February 2012
9 posts
22 tags
TRUST - TRST
                                                             Trust                                                              TRST                                                             8.6/10                                                          iPod Worthy  Trust are a small Canadian duo that have pretty much perfected a version of synth pop that makes me feel things I want to...
Feb 28th
2 notes
17 tags
PERFUME GENIUS - PUT YOUR BACK N 2 IT
                                                       Perfume Genius                                                      Put Your Back N 2 It                                                               8.5/10                                                          iPod Worthy There has yet to be a Gay Album; a record made by a gay artist that really encapsulates what it is to be gay and...
Feb 20th
3 notes
16 tags
SLEIGH BELLS - REIGN OF TERROR
                                                       Sleigh Bells                                                     Reign of Terror                                                            8.2/10                                                        iPod Worthy  It feels like it was just yesterday that the noise pop Brooklyn based duo, Sleigh Bells, dropped their highly anticipated...
Feb 20th
2 notes
20 tags
TENNIS - YOUNG AND OLD
                                                             Tennis                                                         Young and Old                                                              7.7/10                                                         Recommend  After only a year and one month after Tennis released their debut album Cape Dory the Denver trio return with their...
Feb 17th
23 tags
ISLANDS - A SLEEP & A FORGETTING
                                                       Islands                                              A Sleep & A Forgetting                                                       5.4/10 Sigh. This isn’t what I want to do to my poor Islands. The canadian rock band that gave us the magnificent Return to the Sea. Sure, Arm’s Way was a slight misstep but even so —...
Feb 16th
20 tags
AIR - LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE
                                                              Air                                                 Le Voyage Dans La Lune                                                            7.5/10                                                        Recommend  I always enjoy Air albums. I even found myself playing 2009’s Love 2 quite a bit. But I think the French band is most...
Feb 13th
3 notes
19 tags
OF MONTREAL - PARALYTIC STALKS
                                                          of Montreal                                                          Paralytic Stalks                                                              4.3/10                                                          Recycling Bin  Man. It really pains me to say this but the eleventh of Montreal album is really, really bad. It’s...
Feb 9th
3 notes
27 tags
LINDSTROM - SIX CUPS OF REBEL
                                                            Lindstrøm                                                      Six Cups of Rebel                                                               6.9/10 Lindstrøm is a Norwegian producer and electronic musician and in 2009 Lindstrøm & Christabelle released Real Life is No Cool — an LP I still find myself coming back to thanks...
Feb 9th
16 tags
LANA DEL REY - BORN TO DIE
                                                    Lana Del Rey                                                      Born to Die                                                         6.8/10 Why do people (love to) hate Lana Del Rey? I’ll try not to get into her back story in this review too much because by now I’m sure all of you have read all there is to read about Del Rey...
Feb 2nd
5 notes
January 2012
10 posts
13 tags
GRIMES - VISIONS
                                                     Grimes                                                      Visions                                                      8.5/10                                                  iPod Worthy Somehow Grimes’ single, “Vanessa” from her split 2011 EP made it passed my filter. It wasn’t until late last month that I heard...
Jan 26th
5 notes
17 tags
CHAIRLIFT - SOMETHING
                                                      Chairlift                                                       Something                                                        7.5/10 Remember Chairlift? You must if you’ve watched TV in 2008 when the dream pop Brooklyn (now) duo made the ultimate crossover to the mainstream with their song “Bruises” from their 2009...
Jan 25th
17 notes
20 tags
CLOUD NOTHINGS - ATTACK ON MEMORY
                                                   Cloud Nothings                                                   Attack On Memory                                                           8.4/10                                                       iPod Worthy  Ohio native Dylan Baldi’s lo-fi project Cloud Nothings made a huge splash on the internets in 2010 with the songs...
Jan 22nd
7 tags
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR?
Hey everyone, For 2012 I’d like to do attempt at some new things. Although with a new full-time job my free time (and time to tend to this blog) has been severely cut, I’d still like to add things and maybe change some stuff up a bit. I’d also like to turn things over to anyone that reads RateThatAlbum and ask what would like to see out here and from me. So, I’m willing...
