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DigModiFicaTion's Musical Expansions, Impressions & Obsessions (or the I review albums I've never heard or that I like thread thread)

What artist should I do a discography deep dive of next?

  • Yes (listened to a few of their albums)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Rush (never listened to any of their albums)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Beastie Boys (never listened to any of their albums)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Rage Against the Machine (listened to some of their albums)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Finish up Red Hot Chili Peppers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Incubus (my original favorite band)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
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Moe_Syzlak

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Try playing In My Time of Dying while going 200 on the Autobahn focusing on Bonham’s drums. I think that will help for that song. 😜
 

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Presence - Led Zeppelin (1976)

  1. Achilles Last Stand
    Has a good Yes vibe to it, which I like :) While the chord progression is rather simple, the changes are what keeps it fresh. Guitar tone is on point, the bass tone and lines are great, Bonham is killing the drums, and Plant is at his best in his story telling approach. That change up around 6:45 is the blue print for The Mars Volta. In fact this song sounds like the DNA of that entire band.
  2. For Your Life
    A major change of pace that I'm pretty sure Guns 'n Roses listened to. This is just another "woman woman woman" *moan/howl* song. Not my thing. Super repetirive and lacks any depth lyrically, imo.
  3. Royal Orleans
    This one has a really weird mix that kind of hurt my ears. LOTS of treble and midrange mashing. Bonham's drums get lost way in the background. It is nice to have Plant more present in the mix, but the guitars and bass are just way too present and loud in the mix. Lots of funky stuff that I'm sure RHCP listened to. The congo-ish drums were a nice addition, but again the mix just makes this one laborious to listen to.
  4. Nobody's Fault but Mine
    The first 1:20 is pretty painful. Again the mix just feels of on this one. Bonham's drum groove is super tight and I wish it was more present. 3:00 is the DNA of Blues Travelers. This song is just way too repetirive for my taste and the recurring guitar/vocal part is grating.....
  5. Candy Store Rock
    If Elvis or Roy Orbison sang a song with Led Zeppelin this would be the result. Plant has nothing of consequence to say here, just more woman woman woman music. Again, just not my thing.
  6. Hots on for Nowhere
    Happy go lucky sound and Plant has a playful approach to the lyrical approach. I hear a lot of roots for Dave Matthews grooves in this one. While I love DMB, I'm not digging this song.
  7. Tea for One
    Kind of drags on, especially when the song starts with a bang and then just go to slowish blues chaos. Not the greatest way to end an album, imo.
Lots of DNA for classic and modern rock and roll on this one, but aside from Achilles Last Stand this one just didn't do it for me. As is the case with almost all of their songs and albums, the grooves just go on too long without musical chances being taken. They don't expand beyond the formula they have created and rarely does Plant embrace the story telling that I'd love to hear more of. I'll snag the first track and leave the others in the bargain bin of time. 5/10
 

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In Through the Out Door - Led Zeppelin (1979)

  1. In the Evening
    Same old woman woman woman vocals with a pre-80's sound. Meh.
  2. South Bound Saurez
    Fun sounding song, just not my kind of fun. Again, lots of repetition and typical lyrics that don't really go anywhere or create pictures in the mind.
  3. Fool in the Rain
    TIGHT rythm and groove here!!!! Love the timing on this one :) Bonham really makes this one sway and the counter rythms create a tactile tension that can almost be felt in the back of your throat that captures that infatuatious/love at first sight you get and that keeps you thinking about and chasing someone. This song perfectly captures what it feels like to fall in love and the blissful carefree feelign of the whole experience. That build up and return at 3:44 makes even this relatively unmoved (I don't physically resond to music much) move to the beat.
  4. Hot Dog
    Kind of a comical sounding song that I just can't take seriously.
  5. Carouselambra
    Too much synth for my liking. This sounds like Manheim Steamroller (spelling?) tried to write a rock song and.......failed.
  6. All My Love
    Ugh, more sythn, yeah I know it's the onset of the 80's.....
  7. I'm Gonna Crawl
    Well, that was a slow out with lots of spacey reverb.
I'll make sure to revisit Fool in the Rain, but I wouldn't mind forgetting the rest of this album. 4/10

Thus concludes my official album Led Zeppelin listening experience. I know many people love and idolize this band, but I just don't have the same connection with their music.The one consistent thing that I did find mysellf enjoying was Bohnam's drumming. He was an absolute monster on the drums. He and John Paul Jones perfectly complimented eachother across the spectrum of their studio albums. While Page has many groove tastic riffs, outside of LZ II and a couple hits sprinkled here and there among the other albums, I found the chord progressions to be pretty redundant. They were usually fun, had a tasteful groove, but ultimately lost their flare after the 100th measure of the same thing. Robert Plant pens osme absolute amazing work in their hits, but overall I was pretty shocked at how in inspiring and so hormonally driven his lyrics were. I had hoped for more material like Stairway or some of the more poetic songs, but the majority of all the songs were just straight up love and lust topics. Sure, that's a pretty common thing for most people, but I was hoping they would take it to a more introspective and analytical space. Led Zeppelin II is an amazing album that serves as the DNA structure for most of the rock that I love and enjoy and that one album alone shows the importance Led Zeppelin has in supplying the genetic structure for all of the good rock to come since. I'd love to go and listen to their influences to seek for those missing links further back in the chain of musical evolution.
 

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Just Another Ghost - Sleeperstar (2010)
  1. We Go Tonight (Say It Again)
    I found this a decade ago through an Amazon music sample albumer album back when Amazon used to give away free new up and coming music. They channel the best of the 2000's alt rock sound blending elements of 3eB, Event Horizon, Lifehouse and others. I love the feeling of this song and the energy and atmosphere the orchestration of the instruments and vocals create. One of my favorirte pop/alt rock songs. Here's hoping the rest of their stuff catches the same vibe.
  2. The Journey
    An interesting change to the vocals on this one. This one is a pretty basic formulaic pop/alt rock song. A bit too sugary and cringey for my taste.
  3. Whereever You Go
    This sounds exactly like Lifehouse. Again, too sugary in it's pop for my taste.
  4. Losing You
    The delay on the guitar in this one sounds really nice. This one channels that 3eB vibe, but with a very poppy drum line. Nothing really special abou this song though.
  5. Soon
    More radio friendly music that you'd probably hear at a middle school dance with awkward slow dancing.
  6. Just So You Know
    This one sounds like a song 3eB would write, if 3eB was a christian band.
  7. Disengage
    Safe and formulaic music that creates a wall of sound then drops out to piano chords and a synthy bass/drum combo. Dripping in popy love song meh-ness.
  8. Only Human
    Kind of channels a Rob Thomas and Matchbox 20 vibe on this one. Dripping with that 2000's teenage love vibe.......
  9. Texax Rain
    "We've got to keep moving on" is the lyric I connected with because that was the thought I had trying to make it through this album........
  10. Can't Escape Your Eyes
    They do a good job at creating atmosphere, but oh my goodness it is just so predictible and snore inducing.
  11. Fallback
    This one vibee hard on 3eB's Hit and Run, without the qualities that made that song good. This almost feels like emo....
  12. I Was Wrong
    Perhaps I was wrong to try this album out.......
  13. Carry You
    U2 esque guitar work with 2000's CW teenage hero/drama show vibe (I'm guessing since I never really watched those). I would sure hope that young ladies don't wait around for guys that can carry you like the way this singer paints life.
  14. Everything Must Find Its Place
    Everything Must Find Its Place and this album's place is in the past and not running into my brain anymore.
If you love bands like Lifehouse, Event Horizon, The Fray, and the other plethora of 2000's pop/alt-rock you'll most likely enjoy this album. If you just like a catchy pop/alt-rock song now and then with a great hook, listen to the first track and pass on the rest. Thank you Amazon for giving me the original track years ago, and also thank you self for never investigating their music more 😅 3/10
 

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.
  1. Fool in the Rain
    TIGHT rythm and groove here!!!! Love the timing on this one :) Bonham really makes this one sway and the counter rythms create a tactile tension that can almost be felt in the back of your throat that captures that infatuatious/love at first sight you get and that keeps you thinking about and chasing someone. This song perfectly captures what it feels like to fall in love and the blissful carefree feelign of the whole experience. That build up and return at 3:44 makes even this relatively unmoved (I don't physically resond to music much) move to the beat

I do love Bonham. There’s a power to his drum sound that is often attempted but never duplicated. That said, Fool in the Rain’s groove should be properly attributed to Bernard Purdie. It’s a classic example of his Purdie Shuffle. Other notable examples are Steely Dan’s Home at Last and Babylon Sister, which feature Purdie himself. And Jeff Pocorro (sp?) of Toto uses a modification of it in Rosanna. There’s plenty of other examples as well. It’s a great groove.
 

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Next up in the artist discography deep dive is The Mars Volta.


Deloused in the Comatorium - The Mars Volta (2003)
  1. Son et Lumiere
    Atmosphere oozes out of this track. Great intro to the onslaught that is....
  2. Inertiatic Esp
    The tempo, drums, guitar chaos, and vocal crypticism is just experiential bliss to my ears :) So much is happening in this song and it is sooo good. Prog/punk/psychodelic rock at its absolute best. The drummer anhilates this track with tight pockets and powerful percussive statements. Did I mention that I like this one?
  3. Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
    So chaotic, but so good. The changes in intensity really work great in this one. I have no idea what Bixler-Zavala is talking about in this one, or any other song for that matter HA! The changes that occurr between the verse and chorus and interludes really creates a great psychedelic atmosphere. I will admit that I'm not the most keen on the guitar tone in this song, but my goodness the energy and that chorus breakdown chord progression is just fantastic!
  4. Tira Me a Las Aranas
    Interlude song that has a sound reminiscent of the Diablo town soundtrack.
  5. Drunkship Of Lanterns
    The percussion is fantastic on this one. This is one of the more tension filled songs on the album and is perhaps the hardest to follow along with, but with all of the guitar chaos that is happening in the periphera spaces Bixler-Zavala keeps the melody focused and followable (is that a word?). Not for the faint of heart.
  6. Eriatarka
    The section of this song that starts at the minute mark is chaotic beauty. I will admit that this is probably my least favorite on the album though as it cycles a similar approach a few times and then ends on some pretty harsh random sounds at the end.
  7. Cicatriz Esp
    This. Is. Groovy. The drums on this track are super tight and the entire vibe is just super thick. Everyone is on point and in the zone on this track. Tied with Inertiatic ESP as the best track on the album. The middle of the song is a bit out there and could be edited out as it just serves as an interlude between the first and second part/cycle of the song.
  8. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed
    My least favorite song on this album. Gross sounding guitar tones, super repetitive lyrics that just sound whinny. A bit too punk and chaotic for my taste.
  9. Televators
    I always found it interessting that this was the song that made them famous. Perhaps it was the only one that could be played on MTV at the time? Weird song.
  10. Take The Veil Cerpin Text
    Squier-esque bass tones sound great on this track. The band's punk/post-hardcore roots definitely shine through on this one, especially when the chorus drops in. The guitars are super grating on the ears during the chorus. Not my favorite song on the album...
This album has been one of my favorites for years. I was introduced to it by a friend I used to play music with. I've been listening to it for almost 20 years now. It's a solid 8/10 for me. While I don't like every song, I absolutely love the ones that I do like. It's odd that I never went past this album. What better time than now?
 

