Electronic
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the electronic music genre. Combine with other tags for subgenres, e.g. “electronic+indie.”
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John Foxx – “Metamatic”
Metamatic is Gary Numan without a background in glam/post-punk music. So, a lot less annoying and likewise more respectable. John Foxx doesn’t come off as a weird idiot, and the rhythm in his vocals is actually a bit menacing. He’s clearly still inspired by dated ’70s sci-fi (just look at the song titles… “He’s a… (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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Broadcast – “Pendulum”
I’d call the ‘Pendulum’ EP inessential, but that’d be a lie, because with the short career of Broadcast, nothing is truly inessential. (read more)
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Stereolab – “Margerine Eclipse” (2004)
Margerine Eclipse is one of Stereolab’s best albums and possibly my second-favorite right behind Sound-Dust. Stereolab play off their strengths by making an album full of great retro, space-age pop songs, avoiding lengthy repetition. The end result is a relaxing journey that’s just about perfectly paced, if only a little bit long when it comes… (read more)
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Portishead – “Portishead” (1997)
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 a matter of fact, it’s all dark. But it’s not an evolving journey like their… (read more)
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The xx – “Coexist” (2012)
Come on, did The xx run out of album covers already? Anyway, Coexist isn’t much of a departure from their first album—I don’t know how you could have expected it to be. Likewise, it’s just as inoffensive, overly self-conscious indie-pandering with token “chill” minimalist beats and lyrics about Sad Things that express genuine emotion just… (read more)
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David Bowie – “Heroes”
Bowie’s vocals possess his typical rock swagger, and Robert Fripp’s erratic guitar work and Brian Eno’s backing synthesizers all combine perfectly to make "Heroes" one of the most schizophrenic pop rock albums ever made. Move over Ziggy Stardust; this is real music from Mars. (read more)
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Swirlies – “Damon Andy Rob Ron: The Yes Girls” (2000)
Damon Andy Rob Ron: The Yes Girls is legitimately one of the worst albums I have ever heard. Swirlies in their prime released two of the greatest indie rock albums of the ’90s, but this is utter nonsense. I’m not even sure how you’d classify it. It certainly isn’t shoegaze or dream pop. Most of… (read more)
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Massive Attack – “Danny the Dog” (2004)
Danny the Dog sounds like a soundtrack album. It is, of course. My point is that it doesn’t stand well on its own, in my opinion. If you’re thinking there might be some songs with vocals here that might be worth salvaging, then no, there aren’t. There are no songs with vocals. Unless you’re a… (read more)
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Massive Attack – “Protection” (1994)
There’s something odd about Protection that makes it my second least-favorite Massive Attack album. I think I know what it is. Protection lacks cohesiveness. It comes across as a compilation of rejected Blue Lines songs and B-sides rather than a continuation of that sound, despite it being entirely new material. The track order is all… (read more)