anyways-wonderwall

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #74

Canned Wheat

(1969)

by The Guess Who

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

TL;DR: Who knew a voice that incredible belonged to someone named Burton from Manitoba. 

(Look I get you're from Manitoba but this cover is a little too silly. also why the sticker about the single? 5/10)

Overall Thoughts

We’re staying in 1969 for this week, with an album that initially felt a lot like last week’s Flying Burrito Brothers album, but quickly veered off into something with more personality and intrigue. Well, for some of the tracks. 

One of the things I’m most critical about in music is a white man’s voice. That may be a little bit stupid given most of the music I listen to is (unfortunately) sung by white men, but we all know they are given way to many chances to be genuinely awful singers. Lou Reed is well respected, and Rolling Stone had the audacity to put John Lennon as the 12th greatest singer of all time and Bob Dylan at 15. Clearly if you’re a white guy who can write a decent song singing ability is optional, which means I will immediately point out if some guy has an obnoxious voice. That makes it all the more remarkable that I was just taken aback by how amazing Burton Cummings voice is. 

The Guess Who was originally marketed as blue-eyed soul, something that breeds melodramatic vocals, but Cummings doesn’t fall for that here. He’s always on pitch (even live), never self-indulgent, smooth, with just enough feeling to make you falter. The instrumentals on these songs were good, but often nothing remarkable. You have talented people on every part, every once in a while a bassline that’s interesting enough that I’ll start nodding along, but it was really the vocals that kept me listening, not something I expected from a 70s rock group. 

Well so what is interesting on this album? Not “No Time,” which was later put on American Woman as a single and became one of their most famous songs, despite sounding like a B-side off of the Flying Burrito Brothers album. “Laughing” and “Undun” ended up forming the single record for this album and are the ones that are actually worth listening to. The first leans blue-eyed soul and was marketed as a follow-up to “These Eyes,” and is wonderfully crafted if you ignore the 30 second fade out. “Undun” is the real star of the show and the reason I wanted to listen to more of The Guess Who. I just adore how consistently driving it is, with guitars that feel latin in a way I can’t quite put my finger on, a voice that gives me goosebumps, and MULTIPLE FLUTE SOLOS!!! That’s right, in case I wasn’t sure if I was in love with Burton Cummings (very unfortunate name), he plays the flute and adds solos to multiple songs on this album. I just need everyone to watch this live rendition of it that I have watched 3 times in a row already. Just incredible. 

The album ends with a eleven-minute song “Key,” which with a run-time that long is fighting an uphill battle to get me to like it. And the lyrics are biblical? Well now double the steepness of that slope. Weirdly though, I was interested the whole time, even through the 5 minutes of miscellaneous percussion sounds. After that song ended and I was left confused on how they were able to grab my attention that long the final song “Fair Warning” comes on with bedroom pop perfect guitars (think Rex Orange County) that make me sink deeper in my mattress. I’m not able to fully relax though because then voice with an exaggerated scottish accent comes in warning me to not become a rock star. Its somehow soothing though, the way he says “dohn’t be a staaaa.” then the album goes quiet. Up until that point the album is pretty straight forward, and serious, leaving on that note makes me eagerly want to flip the page to the next chapter. 

(I should also mention that while it is not in the standard album the 2000 rerelease includes the song “Silver Bird” which is so peaceful that it is the only song that was new to me on this album that got added to my liked songs. God I love Burton Cumming’s voice. I just wish his name wasn’t so god awful.)

Next week's review: In The Right Place (1973) by Dr. John

#album 74 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #classic rock #the guess who #blue eyed soul #rock music #60s rock

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #73

The Gilded Palace of Sin

(1969)

by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Overall Rating: 9/10

TL;DR: This is it. This is the peak of country rock. There is no beating this. 

(Can we talk about how bitchin this album name is? oh the cover? font and suits are cool the rest is just meh 7/10)

Overall Thoughts

In December 2022 I reviewed The Flying Burrito Brothers’ third album (named after themselves) and thought that the album was just okay, so I was curious what their masterpiece that everyone hailed them for could possibly sound like. More country rock? More side guitar? Forlorn country singing? Well yes and no. 

Yes this is country rock, but this is in my opinion the best it could ever get. This is a prime model for how incredible country rock can be, and it is amazing to me that this was their debut! Instead of slide guitar being the signal that this is a country song, there is a saloon piano, an acoustic keeping the key, and woah wait, electric guitar? In almost every song the lead guitar is just doing whatever he wants, riffing to his hearts content and the passion is contagious. And if that wasn’t rock enough for you, there is some crazy distortion in “Wheels” and “Hot Burrito #2” that totally throws you off. You were in Back to the Future Part III when suddenly the present wants to sneak in. It’s moments like that which keep you into the album, not just sitting and hoping there will be a guitar solo. 

I feel like this is coming across as me hating country music, which I don’t really? I’m one of those people that says they only like old country, and this is definitely that. Saloon piano and upright bass aside, the vocals in this are an absolute marvel of the genre. Every single song from verse to chorus includes harmonies of the two lead singers (Gram Parsons on the left and Chris Hillman on the right, both from the Byrds) work together to fully immerse you in each song. Both sing with such rich vibrato, able to convey that distinct country feeling of yearning, nostalgia, and defeat, toeing the line of melodrama but never crossing it. With anti-Vietnam and pretty liberal lyrics, its a fascinating mix of cultures at the time. 

My favorite songs were the creatively named “Hot Burrito #1” and the closer “Hippie Boy.” The first is the only solo song of Mr. Right Headphone, and brings the bass front and center. Bringing the bass to the front was not super common for the era too, and I can’t think of a country song that hinges so much on just piano and bass. The second is one of those “gather ‘round and let me tell you a story about the bad government” à la “Alice’s Restaurant.” This one may be more preachy and less meandering, but I found it endearing and its simplicity incredibly well done. Its message of a unified country of happy people is a little idealist, but if you are the creators of a whole incredible genre I’ll give you a bit of a pass.  

