Love or Hate?

The Batlord · 09-22-2015, 02:27 PM

Please edit that post so I don't have to look at that ****.

grindy · 09-22-2015, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Please edit that post so I don't have to look at that ****.

You mean that ****?

The Batlord · 09-22-2015, 02:52 PM

Thank you.

Trollheart · 10-06-2015, 12:25 PM

Trollheart · 10-11-2015, 03:00 PM

Due to my impromptu mini-sabattical for Metal Month III, and all the work I managed to get done, I find myself with more time on my hands than I expected, so I may as well get this back underway. A few notes: Recs are NOT open again. Just because I'm reviewing again doesn't mean I want a slew of recs thanks. I've a pretty damn big backlog to get through, so it will be some time before I open up for recs again. Any that have been posted in the interim will be ignored. You know the drill, or you should by now. Also, I have decided to address the problem of marking so many tracks Green that really I'm not mad about by introducing yet another colour. Any tracks I think are okay but don't love will be marked in Orange, and this will also be a viable result for an album.

So the new ratings are, in order of ascending popularity:
Red (Hate) --- An album I pretty much hated everything on and which I would have little intention of ever listening to again, or an album I may have liked one or two tracks on but on which the majority did not interest me.
White (Meh) --- Either an album I thought was okay but nothing special, or one which I have not really any firm opinion on. Meh, in other words. On some occasions, this can also be an album I can't really make my mind up about.
Orange (Like) --- An album I did enjoy, but not enough overall to actually say I loved it.
Green (Love) --- The original positive indicator; an album I pretty much enjoyed everything on
Blue (True Love) --- An album that totally blew me away and that I absolutely loved everything, or almost everything about.

This information will also shortly be added to the main OP.

Tomorrow then I'll be back with the first of your long-delayed recs, and hopefully I should be able to do one a day from now on.

grindy · 10-11-2015, 03:05 PM

There's this one dude, I think his nick starts with a g or something, whose rec got delayed for a ridiculously long time.

Trollheart · 10-12-2015, 10:13 AM

It did, but then it's a ridiculously long album.

Nah, I'll be doing it very soon, don't worry. I haven't forgotten, and thanks for your patience. And now...

Trollheart · 10-12-2015, 10:19 AM

Okay, well it's only fair, now that all greyed-out tracks have been returned to Black, that I start with the album I was going to do next originally but had to put to one side, due to its length and being a double album. I have actually been waiting a while to see what this is like, and I'm sure bob will be interested to know what I end up thinking of it, so let's get started.

Title: Warehouse: Songs and Stories
Artiste: Husker Du
Genre: Indie Rock
Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard them spoken of with mostly high praise.

1. These important years: Like the guitar tone to this, not really what I expected (not sure what I expected; sort of harder, post-punk maybe) but this is nice. Good start.
2. Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope: Pretty much more of the same, no problems so far. Good guitar rock.
3. Standing in the rain: Like the rain effects, but the song is not as good as it could be. Bit too much of the latent punk about it maybe?
4. Back from somewhere: Yeah it's alright but nothing to get too terribly excited about at the moment. Short anyway. Okay, got a little more interesting with the slowdown near the end. That was good.
5. Ice cold ice: I really like this. A lot of power and energy without going over the top. Very impressive.
6. You're a soldier: This is not bad but a little one-dimensional. He's a soldier, we get it. Don't have to keep repeating it every five seconds!
7. Could you be the one?: Meh, it's okay. I'm sort of finding much of this quite similar, which is making it hard to have an objective view on it. Doesn't help that most of the tracks are so short either.
8. Too much spice: Yeah again it's okay but you know, nothing I'm getting too excited about.
9. Friend, you've got to fall: Still not doing anything that's particularly interesting me.
10. Visionary: I mean, there's nothing wrong with any of this, but there's nothing either that's likely to have me coming back to them. It's not quite meh but it's not all that far from it.
11. She floated away: Okay, finally, something decent. I like the sort of swaying rhythm and then this is counterpointed by stuttering guitar. Almost like a metal band playing Country, though not really.
12. Bed of nails: Yeah, this is a whole hell of a lot better. Like this a lot. Angry guitar, slower, got something going on. Sounds a bit REM-ish.
13. Tell you why tomorrow: Continuing with improvements, it's like the first half of the album was written by someone else. This is far better, again.
14. It's not peculiar: “Photograph” by Leppard?

