Album Rating: 4.5

Constructive criticism is more than welcome! I don't think it's bad writing. My style is what it is, and I enjoyed putting my preliminary experience into words.



I don't assume there are no tweaks to be made as far as applying what I know to the practice of creating a review. Nor do I expect not to learn from other, more experienced writers on the site in order to gradually improve over time.



(In the case that I end up making this into a thing I do regularly.)



My doors aren't closed to suggestions, advice, or criticism. I just take it as I see it.

Album Rating: 3.0

"how mad r u tho fr"



did you not see what you said to this nice new user fr

Album Rating: 3.5

I like to think I provided a traditional Sputnik welcome.

Album Rating: 4.0

"Okay... By all means, is there a way I could've explained myself better? I'm a creative, stream-of-consciousness writer who has a deliberately informal prose reviewing an album for the first time."



Stream-of-consciousness might work with some styles of writing, but it honestly doesn't work here. Like, you wouldn't write a stream-of-consciousness argumentative essay right? For me it doesn't work because purpose and audience don't quite align with what I want from a music review: a clear rationale behind what works and what doesn't in regards to a product.



But others might disagree... That's just my take.

Album Rating: 4.5

"Like, you wouldn't write a stream-of-consciousness argumentative essay right?"



It's funny you say that because I do, all the time....



I pretty much just ignore restrictive formatting guidelines when I write and have done it that way ever since I can remember. I'm kind of an extremely non-conformist person. It makes sense that when I write a review, it doesn't read very much like one, lol.



Ah well. I still think this saga of albums is gonna be HUGE.

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

eep this review is a mess

Album Rating: 4.5

More structure in general is what I'm gathering. I think I can make it easier to follow and be more factual and provide specific examples for a next review while retaining the freeform approach. I might do something with this one, if I feel. Thanks everyone for the feedback. I have severe ADHD (lol) so I can see how my ideas would be kind of all over the place without some more deliberate organization.

Album Rating: 4.0

Think of it this way: when you are arguing with someone, be it on paper or in person, you want your points to follow a logical sequence. An argument isn't constructed for the person making it, it's for the person listening to/reading it. Same goes for a music review. You already know how you feel about this album, but it's your responsibility to translate that feeling coherently to your reader. Why should your reader listen to this album? With stream-of-consciousness, ideas are still joined together but sometimes they take wild tangents. This review feels more like fragmented thoughts.



As you mentioned before, you have ADHD. So your stream of consciousness will naturally come across as more disjointed. It's your job as a writer to take those seemingly scattered thoughts and draw them back together into a logical progression.

Album Rating: 2.0

Just a thought but if everyone comes out and says your writing is bad... It's probably bad and defending it and saying you thing its great seems a little silly

Album Rating: 2.5

""When he sings "Run run run run run like a sun of a gun!" it isn't cheesy at all."





This invalidates your entire review. Also, you spelled son wrong."



[2]



I love that song, but I cringe a little at that MAIN LINE of the song everytime

This thread is lolz. Here's some constructive criticism though:
Stream of consciousness isn't an alternative to detail. The review comes off as shallow and disjointed because of the lack of narrative. If you're going to foregoe narrative at least explore your emotional connection to specific details instead of random general thoughts.

“Cursing, insults, and a negative approval ranking within a half-dozen comments. You may have a bright future here Balto”
dang, my first review must not have shown a bright future here...
jokes aside, the review could use some work and don’t try to follow a “stream of consciousness” but rather one that is concise and analyzes an album as a whole. Just work on it and keep writing, you’ll get the hang of it quickly... hopefully

Album Rating: 4.5

"Just a thought but if everyone comes out and says your writing is bad... It's probably bad and defending it and saying you thing its great seems a little silly"



Buddy, you're welcome to your opinion.



I never claimed it was great writing, but I will defend it as not "bad". Forgive me if one smart anonymous asshole or another doesn't really sway my opinion. Some others have been able to provide more specific advice on how to improve, without forgetting that subjectivity is a thing... and that blatant rudeness isn't actually of benefit to anyone.