Jan 16th
5 notes
18 tags
KYARY PAMYU PAMYU - TSUKEMA TSUKERU
                                             Kyary Pamyu Pamyu                                            Tsukema Tsukeru EP                                                      8.8/10                                                  iPod Worthy  I usually don’t review small EPs with just three or four tracks but I’ll make an exception for J-pop super star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and...
Jan 16th
6 notes
7 tags
THE BIG PINK - FUTURE THIS
                                                     The Big Pink                                                      Future This                                                         7.3/10 I was totally in love with the Big Pink’s 2009 debut album A Brief History of Love and put it as my third favorite album of that year. The record was full of emotional hooks...
Jan 15th
k3k2 asked: your review on echoes of silence is the biggest sack of bullshit i have ever read. echoes of silence is the best fucking thing my ears have ever heard.
Jan 3rd
5 notes
20 tags
SYMMETRY - THEMES FOR AN IMAGINARY FILM
                                                       Symmetry                                            Themes for an Imaginary Film                                                            8.0/10                                                        iPod Worthy Man. Now this is a thing. Thirty-six tracks by Chromatics’ and Glass Candy’s Johnny Jewel, who also had a hand in...
Jan 2nd
4 notes
16 tags
THE WEEKND - ECHOES OF SILENCE
                                                     The Weeknd                                                   Echoes of Silence                                                          7.5/10 Echoes of Silence is the third and final mixtape in the Weeknd’s (aka Abel Tesfaye) mixtape trilogy. His brilliant debut mixtape, House of Balloons ended up on my top 10 albums of 2011 while...
Jan 2nd
2 notes
3 tags
NEW MIX HAPPY NEW YEARS!
Hey everyone! I haven’t been neglecting my blog — there just hasn’t been much to post/review lately. Around this time every year there is a giant lull in music and shit winds down for a few weeks. Anyway, I come baring gifts and made a new mix i hope you all enjoy and listen to in the new year! Hope everyone’s holiday was fun and safe as well! xxx ...
Jan 1st
6 notes
December 2011
13 posts
cugatron asked: what's your formula for rating albums?
Dec 19th
2 notes
10 tags
OPEN FORUM: 2011 EDITION
Now that I’ve completed all my year-end-lists I thought it might be fun to turn the floor over to anyone who reads my blog. Feel free to comment or send me a message with your favorite albums, a list or anything else you want to say. You can ask me questions by shooting me a message on Tumblr as well. Hope 2011 was a good year for you and 2012 is even better!
Dec 19th
30 tags
TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2011 (20-1)
This year is a little different than others. For the past few years, it was pretty clear what most critics would have as their number one album. In 2010, it was obvious most would put Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on the golden Throne. 2009 saw critics placing Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion at the top of their charts. A number of critics had a huge...
Dec 18th
9 notes
30 tags
TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2011 (50-21)
If there is one thing I can say for sure, it is that 2011 was the year of the sax. Forget dubstep or R&B ruling the charts. Almost every great song featured some kind of killer sax solo. From indie to top 40 the likes of Katy Perry and Eleanor Friedberger were jamming out to the brass instrument. But there were also a good chunk of awesome music that didn’t have any sax. That’s...
Dec 16th
7 notes
30 tags
FIFTEEN HONORABLE MENTIONS OF 2011
There was too much great music to fit in a top 50 albums list. So, I took the time out to find 15 records that were great, despite not making the finale list. Don’t simply count these as albums 51-65 though. Each of the following records offers something amazing that you are highly recommended to check out.  Cass McCombs - WIT’S END Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical  Cults -...
Dec 15th
9 notes
30 tags
TOP 100 TRACKS OF 2011 (50-01)
As I said in my last post, 2011 was a great year for music; especially for singles. It feels like each record I listened to this year offered at least one or two fantastic tracks that I would return to throughout the year. That’s what it made it so incredibly hard picking at top 50. But here they are - my favorite 50 tracks of 2K11: 50. The Embassy - “St8” 49. The Strokes -...