Good guitar though. Feel the guy singing (Mould? Hart?) sounds a bit like Springsteen at times.
15. Actual condition: Hate this. Like some bloody retro fifties rockabilly thing, and I hate rockabilly, especially retro rockabilly. Oh god! Make it stop!
16. No reservations: Thank you. This is much better, though again I see a strong REM influence (or is it the other way round? Whatever)
17. Turn it around: Yeah it's not bad but the quality is starting to dip again. Kind of ironic, given the title of the track...
18. She's a woman (And now he is a man): This is a whole lot better, very much an Elvis Costello vibe to this. Groovy.
19. Up in the air: It's okay but again nothing special.
20. You can live at home: This however is terrible. No, it actually gets a lot better near the end. Change red to orange. Still don't love it though.

End result: For such a long album, and eventually girding myself to get through it, I'm very much let down by the payoff. I expected more, and it started well, but there's just so much mediocre fare on here that the few really good tracks find it hard to shine and be seen. The moments are there, to be sure, but you really have to not only look for them, but with so many tracks, remember them when the distinctly downbeat last few tracks have played out, and let's face it, they're going to be the ones in your head as you end. As they are in mine. So although I didn't hate it, I sure did not love it, noway nohow.

So, Love or Hate? I think this is going to be a solid Meh. I can't honestly say it deserves even a Like. Sorry bob.

TechnicLePanther · 10-12-2015, 10:51 AM

Remember to add Bungle and Churches to the list!

Trollheart · 10-12-2015, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Remember to add Bungle and Churches to the list!

They won't be added. I told you, recs are NOT open and any albums recced since I closed recs will be ignored. I'll let you know when recs are open again but it will be some time.

10-06-2015, 12:25 PM	#1854 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	__________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-11-2015, 03:00 PM	#1855 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Due to my impromptu mini-sabattical for Metal Month III, and all the work I managed to get done, I find myself with more time on my hands than I expected, so I may as well get this back underway. A few notes: Recs are NOT open again. Just because I'm reviewing again doesn't mean I want a slew of recs thanks. I've a pretty damn big backlog to get through, so it will be some time before I open up for recs again. Any that have been posted in the interim will be ignored. You know the drill, or you should by now. Also, I have decided to address the problem of marking so many tracks Green that really I'm not mad about by introducing yet another colour. Any tracks I think are okay but don't love will be marked in Orange, and this will also be a viable result for an album. So the new ratings are, in order of ascending popularity: Red (Hate) --- An album I pretty much hated everything on and which I would have little intention of ever listening to again, or an album I may have liked one or two tracks on but on which the majority did not interest me. White (Meh) --- Either an album I thought was okay but nothing special, or one which I have not really any firm opinion on. Meh, in other words. On some occasions, this can also be an album I can't really make my mind up about. Orange (Like) --- An album I did enjoy, but not enough overall to actually say I loved it. Green (Love) --- The original positive indicator; an album I pretty much enjoyed everything on Blue (True Love) --- An album that totally blew me away and that I absolutely loved everything, or almost everything about. This information will also shortly be added to the main OP. Tomorrow then I'll be back with the first of your long-delayed recs, and hopefully I should be able to do one a day from now on. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-11-2015, 03:05 PM	#1856 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	There's this one dude, I think his nick starts with a g or something, whose rec got delayed for a ridiculously long time. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

