Highest Recent Ratings

Albums to watch

The Grand Tour

Land Observations

The Grand Tour

Second solo album of experimental instrumental guitar music from the former Appliance member James Brooks

ADM rating[?]

7.2

Label
Mute
UK Release date
28/07/2014
US Release date
05/08/2014
Listen on Spotify
Related Links
Last.fm Myspace Wikipedia
Share
Share |

  1. 8.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Brooks builds layers of texture, accruing motif after motif, slotting them together like cogs inside a well-oiled machine. Nothing extraneous. Everything is perfectly functional, perfectly balanced
    Read Review

  2. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    There’s something almost mathematical and architectural about Brooks’ guitar aggregations but these qualities are conveyed humbly and unobtrusively throughout
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   All Music

    It could be argued that Brooks trades intensity for pleasure on The Grand Tour, but as the album moves from dazzling to serene and back again, he sounds more assured than ever
    Read Review

  5. 6.0 |   NME

    A warm but undemanding album
    Read Review

  6. Back to main chart

blog comments powered by Disqus
buy it at amazon download it from itunes

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

Land Observations: The Grand Tour

  • Download full album for just £7.92
  • 1. On leaving the Kingdom for the well-tempered continent £0.99
  • 2. Flatlands & the Flemish Roads £0.99
  • 3. From the heights of the Simplon Pass £0.99
  • 4. Nice to Turin £0.99
  • 5. Ode to Viennese Streets £0.99
  • 6. The Brenner Pass £0.99
  • 7. Walking the warm colonnades £0.99
  • 8. Return to Ravenna £0.99
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

The Beths  Straight Line Was A Lie

They’ve made their most mature, most incisive album yet. Not reinvention. Continuance. The long way round, mapped with clarity Dork

Baxter Dury  Allbarone

Allbarone is the next destination for Dury as an experimental artist; he’s successfully been able to capture something new with his twist on hyperpop. The result is an intriguing effort that catapults him into the future realms of pop Beats Per Minute

Baxter Dury  Allbarone

Allbarone is Baxter Dury’s most hypnotic and groovy record yet, fusing his sardonic wit with club-ready beats. Distinct, contemporary, and utterly Dury, the artist’s ninth album proves he’s far from running out of ideas Northern Transmissions

More reviews

All-time top 10

Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.

  1. 9.3

    Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly

  2. 9.2

    Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters

  3. 9.1

    Kendrick Lamar Damn.

  4. 9.1

    D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah

  5. 9.0

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen

  6. 9.0

    Spiritbox Tsunami Sea

  7. 9.0

    Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure

  8. 8.9

    Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways

  9. 8.9

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree

  10. 8.9

    Frank Ocean Channel Orange

See full list