Album Recommendations: Early Hints

Early Hints

I'm actually pretty hesitant to declare how I feel about an album until I'm well familiar with it. I still want to put what I'm listening to on my site somewhere, though, so here's a compromise. These are 140 character first impressions of albums that I know somewhat, but not enough to confidently write a review on. I'm pretty sure my opinion will change on these as they get more spins, so expect the final word in the main review section soon.

Roni Size/Reprazent - In the Mode (2000): A surprisingly—maybe exhaustingly—dense patchwork of speeds, styles, and voices for a hip hop-infused drum and bass record.

Standout track: "Staircase"

Warpaint - Exquisite Corpse (2008): Lovely, dreamy, wandering, airy sounds that nonetheless take time and effort on the listener's part to coalesce into actual songs.

Standout track: "Billie Holiday"

Shellac - The End of Radio (2019): The first session, a thrillingly violent rip about Canada. The second, a slightly pretentious extended live tribute to the fallen Peel.

Standout track: "Canada [1994 Version]"

Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites (1996): For all its best tracks, gets lost in an hour-long self-pitying mire of wailing roots rock. Thank God they reigned it in the next album.

Standout track: "Daylight Fading"

XTC - English Settlement (1982): A surprisingly neurotic, socially aware pastoral pop rock album. Andy Partridge and friends have a knack for the almost annoyingly catchy.

Standout track: "Jason and the Argonauts"

Everything But the Girl - Temperamental (1999): Like a club, a lot of glossy, boomy style, but hard to remember much afterwards. Tracey Thorn's soulful rambles are the best part about it.

Standout track: "Lullaby of Clubland"