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I really like thhe sound of the 2000's Red Hot Chili Peppers and think it's about time that I experience their discography in full. Can't Stop, addicted to the shindig ;)


Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984)
  1. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes
    That strat solo tone sounds Fantastic on this one during the solos. The riff gets a little repetitive and the tones of the bass and guitars just sound washed out and weak with the excessive reverb/echo. Not a big fan of the vocal echoe either. But again, that strat solo tone is fat, buzzy and just great. 6/10
  2. Baby Appeal
    No thanks. A little too odd vocally for me. 3/10
  3. Buckle Down
    Same as the last. It's a little too 80s sounding musically for my taste as well. This is like if Little Richard did loungey jazz ska rock. 3/10
  4. Get Up and Jump
    Ugh, just not feeling this chaotic vocalizing. The riff, bass line and the vocals just clash and repeat themselves too often. 5/10
  5. Why Don't You Love MeI
    I keep thinking that they must have listened to Mr. Bungle a lot, but from what I'm seeing they came out first. Didn't know that. This music is kind of comical and something on a kids show or album. 5/10
    In fact it sounds a TON like Cock-a-Doodle-Doodle-Blue! (great kids album)
  6. Green Heaven
    So cringey and commical sounding (content is pretty heavy on this one). Too much reverb. 4/10
  7. Mommy Where's Daddy
    Hello piezo acoustic tone. 4/10
  8. Out in L.A.
    ......nothing memorable here. Just more frenetic vocals with not quite funktastic chord struming with slap bass interludes and more crazy vocals. 4/10
  9. Police Helicopter
    Relevant song for the world climate, but there are better songs that address the issue in more musically pleasing ways*. 3/10
    *Stand Up! (Tom Morello, Shea Diamond, Dan Reynolds & The Bloody Beetroots)
  10. You Always Sing The Same
    Just skip this one. 0/10
  11. Grand Pappy Du Plenty
    Provbably the best song on the album, simply because it was free of chaotic vocals and had a nice cinematic quality to it. 6.5/10
So my take aways are that this is the psychodelic, dark universe hip kids album that isn't for kids at all, but is all the goof that they love to get their little bodies grooving to the beat. WAY too much reverb throughout. Way too repetive. Way too odd vocally. 4/10
 

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Freaky Styley (1985) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  1. Jungle Man
    Just weird and really repetitive. 3/10
  2. Hollywood (Africa)
    The strat riffs sound ok, but again quickly become repetitive with the almost incomprehensible lyrics. 3/10
  3. American Ghost Dance
    What am I listening to? 1/10
  4. If You Want Me To Stay
    This one isn't bad persay, just not my thing. It's zany and odd in a kind of creepy way. 5/10
  5. Nevermind
    Ear diarreah.....I can't take this music seriously....2/10
  6. Freaky Styley
    Super repetitive riffs and then drugged out lyrical approach...3/10
  7. Blackeyed Blonde
    This one at least opens really nicely with a tight bass and drum groove. Then the processed wah guitars come in along with unintelliglbe lyrics and vocals. 4/10
  8. The Brothers Cup
    The opening riff sounds like George Clinton's "We Got the Funk" chorus. The music isn't bad, I just can't take these vocals. Comical and cringey. 5/10
  9. Battle Ship
    Ugh, if RHCP did 80's punk meets ska 2/10
  10. Lovin' And Touchin'
    TMI 1/10
  11. Cathlic School Girls Rule
    What is the point of this song? It's litterally the title repeated over and over and then some horribly vocalized stuff about whoever....2/10
  12. Sex Rap
    Yeah no. 0/10
  13. Thirty Dirty Birds
    What is this? The drugs are strung with this one. 0/10
  14. Yertle The Turtle
    See the description of previous song. The music isn't terrible in this one though it's terribly repetitive. 4/10
  15. Nevermind
    Same as the remastered cut of it...2/10
  16. Sex Rap
    Just no. 0/10
  17. Freaky Styley
    A welcome repreive instrumental cut though it's not worth the nearly 9 mintues to sit through. 5/10
  18. Millionaires Against Hunger
    Just cringey and sounds like everything else on this album. Insert funky cyclical chord progression and spin it for 4ish minutes. 2/10
This honestly feels like sound for sounds' sake. It's just a lot of noise and scatted words. Not my thing at all. 2/10
 

