Honey’s Dead (1992) by The Jesus and Mary Chain

March 21, 2017 | No Comments
Categories: 1992 and Music.
Tags: 1992, Alternative, Alternative Rock, Baggy, Madchester, Music, Noise Pop, and Shoegaze.

I should never read anything before I listen to a record, especially a record by a band I don’t love. I heard why they called it Honey’s Dead and suddenly my head was filled of dreams of reinvention. But no, it’s still very obviously The Jesus and Mary Chain. Only this time they’ve gone Madchester (I think). Read More

No Pocky for Kitty (1991) by Superchunk

December 28, 2016 | No Comments
Categories: 1991 and Music.
Tags: 1991, Indie Rock, Music, Noise Pop, Pop Punk, Power Pop, and Punk.

This is a set of solid songs that are uptempo and pleasantly loud. I get why this band was a big deal back then because, to my knowledge, this kind of straight-ahead abrasive power pop/pop punk was a relative rarity. But it’s not really my thing. It’s too one note for me, as much as I appreciate what they’re doing and I think they do it well, I just don’t love this particular style of music enough to get really excited about this record. 7/10 Read More

Trompe Le Monde (1991) by Pixies

November 29, 2016 | No Comments
Categories: 1991 and Music.
Tags: 1991, Alternative, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Music, and Noise Pop.

With hindsight this feels like a step between the earlier Pixies records and Frank Black’s solo career, which would make sense. To me, though, it suffers in that sense, lacking the strongest songs of either earlier Pixies records or Black’s early solo albums, but produced almost if it was one of his solo records. That’s not to say I dislike it – it’s still the Pixies doing what they do best pretty well. I just feel like it’s their weakest record and it very much feels like a transitional one for their main songwriter. 7/10 Read More

Yerself is Steam (1991) by Mercury Rev

July 28, 2016 | No Comments
Categories: 1991 and Music.
Tags: 1991, Dream Pop, Music, Neo Psychedelia, and Noise Pop.

Mercury Rev combine recent goings on in Shoegaze with psychedelia (to a greater extent than the British Shoegaze bands that inclined that way) and a knack for poppy hooks. The result is a bizarre, perhaps too ambitious, crazy record that is better than anything the Lips had managed up till that point. (Why compare them? Sorry…) To me this stuff is more interesting than the straight Shoegaze; it connects with me more for whatever reason. It does feel like there are more ideas, for one thing. Even if that last track is way too long, this is great stuff. 8/10 Read More

The Faming Lips and Heady Fwends (2012)

October 25, 2013 | No Comments
Categories: 2012 and Music.
Tags: 2012, Alternative Dance, Electronica, Indie Electronic, Music, Neo Psychedelia, and Noise Pop.

I want to make some kind of Supernatural joke but I can’t come up with one. I am all for pushing your creative boundaries, I think it is great that the Lips are being absolutely ridiculous with all these odd EPs and special releases. I won’t listen to most of it, but good for them for being ridiculous. I don’t see this compilation of collaborations to be consistent because of the collaborators; it’s actually quite consistent, amazingly enough. My problem lies elsewhere. This may sound weird, and it’s probably idiotic, but to me some of the tracks – the “rockers” Read More