10-12-2015, 10:13 AM	#1857 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	It did, but then it's a ridiculously long album. Nah, I'll be doing it very soon, don't worry. I haven't forgotten, and thanks for your patience. And now... __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-12-2015, 10:19 AM	#1858 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Okay, well it's only fair, now that all greyed-out tracks have been returned to Black, that I start with the album I was going to do next originally but had to put to one side, due to its length and being a double album. I have actually been waiting a while to see what this is like, and I'm sure bob will be interested to know what I end up thinking of it, so let's get started. Title: Warehouse: Songs and Stories Artiste: Husker Du Genre: Indie Rock Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard them spoken of with mostly high praise. 1. These important years: Like the guitar tone to this, not really what I expected (not sure what I expected; sort of harder, post-punk maybe) but this is nice. Good start. 2. Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope: Pretty much more of the same, no problems so far. Good guitar rock. 3. Standing in the rain: Like the rain effects, but the song is not as good as it could be. Bit too much of the latent punk about it maybe? 4. Back from somewhere: Yeah it's alright but nothing to get too terribly excited about at the moment. Short anyway. Okay, got a little more interesting with the slowdown near the end. That was good. 5. Ice cold ice: I really like this. A lot of power and energy without going over the top. Very impressive. 6. You're a soldier: This is not bad but a little one-dimensional. He's a soldier, we get it. Don't have to keep repeating it every five seconds! 7. Could you be the one?: Meh, it's okay. I'm sort of finding much of this quite similar, which is making it hard to have an objective view on it. Doesn't help that most of the tracks are so short either. 8. Too much spice: Yeah again it's okay but you know, nothing I'm getting too excited about. 9. Friend, you've got to fall: Still not doing anything that's particularly interesting me. 10. Visionary: I mean, there's nothing wrong with any of this, but there's nothing either that's likely to have me coming back to them. It's not quite meh but it's not all that far from it. 11. She floated away: Okay, finally, something decent. I like the sort of swaying rhythm and then this is counterpointed by stuttering guitar. Almost like a metal band playing Country, though not really. 12. Bed of nails: Yeah, this is a whole hell of a lot better. Like this a lot. Angry guitar, slower, got something going on. Sounds a bit REM-ish. 13. Tell you why tomorrow: Continuing with improvements, it's like the first half of the album was written by someone else. This is far better, again. 14. It's not peculiar: “Photograph” by Leppard? Good guitar though. Feel the guy singing (Mould? Hart?) sounds a bit like Springsteen at times. 15. Actual condition: Hate this. Like some bloody retro fifties rockabilly thing, and I hate rockabilly, especially retro rockabilly. Oh god! Make it stop! 16. No reservations: Thank you. This is much better, though again I see a strong REM influence (or is it the other way round? Whatever) 17. Turn it around: Yeah it's not bad but the quality is starting to dip again. Kind of ironic, given the title of the track... 18. She's a woman (And now he is a man): This is a whole lot better, very much an Elvis Costello vibe to this. Groovy. 19. Up in the air: It's okay but again nothing special. 20. You can live at home: This however is terrible. No, it actually gets a lot better near the end. Change red to orange. Still don't love it though. End result: For such a long album, and eventually girding myself to get through it, I'm very much let down by the payoff. I expected more, and it started well, but there's just so much mediocre fare on here that the few really good tracks find it hard to shine and be seen. The moments are there, to be sure, but you really have to not only look for them, but with so many tracks, remember them when the distinctly downbeat last few tracks have played out, and let's face it, they're going to be the ones in your head as you end. As they are in mine. So although I didn't hate it, I sure did not love it, noway nohow. So, Love or Hate? I think this is going to be a solid Meh. I can't honestly say it deserves even a Like. Sorry bob. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-12-2015, 10:51 AM	#1859 (permalink)
TechnicLePanther and the livin' is easy... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New York Posts: 1,997	Remember to add Bungle and Churches to the list! __________________ Many have tried to destroy it... but... true evil never dies. It is only... REBORN *SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM* - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.