Next week's review: Canned Wheat (1969) by The Guess Who

#album 73 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #classic rock #country rock #the flying burrito brothers #the byrds

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #72

ダンサブル

(2017)

by Rhymester

Overall Rating: 10/10 TL;DR: Japanese swing jazz hip hop?? Are you kidding me??

(yeah, i'd have this as a poster 10/10. also according to google translate the title means "danceable" and boy is that an accurate name)

Overall Thoughts Have you ever had the feeling of listening to an album for the first time and thinking “I’ve just found a new favorite?” While this absolute gem deserves the 10/10 I’m giving it and I know I’m going to have it on repeat for the rest of my life. Everything in this album is just so well executed, interesting, and honestly so cool, I worry that my words won’t do it justice. I suppose I’ll try writing about it though, starting with how incredible the playing is in the entire album. Usually when you are listening to hip hop the backing track is something formulated on a computer in a studio, something catchy and groovy enough to rap over and keep people interested but not insane enough to overshadow what the rapper is doing. Here that is certainly not the case. While some of these songs (“梯子酒,” “ゆれろ”) are still clearly computer-based and in the beginning feel like they fall into this category, as the song goes on the complexity unwounds and you’re left with a song that you want to listen to over and over again. Most of the songs on the album though are clearly done with a live band, with horns (“スタイル・ウォーズ,” “カミング・スーン”), flutes (“Back & Forth”) and incredible drum playing (“爆発的” this one also has cannons?? And is a full-on swing jazz song??). What’s also great about this album is that while the musicians are incredible the rapping is also really good too! The guys are incredibly talented (I suppose they must be, given they’ve been at it since 1989), full of life and fun, and having three of them creates a kind of banter that adds even more silliness to the tracks. I just can’t believe I’ve lived my life up until this point without knowing music like this existed!! While I would say you should listen to the whole album, I get you probably won’t listen to that so here are my two favorites (I’m linking them so you have no choice but to listen) “Diamonds” (feat. KIRINJI) is the song that led me to this album, it's just so ridiculous and you can feel the joy emanating off of it. It’s catchy, it's got serious parts that are even funnier, and it’ll without a doubt cheer up your day. “スタイル・ウォーズ” (which google translates to “style wars”) is the opener of the album punches you with horns and guitars and lets you know that this album is gonna be awesome. Once again an upbeat song that’ll get you grooving.

It’s albums like this that make me glad I do reviews because I never would have listened to this whole thing otherwise. I guess now I’m on a quest to find more Japanese jazz hip-hop.

Next week's review: The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) by The Flying Burrito Brothers

#album 72 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #japanese jazz #japanese music #rhymester #10/10

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #71

Psy 9th

(2022)

by Psy

Overall Rating: 6/10

TL;DR: This album is just lacking the magic that his previous hits had, and he’s left hanging on to the magic of his guests. 

(I have to say though, this is a pretty gnarly album cover, 9/10)

Overall Thoughts

Speaking of old kpop stars, have you ever wondered what happened to Psy? Man comes out with one of the greatest songs of the century, makes kpop a household name, releases a followup that does not do as well, then he isn’t heard from again. That isn’t from a lack of effort, since 2012 he has released three albums, and done songs with will.i.am (?),Snoop Dogg (??), and Ed Sheeran (??!!?) and tons with super big name kpop stars. In this album though he collabed with a member of BTS which means we’re now reminded he exists. 

This album was a clear attempt to come back into the public consciousness and this time it worked. The big song (“That That”) with Suga from BTS shows the fun Psy that we know with great horns and a super infectious melody. The only thing its lacking for me is a super good chorus, this one is just too stagnant and simple, lacking something that would push it into being a song I would actually seek out. 

He spends the rest of the album collabing with different big artists, many of which have recently joined the label he started as a kind of safe haven from the harshness of the big 3. The songs with Crush and Sung Si Kyung are pretty boring examples of what I call “Chinese Supermarket Music,” a crawling ballad that seems to never end and is sung by someone that is giving a little too much. “Sleepless” with Heize left a lot to be desired for me as I absolutely love her as an artist and was annoyed he used her (like almost every other guest artist in this album) as just someone to sing the chorus while he raps the verses. “GANJI” featuring Jessi thankfully breaks this pattern, with a “screw the haters” song that’s kind of funny to imagine Psy singing. Especially when you add the fact that Jessi is the most stereotypically New Yorker you can imagine, with all of her English words in the song toting a New York accent. The song is a little abrasive but if that’s your thing then it’s pretty good. 

My favorite off of the album is “Now” with Hwasa (one of my favorite kpop artists of all time) which I applauded for being so authentically 80s, with period perfect synths and a sense of drama that can only be possible in the early 80s. While it turns out it was TOO authentically 80s, as its a cover of “When the Rain Begins to Fall” by Jermaine Jackson, and the only thing they changed was the language of the lyrics. I mean I’m glad they introduced me to the better original version, but that’s the thing, the original is better! C’mon Psy!

Now there are Psy solo works on this album obviously, but honestly none of them are that good. All of them seem to call back to a 2010s era of pop that we’ve all moved on from, with “Hello Monday” just sounding like a 2015 hit that everyone moved on from a week later, and “Everday” being a song that would be playing over a lasertag game from my 12th birthday. The only song that is memorable is “Celeb” but its too simple and is just lacking the substance to be a single.

Listen, I write this all as a Psy lover. Someone who measures their time as BGS and AGS (Before and After Gangnam Style) and listened to this album the day it dropped. This album is just lacking the magic that his previous hits had, and he’s left hanging on to the magic of his guests. 

