I need to find some lower thinking if I'm going to stick around
Continuing my trip up #album-of-the-day...
20.08.07 : End Of Suffering - Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes (2019)
We've already established that Mr Carter comes lower than Mr Turner in my list of musical Franks and he'd rank below Messrs Sidebottom and Sinatra as well, whilst the jury is still out on Ocean, Zappa and Black. So I wasn't exactly approaching this with any degree of enthusiasm - but I was very pleasantly surprised when I didn't mind it at all and I'm wondering if maybe I'm actually thinking of someone else entirely. Yeah, it takes itself a bit too seriously at times on the angst front, but they're decent enough tunes sung considerably better than I was expecting. So I take it all back Mr Carter! And I like the album cover as well - it's a win all round.
The channel liked this - a couple of thumbs up and a lot of positive comments. Wikipedia has a few random sentences on it, but nothing of note except that it got to #4 in the UK album charts - I really should pay more attention to what the cool kids are listening to these days!
"Customers also listened to" Slaves (who I definitely don't like!), Turbowolf and The Marmozets - I'm sure they're lovely people and all that, but I'm fine without checking them out. But, to be fair, I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting.
20.08.10 : In Absentia - Porcupine Tree (2002)
An "almost repeat" artist given that Steven Wilson was an integral (and sometimes only) component of Porcupine Tree - so I was expecting to find this bearable, if not an instant grabber. I got a nasty shock when I started listening the deluxe, remastered version though - 33 songs covering 3 hours! However, I was pleased to find the non-deluxe, original version was only 12 songs in 68 minutes - a much more tolerable length. And my reaction was similar to Steven Wilson in that I didn't mind it, but didn't quite know what to make of it. There's a mix of styles across the songs - some of them are pretty heavy, but some are much more prog with his voice really reminding me of Talk Talk in places as well. There are some fine skills on the gee-tars on display - and some great titled tracks as well - "Gravity Eyelids", ".3" and "The Creator Has A Mastertape" jumped out at me.
The channel gave this 6 thumbs up and a few positive comments - the level of detail in the discussion suggests some hardcore PT fans out there. Wikipedia has a reasonable amount on the album, mostly relating to how this is their most successful album by far - it sold 45,000 copies in the US compared to 2,000ish for their previous efforts, which is quite a jump! It also tells me all the songs are about "serial killers, youthful innocence gone wrong, and criticisms of the modern world" - I'd have to say that all passed me by at the time.
"Customers also listened to" Steven Wilson - nobody expected that. Blackfield, Riverside and The Pineapple Thief as well - and I've never heard of any of them. This isn't a horrible effort though, I was more puzzled by it than anything else.
20.08.11 : I Am Easy To Find - The National (2019)
I liked Alligator and Boxer back in the mid 00s, but then wasn't that fussed on High Violet (which the critics LOVED!) so I can't say I've kept in touch with the boys from Cincinatti. So I was interested to check back in with them to see what they've been up to since then. And yeah, I mostly liked it - it got a bit meandering at times, but they were nice enough tunes, well sung with some nice minimal backing. And the increased use of a female vocalist didn't hurt matters either. It definitely made me want to go back and revisit their earlier stuff and I might even try High Violet again to see what I make of it now.
The channel liked this - 3 thumbs up and a lot of positive comments - and one telling me that High Violet was definitely their best album and I should man up and recognise quality when I hear it. Wikipedia doesn't have as much on the album as I was expecting, although it does tell me it was accompanied by a short film directed by Mike Mills - I'm betting this would set my artiness meter readings off the scale. It also tells me it got to #2 in the UK charts, so obviously we have to check who kept it off the top - they were unlucky enough to release it in the same week as Lewis Capaldi, so it was probably not a very close contest. Lewis' effort hasn't been out of the top 30 since then whereas The National's effort disappeared from view after 3 weeks!
"Customers also listened to" a load of people I've never heard of - which surprised me because I quite like this kind of music so was expecting some names I recognised. I guess I could check them out, but I'm a bit busy listening to other stuff at the minute!
Three albums I enjoyed more than I was expecting to, but The National are closest to my natural musical environment, so they get the win because I don't like to admit I'm wrong very often you know.
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