Album
Noah’s Barks pages relating to music albums.
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Justin Timberlake – “The 20/20 Experience” (2013)
If you know me, you can guess that the baroque, traditional pop orchestrations on The 20/20 Experience have me pretty giddy. In particular, the album reminds of the direct influence old R&B and soul music has had on its modern variants. Justin Timberlake is much more open about that, and it’s that honesty that makes… (read more)
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Cybotron – “Enter”
If ‘Enter’ by Cybotron had more tracks on the level of "Clear," it would be an essential album. But… (read more)
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Aphex Twin – “Syro”
Aphex Twin, my bro, you gettin’ into ’90s and early ’00s video game music? Nice man, that’s my jam. Love that shit. Not as forward-thinking as you usually are, but we all get old. And this isn’t a merely adequate retrospective—it’s a great addition to your influences. You fulfilled the typical “random 1-minute track with… (read more)
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Ashra – “Belle Alliance”
Like the colorful cover suggests, Belle Alliance is goofier and more playful than previous Ashra releases. Its genre is still progressive electronic, but it has the spirit of synthy, ’80s new wave pumping through it. The synthesizers sound like children playing with toys, but because of the lighter nature of Göttsching’s guitar, they fit in… (read more)
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Grace Jones – “Nightclubbing” (1981)
Nightclubbing is kind of like the Kraftwerk of dub. Every note calculated, pulled off with robotic precision, and just generally soulless. In other words, I find it quite boring. I would call myself a robot lover too, though that usually only extends to mecha and things not based in reality, because reality is dull. There is palpable… (read more)
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Mission of Burma – “Forget” (1987)
Forget is a collection of pre-Vs. Mission of Burma demos. Raw and unrefined, yet appropriately so, making further evident Mission of Burma’s roots in punk, specifically of the hardcore variety. The average song tempo here is much faster than most anything on Vs. (think “How I Escaped My Certain Fate”), and vocals adopt the common hardcore… (read more)
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Cults – “Cults”
Goddamn, when are Cults gonna pick up that telephone that’s ringing in the background of every song? Must be lawyers chasing them for copying Phil Spector‘s production. It’s a neat gimmick that makes up for the fact that Cults write such generic songs. Outside of “Never Heal Yourself,” “Bumper,” and “Abduction,” there’s nothing particularly notable… (read more)
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Boards of Canada – “In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country”
In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country sums up Boards of Canada in an easy 24 minutes. Like their albums, half of this is pretty solid, while the other half consists of pieces that sound like unrealized sketches a better artist wouldn’t have thought fit to release, or at least to drag out for… (read more)
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Mercury Rev – “Yerself Is Steam” (1991)
Yerself Is Steam is a big pool of stereotypical early ’90s alternative rock noise to get lost in. If you’re a fan of the aesthetic as I am, it’ll make you feel just at home. This is best viewed as a collage though; focus on anything specific and you may realize there isn’t much in the way… (read more)
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Johnny Cash – “American IV: The Man Comes Around”
‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’ is very frontloaded, but still contains some of the best country you’re likely to ever hear. (read more)