Next week's review: ダンサブル (2017) by Rhymeste

#album 71 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #kpop #psy

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #70

Beautiful Night

(2021)

by YESUNG

Overall Rating: 6/10

TL;DR: city pop sang by a wet blanket

(idk its not a bad album cover, i feel completely indifferent towards it 5/10)

Overall Thoughts

I am deeply fascinated by what happens to kpop stars after they’re long past their prime. They don��t have the young boyish handsomeness anymore, they can’t do the crazy dances due to their cracking bones, and their fanbase is getting older and older. At the same time though, they do have some sort of fanbase, and you probably forced them into an indentured servitude style 20-year contract so they’re still your problem. What do you do? 

In this category falls my birthday twin Yesung from Super Junior. A group that hit its height in 2008 and had an absurd number of members, SM entertainment still finds work for them in 2023 and the outcomes are mini albums like this one. I mentioned this with the EXO review, but I wonder if they get more input as they get older? Or is all choice an illusion? Do they at least get to choose the genre they get put into? Or is it chosen based on what they think the market will like? 

I don’t know if Yesung himself had a hand in what this album sounds like, but I can tell you that they did not take his voice into account whatsoever when writing these songs. All of these songs are actually really good, a mix of city pop and washed-up Eurovision star that works really well. What doesn’t work well is his voice sounding breathy, being forced into a falsetto and with so much emotion he sounds like he’s gonna cry sometimes. Something I do not want to hear when there is a funky bass and 80s style sax solo in the background. I just need to know whose idea this was. 

It’s almost funny how out of place the vocal style is. “Beautiful Night” is the best track on here and I would be dancing along the whole time if he didn’t sound like his family died in a house fire the night before and he was forced up on stage for karaoke. “Phantom Pain” and “Like Us” are both chill songs that sound a little better because a smile is optional, but hearing animal crossing upbeat instrumentals mixed with a breathy falsetto just makes me uncomfortable. Don’t worry though, there are luckily a few songs on this album where he was allowed to be sad like “Lost Heart” (a confused piece that goes on for FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES), “No More Love,” and “A Letter in The Wind.”  The last two are actually not bad, and while I hate ballads they were a relief because his voice felt at home. You could clearly tell he was more comfortable singing these songs, and the sadness in his voice was for a reason (unlike in “Firework” which would have been a great city pop song if he wasn’t singing it). 

I thought while writing this that maybe the problem is that he has a bad voice. It’s breathy, frustratingly sad, always stuck in a falsetto, and so weak that it could be overpowered by animal crossing sounds. Honestly though, I think these are all traits that would do him well in singing ballads, and the last song on the album shows that “A Letter in The Wind.” Why you are wasting absolutely incredible driving baselines, synth parts, guitar and sax solos, and city pop inspired masterpieces on him is beyond me. 

Next week's review: Psy 9th (2022) by Psy

#album 70 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #kpop #super junior #yesung

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #69 (nice)

Scarlet

(2023)

by Doja Cat

Rating: 7/10

TL;DR: While 5 songs on this album are horrid, unlistenable, offensive, frustrating, ignorant, and annoying, there are 12 that are pretty damn good. If you’re including the bad ones just to get attention, then you’ve lost mine.

(aww, theyre kissing! nothing to do with the album or vibe of it though 5/10)

Folks, here it is, my last Doja Cat review. I end this journey with asking myself why I even did this, and realizing that I don’t know if I really gained anything from the experience. I’m perfectly happy to listen to maybe three of her songs for the rest of time and never hear the other ones again.

General Thoughts

When I do reviews I listen to an album twice, once to get a feel of it and once while taking notes. Both times I listened to this one I was left so confused at the end about so many decisions. In here I think she has some of her best stuff, and some of her worst. It’s the inclusion of the good stuff that leads me confused, if she could write stuff that good why bother with the inflammatory, mind-numbing, honestly just badly written stuff that crowds the beginning of her album. Is it just to get attention and maintain controversy? If so then why even call yourself a musician?

              Needless to say the first part of the album was the worst by far, the first five songs are all “fuck the hater” anthems that just call them jealous of her money. While “Paint the Town Red” is really well done with a catchy chorus, and artful sample, and a chill backing track, the rest are just awful. I thought “Demons” was one of the worst songs I’d ever heard, but then “Wet Vagina” followed it and I am convinced this song must have been made as a sick joke. The chorus is a mess of autotune that hurst my ears, the lyrics are empty and rhyme just barely if you squint, and its just about having money. If that song wasn’t enough to make me give up on this album then “Fuck The Girls (FTG)” was. It was blatant girl hate saying that every girl that has criticized her is just jealous? Like no babes no one is jealous of you sending feet pics to neo-nazis, and that’s just one of the reasons people hate you. At this point I’m ready to tap out and was dreading another 12 songs.

              But then at song 6 something changed, it was like I was listening to a different album. Doja calmed down, the backing beat relaxed, and she started talking to her audience. It wasn’t about money, or jealousy, heck in “Go Off” she’s cheering another woman on. It is here you hear what I think Doja’s actual style is, when she’s not trying to piss people off, when she’s actually an artist. My favorite of these is “Shutcho” which is a great mix of her silly lyrics and goofy past, a chill vibe, and the vitriol that fills her current music.

