London Live (DVD)3.0
Yndi Halda Enjoy Eternal Bliss EP4.0
Green Day Bullet In A Bible2.5
Sed Non Satiata Le Ciel De Notre Enfance4.5
Saxon Shore The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore3.0
Toby Driver In the L..L..Library Loft4.0
Animal Collective Feels5.0
Akercocke Words That Go Unspoken...4.0
Straylight Run Prepare To Be Wrong3.0
R. Kelly Trapped In The Closet (Chapters 1-12)2.0
Panic! at the Disco A Fever You Can't Sweat Out2.0
HIM Dark Light2.0
Soundtrack (Film) Rent3.5
Pussycat Dolls PCD1.0
Bayside Bayside2.5
This album is little more than bland pop punk. The vocals are some of the most boring performances I've ever heard, and their so called post-punk influence appears in a couple of song's vocal melodies. Overall a boring album with a few nice songs here and there (Devotion and Desire is very very good), but nothing here should make you want to buy this album.
Thirty Seconds to Mars A Beautiful Lie2.5
Kanye West Late Registration4.0
The Click Five Greetings from Imrie House1.0
Editors The Back Room3.0
Sufjan Stevens Illinois4.0
The Offspring Greatest Hits3.0
Coldplay X&Y2.0
System of a Down Mezmerize3.0
Animal Collective Prospect Hummer4.0
Weezer Make Believe1.0
Gospel The Moon Is a Dead World4.5
Fall Out Boy From Under the Cork Tree2.5
You can look at From Under the Cork Tree in two ways. The good thing is that its the defenition of emo pop punk. The bad thing is that it's emo pop punk. Like Nevermind to grunge, From Under The Cork Tree is the defining album of a dying genre, but it's also quite crappy and banal. Not worth your time.
Circa Survive Juturna3.0
Jaga Jazzist What We Must4.5
The National Alligator4.5
God Is an Astronaut All Is Violent, All Is Bright3.0
KT Tunstall Eye To The Telescope2.5
Frickin A Big Egos... No Ideas2.5

2004
Eminem Encore2.0
Britney Spears Greatest Hits: My Prerogative1.5
Kasabian Kasabian3.0
The Warriors War Is Hell2.0
Death From Above 1979 You're a Woman, I'm a Machine4.0
Straylight Run Straylight Run3.5
Good Charlotte The Chronicles of Life and Death1.0
The Used In Love and Death2.0
Interpol Antics4.0
Green Day American Idiot4.0
To be quite honest, this album wasn't terrible. I listened to this album when American Idiot was the only single, and to be honest, I loved the album after that. I got sick of Boulevard like the rest of you, but for the love of God, the unwarranted flack this album carries along with it. It's rarely political, there's a loose storyline, but most importantly the songs are good. Letterbomb, Homecoming, Whatsername, and the title track each stand out as very good songs. While it may not be complicated, as it stands, which is an album of punky pop songs, it serves it's purpose perfectly.
Arcade Fire Funeral4.6
Rise Against Siren Song of the Counter Culture4.0
Mainstream punk at it's finest, Rise Against's 3rd album Siren Song Of The Counterculture could easily be considered a modern punk classic. Edgy, hard, unrelentingly, unabashedly loud music. The vocals are harsh and delivered with ridiculously intense, as if every word sung by Tim is cutting his vocal chords and he's proud of it. Songs such as "Give It All" and "State of the Union" are fantastic anthemic protests, and the unexpectedly touching Swing Life Away is awesome. No song is truly weak, and the unrelenting speed of the album makes for some of the best mosh music this side of Metal.
Taking Back Sunday Where You Want To Be3.5
Ashlee Simpson Autobiography1.5
The Killers Hot Fuss2.5
Hawthorne Heights The Silence in Black and White1.0
My Chemical Romance Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge3.5
New Found Glory Catalyst1.0
Radiohead COM LAG (2plus2isfive)3.5
Sugarcult Palm Trees And Power Lines2.5
Madvillain Madvillainy4.5
Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans4.0
Simple Plan Still Not Getting Any...1.0
Max Richter The Blue Notebooks4.5
Lostprophets Start Something3.0
Phantom Planet Phantom Planet3.5
Circle Takes the Square As the Roots Undo5.0
8 songs of ridiculously charged emotion and passion blended into epic beauty and terrible ugliness to make the perfect amalgamation of the human experience known as life.
Animal Collective Sung Tongs4.5
Unlike Vampire Weekend, the tracks here rarely have a saving grace.

