Nick Hoad

So if I’m not into the mainstream, what *am* I into? I’ll be answering that question once every five reviews with these little intermissions, in which I’ll make a recommendation of my own (a maximum of one album per artist just like the poster), plus add a few additional thoughts that wouldn’t make sense to put in the reviews themselves.

The recommendation this time is Shadow Academy (2022), the self-titled debut release from the band Shadow Academy. It’s an indie-prog-rock album with a loose theme around classic literature, containing songs inspired by Moby Dick, Dracula, Alice In Wonderland and more. The shifts in energy between tracks is remarkable sometimes; White Whale is hard-hitting and distortion-laden while Once And Never More is a lush, downtempo ballad with nary an electric guitar to be heard until the final minute or so, and neither one seems out of place. If you ask which song is my favourite, the answer shifts between about five of them day to day. This kind of genre isn’t really in my wheelhouse, so you know you can trust me when I tell you it’s awesome pretty much the whole way through and well worth checking out.

The trend so far has been that the albums were released squarely before my time, but then that’s almost inevitable. For those who don’t know, I was born in 1999 so “my time” probably began somewhere in the mid-to-late 00s. The first album on the list released after that point is number 17, Ed Sheeran’s +, and others like it are few and far between. I’ve heard reports that several people are disappointed in me for having such a dim view of Rumours (which isn’t entirely true, I did like some of it), and I wonder how much of that is the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia talking. That being said, if you think I’m talking nonsense when I say an album’s no good, then absolutely more power to you. If you can find something to enjoy where I can’t then that’s great and I envy you.

Also, if you feel like making a recommendation of your own, feel free to write a comment somewhere. I’ll make a big list of them and tackle them once I’m done with the poster. I’ll stick to the rule of one album per artist, although if they’re on the poster, that doesn’t count, e.g., if I don’t like the David Bowie album that’ll show up further down the list, and you think there’s a different, better Bowie album out there, that’s fine and it can go on the list. Just don’t expect glowing reviews necessarily, I doubt I’ll like everything everyone throws at me.