Noah’s Barks pages relating to music. These vary greatly in length and depth. Some are written off-the-cuff, quite short, and can be quite cheeky.
Five Leaves Left is currently my favorite album by Nick Drake, only in competition with Bryter Layter for his best (not like there’s much to compete with). All the strings in this album accentuate the music perfectly. The piano often…
As the trend of female-led soul-influenced indie pop goes, ‘Neptune City’ and Nicole Atkins stand about at the top of everything I’ve heard.
The sound of a band that hasn’t yet sharpened their strengths and reached their full potential, Bleach is Nirvana’s most “grunge” album; the influence of sludge metal and garage punk that defined the genre are very evident in this debut…
Do people overstate the abrasiveness of ‘In Utero’ to distance themselves from the radio-friendly ‘Nevermind?’
Incesticide is the Nirvana album I tend to listen to the most these days, since I’m not overly familiar with it and it has the most variety out of any of their albums for obvious reasons. As a fan, I…
Nevermind‘s praise is definitely deserved, as it contains some of the greatest pop/rock songwriting ever put to record. Any song here could be a single (except for the possible exception of the mellower “Polly”). Even better, the songs are backed…
With Kurt Cobain having tragically passed away, Courtney Love continues to cherish his memory by building and spending the fortune he amassed for his work. With the Lights Out is a posthumous release compiling a bunch of rare and/or unreleased…
It’s not easy making people who aren’t Nirvana fans understand. In fact, I’m inclined to say it’s downright impossible. You have to hear them at just the right time, at just the right moment in life to feel what they’re…
Ghost Reveries is the same Opeth style, but finally with the new ideas and inspiration the band desperately needed after running dry with Deliverance. A great example of what I’m talking about is the Eastern-influenced psychedelia of “Atonement” (there’s a bit…
Didn’t expect this to be such a big step back from ’Aquemini.’ There’s little on ‘ATLiens’ to anticipate that genre-splitting landmark.
The shoegaze “canon” be damned; In Ribbons is objectively the best Pale Saints album—much, much better than The Comforts of Madness. The thing that killed the shoegaze movement was the fact that many bands thought all you had to do was step on…
The Wicker Man is an awesome movie, which you obviously know if you’re at this page, and part of that is because it has an awesome soundtrack, which you obviously know if you’re at this page. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is…
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is Paul Simon’s third solo album, but it’s the first that shows the next evolution in his songwriting after his work with Simon & Garfunkel. Though predominately driven by folk rock instrumentation like always, we see…
Is Elysium the Pet Shop Boys’ worst? No, that doesn’t sound right. After such a long career, it’s nice to see Pet Shop Boys taking a new direction, which in this case is that of the ambient pop variety. They…
Glassworks, composed by Philip Glass, is consistently good, but it’s bothersome how obviously formulaic it is. As everyone’s probably told you already, each track is deliberately dizzying and repetitive. It’s pleasant and effective, so that isn’t a bad thing. Each…
Come On Pilgrim kind of sucks, in my opinion. It’s like Surfer Rosa without any riffs or hooks. It’s skeletal, but it ain’t no “Bone Machine.” Just unbridled counterculture energy that’s dime a dozen in ’80s alternative rock. But what…
“Debaser,” “Tame,” “Wave of Mutilation,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven”—all good songs (especially “Debaser”), but not enough to make one ignore how mediocre the rest of the tracks are. Or maybe they are, because Doolittle is pretty…
Oh man, The Hope Six Demolition Project might be PJ Harvey’s worst album. Maybe excuse the “might,” possibly, (probably). It might as well be definite considering her prior record of consistently always delivering something of interest with her eclectic tastes…
Never really bought the hubbub surrounding Portishead and Dummy. Whereas Massive Attack were creative in ways beyond restriction, seamlessly melding electronic music, hip hop, lounge, soul, industrial, and rock, Portishead is content with wallowing in an update of blues and lounge music.…
The self-titled album from Portishead has really cool production. Unfortunately, the majority of the beats and rhythms are exactly the fuckin’ same and can’t carry the brutally drawn-out song lengths. The monotone nature of this album hurts it. Sure, it’s consistently dark—as…
Preoccupations understands the disenfranchised coldness of late ’70s and early ’80s post-punk very well, which proves they’re great listeners. But their unrelenting attachment to it makes their sound inflexible, and the interesting personality quirks that the original, experimental scene brought…
I’ve got "Brass in Pocket" as I reflect on going from hating the hit ’80s single to loving it. I can’t be a pretender.
On Chaosmosis, Primal Scream go retro with an archaic array of flat, thumping synth beats that recall new wave bands from when the term actually meant something for a moment: those once-bohemian brits who mixed burgeoning synth pop with rock…
Vanishing Point is an album I’ve always wanted to like more, and that sentiment applies to Primal Scream in general. The album is so clearly cool. But the textures just aren’t to my preference. I like “Get Duffy” for its…
Pointless Walks to Dismal Places is an interesting blend of ’80s C86 indie rock and post-punk with dashes of ’90s post-hardcore and noise rock. Throw in some other early ’90s indie signifiers like shoegaze and the sometimes twee-esque vocals of…
As much as I hate Sex Pistols, I actually enjoyed John Lydon’s second album with his post-punk band, Metal Box. Now that I’ve gotten to their first album, Public Image, and I also liked it, though it wasn’t as good.…
Queen’s albums became a lot less consistent after A Night at the Opera. Fortunately, they didn’t fall too hard yet on A Day at the Races. The biggest problem with this album is that it really is, in many respects,…
I always forget A Kind of Magic exists. Naturally, I don’t have a whole lot to say about it, and I’m not sure I ever will. This means it may be the only Queen album where there’s not a lot…
The Beatles were the first band to show me how fun and enjoyable music can be. Queen were the band that showed me what music could be, and that’s demonstrated in full force on A Night at the Opera. Queen…
Good for a soundtrack album. As a matter of fact, the soundtrack is pretty much the only thing worth watching the 1980 version of Flash Gordon for. The music suits the film’s themes and art direction perfectly, those being that…
Many consider Hot Space to be Queen‘s worst album (personally, I believe that title goes to The Miracle), and it’s fans often abhor it for its shift from rock to pop, featuring many songs driven by synthesizer dance beats. Certainly, a…
Innuendo is often called a return to form for Queen but that’s, quite literally, only half true. Innuendo is split right down the middle between Queen’s progressive touches from the ’70s, and their schmaltzy ballads of the ’80s. Predictably, this…
On Jazz, Freddie Mercury absolutely piles on the pop culture references in his lyrics. Seriously, see how many you can count. Make it a fun game with friends. If you feel in the mood for pointless fun, then Jazz is…
Made in Heaven is basically to Queen what Coda is to Led Zeppelin. When Freddie Mercury died there was no one under the illusion that the band could continue. But Mercury and co. intentionally fought to the end to fill out…
An often overlooked Queen album (aren’t most of them?). Queen II is loose concept album where the first side of the album is meant to have brighter lyrical imagery with all songs written by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, while…
The first Queen album remains a strikingly original record, unjustifiably left out of ’70s rock canon.
‘Sheer Heart Attack’ is a great album, and one of Queen’s few that to feel like a cohesive whole instead of an arbitrary song collection.
The most “eh” album Queen ever made, maybe. The Works is rarely anything impressive, never anything that repulsive. They’re less reliant on synthesizers than on Hot Space. And thank god for that, because now they’re tactful enough to know when to…
The best Queens of the Stone Age (QotSA) album because, out of all their work, their careless, stoner persona has never manifested into a more tangible, distinctive sound than on Era Vulgaris. The band have always been reliably great songwriters,…
The easiest way for me to describe …And Out Come the Wolves is “basically the first album by The Clash but better.” Of course, The Clash surpassed their first album with subsequent releases. The bratty boys, the broad Latin music influences—it’s all…
Ray Charles could sing “white” music as well as just about anyone, but to his and everyone else’s benefit, he could never hide the fact that he just sounded “black.” His wonderful singing voice was probably a new flavor to…
Down Colorful Hill was the first slowcore album I ever heard, I’m pretty sure, and Red House Painters remain the best slowcore band. Kozelek’s evocative lyricism aside, Red House Painters were one of the only major slowcore bands to not…
The Everlasting EP shows Refused progressing into metalcore. Vocalist Dennis Lyxzén sounds as classic punk as ever, but the guitar work is thicker and heavier. Refused become almost entirely metalcore here, yet mixed with recognizable post-hardcore flair. Ultimately, however, these…
Finally, post-hardcore goes boogie rock on Freedom. Some The Wall-esque arena rock thrown in for good (bad) measure. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t find a lot of this catchy, if not in the electrifyingly intense way…
Operation Headfirst, the second EP from Refused, sees them increasingly branch away from traditional hardcore punk. Dynamic tempos are introduced where the band deigns to slow down, and the influence of metalcore can clearly be heard on the shredding solo…
Refused’s debut, self-titled EP shows little of their experimentation that would lead the band to widespread recognition. Refused is structurally traditional hardcore punk, but the catchiness of every single song shows that Refused probably spent a lot of time developing…
"The Shape of Punk to Come" has the band Refused delivering a manifesto to the punk movement, daring them to be ambitious and unpredictable.
Awesome. Renegade Soundwave are cool as fuck and they know it. During 1989 on Soundclash, they were already in the future. Industrial-esque riffs covered by gleaming synths with catchy beats underneath it all while a suave, rhythmic vocalist grooves on…
You know, for someone who spent most of the ’80s directionless and confused about what the values in his music were, Roy Harper has made quite a stark recovery since 1990’s Once. Each album since has been an enjoyable affair from…
With Work of Heart, Roy Harper goes deeper into his transition to ’80s pop, albeit with a bit of an “artsy” touch, that he began carving out with 1980’s The Unknown Soldier. Not a bad little album, just bad by Roy…
On Twin Infinitives, Royal Trux use their constantly mutating guitar lines and faint, twinkling, sustained keyboard notes to paint an acid-soaked vision of a nighttime cityscape’s dark underbelly. Streetlights sparkle through a veil of smoke, carrying a heavy drug-induced haze…
‘Asleep at the Wheels of Steel’ features more soundtrack work by Saint Etienne. Is anything on this compilation worthwhile?
The horror theme of Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires is great—when it’s actually there. For the most part, this album doesn’t have an actual sonic framework. It’s fairly typical dub, as far as my…
The Sex Pistols were a mostly manufactured band designed by their manager Malcolm McLaren to capitalize on the burgeoning punk movement. As such, he dictated their image, names, and attitude to create both the embodiment of punk yet, at the…
Shoji Meguro is possibly the greatest video game composer of all time, and Persona 3 is one of his greatest works. Put two and two together… Meguro blends a variety of modern pop, electronic, and hip hop music, flourishing it…
Through the Looking Glass is one of the best albums by Siouxsie & The Banshees. Yeah, it’s a covers album, and those are often mediocre as hell, but this is the exact opposite. These covers are phenomenal and integrate perfectly…
Hyæna is probably Siouxsie and the Banshees’s most underrated album. It’s in sort of a rough spot, sandwiched between their best and most fully-realized albums and best general sound, but that’s also why it’s reliably more than meets the eye.…
I remember hearing “Kiss Me” played on the radio all the time as a kid. Listening to it now brings a smile to my face, bringing back feelings of simpler times. I figured I’d finally repay Sixpence None the Richer…
The induction of post-punk rhythms into Sleater-Kinney’s sound makes ‘No Cities to Love’ a very hoppin’ affair, and something being more dance-y is always better.
The final EP recorded by Slowdive before their debut album is also their final recording with drummer Neil Carter, whose hypnotic rhythms defined the band’s early sound.