2003
Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits3.0
Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf Big Shots4.0
blink-182 Blink-1824.5
Explosions in the Sky The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place3.5
This album is the most post rock of all the post rock albums ever created which is both good and bad
Sun Kil Moon Ghosts of the Great Highway3.8
The Strokes Room on Fire3.0
Kayo Dot Choirs of the Eye5.0
Hieroglyphics Full Circle4.0
Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism4.5
Rufus Wainwright Want One4.0
The Wrens The Meadowlands5.0
Interpol The Black EP2.5
Brand New Deja Entendu4.5
Animal Collective Ark4.6
Fountains of Wayne Welcome Interstate Managers4.0
Radiohead Hail to the Thief4.2
The White Stripes Elephant3.5
Linkin Park Meteora2.5
Film School alwaysnever4.0
AFI Sing the Sorrow2.5
Cursive The Ugly Organ4.5
Animal Collective Campfire Songs3.5
The Microphones Mount Eerie4.5
Switchfoot The Beautiful Letdown2.5
Jonny Greenwood Bodysong3.5
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather and Sing4.0
On This Is Our Punk Rock, A Silver Mount Zion create an epic album led by the raw vocals of Efrim Menuck. Each song has it's moments that make it stellar, from the choir introduction to the opening track to the "Everybody Hurts" spinoff that closes the record. In a genre that is supposedly dying, ASMZ put a fresh spin on post rock, with this album being an original, enjoyable listen.
Eric Whitacre The Complete A Capella Works, 1991-20014.5

2002
Ramones Loud, Fast Ramones - Their Toughest Hits3.0
Nirvana Nirvana3.5
Sigur Ros ( )4.5
Broken Social Scene You Forgot It in People5.0
Chevelle Wonder What's Next3.0
Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head4.0
Glassjaw Worship and Tribute4.5
Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights5.0
You'll be hard pressed to find a much better album than this one. Interpol's debut is both dark and bright, cleanly produced, and one of the most well-rounded albums around. It can have dance songs, dark songs, and instrumentals, all very emotion-invoking. The highlights are on the second half of the album, from epics "Stella Was A Diver..." and "The New". Paul Banks voice is like a forlorn traveler wandering the streets, and you can hear that distance in every song. The instrumentation is excellent, as Sam Fogarino proves himself as a percussionist, and Carlos D brings it on "Obstacle 1", "Untitled", and anything else on the album. Keep listening for "Leif Erikson", the best song on the album. A classic in every aspect, Turn On The Bright Lights is one of the greatest albums of all time.
Carissa's Wierd Songs About Leaving4.5
for fuck's sake, somebody throw a pie
Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way3.0
Green Day Shenanigans2.0
mewithoutYou A to B: Life4.0
New Found Glory Sticks and Stones3.5
Atreyu Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses1.0
Max Richter Memoryhouse4.0
Eminem The Eminem Show3.5
City of Caterpillar City of Caterpillar4.0
Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends3.0
Simple Plan No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls1.5
dredg El Cielo4.5
90 Day Men To Everybody4.0

2001
Pink M!ssundaztood2.5
Green Day International Superhits3.5
The Dismemberment Plan Change4.5
Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia Indian Ink3.5
The Strokes Is This It4.0
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot4.5
P.O.D. Satellite3.0
Ben Folds Rockin' The Suburbs4.0
The Microphones The Glow Pt. 25.0
System of a Down Toxicity3.0
Converge Jane Doe4.0
Radiohead Amnesiac5.0
Jeff Mangum Live at Jittery Joe's4.0
Released a year before Mangum's masterpiece In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Live at Jittery Joe's shows Jeff Mangum at his most lovable, and that's saying something. His inimitable voice carries naively on his studio records, with a child-like simplicity so innocent, that many times I've just wanted to hunt him down and hug him (no homo, naturally). Live, Jeff performs with even more cuddly initmacy, nervously noodling on his guitar, stuttering through personal stories between songs, and asking for requests. Despite his apparent lack of confidence in his work, Live At Jittery Joe's is a killer performance from Mangum, flipping between past, present, and future Neutral Milk Hotel tracks (and a bitchin' Phil Spector cover) seamlessly, en route to a disc essential for anyone enamored with the legendary indie-folk icon.
Jimmy Eat World Bleed American3.5
maudlin of the Well Bath4.5
pg.99 Document #84.0
Sum 41 All Killer No Filler3.0
cLOUDDEAD cLOUDDEAD5.0
Unwound Leaves Turn Inside You4.5
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Born Into Trouble As the Sparks Fly Upward4.0

