Albums Worth Hearing #1
Happy Monday. I hope your weekend was an enjoyable one. I’m starting to familiarize myself with Substack, and to those of you who are following along, I really appreciate it. As I’ve said before, I’d like to start an Albums Worth Hearing segment similar to my Movies Worth Watching series, so here we are.
Similar to Movies Worth Watching, there won’t be any order or a real reason why I’m picking these records (unless noted in the title) other than I think they’re great and deserve recognition—some of which are acclaimed, while others are more obscure. You’ll get a nice variety of records, with this batch being in the rock world, more or less. I’ll give a few words about why I picked the album and why it’s worth hearing—hence the name.
Also this week, I’m going to start implementing paid-tier-only articles. Don’t worry I’ll still have plenty of free posts per week; there will just be a couple of lengthier paid-tier articles in case you want to support my writing, read more from me, and gain other perks like commenting, etc. The paid articles will have a preview available for everyone, that way you’ll get a sense if you want to upgrade your subscription, but no worries either way. Be on the lookout for that.
1. The Angels of Light - How I Loved You
Genre - Folk Rock
Release Date - 2001
Listen Here
I’m a big fan of anything Michael Gira does, with Angels of Light’s 2001 record How I Loved You being one of my favorites. The opening track, Evangeline, has an intimidating run-time of eight minutes and some change, but it stimulates an emotional response from me every time I listen. As corny as it is, it’s incredible what music can do to a person’s psyche.
The track is a richly coordinated number demonstrating Gira’s thundering yet subtle vocal delivery with a simple folk-rock backing to let the messaging of the track be the focal point. It begins in tranquility under the sky, works in feeling, yet never recoils away. It’s not as severe as Swans—Gira’s most acclaimed and recognized band—but melancholic and just as dense. By the end, you’ll feel overburdened with some sensation of reflection as you can feel it now, as Gira tenderly says.
Much of the album focuses on relationships—platonic and non-platonic—and the joy, sadness, and lessons that come with the notion of love and friendships. It’s an emotionally demanding record, and though it doesn’t have the appeal of a catchy straightforward record, it should be required listening no matter someone’s musical preference.
2. Pink Floyd - Animals
Genre - Progressive Rock
Release Date - 1977
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Pretty much everyone has heard of Pink Floyd and can attribute Dark Side Of The Moon to the band. My dad got me into the band as a kid, and we’ve viewed a slew of Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, and David Gilmour concerts over the years. Though the band has made many iconic records—specifically in the 1970s—their 1977 release Animals is my favorite.
Greatly inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Animals has some of my favorite lyrical work from Waters and contains a lengthy runtime of 42 minutes despite only having five tracks (though common in the progressive rock world). Discussing themes of societal decay, human emotion, and meaning, Animals is a dense record that is somehow palatable regardless of its longer-than-usual tracks from a mainstream perspective.
The production and performances are remarkable, even for a band that accomplished so much with its two predecessors, The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) and Wish You Were Here (1975). Though there isn’t much to say about Pink Floyd that hasn’t been said already, and I can’t help but recognize the genius of Animals.
3. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
Genre - Post Rock
Release Date - 1991
Listen Here
You might recognize Talk Talk from their 1984 New Wave Synth Pop hit It's My Life, which No Doubt covered and had some billboard success in 2003 as well. Though I enjoy Talk Talk’s first three records and what you’d categorize as New Wave, the band’s last two and more experimental albums—Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991)—are what interest and appeal the most to me.
Beginning in 1988 with Spirit of Eden, Talk Talk took a great departure from their previous three records and success. Unlike the progressive pop bittersweet music fans grew to love, these last two records featured improvised instrumentation from a large getup of musicians with demanding sessions that took up time with no real marketing plan besides the music (sounds great to me). Much like Spirit of Eden, Laughing Stock was birthed because of accidents and trying every possible idea.
Unfortunately, the band split up following its release, making Laughing Stock their last official release. Both records didn’t sell nearly as well as their 1986 release The Colour of Spring but have been looked back on as a primary piece of the foundational period for Post Rock. Although I highly recommend Spirit of Eden, most fans agree that Laughing Stock is the group’s magnum opus and is the group coming to full fruition after a period of experimentation.
Lyrically, Laughing Stock touches on themes of life and death while sonically delivering a music piece that’s atmospheric, spiritual, somber, and hypnotic. To me, the record feels like something I’d hear the day before I died, a soundtrack so painfully natural yet surreal that it overtakes the listener throughout its 42-minute runtime.