Average Rating: 4.10 Rating Variance: 0.55 Objectivity Score: 55% (Somewhat Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicAnimal Collective Merriweather Post PavilionAntarctica 81:03A solid mix of indie rock, synthpop, and post-rock. It took a long time for it to grow on me as far as it has, but it makes for a nice listen the first time around. Even at 80 minutes, it goes by smoothly. Lots of variety, and some powerful moments (like the ending plummet of 7759). It makes me wish there were some readable lyrics for this somewhere...Daft Punk DiscoveryDJ Shadow Endtroducing.....Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to HeavenGospel The Moon Is a Dead WorldInterpol Turn on the Bright LightsJ Dilla DonutsJethro Tull Thick as a BrickMy Bloody Valentine LovelessMy Bloody Valentine m b vI love everything about it. It's so isolated and deeply layered. It's so much warmer compared to Loveless as well. Strong enough to stand as its own thing, for sure. And unique enough that it blows every other shoegaze comeback album out of the water.Neil Young After the Gold RushR.E.M. MurmurR.E.M. ReckoningRadiohead OK ComputerRadiohead Kid ASonic Youth Daydream NationThe Dismemberment Plan Emergency & IEverything you could ever want from an 'indie' album. Clever lyrics, memorable hooks (lots of them!), creative sounds and instrumentation. And cool album art, for the nerds that wanna hang this up on their wall.The Dismemberment Plan ChangeAll the talent that brought us Emergency and I is pulled together to give us a far more mellowed out, melancholic indie rock album. It's just as creative, though more of a grower compared to before. Definitely a unique one.The Velvet Underground The Velvet UndergroundThe Zombies Odessey and OracleTV on the Radio Young LiarsA shockingly strong debut for this group. It hits all the indie checkmarks that get me hooked onto a release. Creative? Emotional? Memorable? Variety? It has it all in only 4 tracks... and an a cappella Mister Grieves cover, but that's extra.Unwound Leaves Turn Inside YouYes Close to the Edge4.5 superb...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Source Tags and CodesThis is unquestionably the go-to Trail of Dead album. Sure, they have other good ones (Madonna and Lost Songs are worth the listen), but you can already tell whether or not you'll like them based off this album. This is them at their songwriting peak.A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the SullenIt really is stunningly beautiful, yet simple. Those aware of Stars of the Lid might find this ambient style familiar (They share a main member). Yet, this is a unique release to that name. I doubt it's the first to tackle minimalism in this way, but it's the first I'd recommend people to.Antarctica 23:03Worth listening for "Closetful of Churches" alone. All three songs have a big space-y indie rock vibe to it. They're very somber, as well. The performances feel somewhat amateurish, but the songwriting makes up for everything. I REALLY wish I could see the lyrics on these songs, because there's no way anyone is going to figure out exactly what they're saying by ear.Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92At the Drive-In Relationship of CommandBlack Sabbath ParanoidBoards of Canada Music Has the Right to ChildrenBrand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside MeCave In AntennaAgain, Cave In has shifted gears, embracing a much more straightforward songwriting style. And boy, they really squeezed hard, seeing how they managed to get just over an hour of music on this. They've exhausted everything they could do with this sound, including the obligatory 'experimental' track 'Sea Frost', which lasts about 9 minutes. It's an overwhelming package, but there's a lot to go back to. You won't love it all in one go.Converge Jane DoeConverge You Fail MeConverge All We Love We Leave BehindConverge Axe to FallDeafheaven SunbatherDeftones Diamond EyesDeftones Koi No YokanFoals AntidotesSurprisingly good! 'Cassius' gives off the idea that they're going for some typical catchy 00s indie rock, but the rest of the tracklist makes use of moody atmosphere and interesting songwriting. The interesting part being how they use up ALL of their 4+ minute length. You can't judge these tracks until they finish. Sometimes they'll latch onto an interesting lyric (it's just another hospital!), and other times they'll hit you with a surprise climax (WASTE BECOMES WASTE). If anything, I wish they put more thought into the lyrics, because they feel awfully sporadic compared to what they're doing musically.Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞Gorillaz Demon DaysGuided by Voices Bee ThousandThe perfect indie album for the ADHD listener. The album rapid-fires though hook after hook, song after song. By the time you hit the end, you'll be surprised everything happened in 36 minutes. Though even GBV couldn't resist turning some of these ideas into more fully realized songs (Smothered In Hugs).Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelinmclusky McLusky Do DallasIn case other bands just aren't pushing the envelope enough, mclusky puts their music into overdrive. It might be overly sarcastic, but the song ideas are so fluid, I can't say their snark isn't justified.Midori Aratame Hajime Mashite Midori DesuIt's an explosion of pianos, double bass, and shouting. Yet, all this noise blends together shockingly well... On top of that, they managed to pull together a variety of styles for their songs. Some are thrashy, some are bouncy, and somehow, most of them are really good! If you were ever looking for 'something else', it doesn't get much more 'something else' than this.Motorpsycho Timothy's MonsterIt's a wild ride of an album. It's nearly 100 minutes long, and they explore every inch of their sound on it. Despite this, it's actually one of the more accessible albums in their discography. It's not completely over the top indulgent, but it doesn't hold back its impact, either. It starts strong and ends strong with two of their best songs.Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the SeaThe lyrical themes are too ridiculous for me to love the album wholly, but everything here is done so confidently, I can't turn it down.Pink Floyd Wish You Were HerePorcupine Tree In AbsentiaR.E.M. Fables of the ReconstructionRadiohead In RainbowsRefused The Shape Of Punk To ComeSlint SpiderlandThe Mars Volta De-Loused in the ComatoriumThe Mars Volta AmputechtureHas the same problems as Frances the Mute, but has more consistently good highs, if you ask me.The Strokes Is This ItThe Strokes Room on FireIt loses the impact that Is This It had for being the debut, but looking back at this next to their 2001 album? This one stands up just as strong. It's just as consistent and has a handful of their best songs on it. But, like the debut, there's nothing groundbreaking happening, here. Simple rock music, and they're great at it.The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & NicoThe Who Who's Next4.0 excellentA Perfect Circle Mer de NomsNot as bombastic as Tool's output, and it works to their advantage. This is a very consistently good album, using all of Maynard's ability to write creative melodies and working with a slithering pace.Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Volume IIBoston BostonNot every album I love has to be serious and moody... Boston's s/t is a fun one. And it's so consistently good! There isn't a single song I dislike on this.Brand New Deja EntenduSome guy on sputnikmusic likes Brand NewrStay tuned for more exciting hot takesBrand New Science FictionDeafheaven New BermudaNot as dazzling as listening to their infamous Pink Album, though they're treading much further into actual metal atmospheres on this. Songwriting-wise, they seem to be repeating themselves. Not too unusual for any metal artist, though with Deafheaven, I'm left wondering if they've exhausted all their good ideas already, and only three albums in! You can only shift from loud blast beat first half to post-rock jam second half so many times before it becomes predictable. Though predictable or not, I happen to like it for what it is.Death From Above 1979 You're a Woman, I'm a Machine"The horniest indie band" And damn good, too. Very rarely are 'riffs' ever a factor in this genre.Death From Above 1979 Heads UpI can't guarantee this will blow your face off but damn if it doesn't try.Death Grips Government PlatesSo simple, yet so creative. For those tapped into the escapism of Death Grips, it doesn't get much more escapist than trying to escape your own conventions! It's not new for DG tracks to shift around or change tempo, but GP turns it into one of the main concepts of the album. The lyrics get stripped down, to the point where a good chunk of these tracks don't evolve further past their own samples. Though, we aren't left entirely in the dark, as the other half keep the cryptic lyrics. It's their most strange album, but it's a good one. Makes for an interesting listen.Death Grips The Money StoreDeath Grips ExmilitaryDeftones DeftonesAn odd album in their discography. It doubles down on the warm slow tracks while also dialing up the screaming extremes. There's a loss of cohesion that their other albums benefit from, but most of the song ideas are good enough to hold this up.Envy RecitationMore of the same, though still very