The album unfolds in long, deliberate waves of music that build slowly, collapse and reform with a grim, hypnotic intensity. There are no vocals, just the cycle of tension and release, creating an atmosphere of mounting unease.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The album unfolds in long, deliberate waves of music that build slowly, collapse and reform with a grim, hypnotic intensity. There are no vocals, just the cycle of tension and release, creating an atmosphere of mounting unease.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The Kinks meet MTV. The result is uneven, weighed down by sterile early-80s production.
But it’s redeemed by “Come Dancing”, a tender tribute to Ray’s sister and a vanished world of dance halls and innocence.
The last great Kinks track.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The Kinks meet MTV. The result is uneven, weighed down by sterile early-80s production.
But it’s redeemed by “Come Dancing”, a tender tribute to Ray’s sister and a vanished world of dance halls and innocence.
The last great Kinks track.
#nowspinning #vinyl
How to describe this? Imagine Django Reinhardt wandered into a honky-tonk saloon & joined the band.
The production is superb, silky vocals & clear strings, with a bona-fide masterpiece, “I Scare Myself”, at its center.
#nowspinning #vinyl
How to describe this? Imagine Django Reinhardt wandered into a honky-tonk saloon & joined the band.
The production is superb, silky vocals & clear strings, with a bona-fide masterpiece, “I Scare Myself”, at its center.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Not quite a concept album, this reworks songs from the play he wrote with Kathleen Brennan and drifts between drunken cabaret, feverish gospel, and cracked lullaby, as we follow Frank’s surreal fall from small-town dreamer to broken drifter.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Not quite a concept album, this reworks songs from the play he wrote with Kathleen Brennan and drifts between drunken cabaret, feverish gospel, and cracked lullaby, as we follow Frank’s surreal fall from small-town dreamer to broken drifter.
#nowspinning #vinyl
It’s McCartney, so there are flashes of melodic genius, but also plenty of art-school experimentation. The production is uneven, and the lyrics drift from whimsy to outright weirdness. Brilliant in places, but messy and self-indulgent overall.
#nowspinning #vinyl
It’s McCartney, so there are flashes of melodic genius, but also plenty of art-school experimentation. The production is uneven, and the lyrics drift from whimsy to outright weirdness. Brilliant in places, but messy and self-indulgent overall.
#nowspinning #vinyl
“Immigrants, Emigrants and Me” was about identity, displacement, naïveté & hope - my favourite album of 1990.
Three decades later, “Ausländer” is about exile, alienation, middle age & the persistence of hope.
It’s like they grew up with me.
#nowspinning #vinyl
“Immigrants, Emigrants and Me” was about identity, displacement, naïveté & hope - my favourite album of 1990.
Three decades later, “Ausländer” is about exile, alienation, middle age & the persistence of hope.
It’s like they grew up with me.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Very early 80s - gated drums, analog synths, lyrics about information overload. The dystopian themes can feel dated but then “Every Little Thing She Does” bursts through like sunlight as the Police forget the concept and simply connect.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Very early 80s - gated drums, analog synths, lyrics about information overload. The dystopian themes can feel dated but then “Every Little Thing She Does” bursts through like sunlight as the Police forget the concept and simply connect.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Tubular Bells astonished me when I first heard it, the sheer audacity of one man building a symphony out of overdubs, but Ommadawn may be Oldfield’s real masterpiece.
Less mechanical, more pastoral; each theme unfolding naturally from the last.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Tubular Bells astonished me when I first heard it, the sheer audacity of one man building a symphony out of overdubs, but Ommadawn may be Oldfield’s real masterpiece.
Less mechanical, more pastoral; each theme unfolding naturally from the last.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Blatant compromise between artistic genius and a hit-hungry label. On one side, the sprawling 20 minute title suite; on the other, 4 polished pop songs including the sublime “Moonlight Shadow”.
It’s like they stuck two different albums together.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Blatant compromise between artistic genius and a hit-hungry label. On one side, the sprawling 20 minute title suite; on the other, 4 polished pop songs including the sublime “Moonlight Shadow”.
It’s like they stuck two different albums together.
#nowspinning #vinyl
A concept suite about space exploration, inspired by Apollo 11.
Simulated rocket launch aside, I thought it lacked punch.
On the other hand, Al Worden took a copy to actual space on Apollo 15, so what do I know?
#nowspinning #vinyl
A concept suite about space exploration, inspired by Apollo 11.
Simulated rocket launch aside, I thought it lacked punch.
On the other hand, Al Worden took a copy to actual space on Apollo 15, so what do I know?
#nowspinning #vinyl
A cornerstone of late-’60s British psychedelia - flutes, sitars, Mellotron and slightly eccentric lyrics.
It all feels a bit quaint but in a way which makes me wonder when unguarded hopefulness stopped being a good thing.
#nowspinning #vinyl
A cornerstone of late-’60s British psychedelia - flutes, sitars, Mellotron and slightly eccentric lyrics.
It all feels a bit quaint but in a way which makes me wonder when unguarded hopefulness stopped being a good thing.
#nowspinning #vinyl
I bought this album purely for “World Shut Your Mouth”, that three-minute explosion of swagger, melody, and irony. The rest of the album isn’t bad though - blending big hooks with mythic imagery in a sort of glam rock meets pagan revival tent.
