1994
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the year 1994.
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Ed Wood
Frustrating in how almost perfect it is as a biopic about the infamous director’s life, the script of Ed Wood is overly hammy and comedic. This homage runs the risk of insincerity and losing the very real heart that the movie itself posits the man should be admired for. Still, fantastic casting and a chipper… (read more)
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Refused – “Everlasting” (1995)
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 song structures are some of Refused’s most straightforward and make Everlasting fairly repetitive. Just listen… (read more)
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Kyuss – “Welcome to Sky Valley” (1994)
Often considered Kyuss‘s best album, and I’m on that side. I said before on my Blues for the Red Sun review that while the psychedelic meanderings of the album were very charming, there were times when they tested my patience and the album could often lose focus and the momentum it had going. Welcome to Sky Valley… (read more)
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Prolapse – “Pointless Walks to Dismal Places” (1994)
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 Linda Steelyard, and you have a true smorgasbord of underground rock at the time. Mick… (read more)
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Killing Joke – “Pandemonium”
Pandemonium is the true start of Killing Joke‘s second (and my preferred) phase. Going from their post-punk roots to fully embracing what had become of the industrial rock sound they pioneered, Killing Joke finally sound ironically at peace again being able to rock out harder than they have since their debut. The fun ’80s new… (read more)
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The Future Sound of London – “Lifeforms”
The first disc of Lifeforms is some truly great stuff. But it all falls apart fast as soon as you hit the second disc, which feels like a collection of ideas in the same style but not up to the same quality as the first disc. Stuff any other artist would have thought was not… (read more)
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Bark Psychosis – “Hex”
Hex is early morning introspection when your eyes are heavy. The cheapest bottle of alcohol is clutched in your hand as you regret the choices you’ve made with past lovers and miss old friends. Yikes, that was dangerously pretentious, and I should include something more objective as well. Though labeled one of the earliest post-rock… (read more)
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Aphex Twin – “Selected Ambient Works Volume II”
The first disc of Selected Ambient Works Volume II is fantastic, but after that, it loses consistency, and it becomes clear that Aphex Twin bit off more than he could chew. There’s just not enough variety to keep this interesting, and at nearly three hours, it could have set the same moods just as well… (read more)
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Live-A-Live
‘Live-A-Live’ is probably my favorite 16-bit RPG, and certainly is one of the most unique. Choose between seven protagonists across different time periods and experience various gameplay gimmicks, narrative stylings, and the consistently remarkable music of Yoko Shimomura. (read more)
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Macross Plus
‘Macross Plus’ honors the timeless original series by delivering something of comparably excellent quality, yet wholly original, with gorgeous animation, relatable characters, and understated, intelligent writing. (read more)