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The Uplift Mofo Party (1987) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  1. Fight Like A Brave
    The vocals are getting a little better in their delivery, but this just stays in that repetitive music space that becomes taxing to listen to really quickly. 4/10
  2. Funky Crime
    This song gives a glimpse into what they were heading towards. Still cringey 80's stuff and repetitive and uninspiring, imho. 3/10
  3. Me and My Friends
    I'm getting a bit triggered musically by this music.......3/10
  4. Backwoods
    I feel like I'm listening to the same song over and over. 2/10
  5. Skinny Sweaty Man
    Well the music is different, but it's actually worse.....1/10
  6. Behind the Sun
    Not a bad song, but I wish they would have mixed that sitar tone differently as it's super spikey in the ears. Again, super repetitive. 4.5/10
  7. Subterranean Homesick Blues
    *takes deep breathes* and another scatt couple chord funk whatever this is music. 2/10
  8. Special Secret Song Inside
    Ok music, terrible song. 3/10
  9. No Chump Love Sucker
    Play fast, scat fast, drum fast, but can't get through this song fast enough 2/10
  10. Walkin' On Down The Road
    It's just a slower verison of most evertyhing up to this point. The solo and interlude were nice on this one though. Better musicallity than most of their other songs on this and previous albums. 5.75/10
  11. Love Trilogy
    Gross. 0/10
  12. Organic Anti-Beat Box
    More of the stuff that they do on this album.....1/10
I don't know how to describe early RHCP other than parody lounge rock. It's hard to think that this band became one of the most popular bands in the world and started off this way. 1/10
 

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Mother's Milk (1989) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  1. Good Time Boys
    Now this is a complete sonic shift. The mix is MUCH better. The riffs aren't running the entire song and they have a great movement to them. The vocals also sit better musically in the song development. You can still hear their early roots, but this is much more polished and refined. They actually have hooks that are catchy. Still a tad repetitive for my taste but a massive improvement.....what was that radio station change middle????? Just when I was starting to take them a bit more serious and they go full comical. 6/10
  2. Higher Ground
    The first time I heard this renditionwas on Power Rangers The Movie and I loved it then. It's still a fantastic song now :) You have to really try hard to mess up a masterpiece by the great Stevie Wonder. 8/10
  3. Subway To Venus
    Oh no, more of the comical ska rock....smh. The horns sound great on this song and the mix is at least decent to keep me going through the song, but this is a bit of a chore for my ears. 5/10
  4. Magic Johnson
    Not a Laker fan, so I'm not into this one. 1/10
  5. Nobody Weird Like Me
    Some neat sounds on this one. Flea's bass tone is pretty nice as well. The guitars are just a wall of sound playing really fast. Good use of tempo change ups to make the song more intereseting. The vocals sound like Jack Black might have listened to and took inspiration from this song. Kind of rockabilly in the vocals. That short little bass moment around 2:20 was AMAZING. The song litterally self-destructs shortly there after, before going to a great musical break down that borrows from Eastern scales to give it an exotic (to Westerners) feel. 5.85/10
  6. Knock Me Down
    Nice groove at the beginning of the song. The vocals are pleasant and the song drives forward with slight tonal progressions to keep taking it to a slightly more upbeat space. Musically pretty interesting with chord choices. A bit of jazz in this one. 7/10
  7. Taste The Pain
    So weird vocally and even the guitar sounds oddly out of phase in the background. Sounds like something from their earlier albums. 4/10
  8. Stone Cold Bush
    Just like the previous outings. Noise, a few chords played with wah in a funky/ska like pattern. Super repetitive and uninteresting, imo. 2/10
  9. Fire
    A not as good rendition of a Jimi Hendrix tune. 3/10
  10. Pretty Little Ditty
    A nice little instrumental break, but not really interesting until around 2:00, then it becomes fantastic! You can hear a similar riff as the years to come later Butterfly by Crazy Town in the last half of the song. 6/10
  11. Punk Rock Classic
    Yeah, this is not my kind of music. It is what the song title describes. 1/10
  12. Sexy Mexican Maid
    No thank you. 0/10
  13. Johnny, Kick A Hole In the Sky
    This is another one that sounds like the sounds they made in the previous albums. Repetitive and chaotic. 2/10
  14. Song That Made Us What We Are Today
    Some one listened to Led Zeppelin. Tight groove at the beginning of the track. Nice ending on an instrumental track. It's a bit repetitive for running the same progression for 12+ minutes. 5.85/10
A more enjoyable outing that was a bit more familiar to my ears, though I don't think this is an album that I'd go back and listen to more. 5.5/10
 

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Wolfmother (2006)
  1. Dimension
    Great vocals, great guitar tone and riff, great energy, great transitions within the song. Just a great song :) 10/10
  2. White Unicorn
    A good vintage rock sounding song. The chorus isn't my favorite, but I really love the feeling of the verse. The breakdown around 3:20 has a very Pink Floyd feel to it that I would have liked it to explore more rather than going back to the chorus. 7/10
  3. Woman
    Just pure vintage blues rock fun. Tight hooks and COWBELL!!!! Everyone is in the pocket in this song. 9/10
  4. Where Eagles Have Been
    Nails that ethereal Led Zeppelin feel with the acoustic guitar lines and atmospheric backgrounds. The transition to the overdriven portion is a nice progression in intensity. The next movement to the bluesy bass line really helps the return to the ethereal part. The end is maybe a little too drawn out and the solo isn't my favorite I've heard and sounds a bit sloppy. 6.5/10
  5. Apple Tree
    The vocals in this one just don't do it for me. Way too chaotic. The chord progressions aren't the most inspiring either. This one seems more like a novice boxer just throwing punches as hard and fast as they can, but never really landing any hits. The solo on this one does have some nice octave and filters on it that sound interesting. 5.5/10
  6. Joker and the Thief
    This song reminds me of White Denim's Anvil Everything with the opening guitar cyclical line. Super awesome sounding, then the pounding guitar riff takes it to a great dirty bluesy feel. The singer really makes this band pop and stand out above the other bands out there doing the vintage rock sound. There are some fabulous noises on this track and the movement keeps things from getting too repetitive. 8.75/10
  7. Colossal
    The guitar riff during the chorus is sooo nice. The riff however is pretty redundant. I love the vocal movement at 1:50 and how it sits in the chord progression. Sadly it doesn't last long enough. The ending of the song is a bit meh with the punk-ish style rhythms followed by an accentuated slow down. 6/10
  8. Mind's Eye
    That intro. Great single note passages that build and then release to a mellow bluesy alt rockish, albeit vintagey rock, feel. This one has a wider palette than the rest of their songs on the album and really tells a story with it's music that expresses a progression of emotions. It's not quite Yes level stuff, but it definitely has similar qualities. You have to listen intently to this one because it keep moving you forward on a storied path. It's definitely the most experimental song thus far on the album. It does feel a bit safe at the end with the return to the simple chorus. Would have liked to hear them go full Wolfmother on the ending. 7.75/10
  9. Pyramid
    Driving bass line. Kind of comical vocal and hi-fi fuzz sound that leads into a pretty safe/standard vintage blues rock progression. Not very interesting musically, imo. While there is a breakdown and guitar solo...I guess you could call it that....the feeling is pretty constant and doesn't really go anywhere musically. 6/10
  10. Witchcraft
    Such a tight groove!!! Great transition from the verse to the chorus. Great fun energy on this one with great musicality to the chord progressions and the mix. The addition of the flute solo is unexpected but perfect. The movment is spot on and perfectly timed. The drums are FANTASTIC on this track! 10/10
  11. Tales
    A trippy mix of beatles meets David Bowie here. A really nice dichotomoy of feel on this one. That transition around 1:15 is one of the buzziest guitar tones that makes me cringe like chalk on a chalk board and press my tongue against my teeth, but it works. Again, fantastic movement to create chaos and resolution. I'm cringing in one moment and then relaxed moments later. This one is just next level song crafting within their genre and scope. great song 9.5/10
  12. Love Train
    OOOOH! That funky groove! This is driping with funky goodness. That solo around 1:30 is just wonderfully nasty, then the 2:40 guitar solo kicks it into another gear. I would LOVE to watch them play this track live! 10/10
  13. Vagabon
    Safe sounding at the beginning. Vintage folksy sounding song. Odd sound to the acoustic guitar (out of phase?). The sonic shift around 1:30 is great and really adds some much needed dimension and spatial filling out to make the track more interesting. The track kind of ends on a lackluster chord ring out. Again, I would have loved them to go full Wolfmother on this one. 6.5/10
Now that is a FANTASTIC vintage rock sounding album. The vocals are perfect for this type of music and the guitar riffs are spot on and tight in the pocket on a good number of the songs. I'd probably skip the songs rated 6 or lower, but the others are super groovey and nail that vintage blues rock sound that just hits the spot for me. If you love Led Zeppelin II and/or groovey funky bluesy rock, do yourself a favor and listen to Wolfmother. 8.25/10
 

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Cosmic Egg (Deluxe)- Wolfmother (2009)
  1. California Queen
    First 1:20 is kind of boring with a very repetitive riff and bass line. The brackdown isn't very interesting either. 5/10
  2. New Moon Rising
    Bass drum overload intro. The chorus guitar lines sounded nice, but the song is just ok. 6/10
  3. White Feather
    Nice groove, but there's something that feels slightly off with this one. It sounds like it's caught between genres and is some weird mixture of vintage rock and early 2000's alternative rock. 6/10
  4. Sundial
    Wasn't expecting that piano on this one. WOW that riff around 0:30 is GREAT! Nasty fuzz tone! Nice chord progression during the chorus that progresses the song to a new height that perfectly blends with that killer riff. This one goes full on Wolfmother :) 9/10
  5. In The Morning
    Captures that great etherial vintage feel. Fantastic orchestration on this track. The vocals and instruments complement eachother so well. The mix is superb. The 3D spacing of the instruments in the track give an incredble depth. This song is great. 10/10
  6. 10,000 Feet
    Not really digging the guitar tone at the beginning of this, but once the rest of the band kicks in it fits. The verses on this one are just ok, but the chorus has a great hook and chord progression. The song takes a nice shift around 3:00 that builds and builds and ends in that great chorus riff. 7/10
  7. Cosmic Egg
    The guitar tone sounds nice, but that opening riff gets a bit old, the chorus (?) has a really nice chord progression that has a very strong Muse vibe to it. The guitar solo at the end doesn't quite hit that full on Wolfmother quaity that I love. Overall it's an ok song, but not my favorite. 6/10
  8. Far Away
    The opening lines sound like the ice cream truck coming through the neighborhood 😂 This is another one of those vintage rock meets early 2000's alternative rock. Even the solo feels very formulaic. Nothing special here. 4/10
  9. Cosmonaut
    The tremelo in the left channel is WAY to intense and really hurts the song. I get that they were going for an effect, but it's just too strong. The guitar riff in the right channel is overly repetitive. The chorus is really interesting and takes the minor song into a major progression that feels really odd for this band. This one is just to chaotic for its own good, and I usually like chaotic stuff. 4/10
  10. Pilgrim
    This sounds like Led Zeppelin, but not the Led Zeppelin I enjoy. Super repetitive guitar lines that just drone on. The chorus guitar lines are ok sounding, but can't escape the unfortunate redundancy of this song. 4.5/10
  11. Eyes Open
    Nice guitar chords and a great groovy rhythm. The vocals also have a great musicallity to them. I like that the song stays relatively close in terms of the space it occupies. It stays contained which help create a very focused and contained space, but at the same time the fingerstyle chords create a great fluid base for the song. This one kind of has that Muse vibe as well. It does drag a little bit aroudn the 3:00. The final chrous is great with that piercing guitar tone and vocal line. 7.5/10
  12. Back Round
    This one has a strong YES vibe during the first 0:28 then kicks into a gritty vintage rock song. Not really feeling the chord progression on this one though, just a little too predictive. I think part of it is that the vocals and guitars run a lot of the same lines, which just sounds safe and boring to my ears.
  13. In the Castle
    A little too out there for my taste. The opening sounds like a slower Led Zeppelin song, then the modern stuff comes in. The drums are really straightforward on this track. It's ok, but I won't be returning to this song. 4.5/10
  14. Caroline
    The vocals on this one kind of channel a Metallica feel ala Unforgiven. It's just too slow and lacks sonic depth. 4/10
  15. Phoenix
    Repetitive and not very engaging. The guitar solo follows suit. The song does kick into a nice gear at 3:41 that has some good energy, but a little too late to make we want to come back to this one. 4/10
  16. Violence of the Sun
    Nice contemplative rhythms and distorted rhodes tones at the start here. Sounds a lot like what I would expect from The Verve mixed with the Juliana Theory's Love album. The song doesn't really go anywhere though and just stays in its lane. 5/10
I don't think I would call this a sophomore slump, but it definitely was lacking when compared to their debut. There are a cuuple gems here in Sundial & In The Morning, but everything else is either just ok or meh. I was a little shocked that disc 2 (tracks 9-16) were mostly on the base album. I thoguht they were the b-sides of the album. Anyway, again it's not a terrible album, it's just not as good as their debut. 6/10

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New Crown (2014) - Wolfmother
  1. How Many Times
    Big and airy. This reminds me of The Music. This one has a lot of energy, but it's not very catchy to my ears. 7/10
  2. Enemy Is In Your Mind
    Another song that feels and sounds like rock, but just in a straight up way. Doesn't really have those hooks and grooves from their earlier albums. 6/10
  3. Heavy Weight
    Sounds like hard indie stoner rock. Where did the grooves go????? 4/10
  4. New Crown
    Ugh......more stoner indie rock..... :cry: Droning nasty guitar chords that don't go anywhere musically and a very nasly, whiny vocal approach. It leads into a slow, distroted bass driven riff that is pretty uneventful during the last two or so minutes.. Gross overdriven guitar tone during the solo that pans slowlly through your ears and makes you want to remove your earbuds. 3/10
  5. Tall Ships
    A decent groove at the beginning, but it's just missing that Wolfmother pizaz that was on their debut. Too much echoe on the vocals, not enough musical movement in this one. That guitar riff gets old really fast and this song is over 5 minutes. 4/10
  6. Feelings
    This is like undergound indie punk, and it's bad. 0/10
  7. "I Ain't Got No"
    Straightforward indie underground rock sound. It's what I envision would be happening in a smokey basement bar in the city. Not my thing at all. 1/10
  8. She Got It
    More nasty crunch tone, filtered lo-fi vocals, and a lack of musicality. More droning from the bass. It does have cowbell, so maybe I'll give it a 2/10
  9. My Tangerine Dream
    This sounds chaotic and out of sync, like something you'd hear coming out of a garage in a college town. Again, more droning guitars without any real chordal movement. Predictive and uninspiring. 4/10
  10. Radio
    Basically the same as all the other songs. Nothing new or inspiring here. 2/10
This was just terrible. Everything that made them great on their debut is gone on this album. This is just a run of the mill indie underground wall of distroted sound and echoed out vocals that you don't even really care about trying to hear what he's saying. Just a sad outing for a band that was so good when they first debuted. 3/10

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Victorious (2016) -Wolfmother
  1. The Love That You Give
    Some groove and a glimpse of the Wolfmother of a decade earlier (from release). There's a slight experimental aspect to it that is intruiging. The mix is a lot better than on the previous album as well. The song itself is pretty straightforward and has the same riff running, but it all just sounds and feels tighter and they do a good job of moving the song along with change ups and pleasent chord progressions. Hoping this is the start of a return to the origin of Wolfmother. 7/10
  2. Victorious
    This one sounds like old Wolfmother. OOOOOH that drum roll(?) during the chorus is nice. Would love to have a bit of movement in the guitars, but they sit nicely in the mix and song and allow the vocals to really shine and carry the song. Yeah, that chorus is great and each iteration brings a slightly new color. Nice breakdown that leads to another breakdown that isn't my favorite with chugging chords, but it does make the return to the great movement of the verse even better. This is the Wolfmother I remember. Great pace, movement, and energy. 8/10
  3. Baroness
    Oh yeah, that opening line is groovey and off beat. Great use of clapping, the organ really adds some mystical quality. The chorus is a bit safe soudning both musically and lyrically, but that pre verse riff is great. Vocals carry the verse well. If the chorus was a little less predictable with a bit more energy and story telling in the lyrics this could have been a great song instead of just a good one. 7/10
  4. Pretty Peggy
    Acoustic. This one feels like it could be an OASIS meets the Lumineers song. A litle too alternative formulaic for my taste. The chorus sounds like an indie alternative folf pop song. 6/10
  5. City Lights
    There's that wonderful nasty guitar tone from the debut album during the opening licks. The chorus is a bit too redefined and straightforward for my taste. This one feels like a late night drive with the top down catching the air in your hand. It's not a song I would put on, but if it came on I might not skip it. 6/10
  6. The Simple Life
    Garage grunge rock. Not terrible, but nothing special here. Predictable and repetitive, but refined. It's poppy feeling. 5/10
  7. Best Of A Bad Situation
    Adult alternative with a vintage feel. It almost has that 90's Presidents of the United States of America, but with more whine and acoustic guitars. 4.5/10
  8. Gypsy Caravan
    Ok, some grooves are back. Nice vocals. Rhythms are tight in the pocket. A little lacking in energy, like tired rockers, but it does have some decent groove to it. These are the songs that make me want to listen to Wolfmother. This one just isn't quite full Wolfmother. 7.75/10
  9. Happy Face
    I really want to like this one more, but it's just missing something. I don't know if it's the mix or that it's just a bit too dragging feeling? If you can make it to 2:17 the guitar solo isn't bad. That uper nasty polyphonic overdrive tone is wonderfully nasaly nasty but fits great in the mix. 6/10
  10. Eye Of The Beholder
    Vocals are good on this one, but the music just feels a bit stale. The bass follows the guitars and just doesn't really create a very interesting groove outside the bridge between the chorus and verse. They do pick up intensity around 2:40, but it's just droning intensity that doesn't really build to anything as it just returns to the progression of the verse. 6/10
Well, it wasn't as good as the debut album, but it did have a few gems on it. While it was better overall when compared to Cosmic Egg, it didn't have the same greatness to the songs that were the gems on the album. It's a decent background album that you'll dig a few songs on, but just enjoy having rock on for the rest. 6.65/10

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Rock'n'roll Baby (2019) - Wolfmother
  1. Higher
    Decent riff on this one for the verse. The chorus is pretty short and uninteresting. One could argue that the chorus doesn't really occur until around 1:40. The song just feels a bit tired. 6/10
  2. Rock'n'Roll Survivor
    Guitar riff, bass and drums follow riff to create thundering riff. Vocals come in. Riff continues, chorus has some melodic movment, then recycle. Not much that is inspiring or makes me want to listen to this song. 4/10
  3. Hot Night
    Feels kind of like a Queens of the Stone Age song with vocals that the engineer forgot to add reverb and mix correctly in the mix. 2/10
  4. Kick A$$
    The verse is pretty boring. The chord progression for the chorus is nice and I like the addition of the organ, but the vocals and the lyrics on this one are just juvenille and lacking. 4/10
  5. Spanish Rose
    I feel like I've heard this one before, as is the problem with riff driven blues rock. Feeling a bit fatigued with this one. It follows the formula, but the recording and tones just feel stale. Kind of sounds like a demo. 4/10
  6. Freedom is Mine
    Repetetive and a bit underwhelming. The solo around 2:30 is super safe feeling, though it does have nice slightly out of sync doubling. Vocals are just TERRIIBLE on this one. 2/10
  7. Special Lady
    The beat at the beginning is pretty comical. The vocals are so bad and don't always hit the right pitch. This is like a demo for a 80's/90's pop hit. 3/10
Well that was a terrible album. Yep that's all I've got to say about that. 3/10

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Frances the Mute (2005) - The Mars Volta
  1. Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus
    Well that had a sudden shift to chaos :) Omar's guitar interlude sounded like Cedric's vocals for a few seconds. Definitely not boring with all of the movement that is going on. A logical (kind of comical using logical with anything this band produced) continuation from Deloused in the Comatorium. This song is basically a, if Yes was on acid and made an album, kind of song. truthfully it's a bit too chaotic form my liking. I like when the band is all going full chaos, but I'm not a fan of hearing Omar's guitars ice picking in my ears for minutes on end. Without that guitar centric movement the song would have been a lot better. That chord progression that kicks in around 7:35 is super nice and sounds like something Jamiroquai would play. The rest of the song is just...ok. 6/10
  2. The Widow
    Sounds like something I've already heard from them, but with less energy and depth. The final 2 minutes are just wacked out noise 5/10
  3. L'Via L'Viaquez
    Soft noise intro that jumps in a punch you in the face rhythm and guitar work. Captures that debut album vibe with a great authentic cultural feel. Omar's interlude guitar section is handled so much better in this one. It adds to the song rather than being a, "oh we need to have Omar play some guitar in your face now". Half way through this song gets really creepy though. Really creepy. 5/10
  4. Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore
    Takes a long time to just get into the song. It's more of a soundtrack of an occasion that you should be watching while they narrate it. It's a bit too avante garde in that regard for me. 4/10
  5. Cassandra Gemini
    Music is pretty great in this one, but the vocals sound like a drunken slur at the beginning, then some distorted mess followed by Cedric's iconic echoey howling. 7/10
  6. Cassandra Gemini: Tarantism
    More Mars Volta chaos. 6/10
  7. Casandra Gemini: Plant A Nail In The Navel Stream
    Same song, just broken into a different track. Lots of howly screaming of the same lines over and over in this one 4/10
  8. Cassandra Gemini: Faminepulse
    Again, same song. Really starting to drag on and turning into endless measures of noise.... 3/10
  9. Cassandra Gemini: Pisacis (phra-men-ma)
    Noise. 2/10
  10. Cassandra Gemini: Con Safo
    More noise, that leads into some avante garde aggressive jazz stuff. 6/10
  11. Cassandra Gemini: Multiple Spouse Wounds
    Great progression here. Lyrics repeat, but it fits well. 7/10
  12. Cassandra Gemini: Sarcophagi
    Full circle return to the beginning. 5/10
Well......that was not what I was expecting, but at the same time exactly what I was expecting from this album. I did a little research into the album itself and found that it was a concept album based on a diary that was found by a band member which they proceeded to complete as it was unfinished. This album was cracked. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it at all. It's dark, moody, demented and just chaotic. I won't be returning to it in the future. While it's definitely not an average of the scores I gave, as an album I'd have to give it an enjoyment score of 2/10