              And just when you think it can’t get better, it does. “Agora Hills” starts the third, most vulnerable part of the album. It’s like you’ve put in the work and your reward is getting to see who she really is as a musician and a person. While I don’t personally like “Agora Hills” it’s a nice love song that is reminiscent of her early music. Oh and notice how I said “love song”? That’s right, for the first time that I can remember, she’s writing about love and how she feels about others! “Can’t Wait” is the best song in the entire album, with a super catchy chorus, a wonderful riff and chill beat that matches the songs in the second category. I have been thinking about this song since I first listened to it a week ago, and how intimate the lyrics are. This one particularly has been occupying my mind:

Here's another one about you Baby, I wanna gush about you I wanna be the stubborn crust of barnacles upon you If you were to become a Middle American farmer I'd read up on every vegetable and harvest them around you

The album ends with “Attention,” which I’ve come to like more and more, although I still don’t love the chorus, “Balut” another one of my favorites from the album that bleeds Tribe Called Quest, and “WYM Freestyle” which is just plain awful. The three of them kind of encapsulate the album’s movements, and I just cannot fathom why she did that. While 5 songs on this album are horrid, unlistenable, offensive, frustrating, ignorant, and annoying, there are 12 that are pretty damn good. If you’re including the bad ones just to get attention then you’ve lost mine.

Next week's review: Beautiful Night (2021) by Yesung

#album 69 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #doja cat #rnb #doja cat scarlet

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #68

Planet Her

(2021)

by Doja Cat

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

TL;DR: Probably an objectively good album, I’m just tired. Tired of hearing these singles that were drilled into my head, tired on the stupid one-liners, tired of the trap snare. While she has a fantastic singing voice and seems to be having fun, I’m too damn tired to have the enthusiasm rub off on me. 

(You know, I'll give her this, that is a badass album cover 10/10)

Every week i somehow get busier. When will it end

Overall Thoughts

As her albums become more refined, focused, and professional, her intent of writing about sex and womanhood becomes clearer. I think that Robert Christgau’s description of writing sex songs instead of love songs fits even more with this album. Every duet is about sex, every rap mentions it, even “Kiss Me More” which sounds like a lighthearted love song is incredibly graphic once you listen to the lyrics. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all, it’s just fascinating to hear a whole album that has pop woven through it not mention love (I wonder what boomer Robert Christgau has to say about that). 

“Woman” starts the album off with a sensual tone and is I think the most creative and distinct song on the album. The rest kind of blend together and I think how overplayed some of them were on the radio ruined a few of them for me. I don’t think many of the songs offered anything unique or especially good, with a mix of predictable slow songs and rap songs that offer your standard sound board of effects and beats. The only real variation you’ll get is in a sometimes really good chorus or baseline, as she also offers about the same flow in every song. I think most of the album (especially “Naked” and “Need to Know”) fall into the category of “songs I’d dance to at a club and enjoy at the time but never think about again.” You need songs like that in your life, but that also means that I don’t have much of a desire to listen to this album in full again. 

In listening to her whole discography I’ve found that the one thing that Doja Cat lacks is being a good writer. Okay that sounds really harsh but I think her messages and themes are great, her ideas are solid and complex, she’s just really bad at writing well crafted, smart, and good lyrics. Often they’re stupid enough to border on funny which was fine in her early days but as she wants to be taken more and more seriously it just doesn’t really work. Often lines don’t rhyme or barely rhyme, the word play is stupid (“square like Madison”??? That’s dumb as hell), and when thing do flow and rhyme it feels like gibberish. I hope she gets better soon because if you’re gonna start billing yourself as a rapper (like she is in her newest album) you at least have to be able to write. Sure you can say the lines, but are they worth saying?

Part of me wonders if I’m especially harsh on this album because pretty much every song that was a single when this came out was so overplayed that it makes me genuinely angry to here. “Get Into It (Yuh)” is one of my least favorite songs of all time tbh, and if I have to hear that weird bird owl sound effect one more time I’m going to throw my headphones into the road. “You Right” is probably a good song objectively but I just find myself wanting to turn it off because its so boring to me, and the only song (other than “Woman”) that I find myself coming back to is “Kiss Me More.” 

You know, to end this review on a good note let’s talk about that song for a bit. It’s honestly perfect. I’ve had it stuck in my head for the past week but not in a dreadful way, in a “nodding my head and humming while doing the dishes” kind of way. The baseline is perfect, all the guitar parts are wonderfully catchy, SZA is fantastic in it, and its the perfect length. I’m glad the album ended with that song because I was at least left with a good taste in my mouth. 

Next week's review: Scarlet (2023) by Doja Cat

#album 68 #album of the week #album review #album recommendation #music review #music recommendation #doja cat #planet her

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #67

Hot Pink

(2019)

by Doja Cat

Overall Rating: 7/10

TL;DR: The album shows a lot of promise that hides itself in boring sound-a-like songs, but the ones that are good are incredible.

(The cover matches the name and the sexiness of the album. It's not sleek but its fun 8/10)

Overall Thoughts

For the first time in my life, I agree with Robert Christgau. While I don’t agree with the fact that he gave this album an A- (its not that good), he said that “she doesn’t write love songs, she writes sex songs” which i think is a really good way of describing this album. Once again there is noticeably more rap in this album than previous ones, and she’s starting to actually become good at it. I mean there is definitely room for her to be better (something that applies to the stuff she puts out now) but for the first time in her music I am nodding my head when she raps, actually wanting to listen to what she is saying. 

Funnily enough her rapping is one of the main things in this album I have to critique. To this day I find her rapping voice a tinsy bit grating, but not enough that it takes away from the music (especially if she’s being sincere, its the insincere voice that annoys me). In this album it doesn’t seem like she’s fully figured it how to transition between these two modes of herself yet, and you’re left with angelic singing then rapping so abrasive it feels like it must be a joke. The lyrics of these songs sometimes aren’t though, which kind of leaves you confused. 

This album has some pretty good highs though. I still think that “Say So” is one of her best songs, a perfect pop creation that does the neo-disco thing so well. If it comes on I legally have to dance, and that’s how you know you have a good song right there. I also ended up LOVING “Rules” and have had it on repeat. The guitar and bass working together in the backing track just glides out of your speakers and she is able to rap over it so well. If I recommend any song out of this album its this one because it matches the vibe of the album much more than “Say So” does. 