#nowspinning #vinyl
I bought this album purely for “World Shut Your Mouth”, that three-minute explosion of swagger, melody, and irony. The rest of the album isn’t bad though - blending big hooks with mythic imagery in a sort of glam rock meets pagan revival tent.
#nowspinning #vinyl
This Japanese reissue is a 10-track distillation.
A concept album on English identity and the tension between modern life and a fading pastoral ideal.
It holds together beautifully: moral alarm on Side A yielding to weary resignation on Side B.
#nowspinniny #vinyl
This Japanese reissue is a 10-track distillation.
A concept album on English identity and the tension between modern life and a fading pastoral ideal.
It holds together beautifully: moral alarm on Side A yielding to weary resignation on Side B.
#nowspinniny #vinyl
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, this album showcases his signature style - layered guitars, 3D drums, and an almost live feel - all of which amplify the band’s trademark musical irony: pairing bright, infectious tunes with lyrics that slyly undermine them.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, this album showcases his signature style - layered guitars, 3D drums, and an almost live feel - all of which amplify the band’s trademark musical irony: pairing bright, infectious tunes with lyrics that slyly undermine them.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The Cars’ most commercial record. Tracks like “Drive” and “You Might Think” showcased the band’s knack for hooks and Mutt Lange’s glossy production, full of shimmering synths & layered guitars.
Peak 80s, the musical equivalent of a neon suit.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The Cars’ most commercial record. Tracks like “Drive” and “You Might Think” showcased the band’s knack for hooks and Mutt Lange’s glossy production, full of shimmering synths & layered guitars.
Peak 80s, the musical equivalent of a neon suit.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The last of the EIG albums I picked up on a whim in Ikebukuro and the last they released before going on hiatus.
The culmination of the melodic drift away from the experimentation of the first album, from turmoil to tranquility.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The last of the EIG albums I picked up on a whim in Ikebukuro and the last they released before going on hiatus.
The culmination of the melodic drift away from the experimentation of the first album, from turmoil to tranquility.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The band steps out of the shadows and into something warmer, more melodic. There’s a tenderness to this record that sets it apart from “Drumming the Beating Heart”. Not exactly mainstream but more accessible, experimental but pop.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The band steps out of the shadows and into something warmer, more melodic. There’s a tenderness to this record that sets it apart from “Drumming the Beating Heart”. Not exactly mainstream but more accessible, experimental but pop.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Smash Hits described them as "a more harrowing version of OMD" which rings true.
Less post-punk, more poetry with musical accompaniment. Martyn Bates’s voice keening, Peter Becker’s rhythms closer to sound effects than beats.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Smash Hits described them as "a more harrowing version of OMD" which rings true.
Less post-punk, more poetry with musical accompaniment. Martyn Bates’s voice keening, Peter Becker’s rhythms closer to sound effects than beats.
#nowspinning #vinyl
With New Order still shaking off the shadow of Joy Division and redefining themselves, this makes for an interesting snapshot of where they had gotten to i.e. halfway between despair & dancefloor.
#nowspinning #vinyl
With New Order still shaking off the shadow of Joy Division and redefining themselves, this makes for an interesting snapshot of where they had gotten to i.e. halfway between despair & dancefloor.
#nowspinning #vinyl
This is a record to play late at night when the world is asleep.
There’s not a lot of variety here, just shimmering guitar and Hope Sandoval’s murmured vocals lulling me into a half-dreaming state between sadness and serenity.
#nowspinning #vinyl
This is a record to play late at night when the world is asleep.
There’s not a lot of variety here, just shimmering guitar and Hope Sandoval’s murmured vocals lulling me into a half-dreaming state between sadness and serenity.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Opening track sounds like the Beatles until I remember that, when John Lennon was asked to name his favourite American group, he responded “Harry Nilsson” and I wonder if the Beatles sound like Harry Nilsson.
A masterpiece of melodic pop.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Opening track sounds like the Beatles until I remember that, when John Lennon was asked to name his favourite American group, he responded “Harry Nilsson” and I wonder if the Beatles sound like Harry Nilsson.
A masterpiece of melodic pop.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The meeting spot under Clery’s clock on O’Connell Street, was a universal symbol of youthful romance in Dublin. Or almost. Phil Chevron looks at it through the eyes of a gay man and captures the bravery and fear in being different.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The meeting spot under Clery’s clock on O’Connell Street, was a universal symbol of youthful romance in Dublin. Or almost. Phil Chevron looks at it through the eyes of a gay man and captures the bravery and fear in being different.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The first true Cure album.
Moody and hypnotic, “A Forest” is the centrepiece. The other tracks are less hooky and a few seem underwhelming in isolation but, taken as a complete mood piece, they all create an immersive, haunting sound world.
#nowspinning #vinyl
The first true Cure album.
Moody and hypnotic, “A Forest” is the centrepiece. The other tracks are less hooky and a few seem underwhelming in isolation but, taken as a complete mood piece, they all create an immersive, haunting sound world.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Produced by Geoff Emerick (Revolver, Sgt. Pepper & Abbey Road), this album sounds lush - strings, accordion, flugelhorn, harpsichord (!) feature on different tracks giving a different personality to each.
Contender for his best record.
#nowspinning #vinyl
Produced by Geoff Emerick (Revolver, Sgt. Pepper & Abbey Road), this album sounds lush - strings, accordion, flugelhorn, harpsichord (!) feature on different tracks giving a different personality to each.
Contender for his best record.
#nowspinning #vinyl