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Ive been having trouble coming up with the things I want to post on here, but recently a friend sent me an Instagram reel with a song in it that I just couldnāt put my finger on. After asking everyone around me, just playing it over and over it in my mind, I realized itās āLetās Go Away for Awhileā by the Beach Boys. One thing led to another and now I want to start doing reviews for classic and new albums-that I like. I donāt want to be a dick.
After more thinking I realized thereās not much new to say about it. The consensus on Pet Sounds is that itās sonically one of the most impressive albums of its era, and influenced pop in a multitude of ways. Some say itās what made the Beatles want to start being taken more seriously as artist.
But as someone who grew up in a post Pet Sounds world (very, might I add), itās hard to draw the connections because pop music is so far away from this sound now. Still, it doesnāt date itself, either in instrumentation, lyricism, composition, or other ways. It feels incredibly fresh, and feels like the biggest pop artist of the current century could decide to make it tomorrow, and it would pop off.
The lyricism is a sort of longing that makes me think of Jeff Buckley, or it might make you think of a first love that you ruined because of inexperience and inability. Itās quite simple, but itās the idea that heās saying āall the right thingsā.
On the other hand, both with the combination of how the instruments and Brian and Carl Wilson (I had to look that up, thought it was just Brian for so long) or Mike Loveās voices, the album sounds still very impressive. Im not sure I have the vocabulary for it, but both from the quite sparse songs like āDonāt Talkā to the lush ones like āHere Todayā, everything feels meticulously constructed to fit the lyrics and where itās actually placed in the album.
Itās a 10, because of course itās 10, but itās important to go back and appreciate why itās a 10. I enjoyed doing so, even after remembering the songs that made me think of my first girlfriend lol.
After more thinking I realized thereās not much new to say about it. The consensus on Pet Sounds is that itās sonically one of the most impressive albums of its era, and influenced pop in a multitude of ways. Some say itās what made the Beatles want to start being taken more seriously as artist.
But as someone who grew up in a post Pet Sounds world (very, might I add), itās hard to draw the connections because pop music is so far away from this sound now. Still, it doesnāt date itself, either in instrumentation, lyricism, composition, or other ways. It feels incredibly fresh, and feels like the biggest pop artist of the current century could decide to make it tomorrow, and it would pop off.
The lyricism is a sort of longing that makes me think of Jeff Buckley, or it might make you think of a first love that you ruined because of inexperience and inability. Itās quite simple, but itās the idea that heās saying āall the right thingsā.
On the other hand, both with the combination of how the instruments and Brian and Carl Wilson (I had to look that up, thought it was just Brian for so long) or Mike Loveās voices, the album sounds still very impressive. Im not sure I have the vocabulary for it, but both from the quite sparse songs like āDonāt Talkā to the lush ones like āHere Todayā, everything feels meticulously constructed to fit the lyrics and where itās actually placed in the album.
Itās a 10, because of course itās 10, but itās important to go back and appreciate why itās a 10. I enjoyed doing so, even after remembering the songs that made me think of my first girlfriend lol.
1d ago
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To be very honest, I think a favorite album in general (in my case Pet Sounds) should have no skips so I'm just naming one that I think fits here.
This is definitely one of the best debuts ever and the bonus tracks could have all been included in my opinion
May 1, 2025
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I have kinda genuflected at the altar of this album since it first came out.
I owe at least two of my "meh" bands to it/them.
It was the sound of Liverpool in my head; rainy, grey, moody, caught between gothic stoicism and a dappled-light magical realism of moonlight reflected on the waves that surround that port city. Tough and tender. Bluster and vulnerability. Light and shade. All in one package. Just like Liverpool itself.
My friend Rob Elba and I did a full podcast episode on it a few years ago that still stands up pretty well as a definitive evaluation of what singer Ian McCulloch once boastfully called "The Greatest Album Ever Recorded" (not that I'm making him wrong about that). Will's guitar playing never, ever left my head -- I tried to model my whole "less is more" approach upon his twinning of Television and the Velvets.
"Silver" and "Seven Seas" could chart today, they still sound so fresh.
May 4, 2024
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Wanted to talk about this album a little because I just bought AG Cook tickets and I am so excited to see him live again. Maybe there is some bias here, but Iām not an actual music journalist so yeah, Iām going with my opinions.Ā
AG Cook is a pioneer to modern electronic music, and laid a lot of groundwork for what is now understood as modern hyperpop. Before hyperpop, it was PC Music, the label made under his creative expertise, housing artists that took on this electronic, avant-garde approach to their music that wasnāt really being seen anywhere else. PC Music was both an actual music label, but also served as a genre title for artists like SOPHIE, Hannah Diamond, Danny L Harle, amongst many. PC Music kind of birthed 100 gecs and a lot of modern āhyperpopā artists.
Britpop is Cook's 3rd studio album having been released in May 2024. Note that a few months prior the official PC Music accounts announced that the label was not going to continue on with releasing music, and would only continue to be around for archival purposes. I could get into maybe why this is the case, but to put it shortly I think that Cook and other high ups involved with PCMus figured that this niche style of music has begun to go mainstream, so they were not necessarily the hub that housed and promoted all of the artists of this style. And sometimes, good things just need to come to an end. PCMus was never the same after the unfortunate passing of SOPHIE, but its resident artists continue to create and release fantastic, boundary-pushing pop music.
Though this whole record, isnāt really Britpop by definition, a genre of the 90s in the UK that was led by the likes of Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Suede - an alternative rock sound that pulled influence from the 1960s sound that was defined by the Beatles. It also was a direct response to the rise in Grunge in the US. Perhaps an electronic approach is a new way of understanding britpop in an even fresher way, when bands in the 90s took from the 60s, now in the 2020s we are taking from the 90s. I think you could argue thereās some of that influence in this record.
This nearly 2 hour long record is noisy in the best ways, dizzying and almost magical. Cook does a great job at building soundscapes, and there are universes that exist within the Britpop album. Some notable tracks is the title track āBritpopā that features vocals from none other that Charli xcx, a longtime collaborator and friend to Cook. (I could write a whole post on their growth and dynamic as a duo. Soon!!) Other tracks that stand out to me was the almost sugary sound of Crescent Sun, which may or may not be my favorite track on the album, despite only being the 5th track of a 24 track album. It builds up beautifully and crescendos in a way that feels fully realized. It was an incredible song to hear live as well, I might add. Some other notable tracks would be Heartache, Serenade, Greatly, Bewitched, and Lucifer. There is definitely a narrative in this album, which is why it is laid out into 3 discs, Past, Present and Future. Starting out with a classic sound expected of Cook or any PCMus adjacent artist, this past sound is something we are familiar with- but it does not feel like it has been overdone.Ā The Present disc shows the most britpop influences, having a very grunge-esque, rock sound to it, using a lot of guitar. The Future disc moves back into a more understood and evolved idea of what Cook's signature sound is, and what the PC Music legacy really is.Ā
In whole this album takes a lot from his previous two albums, but utilizes his signature style in a way that feels much more cohesive as an entire album.
I donāt hesitate to say that AG Cook is one of the greatest producers in our lifetime, and his work is seen across many artists and genres, and his own personal projects prove his status as legendary time and time again. I had the pleasure of catching one of his sets at the SF Electronic/Dance music festival - āPortolaā and it was one of the highlights of my weekend. I was super excited to hear he announced a standalone show in San Francisco, I already secured my tickets. If you havenāt listened to any of Cookās personal projects, I highly recommend it. If you stumbled upon Charli xcx through BRAT, AG Cook is essential listening if you want to dive more into her sonic universe and the people that orbit within it.Ā
Mar 7, 2025
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Iāve been attempting to write more in public spaces, both because it gets my juices flowing and the anxiety about someone reading it over my shoulder and thinking either āomg heās generationalā or āchrist this must be his first timeā really drives me. iām a bit too brain rotted though and canāt stop thinking about feminist literature, or Match Mondays. or this image. i think there is something deeply wrong with me
Jun 30, 2025
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thereās not much better than looking someone up and finding out they casually have the mandate of heaven
Jun 29, 2025