User
Reviews 85 Approval 97%
Soundoffs 189 News Articles 14 Band Edits + Tags 6,685 Album Edits 12,134
Album Ratings 15800 Objectivity 73%
Last Active 07-27-22 7:57 am Joined 12-20-10
Review Comments 855
| Discovolante's Best (Stuff I discovered) of: 2022
So since this is another year where I haven't found too many new things that impressed me, I decided to instead make a list of the best artists/bands I found this year. Could it be that I'm just not in the mood to follow current bands? ... Probably lol. And unlike the majority of my prior lists, this one is indeed in order. | 6 | | SSQ Playback
SSQ's sole album "Playback" is an album that aged like a fine wine, especially with the 80s revivalist movement which has been a strong boom the last several years. While I'm not really into frontwoman Stacey Q's solo stuff, this album is solid. | 5 | | Acid Test Drop
Unlike SSQ's album, Acid Test's one and only album from 1993, "Drop"... did not age well. But that doesn't mean it's not a fun album, as it harkens to the same alt-rave-rock that bands like Pop Will Eat Itself made popular several years prior. Add to the mix frontwoman/bassist Lucy Di Santo whose voice is both badass and dripping in sex appeal, and you've got yourself one hell of a cult classic. | 4 | | Oblivion Dust Looking for Elvis
Oblivion Dust is a band that I've known about for years, although it took until this year for me to finally dig into their catalog, and man, what delicious grungy treats. Heavily inspired by the 90s Western alternative rock explosion, Oblivion Dust released a few great albums, but my personal favorite is their debut "Looking for Elvis", which is unabashed 90s alt rock greatness. While it absolutely takes from some of the most obvious grunge tropes, the pure energy and drive of the band cannot be denied, turning skeptics into believers by the end of the album. | 3 | | Tribe Abort
Hailing from Boston, Tribe have been icons in the area for over 3 decades, despite being inactive since 1994. Across the rest of the country, however, Tribe are a cult band at the very best. They undoubtedly deserved far better, and in 1991, they released their major label debut "Abort", one of the most criminally underrated albums in 90s alt rock. It has an artsy, grippingly dramatic feel that will leave you on the edge of your seat the entire time, with an occasional gothic sprinkle here and there. The production is haunting, tense and well done, with frontwoman Janet LaValley's vocals soaring. I know it's a beaten-to-death phrase, but "Abort" really is one of the quintessential examples of underrated in alternative music. | 2 | | Split Enz Second Thoughts
Arguably the most groundbreaking and influential band in New Zealand music, Split Enz were quite radical when they came out, having an art rock sound, which was at its peak in popularity at the time, and donning costumes that raised many eyebrows at the time. The thing that is most admirable about Split Enz was their constantly evolving sound, with each album sounding distinctly different from the other. There are several albums of theirs that are highly regarded in their own way, but my personal favorite of theirs is the redheaded bastard stepchild "Second Thoughts", which followed the league-of-its-own debut "Mental Notes". Perhaps it's because of its more accessible sound while still being pretty out there in terms of ground covering, "Second Thoughts" has a few tracks that really connected with me personally, most significantly "Sweet Dreams", which I would argue is one of the best pop tracks ever. Really, any Split Enz album is great... except their final one "See 'Ya Round". | 1 | | Cardiacs A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window
Within less than a year, Cardiacs have went from a band I had no idea of existing to becoming one of my all time favs. Thus is their power! | |
Mort.
11.02.22 | cardiacs have been near the top of my list of bands to get round to for a long time now. almost nobody has a bad word to say about them | discovolante
11.03.22 | Man, they're practically a perfect band in terms of their discography. |
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