Album of the week

Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll (1988)



1. Blue Bell Knoll
2. Athol-Brose
3. Carolyn's Fingers
4. For Phoebe Still a Baby
5. The Itchy Glowbo Blow
6. Cico Buff
7. Suckling the Mender
8. Spooning Good Singing Gum
9. A Kissed Out Red Floatboat
10. Ella Megalast Burls Forever

I’m going to throw my suggestion into the ring again (as per usual), but honestly, it feels a bit pointless. Even with this massive drought of music posts lately, we still aren't actually getting to dive into and discuss every single album that gets nominated. Instead, we just wait until one finally wins, and then—only then—does it get its own dedicated thread.

Shriekback - Oil and Gold (1985)





(alternative front cover)



Tracklist

A1 Malaria 4:26
A2 Everything That Rises Must Converge 4:01
A3 Fish Below The Ice 4:26
A4 This Big Hush 6:06
A5 Faded Flowers 3:42
B1 Nemesis 3:42
B2 Only Thing That Shines 4:17
B3 Health And Knowledge And Wealth And Power 4:44
B4 Hammerheads 4:12
B5 Coelocanth 4:12

Credits

Artwork [Tactical art] – Ali McDowell*, John Waricker-Le Breton*
Engineer – Austin Ince, Hans Zimmer, Ian Caple, Simaen Skolfield
Lacquer Cut By – Kevin Metcalfe
Mixed By, Engineer – Gavin Mackillop
Photography By – Nick Knight
Photography By [Deep Fish Photography] – Peter David
Producer, Written-By – Barry Andrews
Sleeve – Da Gama
Written-By – Marsh*, Allen*, Barker*

It is actually quite a challenge to pin down the exact sound of Shriekback.

Throughout their most prolific era—the 1980s—their discography was defined by a wild mix of post-punk, experimental, dark-wave, leftfield, dub, electro, free funk, new wave, and synth pop. It’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle; there are so many different textures at play.

For those who aren't familiar with this group yet, honestly, the best thing you can do is just dive in and listen for yourself.

If that album cover above doesn't grab your attention, I don't know what will...😁

Malaria

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Fish Below The Ice

The Big Hush (Manhunter OST)

Faded Flowers

Nemesis (promo video)

Only Thing That Shines

Health And Knowledge And Wealth And Power

Hammerheads

Coelocanth (Manhunter OST)

Fish Below The Ice (plankton Enriched mix)

Fish Below The Ice (Dance mix)

Nemesis (extended)

Nemesis (Arch-Deviant)

That link above for the full album runs into quite a few "video blocked in your country" restrictions. Because of that, I've laid out the complete album below—track by track, including the 12" mixes—using various user-made YouTube videos. For your consideration...😛

analogbear40 said:I’m going to throw my suggestion out there again (per usual), but honestly, it feels pretty pointless at this stage. With this massive drought of music posts lately, we can't even get a conversation going about every album suggested—we only ever end up talking about the one that actually wins, which then gets its own thread.

And let's be real, it's just going to be the same small group of people rotating through anyway. We need to bring some new blood into this, but I'm completely stuck on how to actually 😁

Oh, it definitely happens! We’ve had people chime in here before who didn't even make the final cut, especially those regulars that everyone recognizes on the forums. The whole "Album of the Week" thing isn't meant to be some intense competition or anything... it's more like a way to make sure we actually dive into whatever gets the most votes the following week. Usually, anyone can just start their own thread for a specific album—just don't use that red prefix, which isn't really our style on this PDF anyway. That’s why we have the Album of the Week thing... it just keeps us all doing something together!

I noticed there isn't a thread dedicated to Kris Kristofferson, so I’m going to start one tomorrow with an intro that treats it like my personal album of the week.👍

Jason Mendoza said:I noticed there isn't a thread dedicated to Kris Kristofferson yet, so I think I'll start one tomorrow with an introduction, treating it like an album of the week feature... 👍

You missed it.

Mark Cruz15 said:You missed it.

