i like music👍

(hopefully) weekly album reviews!!

[maxwbryan]

Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand

This album is really difficult to describe. It’s very obviously a rock album, but the style is really difficult. It has some punk influence, but it’s also danceable. It’s softer rock but with a lot of edge as well. Franz Ferdinand creates their own genre blend. Started in Scotland, this band has been together since 2001 and has been putting out music since 2004. Most recently, they released a greatest hits album. Today we’ll be looking at their self titled debut album. 

The best thing about this album is the aesthetic. It’s moody, sensual, edgy, sometimes erie, energetic, and danceable. The best way I could describe the feel of this album is an underground nightclub that plays rock music, everybody’s dancing, except you’re on drugs and have no idea where you are or who anybody is- you’re terrified yet trying to have a good time anyway. The sound is centered around the guitar, which plays almost pop like riffs that grate the ears yet is satisfying to hear. The album’s cohesion and style is just so fresh, unique, and addicting.

The album opener is Jacqueline, which begins soft but then the sound blows up. It’s a perfect opener in my opinion- it catches your attention and then completely changes directions. The song is self indulgent and gluttonous and oddly dark. The lyrics reflect this nature.  The next song, Tell Her Tonight, is about an affair. This is an expansion of the self indulgent nature of the opener, as the narrator of the song justifies cheating. It introduces the sensual nature of the album as well, with verses depicting attraction to another woman. The next song is the band's biggest hit, which I find to be one of the least interesting songs on the album. The beat is really catchy and danceable, but there’s just not as much going on. The next song, Dark of the Matinee, just captures this aesthetic perfectly. I can’t even describe it if you’re reading this then just listen to the song. Auf Achse is another eerie and seductive rock song, dealing with themes of sexual temptation and regret. Cheating on You is a pretty self explanatory track- it’s about cheating on your partner. This song contrasts with Tell Her Tonight, as the narrator is less remorseful and more so proud of his infidelity. This Fire is the following song, which is the most straight forward punk rock track. There’s no underlying themes here, it’s just a fun rock song. 

Darts of Pleasure is the next song, which is another fantastic example of the dark hedonistic vibes this album has. While not being explicit, it’s the most inherently sensual track on the album. Michael is the next song which is one of my personal favorites. It’s about physical attraction to another man on a dancefloor, and it’s just a really fun song. Come on Home is next, and it’s the most emotional song. It’s about heartbreak and longing, but despite this it’s another danceable rock song- which sort of disguises the content, creating an eerie contrast. 40′ is the closing song. and it’s definitely catchy and memorable. However the subject matter is extremely vague.  

This album is one of my favorites of all times- there’s not a single bad song and it’s ability to tie together so many dark feelings and eerie aesthetics into a danceable rock album is insane. This is the album that brought them international success, and for good reason. It’s fresh and unique, and an album everybody needs to hear. 

Rating: 9.5/10

Favorite Track: Dark of the Matinee

Skip(s): None

Other Albums to Listen To: Literally listen to this whole bands discography

[maxwbryan]

Andrew Lloyd Webber- Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack

This review is going to look a bit different, because this isn’t an album- it’s a soundtrack. A soundtrack functions quite differently than other bodies of work. In a traditional album, the music is all there is, but in a soundtrack, the music is to accompany a story. So, instead of judging the music, I’ll be evaluating how well the music accompanies the story. 

Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical. I first watched it at age 7 (I should have not been allowed to watch this at age 7...) and it’s just such a beautiful story and brings back such good memories. However, the soundtrack is not my favorite musical soundtrack. The other day I was asking myself how Phantom could be my favorite musical despite the fact that the soundtrack isn’t my favorite. I mean, I love the story. But isn’t the music the most important part of a musical? The songs aren’t bad at all, some of them I’d consider to be up there as the best broadway songs ever written. It’s just that I enjoy other soundtracks more. But then, an explanation hit me: even though the soundtrack isn’t my favorite, it accompanies the show perfectly and enhances it, making it even better. 

If you don’t know the plot of the show, I’ll describe it incredibly briefly. (SPOILER WARNING! I’m literally going to spoil the whole plot from here on out so if you don’t want it spoiled just skip to the last paragraph!!) The story follows Christine, who’s a rising opera star. She performs at an opera house which has a ‘phantom’ that lives there, causing things to go wrong. She gets voice lessons from a mysterious voice in her walls which she calls the ‘angel of music’. One day, her invisible teacher reveals himself and he’s the phantom that haunts the opera house. She follows him into the canals below, and he sings to her and he falls in love with her. Problem: he’s a complete creep, and Christine has another man she loves. So, she leaves but the phantom keeps pursuing. He’s mad at the direction the opera house is going in so he threatens the directors and causes problems to get his way, all while pushing Christine to be in the spotlight. The phantom keeps causing problems, kills a few people, Christine kind of falls for him but tries to stay faithful to her other man. At the end he kidnaps her but once he realizes she won’t be happy with him, he lets her go so she can be happy. 

The first song in the sound track is the overture which is absolutely EPIC. The organ is absolutely INSANE and the music is so energetic and terrifying at the same time and makes you excited to see what’s going to happen in the show. The opening number is Think of Me, which is a simple little aria by the star singer, Carlotta. She’s shrill and her falsetto is frankly irritating, but when she stops singing and Christine sings instead, the contrast is amazing. Her voice is smooth and beautiful, and it sets up the rivalry between the two characters brilliantly. The next song, Angel of Music (and the Mirror which is a sort of follow up to it) is about Christine’s teacher. It’s happy and whimsical and portrays the emotions Christine feels about her tutor perfectly. At the end though, it takes a darker turn as she shows her fear that the teacher (who’s the phantom) makes her feel. The Mirror is the follow up to the song, and it’s a duet between her and the phantom where he reveals himself to her.  This song goes into the song which is the namesake of the show- Phantom of the Opera, which plays as the phantom takes Christine to his ‘lair’. I don’t even need to describe this song- it’s perfect. It’s romantic, haunting, energetic, and terrifying. The instrumental is simply perfect and the vocals are amazing. Christine’s high notes are actually mind blowing; it’s a perfect musical number. 

This is followed up with Music of the Night, where the phantom sings to Christine. It’s a beautiful melody, but it’s also really creepy if you listen to the lyrics. The man is obsessive and loves Christine in a really almost perverted way. It also showcases the phantom’s musical abilities. The next song is Primadonna, which is about Carlotta. This number consists of the producers of the opera house hyping her up and calming her down because the phantom threatened her and wants to replace her with Christine. This song is more of a plot number rather than a musical number but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. The next featured number is All I Ask of You, a duet between Christine and Raoul (who’s the man she loves). He wants to protect her from the phantom. It’s a really sweet love song with great harmonies and a gorgeous melody. Following this is a reprise of the number, where the phantom gets pissed because he heard their song and is jealous and gets really angry. His anger and sadness shines through really well, and it’s a bizarre experience for the viewer/listener, as you begin to almost feel bad for him. He’s a stalker, kidnapper and murderer, but watching this you empathize with him. 

Masquerade opens act two, and this one is an ensemble number. It’s a fun little song that’s used as a plot point to transition from one spot to the next, so there’s not much to analyze here. The next song is Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, which is a solo by Christine who misses her dead father. This song is slow and haunting, but also really sad. At this point, she’s in extreme distress, so her singing to her father's grave is absolutely heartbreaking. What’s even worse though is what happens after: the phantom emerges from the gravesite and tries to lure Christine to him (which is absolutely sick). She begins to follow him in a trance, but luckily Raoul saves her. The song sets up this disturbing and terrifying scene brilliantly and makes it all the more unsettling. Setting up the climax of the show is Past the Point of No Return. This is a song that the Phantom wrote for an Opera that he threatened the opera house into performing and the sexual tension is INSANE. It’s a duet between the phantom (disguised as a character of the show who he killed backstage and replaced) and christine’s character and it’s just NUTS. At the end, she reveals the phantom, on stage, and he runs and takes christine with. The climax of the show (and the last number) is Down Once More/ Track Down This Murderer. It’s an epic number which has tons of different perspectives happening at once and contains themes and melodies of previous numbers from the show. It’s a plot song but it’s still thrilling to listen to, as you can see what’s happening in your head as you hear it. In this number, Raoul chases down the phantom, Christine tries to escape, the phantom captures Raoul and almost kills him but Christine begs for freedom and he lets them both leave. It’s intense, emotional, and heartbreaking. You find yourself feeling for everybody and empathizing with the phantom’s heartbreak despite his actions. 

The soundtrack to the Phantom of the Opera creates an amazing gothic neoclassical aesthetic to a beautifully twisted story. The songs accompany and enhance the plot brilliantly and make the emotional appeal of the story significantly stronger. It’s one of the most successful musicals of all time, and for a good reason. It combines every element of what theater is supposed to be and perfects it, making it a perfect musical to me. 

[maxwbryan]

Madonna- Ray of Light

Madonna. The material girl. The queen of pop. The woman who made an album about sex just to piss off conservative 20th century america. If you aren’t familiar with her, you at least know her name. As arguably the biggest pop star of all time, she has one of the most fascinating careers in pop history. For every amazing song, she has two terrible songs. This album consists of her best work, but first, it’s important to know more about her life to appreciate the album. 

Madonna’s career has been nothing but controversy- she’s an entrepreneur who successfully turned people’s hatred into financial prosperity. She’s a master of publicity, as she always was able to push the boundaries just far enough to make her relevant but not destroy her career. Since her debut in 1982, she pushed the envelope further and further up until 1992, when she released Erotica- the most influential album of her career. This was a difficult era for her, where she faced constant backlash (partially due to her behavior in interviews). In 1994, she softened her image with the release of her next album, Bedtime Stories. Despite this, she remained unapologetic and proud of her work. She went on a brief hiatus from releasing albums, and from here, big changes took place in her life. She had a child, played Evita in a film (which changed her voice), and became religious. These changes in her life helped inspire the most mature and sophisticated album of her career- Ray of Light. 

Ray of Light is a trip hop/electronica album. Despite this, the album sounds oddly acoustic. Unlike her contemporaries such as Bjork or Portishead, Madonna used electronic sounds to make music that sounds raw and unprocessed.  The album has lots of heart and touches some deeply personal topics as well as some less personal and more general topics. Many of them are about relationships, such as Frozen, To Have and Not to Hold, and The Power of Good-Bye. Some talk about her desires and feelings, such as Ray of Light, Candy Perfume Girl Skin, and Nothing Really Matters. Some songs are more inexplicable- Shanti/Ashtangi, Swim, and Substitute for Love are all quite difficult to describe, but they work. (Well, it’s questionable as to whether or not Shanti/Ashtangi works, it depends on who you ask!). In my opinion, the highlights of the album are the songs about motherhood. Sky Fits Heaven, Little Star, and Mer Girl all show her growth as an artist and as a person the best. Mer Girl, the closing track, is the strongest part of the album. It abandons the typical song structure and takes the form of lines of prose. The vivid imagery and minimalistic background make for a chilling but fascinating experience, closing the album brilliantly. 

 This entire album is so different from the rest of her discography. It’s mature, well crafted, unique, and is filled to the brim with energy, soul, and care. After this album was released, Madonna re-embraced her party girl persona. She’s Madonna and will always do what she wants and nobody can stop her, but it’s amazing that she showed us this side of her, even if it’s just one album. Her entire catalogue is messy- there are classic pop songs, awful cheesy B-Sides, contemporary EDM disasters, heartless commercially manufactured hits, and beautifully hidden gems. All this aside, this album shines through her entire career as a true work of art. 

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Track: Sky Fits Heaven and Skin

Skip(s): None (however my least favorite is Little Star, but it’s still a decent song)

Similar Albums to listen to next: Dummy by Portishead, Post or Homogenic by Bjork, Mezzanine by Massive Attack

[maxwbryan]

No Doubt- Return of Saturn

No Doubt was my favorite band throughout middle school and a good portion of high school, and I still love their music to this day. While not their best work objectively, this album holds a special place in their discography and is in my opinion their best album. 