Honestly those two songs kind of doom the rest of the album because they’re just so much better. “Rules” shows you what she’s actually capable of vocally and in mixing, so when a song like “Bottom Bitch” follows it with a weird sample of “What’s My Age Again” that made me feel like I was listening to a Gen-Z remix of Weezer with horrific autotune. The album gives its hits early then kind of putters out, ending with “Juicy” which was a single put on the previous album. None of these songs are particularly egregious, they’re just boring and make you want to stop listening, because you know you’ve already heard the best she has to offer. 

Final Thoughts

It is pretty obvious reviewing this that this is the pivot moment in her career. The album shows a lot of promise that hides itself in boring sound-a-like songs, but the ones that are good are incredible. I’m being a jerk and grading this like that teacher who says “I know you can do better.”

Next week's review: Planet Her (2021) by Doja Cat

#album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #album 67 #doja cat #hot pink

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #66

Amala

(2018)

by Doja Cat

Overall Rating: 6/10

TL;DR: Less spacey and has more personality, but the only outstanding songs are in the deluxe version. 

(This is a super boring cover. I don't have a good thing to say. 1/10)

Overall Thoughts

Despite this album being 4 years after the last one, they sound remarkably alike. This one is still overwhelmingly pop rnb, with the raps being very relaxed and drawn out. The choruses are often relaxed, like its the end of a long night out are you’re half asleep on that bus ride home. While there are a lot more hip hop elements than the first album you can tell that she’s not fully there yet and just dipping her toes in. 

While this one suffers from the same “every song sounds the same” that the last one did, its here that her idiosyncrasies start to shine through. This is obvious in songs like “Wild Beach” with meowing in the chorus, “Game” with a killer baseline that is upbeat while maintaining her blasé attitude, and “Cookie Jar” with the silly lyrics. I think “Fancy” is another example of this, but I kind of hate the song because it uses Pachabel’s cannon as the backing beat. Just an incredibly basic and cheap choice imo (although I hate that song so it could just be me). 

This album still has a lot of spaciness to it (like in the big single from the album “Candy”), but there is more texture in these songs that I’m able to latch onto. Even in “Candy” there’s a baseline I can grab onto, even though some of them like “Roll With Us” just go in one ear and out the other. While there are songs in this album that have the possibility of getting stuck in my head, I’m still with never listening to it again. 

Well, except for one song: “Moo!”, which I’m not taking into account when doing this review. The deluxe version of this album adds three songs that are leagues better than any of the others on the original album: “Juicy,” “Tia Tamera,” and “Moo!”. These all came out as singles after the album so I feel like its unfair to consider them in rating the original, especially since they are so good they would drive up the score A LOT. “Juicy” is classic tiktok fodder with a catchy chorus. “Tia Tamera” is the first song she has where she is full on rapping, and I think marks a big change in how she was making music. “Moo!” is – well the best song she’s ever made. I think that Doja Cat excels in writing funny lyrics, something that I think might come back to bite her in this newest album (more on that in a few weeks). 

Final Thoughts

Once again very forgettable ://. Just listen to “Moo!,” its honestly one of the best songs ever. She peaked there. 

Next week's review: Hot Pink (2019) by Doja Cat

#album 66 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #rnb #doja cat #doja cat amala

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #65

Purrr!

(2014)

by Doja Cat

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

TL;DR: Who knew Doja had a spacey rnb era? Problem is I am aggressively ambivalent to anything spacey. 

(this album cover is so aggressively 2014 I'm losing my mind 2/10)

So as I’ve mentioned before, I decide the album I’m going to do by picking a random number and doing whatever album matches that on my hundreds of albums long list. Just for fun a while back, I put “a whole discography, your choice of who” on the list thinking I’d never get it. Well, I got it. 

Now you may be wondering, why choose Doja Cat? Do you know how stupid it is to pick someone freshly canceled as the only person you’ve done a full discography from? And to that I say that Spotify doesn’t pay artists to begin with so I really don’t think my .00000001 cent per listen is really impacting much. And also, if my reviews say the album is shitty isn’t that just showing how good of a person I am?

In all honesty I really like Doja Cat’s music and just wanted to see the development she went through as an artist, because we all know she went through quite an interesting one as a person. So without further ado here is what I thought of her first EP, from nine years ago. 

Overall Thoughts

Some of these songs are from as far back as 2012 which absolutely insane to think about. I mean that was just such a different time musically, with “Call Me Maybe” and “Somebody that I Used to Know” being the biggest hits of the year. I just can’t comprehend that in that era Doja Cat was making music. Not that these songs are grossly outdated, but it just is an interesting framing. 

I’m gonna be honest, this isn’t going to be a great review because this album falls into my weakness when it comes to music – spacey alternative. I don’t know what about it I can’t get into, but I have never been able to latch onto anything when listening to music like that. Before I know it the song has ended and everything has gone in one ear and out the other. Sure I’ll recognize it if you play it for me again but I would not be able to sing any of it back to you. I need some kind of texture to use as a tether or else I’ll just get lost in the cosmos. 

This album is very spacey in a way I did not expect, and unfortunately in a way that did not stick in my brain. I have absolutely zero strong feelings about anything on this album, and can safely say that every song is okay. Just okay. I could use it as background music again, but I could also go my whole life never hearing any of it again. 

Final Thoughts

Not a bad start, although unfortunately for me it is very forgettable. A lot more rnb than I was expecting, with barely any rap segments. I just hope that the songs get more interesting from here ://. 

Next week's review: Amala (2018) by Doja Cat

#album 65 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #rnb #doja cat

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #64

McCartney III

(2020)

by Paul McCartney

Overall Rating: 5/10

TL;DR: I’ve never been more bored listening to something Beatles adjacent. Why are these songs so long and full of nothing.

