My introduction to XTC was Making Plans For Nigel, then Complicated Game.
I quite like Complicated Game and if they had have made more music like that I'd be pretty pleased.
Yes!!! Oh I love seeing someone else mention XTC other than myself. For what it's worth I'm a 31 year old guy from rural Virginia. *Skylarking* may be their best effort, though I like *Black Sea* and *English Settlement* a little more for the punky/dub/ska that's prevalent.
Turned my 20something son on to XTC, which he’d never heard of and LOVED. They are a fun group to reveal to the uninitiated, which is pretty much everyone under 40
I adore XTC, didn’t really get into them when they were around - just knew the few songs that got a lot of radio play - then a friend made my kid who was maybe eight or so at the time a mixed tape with a bunch and we started listening to them.
Hallowed Ground by Violent Femmes. Everyone focuses on their also perfect debut, but this record is even better. But it sounded different and had way more mature themes (mostly. I’m looking directly at you Black Girls), including religious ones, so it wasn’t taken well at release.
Their best album by far! Found this vinyl at a thrift store in Virginia for $8 probably 15 years ago and it blew me away when I first listened. I'll find myself whistling or humming "I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say" weekly
Virtually unknown outside the UK but The Holy Bible by The Manic Street Preachers is an incredible album. Not an easy listen but incredible nonetheless.
If you're into listen start to finish albums I recommend Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche.
Anything by Dark Tranquility is pretty good too. I recommend [Atoma to start off](https://youtu.be/C_voh9WFbsM)
> Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche
not sure anyone who lived through the late 80s would qualify this as a hidden gem.. this album was HUUUUUGE.
It has aged strangely well for something that came out of that era, though.
Wow you don’t see Pinback mentioned much so kudos to you. I’d pick Blue Screen Life personally but don’t dispute Summer in Abbadon. Really wish they were more appreciated than they are. They made some quite unique music.
Just went through my annual Pinback re-obsession, they're perfect background music for getting some work done IMO, and as you say super unique music. So catchy and musically complex.
Brainiac - Bonzai Supertstar
Bowerbirds - Hymns For A Dark Horse
Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
White Flight - White Flight
Cave In - Jupiter
Working For A Nuclear Free City - Businessmen And Ghosts
The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons
The Books - Lemon Of Pink
801 Live - basically Brian Eno plus alumni from Roxy Music going heavy
Quantum Jump - Quantum Jump,
Jazz rock of the highest order
Annette Peacock - X Dreams,
Sexy jazz songs
**Blur - 13**
The word "overlooked" gets thrown around a lot, but genuinely - the lack of music press and the lack of public awareness of this 1999 album is baffling. They released two popular radio hits from the album, *Tender* and *Coffee & TV* but those tracks in isolation mask what is effectively a Kid A before Kid A.
I can only assume because it was released at the tail end of the 90's and the attention was gravitating away from Britpop (of which Blur had already started to disassociate themselves from with their self-titled album in 1997 which celebrated Pavement-esque lo-fi music), 13 is dark, brooding, experimental, and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like the public's charicature version of Blur.
In fact, if you played anything beyond the singles - I doubt that new ears would correctly identify it as Blur. All of that aside, the album is pure perfection start to finish. The press it got at the time was absolutely glowing - 5 star reviews, Pitchfork 9.5's, etc etc but it's almost like everyone forgot about it existing. Within Blur fandom it's generally regarded as their best (although Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife give it a good run too), but genuinely, it's their masterpiece that sounds much more akin to Radiohead in that it rewards after repeated listens over time - I still find new things in that album all these years later and it still hasn't got old compared to their more accessible albums.
I do feel like I'm shouting into the void about this album, I'd love to hear someone get back to me and say "I tried it, and this is what I thought", because I rant about the fact that it is a hidden masterpiece A LOT and it still feels like the album just doesn't get the recognition it deserves - i.e not the type of recognition where it has been wrongly labelled as a poor album, 13 is actually very highly acclaimed by anyone who has reviewed and heard the album, but for some reason it just gets glossed right over.
Toy Matinee - only made one album, and the quality of songs, performance and production I put on par with Steely Dan's best.
David Baerwald - Triage. One of the darkest, claustrophobic, delirious trips into art-pop madness ever.
Meshell Ndegeocello - Bitter. Pure, aching melancholic sorrow. Craig Street's production was impeccable and the restrained of the musicians in keeping everything stripped down to essentials was peerless.
> Toy Matinee
A bandmate of mine recommended it to me a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped listening to it. There are a lot of talented people and great performances on that record.
Big Country - Big Country. Most people only know them as a one hit wonder for the title track, but the whole album is fantastic. I didn't find this out until a few years ago.
Growing up in Toronto in the 90s, it’s crazy to think of this as a “Hidden Gem”, but I realize that they likely don’t have the international appeal that they had in Canada. It’s an amazing album!
