March 2025 Album Review Wrap-Up

Hi all and welcome back to another album review wrap-up! A very busy month; had a lot of ups and downs this month, as you will see!

Hounds of Love by Kate Bush

Released: 1985

I’m not sure why, but I’m just not a fan of Kate’s work beyond her initial three albums. The direction she pivots in with The Dreaming is not my favorite, and she seems to continue with that style in Hounds of Love. This might be where I end my Kate Bush journey. I have a lot of love for The Kick Inside, Lionheart, and Never For Ever though.

Favorites: Mother Stands For Comfort, The Big Sky, Running Up That Hill

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

CINEMA by The Marías

Released: 2021

Another beautiful project from The Marías! They are really growing into becoming one of my favorite bands!

Favorites: Heavy, Hush, Little by Little

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden

Released: 1988

A conflicting one. Maiden leans more into a heavier, I'd go as far as to say a thrashier sound. 

Favorites: The Prophecy, Infinite Dreams, The Clairvoyant

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

British Steel by Judas Priest

Released: 1980

Not my favorite from them but still a good album. Breaking The Law is an iconic song!

Favorites: The Rage, Breaking The Law, Steeler

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

No Prayer for the Dying by Iron Maiden

Released: 1990

I can see why other Maiden fans consider this one of their weakest. However, I found myself enjoying it a bit, it reminded me of their first couple of releases. Still, it definitely isn't their best.

Favorites: No Prayer For The Dying, Tailgunner, The Assassin

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

Point of Entry by Judas Priest

Released: 1981

A disappointingly mediocre album. No real standouts for me here.

Favorites: Desert Plains, Don’t Go, Troubleshooter

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden

Released: 1992

Definitely a standout in Iron Maiden’s discography so far.

Favorites: Wasting Love, Fear Is The Key, Afraid To Shoot Strangers

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Screaming for Vengeance by Judas Priest

Released: 1982

I can see why a lot of Priest fans consider Screaming For Vengeance their favorite album. After a run of disappointing albums, this was such a breath of fresh air. I loved almost every song. When I do these listen-throughs, I usually don’t go back to a song until I’m done with the album unless I really, really enjoyed it. However, I had to let The Hellion / Electric Eye loop a few times before I could move on, it was just that good.

Favorites: The Hellion / Electric Eye, Prisoner of Your Eyes, Fever

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

SUBMARINE by The Marías

Released: 2024

Wow, what an album! I already loved The Marías past projects, but this one takes it a step up! It was hard to narrow down my favorites as I enjoyed almost every track.

Favorites: No One Noticed, Real Life, Run Your Mouth

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

The Other Side of the Mirror by Stevie Nicks

Released: 1989

I have such a soft spot for this album. The Other Side of the Mirror is a loose Alice In Wonderland concept album, and I am the biggest Alice In Wonderland fan ever. I mean, I literally have an Alice In Wonderland Loungefly backpack I use as my day-to-day purse lol. The album cover is gorgeous, and the lyrical imagery Stevie provides is so fitting and magical.

Favorites: Rooms on Fire, Whole Lotta Trouble, Alice

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

for your validation by Alessi Rose

Released: 2025

One of my pet peeves is when an artist drops majority of the songs from their project before it’s released, or announces a new EP but it’s only made up of previously released singles. Unfortunately, this is one of those projects. There wasn’t much new content on here but I did like the EP.

Favorites: imsochillandcool, pretty world, oh my

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Street Angel by Stevie Nicks

Released: 1994

Definitely not Stevie's best. A few standouts, but this sounds very generic compared to the works Stevie has put out in the past.

Favorites: Greta, Blue Denim, Love Is Like A River

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

Cowboys From Hell by Pantera

Released: 1990

Been wanting to get into Pantera for a bit, and I'm happy I chose now. I was always intrigued by the term "groove metal" and I have now discovered that I absolutely love it.

Favorites: The Sleep, Cemetary Gates, Domination

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Trouble In Shangri-La by Stevie Nicks

Released: 2001

Stevie comes back with something much better than Street Angel! I love the more modern take with this album, especially the very minor hip-hop and r&b elements. Sheryl Crow's involvement on the album is also such a great inclusion.

Favorites: Planets of the Universe, Trouble In Shangri-La, Sorcerer

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Dreaming by Kate Bush

Revisited

Released: 1982

Gave this one a second chance and it definitely got a bit better with the relisten. The first time I listened to the original which I felt drowned out her vocals, this time I listened to the remasters and thought those was much better. It’s a hard transition going from the baroque pop-rock of her first three albums to the eccentricity of The Dreaming. It’s something I will try to let grow on me, I’m going to sit with it for a little bit before trying Hounds of Love again.

Favorites: Leave It Open, Suspended In Gaffa, Pull Out the Pin

Least Favorites: Sat In Your Lap, The Dreaming, Get Out of My House

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

In Your Dreams by Stevie Nicks

Released: 2011

The way people forget this little piece of the 9/11 to Twilight to Ellen lore is shameful lmao. Second half of the album was much better than the first in my opinion, but this is still one of my least favorites of Stevie’s works.