I'm going to pull this thing right out of the ashes, just like Vuco would. 😁

Petar Grašo – Tuesday (1999)

1. 'Who Protects Us 3:41
2. It's Easier With Her 3:57
3. Let the Letter Remain 4:04
4. '92. 4:04
5. Before I Die 4:18
6. A Woman's Love 3:03
7. Tuesday 4:23
8. Nevista 4:19
9. When the Trains Leave (Go) 5:04
10. Break Me 4:39
11. When I Grow Old 5:02

>>Vasceli album<<

Where have you been hiding, Jessica Morris6? 🙏 I actually used to have that on cassette! I’d lug it around to tea parties just so we could blast it on the last day of second grade... 😁 Back then, besides stuff like Petar Grašo, we were all obsessed with Colonia, that cheesy dance music, and obviously the Macarena 🙏

I started getting hit with those nostalgic vibes way back in sixth grade once I discovered punk... while everyone else in class was slowly drifting toward that generic country-pop stuff ☕

Steven Newman50 said:Where on earth did you dig that memory up from, 🙏 Jessica Morris6? I actually had that exact tape back in the day; I used to lug it around to tea parties just so we could blast it on our last day of elementary school... 😁 Back then, besides stuff like Petar Grašo, everyone was obsessed with Colonia, that trashy dance music, and obviously the unavoidable Macarena🙏

I think I started getting hit by those waves of nostalgia as early as sixth grade, once I moved into the punk scene, while everyone else in my class was slowly drifting toward that mainstream pop-country stuff...☕

Personally, I couldn't stand Petar Grašo back in grade school because I was such a die-hard metalhead. He was right in the middle of his whole "Hey, darling, who's gonna protect us?" era...

Ljubojević - Rejoice All Ye Land


The whole album clocks in at just 24 minutes

I'm not really feeling Great Doxology, but man, In the Red Sea and Cherubic hymn are easily some of the best things I've heard all year.

Think of her as the American Enya. 🙏

full album + discogs

Steven Newman50 said:How did you even remember that, man? 🙏 I used to have that on cassette and bring it to snack time just so we could listen to it on our last day of second grade. 😁 Back then, besides some pop stuff, we were listening to Colonia, some cheesy dance tracks—total trash—and obviously the Macarena.🙏

I started getting nostalgic for sixth grade once I got into punk, while everyone else in my class was slowly switching over to country music. ☕

jebote, I honestly thought that trend only lasted for the last decade or so. In my circle, almost nobody listened to country.

If you're still taking suggestions, cool—if not... well, bear with me—I've been lying around all day feeling absolutely wrecked by my own sharp wit and intrusive thoughts. Basically, I spent the whole day questioning everything and feeling pretty down.😁🤣

My suggestion is an original from The Falla, truly great
Live At The Witch Trials
(1979.).

Wait, what gives?

Well, midnight has already come and gone, and there’s still no new poll up...

If we're just sitting around waiting for the suggestion list to fill up, I can definitely toss another album into the mix. It's really no big deal at all.
Just let me know before 3 AM, otherwise I'm heading to bed. 😁

Ugh, I was kind of blocked from posting our new options for everyone to vote on, and trying to do it from my phone was just a nightmare...
so I ended up passing out... and I bet Amanda Robinson4 is probably dead to the world right now too. Anyway, here are some new polls for us! 🎉

Man, oh man... night owls, I totally passed out before the game even wrapped up. I was just wiped out. 😛 (Though, looking at the score this morning, it seems like I didn't miss a thing...)

Dennis Hall41 said:Man, I honestly thought that trend only hit its peak in the last decade or so. Around my place, nobody was really listening to that kind of stuff back then.

Either everything is lagging in your neck of the woods, or you were hanging out with the right crowd! 😁 I was only in sixth grade when Ozzy Osbourne dropped that duet called "thief" and absolutely drove my whole generation crazy, and then a different group of friends introduced me to Six Pack, and after that, nothing was ever the same. 😁

Before all that, I used to brag about having every single Bob Dylan album in my house. ☕

And as for all the forum drama and conspiracies that ended up messing with your (if it's even just your ☕) mental state, I've got some perfect lines for that 🙂

Check this out:

When anger boils over online
And seeks out a fight;
You just need to unplug
And read a book tonight.

(Matt Haig, Notes on a Nervous Planet)

There, hope that settles everyone down a bit!

Here's a better quote for whenever you're arguing online: "Fighting on the internet is like the Special Olympics; even if you win, you're still a moron."

Looking back at that era, I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic for those old dance hits; they actually had some soul. Everything that came after was just mindless, disposable pop music that isn't even worth the memory.

As for Grašo, he’s nothing more than a bland, pathetic castrate.

Jason Mendoza said:and to me, Grašo is just this bland, pathetic eunuch...

I actually flagged your post for hate speech. ☕
Grašo is easily the best entertainer in America right now. Vjekoslav gets the premium tracks first, while everyone else is left fighting over the scraps and garbage...

Grašo is basically the biggest pop star in the country right now, hands down. There's a reason he's teaming up with Zlatko Dalić to front those Kellogg's commercials. The guy is totally scandal-free—no drama, no mess, just clean vibes. But honestly? Musically... he feels like a total lightweight compared to Oliver. 🙂

Anyway, since we're talking about Grašo, it's actually perfect timing because this just dropped 😁