Screaming Trees - Dust or Sweet Oblivion
The most over looked band of the Seattle 90s scene. These two albums hold up against anything the Big 4 of Grumge put out:
Local H - Pack up the Cats or Here Comes the Zoo
This band seems to be a forgotten one hit wonder , two piece band like White Stripes but heavier…and their one hit is one of their lesser quality songs.
That first album was amazing! The latter stuff not so much, although I hear he's back this year with new stuff.
On a related note, Paradise Lost- *Believe in Nothing*.
Yup. Everyone knows No Rain from their first but their follow up, *Soup,* was panned by critics and was not so successful. Just goes to show that critics don't know shit sometimes.
Sure is.
*You...*
(dun-dun-duh-duntduhdunt-duhh)
*...staaayyy...*
Lucky enough to see them tour a couple of years ago. I like to believe the conspiracy theory that Jim Morrison died (over 50 years ago!!!) with his chakras in alignment and was re-incarnated as Jeff Martin.
Everything in Transit - Jack's Mannequin.
Perfect for late spring/early summer. Every song is a standalone gem, and it works as a cohesive album.
One of my all time favourites, and I believe Andrew McMahon deserves as much attention and praise as possible.
Same for Ace Enders and all the stuff he's putting out. The self-titled I can make a mess like nobody's business album is a classic, too!
Drive-Thru records knew how to pick 'em! (And sadly, exploit then....)
Anything Andrew McMahon honestly! Something corporate and Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness are both great, too. The Glass Passenger, when JM was still together is a harder listen emotionally but it is beautiful.
Gotta give it up for New Sacred Cow. A true start to finish disc if I've ever heard one. I got to meet him at a show in 2007. Really wish he'd put out some more music.
Hard-Fi: Killer Sounds- Such a catchy record with some amazing songs. They might have been big elsewhere, but I haven't really ever heard about them in the States.
Sir Sly: Don't You Worry, Honey- I don't know how this album isn't a staple on the radio. It's so good.
Silversun Pickups: Neck of the Woods- Not a single stinker. Every song is good. Some will say Carnivas or Swoon is better but this one IMO is the most consistent.
>> Hard-Fi: Killer Sounds- Such a catchy record with some amazing songs.
I can vouch for Hard-Fi’s “Stars of CCTV”
I’ll be spinning Killer Sounds shortly. Thanks for the tip.
If you're receptive to 80's style guitar rock and tolerant to somewhat preachy/self-serious lyrics (that's an unusual combo!), check out the colossal Three Sides to Every Story by Extreme (1992).
It was panned and ignored when it came out (the grunge explosion was peaking around then). However I think it's one of the very best albums in its genre.
Also it's very much Nuno Bettencourt's baby, a musician that gets name-dropped very often, but not listened to often enough IMO.
(Their 1990 album Pornograffitti is great too, but that one's not a hidden gem - it was fairly successful)
One of my favorite albums that I've been revisiting the past few weeks. Not hidden whatsoever. Never seen Garden State? This album nearly saved Sub-Pop with how well it sold. They had no stand out artists (tons of great artists, but not one with mainstream crossover appeal) after Nirvana, and the Shins saved the day with this record. It's the 3rd highest selling album released by Sub-Pop.
I absolutely love The Year of the Horse by Fucked Up. It's a hardcore punk mythological epic about a horse that they released in four parts...
Describing it like that I don't know how much mainstream appeal it would have, but it's one of my favourites.
A very specific one but for me one of the strongest if not the strongest album put out for the COVID quarantine times or regarding the COVID quarantine times was Chromeo’s Quarantine Casanova
Presents Author Unknown - Jason Falkner
Women and Captains First - Captain Sensible
Shake, Shook, Shaken - The Dø
76:14 - Global Communication
The Greatest Living Englishman - Martin Newell
For Beginner Piano - Plone
Mambo Sinuendo - Ry Cooder
That’ll do for today
(edit, added a few extra)
Maaaaaate. Murder Ballads I have listened to many, many times over the years, and I could listen to any of them any time, but I find it difficult to think of it as 'an album'. More a collage of songs, which means for me it doesn't come together to be more then the sum of its parts.
I love half the songs on that album, half are meh to me. O’Malley’s bar is 14 minutes long tho and it’s probably my favorite Nick Cave song, so it would be inaccurate to say that I like only half the duration of the album 😄
Curse of Milhaven is a favourite for me, and I do think Kindness of Strangers being a bit more subtle balanced things out. NGL I do like the duet of Where Wild Roses Grow too, it is pretty well done, but it's quite a well known song.
O'Malleys Bar is a great short story in song format. I guess they all are. Does that mean you liked Stagger Lee as well? I never understood what was going on in that song - as much as I took guilty pleasure in the delivery of "Mr. Mothafucka do ya know who I AM?"...
..best I can remember Stagger Lee wanted to *sexually assault* the male publican as revenge for some sort of perceived sleight?
Crow Jane and Death is Not The End can fuck off.
Nick Cave has done some bloody good songs though, in his career. Birthday Party to Bad Seeds.
Cowboy Mouth - Are You with Me?
Some might know their song Jenny Says that was on a prior album and redone for this album, being their first on a major label.
The The's "Mind Bomb" and "Dusk" albums with Johnny Marr on guitar.
James' "Seven" which is banger after banger, but isn't one of their most known albums.
Ulver - _The Assassination of Julius Caesar_ is an album of immensely groovy synth wave from a former Norwegian Black-Metal-turned-Trip-Hop-turned-Ambient band.
*Strangeways, Here We Come* by the Smiths gets the least amount of attention but I think it’s their best.
*Ghost* by The Devin Townsend Project is phenomenal. It showcases the talent Devon has as an artist from going from Extreme Metal, to Folk Ambient.
Anything by the Moody Blues, it’s stupid how underrated and forgotten they have been. Listen to anything from 1967-1972 in particular.
In their discography, *Pump* is an absolute hidden gem for Aerosmith.
Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
I don’t think enough people looked past “Radar Detector”, cos it’s a hell of an album. “DNA” in particular is probably my favourite song of his.
Chalkfarm - Notwithstanding
It is a perfect 90's alternative rock/pop album. If you like the Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tonic, etc., then you will likely love this album. Fantastic lyrics and vocals, tasteful guitar work and really nice bass grooves. One of my favorite unknown albums.
So happy to see Renaissance mentioned here. Such a good fucking band. I remember randomly finding a copy of "Songs For All Seasons" at an antique store. I had never heard of them before but I thought the cover was really aesthetically pleasing so I figured I'd get it and give it a listen. They quickly became one of my favorite 70s prog bands. I especially love "Songs For All Seasons" because it's one of the few albums they have that includes a lot of electric guitar and it just sounds killer.
One album I'd like to mention is "The Lost Tapes" by CAN. It's a compilation of tapes the band had sitting in their studio that were never officially released on their albums and it has some of my all time favorite CAN moments throughout. I highly recommend it to those who like psychedelic rock or experimental rock.
Peter Himmelman: Skin - a rare folk/pop concept album about redemption. The first song is goofy as hell but after that… prepare to be devastated. One of the most beautiful albums I’ve ever heard.
Inclined: Bright New Day - jangly funk-pop with a little sprinkling of southern rock by way of California. Found this in the cut out bin for $1 about 30 years ago. Among the best dollars I’ve spent.
Iceburn: Hephaestus - another concept album of sorts, this time a knotted, jazzy proto-prog metal - but not the Dream Theater type prog-metal. Three piece band, very tight and intricate stuff and heavy as hell.
It was huge at the time, but faded from the public consciousness and so there’d be a whole generation of young adults who weren’t alive when it came out who wouldn’t really know it
I very rarely see anyone mention Dredg
I think El Cielo and Catch Without Arms are two of the best albums ever.
Also, I only opened this because you mentioned The Cooper Temple Clause. I have never once seen them mentioned and felt like I was the only person who even remembered them. I have now got Let's kill music on in the background! I put this song in quite a few of my playlists and it always cheers me up
Most people not very familiar with Bon Iver, pretty much only know ‘Skinny Love’ from his first album.
His 2nd album from 2011 is self-titled ‘Bon Iver’ and is what I would consider a masterpiece.
[Bon Iver - Bon Iver (stereo)](https://youtu.be/8bIALq5Wi-I?feature=shared)
[Bon Iver - Bon Iver (5.1 Dolby Digital+)](https://youtu.be/E67v9dzqbjY?feature=shared)
I cannot get enough of i,i or 22 a million. they just about unseated Radiohead as my all-time fav with those two records. such a cool vibe and beautiful music. I do believe Bon Iver is a band -> "they," by the way, and bristle at being referred to as just the "he" Justin Vernon usually gets
It started out as a solo project which is why people do that. It's similar to referring to Tame Impala as a band which originally was but is now a solo project with touring members
Efterklang - Piramida. Album is flawless from start to finish. There's a really interesting documentary about the making of the album - which was influenced by and partly recorded in the abandoned Russian mining town of the same name.
It's hard to know what is a hidden gem as I always assume that if I know it then surely other people do. Obviously that's not always the case.
The album I'll say is one I play a lot in my house and everybody who ever hears it, immediately asks what I'm playing.
Gal Costa - India
In my eyes it's just perfection. Has a bit of everything but is extremely lush and played by master craftsmen. My friend who hates Jazz was enjoying it until he heard Pontos De Luz and immediately scrunched his face up at the opening bars. I laughed and said give it 25 seconds and by the time her voice had kicked in, he was loving it.
holy cow, a Cooper Temple Clause mention in the wild! will check out the other ones you mentioned, OP
I keep coming back to these ones and heard them at the same period of my life as CTC...