This is Gwen Stefani’s midlife crisis album. She was about 30 at the time, just got done with the promotion and touring for the massive hit album Tragic Kingdom, and she didn’t know where she was going with her life. The album title is named after the concept of saturn’s return in astrology, which is said to bring you from one stage of your life to the next. Simply, Stefani was experiencing adulthood and she didn’t know how to deal with it or what she wanted to do with it. This album expresses that. 

It opens with the grunge-esque hit, Ex-Girlfriend. It sets the tone for the album, with a loud explosive chorus and softer more regretful verses. Simple Kind of Life is the next track, where Stefani dreams of domesticity. It’s a mid tempo track, almost a ballad but not quite. It’s significantly lower energy than the first song, and I personally find it to halt the energy a bit. I don’t quite enjoy that song, and I think the placement is a part of it. The next song, Bathwater, is more of a return to form for the band where they feature keyboards and brass instruments. Six Feet Under, is another explosive high energy track, which deals with themes of death and aging in a comedic way. Magic’s in the Makeup is the track which follows, which is in my opinion an insufferable song. It deals with themes of self image and not recognizing who you are, but it just sounds bad. Stefani is known for her whiny vocals but this is simply too much in my opinion. 

Artificial Sweetener is the next song which is about not being in love with your partner. It’s another grunge inspired song and is one of my personal favorites. The next track, Marry Me, is an eerie ballad about, well, marriage. New is an uptempo rock banger about an unstable relationship. Too Late is another ballad about commitment issues. This is one of the stronger tracks in my opinion. Comforting Lie is a song about wanting to break up with somebody, and follows the similar grunge inspired formula that tracks such as Artificial Sweetner do. Suspension without Suspense is the next song, about an unhealthy relationship that just spirals downwards. It’s another slow track. The next three songs, which are the final three,are the strongest part of the album. Staring Problem is probably the highest energy song, about well, a staring problem. It brings back the older ska sounds from No Doubt’s first few albums. Home Now is a mid-tempo track about long distance relationships. The final track, Dark Blue, is about comforting somebody who’s damaged from the past. It uses erie synths and an unusual drum beat, making it a really bizarre but fitting closer. 

This is No Doubt’s maturity album. Here, they take on relationships in a more mature light and encounter anxieties about the future. Although Tragic Kingdom is objectively their best album, this one is my favorite. It’s more sonically appealing to me, and although it’s imperfect and has some strong pacing issues, it has a lot of heart and is a great album for fans to love. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Favorite Track: Dark Blue

Skip(s): Simple Kind of Life, Magic’s in the Makeup

Similar albums I’d recommend: Any other No Doubt Album, Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette (ok this one’s not similar but if you enjoy Return of Saturn you’d enjoy this one) 

[maxwbryan]

MARINA- Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

Marina’s most recent album (as of August 2022) is in my opinion her strongest body of work. It sums up all of her strongest qualities as an artist. It has the edge of the Family Jewels, the world and character building of Electra Heart, the introspective nature of Froot, and the maturity of Love+Fear. The album seems to be split into two parts- the outrospective and the introspective. The first part, the more outrospective part, I like to view as the ‘diss track section’. The first 6 tracks are a relentless rush of anger towards the world. She bashes hollywood, the united states, men, the patriarchy, modern society, and virtually all of humanity just within these first six tracks. The last four tracks address various topics, such as relationships, self worth, and goodbyes. The diversity of the album makes for a strong work of contemporary pop music. 

The album’s production seems to follow a modern-retro aesthetic, modernizing retro sounds This works with the theme of the album’s concept of bringing back old ideals and adapting them into a modern world. It opens strongly with the title track, centering themes around problems with modern society and how it pushes for conformity. It’s high energy with loud drums and blaring synths. The second track, Venus Fly Trap, is another high energy track embarrassing individuality, specifically by sharing her stories with Hollywood’s music industry. The chorus is absolutely addicting, and this track is the absolute best song on the album to see live. The third track, Man’s World, is a bit more somber as it addresses the problems of a society led by men and how it hurts everybody. The following song, titled Purge the Poison, addresses virtually every problem in modern society, such as environmental destruction, pandemics, the lack of women in government, and body expectations. The song also name drops some famous figures such as Britney Spears (referencing the poor treatment of her) and Harvey Weinstein (in referral to the Me Too movement). It’s arguably her best song lyrically, with lyrics such as “Earth is like a white rose, quiet cloud of petals fold a place so corrupt where angel flesh and blood is sold.” The next song, Highly Emotional People, addresses the importance of expressing emotions and how men are expected not to. It features some of her most delicate vocals throughout her career. The 6th song of the album, “New America,” is a brutal track criticizing the United States, it’s history, and it’s role in the modern world. 

The seventh song is the first of her final sequence of more introspective songs, titled Pandora’s box. In this track, she compares the dark parts of her brain to Pandora’s box, something that must not be opened. This mid tempo ballad shares her struggles with mental health in one of the most mature ways she’s done yet. The next track, I Love You but I Love Me More is an empowering breakup track with themes of self worth. Flowers, the penultimate track, is a slow and heartbreaking song looking back on a failed relationship. The album closes with a song simply titled “Goodbye” is about moving forward, addressing past mistakes without regret, and leaving your old self behind. It’s a perfect closer to this album, as it combines all the themes of regret, self worth, and individuality and looks beyond them.

This album is perfectly sequenced in terms of subject matter, however as a result of this, it has slight pacing issues. It’s extremely front-loaded; the sequence of the four tracks is probably her best 4 song run of her entire discography. However, the weaker songs are placed towards the back. This means that the more you listen to the album, the less engaged you are. It’s a pretty short album and it keeps you interested, however there is a noticeable quality shift in the ladder half. It’s by no means bad, however it’s just not as strong as the first half. Despite this, it’s an incredibly mature and cohesive work of pop music, making it in my opinion Marina’s strongest album. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Favorite Track: Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

Skip(s): Sometime’s I skip Pandora’s Box

Similar Albums to listen to next: Any other album by Marina, Sawayama by Rina Sawayama, probably something by Charli XCX (I wouldn’t actually know, I don’t listen to her) 

[maxwbryan]

Space Carpet- Space Carpet

I honestly don’t quite remember how I first listened to this band. Maybe I heard their song on the local public radio station, or maybe it got recommended to me by spotify. But somehow, I ended up stumbling across one of their songs and I immediately loved it. After relistening, I checked out the band and found, well, virtually nothing. It’s an independent band with no website or active social media. The only evidence of their existence is a few youtube videos. They only have one self titled album that has less than 1,000 streams on spotify, and this is the album I will be reviewing today. 

This album is quite interesting. It bounces back and forth from style to style. While it mostly remains a modern alternative rock album, it features acoustic indie sounds (such as The Only) and americana influences (such as in Water Hole.) It features two vocalists throughout the album and they balance each others voices well and harmonize really nicely. Their songs are melodically unique while being catchy and accessible to mainstream audiences. Songs like Bleed, Run, and The Only sound like they could be alternative hits. These songs are extremely well crafted, however my favorite parts of the album are the more musically experimental ones. The best case of this is in the track Plastic Axle. The song starts out fairly normal, but about halfway through the song, a glockenspiel enters playing half note triplets over the melody who’s time is in four. This creates an intense musical contrast, as it feels like the rhythm of the song is ripping apart, yet it never does and it’s somehow perfectly in time. It makes your brain itch, and it makes it feel distressed before relieving the tension. The album pushes at musical barriers but never breaks them, making it tastefully experimental while still being an accessible and enjoyable body of work.  

From what I can hear, the album doesn’t seem to follow a narrative. I could be mistaken, but to me it seems to be more so a collection of songs. While I prefer for albums to follow an idea or a narrative, it would be quite boring if all albums did and some albums exist to simply be fun, and that’s what this is. It’s an enjoyable listen. It keeps you interested while still being pleasing. I have no idea what this band is up to now, or if they’re still together. I don’t really know anything about them. But their single album is an excellent debut and it would be amazing to hear more from them. But if they don’t make anything else, at least they gave us this gem. 

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Track: The Only or Bleed 

Skips: I don’t particularly love Blue Skies but I wouldn’t skip it. 

Similar albums to listen to next: I don’t listen to this style of music enough to recommend a similar album (that and the only one I can think of is a Red Hot Chilli Peppers album which I’d be too embarrassed to recommend the music community would destroy me) 

[maxwbryan]

Kate Bush- Aerial: A Sky of Honey

Aerial by Kate Bush is an album split between two sections. One is titled a Sea of Honey and the other a Sky of Honey. I would review the album as a whole rather than splitting the two sides, however I’m simply just unqualified to review the first side. I haven’t listened to it much at all and don’t particularly enjoy it. It’s not bad by any means, but the song feel disconnected and I don’t see any tie between them. The second side, however, a Sky of Honey, I love. This is the album I will be talking about. The rating and review apply to the last nine tracks of the album Aerial only; the first seven tracks of the album will not be mentioned. 

This is simply a perfect summer album. This entire album describes the story of a summer day from morning to night to sunrise. The imagery is vivid, the vocals are lush, and the instrumental is stripped back with only piano, drums, and guitars. The use of bird sounds and imagery provides a unique tone as well, making the songs tie together quite nicely. 

The album opens with an interlude titled Prelude, with the voice of a child waking up to birds singing. It soon flows into the next track, Prologue. This song sets up the tone for the album and the story. It’s simple yet effective, with Bush singing about how she’s excited to begin her day. This song flows into the next, An Architect’s Dream, which is about a painter and her love for art. The song ends in rain which transitions into the next interlude- The Painter’s Link. This describes the rain destroying the painting, running the colors off of the canvas and turning into a sunset, which sets up the next song simply titled Sunset. Sunset is about painting the sunset and the beauty of it all. It opens with soft piano, but ends in an energetic guitar backed melody. The next interlude features bird sounds once again, and then transitions into the next song, Somewhere In Between. The song title refers to the time of day between day and night, after sunset but before dark. The next song is called Nocturne, and tells the story of the narrator and their lover swimming in the ocean at night. The song ends in the sunrise and an explosive chant. The final track, Aerial, completes the day cycle with the dawn and is a high energy closer, featuring laughing, birds singing, and loud shout-singing vocals, ending the album on a strong energetic note. 

This is a perfect summer album and finds beauty in simplicity. It uses simple instruments and lyrics to describe simple concepts, but executes them in such a creative and artistic way, which Bush excels at. A Sky of Honey is one of Kate Bush's strongest works, and one of the strongest seasonal albums of pop music. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Favorite Track: Sunset

Skip(s): None. Every single track is essential, without one, you’d be missing the whole point of the album. 

Similar albums to listen to next: 50 Words for Snow by Kate Bush, Scarlet’s Walk by Tori Amos, Vespertine by Bjork (this is a huge stretch but they have similar vibes) 

[maxwbryan]

Janet Jackson- The Velvet Rope

Janet Jackson- The Velvet Rope

This album always will hold a special place in my heart and is one of my all time favorites. There aren’t many albums that I strongly believe everybody must listen to, but I think this is one of them. This is Jackson’s best album, and arguably one of the best R&B albums of all time. This album is sonically innovative and completely changed the R&B game, introducing a new style of alternative style that can still be heard today by many artists including Tinashe, SZA, and even Rihanna. 

