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Hamster's Album Collection revisited


ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

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Different Class is exactly what it says, there simply isnt a low point on the album. Sure in isolation some tracks can seem a littl odd and dull but taken as a whole tracks like Pencil Skirt and Underwear provide the downbeat, seedy contract to Common People and Disco 2000. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E is one of my absolute favourite 1990's tracks because of the internal mood swings of the music, tone and lyrics along with the fact that you just can not listen to it with other people due to the embarrassing nature of the track but the almost pathological desire to sing along.

Very little Pulp have done before or since was anywhere near this in terms of quality and they are the best example of a band that just gets it for one moment in time and captures the essence of the mad world around them. They were at a place in life aas a band that just cant be replicated because the success an album like this brings just destroys the situation that inspired it in the first place. I still play this at least once a week even now.

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  • 1 month later...

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"Parklife" by Blur

1994

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Girls & Boys" – 4:50

2."Tracy Jacks" – 4:20

3."End of a Century" – 2:46

4."Parklife" – 3:05

5."Bank Holiday" – 1:42

6."Badhead" – 3:25

7."The Debt Collector" – 2:10

8."Far Out" – 1:41

9."To the End" – 4:05

10."London Loves" – 4:15

11."Trouble in the Message Centre" – 4:09

12."Clover Over Dover" – 3:22

13."Magic America" – 3:38

14."Jubilee" – 2:47

15."This Is a Low" – 5:07

16."Lot 105" – 1:17

The first Blur album in my collection (and there's a fair number of them!) and probably their best....And yet it's not five star! Though it does score 5/5 for the album art - Dog Racing front and back and cool lyric layout inside. It also scores a 5/5 for some of the tracks in there. As well as the title track it throws the classics - This Is A Low, To The End, Girls and Boys, Tracy Jacks....And my favourite Blur track of them all - End of a Century. Throw in the quirky genius of Bank Holiday and the wurlitzer-licious Lot 105 (probably one of the best outros in any album I know of) and it's immensely difficult to dislike the album. However for me it loses a little in the middle. There are no BAD tracks but Badhead, Tax Collector, Far Out and, controversially, To The End don't do it for me. I've always had a downer towards To The End....The album then lifts into another peak in the second half, building with plenty of energy to the final big hit of This Is A Low and you're left with serious happy vibes from the album.

A really really good album though, would be on the 4.4 cusp but that rounds down to 4. This may suggest that Blur were a better singles band, especially as I could roll off a three disc best of album without any problem whatsoever...However I think Parklife stands as one of the very best albums of the 90s. It cleverly ties together the swaggering anthems with slower tracks, held together with wurlitzers and waltzy curios.

Highlights...

Girls & Boys

Tracy Jacks

End of a Century

Parklife

Bank Holiday

Magic America

Jubilee

This is a Low

Lot 105

Low points...

Badhead

Debt Collector

Far Out

To The End

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"Loud Like Nature" by Add N To (X)

2002

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Total All Out Water" – 3:51

2."Electric Village" – 3:36

3."Sheez Mine" – 3:48

4."Invasion of the Polaroid People" – 4:40

5."Party Bag" – 4:56

6."Quantum Leap" – 4:45

7."Pink Light" – 5:42

8."Up the Punks" – 3:48

9."Take Me to Your Leader" – 3:35

10."Lick A Battery (Tongues Across the Terminals)" – 3:07

11.".-U Baby" – 1:41

12."Large Number" – 3:18

13."All Night Lazy" – 4:17

Loud Like Nature is the final album from the electro love-in that was Add N To (X) - by this time Ann Shenton, Barry Smith (Barry 7) and Steven Claydon. Loud Like Nature's tracks are shared out between the three of them who each offer a handful of the tracks meaning that the album is a pleasingly eclectic affair with different feels throughout.

Going back to it after a couple of years away I've discovered a shift in some of my favourite tracks. Take Me To Your Leader is still an epic and resolute electro track but All Night Lazy and Invasion Of The Polaroid People have left me pleasantly surprised on the recent listenings. The album as a whole keeps up a frenetic pace throughout and you need to be in the right mood for it. If you're in the right mood though it's a fantastic electronica album very few low points (which aren't that low!) If you don't know of Add N To (X) here are a few youtubes: Invasion of the Polaroid People, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O284GWLj3E...

Highlights...

Total Out Of Water

Sheez Mine

Invasion Of The Polaroid People

Take Me To Your Leader

Lick A Battery

All Night Lazy

Low points...

Quantum Leap

.-U Baby

Large Number

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"No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away" by Mew

2009

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "New Terrain" 3:14

2. "Introducing Palace Players" 4:46

3. "Beach" 2:46

4. "Repeaterbeater" 2:33

5. "Intermezzo 1" 0:29

6. "Silas The Magic Car" 4:06

7. "Cartoons and Macramé Wounds" 7:21

8. "Hawaii Dream" 1:47

9. "Hawaii" 5:01

10. "Vaccine" 5:08

11. "Tricks of the Trade" 4:28

12. "Intermezzo 2" 1:03

13. "Sometimes Life Isn't Easy" 5:21

14. "Reprise" 5:32

15. "Owl"

16. "Start"

17. "Swimmers Chant"

The best thing about this project of mine is that I'm encouraged to listen to some frankly astonishing albums. Mew are pretty new to me but I'll stand here now and say that it's easily the best album of the year. EASILY.

