Categories
27/30 emo indie/alternative revisited review rock

brand new – the devil and god are raging inside me

‘TDAGARIM’ connects adolescent fears to the sound of a wrecking ball – obviously I was too embarrassed to like it ten years ago.

Categories
29/30 indie/alternative pop revisited review

the wrens – the meadowlands (2003)

Meadows are liminal spaces that lead to or from destinations – in and of themselves, they are often bare and underdeveloped.

Categories
28/30 pop r&b revisited review

aaliyah – aaliyah (2001)

Perhaps only D’Angelo and Erykah Badu have incarnated R&B with such effortless magnetism. 

Categories
30/30 garage grime hip-hop revisited review

dizzee rascal – boy in da corner (2003)

Dizzee was on the estate, unafraid to express ugliness, questioning whether things would ever change.

Categories
26/30 pop revisited review singer-songwriter

jens lekman – night falls over kortedala

A chic rom-com with the lyrical posture of Morrissey and the humour of Father John Misty.

Categories
26/30 hip-hop punk revisited review rock

beastie boys – licensed to ill (1986)

‘Licensed To Ill’ is cringeworthy, abrasive, and grotesquely enjoyable.

Categories
27/30 jazz fusion prog revisited review

return to forever – where have i known you before? (1974)

This is a true collective effort from a hive mind of virtuosos.

Categories
29/30 folk revisited review singer-songwriter

dorival caymmi – canções praieiras (1959)

This is a pitch-perfect, diaphragm-clearing exhale of love.

Categories
29/30 country folk revisited review

the roches – the roches (1979)

The writing hits like an inner monologue down a small-town street: heel taps, lamp-swings, and finger clicks.