Rock
Noah’s Barks pages related to the rock music genre. Combine with other tags for subgenres, e.g. “alternative+rock,” “noise+rock,” and “indie+rock.”
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The Cranberries – “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”
Wow, color me surprised (which in this case would be a dark red). I decided to trust history writing The Cranberries off as a three-hit wonder responsible for the classic singles “Dreams,” “Linger,” and “Zombie.” I may have to stop doing this, because history almost prevented me from discovering one of the ’90s‘s better alternative… (read more)
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The Church – “Coffee Hounds”
You guys wanna be mad? Have I got a hot take for you: The Church’s cover of “Hounds of Love” on Coffee Hounds makes Kate Bush’s original look like a joke. Steve Kilbey sells the lyrical metaphor with a sense of earnest, true vulnerability; desperation begging for release despite the anxiety stemming from love’s irresistible… (read more)
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Primal Scream – “Vanishing Point” (1997)
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 crystalline melody, but the vast majority of this album is rhythmically acidic. Just ain’t my… (read more)
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Comus – “Song to Comus: The Complete Collection”
First Utterance is an essential album, and the remastering of it on Song to Comus: The Complete Collection is very tasteful and enough for me to consider it an improvement over the original (apparently the first CD issues of First Utterance had terrible sound quality, so there’s another reason to get this set). There are… (read more)
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Wipers – “Land of the Lost” (1986)
Despite its mild reception, Land of the Lost is a good album. It doesn’t have the cohesiveness or distinct identity that the previous three Wipers albums had, such as Is This Real?‘s punk-inspired new wave, Youth of America‘s perfect bridge of punk rock and post-punk, or even Over the Edge‘s raw energy and killer riffs,… (read more)
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The Go-Betweens – “Tallulah”
It’s depressing how lame Tallulah is, because it takes steps in the right direction. A lot of people complain about the production dragging this album down, but that’s only partially true. The Go-Betweens have always had bad production before 16 Lovers Lane. Albums like Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express were good in spite of their production, not because… (read more)
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The Go-Betweens – “Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express”
Calling music “jangle pop” should be considered a misnomer when that jangle doesn’t glisten. Isn’t that the whole point? You know what did glisten? 16 Lovers Lane. Or in particular, the sun-soaked ray riff of “Streets of Your Town.” Every single Go-Betweens album that isn’t 16 Lovers Lane has this exact problem, including Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express. A… (read more)
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Red House Painters – “Down Colorful Hill”
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 view depression as synonymous with laziness, or at least they didn’t view their music that… (read more)
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Unida – “Coping With the Urban Coyote” (1999)
To no one’s surprise, the best post-Kyuss John Garcia album is the one that sounds the most like Kyuss. Not enough, though. That attitude isn’t quite there on Coping With the Urban Coyote. Unida has that fuzzy, psychedelic guitar tone, but it’s so mild with how low in the mix it’s buried, and how it… (read more)
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The Go-Betweens – “16 Lovers Lane”
’80s jangle pop is truly a marvelous thing. I don’t know what it is about it, but it seems to me many of the best lyrics in pop rock music come from jangle pop. 16 Lovers Lane‘s lyrical imagery is as aflutter as its brightly shining guitars, but can quickly change to a cold wind… (read more)