Here it is. My second public album review. And yes, I am late to this one … the album came out almost a month ago … but whatever, I plan to do throwback reviews on this site at some point (I wouldn’t call this a throwback review, I’m just saying it’s something I plan to do). It’s never too late to review an album.

So, this was not an album I was planning on listening to. I had never listened to Kelly Lee Owens before (and I still haven’t listened to any of her previous albums), and I hadn’t seen much hype around it. That is, until I saw Mark Grondin (Spectrum Pulse on YouTube) review this album positively, and I was curious … so how is it?

Well, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to use the term ‘not for everybody’, because pretty much no album is for everybody … we all have different tastes in music, so if lots of people listen to an album, it’s almost guaranteed that at least one person won’t like it … but still, much like the last album I reviewed, AM Gold by Train, I can totally understand someone not liking this album, and neither album would be near the top of my recommendation list, because regardless of how I feel about either album, I get the feeling from both albums that a large demographic really wouldn’t get into it if they tried … although for very different reasons, because these two albums are EXTREMELY different from each other.

LP.8 is an ambient album that uses a lot of repetition and a lot of sustained notes … it’s a very mellow album, and there aren’t a lot of vocals … and again, if that doesn’t sound appealing to you, it might be worth skipping (unless you’re looking to branch out your music taste), but as someone who hasn’t listened to enough of this type of music to really have an opinion on these genres overall (and, of course, with any genre, my opinion on it depends on the album/song/etc.), I can tell you what I think of this album: I think it’s excellent!

This album is very calming, with some moments feeling more intense but still somewhat mellow … the instrumentals sound fantastic for the most part, despite how little is going on, and the vocals are fantastic as well. I mentioned the repetition, and honestly, that’s part of the reason this album works so well for me! For example, on the song, “Release”, which opens the album with repetitive percussion and starts to build from there, adding in vocals as well as what sounds like a kick drum with an effect on it … but there’s not much of a build after that, and it’s very repetitive. The song feels intense, even though there’s not really a whole lot to it … it’s simple, but in a good way, especially as the album opener, and the repetition works well in my opinion for keeping that intensity, even though I wish it changed just a little bit more throughout the song, but it’s still a good song in my opinion.

We then move into the second song on the album, “Voice”, which starts off with looped vocals, as well as percussion that feels kind of all-over-the-place, before slowly adding a deep droning vibration in the background. While not one of my absolute favourites on the album, I still like it.

Next is the eight-minute track “Anadlu”, which just feels so calming, and up until the halfway point it just feels like it’s on a gradually changing loop, but then those string sounds start to come in, and then it doesn’t change much from there, either. Yes, this song is repetitive, and I totally understand why someone might find this track boring, but for me personally, the repetition is a big part of why it works so well … eight minutes barely (if at all) feels too long for this song, it’s just that calming, and feels so nice to listen to.

“S.O (2)” is kind of a remake of the song, “S.O”, from Kelly Lee Owens’ self-titled debut studio album (I haven’t listened to that album in full but I’ve listened to “S.O” a few times for the purpose of talking about “S.O (2)” in this review). It’s musically quite different (with some similarities), but is very similar lyrically, with slightly altered lyrics … I’m not really sure how I feel about “S.O” after a few listens (I wasn’t really thinking too much about my opinion on it), but I love “S.O (2)”! It has amazing vocals, and a very simple but effective instrumental.

“Olga” is a great track that doesn’t really leave me with much to say. I love the vocals and the instrumental, and those two things go really well with each other in my opinion. Other than that, if you want a better understanding of why, I’d recommend listening to the track, either in the context of the album or on its own.

“Nana Piano” is a beautiful instrumental track, with—you guessed it—some beautiful pianos. This track doesn’t feel as repetitive as some of the other tracks, and while I love a lot of the repetition on this album, I also love how this song progresses.

Next, we get the mellow and slightly eerie song, “Quickening”, and I absolutely love this track … the spoken-word vocals, the lyrics, the dragged out bass sound, the staticky sound that fits so well on this track, and then that eerie sound that almost sounds like an accordion (I don’t think that’s what it is, just how I’d describe it) that starts to come in just under two minutes into the song, and then starts to get louder, before some beautiful vocals are added on top … there’s just so much to love about this song!

The second-to-last track on the album, “One”, is my least favourite track here … and it’s not that I think this song is bad. I really like the way it builds, but some of the vocal melodies feel like they don’t really fit over the instrumental, and I don’t like how loud the vocals are mixed on this track, even though Kelly Lee Owens gives a good vocal performance here. I think it’s a decent song that fits well in the context of the album, but on an album this great, it stands out as my least favourite.

But then we arrive at the fantastic closer, “Sonic 8”, which I’m honestly not really sure how to explain, especially considering how new I am to making reviews. I’ll just say that I absolutely love this track.

I should also mention the progression of the album … I think the tracks flow into each other really well for the most part. And there’s also enough variety to keep it interesting while still feeling like a cohesive album experience.

So, once again, I can totally see this not clicking for a lot of people, but if you’re a fan of ambient music, I highly recommend that you give it a listen, and even if you aren’t, it might still be worth giving a chance.

I love the vocals on this album, there’s lots of cool sounds throughout, and like I said, I think it flows really well, too. I have a few minor criticisms here and there, but overall, I absolutely LOVE this album, and I’m giving it an 8/10.

Thanks for reading my review, and feel free to comment … I’d appreciate feedback on my review so I can find ways to improve, and also to know what I did well, but please don’t feel any pressure to comment. I’m also really curious to hear what you thought of this album; it could create some interesting discussion.

And also, if there’s any album you’d like me to review, while I can’t guarantee that I’ll review it, there’s certainly a chance … preferably not one that’s too complicated, and that would be fairly easy to review, considering that I’m just getting started with reviews, but if you have a recommendation that is more complicated and might be more of a challenge to review, that’s fine, too, it’s just less likely that I review it. Also, I’m open to reviewing albums from any year … it doesn’t have to be a new release. Again, no guarantees that I review it, but I’m still curious to hear suggestions. And with that, thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: Anadlu, S.O (2), Olga, Nana Piano, Quickening, Sonic 8
Least Favourite Tracks: One

Hello, everyone … welcome to my first ever public album review … it’s probably terrible, but hey, it’s my first review … anyway, Train are a band whose discography I haven’t really listened to much, but I haven’t heard very positive things about them from critics, but curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to give their new album AM Gold a listen, especially after liking the lead single, which is also the title track … and …

I like the album.

Yes, it’s cheesy. I know. And I could totally see why somebody might not like this album … it’s not very deep lyrically (at least I personally haven’t found much depth in the lyrics … maybe there’s more to it than I realize), and the songs feel pretty simple a lot of the time, and again, some of the lyrics are very cheesy, and you could argue it sounds like it was written entirely for the radio (I’m not saying it was, just that you could argue it sounds that way) … but for me, it’s got this charm that I don’t really know how to explain … I think part of it is Pat Monahan’s presence behind the mic … I’m not sure what it is, but his vocals fit the album really well.

I should also mention the production … at some points on this album the production feels a bit off, but mostly, the instruments sound really good together. For example, on the mellow, laid-back “Running Back (Trying to Talk to You)” … I love how the guitars on this track sound, and they fit so well with the slow drums, as well as the horns that come in later in the song.

Speaking of mellow, laid-back songs, “Bettin’ On Me” is my favourite song on the album. I love the melodies on this song, I love Pat Monahan’s vocals, and the production sounds great, too … overall, in my opinion, this song is excellent!

I also think the songs where it feels like there’s more going on instrumentally are done well, like the title track, “Cleopatra”, and “Turn the Radio Up”.

“Amber Light” is a simple but effective country-like song that just feels nice listening to … I’m not really sure what else to say about it. It just works.

Honestly, the only song here that I don’t like is “Easy On The Eyes” … the lyrics are terrible in my opinion, and the instrumental feels really bland to me. I also find Pat Monahan’s vocals on this one kind of annoying, despite me liking his vocals throughout most of this album. I just didn’t need those ‘oooh’s, ‘baby’s, and ‘yeah’s at the end, and the production doesn’t really work for me, either, especially how dominant the snare is, and the song just feels kind of messy instrumentally, and not in a good way.

There are also two features on this album, those being Sofía Reyes on “Cleopatra” and Jewel on “Turn the Radio Up”, and I think they both give really good performances.

I also like the use of horns used throughout a few songs. I already mentioned them on “Running Back (Trying to Talk to You)”, and they are also a nice touch on “Ain’t No Easy Way” and “Easy On The Eyes”, even though I really don’t like the latter overall.

Overall, I think Train delivered a simple and at times cheesy, but still good, album that is a fun listen if you ask me.

I can totally see why somebody might not like this album, but for me personally, I like it, and I’m giving it a 6.5/10.

Thanks for reading my first ever public album review. Let me know in the comments what you thought of this album (if you want to), and also what you thought of my review (also if you want to). I’m totally open to criticisms of my review, especially if you’re sharing ways you think I could improve my reviews.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Running Back (Trying to Talk to You), Cleopatra, Bettin’ On Me, Singing Alone
Least Favourite Tracks: Easy On The Eyes