Favorites: Annabel Lee, Moonlight, Ghosts Are Gone

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

City Poppin' by Caitlin Myers

Released: 2021

A cute little collection comprised of English covers of some of my favorite J-Pop songs, nothing much more to say.

Favorites: Stay With Me, Plastic Love, Dance In the Memories

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars by David Bowie

Released: 1972

My first David Bowie album! And it was okay! I started to get into it more towards the end. A lot of the songs weren’t really my style but I can definitely see why he’s such a popular artist. Was this the first concept album made? I'm going to have to do some research on this...

Favorites: Starman, Rock n Roll Suicide, Moonage Daydream

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

24 Karat Gold by Stevie Nicks

Released: 2014

I love it when artists release a collection of unreleased songs from their previous works. Reminds me a lot of the Taylor's Version project, as Stevie calls these "songs from the vault."

Favorites: All The Beautiful Worlds, If You Were My Love, 24 Karat Gold

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Aladdin Sane by David Bowie

Released: 1973

Not sure if I just became more accustomed to Bowie’s style or if I truly enjoyed this more, but I found this to be better than Ziggy Stardust. I enjoyed more of the songs off this one, the ones that leaned more into rock than folk styles in particular.

Favorites: Time, Panic In Detroit, Aladdin Sane

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Diamond Dogs by David Bowie

Released: 1974

Not my favorite but not my least favorite either. Kinda in between Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane for me.

Favorites: 1984, Sweet Thing, We Are The Dead

Least Favorites: Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

I Said I Love You First by Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco

Released: 2025

I haven’t listened to a Selena Gomez album in over a decade (and a Benny Blanco album literally never), and this was disappointing. Only listened for The Marías feature to be honest.

Favorites: Ojos Tristes, Don’t Wanna Cry

Least Favorites: Sunset Blvd, Bluest Flame, I Can’t Get Enough

Overall Rating: 2/5 Stars

Young Americans by David Bowie

Released: 1975

My favorite from Bowie so far. Love the modern funk style.

Favorites: Fame, Young Americans, Fascination

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Dreaming by Kate Bush

Revisited, Again

Released: 1982

Over the past few days since I’ve given this album a second chance it has truly grown on me. It's crazy to me how sitting with an album for a little while and giving it time can change your perspective and turn from something you consider subpar into a favorite. I do really enjoy this one now. (Or maybe I'm just stubborn and dramatic, who knows.)

Favorites: Pull Out the Pin, Night of the Swallow, Leave It Open

Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars

Hounds of Love by Kate Bush

Released: 1985

Here’s my problem with Hounds of Love.

After sitting with this album for a little bit I’ve grown to like majority of the songs, which is a good thing. However, I don’t have any tracks that stand out compared to Kate’s prior albums. Nothing that screams “omg I love it, this is my favorite!” I have one of those for every Kate album before but all of these tracks are just fine. That’s why this album is probably my least favorite.

Also, Mother Stands For Comfort feels like a song that belongs on The Dreaming but got shifted to this one for whatever reason. It doesn’t fit with the rest of this album (but it's still my favorite so...).

Favorites: Mother Stands For Comfort, Watching You Without Me, The Big Sky

Least Favorites: And Dream Of Sheep, Waking The Witch

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Heavenly by Rosemary Fairweather

Released: 2016

I really love Rosemary Fairweather’s dream pop sound and her voice reminded me of The Marías, but majority of the songs blended together for me.

Favorites: I Wasn’t There, Moonlight, Good News

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Earthstar Mountain by Hannah Cohen

Released: 2025

Is it possible that I’ve found one of my top albums released this year already?? lmao. Saw this pop up on both the Stevie Nicks and Clairo subreddits today so I thought it would be a good idea to check it out (and I’m very happy I did). This very much fits my current musical taste; a brilliant collection of retro-esque indie pop and soft rock. Very reminiscent of Clairo’s Charm, Fleetwood Mac, and also Lorde’s Solar Power(? kinda).

Favorites: Dusty, Mountain, Earthstar

Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars

Heavenly: A Second Collection of Songs by Rosemary Fairweather

Released: 2019

Production definitely improved on this one. Her voice doesn’t sound as… gritty? This album is like a blend of The Marías more downtempo music + vocals and Beabadoobee’s soft rock music + vocals.

Favorites: Where Birds Fly, MTV, Superstar

Least Favorites: You Talk Too Much

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Sensual World by Kate Bush

Released: 1991

Kate’s most cohesive album yet, both lyrically and sonically. This isn’t a bad thing, but I’ll need to sit with it more to make distinctions between tracks.

I really liked this, but this was way different in tone from The Dreaming and Hounds of Love. It’s almost like she took three big steps back to The Kick Inside/Lionheart times. There’s still that quirkiness, but less of the experimental Kate we see in her prime.

Favorites: Never Be Mine, The Sensual World, Heads Were Dancing

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

See you next month!

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