2000
The Avalanches Since I Left You4.0
OutKast Stankonia4.0
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven5.0
Linkin Park Hybrid Theory3.0
Green Day Warning2.5
Radiohead Kid A5.0
Whether it's the best Radiohead album or not is irrelevant because it's one of the best albums of the decade, so like it or else
Clint Mansell and Kronos Quartet Requiem for a Dream3.5
At the Drive-In Relationship of Command4.5
Animal Collective Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished4.5
Glassjaw Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence4.0
Cursive Domestica4.0
Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP4.5
New Found Glory From the Screen to Your Stereo2.5
NSYNC No Strings Attached2.5
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our 3.5
Deltron 3030 Deltron 30304.0
pg.99 Document #54.0
1999
The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I5.0
New Found Glory Nothing Gold Can Stay2.0
Creed Human Clay1.5
Sigur Ros Agætis byrjun3.5
Soundtrack (Film) South Park (Original Soundtrack)3.5
Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication3.0
blink-182 Enema Of The State4.0
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada5.0
Eminem The Slim Shady LP4.0
Sunny Day Real Estate Live3.0

1998
OutKast Aquemini4.0
Goo Goo Dolls Dizzy Up The Girl2.5
Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children4.0
Sunny Day Real Estate How It Feels To Be Something On4.0
Theo Parrish First Floor4.5
Massive Attack Mezzanine3.0
Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea5.0
Radiohead Airbag/How Am I Driving?3.5

1997
Green Day Nimrod3.5
Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞5.0
A concept album, F#A# (infinity) is one of my favorite album for several reasons. Number 1: Nothing chills me more than the guitar/violin backing to the beginning of Dead Flag Blues. Number 2: Nothing makes me shake more than the climax of East Hastings. And Number 3: Nothing is as refreshing as Providence. From start to finish, Godspeed create such a hypnotizing atmosphere, it's hard to remember you're not in some apocalyptic futuristic state and actually in your room or the backseat of your car. No album has made me feel the feelings F#A# Infinity has made me feel, and though it may be musically behind Slow Riot and Lift Your Skinny Fists, it's so conceptually astounding, I find it impossible to grow tired of this record and it's intricacies.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞ [Vinyl]5.0
blink-182 Dude Ranch3.5
Radiohead OK Computer5.0
Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind4.0
Elliott Smith Either/Or4.5

1996
Belle and Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister4.0
Weezer Pinkerton5.0
Cake Fashion Nugget4.0
Primitive Radio Gods Rocket1.5
An overall awful album. It has 1 terrific song in "Broken Phone Booth", but the rest is a hodgepodge of crap from the 80's and 90's. O'Connor's lyrics are awful, and his consistently angry tone holds less and less merit as his songs get worse and worse. Don't buy it, just download "Broken Phone Booth".
DJ Shadow Endtroducing.....4.5
Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst4.0
1995
GZA Liquid Swords5.0
The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness4.0
Green Day Insomniac4.0
Joy Division Permanent3.0
Another posthumous Joy Division record, Permanent is fairly straightforward, the equivalent to a greatest hits, save for the fact Joy Division had one hit. That song was so popular, it appears twice on this record. "Love Will Tell Us Apart" is a pretty simple pop song fo rJoy Division, and it's a highlight, though not twice. Other highlights include Transmission, Atmosphere, Dead Souls, and Twenty Four Hours. The middle of the record is some of the better tracks off of Unknown Pleasures and the weaker ones of Closer, save for Twenty Four Hours. Overall fairly weak, but not a bad compilation. You're better off getting the albums.
Low Long Division4.0
Radiohead The Bends4.0

1994
Nirvana Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!3.0
Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York4.0
The Cranberries No Need to Argue4.0
Jeff Buckley Grace3.5
Weezer Weezer4.0
Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral3.5
Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain4.0
Green Day Dookie4.0
Bark Psychosis Hex4.5
Sunny Day Real Estate Diary5.0

1993
Ace of Base The Sign2.0
Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)4.0
The Afghan Whigs Gentlemen3.0
Nirvana In Utero4.3
Red House Painters Red House Painters4.5
Slowdive Souvlaki4.0
Radiohead Pablo Honey2.5