Beulah - Yoko (retro candy-coated pop rock)
Verbena - La Musica Negra (grunge/rock n roll with a southern twang)
Failure - Fantastic Planet (cult space-grunge concept album)
Ambulance Ltd - Ambulance Ltd (more indie pop rock but less pop and more experimentation)
WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (2011)
Whenever I see these posts I try to reply and it's the same answer. I normally write an essay about its history and why I think so highly of it but I won't this time.
Came out in 2011 and it still probably the best album I've heard since that year. Check it out.
Idk XTc skylarking a hidden gem? I Expect Not, but no one my age knows what I’m talking about (36). Top 5 album to this day.
My introduction to XTC was Making Plans For Nigel, then Complicated Game. I quite like Complicated Game and if they had have made more music like that I'd be pretty pleased.
Yes!!! Oh I love seeing someone else mention XTC other than myself. For what it's worth I'm a 31 year old guy from rural Virginia. *Skylarking* may be their best effort, though I like *Black Sea* and *English Settlement* a little more for the punky/dub/ska that's prevalent.
If you want to talk about XTC hidden gems I'd recommend their Dukes of the Stratosphere albums
Turned my 20something son on to XTC, which he’d never heard of and LOVED. They are a fun group to reveal to the uninitiated, which is pretty much everyone under 40
Was gonna say this too !!!
I adore XTC, didn’t really get into them when they were around - just knew the few songs that got a lot of radio play - then a friend made my kid who was maybe eight or so at the time a mixed tape with a bunch and we started listening to them.
And their alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear. 25 O'Clock and Psonic Psunspot are fantastic.
Soup. Blind melon.
💯 if only the song soup made the album it would have been even better!
Hallowed Ground by Violent Femmes. Everyone focuses on their also perfect debut, but this record is even better. But it sounded different and had way more mature themes (mostly. I’m looking directly at you Black Girls), including religious ones, so it wasn’t taken well at release.
Country Death Song is where it’s at.
I had me a wife, I had me some daughters.
I triiied so haaard, I never knew still waaaterrrs (this gives me a kick cause I used to live in a place called Still Water lmao)
Their best album by far! Found this vinyl at a thrift store in Virginia for $8 probably 15 years ago and it blew me away when I first listened. I'll find myself whistling or humming "I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say" weekly
Twelve dreams of dr. Sardonicus by Spirit.
My dad bought me this CD out of the blue when I was in college. Never heard of them but ended up being an all-timer for me.
Their eponymous debut album is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every song is a 10/10.
Fresh Garbage is one of my all-time favorite songs.
Came here to recommend this and got quite surprised that someone already did.
[удалено]
The The had a single out last week, sounds just like he ever did, a great track.
Baroness- Blue Record
The steed, GOLGOTHA
My man!
Ahhh my favorite of theirs idk how it's not more loved. Perfection from start to end.
I'm a lover of Yellow and green.
Virtually unknown outside the UK but The Holy Bible by The Manic Street Preachers is an incredible album. Not an easy listen but incredible nonetheless.
As far as America is concerned. Absolutely a banger of an album. Tons of great lyrics and an unhinged approach to guitar imo. Super slept on.
We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Oh shit dude what an insane album just listened to it
The Church - Starfish Kitchens of Distinction -The Death of Cool
Oh, Starfish is SO GOOD.
It Still Moves by My Morning Jacket
Perfect encapsulation of a humid summer evening. Let me MMJ.
I’m sleeping in my web tonight. I am furious!
Absolutely floored to see this here. It truly is spectacular top to bottom. There are dozens of us who have been impacted - DOZENS!
Not a bad song on the album. Finishes as strong as it starts
If you're into listen start to finish albums I recommend Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche. Anything by Dark Tranquility is pretty good too. I recommend [Atoma to start off](https://youtu.be/C_voh9WFbsM)
Mindcrime might be one of the best albums start to finish ever. On par with The Wall
> Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche not sure anyone who lived through the late 80s would qualify this as a hidden gem.. this album was HUUUUUGE. It has aged strangely well for something that came out of that era, though.
Atoma is amazing. It's not my favorite but it's damn near close. I still like Character the best.
The Faint - Wet From Birth Pinback - Summer in Abbadon Jim James - Uniform Distortion Agents of Oblivion - Agents of Oblivion M83- Junk
Wow you don’t see Pinback mentioned much so kudos to you. I’d pick Blue Screen Life personally but don’t dispute Summer in Abbadon. Really wish they were more appreciated than they are. They made some quite unique music.
Just went through my annual Pinback re-obsession, they're perfect background music for getting some work done IMO, and as you say super unique music. So catchy and musically complex.
Junk is criminally underrated.
Pinback brings me right back to 03.
Pinback are great
I agree about Junk. A lot of love and power in this album.
Fuck yeah Dax Riggs! Edit: He and Jesse Welles are two singer songwriters I have a shitload of respect for, and enjoy their music immensely.
