Stream of Consciousness & Music Reviews

     From Out of Nowhere is (at the time of writing) the final album from ELO. This is the last album that I have left to review that I had already known before starting this blog, making it the last item from the backlog (remember that, from over 3 years ago?). In a way, this being the last Electric Light Orchestra album and the last album from my original backlog feels fitting, as the whole album feels like a goodbye. The overarching theme that purveys most of the songs is one of finality and leaving something or someone, and maybe it's just because this album holds a bit of nostalgia for me and the fact that I'm at the precipice of an uncertain time in my life at the moment, but it really hit me hard. I'll say that I cried at multiple points throughout the album and not expound too much on it, as I feel this is a personal experience that most other people won't necessarily have listening, but it's my review so it earns a mention. From Out of Nowhere continues the...

      Tres Hombres is ZZ Top's breakout album from 1973 and it's ok. The signature hard rock sound that the band is known for is largely absent (with a couple exceptions, notably the well known single La Grange) and the album much more heavily focuses on being southern rock. As far as southern rock goes, it's fine when stood next to other notable bands. The few instances of their hard rock sound shining through really just made me wanna listen to Eliminator again, where it's the main focus and great. Unfortunately, a lot of this album has a slower pace and lighter instrumentation that doesn't gel the best with that style. I will say, Billy Gibbons' guitarwork is still on point here and easily the best aspect of the music; the solos and odd riffs that pop up are the real standout of the whole thing. All in all, I'd say that I did like Tres Hombres but much prefer their later work, although this is still a fine album.     Highlights: Jesus Just Left Chicago, ...

      The sole album from duo Madvillain, Madvillainy is pretty darn good. Speaking as someone who's not very familiar with Madlib or MF DOOM's other works, Madvillainy is constructed excellently. Madlib's sampling is phenomenal and really creates a distinctive atmosphere for the album; from old cartoons to hip hop and jazz beats, each track contributes to the overarching feel and story around the villainous duo that was really fun to get invested in. And on top of that to enhance it is DOOM, who's flow and lyricism I enjoyed a lot. How the lyrics are structured is perfectly suited for DOOM's flow and how he performs them. And I want to spotlight DOOM's excellent wordplay. The way that phrases can get rhymed with or continued into different ideas sometimes is amazing, I don't really know how to describe it. I wish that there was more that I could say but I've run through everything about the album that I liked, which is pretty much everything I have to s...

       Soulside Eclipse I, the artist's second album, is a departure from their first album, Forgotten Conquest. Where that one focused on ambient droning synths, Soulside Eclipse I takes on a more complex composition, now being a self described symphonic black metal work. And while this album retains the same proficiency at creating tone and atmosphere, I was left wanting a little more. The melodies and loops are still good but I feel like they lose a little bit of the charm that it had when it was purely a synth-focused effort; the more complex tracks make me wish it had a little more to offer. That being said, what it does offer is still good and an enjoyable listen, if a tad unengaging (I found myself getting distracted a few times while listening, but that may just as well be a fault of mine rather than of the album). The pacing and structure of the album are good, gradually getting darker and more dramatic the deeper in you get, and it has a nice feel listening...

      This album is pretty good. I don't have too terribly much to say on it specifically other than that I liked it. The timbre and instrumentation is pretty thin throughout a good chunk of the album (especially the beginning) but it does grow, and has a surprising amount of variety in the styles it goes for. I think that it's able to play around with its identity pretty well and I can see a lot of how influential it would become through them. The pseudo-story of the album, being about the titular Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars, kept me engaged throughout the runtime of the album and is nicely complemented by the overall focus on acoustic guitar and occasional electric modulations. Close call on the number rating here, but I think I liked the album well enough for it to earn it's score.     Highlights: Soul Love, Moonage Daydream, Starman, Lady Stardust, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City, Rock 'n' Roll Suicide. Rating: 5/6

      Obligatory "I'm still not very familiar with a lot of metal and have only listened to a small amount of it". With that, I think I'm mostly neutral on From Mars to Sirius. For most of the album I was just kinda sitting there listening to it, not really getting into it too much but also not actively disliking it. There are good parts, like some of the guitar riffs are pretty good and I enjoyed the lyrics of most of the songs, and other parts I didn't care for, namely the vocals. To put it bluntly, I think that I just don't like screamed vocals. It sounds atonal and bland to me. From what I've read, it's to convey more emotions strongly, but in my opinion screaming narrows your emotional range a lot when singing and as a result the vocals just sort of sound the same across the entire album (at least during the parts where the singer is screaming, which is the vast majority of the vocals). I understand a lot of people are probably able to read more n...

      Days of Future Passed is incredible. This concept album cataloguing the course of a day with each song representing a different section of a day, each with their own moods and meanings, is fantastic. The big thing with this album that makes me like it so much is its composition (I feel like I've been saying that a lot recently). Much of the album is purely orchestral and is really just a legitimate classical work for a considerable portion of the runtime. There are, of course, times when it takes on a rock sound that you would expect from a 60's English rock band, and it does indeed occasionally get moody as the band's name would have you believe, but for the most part it's just a very good work of classical music, with the theming of the album being centered around a day reminiscent of some other pre-existing classical pieces like The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. I would recommend this album in the same way that I would recommend actual classical pieces ...