I'm on that.

Speakerboxxx/Love Below.

He did it.

There's certainly no other worthy doubles in hip hop. The other big 3 (biggie, 2pac and Jay) are all dying to be tighter singles.

Also, good shout on that Jesse etc album moot. He's a step or two down from the likes of the band and doobies, and there's some cringe lyrics, but not bad.

85. Garbage - Version 2.0 (1998)



This was discussed in the general music thread recently and I needed something to listen to on the way to work.  I'd heard a couple of tracks from it before but the only Garbage album I owned was the self titled one.  It's an odd first time listen in 2024 because it sounds very late 90s, despite the fact that there weren't a vast number of bands that sounded quite like this, at least not to my knowledge.  In hindsight I guess Garbage kinda owned the whole electronic rock thing for a few years in the UK on a mainstream, you'll recognise some of these from TOTP level?  I Think I'm Paranoid was the first track I knew, which ofc is a belter.  To the untrained ear this lost its way a little as it went along and I opted against continuing on with the anniversary edition tracks, but I can see why it massively hit(s) the spot for some - a proper frontwoman, big fuzzy clangy clubrock hooks and plenty of bits to sing along to.  I bet sticking this on loud makes existing middle-aged fans very happy (not a slight, Pearl Jam do the same happyplace thing for me - the singalongatribute nights I love are always an absolute mess).  When I Grow Up is the track I can see all the young oldies euphorically losing their shit to here .  

I listened to their first record afterwards and thought Trip My Wire was great (I let the bonus tracks run on that one).

Also - guess who has two thumbs and got this lot mixed up with Republica somewhere along the line (a band that got mentioned in the pub the other day in an enjoyable 'everyone has at least one banger' discussion).

They had Republica play their big hit live on the pitch at one of the World Cup matches in Qatar.
Shouldn't have bothered really. Saffron looks like your Nan now.

12. Olivia Rodrigo - Guts (spilled)



Thought this would be a good time to visit this album as it got revisited with bonus tracks. The main album itself is absutr slapping with (sorry I don't have other comparisons) Avril Lavigne style bangers, between that there are beautiful ballads, slightly hard Melodies. It's fantastic. Where did this talent come from. Outstanding album [9]

86. Adam Carroll - Let it Choose You (2015)



Spotted this on Tidal, thought I'd heard all his albums but didn't recognise the cover.  Maybe it's only been added recently for one reason or another.  Anyway, Carroll's debut album is one of my all-time favourites.  I can't remember how I found it - someone else covering one of his tracks maybe (actually now I've typed that that's definitely what happened - James McMurtry and Hayes Carll appeared on a tribute album and I went from there).  According to my stats page the only albums I've listened to more than Lookin' Out the Screen Door are Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger and John Prine's Sweet Revenge.  

So what's this one like?  A bit patchy tbh.  There's some really good stuff on here - Bernadine is a great opener (even though it ends up sounding like an album closer) and Old Child Country Star hits the spot for playful Carroll.  Elsewhere there are some OK tracks and some that didn't quite do it for me.  Love him - can't quite sing for toffee and writes proper country songs with lines I'd be happy to print out, frame and hang on a wall - but this one's a 3/5.

87. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Revelations (2024) 



Great sounding country rock album that struck me as more consistent than their other releases.  Great voice, good songs, top band.  I'll be giving this a few more listens. 

88. Rosali - Bite Down (2024)




Cracking album cover, which is why I clicked on it in the new releases section recently.  Initially I thought it would be a large lunged folkrock album - her voice is very strong and the opening tracks felt a bit Emmylou Harris-ish - but as the record went on it became more of a rockfolk album, with the band really cranking it up up in places.  Hopeless could pass as a Fleetwood Mac track and the whole thing sounds great.  Really impressed with this, I think it's an excellent album.  Someone should listen to it because it's quality.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

87. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Revelations (2024)  Great sounding country rock album that struck me as more consistent than their other releases.  Great voice, good songs, top band.  I'll be giving this a few more listens.

I gave this a spin, but it didn’t do much for me.

It’s pleasant. It’s competent. Every tune a toe-tapper. But I just wanted more from it. With a name like that and a look like that, I was expecting some attitude. Some sass. Maybe even some dive bar vibes and a little fire and brimstone in the delivery. I mean - when you name a song ‘Motherfucker’ you kinda have to deliver on that. But Sarah and her band just play it pleasant.

Yeah. Most bands I write off as ‘okay-ish’ I know perfectly well I’d enjoy a lot more live. Something about charisma being more powerful in person.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

88. Rosali - Bite Down (2024) Cracking album cover, which is why I clicked on it in the new releases section recently.  Initially I thought it would be a large lunged folkrock album - her voice is very strong and the opening tracks felt a bit Emmylou Harris-ish - but as the record went on it became more of a rockfolk album, with the band really cranking it up up in places.  Hopeless could pass as a Fleetwood Mac track and the whole thing sounds great.  Really impressed with this, I think it's an excellent album.  Someone should listen to it because it's quality.