Dec 14th
17 notes
30 tags
TOP 100 TRACKS OF 2011 (100-51)
I feel like each year it gets harder and harder to make a list of your favorite things. For 2011 especially I found it incredibly difficult to pick just 100 of my favorite tracks. And it was even harder to pick the top 10. There were so many songs that came out in 2k11 that are worthy being in the top 100/10 but I had to really narrow everything down and bring you the best of the best of the best....
Dec 12th
30 tags
TOP 15 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2011
Once again, it has been a great year for music videos. Each year artists turn out more and more impressive videos to accompany their songs. Whether they are colorful or dark; funny or dramatic; intense or calm; simple or complex; the following 15 vids offer something unique. Enjoy! 15. The Weeknd - “What You Need”   14. Azealia Banks - “212”   13. Real Estate -...
Dec 11th
6 notes
cugatron asked: I think it would be so awesome if you posted a list every day till your best albums of the year list.
Dec 8th
30 tags
TOP 10 K-POP TRACKS OF 2011
I thought I would start off the year-end-lists with my 10 favorite K-pop songs of 2011. It’s no secret that I’ve been a nerd for K-pop for a few years now, and I thought with its recent rise of popularity I’d share with you what I thought were some of the best songs from the Asian country! 10. KARA - “Step”    09. SNSD (Girls’ Generation)  - “Mr....
Dec 8th
6 tags
That Time of the Year
2011 is coming to a close. So, you all know what’s coming up: year end lists. Although I have a few more records to review, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get to them. If they are really worth your time though, I’ll make sure to post (as I did with Unicorn Kid’s excellent EP).  Anyway, stay tuned for a few lists that I’ve planned including Best Song of the Year...
Dec 8th
19 tags
UNICORN KID - TIDAL RAVE EP
                                                        Unicorn Kid                                                        Tidal Rave EP                                                            8.7/10                                                         iPod Worthy Remember how water levels in some video games would be kinda weird? Maybe not weird but there was always something...
Dec 7th
18 tags
RIHANNA - TALK THAT TALK
                                                      Rihanna                                                    Talk That Talk                                                        8.8/10                                                    iPod Worthy I feel like every year around this time I’m listening to a new Rihanna album. Oh that’s because I am listening to a new Rihanna...
Dec 3rd
6 notes
November 2011
7 posts
20 tags
DRAKE - TAKE CARE
                                                             Drake                                                            Take Care                                                             8.3/10                                                       Recommended  So, I’ll be honest with you: I’ve never been a Drake fan. Nothing about him or his music appealed to me. I found...
Nov 25th
18 tags
LOS CAMPESINOS! - HELLO SADNESS
                                               Los Campesinos!                                                   Hello Sadness                                                        8.0/10                                                  Recommended  It’s pretty clear by now what the objective of UK band Los Campesinos! is. The overly dramatic and tormented band aims to encapsulate those...
Nov 25th
LACK OF REVIEWS
Hello to my faithful followers, Sorry for not writing anything in about a week. I’ve started a new job, which has taken up most of my time. Also, the year is coming to a close thus there are less releases. I have about 8 more reviews on the way (about half are EPs) so keep an eye out for those! And of course, I’ll be doing a few end-of-the-year lists. I hope your...
Nov 25th
14 tags
CASS MCCOMBS - HUMOR RISK
                                                 Cass McCombs                                                     Humor RIsk                                                       7.8/10 Pretty ambitions this Cass McCombs. Humor Risk is the indie rocker’s second album…of the year. Nearly six months ago, McCombs dropped the gentle WIT’S END that featured the glorious opening...
Nov 13th
18 tags
SUMMER CAMP - WELCOME TO CONDALE
                                                       Summer Camp                                                     Welcome to Condale                                                               8.0/10 It’s pretty easy to write off a band like the London duo, Summer Camp. Their influences are clear (but nothing new; 80s synth-pop) and their music isn’t too hard to digest....