If you really feel the need to harp on about how bad you think my writing is, that says a lot more about your inadequacies than mine.



Peace.

Album Rating: 4.5

And again, thanks to those who took the time to specifically address what they felt was lacking about the review. I have a better sense of what to do now for the next time.

Album Rating: 4.0

Welcome to Sputnik haha

Album Rating: 4.5

Im kinda a hard ass about reviews but this one was fine by me , I thought it conveyed your thoughts just fine and got your point across. POS from me .





PS.

You spelled son wrong



PSS



please fucking change it !

Album Rating: 3.0

I was being an ass about the invalidating your review line but I thought it was kind of obvious sarcasm.

Half of this album is straight up cheese fondue and the "run like a son of a gun" line is downright embarrassing but somewhat saved by how great the hook in the chorus is. It's okay to like cheesy stuff (hell, the new Ice Nine Kills is super cheesy but a lot of us on the site are enjoying it a lot) but I like my Coheed with a light dusting of Parmesan instead of a scalding pot of melted Swiss.

Album Rating: 4.5

In hindsight I detected the possibility of sarcasm, lol.



From a certain point of view I guess it's cheesy, but that's just the nature of the beast....



Coheed expects you to buy into the concept and immerse yourself in the narrative that the sounds and lyrics create. Practically any other band would not be able to get away with chanting something like "Queen of the Dark" because it doesn't connect with most people's universe in any meaningful way and that's what makes it sound like "cheese".



Which is why it's not for everyone, I feel. Not everyone can suspend disbelief enough to get into that extra dimension of listening; it's a big "ask" unless it's the kind of thing that comes naturally, and even then.



But if you're so deep into the soundscape that the various characters Claudio is acting out with his vocals are resonating with you on a personal level, like you're right there in HIS universe so much so that it seems like YOUR universe: parts that felt like "cheese" before can be seen as literary devices paraphrasing things happening behind your closed eyelids, and all you really care about is how great the acting is or is not - how effective the musicians are at conveying the emotions behind those cheesy lines to generate the corresponding imagery.



To that end, I feel like this is the best work the band has done in a long while, 'cause when I hear stuff like Unheavenly Creatures (to say the least), what is gripping to me is not the lyrical cliche(?) but the raw desperation in this character's voice telling me to "RUN, GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE".



I totally agree that this album is like gooey melted Swiss whereas their earlier albums were much more tame. I guess people appreciate different things about Coheed, and this album just happened to turn the dial up on the things that I personally appreciate the most.

Album Rating: 3.0

I'm definitely immersed, my dude. Where do you think my username and avatar came from? Lol. I liked Claudio's more poetic and cryptic lyrics much more and felt they fit the story much better. I know Claudio intentionally decided to try making the lyrics more relatable but I think it was a turn for the worst because I think his lyrics have ranged from downright awful to pretty good post-NWFT.

Chanting Queen of the Dark is fine with me but it's the "run like a son of a gun", "so just leave us alone", "you're selling out to be in", "two hearts beat as one" types of lyrics that disengage me from certain songs.

I'm also not a fan of most '80s arena rock so certain songs on here fall flat for me. I don't think I'll ever like Love Protocol or The Pavilion and I have faults with most of the other songs but I think the good is starting to outweigh the bad for me now. I haven't been able to get It Walks Among Us out of my head for the last few days. I think the chorus is fantastic. I might end up bumping this to a 3.5 one day but Coheed's first albums are the ones I cherish the most so I truly miss the way they used to write songs on SSTB and especially IKS.

On the bright side, this is a hundred times better than TCBTS and I still love these guys. Maybe my collector's edition of Unheavenly Creatures will make me open up to it more once it comes in the mail.

Album Rating: 4.0

"I liked Claudio's more poetic and cryptic lyrics much more and felt they fit the story much better."



I did too. I've spent a good chunk of my life trying to dissect the lyrics from those first four albums.