 (This is a really great album cover, and I love the way the number was included 8/10)

Overall Thoughts

I could blame how late this review is on a million things: I was traveling, I was moving into college, I had my first week of classes. Honestly though, it was just because I was filled with dread every time I had to press play on this album. It’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but dear god is it offensively boring. I don’t know if my hopes were artificially high because the album is from the one and only Paul McCartney, but this was just a whole lot of nothing. 

One of the biggest problems I had with the album was that most of the songs overstayed their welcome. The album starts with “Long Tailed Winter Bird” a song that starts with a really cool guitar part that makes you want to listen to more (it sounds like the inverse of the opening riff from “Uku” by Dengue Fever but I’m pretty sure that’s just a coincidence). But then the song just keeps going. And going. Until its 5 minutes long and you forgot what you liked about the song to begin with because now Paul is saying nonsense words and the backing track is not adding anything to that riff you fell in love with. “Deep Down” is the exact same situation and “Deep Deep Feeling” is the worst example of it to ever exist. God that song single-handedly made me want to throw out even doing this review. 

Second biggest problem is how truly crappy the lyrics are. Listen I don’t think that every song needs to have life changing lyrics, heck last review I applauded a song using the phrase “shaking booty”. The problem with this album is none of the lyrics make any sense and that doesn’t seem to be what he is going for. “Seize the Day” suffers the most from this with decent instrumentals but lyrics so ridiculously bad they’re distracting. Not to mention the song “Lavatory Lil” existing. I’ll just leave that one there. 

There were two songs I did love in this album though, “The Kiss of Venus” and “Winter Bird / When Winter Comes,” two acoustic songs that remind me why I love Paul. Both are a nice three minutes, he’s not using that gross autotune that so many old musicians are starting to use, the lyrics are sweet and heartfelt, and the whole experience is heartwarming. That is the Paul McCartney I know and love, the one that can make me cry at the drop of the hat. Why did he have to bury these gems in songs that drone on with autotune and confused electric guitars. 

Final Thoughts

I’m going to continue with my belief that Paul needs someone to tell him something isn’t good. He still has it in him for some good ones, he just needs to stop dragging the bad ones out. 

Next week's review: 

Amala (2018) by Doja Cat

#album 64 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #paul mccartney #the beatles #beatles

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #63

Pinkerton

(1996)

by Weezer

Overall Rating: 7/10

TL;DR: Liked it more than I thought, but still a whiny white guy yelling. 

(I mean usually I applaud the use of prexisting old artwork for an album cover but in the context of the line "damn these half Japanese girls" its a little weird. 5/10)

Overall Thoughts

I know I’ve admitted this before on here, but I am in fact a Weezer fan. So much so that I was genuinely contemplating getting tickets to see them this summer, but the price was just too high that I was forced to rethink my life choices. Like Matt Damon in that one SNL sketch I listen to all their albums (if you’re curious I reviewed one of their newest ones) and am NOT a Pinkerton fan. In fact, as long as I’ve been a Weezer fan I’ve been a Pinkerton hater. I fully believed that it was the album that gave Weezer a bad name, and as a woman I cannot support something that has become so loved by incels. Also, when I listened to it for the first time in high school I thought it was just okay :/. Like not bad but not good enough to be one of their best of all time. After listening to it more thoroughly this time I’ve found that I actually kinda like it, but not enough to become a Leslie Jones. 

The whole vibe of the album is a classic “life sucks and women don’t want me” energy that is obvious in both the lyrics and the music. Heck it’s even obvious in the song titles like “Tired of Sex” (screaming vocals but a great riff), and “Why Bother?” (more screaming with nothing special happening in the background). The album is more raw and screamy than the first, with a lot of the songs having that classic emo alt rock sound of the late 90s. Its good, but truly nothing special. A lot of it sounded the same to me, something that kinda bugs me in an album. 

I couldn’t hate this album though as much as I tried. I didn’t know “No Other One” before this listen and it has really stuck with me as something actually genuine, sweet, and pleasant to listen to. Once you get to the middle of the album there are three absolute powerhouses that I have played on repeat for years. The first is “The Good Life” which I completely forgot existed until earlier this week and have since been playing it every single morning. I don’t think its possibel to get it out of my head, with estrained verses that make you want to scream along when the perfect chorus comes in, and a line about “shaking booty”! If you give any song on the album a chance I vote that one. 

That song is followed by “El Scorcho” which is by far the most famous off the album. The magic of it is in the riff, which was practically made to get stuck in your head. It also features those weird interjections that were common in alternative songs at the time making it much more appealing than the rest of the album. Last is “Pink Triangle” the classic song about when you ask out a girl and it turns out shes a lesbian. Happens to us all and is expressed in a catchy song. 

Final Thoughts

I wanna hate this, but I can’t. I end up shaking my booty everytime. It’s still not great though

Next week's review: McCartney III (2020) by Paul McCartney

#album of the week #album 63 #album review #music review #album recommendation #alt rock #90s alt rock #90s music #pinkerton #weezer

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #62

Devil

(2022)

by Max Changmin

Overall Rating: 8/10

TL;DR: With a voice like that Max Changmin can do anything. Even better if it doesn’t sound like Kpop. 

(Okay i REALLY like this album cover. It's edgy, it's personalized, it's pretty. 10/10)

Overall Thoughts

I can vividly remember hearing what I thought would be the album track, “Fever,” for the first time. It was New Years Day 2022 at 3am and I am quite a few drinks in watching the SMTOWN annual performance. In a drunken haze I see the lights flash on and there he is – Max Changmin. I fell in love with the song that night and anxiously awaited the mini album that would accompany it. I was certainly not disappointed. 

What I love most about this album is when it veers out of the Kpop norm. Admittedly “Fever” falls in line in the chorus, definitely the worst part of the song. The rest has this wonderful piano part and guitars coming in, perfectly matching the his voice. The song would be perfect if the song weren’t such an uninspired eye (ear?) sore, and luckily other songs on this album avoid that. 