1991
Green Day Kerplunk3.5
Talk Talk Laughing Stock5.0
Genius isn't enough to describe this album. Undoubtedly one of the greatest albums ever assembled by mankind. The atmospheric quality of this record, mixed with the devlings into jazz, dissonance, and general avant-garde beauty make it one of the greatest things to listen to in any mood (except to get pumped up.) There's a nigh a thing on here to find fault in, as everything is crafted to perfection, including the beautiful voice of Mark Hollis, which is capable of sounding fragile and angry at the same time. The songs here are actual pieces of art as oppose to songs, which are formulaic. Each song here is at least 5 minutes of pure well thought out emotion. There are no highlights; everything is brilliant.
My Bloody Valentine Loveless4.0
Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik3.0
Nirvana Nevermind3.5
Les Rallizes Denudes '77 Live5.0
Green Day 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours3.0
Primus Sailing the Seas of Cheese3.5
Slint Spiderland4.0

1990
Ride Nowhere3.5
Prefab Sprout Jordan: The Comeback5.0
Codeine Frigid Stars2.0
Green Day 39/Smooth3.0
Naked City Naked City3.0

1989
Nirvana Bleach3.0
Steve Reich Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint4.5

1988
Sonic Youth Daydream Nation4.5
Talk Talk Spirit of Eden4.5
I am convinced that if the career of Talk Talk was parallel to the life of a human, Spirit of Eden would be the adolescence. Sandwiched between the simple pop rock of their early years and the arty maturity of their final record, Spirit of Eden shows Talk Talk's transition into the group that would make that legendary post rock album Laughing Stock. And it is a transition. On Spirit of Eden, Talk Talk explores the genre that would come to be known as post rock, with some admirable periods of ambience and dabbles in the deeper side of electronics, yet they're also unwilling to completely abandon their poppy sound, and the portions when they attempt to conserve their mainstream appeal come off sounding clumsy rather than listenable. Spirit of Eden is a strong effort from Talk Talk, but like teenagers, they at times sound awkward as they grow from childish pop to cultivated adult music.r
Prefab Sprout From Langley Park To Memphis4.0
The Pogues If I Should Fall from Grace with God4.5

1987
Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction2.5
Sonic Youth Sister5.0

1986
The Smiths The Queen Is Dead3.5
Hate to be the black sheep here, but I don't see what the big deal is about this album. Is it solid? Sure. The title track is definitely rocking and one of my favorite indie rock songs. But the rest of the album, while remaining good, doesn't have anything great. "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" is beautiful, but other than that and the title track, this isn't anything special.
Sonic Youth Evol4.5
Talk Talk The Colour of Spring4.5

1985
The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy2.5
Prefab Sprout Steve McQueen4.5

1984
Cocteau Twins Treasure3.0
Prefab Sprout Swoon4.5

1982
Michael Jackson Thriller4.0
Philip Glass Glassworks4.0
My introduction to Philip Glass was a snippet of the score from the wildly influential film Koyaaniqatsi (I think that's how you spell it). After that I was intrigued. The album I found in a shop in Brattleboro, Vermont, was Glassworks. As far as music I've heard goes, this isn't like anything. It sounds very much like a film score in some parts, a la The Illusionist. The style is very repetetive, deeply rooted in minimalism; the genre he helped to create. The opening song ("Opening", lol) is a brilliant acoustic piano pattern that repeats for 6 minutes, yet subtley remains interesting throughout. This isn't the case for all the songs, as one song refuses to do anything ("Facades"), while another, "Floe", insists on doing too much. However, both songs have a counterpart ("Islands" and "Rubric", respectively) that achieves beautifully what the other couldn't. You gotta have the patience of a Venus Flytrap to sit through the epic repetition, but if you do, the payoff's worth it.
1981
This Heat Deceit5.0
1980
Talking Heads Remain in Light5.0
Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables4.0
Joy Division Closer4.5

1979
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures3.0

1978
Brian Eno Ambient 1: Music For Airports4.0
Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians4.5

1977
Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols2.5
Television Marquee Moon3.5

1976
Henryk Gorecki Symphony No. 3, Op. 364.5

1975
Brian Eno Another Green World3.0

1974
King Crimson Red4.0
Shuggie Otis Inspiration Information4.0

1970
Andrew Lloyd Webber Jesus Christ Superstar: Original Cast3.0
Miles Davis Bitches Brew4.5

1969
The Beatles Abbey Road3.0
The Who Tommy4.0

1968
The Zombies Odessey and Oracle4.5

1967
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band4.0
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & Nico3.0

1966
The Beatles Revolver4.0
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds4.0

1965
John Coltrane A Love Supreme4.5

1960
Miles Davis Sketches of Spain4.5
1959
Miles Davis Kind of Blue5.0

1913
Igor Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps4.5
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