scaryblog

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts. 30/06/17 : Evolve -  Imagine Dragons Our third visit with them Dragons - I've generally enjoyed our visits but struggled to describe exactly what it is I'm hearing. So let's expect more of the same, shall we? Hmmm - no. This is pretty easy to explain really because it all sounds like "Believer", which is the only Imagine Dragons track I know. I like it though and I've nothing wrong with that kinda sound (it brought to mind RHCP or The Killers, which are hardly shabby points of reference) but it wasn't really what I was expecting from the previous write-ups. However, I've certainly problems with bands evolving (do you see what I did there?) and there was nothing wrong with this, so all is good. We're at #3 with a new entry in the chart this week on the start of an impressive 73 week run - somewhat surprisingly it's only their second most successful album though, with their debut (which we ha...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 10/04/26 : The Weight Of The Woods - Dermot Kennedy  Having completely coincidentally mentioned Dermot last week (in connection with the word "sonder"), we now have our second visit with the lad - last time I declared his album ( Sonder ) to be fine but forgettable and I've no reason to believe we won't get exactly the same here. Well, it turns out he can't be completely forgettable because I do remember that the last album didn't really sound like this one. This is much more David Gray-ish, with definitely folky roots to it - I didn't mind it at all, but, once again, I'd struggle to say too much of it stuck in there with me. However, it's all nicely hummable and I do believe that multiple listens would improve matters - and I also like the album cover. We're at #1 in the charts with a new entry this week - his third #1 album in a row, so it's a bit strange that his debut album onl...

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts. 07/07/17 : Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1 -  Calvin Harris Our second visit with Calvin and the previous one was FWB Vol 2 , which I was somewhat nonplussed by ("something to put on at a bbq which no-one will object to") so I can't say my expectations are particularly high. Nope - for the most part this is bang average. It just feels like he's playing around with Garageband (or whatever the cool kids use these days) and throwing in the odd weird sound to keep it "interesting", whilst his mates provide the vocals. The only exception is "Feels" which I have to admit is pretty catchy (and was on the radio all the bloody time in this summer) but if you actually listen to the track then you soon notice how little content there actually is there. There are some Calvin Harris albums out there that I'm looking forward to listening to, but this smacks of someone whose creative juices are running somewhat lo...

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts. 14/07/17 : Something To Tell You -  HAIM I liked Days Like You, their debut album (which we haven't met) and Women In Music, Part III , their third album (which we have) and so, quite obviously, I've never ever listened to this (and I'm not sure I even knew it existed). I've no reason to think I won't like it though... And well, I do like it and it's got a nice overall Fleetwood Mac-esque kinda vibe - but, on first listen, it's lacking a killer track and some of the tracks just slightly outstay their welcome. Maybe multiple listens would slowly draw me in and maybe they wouldn't - but I suspect we're never going to find out. We're at #2 in the charts this week with a new entry on the start of a nine week run - which makes it a relative failure compared to their neighbouring albums, both of which got to #1. The rest of the top five were  Ed Sheeran , Jay-Z (another new entry), Public Sector Br...

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts. 21/07/17 : Night And Day -  The Vamps I'd say The Vamps aren't really my kinda thang, but then someone would point out that I have seen them live twice, so I can't exactly hate them (and they've have a point). Hmmm - a lot of this is a bit wet, but when they speed things up I don't mind them. They're not doing any harm though and they're not in the slightest bit interested in my opinion. I also recognised "Shades On". "Cruel" and "Rain" because they're live staples of theirs (in the two times I've seen them anyway). I also have to say I'm not convinced by some of those haircuts on the album cover. We're at #1 (their first chart topper) in the charts this week with a new entry on the start of a very brief six week run - I may not have loved it, but it felt like it deserved better than that. The rest of the top five were  Ed Sheeran , Rag'n'Bone Man , B...

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts. 28/07/17 : Lust For Life -  Lana del Rey This is our fifth visit with Lana and I've generally been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy them, but I do think there should be a rule against borrowing titles from other artists - Lust For Life is always going to bring Iggy Pop to mind rather than Lana (for those of us of a certain age, anyway). Yeah, I'd say I'm pleasantly surprised by this as well - it's a very well constructed album with some great production on it. I wouldn't say it's entirely loveable on first listen, but it feels like it could well be a grower and it matched well with the sunny weather outside today - I can imagine it would be great playing whilst barbequing on a sultry summer evening. It's got quite strong Lorde vibes, so if you like her then you'll probably like this (and probably also know you do). We're at #1 in the charts with a new entry this week on the start of a sur...