album of week 6
Gravity Won't Get You High (The Grates) [2006]
[This album of the week was written on my phone's notes app because I'm trapped in New Zealand for a little bit, this is why there is no background music this week either because I have to use my PC for that kinda stuff (¯―¯٥)]
What's this? A SECOND obscure album? And 2 weeks in a row?
Yeah, I thought it'd be cool ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So this another random album I found wandering record stores for CDs that looked kinda cool, and just take a look at the cover for this album, I can't just not pick it up and give it a listen! Especially considering it was only $4, so yeah, now I own this album.
Made by a bunch of Australians in the year of 2006, this album provides a mix of mid 2000s pop sounds alongside some elements of 90s alt rock, creating an album that gets you moving on your feet and singing along. It's not the most unique sounding album, but it's fun, high energy, and has a giraffe on the cover.
While the sound is fun and enjoyable, the fact that each song does just blend into each other is an issue, no song on the album really has a unique identity. But luckily for me, this is a sound I really enjoy, so it's not a big deal for me. A similar comparison could be for the band good kid, great music, but everything sounds the same (maybe I'll do a album of the week for the good kid 1-4 EPs someday (someday))
Overall, this album is just fun, and it's mix of 90s female alt rock vocals and grunge guitars, alongside mid 2000s pop inspired lyrics and instrumentals, creates a fun sound that I just can't hate.
Favourite Tracks:
Howl, Feels like pain, 19-20-20
Least favourite Track:
I won't survive, nothing sir
This album is a strong 4/5 if I've ever seen one, and thus, it shall be receiving it (/･ω･)/
★★★★☆
album of week 5
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 (Mew) [2009]
This is the first of hopefully many obscure albums I wanna talk about on this site, and there's no better album to start that off with than 'No More Stories' by 'Mew'
First, why in the world do I know about this album?
Well, I'm a nerd, quite often me and a friend will head to the 'hip' parts of the city to go to record stores, but we've found some cool ones a little westerly too (I don't wanna dox my location any further than Australia, theres like 5 cities people actually live in and 3 mini cities, this makes up about 80% of the population lol.) ANYWAY, back to record shopping.
I'm too much of a broke bitch to get into vinyl so I usually opt for CDs, because I like having physical copies of music I enjoy without the stupid pricetag and the tremendous amount of space vinyl requires to use.
Mini rant aside, I like CDs, and one cool part about them is often they can be dirt cheap, like 5 for $15 in the clearance areas, and even lower sometimes, and these arent all just dogshit albums from forever ago, there are some genuinely good albums in there. Which is where the cool part is, buying a CD that looks interesting is low risk and I might find an amazing album I never would have found otherwise! (and if the album is bad it can just inflate my growing wall of CDs 〒▽〒)
These random album finds have led me to some genuinely cool albums I never would have thought to try, and this is one of them.
I bought no more stories entirely on a whim, I saw a long album title, the cover looked cool, it had a cool aesthetic, why not try it?
And I'm ever thankful I did.
This is what I'd describe as somewhere between indie rock, alt pop, and post-pop
erm acktually, post-pop isnt a true genre yet, especially for a album from 2009
shhhhhhh, this is my site i make the rules
The sound of the album is almost alien to anything else I've ever heard, taking elements I know from late 2000s pop, but, making them so alien, and adding new layers into the sound that make the album to overwhelming, both in ways of unimaginable joy, yet at times, its any feeling of control you had being stripped away.
This may sound strange but I have cried many times listening to this album, I think its from all the overlaying audio that create this strange feeling of both warmth and (again) an overwhelming feeling
Some may find that this album seems very out of tune at times, but the more you listen to it, the more intentional everything feels, playing with themes of loss of control in this album.
Side thought, this album feels like the transition period between autumn and winter and australia as well as winter itself, idk, maybe april-june vibes?
This album is hands down one of my favourite of all time, and is nothing like I've every heard before, and for some reason I'm yet to try and of their other stuff, I will at some point, but this album has so much to come back to
Side thought 2, this album has similar feelings to when I'm looking into the future, as well as university and stuff, also the same kinda vibes I had as a child thinking about the future. Its weird. But its mostly just the positive vibes of it, the romanticised version of education. I remember when I was looking at unis last year for film stuffs, it was scary but also really hopeful, kind of like this album. This also has the 'warmth in the dark vibes idk. Side thought 2 is over
Favourite Tracks:
Introducing New Players, Repeaterbeater, Silas The Magic Car, Reprise
Least favourite Track:
Intermezzo 1 (but only for the long silent gap at the end)
This is an album I would give 6/5 stars if I could, I highly reccomend this album, probably in my top 30 albums ever (thats saying a lot considering how many albums I've listened to) 〜(￣▽￣〜)
★★★★★