New Terrain is so epic it makes me want to cry, especially when the drums and bass seriously kick in at 1:20. I was riding my bike earlier and it was raining and skanky outside and that song was playing and hit that point just as I reached the crossing near my house and I looked up towards the really cool spiral skyscraper we have in Nagoya....Set against the grey sky and BOOOOOM the track exploded. It's also pretty smart in that you can apparantly play it back to front and you'll get new lyrics and a whole new song. Haven't done it yet but oooh.... (ok just listened to it reversed on youtube and it's brilliant, it's got proper lyrics back to front as well as right way around....) I love smart music making. These guys try new stuff. That is good.

Then the rest of the album continues with equal brilliance. Apparantly it's more up beat than some of their earlier stuff which suits me. Introducing Palace Players has a great beat throughout and Repeaterbeater is a spectacular track (released as a single) that rivals New Terrain for impact and offers more emotion on top of that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEh9cELK5Os.

My ranting about the early parts of the album has gone on long enough for the whole "review" but the album continues on a really high quality throughout. A couple of minor blips maybe but even the best album ain't perfect. This is the closest I've heard in a while though. Definitely into my top 10 albums of all time. Genius. Oh, and I have the Japanese edition in which the last three tracks are bonus apparantly. My highlights are cut down a little because these are the real standouts. Most of the other tracks are great but listing one would mean I'd end up having to list practically the whole album.

Highlights...

New Terrain

Introducing Palace Players

Repeaterbeater

Cartoons and Macrame Wounds

Hawaii

Low points...

Sometimes Life Isn't Easy

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You don't like "Sometimes Life Isn't Easy"? :o It's one of my favourites. The chorus is just so ridiculously catchy. And the album is a bit more 'upbeat' than the others, but all their albums do tend to follow a bit of a formula, in that they all have tracks that basically 'serve the same function' (eg. big rock chorus tracks - "Snow Brigade"/"Apocalypso"/"Repeater Beater", cool pop tracks - "156"/"Special"/"Beach", big swooning numbers - "She Came Home For Christmas"/"The Zookeeper's Boy"/"Silas The Magic Car", quirky/cool/syncopated numbers - "Am I Wry, No?"/"An Envoy To Open Field"/"Introducing Palace Players"), but for whatever reason, it always seems to work.

It is a damn amazing album. I still prefer "Frengers", but it's a definite step up from "...And The Glass Handed Kites", which whilst having outstanding tracks like "The Zookeeper's Boy" and "Special", had too many filler songs/bland tracks.

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"Parades" by Efterklang

2007

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Polygyne"– 6:58

2."Mirador" – 5:08

3."Him Poe Poe" – 2:21

4."Horseback Tenors" – 5:48

5."Mimeo" – 1:22

6."Frida Found a Friend" - 5:18

7."Maison de Réflexion" - 5:33

8."Blowing Lungs Like Bubbles" - 2:46

9."Caravan" - 4:59

10."Illuminant" - 4:33

11."Cutting Ice to Snow" - 4:13

Oops, been a bit slack but I have been listening to music - just generally been listening to stuff already rate on here. Still, I got this little beauty for Christmas and so it's had some good listening time. Efterklang are a Danish *breathes in* post-pop/folk/post-rock/classical/choiral/electronic/glitch group. This seems to be what floats my boat at the moment and Efterklang are a pleasing addition to my circle of current favourite acts. The album itself is gently put together with a careful hand and plays well with expectations. The opening track Polygyne, for example, builds to a crescendo which would suggest some kind of powerful drumming explosion, but instead it teases with flitting horns and falls back down onto itself again. Brilliant.

is definitely my favourite track but the album is a wonderful listen, on more than one occassion drifting into lilting Scandinavian sea-shanty vibes. However it's not "quite" stunning enough to make that five and instead of excellence, for me it's very good instead.

Highlights...

Polygyne

Mirador

Him Poe Poe

Caravan

Cutting Ice To Snow

Low points...

Nothing I'd rate below 3/5...

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"Kurr" by Amiina

2007

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Sogg" – 2:50

2."Rugla" – 3:59

3."Glámur" – 5:50

4."Seoul" – 6:56

5."Lúpína" – 1:16

6."Hilli" – 3:08

7."Sexfaldur" – 4:47

8."Kolapot" – 4:39

9."Saga" – 0:41

10."Lóri" – 4:14

11."Bláfeldur" – 2:57

12."Boga" – 9:10

Man, I have to leave some of the better albums until the end or I'll just be left with the Shania Twains of this world to listen to. Anyway my aural voyage around the frozen north continues as I bed down with the four Icelandic lasses that make up Amiina. They may be best known as the girls that worked with Sigur Ros on ( ) and Takk. Well that was enough for me to try them out anyway. In their own right their only album release to date is this 2007 "Kurr" which sees them haunting the pants off me in one beautiful vocal-less piece after another. Simply put, their music does the talking. Almost quite literally sometimes. They're all multi-instrumentalists meaning that in videos, mid-song they're switching around between violins, Korean bells, music boxes, keyboards, a saw (perfectly haunting and mournful), a harp, glockenspiel, mandolins and another half dozen instruments I don't even recognise. It's spellbinding. It means that the album itself has so many layers when listening. It never peaks like Sigur Ros and there isn't the power of Jonsi's lyrics but in many ways Amiina are a stripped down, introspective approach. I suggest either

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A56ECv7-8bM. Oh, and Rugla and Sexfaldur are sublime.

Highlights...

Rugla

Glamur

Seoul

Sexfaldur

Boga

Low points...

Hilli

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"Enema of the State" by Blink-182

1999

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Dumpweed" 2:23

2. "Don't Leave Me" 2:23

3. "Aliens Exist" 3:13

4. "Going Away to College" 2:59

5. "What's My Age Again?" 2:28

6. "Dysentery Gary" 2:45

7. "Adam's Song" 4:09

8. "All the Small Things" 2:48

9. "The Party Song" 2:19

10. "Mutt" 3:23

11. "Wendy Clear" 2:50

12. "Anthem" 3:37

Don't need to talk much about this as it "shockingly" made number 3 in my top 20 albums list. I think it's the best pop-punk album going and a perfect example of high-energy college jangliness. I can happily listen to it from start to finish (and generally will do) except for Adam's Song. I hear a kid committed suicide while listening to it. Well the only way it'd make me commit suicide was if I was told that it would be the only song I was allowed to listen to. Dreadful and really out of place. Other than that it's 11 fun fun fun fun energetic tracks, generally about gaining and losing girlfriends and partying on. Works for me. Also, Going Away To College is definitely my favourite Blink track.

Highlights...

Aliens Exist

Going Away To College

What's My Age Again?

Dysentry Gary

Mutt

Wendy Clear

Low points...

Adam's Song

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"Deep Cuts" by The Knife

2003/4

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Heartbeats" – 3:52

2."Girls' Night Out" – 3:38

3."Pass This On" – 3:48

4."One for You" – 3:48

5."The Cop" – 0:44

6."Listen Now" – 2:50

7."She's Having a Baby" – 2:10

8."You Take My Breath Away" (The Knife, Jenny Wilson) – 4:27

9."Rock Classics" – 4:56

10."Is It Medicine" – 2:23

11."You Make Me Like Charity" – 3:05

12."Got 2 Let U" – 3:59

13."Behind the Bushes" – 4:15

14."Hangin' Out" – 1:04

First up, Karin Dreijer is probably my favourite vocallist as far as her voice sounds and outside The Knife and her own solo work she is probably best known for her guest vocal work for Royksopp. Like

and Tricky Tricky.

Deep Cuts is my favourite of The Knife's albums and shows a lot of breadth throughout from the cheesy steel drum awesomeness of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKhjaGRhIYU, the floaty

(which was later covered by Jose Gonzalez) to the frantic Euro-techno of Listen Now and the GaGa shaming You Make Me Like Charity. It almost plays like a best of album or a sampler of all their different styles. Throw in some odd or jarring mini-tracks like The Cop and Hangin' Out and you're left with a really unique album.

Highlights...

Heartbeats

Girls' Night Out

Pass This On

One For You

You Take My Breath Away

Rock Classics

You Make Me Like Charity

Low points...

The Cop

Listen Now

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"Frengers" by Mew

2003

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1."Am I Wry? No" – 4:54

2."156" – 4:55

3."Snow Brigade" – 4:22

4."Symmetry" – 5:39

5."Behind the Drapes" – 3:40

6."Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" – 2:48

7."Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed" – 4:48

8."She Came Home for Christmas" – 3:55

9."SheSpider" – 4:44

10."Comforting Sounds" – 8:58

You know, part of me would love to give this album a five. It's charming, delicate in parts and likeable to a fault. However it's definitely not perfect and suffers from a lull at the start of the second half of the album. Real shame though as Frengers has some excellent tracks, most notably "156", "Snow Brigade" and "Comforting Sounds". Add to that the explosive intro to "Am I Wry? No" as a great way to start off the album. Unsurprisingly for Mew it rolls between quiet delicacy and hopefully melancholic guitar riffs. "Comforting Sounds" is one helluva outro to the album - a 9 minute masterclass with an emotional wall-of-sound build of Sigur Ros proportions. It leaves you wanting more and with the belief that the album was truly magnificent - a belief which is slightly elevated from the actual truth.

Highlights...

Am I Wry? No

156

Snow Brigade

She Came Home For Christmas

Comforting Sounds

Low points...

Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years

Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed

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