 | Cursive Mama, I'm Swollen
3.4
great
| Ranking: #23 for 2009 | |
| |
| | Full Review | Ratings (337) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.0 excellent | Iluvatar | March 3rd 09 |
I had extreme anxiety coming into "Mama, I'm Swollen". On one hand, the two studio songs I had heard were amazingly catchy and well written, and the live version of "What Have I Done?" was astounding. On the other hand, this is now their 6th full studio record, and I was scared that perhaps Tim Kasher would run out of things to write about. He did. This album is still amazing.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Jonnyborg | December 25th 09 |
Cursive continues to shed some of their earlier punk influences in favor of dashes of a more laid-back alt country vibe throughout. The result? More room for Tm Kasher’s always-excellent lyrics.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | iarescientists | March 17th 09 |
Hey what's up my name's Tim Kasher. I'm pretty self-aware and I like to put myself down. Actually, I'm not really self-aware, it's more like I'm self-obsessed. In fact, the only thing I know is myself, I don't really like to pay attention to anything else because nobody can reach the perfect equilibrium between flawed and beautiful that I have obtained. Would you like to hear me sing about myself?
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | Matt Wolfe EMERITUS | March 7th 09 |
Is it just me or is Kasher getting unbearably annoying? Sure, he may have always enjoyed swimming in his own cesspool of self-soothing self-pity, and his audience has always identified with his lyrics. They're depressingly relatable. That's his appeal; metaphysical self-loathing. Leech on him and he'll leech off you. But he needs to start spinning a new record. "I spent the best years of my life waiting on the best years of my life. So what's there to write about?" Good question, Tim. Maybe you should start by smiling every once in a while. The amount of sympathy Kasher is asking for here is just too much for this optimist to handle, which is a shame because the first half of this record is fantastic. It's just the second half which becomes suffocated under the weight of it's own misery, both lyrically and musically.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.5 superb | Badabanda | May 3rd 13 |
You really have to sit thru this album and listen to it over and over to realize just exactly how deep it really is.
Surprisingly, it's a very deep album. You can tell that Tim Kasher was really deep in thought when he wrote
this album and started putting the lyrics together right on the dot.
Bump |
| 3.5 great | ginandjesus | December 11th 10 |
Some odd lyrics and odd songwriting here, but that's Cursive, and Kasher's voice is perfect for the job. From catchy to crazy, this album only has a few memorable songs, but they're definitely worth a listen.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | mecca | September 10th 10 |
This is okay. I was just a little excited when I first heard it, new Cursive, yadda.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | blackandcoustaud | November 16th 09 |
Everything that followed the Ugly Organ just dissapoints me. Yeah, this is a really great album, but I'm still just hoping for them to bring Gretta Cohn back.
Bump |
| 0.0 | RobertDennis2 | November 4th 09 |
The record actually isn't that bad, but it doesn't astound me, either; I only occassionally return to it, and it has improved with repeated listens, which does signify some kind of quality.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | actappalled696 | September 18th 09 |
The first and last songs are sick - the rest doesn't seem to meet Cursive's standard
Bump |
| 0.0 | joshuatree EMERITUS | March 9th 09 |
The first half of Cursive's sixth album is excellent; everything after ranges from god-awful to mediocre. Tim Kasher's lyrics are particularly terrible, returning to the meaningful self-loathing of Domestica without any of the meaning. All that remains is pitiful bullshit. Song-wise, Mama, I'm Swollen is irresistably catchy for its first few tracks, but everything after "Donkeys" is annoyingly overwraught and boring. Songs like "Let Me Up" and "We're Going To Hell" are a bit too self-satisfied and annoying, as if Kasher's depressed, but egotistical about it. A complete disappointment.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | PatchworkNeurology | March 8th 09 |
Tim seems to be running out of things to sing about, while the new drummer that Cursive has aquired did not fill the job of their previous drummer.
While the first half of this album seems uninspired and seems like they took some songwriting advice from Connor Oberst and Bright Eyes.
It slowly starts to progress about the Sixth song into and is satisifying for the rest of the cd.
It just feels uninspired and Tim has run out of ways to make us relate to him since Happy Hallow.....
RIP Cursive.