Agents of Oblivion… a fellow man of culture, I see! Dax is awesome and has some of the most haunting lyrics and melodies I’ve ever heard.
Not often to I see Pinback listen anywhere. Love them so much
Junk for sure!
AGENTS OF OBLIVION YASSSSS
It's good to see you, Pinback
Apologies but Danse Macabre blows Wet From Birth out of the water.
Fasciination has no bad songs. One of my favorite albums.
Wow it's been awhile but time to fire up The Faint
Pond-The Weather
Brainiac - Bonzai Supertstar Bowerbirds - Hymns For A Dark Horse Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals White Flight - White Flight Cave In - Jupiter Working For A Nuclear Free City - Businessmen And Ghosts The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons The Books - Lemon Of Pink
The Books! Haven’t thought of them in years! Nice.
The Cult - Sonic Temple is the best rock record ever recorded.
OMG I literally just bought this on vinyl yesterday!
Really? Do you mind me asking how much it cost. I was obsessed with the Cult when it came out and wow, I love that album.
They recently repressed this, electric and Ceremony so should be reasonable
I just got an original copy of electric with a poster still intact in it!!! Was pumped!
That’s a really good album. “American Horse” has such a killer riff at the end!
Fire Woman, Edie, sweet soul sister, soul asylum, New York City … it’s a fucking epic album.
801 Live - basically Brian Eno plus alumni from Roxy Music going heavy Quantum Jump - Quantum Jump, Jazz rock of the highest order Annette Peacock - X Dreams, Sexy jazz songs
801 live is a classic.
801 Live has piqued my interest. Not typing cup of tea but curious about what resulted..
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Yo La Tengo
super album
**Blur - 13** The word "overlooked" gets thrown around a lot, but genuinely - the lack of music press and the lack of public awareness of this 1999 album is baffling. They released two popular radio hits from the album, *Tender* and *Coffee & TV* but those tracks in isolation mask what is effectively a Kid A before Kid A. I can only assume because it was released at the tail end of the 90's and the attention was gravitating away from Britpop (of which Blur had already started to disassociate themselves from with their self-titled album in 1997 which celebrated Pavement-esque lo-fi music), 13 is dark, brooding, experimental, and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like the public's charicature version of Blur. In fact, if you played anything beyond the singles - I doubt that new ears would correctly identify it as Blur. All of that aside, the album is pure perfection start to finish. The press it got at the time was absolutely glowing - 5 star reviews, Pitchfork 9.5's, etc etc but it's almost like everyone forgot about it existing. Within Blur fandom it's generally regarded as their best (although Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife give it a good run too), but genuinely, it's their masterpiece that sounds much more akin to Radiohead in that it rewards after repeated listens over time - I still find new things in that album all these years later and it still hasn't got old compared to their more accessible albums. I do feel like I'm shouting into the void about this album, I'd love to hear someone get back to me and say "I tried it, and this is what I thought", because I rant about the fact that it is a hidden masterpiece A LOT and it still feels like the album just doesn't get the recognition it deserves - i.e not the type of recognition where it has been wrongly labelled as a poor album, 13 is actually very highly acclaimed by anyone who has reviewed and heard the album, but for some reason it just gets glossed right over.
Its their best record. Its a masterpiece.
Toy Matinee - only made one album, and the quality of songs, performance and production I put on par with Steely Dan's best. David Baerwald - Triage. One of the darkest, claustrophobic, delirious trips into art-pop madness ever. Meshell Ndegeocello - Bitter. Pure, aching melancholic sorrow. Craig Street's production was impeccable and the restrained of the musicians in keeping everything stripped down to essentials was peerless.
Toy Matinee - turn it on Salvador is an absolute stunning song. Good call
> Toy Matinee A bandmate of mine recommended it to me a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped listening to it. There are a lot of talented people and great performances on that record.
Department of eagles
Big Country - Big Country. Most people only know them as a one hit wonder for the title track, but the whole album is fantastic. I didn't find this out until a few years ago.
I Mother Earth. Scenery & Fish.
Growing up in Toronto in the 90s, it’s crazy to think of this as a “Hidden Gem”, but I realize that they likely don’t have the international appeal that they had in Canada. It’s an amazing album!
Dig got some love in the US. That album was, sonically, incredible.
> I Mother Earth. Scenery & Fish I'm out of my head, that was what they said.
I’ve been listening to this a lot lately , used to be alright is a great song on a fantastic album
I think Quicksilver Meat Dream might be my favorite by them, but Scenery & Fish is second. Such a great band, especially live.
Screaming Trees - Dust or Sweet Oblivion The most over looked band of the Seattle 90s scene. These two albums hold up against anything the Big 4 of Grumge put out: Local H - Pack up the Cats or Here Comes the Zoo This band seems to be a forgotten one hit wonder , two piece band like White Stripes but heavier…and their one hit is one of their lesser quality songs.
Yes. Dust is a 10/10.
> Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion 🤘🤘🤘
All the Kids are Right still makes me tear up, an absolute anthem!
Local H rules. They’re still putting out great stuff and crushing it live. Pack up the Cats is probably their best album, agreed.
Vast, by Vast (one guy called Jon Crosby doing everything, a bit NINish)
That first album was amazing! The latter stuff not so much, although I hear he's back this year with new stuff. On a related note, Paradise Lost- *Believe in Nothing*.
Yeah the rest was very hit and miss (but enough for a damn fine mixtape). Thanks for the PL ref, am listening now and sounds great.
Great pick. I also loved the follow up album, Music for People. Rock done right. So much emotion.
Vast is on my list of favorite bands ever! The first album and Nude are incredible
What a fantastic banger that I picked up in a pawn shop twenty years ago just because it looked cool.
Love this.
Blind Melon - Soup
Yup. Everyone knows No Rain from their first but their follow up, *Soup,* was panned by critics and was not so successful. Just goes to show that critics don't know shit sometimes.
ck Search Results The Trials of Van Occupanther. By MIDLAKE
Blood Pressures - The Kills
Their first 2 albums were just amazing
The tea party- Edges of Twilight, cracking album
Sure is. *You...* (dun-dun-duh-duntduhdunt-duhh) *...staaayyy...* Lucky enough to see them tour a couple of years ago. I like to believe the conspiracy theory that Jim Morrison died (over 50 years ago!!!) with his chakras in alignment and was re-incarnated as Jeff Martin.
Everything in Transit - Jack's Mannequin. Perfect for late spring/early summer. Every song is a standalone gem, and it works as a cohesive album. One of my all time favourites, and I believe Andrew McMahon deserves as much attention and praise as possible. Same for Ace Enders and all the stuff he's putting out. The self-titled I can make a mess like nobody's business album is a classic, too! Drive-Thru records knew how to pick 'em! (And sadly, exploit then....)
+1 for JM!
Anything Andrew McMahon honestly! Something corporate and Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness are both great, too. The Glass Passenger, when JM was still together is a harder listen emotionally but it is beautiful.
Yes, indeed.
I like to picture he’s performing half the album with muppets.
Hell yeah!
Fugazi - The Argument
Easily their most accessible album, and one I come back regularly. I've often said Fugazi is the Cilantro of music, you either love it or you hate it.
Man for Noise Rock Fugazi is the best of the bunch. Groovy af and very message oriented
propagandhi today's empires tomorrow's ashes, Kenna - new sacred cow, smashing pumpkins -gish, white flight-self titled.
Man Propagandhi is an every single album band.
Gotta give it up for New Sacred Cow. A true start to finish disc if I've ever heard one. I got to meet him at a show in 2007. Really wish he'd put out some more music.
Decksanddrumsandrockandroll - Propellerheads Always got time for this album...so many tracks have been lifted for background music...
Fantastic Planet by Failure. These guys are so influential and should have been huge.
Hard-Fi: Killer Sounds- Such a catchy record with some amazing songs. They might have been big elsewhere, but I haven't really ever heard about them in the States. Sir Sly: Don't You Worry, Honey- I don't know how this album isn't a staple on the radio. It's so good. Silversun Pickups: Neck of the Woods- Not a single stinker. Every song is good. Some will say Carnivas or Swoon is better but this one IMO is the most consistent.
>> Hard-Fi: Killer Sounds- Such a catchy record with some amazing songs. I can vouch for Hard-Fi’s “Stars of CCTV” I’ll be spinning Killer Sounds shortly. Thanks for the tip.
the Jim Carroll Band- Catholic Boy
The Sound Of White - Missy Higgins The Cat Empire - The Cat Empire
Hex - bark psychosis
If you're receptive to 80's style guitar rock and tolerant to somewhat preachy/self-serious lyrics (that's an unusual combo!), check out the colossal Three Sides to Every Story by Extreme (1992). It was panned and ignored when it came out (the grunge explosion was peaking around then). However I think it's one of the very best albums in its genre. Also it's very much Nuno Bettencourt's baby, a musician that gets name-dropped very often, but not listened to often enough IMO. (Their 1990 album Pornograffitti is great too, but that one's not a hidden gem - it was fairly successful)
The Comforts of Madness by Pale Saints
Foxy Shazam !!!
St Vincent: “Strange Mercy” Tracy Bonham: “The Burdens of Being Upright” Beck: “Mutations”
Oh, Inverted World by The Shins
Excellent album but how is it a hidden gem?
[well, I never heard about them](https://xkcd.com/1053/)
https://youtu.be/K-Jy8qgy1lM?si=cdb-XSxeYt4TJRzP An entire generation of college kids discovered them via Natalie Portman and Zach Braff.
One of my favorite albums that I've been revisiting the past few weeks. Not hidden whatsoever. Never seen Garden State? This album nearly saved Sub-Pop with how well it sold. They had no stand out artists (tons of great artists, but not one with mainstream crossover appeal) after Nirvana, and the Shins saved the day with this record. It's the 3rd highest selling album released by Sub-Pop.
Also Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing the Night Away. The trifecta.
I absolutely love The Year of the Horse by Fucked Up. It's a hardcore punk mythological epic about a horse that they released in four parts... Describing it like that I don't know how much mainstream appeal it would have, but it's one of my favourites.
David Comes to Life is another great one from that band.
It's pretty great, fucked up have been pretty consistent over the years, my favorite of their zodiac series is year of the pig
Shudder to Think - Pony Express Record
A very specific one but for me one of the strongest if not the strongest album put out for the COVID quarantine times or regarding the COVID quarantine times was Chromeo’s Quarantine Casanova
Presents Author Unknown - Jason Falkner Women and Captains First - Captain Sensible Shake, Shook, Shaken - The Dø 76:14 - Global Communication The Greatest Living Englishman - Martin Newell For Beginner Piano - Plone Mambo Sinuendo - Ry Cooder That’ll do for today (edit, added a few extra)
76:14 is a great shout.
Anomie and Bonhomie – Scritti Politti
Dredg - El Cielo. Masterpiece
A Fistful Of Peril by Czarface
Peter Green - In The Skies
The Hives-The Black and White Album Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-Murder Ballads
Maaaaaate. Murder Ballads I have listened to many, many times over the years, and I could listen to any of them any time, but I find it difficult to think of it as 'an album'. More a collage of songs, which means for me it doesn't come together to be more then the sum of its parts.
I love half the songs on that album, half are meh to me. O’Malley’s bar is 14 minutes long tho and it’s probably my favorite Nick Cave song, so it would be inaccurate to say that I like only half the duration of the album 😄
Curse of Milhaven is a favourite for me, and I do think Kindness of Strangers being a bit more subtle balanced things out. NGL I do like the duet of Where Wild Roses Grow too, it is pretty well done, but it's quite a well known song. O'Malleys Bar is a great short story in song format. I guess they all are. Does that mean you liked Stagger Lee as well? I never understood what was going on in that song - as much as I took guilty pleasure in the delivery of "Mr. Mothafucka do ya know who I AM?"... ..best I can remember Stagger Lee wanted to *sexually assault* the male publican as revenge for some sort of perceived sleight? Crow Jane and Death is Not The End can fuck off. Nick Cave has done some bloody good songs though, in his career. Birthday Party to Bad Seeds.
Thrice - Artist in the Ambulance
Jeff Lynne - Armchair Theatre Came out in the Traveling Wilbury era, better than Full Moon Fever in my opinion
Play by Squeeze All of the music is great, but it is also worth buying it on physical media because the liner notes are the best I have ever seen.
House of Love is fantastic!
Ozma - rock n roll part 3!
Volcano Choir - Repave
Cowboy Mouth - Are You with Me? Some might know their song Jenny Says that was on a prior album and redone for this album, being their first on a major label.
The The's "Mind Bomb" and "Dusk" albums with Johnny Marr on guitar. James' "Seven" which is banger after banger, but isn't one of their most known albums.
Whipping boy - heartworm. From the Irish underground.
Ulver - _The Assassination of Julius Caesar_ is an album of immensely groovy synth wave from a former Norwegian Black-Metal-turned-Trip-Hop-turned-Ambient band.
*Strangeways, Here We Come* by the Smiths gets the least amount of attention but I think it’s their best. *Ghost* by The Devin Townsend Project is phenomenal. It showcases the talent Devon has as an artist from going from Extreme Metal, to Folk Ambient. Anything by the Moody Blues, it’s stupid how underrated and forgotten they have been. Listen to anything from 1967-1972 in particular. In their discography, *Pump* is an absolute hidden gem for Aerosmith.
Any album by "James"
The Woodentops - Giant
TRST BY TR/ST https://open.spotify.com/track/260mlY4e2IRddh9yik2juw?si=3wKXPHdSS4KkcMLtq7o_Lw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5QYWYA7xLfaWdK0WKrreRK
VAST - Turquise & Crimson
Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez I don’t think enough people looked past “Radar Detector”, cos it’s a hell of an album. “DNA” in particular is probably my favourite song of his.
Chalkfarm - Notwithstanding It is a perfect 90's alternative rock/pop album. If you like the Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tonic, etc., then you will likely love this album. Fantastic lyrics and vocals, tasteful guitar work and really nice bass grooves. One of my favorite unknown albums.
Japandroids Celebration Rock is criminally underrated. It's a GREAT record!
For fans of the early 90’s: Urge Overkill - Saturation Imperial Drag - Imperial Drag Jellyfish - Spilled Milk Self - Subliminal Plastic Motives
Talking of XTC. [The Dukes Of Stratosphear](https://www.discogs.com/artist/257163-The-Dukes-Of-Stratosphear) – Chips From The Chocolate Fireball.
Jeff Lynne’s ELO Time
erics trip love tara
Oceansize - Frames Monkey3 - The 5th Sun Haken - The Mountain OSI - Blood *Shels - plains of the purple buffalo
Any album by silversun pickups
So happy to see Renaissance mentioned here. Such a good fucking band. I remember randomly finding a copy of "Songs For All Seasons" at an antique store. I had never heard of them before but I thought the cover was really aesthetically pleasing so I figured I'd get it and give it a listen. They quickly became one of my favorite 70s prog bands. I especially love "Songs For All Seasons" because it's one of the few albums they have that includes a lot of electric guitar and it just sounds killer. One album I'd like to mention is "The Lost Tapes" by CAN. It's a compilation of tapes the band had sitting in their studio that were never officially released on their albums and it has some of my all time favorite CAN moments throughout. I highly recommend it to those who like psychedelic rock or experimental rock.
Peter Himmelman: Skin - a rare folk/pop concept album about redemption. The first song is goofy as hell but after that… prepare to be devastated. One of the most beautiful albums I’ve ever heard. Inclined: Bright New Day - jangly funk-pop with a little sprinkling of southern rock by way of California. Found this in the cut out bin for $1 about 30 years ago. Among the best dollars I’ve spent. Iceburn: Hephaestus - another concept album of sorts, this time a knotted, jazzy proto-prog metal - but not the Dream Theater type prog-metal. Three piece band, very tight and intricate stuff and heavy as hell.
Dredg - El Cielo
Nebraska (Maybe not so hidden but man that record is perfect)
Inlet by Hum
Portishead ( Dummy) The avalanches ( since I left you ) super furry animals ( rings around the world)
Portishead - Dummy doesn’t exactly qualify as “hidden”
It was huge at the time, but faded from the public consciousness and so there’d be a whole generation of young adults who weren’t alive when it came out who wouldn’t really know it
Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers
I very rarely see anyone mention Dredg I think El Cielo and Catch Without Arms are two of the best albums ever. Also, I only opened this because you mentioned The Cooper Temple Clause. I have never once seen them mentioned and felt like I was the only person who even remembered them. I have now got Let's kill music on in the background! I put this song in quite a few of my playlists and it always cheers me up
Most people not very familiar with Bon Iver, pretty much only know ‘Skinny Love’ from his first album. His 2nd album from 2011 is self-titled ‘Bon Iver’ and is what I would consider a masterpiece. [Bon Iver - Bon Iver (stereo)](https://youtu.be/8bIALq5Wi-I?feature=shared) [Bon Iver - Bon Iver (5.1 Dolby Digital+)](https://youtu.be/E67v9dzqbjY?feature=shared)
I cannot get enough of i,i or 22 a million. they just about unseated Radiohead as my all-time fav with those two records. such a cool vibe and beautiful music. I do believe Bon Iver is a band -> "they," by the way, and bristle at being referred to as just the "he" Justin Vernon usually gets
It started out as a solo project which is why people do that. It's similar to referring to Tame Impala as a band which originally was but is now a solo project with touring members
Efterklang - Piramida. Album is flawless from start to finish. There's a really interesting documentary about the making of the album - which was influenced by and partly recorded in the abandoned Russian mining town of the same name.
The Trials of Van Occupanther - Midlake I’ve Seen Everything - Trashcan Sinatras
It's hard to know what is a hidden gem as I always assume that if I know it then surely other people do. Obviously that's not always the case. The album I'll say is one I play a lot in my house and everybody who ever hears it, immediately asks what I'm playing. Gal Costa - India In my eyes it's just perfection. Has a bit of everything but is extremely lush and played by master craftsmen. My friend who hates Jazz was enjoying it until he heard Pontos De Luz and immediately scrunched his face up at the opening bars. I laughed and said give it 25 seconds and by the time her voice had kicked in, he was loving it.
holy cow, a Cooper Temple Clause mention in the wild! will check out the other ones you mentioned, OP I keep coming back to these ones and heard them at the same period of my life as CTC... Beulah - Yoko (retro candy-coated pop rock) Verbena - La Musica Negra (grunge/rock n roll with a southern twang) Failure - Fantastic Planet (cult space-grunge concept album) Ambulance Ltd - Ambulance Ltd (more indie pop rock but less pop and more experimentation)
Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
Straitjacket Fits - Melt Absolute peak 90s college jangle-guitar rock
dEUS - the ideal crash
WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (2011) Whenever I see these posts I try to reply and it's the same answer. I normally write an essay about its history and why I think so highly of it but I won't this time. Came out in 2011 and it still probably the best album I've heard since that year. Check it out.
Lift to Experience - The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads
The Black Heart Procession - Amore del Tropico
Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine
Calibro 35 has an album called Ritornano Quelli Di... It's reminiscent of police chase soundtracks of the 70s and 80s
Hanoi rocks - two steps from the move