This entire album uses the metaphor of a Velvet Rope to explore vulnerability and the need to belong. The album opens with an interlude titled Twisted Elegance, where she states “It is my belief that we have the need to feel special, and its this need that can bring out the best in us, yet the worst in us. This need created the velvet rope.” This sets up the whole tone of the album, where she then elaborates on this theme with the introduction and title track, titled Velvet Rope. From here, she describes her mental health struggles with a track simply called “You” and relationship struggles with the song “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” which samples Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. She then explores other layers of herself in different sections of the album, separated by interludes. With “My Need” and “Go Deep”, Jackson explores her sensual side. With the track “Free Xone”, she tackles homophobia and with “Together Again”, she grieves but also celebrates the life of her friend who died in the AIDS epidemic. She discusses the loneliness of online relationships with the song “Empty” and domestic abuse with the theatrical “What About”. She dives deeper into relationships with the tracks “Every Time”, “Tonight’s the Night”, and “I Get Lonely”, and her sexual desires with the tracks “Rope Burn” and “Anything”. From here, she looks deep into herself, admits her faults, and looks towards a more hopeful perspective in the concluding track titled “Special”. This song ends with a sudden stop in the music and Janet speaking the words “Work in Progress.” 

This album explores such a wide variety of topics, but each song flows into itself beautifully. It’s cohesive but sonically innovative, and modern sounds can be traced back to this album. More importantly however, this album is an emotional journey and is a classic example of how to execute a stripped back personal album and has inspired generations of music fans. The Velvet Rope is a seamless blend of personality, creativity, introspection, and sensuality, making it one of the best albums of all time. 

Rating: 10/10

Favorite Track: Velvet Rope

Skip(s): None. If I had to choose one, it’d be Tonight’s the Night simply because it’s a cover. 

Similar Albums I’d recommend: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Butterfly by Mariah Carey. 

[maxwbryan]

Tori Amos- Boys for Pele

For my first album review, it’s only fitting to start with my favorite- Boys for Pele by Tori Amos.

To describe this album simply, it is the best breakup album I’ve ever heard. It explores all of the intense emotions that come with a breakup. Throughout this album, Tori shows how a breakup can change your perception of the world, turn you into a shell of your former self, and dig up dirt from the past. Amos explains the album as ‘Taking the fire back from the men in her life.’ It’s named after Pele, a volcano goddess, who took sacrifices from men in Hawaiian mythology.

This album is disorienting and not for the faint of heart. It’s unafraid to get ugly. Amos utilizes the entire range of her voice and boasts a new plethora of instruments that she had never experimented with before, such as brass and harpsichord. The album's narrative follows the emotional journey she takes resulting from the breakup of her boyfriend, depicted through stories, flashbacks, hallucinations, and confessions. After a haunting opening track, the album explodes with rage and pain on the second song titled Blood Roses. This song introduces the pain she has experienced. From here, she explores her dark side on the next two tracks: Father Lucifer, where she meets with the devil, and Professional Widow, where she sings from the perspective of a woman exploiting a man for his money before convincing him to kill himself. After a short, comedic, yet profound interlude, the album continues with a track titled Marianne, which is about a girl she knew in school who died. This song introduces another layer to the album, the systematic mistreatment of women. It depicts this girl as the first of many victims of a misogynistic society. The album bounces around for the next few songs, exploring various topics such as desperation, loneliness, religious misogyny, trauma, self-fulfillment, etc.

The album then takes a turn with the track ‘Not the Red Baron.’ Throughout the album, Tori writes about women being hurt by men. In this track, however, she describes men falling victim to women. This song marks a distinct tone shift, where her emotions change from abstract to rational. In the proceeding three songs, she acknowledges the hurt and accepts it. She is no longer playing characters, telling stories, or sharing memories. She is confessing her pain. The penultimate track, Putting the Damage On, describes how her ex-boyfriend hurt her, but she still finds him beautiful. This heartbreaking track marks the point where her feelings are rationalized and she no longer views him as evil but simply a man who hurt her. Finally, the album concludes with the song Twinkle, ending the journey with peace acceptance, and a glimmer of hope.

This album is complex, ugly, messy, and unorganized, but that’s what makes it great. Humans are not perfect or rational when we are hurt. Boys for Pele represents these emotions beautifully and does not shy away from a single messy detail. Almost thirty years after its release, this album still resonates every time, making it my favorite album of all time.

  Rating: 10/10 Favorite Track: Blood Roses, Putting the Damage On (I couldn’t choose) Skips: Every track is crucial to the album, but if I had to choose, In the Springtime of his Voodoo. Similar albums to listen to next: Lion and the Cobra by Sinead O’Connor, Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos.