DAVID BOWIE: LOW

SCORE: 95/100

Bowie's 1977 venture into more experimental sounds with electronic/ambient music marked a huge turning point in both his career and the music industry, with this album coming before the release of Iggy Pop's 'The Idiot', an album that Bowie had done extensive work on before he conceptualized 'Low'. 

The influences carried over from various German bands led to some of the sounds present within this album, with the overall sound being infused with more electronic elements which were also similarly featured on 'The Idiot' (which came out after this album, but the creation of the album began before 'Low' did). Hearing sharp experimental synths on music from the late 70s - especially from such a massive artist, is something highly intriguing. This album alone showcases just how influential Bowie truly was, and his visionary ideals made projects like this possible.

Bowie's record label, RCA refused to slot this album for release for three months due to the fear that it would fail commercially. Upon its eventual release it was met with mixed reception - but in more modern times with more music to compare it to, it has become an essential piece of musical history. This album would help to pave the way for countless other artists and experimentations with genres, and Bowie would continue to adapt to his changing musicianship on his next project that followed suit after the release of this one. His experimentation and departure into ambient/electronic sounds alongside his usual glamourous rock sound makes for an album that you won't find from any other artist - and to call this album ahead of its time would almost be an understatement.

Bowie's knowledge of ambient music is clearly comprehensive through just this album. The instrumental tracks convey even more feeling and emotion than the tracks with lyrics - something I personally never thought I would say about a project like this one. Even as someone who's never been huge on ambient music; this is an incredible album, and an incredibly impressive one at that.

The first half of this album contains more experimental rock tracks before it subsides into something more instrumental and entirely ambient - making it the best of both worlds and an album you simply cannot let slip from your radar.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DEFTONES.

Image
  DEFTONES: DEFTONES SCORE: 96/100 (January 6, 2025) One of their heaviest and most experimental albums, Deftones' self-titled album stays true to its title. It feels like a combination of every aspect and style present within their previous three projects while still experimenting and going in new directions, and it's a much heavier and intense project when compared to the soft edginess of 'White Pony'. It has the vocal prowess of 'White Pony', with more melodic vocals mixed in with the raspy, heavy screams, while the album has the instrumental edge of 'Around the Fur' and a more polished 'Adrenaline'. It's a deeply layered album full of texture and various elements stacked together - and it doesn't let up. It's incredibly impressive that 'White Pony' was followed up with an album as good as this one, and it seems like the band was on a never-ending streak starting with the iconic 'Around the Fur'. 'Deftones' ...
Read more

DEFTONES: GORE

Image
DEFTONES: GORE SCORE: 89/100 A shorter and less favored album for many, Deftones' 2016 albums hits the right spots and returns to the form found throughout their 2006 opus 'Saturday Night Wrist'.  For many, 'Gore' manages to be the weakest effort in the deeply complex and delightful discography of the band. It is a less praised album overall - which I was immediately confused by upon playing the first track. The album has the same complexity as their other projects - having a more modern sound and using different soundscapes to make the album unique from their other projects while still keeping the cohesion of their albums up to par.  It's a striking comeback that engulfs their discography with more heavy & scenic tracks, with each song having a different sound than the last and the album coming together quite well. There are some weaker moments on this album and it feels less polished than their previous works, but it is an incredibly solid and great projec...
Read more

HIM: SLIPPERY WHEN DEAD

Image
SCORE: 98/100 It's always interesting to see the early forms of songs by various bands, demos for huge tracks like 'Razorblade Kiss' and 'Join Me In Death' reside on the 'Slippery When Dead' demo collection, and HIM manages to make even the earliest, choppiest stages of their songs sound like pure, otherworldly bliss. The demo versions of the songs are drastically different from the album versions - making this an absolute must for any fans of HIM/fans of the main album ('Razorblade Romance). Each demo is just as gorgeously crafted as the main, polished tracks, and despite some poor audio quality due to the tracks being demos - 'Slippery When Dead' is just as good as their finished efforts in the end. 'Slippery When Dead' is both highly interesting and deeply entertaining. There's something truly captivating about the demo versions of what would become 'Razorblade Romance', and some of the instrumental choices on these unfinis...
Read more