I moved on to Rosali. Which wasn’t easy to find, for some reason. Searching for Bite Down worked better than searching for Rosali.

I feel like I’m being very negative today, but this mostly washed over me as well. It’s nice. But I mean ‘nice’ to damn with faint praise. 

Moot called it out as a Fleetwood Mac wannabe, and that seems to be an entire genre to itself at the moment. This does have a genuine sixties pre-Woodstock vibe to it in places, I’ll grant you. Highlight for me was My Kind, which is the only track I’ll actually throw on to a playlist. It’s a bit more stompy, a bit more free, and I can imagine Rosali spinning around on a flower-strewn stage surrounded by moustachioed and bell-bottomed guitarists. Be Kind even has a proper sixties-style fake-out ending before crashing back in and running through another chorus.

One good song though, out of a 10-track album.

I think it’s genuinely great that tastes vary so much on this sort of thing. When more than one or two of us love the same record, it’s a miracle and shows that we’ve found something really special.

I meant to say as well - love the photography on that Sarah Shook album cover. Properly good portrait, that.

90. Beyonce - Cowboy Carter (2024)



There you go, she says it's not a country album right there.  It's definitely got boots & tassles vibes on occasion though, so I'll go with country adjacent.  AFAIK no-one runs her mama over with a train while she's on the way to pick her up from prison in a pick-up truck.  I'm less cynical about it than some people seem to be - sure there's some yee-haw cowgirl dollar ripe for a'pluckin', but a) that's not what she does on the vast majority of the record, and b) isn't she on a run of albums taking inspiration from various genres and styles?  With a possible rock album next?  Ergo so what, and I'm glad she gave the this genre a go.  There are some decent nods on here (often not to country songs - see the quote up there).  Also, I've been listening to all eras of country for years now and I'd never heard of Linda Martell, so hats off to Beyonce for championing lesser-known artists - I've got her one album queued up for an imminent listen and I'm intrigued. 

I struggled with some of it, especially the first half.  It's a long album (Moot in 'tends to like short things' shocker*) and Levii's Jeans is a good example of a track that I couldn't make my mind up on.  Is it super shit, super catchy or both?  Daughter didn't quite work for me either, which is a shame as she's really gone for it with that track - I want to like this one but I don't yet.  YMMV.  The whole back half of the album is strong though, and that's a lot of album.

A few more thoughts here.  Join us if you're intrigued by the whole country shtick but be warned: most albums don't sound like Cowboy Carter.  On the whole I thought this was pretty good - it it had been a double album (which it would have been if one of the tracks had lasted an extra minute) I'd recommend the second disc for sure.

*Hello Davie.

92. Linda Martell - Color Me Country (1970)



The first commercially successful black female country artist and the first to appear on the Grand Ole Opry.  After issues with her label/lawsuit shenanigans/general record executive bullshit she ducked out of the limelight, so this remains her only LP.  All credit to her - it's a consistently good album full of gutsy, catchy tracks and a genuine historical watershed moment - but it's still a record where she was moulded, packaged and sold (on a label called Plantation) with the specific hook of her being the first black woman in country (quote: "I figured if I could find a colored girl that could sing country and western I'd really have something").  She was initially a struggling R&B singer hoping to cross over into the pop scene but was spotted performing country hits at an airforce base, and was subsequently fast-tracked into the studio and told she had to 'go country'.  The tracks were chosen for her and off she went - the album was pulled from one 12hr studio session and it's fair to say she aced it.  It's a great fit for her voice and she absolutely owns it, but - through no fault of Martell's - the short-lived success story obviously has an air of unpleasantness about it (white folks looking for an angle to make a buck, and fucking her over at the first opportunity).  TLDR: There's an air of exploitation to the success stories of early black country stars, and even the seismic achievements are often tempered by the cuntishness of history.  

Focusing on the music itself this is very good throughout (all bases covered: she nails 'em fast she nails 'em slow) but perhaps never quite great.  I wonder what kind of album she would have made if she'd continued recording/had enough clout to call the shots.   Props to Beyonce for shining the spotlight on her on Cowboy Carter.

94. Xploding Plastix - Thus EP (2024)



Norwegian electronica duo who went quiet for well over a decade then popped up with a new album late last year, followed by another one last week (OK so it clearly says EP in the title - I don't know the exact rules but it's 45 minutes long).  23 years on and their debut is still their best work.  Having said that I'd also say everything they put out is worthwhile.  Optimal Bread is probably the highlight here - I'd advise starting with the album Amateur Girlfriends Go Proskirt Agent instead though.   Or this forever banger from their second best album:



One more because I don't see them mentioned much.  Everyone loves a nifty drum pattern: