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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Queens of the Stone Age – “Era Vulgaris”
The best Queens of the Stone Age (QotSA) album because, out of all their work, their careless, stoner persona has never manifested into a more tangible, distinctive sound than on Era Vulgaris. The band have always been reliably great songwriters, but they’ve always done it while being playful and free of the possible dangers of… (read more)
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Queen – “Flash Gordon”
Good for a soundtrack album. As a matter of fact, the soundtrack is pretty much the only thing worth watching the 1980 version of Flash Gordon for. The music suits the film’s themes and art direction perfectly, those being that of a mediocre, humorously camp ’80s sci-fi flick. In that sense, it’s a total triumph… (read more)
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Cheap Trick – “Woke Up With a Monster”
Cheap Trick loudly announce their distancing from their ’80s rock ballad phase. In ‘Woke Up With a Monster,’ the band adopt traits of grunge and heavy metal. While a bit cringe, it’s undeniably their best album in a while. (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Rather Ripped” (2006)
Sonic Youth reached their peak when they learned how to work their experimental tendencies into the context of a good pop rock song. On Rather Ripped, the band hold back their noise outbursts and deliver 12 tight songs with pleasant, subdued melodies. This ends up working pretty well and creates several very listenable songs and… (read more)
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The Beatles – “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
Sgt. Pepper’s some of The Beatles‘ simplest material. Considering they were writing songs like “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “I Am the Walrus” around this time, this album seems far below what they’re capable of. There are a couple of brilliant songs on here, like “With a Little Help From My Friends.” “A Day in the… (read more)
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David Bowie – “Low”
Evidently, every time I come back to Low by David Bowie, I’m a little less impressed. It’s a condensed, lightened version of textures that were already thoroughly explored in the Berlin School movement. I don’t see the point. When he pulls the reigns in a bit more and develops a sort of ambient pop sound… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “The Eternal” (2009)
The Eternal isn’t a new direction for Sonic Youth, but who cares? The songs are great. They’ve got the accessibility of the songs on “Rather Ripped,” but combined with some easily digestible, noisy feedback. There’s some vocal interplay on some of the tracks as well; a great idea that should have been used more. It’s… (read more)
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Queen – “A Kind of Magic”
I always forget A Kind of Magic exists. Naturally, I don’t have a whole lot to say about it, and I’m not sure I ever will. This means it may be the only Queen album where there’s not a lot to talk about. This is all to its detriment, of course. No conversation starters implies… (read more)
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The Beatles – “Abbey Road”
The first half of Abbey Road is full of generally amazing songs that unquestionably rank among The Beatles‘ best-ever material, which is quite an accomplishment. George Harrison’s songs in particular are lovely (“Something,” “Here Comes the Sun”). A few stragglers don’t match up to the rest of the first side’s quality (“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Octopus’s… (read more)
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Cheap Trick – “Cheap Trick” (1997)
‘Cheap Trick’ (1997) follows in the steps of ‘Woke Up With a Monster.’ Same grunge stylings, minus the embarrassing aesthetic. But is it as good? (read more)