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Amputechture (2006) - The Mars Volta
  1. Vicarious Atonement
    Very spacey and eery ambience to start this one off. It's very 2000's video game sounding. The guitars are a bit too far forward in the mix for my liking. Cedric's vocals are drowned out by the doubling with the guitar when he comes in. Unfortunately this song never hits that big moment that you are waiting for the entire time. It just stays in avant garde space the entire time. 5/10
  2. Tetragrammaton
    The transition to this song feels very off. This band is all about drastic changes, but this wasn't even a continuation, just a straight drop off. The guitars sound like Yes meets the NES Faxanadu game. The riffs are also very reminiscent of their debut album. Around 1:30 the song actually starts. The drums are FANTASTIC sounding! The rhythms that kick in around 2:20 are super tight and play on some great counterpount. This is a super pleasant chaotic ballad. And I'm only 4 minutes in! Cedric's vocals are mixed, doubled and fx'd so well on this track. The reverse delay around 4:30 reminds me of watching Tenet. the song then does a crazy jump cut feel to a new narrative line. 6:46 starts what probably should have been a new track. 7:49 brings back that great rhythm and chaos :) Not really feeling the guitar lines around 8:30. The vocals and lyrics really take a dive here as well. I personally would have separated this song into 4 different movements. The first 4 minutes get a 7/10, the rest gets a 5.5/10 for a grand mean of 6.25/10
  3. Vermicide
    Another very rough, jump transition in to a new song. It seems purposeful at this point. Really odd mixing of Cedric's vocals on this one. There's an ineresting slow and gradual pan from the right to the left for his vocals that is an interesting listening experience around 1:00. This song is pretty stripped down and simplified, as far as a Mars Volta song goes. I'm not really digging it. 4/10
  4. Meccamputechture
    Vocals are really odd to start the song. The band jumps in with a bang and has some interesting counterpoint going on. The song crafting on this album just isn't on par with their debut album. Just not feeling this one. The music and vocals have equal input on this one and I just don't find the vocals interesting or the story they are telling. The music is just so so. 5/10
  5. Asilos Magdalena
    It has a great Mexican cultural feel to this one. I'm just not a fan of these acoustic songs. 5/10
  6. Viscera Eyes
    This one sounds like a great mixture of prog rock and fusion jazz. Great drumming, an interesting guitar riff that is atypical. I'd love for the bass to do something divergent than just doubling the guitar lines though. Cedric's vocals are classic Mars Volta on this one. This is the song I've been looking for on this album. Great varied musicallity with a driving rhythm that is super tight. It just progressively gets better with each measure. Oooooh, that transition around 6:00 is super nice. Those drums! I'm pretty sure Omar listened to a lot of Frusciante. This one was pretty great :) 8.5/10
  7. Day of the Baphomets
    Nice rhythm section to bring in this song. Nice to hear the bass have the center stage for once. Pretty nice chops too. There is a tone of counterpoint that is going on both in terms of the rhythms, melodies, and chordal structures. It's chaotic, but there is harmony in the center of it all. Around 4:30 the song breaks form and enters in what I'd probably have made a new movement. This is like psychodelic Yes now. Which isn't bad by any means. I do find myself getting a bit fatigued with this one on the third drastic dynamic shift that occurs around 6:20. And then there is another one at 9:34 that goes to tonality changing progressions. Just a bit overzealous with this one. The first half of the song was pretty great and probably would have been about 8/10, the second half of the song is probably a 5/10 so that makes a 6.5/10, I guess?
  8. El Ciervo Vulnerado
    Sounds like some psychodelic drugged out spy soundtrack. Get's old really fast and there's almost 9 minutes of it. 3/10
This album, well it's definitely an upgrade from Frances the Mute in every regard. The musicality in this one is a bit hit and miss though. There are also some new approaches to Cedric's vocals that hasn't been heard on the previous two albums that doesn't seem to really work in the schema of this band. I did really enjoy the fact that they brought in new musical instruments as pretty promenant features in songs. You hear a LOT of saxaphone on this album. The songs take a lot of chances musically, which at times does hurt the songs when they use very hard transitions to new tonalities and formats. It just feels foced when this happens. This is heard the most on Day of the Baphomets, in a span of 6 minutes 15 seconds they do this twice making for what could have been three separate songs. Instead they create an 11:56 track. The album really ends on a low creepy drugged out soundscape that I was happy to retreat from. It has a couple gems and a few tracks that have great parts in it, but over all I don't think I'll be returning to this one at all, outside of those few tracks. 5.65/10

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Spotify for the win. Mother's Cake. Wow! I'm just going to put this video here and let their music speak for itself.
 
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