good. It won't surprise you if you're familiar with the band's previous post-rock infused albums. If you're not, expect an emotional post-rock hardcore rollercoaster.Future of the Left Travels With Myself And AnotherThis album is so energetic and jumpy it feels like it was made by cartoon characters.Godspeed You! Black Emperor 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'At first I was annoyed by how similar its sound was to Allelujah, and also how long the drones were getting relative to the main tracks. But, it grew on me. It's their least dazzling release up to this point, but their songwriting hasn't faded quite yet. They're still leagues ahead of the competition who's either turning into passive ambience, or is still not growing past the concept of soft... THEN LOUD. 'Peasantry' is quite the beautiful opener, following a sinister 6/8 melody. It sweeps into a fantastic melody towards the middle, good enough to rival any of the band's best. 'Piss Crowns' admittedly does about the same thing to a different tune, though the main difference here is the familiar steamroller section of a closer. Perhaps it's lacking some meat on the bone, but these two songs are worthy enough to keep me relistening to them. And if I'm feeling generous, I don't skip the drones!Interpol El PintorThank god... they've finally pulled it together and made a whole album of songs worth listening to! After mindnumbing dull indie rock, the inspiration comes back to this album in waves. Songs like 'My Desire' and the fittingly named 'Tital Wave' burst into a wall of open hi hats and reverbed guitars. Other songs like "Same Town, New Story" keep themselves alive through their moody atmospheres and repetitive guitar melodies. Hearing a good indie rock album in 2014, let alone a good Interpol album, is not something to take for granted.Jeromes Dream PresentsCalling it an 'album' is a stretch considering there's less than 20 minutes of actual music. But, if you can accept the shouty vocal style (which you surely could if you got into the first album's vocal style), what's here is good. It's a quick bunch of noisy post-hardcore tracks. Not too chaotic, but it gets the point across.Kanye West YeezusLow C'MonThis is an album where the band is refining their long established style, so I can't say it's leagues above the others. But, compared to their best, this album is still worthy. Some of my favorite Low songs are on this one. If you like their previous stuff, why not give it a shot?Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate MachineOceana Clean HeadVery strong 4 tracks. The vocals are very unique, along with the post-hardcore influenced songwriting. I'd love to hear a whole album like this, but what's here is good enough.Oceansize Self Preserved While The Bodies Float UpOne of the most creative rock albums from the 2010s that I've heard. No bells or whistles needed. You can't slap the 'post-rock' tag on this one, this time around. While they still use post-rock elements, they're putting a focus on doing their own thing and making up their own songs.Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the DeafQueens of the Stone Age Era VulgarisOne of their most interesting (and apparently polarizing) albums. It's got their good qualities: Memorable songs, and a good variety of them. But their sound? Guess that's up to you. I think the rougher sound is great on this.R.E.M. GreenSex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex PistolsSwans The SeerSystem of a Down ToxicityTame Impala InnerspeakerThe Mars Volta Frances the MuteWay too much bloat on this album (lots of psychedelic noise goop), but the strongest parts make this album.The Mars Volta The Bedlam in GoliathThey finally cut the fat and replace it with... UNRELENTING CHAOS??Tool LateralusTortoise TNTFor once, Tortoise's artsy ways manage to pay off for a whole album! You don't have to be a bonafide critic to appreciate the tranquil atmosphere on these tracks. TNT really is the last title I could imagine giving this album.TV on the Radio New Health RockOne of the most fun (and straightforward) rock tracks in TVOTR's discography. You won't find it on any of their albums. Having the bouncy track 'The Wrong Way' on the same cd is neat, too.Weezer Weezer3.5 greatAC/DC Back In BlackAn Endless Sporadic AmeliorateAnimal Collective Strawberry JamVery fun, and very unique... a bit obnoxious? Regardless, you won't be hearing anything unoriginal, here.Animal Collective Painting WithAnother interesting release from AnCo. The sounds are no longer blended together, instead being shoved clearly up in your face. The songs sound overly childish at times (not like they aren't aware of it) and sometimes obnoxious, but for the most part, I'd say it's good.Autopilot Off Make A SoundSimple, but strong. It has all the essential qualities of catchy 00s rock music. Brickwalled production, laser-streamlined vocal melodies, and more importantly, a very consistent set of tracks! It might be difficult to get into if you've moved on past pop punk, but if you don't mind it, it's worth the shot.Botch We Are the RomansCave In Final TransmissionVery unfortunate we won't get a finished version of what's here. Some of these song ideas are strong for the band's standards. But, what could they do. Final transmission indeed...Chevelle Sci-Fi CrimesSurprisingly good! I expected disappointment after picking this up due to hearing the rock radio hits off of it (Letter from a Thief and Jars), but it ended up being consistently good the whole way through! It's probably the only Chevelle album I'd recommend hearing.Deafheaven Ordinary Corrupt Human LoveIf we can't come up with new songwriting ideas, we'll FORCE new ideas to happen. They doubled back on their darker sound to embrace a much more uplifting sound... It's so saccharine, it hurts. A lot of this album feels terribly sloppy, too. The drumming feels disconnected from the rest of the band at points, and the longer songs feel like various song ideas stapled together. Less predictable, sure, but all these changes are not for the better.Death From Above 1979 The Physical WorldI can't say I expected more from them with this comeback album. It's got just about everything I could ask for. Maybe a little worn down, but nothing bad.Glassjaw Material ControlI'd be lying if I said this was a strong release of theirs. It's pretty good in the scope of 2017, but compared to Glassjaw's previous EPs? Nah. Some of the experimentation here isn't going to pay off in the long run. Regardless, we got some strong tracks out of it, so it's worth the listen.Head Automatica DecadenceConsidering how good Daryl was with catchy songwriting, it makes some sense that he'd go for poppier tunes at some point. Head Automatica pulls it off nicely. There's a lot of variety in here. Not everything sticks, but what sticks is strong! Love the bass guitar on this album, as well.Jeromes Dream LPThis has been a weird album to think about. Being a big fan of Presents (their second album), I definitely don't mind the vocal style. But those vocals don't fit in as well with this music as it did with Presents. Both from a songwriting standpoint and production. Instrumentally, though, it has a handful of high points. It's better when it's slower and sinister. It's decent, all things considered.Mindless Self Indulgence You'll Rebel To AnythingMSI work especially well with this 10 track, sub-30 minute release. There's a good amount of variety between each song, and they all hold up strong on their own, as wacky as they are. They have a strong digital rock sound to back up these snotty lyrics. If anything, the Tom Sawyer cover might be too obnoxious even by their standards.R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-FiReal Estate DaysIt's about as exciting as the cover would lead to believe, but at least it's good! It's a well rounded album of chill indie rock tracks.Real Estate AtlasIt's almost identical to their last album, and it's still good.Silent Drive Love is Worth ItThe digital vocal-tuning and harmonizing is overkill at times, but their lead has a great shouting voice. It gives them a unique sound, which they write some great songs with.The Rapture Pieces Of The People We LoveA real blast to revisit this piece of the 00s dance indie scene. Their move into a cleaner more digital sound is great for them. Strong highlights, too.The Rapture In the Grace of Your LoveNot their most thrilling album, but their songwriting is just as strong as it's ever been. It's very consistent.Title Fight HyperviewIt's a difficult change to adjust to, especially now that it sounds like the energetic nephew of Real Estate. Lucky for them, they managed to come up with enough good song ideas to hold this album and its sound up. It's walking a thin line though. Any weaker than this, and it'll become a complete snoozer.Tool Fear InoculumIt's a unique one. Tool embraced their 'hypnotic' side rather than their more memorable or heavy sides. For what it's worth, they pulled that off very well on this album, but the results aren't dazzling. I'm impressed they managed to come up with SIX ten minute long songs of all things. The biggest problem with this album is how it NEVER changes gears. Throughout the 60+ mins, they're riffing on the same tempos, and it feels like they're using the same syncopations over and over again. I can't say I would have preferred this to a worthy re-hash of their other strengths. Clearly they still have the technical capabilities to create something more impressive than this.3.0 goodDeath Grips The Powers That B - Part I: Niggas on the MoonThe sound on this makes for a great song idea. For a whole album, though? Not so much, but they are still creative with where they take these songs.Death Grips Fashion WeekJerome Dreams xConsidering this was built using some relatively slow JD guitar demos, the result is impressive! Personally, I think these guitar ideas worked better in their slower, moody forms. Though, to see them repurposed as thrashing screamo tracks is very neat.Parquet Courts Sunbathing AnimalParquet Courts are a really obnoxious band... I had to accept that I didn't actually like them after going through the rest of their albums. This one stands out to me, however. Possibly because they're putting some more focus into their songwriting, and sometimes, it sounds like they're having fun with it! But are they having fun, or just being smug? The lyrics are dense, somewhat 'artsy', and vaguely political at times. As for their songwriting, they seem to be very confident with it. 'Up All Night' feels like the band trying to tease us with it, even. But are their songs really that stunning? They're only a notch above the average indie rock band if you ask me. But, they keep it above average for the whole album, which makes this worthy enough for a curious listen.The Dandy Warhols Welcome To The Monkey HouseMonkey House is always verging on being awful, but manages to stay catchy enough to keep it afloat for the whole thing. It's at least good enough to fit in with the other trendy rock bands of the early 00. It definitely helps that they kept it all under 50 minutes this time around. It's so lame, but at this point in their discography, that's partly what you're coming for.2.5 averageBlack Midi Schlagenheim2.0 poorDoes It Offend You, Yeah? You Have No Idea...Not only was I not offended, but I knew exactly what it was I was getting into! Some fun songs on this for sure, but no reason for me to come back to this one as an album.Swans Leaving MeaningThe focus has shifted far away from sound and song structure experimenting, which implies more of a lyrical focus. Which... I don't consider to be Gira's strong suit. With The Angels of Light, yes, it works fine. But, it's been over a decade since the last album of theirs, and Gira's poetic tongue has weakened majorly since then. The moody instrumentals are fine, but nowhere near enough to hold up a 90 minute album.The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in AmericaI re-read all the lyrics to make sure you guys weren't fuckin with me. The riffs are about as bland as rock can get and Finn's voice and delivery is annoying. Since the focus clearly isn't on what he's doing with his voice, and the instrumental isn't much more interesting, it puts a lot of emphasis on the lyrics. A LOT. It does feel very poetic, but I don't find them much more impressive than say.... 00s era Fall Out Boy. Though these lyrics are a hell of a lot easier to interpret!1.5 very poorKanye West Jesus Is KingKanye is capable of making a good gospel-fused hip hop album. The demos were proof of that. The ideas were there! But with the release of this album, every good idea went to waste. I have no idea what he was thinking, but these feel even more like demos than the demos themselves! They're too short, unfinished (after all those delays, too?), or nonsensical. His verses feel like they were written at the last second. A few good instrumental ideas here and there, but overall, a complete mess. And not a good one.1.0 awfulGorillaz HumanzThe greatest musical disappointment of the 2010s. And that's saying something. I'm all for artists trying out new things. A lot of my favorite albums came from this practice... but the results aren't always good. The biggest problem of Humanz was that it completely lost the spirit of what the group was doing during its original run. On top of that, Plastic Beach already showed us that they could change their sound up plenty and still come out with something worthwhile. Instead, Damon decided to use the Gorillaz name to pump out some awful tuneless Art Pop Music. God help the poor people trying to sell this fictional band's image with these songs... thankfully there were at least a couple of them listenable enough to use as music videos. I'd even call 'Ascension' good! But that's one track out of 15 (excluding the interludes). And even more surprising, this came out two years after Blur's The Magic Whip, which was actually quite good! What happened???
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