“Maniac” sounds like something off of an anime soundtrack or an 80s stadium concert. It’s cheesy enough to be kpop but hearing it took me by surprise. It’s catchy, it’s fun, and the execution is wonderful. It is nothing thought compared to the two powerhouses of this album. 

After listening to this whole album for the first time a few months ago “Alien” quickly became my favorite song. It has this super chill krnb vibe complete with shakers as the main percussion instrument. It’s been stuck in my head all week and I don’t think I could ever get enough of it, seriously an incredible song. The title track though takes the cake when it comes to creativity and talent. “Alien” is still a song I could see other Kpop artists doing, while “Devil” is completely different. My brother called it Ksoul which I don’t fully agree with, but it is clear that his voice commands the song. One of my friends said it is the best kpop song I’ve ever shown him, which is some pretty high praise. I think Max Changmin has a truly otherworldly voice, and this is the best way SM could have shown it off, complete with incredible backing vocals that continue throughout the album. 

(There are two songs on this album that I have not mentioned, “Dirty Dancing” and “Airplane Mode,” both of which kinda suck. Objectively they’re fine, it is just super boring and safe kpop, especially compared to what is going on in the rest of the album. It’s just not worth the time to listen to it.)

Final Thoughts

I love Max Changmin. He has one of the best voices in Kpop and this album confirms my theory that SM tries to push their older artists into doing more adventurous songs because its not like anyone knew is going to listen to them anyways. Whatever the motive, these songs have occupied my head for the past year and I have no complaints. 

Next week's review: Pinkerton (1996) by Weezer

#album 62 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #krnb #kpop #tvxq changmin #tvxq #max changmin

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #61

Folksongs & Ballads

(1972)

by Tia Blake

Overall Rating: 9/10

TL;DR: I am in love with everything in this album. 

(I wish there was a little more going on but shes a queen nonetheless 7/10)

Thank god, an album that is only half an hour long. 

Overall Thoughts

I have come out of listening to this album convinced that I am in love with Tia Blake. Her voice, her playing, her subject matter, everything about this album is all I could have hoped for. I’m pretty sure that she is someone Spotify just started randomly recommending to people because she went from being unknown to having two songs with millions of listens. Whatever algorithm did this needs to keep going, because wow is this album great. 

What grabbed me the most was Blake’s voice – so haunting and ethereal I feel like I could listen to it forever. Mix that with some minor medieval sounding acoustic tracks and if feels like this mysterious bard from the medieval France is giving you a show so spectacular that you will start to believe in a God. I wasn’t bluffing when I said I think I’m in love. 

Speaking of God, my favorite song is definitely “Plastic Jesus,” probably the most upbeat one on the album. Ever since I first heard the song last year (this is the main one Spotify has been recommending to people) the line “I’m in the backseat sinnin’, Jesus up there grinnin’” has been stuck in my head. Other favorites on the album include “Betty and Dupree,” “The Rising of the Moon,” and “Hangman,” the latter being haunting, beautiful songs. 

The only reason this album is getting docked a point is because unfortunately, none of these songs were written by Tia Blake. I suspected this when I heard “Man of Constant Sorrow”  and a song about an Irish war, but after looking all of the up they were all established southern classics before Tia covered them. I do think she adds a fantastic touch to all of these songs, I just can’t give this album a perfect score with that in mind. 

Final Thoughts

I don’t know if it was obvious enough, but I love this album. It’s going to be added to my “I’m on a trip and want to pass out” album rotation which is the biggest praise I can give an album. 

Next Week's Review: Devil (2022) Max Changmin

#album 61 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #favorites #music recommendation #folk #tia blake

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #60

Miss E... So Addictive

(2001)

by Missy Elliott

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

TL;DR: Turns out Missy Elliott kinda is my thing, but only when she stops threatening to slap me right across my melon. 

(this cover really sets the scene for the time period while also leaving me with so many questions. ultimately there's too much going on 5/10)

It’s been a rough month and this album is a whopping hour and three minutes, but finally here is the review. 

Overall Thoughts

Part of me feels like because I’ve been such a mess mentally lately that this album didn’t even have a chance. Eighteen full songs (almost all of which are 5 minutes) stood before me and taking notes on them seemed like an insurmountable task. It took being on a train with no internet for eight hours to get it done, and I’m really glad I finally did it. I am just left with one question, why did she put all of the best songs in the second half of this album?

I mean, I wouldn’t say the first half of the album is terrible, but its just… okay? It’s horny, it’s in your face (not bad things) and just so 2001 that it feels like you’re listening to the time capsule. I can see why at the time this album was such a hit, I’m just curious if its become so out of fashion that its lost its power. I think that a lot of people now love this for nostalgia reasons, but as someone who wasn’t alive when it came out, I feel like I can’t really tap into the culture around it. 

It is also in this first half I discovered that Missy has literally the same cadence and flow for every. Single. Line. I think what makes “Get Your Freak On” work so well is that it is broken up by interjections that an audience can pick up on. The backing track is also incredible and groundbreaking, although I don’t know if I fully agree with Rolling Stone for putting it as the 7th greatest song of all time. 

I came away from the first half of the album thinking that while the music is objectively good, I just wouldn’t be able to get into it. While I really do want to like Missy Elliott (and especially this album since I own it on CD) I’ll have to accept its not really my thing. But then the second half of the album came in. “Take Away” has this really cool stumbling beat and baseline that I am in love with; Busta Rhymes came in with this really funny interlude about having a designated driver because this album is gonna leave you a mess; “Whatcha Gon’ Do” ended up being my favorite song on the entire album at a crisp 3:14 and a driving beat that makes me want to keep listening to it on repeat; and the album ends with a fantastic gospel performance (Higher Ground). This half is much more RnB and chill, something that I really loved. Missy sung a lot more and had this great entourage of girls with her that had some incredible harmonies. 

So after listening to that half I was conflicted on how to review this. Turns out Missy Elliott kinda is my thing afterall, but only if she chills out and stops threatening to slap me right across my melon. 

Final Thoughts

I don’t think I’d ever listen to this album in full again, despite owning it. I’m just gonna take the ones I like and move on to another one of hers. I will say though, she sounds like she’s having a fun time with all the barking and hissing and moaning and I have to applaud her for that. 

Next week's review: Folksongs & Ballads (1972) by Tia Blake

#album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #album 60 #missy elliott #rap #rnb

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #58

Moodswings in This Order

(2021)

by DPR IAN

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

TL;DR: There is so much to each song, which sometimes works sometimes doesn’t. 

(Album cover review: woah hes so edgy and cool, what a bad boy 3/10)

Overall Thoughts

I generally love what DPR IAN is, does, makes, and I feel like this album is so close to being incredible. All the songs on this album try to do so much, its just a question of whether doing all that lands perfectly or if the song just sounds confused. This album is about half of each. The half that hits really hits, but the half that does make me sad with its potential that is behind so many different layers of sound. 

We’ll start with the bangers though, all of which I have listened to on repeat for years. “So Beautiful” is one of the few songs with orchestral elements that I actually adore. The layers come together making this fascinating stumbling sound complete with an always present maraca and a trumpet solo outro. “No Blueberries” is a weirdly upbeat and ironically silly song that has an addictive guitar riff and a silliness that keeps it from getting confused in the chaos. All the sound effects work well here. “Scaredy Cat” is much simpler than the rest of the songs on the album, which makes it more of a banger tbh. It’s another fun one that is a break from the droney songs in the rest of the album. 

Now the rest of the album? So close to being good. “Dope Lovers” sounds like your standard rnb but is confused by the amount of distracting sound effects. “No Silhouette” is like 5 songs in one but not in a cool prog way but in a “ugh when will this be over” way. “Nerves is actually a really good song, just a little corny and trite. “Welcome to the Show” is also hands down my least favorite on the album, it just sounds like a Coldplay song. The only other thing that annoyed me is how much DPR IAN sang in falsetto; I firmly believe that if you do it too much it ruins the effect of it and just becomes annoying. He also sings in cursive sometimes, but hes Australian so he gets a partial excuse. Only partial though. 

Final Thoughts

This album is so close to being really cool! He just needs to reign himself in sometimes when producing and remember that adding a bunch of stuff to a boring song doesn’t always make it interesting. 

#album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #dpr #dpr ian #krnb #album 58

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #57

3

(2019)

by Ngọt

Overall Rating: 9.5/10 TL;DR: Why can’t all pop rock be this good.

(Cool cover, I'd have it as a poster. 10/10)

Finally, I have a chance to talk about how much I love the band Ngọt. Get ready, because this is one of my favorite albums of all time.

Overall Thoughts When this album came out, it was all I listened to for weeks, and for the past four years I have listened to it countless times. As I was listening to the album for this review, each song felt like an old friend that welcomed me. I know all the parts of each of these songs, but I never really analyzed what makes them so good until now. To start off, everyone in this band is incredibly talented. The drummer is doing an amazing job at everything and kills it in “HẾT THỜI,” the guitar player is so in control of every song that I was mesmerized by this whole album and the singer? Oh, we’ll get to him later. I want to first focus on how amazing the guitar parts of these songs are. Besides most of these having absolutely incredible riffs (“MẾU MÁO (T.T)” is perfectly lazy, “CHUÔNG BÁO THỨC (sáng rồi)” fills in all the gaps and keeps you interested, not to mention all my favorite songs off the album), it is very clear that he is playing the songs and not the other way around. You know when you go to play a tab of a song and you’re like “this is not the melody or a harmony wtf is this”? That’s what this guy is doing for all these songs. It adds a complexity that is just spectacular and combine that with an adequate love of guitar solos you have an amazing album. Ugh and the lead singer? He just released a solo album and it just shows off even more how talented he is. So many songs do the “ahhhh” sound that I love that all of the background singing is clearly his voice. It adds a low-budget element that makes all of the songs much more endearing. From what I know the singer also writes most of the songs, and it is absolutely insane to me that he keeps the tones from the language in the melody of the songs. That is such a level of poetry that does not get enough attention and just makes me love each song even more. I would say that all of the songs on this album are pretty good, but my favorites are “MẾU MÁO (T.T)” (an absolutely delectable chorus with a perfect level of laziness), “GIẢ VỜ” (a choppy fun and chill one with more ahhhhhs), “CHUÔNG BÁO THỨC (sáng rồi)” (a fast one with a magical riff), “CHUYỂN KÊNH (sản phẩm này không phải là thuốc)” (a creative masterpiece complete with ragtime piano and video game sounds), “HẾT THỜI” (perfect chorus and another great riff), and “VÉ ĐI THIÊN ĐƯỜNG (một chiều)” (a perfectly heartfelt piano song without the melodrama). Oops that’s just half the album. I will tell you though I’m not a big fan of the single “LẦN CUỐI (đi bên em xót xa người ơi)” which has become their most popular song. It's just melodramatic stadium rock and really not what I want them to be remembered by. The rest of this album though? A great legacy (I say as if they didn’t make an album after this one).

Final Thoughts As Ngọt is only really known in their home country of Vietnam it’s hard for me to gauge how popular they really are (their most popular song on Spotify has 11 million listens for what it's worth), but however much that is it needs to triple. Listen to Ngọt, listen to 3, and I promise you’ll enjoy the experience.

#album 57 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #pop rock #ngot #Vu Dinh Trong Thang #indie rock #vietnamese music