I loved you
Bump |
| 3.5 great | tarethere | March 7th 09 |
ugh:
We're at our best when it's from our hips
From our hips we don't give a shit
It just feels good, and that's no sin
It's the only way to feel alive
The closest thing to being born again
And when baby comes, it's "job well done"
Roll in the hay, or roll around the sun
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | pneumoniahawk93 | March 5th 09 |
Awesome. Purely awesome. Cursive have done it again, and they have proved that they are clearly one of the most underrated but brilliant bands around at the moment.
"From the Hips" is just genius.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | DrShaun | March 3rd 09 |
I don't know, I am really into this album. It's kind of like the mellower songs on the earlier albums and that's fine with me.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | SnackaryBinx | March 3rd 09 |
It's so incredibly catchy, really. Cursive has turned it up and put out something better then I thought they could.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | JokesorInsults | March 2nd 09 |
this album is quirky in a way that only cursive could make sound half-decent, much less pull off with the flair they do
it's not another ugly organ and nowhere near a domestica, but it's definitely a cursive album, and it's definitely worthy of being called one of their best
"What Have I Done" would be worth the $11 alone.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | MTNHDRE | February 21st 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | BeeRyan | December 21st 22 |
| 3.5 great | bnest | August 6th 22 |
| 2.5 average | Jadari | June 7th 22 |
| 3.5 great | xlev | August 4th 21 |
| 3.5 great | Brabiz | November 11th 20 |
| 3.0 good | ayew | May 21st 20 |
| 3.0 good | Aranox | March 17th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Raqinq | March 7th 20 |
| 3.5 great | bSmith | January 8th 20 |
| 3.5 great | ariich | June 12th 19 |
| 2.0 poor | nbats | May 7th 18 |
| 3.0 good | elry2k | February 29th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | tvcandy | April 14th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | Helper | March 20th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | mxbrady | March 13th 14 |
| 3.5 great | OmegaX | November 2nd 13 |
| 2.5 average | Connair | October 6th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | foxxxy | September 29th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | foxxxy | April 27th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | chaps | March 28th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | fheris | March 25th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Dummit | March 8th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | February 15th 12 |
| 3.0 good | iglu | February 12th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | mttgry | January 18th 12 |
| 2.5 average | jlech | October 14th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Remer17 | February 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | shively | January 17th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Antics | December 14th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | BluRain | October 15th 10 |
| 3.5 great | DayMan | August 8th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Veldin | August 7th 10 |
| 2.5 average | m4nny | July 27th 10 |
| 3.5 great | TY2810 | July 22nd 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | koolmcr | July 21st 10 |
| 3.0 good | Thef | June 22nd 10 |
| 3.5 great | Slum | May 14th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Oceanus | March 25th 10 |
| 3.0 good | tuk | March 21st 10 |
| 4.5 superb | zoso33 | March 5th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | dcha | February 8th 10 |
| 3.0 good | DrReg | October 21st 09 |
| 3.5 great | Kyle | October 3rd 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Amaya | September 9th 09 |
| 3.5 great | blabony | September 1st 09 |
| 3.5 great | cam | August 11th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | TREO5 | June 30th 09 |
| 3.5 great | dukie | June 28th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Bleak | June 18th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Lions | June 3rd 09 |
| 2.5 average | lobby | May 30th 09 |
| 2.5 average | Rudy K. EMERITUS | May 17th 09 |
| 3.5 great | roofi | May 16th 09 |
| 2.0 poor | kitsch | April 20th 09 |
| 5.0 classic | rrqq | April 19th 09 |
| 3.0 good | Ryce | April 1st 09 |
| 2.5 average | ziroth | March 16th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kodan | March 13th 09 |
| 3.0 good | mx STAFF | March 13th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | sethdb1 | March 12th 09 |
| 3.0 good | Mikesn EMERITUS | March 11th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Acre | March 11th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | 204409 EMERITUS | March 10th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Iai EMERITUS | March 3rd 09 |
| 4.5 superb | Msuen | March 3rd 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | natey | March 3rd 09 |
| 3.5 great | Kiran EMERITUS | March 2nd 09 |
| 2.5 average | Skyler | February 28th 09 |
| |
Give Your Opinion on Mama, I'm Swollen
|
