An occasionally catchy but slightly awkward mix of hip-hop and hard-rock. The sung and rapped part are okay, but the screamed parts are just annoying. So, eeh... so-so, to me. It doesn't entirely work.
Okay, a double Shikata choice, with two... slightly different songs 
Say which one you review, of course.
edited 25th May '16 12:26:43 PM by Lyendith
Former
95/100 - Sounds like the soundtrack to the Atelier series of games taking a few notes from crossover prog/folk. I quite like how it gradually builds up harmonic tension and even at the more exuberant moments it never quite goes all out; it's flashy but there's a lot of restraint behind the scenes and a careful eye applied to dynamics. The 1:50 choruses and how they segue into a softer mirrored version of themselves with the stringed instruments taking over is a really, really great example of how to pull off a sharp yet still smooth transition, self contradictory as it sounds.
edited 25th May '16 8:32:24 PM by StillbornMachine
…I think you put the finger on what both pleased and bugged me in the entirety of Turaida and that I couldn't quite pinpoint. =O This feelings she was never completely letting go of the horses, that she tried to be "epic but not too much", giving the album a sort of strangely subdued feel compared to her previous one... So thanks for you comment, I guess? X)
6/10. It's better than what you normally post in my opinion. Hardly spectacular, but at least I can listen to it.
Author.
Atlas
Oh hey, an EDMnote track with a decent instrumental hook for a change! It works mostly because it plays up the mechanical, stilted aspect of electronica rather than shying away from it as mainstream stuff is unwisely wont to do, though the thin and tinny drum production and lack of audible bass to emphasize the melodic counterpoint lets it down. I'm not terribly convinced by the decision to turn the vocalist into a Portal turret, either, but at least it's much more interesting than your average flatly Autotuned sycophant. 6/10, though that might be a fit of kindness on my part.
PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
9/10: This might be PJ Harvey's greatest album, and this is one of the best songs on it. The autoharp may seem like it needs some getting used to, but it's really easy to adjust to. And that ending!
9/10. Trippy, fun, amusing and remind me of a run through the middle of Chinatown. Wish the song had kept the same energy in some parts.
edited 28th May '16 8:20:08 AM by shatterstar
7/10. Never been a fan of Ellie's voice, but I can't help but love the feel of the music. And those lyrics, god they're great.
"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"
8/10: Unpopular opinion time: this is not the best song off of Meat is Murder (that would be "The Headmaster's Ritual"). However, that opening guitar chord and sprawling pop that follows is more than good enough.
6.5/10. Could have been great if the actual quality of sound in what I heard was better. And the vocal is so weak and easily overpowered by the music it brought the song from 7.0-7.5 to 6.5 for me. Might change my opinion if there's a better version out there.
Phil Collins - "You'll Be In My Heart"
edited 27th May '16 7:13:53 PM by shatterstar
9/10. Probably one of the best songs I've ever heard. I remember watching the Tarzan movie as a kid and really liking it a lot. Listen to this brought back a lot of good memories. Smashing Pumpkins-Soma
edited 27th May '16 10:56:06 PM by pointless233
10/10. Their best song besides Mayonaise, and it's for good reason. They're not very well known for slow buildup, but they use it perfectly here, with some of the best goddamn crescendos this side of Slint. Besides that, Corgan's vocals are lush and addictive, and the lyrics are nothing short of poetic.
"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"
8.5/10. Good build up. Excellent tune, music and energy. Wish the vocal is clearer in some parts.
SJ Tucker - "Cheshire Kitten (We're All Mad Here)"
edited 28th May '16 8:19:24 AM by shatterstar
7/10. An odd-sounding folk song. Not normally my thing, but it works here.
Some Need for Speed: Most Wanted nostalgia for you.
Author.
4/10. I will admit that I have a small spot in my heart for Disturbed's debut album, The Sickness. Call it a guilty pleasure. Yes, The Sickness is technically terrible, but it had at least a couple relatively good moments. Hell, I might put it on again and enjoy that. However, even if you make the correct assumption that Disturbed got better later on, it doesn't mean it was any good. Their music dipped out of So Bad, It's Good and entered the So Okay, It's Average category.
The intro to this is relatively annoying, but it seems to just get worse as it goes on. The guitars are unmemorable and don't really get me "pumped" (or whatever the youngings call it). Draiman's vocals continue his trend around that time of being focused on a type of melodic rapping. I can't say I ever thought he was a good singer, but he manages the worst thing possible: he isn't unique to anything else on this album. If you think about it, a majority of Ten Thousand Fists sounds more than a bit similar.
tl;dr: Bleh.
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"post-grunge...has energy"
hahahahahahahaha
edited 29th May '16 1:24:23 PM by golgothasArisen
"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"
Atlas
The unquestionable highlight of On Avery Island. Like all the best NMH, it's a cheerful indie melody accompanied by some of the most unsettling lyrics ever written, but the sheer giddy euphoria of "Naomi" takes the insane stalker musings of its lyrics from merely eyebrow-raising to genuinely horrific in ways Mad Lib Metal Lyrics wish they could be. I can't tell what instrument that is in the instrumental "chorus"; that just makes it all the prettier. 9/10
Belle and Sebastian - Dog on Wheels
edited 29th May '16 12:35:01 PM by Uilleam
Tastes better on the way back down.
The video wasn't available, but I found one the worked.
4/10. This slow-tempo soft kind of indie that has filled up the radio isn't good for me. I believe bands like these were the precursor to that, perhaps as a reaction to Post-Grunge, Pop Punk, and Nu Metal, but at least those genres had a feeling of energy that this lacks.
Pretty Lights - Finally Moving
7/10. Good beat and melody but could have been better with more variety. Felt too... polished for me to invest emotionally in the song.
Crisitin Miliote - "La Via En Rose"
Sorry if this brought back any painful memory...
edited 29th May '16 8:51:50 PM by shatterstar
8/10: WHYYYYYYYY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THIS HIMYM
Sufjan Stevens - Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
7/10. Good beat, vocal and pitch. Need to be atleast 2-3 min shorter.
To make up for that painful entry, here's something everyone like:
Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth - "See You Again"
edited 29th May '16 3:34:08 PM by shatterstar
1/10: A shamelessly syrupy tribute song written by two people who never knew the deceased. Every time Puth gets all falsetto, I want to scream.
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9/10. Stevens is known for three things: lush and frequently beautiful production, saddening autobiographical lyrics carried by his nigh hushed vocals, and instrumentation that will blow your mind. It seems as if each of those ideas get their own bit of running time during "Detroit." The first half has some of his best lyrics to date in my opinion, and the later half features great and surprisingly interesting (for such a long runtime) instrumental sections. Meanwhile, you have the Phillip Glass-influenced production carrying the track bar-by-bar.
Oh damn. It seems I took a while to write and we're a couple songs ahead.
7/10. While Big Star does have some pretty great songs, I can't help but feel that this is not much of a strong point on the album. Sure, the lyrics are good, but it's a song that doesn't really go anywhere musically.
The Microphones - "The Glow Pt. 2"
5/10. It starts with a wall of noise before transitioning to a weird folk-like song, but as you know I'm not into folk, and the noise doesn't do it well either.
Author.
Wow. This song belongs in a musical, and in a stellar one too. Before listening to this I only knew that Silverchair were a grunge band at some point, and I definitely did not see this coming. It takes a lot of talent and hard work to get "symphonic" alternative music to actually work, and this is perhaps the best example I've ever seen. Like a Disney animated movie that grew up. (9/10)
PUP - Guilt Trip
Nonsense is better than no sense at all.