Alternative
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the alternative music genre. Combine with other tags for subgenres, e.g. “alternative+rock.”
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The Telescopes – “Taste” (1989)
Expecting Taste to be all shoegaze could seem honest mistake due to the melancholy, acoustic opener “And Let Me Drift Away.” However, immediately after, the band makes an immediate 180—the first sign of Taste‘s true punk aesthetic—and explodes into fast-paced noise rock. Emphasis on the rock. The ethereal sonic soundscapes commonly attributed to shoegaze aren’t… (read more)
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Morrissey – “Your Arsenal” (1992)
I wish Your Arsenal were my favorite Morrissey album. I wish it were. Probably because “Bigmouth Strikes Again” and “The Queen Is Dead” are among my favorite songs by The Smiths. Likely due for the fact that the music is actually aggressive to match Morrissey’s venomous words, as well as being able to contrast with their… (read more)
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Shoji Meguro – “Persona 3: Original Soundtrack”
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 with even more genres such as nu jazz, blues, and classical music to make a… (read more)
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Mad Season – “Above” (1995)
My most recent listens to Above revealed it to be better than I remembered. Mad Season have given us one of the, say, five or so supergroup albums that’s actually worth multiple spins. On the other hand, the mid-album material is emblematic of the band’s lack of experience playing together, and seemingly the time spent… (read more)
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The Smashing Pumpkins – “Zeitgeist” (2007)
Zeitgeist is more of a disappointment than “bad,” if that makes sense. It’s disappointing because The Smashing Pumpkins have seemingly completely abandoned their layered, psychedelic sound. I liked Machina II, but Zeitgeist comes off as mostly standard modern alternative rock. The things that keep it above that are Corgan’s distinctive voice and excellent guitar playing,… (read more)
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Pixies – “Come On Pilgrim” (1987)
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 made the Pixies distinct, if anything, was when they decided to tether that energy around… (read more)
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The Jesus and Mary Chain – “Honey’s Dead” (1992)
Honey’s Dead sounds disturbingly like Screamadelica. “Sundown” makes that much really obvious. Disturbing because Bobby Gillespie left The Jesus and Mary Chain after Psychocandy to form Primal Scream, of course. The Jesus and Mary Chain are a hard band to critique. They are not a complex group; just generally skilled pop songwriters with a great sense… (read more)
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The Smashing Pumpkins – “Adore” (1998)
On The Smashing Pumpkins’s fourth studio album, the band trades in its guitar heavy grunge-influenced playing for the more subtle, sensual textures that pervaded the band’s previous album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Gone are the roaring guitar and vocal screams of Billy Corgan, replacing them, the subdued synthesizers and mellow atmosphere of Adore.… (read more)
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Nirvana – “Bleach” (1989)
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 album. The band’s guitars are turned very low, making the riffs sound thick and lurching.… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Dirty” (1992)
Dirty is commonly called Sonic Youth’s “sellout” album. Why, I have no idea, because this contains some of the band’s most abrasive material. I’m a big Sonic Youth fan, and the piercing noise some of these songs pivot around even gets on my nerves. My primary complaint is that Dirty runs too long at just… (read more)