I only came across this London-based dream-pop band a while ago. I don't know why this album is not more widely known. It has calm and beautiful dream-like songs, as well as pop tunes that resemble dance-rock sounds of The Stone Roses. her Handwriting was the first album from the band and it's an impressive debut album indeed. it takes more than one time to listen to this album though to reveal all its power. There are two alternative album cover images, so don't be confused if you see this album with a completely different cover. This music is great for those moments when you're a bit tired and don't need to rush anywhere. Good music to just mind your own thoughts and relax. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The Lemonheads is a bit hard to define when it comes to genre. I would maybe call it power-pop. Most of the songs have quite strong guitar sounds and great drum fills. Car button Cloth is more melodic album than the hit album It's a Shame About Ray. It also has a few almost folk-sounding songs. The lyrics are humorous. The Outdoor Type tells a story about a man who lied about being outdoor type to get close with a girl and in reality has never slept in a tent or done anything outdoorsy. Frank Turner made a cover version of this song. This is just happy music for sunny summer days. It makes me smile at least. The album cover is great but raises a few questions. This is in my opinion one of the best Lemonheads albums! Listen to the album on Spotify.
Manic Street Preachers are one of the giants of Brit-pop. They have never been my favorites though. they do have some really good songs, but as a whole something is missing. Everything Must Go, on the other hand, is their best album. It contains such hits as Design for Life, Kevin Carter and Australia. This album may be considered a bridge between their previous crunchy guitars laden albums and later a bit cheesy album This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours. Everything Must Go in my opinion captures the best bits from both. Beautiful melodies and clean guitars with crunchy rock n' roll. Even though this band has never been one of my favorites, I get nostalgic in a good way listening to Design for Life. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Jamiroquai's funk-pop sounds a bit cheesy nowadays and I rarely have a right mood to listen to their music. Travelling Without Moving is their by far best album. This album is full of hits and those hits have really earned their status. Virtual Insanity, Cosmic Girl and Travelling Without Moving were played on every radio station and music television at the time. My personal favorites include also a slow and hypnotic Didjital Vibrations. The horns and extremely skillful bass lines make this music one of its kind. Ferrari logo in the album cover and Jay Kay's ridiculous head gears are a bit annoying, but there is something masterful in this album's perfectly tuned production and dance beats. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Beck received nothing but appraisal from this milestone in alternative music. It's true that this album is filled with original and innovative sounds as well as weird hooks and weird lyrics. It is not my favorite Beck album though. All the weirdness hides the best melodies and deeper meanings of his music. I still say that this album changed the world of music by putting such weird sounds to the very top of the music world. Starting song Devil's Haircut is the highlight of this album. The genre of this album is impossible to define. It has pieces of folk, country, hip-hop, rock, pop and you name it. This album needs getting into. It doesn't hit you right away. So give time for this masterpiece! Listen to the album on Spotify.
Placebo started its career extremely strong. Their self titled debut album is filled with punk influenced indie rock. Brian Molko's nasal voice gives the band a distinctive sound. Guitar riffs are fast and sound is appropriately crunchy. The second album was also really good, but after that the band has gone downhill album by album. The sounds are pretty organic and not changed by studio. I Know is one of Placebo's all time greatest songs. Even though the sound may be bleak from time to time, there is upbeat feel to many of the songs. These songs would get crowds jump up and down on the gigs. Pay special attention to the great bass lines on this album. They work amazingly together with the guitars. Listen to the album on Youtube.
E had already made a couple of solo albums before the Eels' debut album, but Beautiful Freak lifted him to the charts. this album is more hit laden than probably any other Eels album. My favorites from this album, however are the ones that were not big hits. Rags to Rags, Mental, Guest List and Manchild are amazing songs. The photos of people and cats with huge eyes are eerily funny. Te pop-rock songs are really simple, but the raspy sound of E's vocals and effects used in the guitars and organs make it interesting and endearing. Eels' best album Electro-Shock Blues turned the tone into much more melancholic themes, but even this debut album is highly personal and makes it beautiful to listen to. Listen to album on Spotify.
Kula Shaker was one of the best bands of the 90's. Up-beat brit-pop combined with Indian influences made a distinctive sound. K is extremely strong performance as a debut album. Crispian Mills' voice extends from quiet whispers to rough rock screams. My personal favorites include Knight on the Town, Grateful When you're Dead and Tattva. Clean piano sounds give otherwise crunchy sounds personality. The album cover art illustrates the music quite well; characters of war, Hindu gods, Karl Marx, gorilla and so forth. The background vocals are amazingly carried out. As are all the instrumentations really. This is just amazing music and it's a shame that after two albums the band went on hiatus, and was not the same after their comeback. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Belle & Sebastian are the masters of wuss-pop. Their fragile singing voices are endearing and make you almost not notice the weird lyrics. The lyrics have this twisted humor about them. If You're Feeling Sinister was their second album and it completed what the debut was missing. Great songs without fill-up material. All the songs are absolutely great, but my favorites include Like Dylan in the Movies, Fox in the Snow, Get Me Away from Here I'm Dying and Judy and the Dream of Horses. The trumpet sounds give a nice addition to otherwise quiet piano, guitar and drums. The album art in all the Belle & Sebastian albums is phenomenal, especially when you're holding a vinyl record. Listen to the album on Spotify.
There are some albums that are never forgotten! Some albums define the whole generation and everyone gets nostalgic in the face of them. Suede's Coming Up is absolutely one of those albums. Or at least if you happened to live in Europe. In US the band was called London Suede and was never really popular. I can't see why. Brett Anderson's nasal voice interprets amazing hit after another. I don't know if there's a single other album out there that would have as many hits. Trash, Filmstar, Lazy, Beautiful Ones and Saturday Night were all played everywhere. With Bernard Butler's departure from the band after the previous album the sound lost something, but the amazing songs made it all up. Listen to the album on Spotify.
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