Nov 7th
5 notes
18 tags
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - REPLICA
                                                Oneohtrix Point Never                                                            Replica                                                             7.8/10 Man. Before I start this review can I just say how bitchin’ that album cover is? Can we all, maybe collectively, just all take a moment and look at it? Yeah. Pretty cool. Anyway,...
Nov 6th
19 tags
ATLAS SOUND - PARALLAX
                                                       Atlas Sound                                                           Parallax                                                             8.5/10                                                         iPod Worthy If you’re a big Deerhunter and Atlas Sound fan, you’re kind of lucky. Bradford Cox, the frontman of Deerhunter...
Nov 4th
6 notes
30 tags
OCTOBER MIX!
I was debating about making a Halloween mix as well as the monthly mix but, due to some personal issues I didn’t get to it. However, there are enough haunting and dark tracks to fulfill that spooky side of yours. Hope you enjoy! DOWNLOAD 01. Florence + The Machine - “Shake It Out” 00:00 - 4:29 02. Zola Jesus - “In Your Nature” 4:30 - 7:41 03. Twin Sister -...
Nov 1st
4 notes
October 2011
18 posts
19 tags
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - CEREMONIALS
                                              Florence + The Machine                                                       Ceremonials                                                            8.2/10                                                       Recommended  Even though Eat Pray Love may have been one of the shittiest, diluted and #whitepeopleproblems of all time, some good came out...
Oct 31st
21 tags
SHE & HIM - A VERY SHE & HIM CHRISTMAS
                                                         She & Him                                           A Very She & Him Christmas                                                            5.1/10                                                        Recycling Bin  Ah, the Christmas album. There aren’t too many artists that can really pull of a Christmas album - and trust...
Oct 25th
1 note
24 tags
JUSTICE - AUDIO, VIDEO, DISCO
                                                            Justice                                                   Audio, Video, Disco                                                             6.5/10 In the past four years, I often wondered how the French house duo, Justice, would follow up their revved up debut album, †. How do they come up with new material after the wide spread fame...
Oct 24th
25 tags
M83 - HURRY UP, WE'RE DREAMING
                                                      M83                                        Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming                                                       9.2/10                                                   iPod Worthy For the past few records, M83’s mastermind, Anthony Gonzalez, has found inspiration in growing up. In 2008, he created the...
Oct 19th
9 notes
15 tags
REAL ESTATE - DAYS
                                                       Real Estate                                                             Days                                                           9.0/10                                                        iPod Worthy  It’s so refreshing to hear a band like Real Estate. The New Jersey foursome released their self-titled LP back in 2009,...
Oct 17th
9 notes
greenpills-deactivated20120124 asked: First of all, I just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog! I've discovered so many great artists/albums through here and have found your reviews very accurate and fair and I was wondering if you knew any other good album-reviewing blogs, thanks in advance!
Oct 15th
25 tags
THE EMBASSY - LIFE IN THE TRENCHES
                                                     The Embassy                                                  Life in the Trenches                                                          7.6/10                                                     Recommended  When you first listen to the Embassy’s official sophomore album, Life in the Trenches it instantly sounds like a familiar...
Oct 12th
10 notes
22 tags
BJÖRK - BIOPHILIA
                                                            Björk                                                           Biophilia                                                             7.5/10                                                       Recommended  Björk’s career has spanned across decades; from the very early days of an 11-year-old Icelandic girl trying to make it...
Oct 12th
18 tags
JAMES BLAKE - ENOUGH THUNDER EP
                                                            James Blake                                                         Enough Thunder EP                                                                 7.1/10 Here’s a little treat: a brand-spanking new EP from the dubstep prince himself, James Blake. The six-track EP, Enough Thunder, is a bit scatterbrained but fans of Blake...
Oct 10th
raator asked: Can you please rate Biophilia, Strange Mercy, and New Look by New Look, thank you. Your reviews are the greatest!
Oct 10th