Stitch O’Donovan

It's not always eloquent, and some of the verbiage doesn't really hold up in today's landscape of what can and can't be said without being too far, but I've got a soft spot for this one, warts and all (2/2)

Americana - The Offspring

8.7/10

In an attempt to display what they defined as "Americana" in the late 1990s, the Offspring don't paint a picture of sweet apple pie and baseball, but rather a cesspool of broken futures, ill fated relationships, and corporate greed that rivals the power of gods 1/2

Here is what I listened to in the B-side of February!

Any favorites here?? What have you been listening to?? #musicsky

It's a consistent style and quality across the board, spare a notable exception in my favorite track "Johnny's Gonna Die," that sees the group divert from the juvenile (non-derogatory) punk sound to something… different (2/2)

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take out the Trash - The Replacements

7.4/10

The Replacements are very obviously still finding their footing as a group on this project, but there is never a point where I'm bored, which can't be said for a lot of early releases, even from favorite artists of mine (1/?)

It's a shame because it almost could have taken an interesting orchestrative pop direction like Pretty. Odd. by Panic! At the Disco, but it drops the ball on that by choosing to instead turn to easy and disgustingly sweet rhymes and choruses that needn't be repeated as oft as they are (3/3)

It slowly devolves into music that not only feels of its time, but feels like it's an artist of that time scraping the bottom of the barrel. My biggest criticism is the lyrics in the B side (in the A side too, but it's far more endearing on the singles and company) (2/?)

Big Bad World - Plain White T’s

5.8/10

The beginning of this record feels very of its time in a "wow he's so dreamy playing the keyboard with M&M's on it," if you know you know (1/?)

Alone in my dark apartment after a long week of work? Absolutely crushing. Walking leisurely through the isle of the grocery store? Heavenly. It's beautiful either way and has soundscapes that feel good and don't feel cheap or underdeveloped (2/2)

Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill - Grouper

8.2/10

This one is ethereal in ways that both unsettle and saddens me as well as comfort me, depending on the context of the listen (1/?)

It's not a bad album, but I never came away from it feeling anything other than "maybe this would hit on a hot day where I don't have the bandwidth for something challenging” (2/2)

Today - Galaxie 500

6.2/10

Do I like the vibe of this album? Yeah I'd say so, but it's so redundant and sometimes really pushing the boundaries of what is experimental jamming and what is a bad note (1/2)

It's just really not at all very strong writing, and with the album length, it's a chore to listen even if it isn't necessarily all that bad. Sorry Sir Elton John, this one is a miss in my book (3/3)

In this case, it's an example of putting a lot of faith in the strength of a repeated song structure (identical lyrics and all) or a hook that is repeated at nauseam for up to 3 and a half minutes in the album's greatest offender (2/3)

Blue Moves - Elton John

4.6/10

Elton John bet it all on black and it came up red with this one unfortunately. Putting out over an hour of music together is a bold move and can be the source of some of the most theme-heavy records or star-studded track lists (1/?)

The guest vocals by Clare Torry particularly bring this project above and beyond in terms of textures and her main feature, "Great Gig in the Sky." (2/2)

The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

9.4/10

I have heard these songs since my childhood, and I still find myself getting so thrilled by the highlights on this record. It's so mysterious and moody while also being larger than life and lush (1/2)

It's a cool sound when done right, but the handling of the pop/opera sound just isn't working on here for me like it might for someone else (3/3)

I really wanted to enjoy this one more than I did. Even on the track with my favorite moment, the Björk feature, there was a sample that was genuinely obnoxious and cancelled out something as good as a Björk passage (2/3)

LUX - ROSELÍA

6.8/10

For all the moments in this album that I thought were really interesting and engaging or for every performance I thought was stunning (particularly the vocals), there were production, form, and composition choices that I thought were questionable at best (1/?)

A lot of my favorite of their songs are on this one, but the project overall has a good few songs that feel oddly pieced together and like they don't fit within themselves (4/4)

… to mention a few topics that relate to that main theme. The album is a sonic shift for the band as well, leaving behind the more indie punk sound for a bold and more clean cut rock with a capital R sound (3/4)

There are songs about dreaming of trick or treating in the hospital hallways to escape the monotony of being constantly examined, romanticizing how much simpler things would be to be dead instead of working out all these problems, and a breakup song addressed to her body, (2/?)

Rose Mountain - Screaming Females

8.2/10

I admire that they went for something more conceptual than anything else they did up to this point in their career. Many of these songs are about Marissa's health issues that persisted the conception, recording, and touring of this record (1/?)

It's got garage rock, punk rock, and a pinch of that quirky Pixies-like off kilter rock, among other elements. I find each song to be dripping in nostalgia for someone I haven't done and even the fun and extroverted dance tracks have a sense of melancholy or yearning to them (2/2)

The Boojums - The Boojums

9.6/10

This project is so consistent and fun, it's like finding a lost VHS tape of concert footage that was someone's best night of their life, and just living vicariously through what you're experiencing (1/2)

January’s B side topster in no particular order

Any favorites here?? What have you been listening to?? #musicsky #topster

Just an updated topster from the last half year or so. Would love to know what everyone thinks or what people like on here!

#musicsky #top100albums #topster

Quite a bit belated, but here’s my first mid-month-ster of the year!

What are your favorites here?? What have you been listening to??

#musicsky

The soft acoustic textures, angelic vocal lines and harmonies, stringed instrument accompaniment, and dialed in atmospheric guitar tones all make this a hazy journey of love, deep feelings, and sky (2/2)