{"id":2677826,"date":"2026-10-07T08:40:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnine-great-albums-you-probably-havent-heard\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T08:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:41:04","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnine-great-albums-you-probably-havent-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnine-great-albums-you-probably-havent-heard\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Great Albums You (Probably) Haven\u2019t Heard"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnine-great-albums-you-probably-havent-heard%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2677826&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The author discusses participating in the popular \u201cnine albums that made me\u201d trend, choosing instead to highlight nine lesser-known, underappreciated albums from various genres and eras.These selections aim to introduce readers to diverse and obscure music treasures, emphasizing their uniqueness and stylistic variety. The list includes:<\/p>\n<p>1. **Gene &#8211; As Good As It Gets (2001):** A cohesive Britpop\/indie rock album by the band Gene, often overlooked in favor of more famous Britpop acts.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Chris Whitley &#8211; living With The Law (1991):** A soulful,guitar-driven record by the talented and tragically young musician.<\/p>\n<p>3. **Fig Dish &#8211; That\u2019s What Love Songs Often Do (1995):** An upbeat, melodic alternative record blending influences from Nirvana and Weezer with inventive arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>4. **The Blue Nile &#8211; A Walk Across Rooftops (1984):** An elusive Scottish band producing highly regarded, sparse, and atmospheric music.<\/p>\n<p>5. **Los Colognes &#8211; The Wave (2017):** A Nashville-based band capturing a distinct 80s retro sound with catchy, earworm tracks.<\/p>\n<p>6. **Echo and the Bunnymen &#8211; Reverberation (1990):** A lesser-known,post-McCulloch album perceived as underrated,with hook-laden songs and a consistent vibe.<\/p>\n<p>7. **Peter Holsapple &#038; Chris Stamey &#8211; Mavericks (1991):** A refined, songwriting-focused record from the former members of The dB\u2019s, reminiscent of Jangly power pop.<\/p>\n<p>8. **Julie London with The Bud Shank Quartet &#8211; All Through the Night: Julie London Sings cole Porter:** A jazz vocal album showcasing London&#8217;s underrated talent with sophisticated arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>9. **No Los Angeles &#8211; El Prado (2014):** An indie rock album marked by confusing band-name changes and missteps in marketing, but notable for its catchy and anthemic sound.<\/p>\n<p>this curated list reflects a passion for discovering and sharing underappreciated and stylistically diverse music, encouraging listeners to explore beyond mainstream recognition.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unless you\u2019ve been living under a rock \u2013 or have a healthy life devoid of social media \u2013 for the last week or so a lot of people are doing the \u201cnine albums that made me\u201d trend. Basically, there\u2019s a website, <a href=\"https:\/\/my9albums.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my9albums.org<\/a>, that allows you to input your nine favorite albums and produces a snazzy graphic you can post on Insta or X.<\/p>\n<p>While I could have hopped on the (literal, of sorts) bandwagon here, I saw a lot of people with similar taste already posting. I saw someone joke that they could almost tell someone\u2019s birthdate down to the month and year based on this; yes, I\u2019m a 50-year-old white guy music snob so, yes, I concede some of my indie rock faves are predictable.<\/p>\n<p>However, I\u2019ve always had adventurous music taste and I thought I\u2019d do something different. I\u2019m going to list nine records I really like that I don\u2019t think most people have heard. I\u2019m sure there are fellow music nerds on here that know these records, but I think we can all agree even if you\u2019ve heard them they are all underappreciated. Also, you\u2019ll see from the photo above, I wasn\u2019t able to complete the graphic on the \u201cnine albums\u201d site. There were two blank spots where the \u201cnine albums\u201d site didn\u2019t have the records listed and another where the \u201cnine albums\u201d site only had the name and not the album art, so there\u2019s definitely obscure-ish stuff here. Stylistically, this is a very diverse group of records \u2013 there should be a little something for everyone here.<\/p>\n<h2>Record One: Gene \u2013 <em>As Good As It Gets<\/em> (2001)<\/h2>\n<p>At least in America, I don\u2019t think most music fans have a sense of the breadth and depth of the music explosion that came with Britpop. They know Oasis and Blur, might have heard the phrase \u201cshoegaze\u201d at some point, and that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n<p>Which explains why it\u2019s a crime that a band as singularly good as Gene could basically get lost in the din of 90s British bands. <em>As Good As It Gets<\/em> is technically a greatest hits collection, but it\u2019s an exceptionally cohesive track listing. If you get your hands on a copy of the physical CD (I had to special order it back in the day), Irvine Welsh \u2013 the author of <em>Trainspotting<\/em> \u2013 writes the liner notes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommended If You Like (RIYL):<\/strong> The Smiths<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> It isn\u2019t their biggest song, but I really dig, \u201cWhere Are They Now?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gene - Where are they now?\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hUvGznGeWQ0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Record Two: Chris Whitley \u2013 <em>Living With The Law<\/em> (1991)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chris Whitley was a brilliant songwriter and performer who died tragically young; he was also an extremely unique and talented guitar player \u2013 you don\u2019t see many guys in rock slinging a dobro. <em>Living With The Law<\/em> was his most successful and probably accessible record, though on any given day I might prefer his more rocking follow-up record, <em>Din of Ecstasy<\/em>, which has some wild guitar playing on it.<\/p>\n<p><em>Living With The Law<\/em> is a more subdued record, but no less affecting. It\u2019s a very specific vibe \u2013 if you ever find yourself on a desolate road west of the Rockies with many miles ahead of you, this is the record you didn\u2019t know you desperately needed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Daniel Lanois, Robbie Robertson\u2019s solo records, John Doe<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nRsHNrJIZ0U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Big Sky Country<\/a>\u201d was the big hit off this record and it\u2019s great, but this killer Letterman performance of \u201cKick the Stones\u201d from 35 years ago really gives you a sense of what a unique and charismatic performer he was.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chris Whitley - Kick the Stones Live on Letterman July 1991\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qeZkY8ZCyu4?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Three: Fig Dish \u2013 <em>That\u2019s What Love Songs Often Do<\/em> (1995)<\/h2>\n<p>I guess you could also say that much like Britpop, the grunge\/alternative explosion of the early-to-mid 90s also buried some great bands. In fact, the first song on <em>That\u2019s What Love Songs Often Do<\/em> is called \u201cBury Me,\u201d though I doubt that was meant as a commentary on their budding career. Almost no one outside of Chicago heard much of Fig Dish, despite glowing reviews \u2013 the Chicago Tribune called TWLSOD \u201ca minor revelation\u201d \u2013 and guest vocals on two tracks from Nina Gordon, whose band Veruca Salt was plastered all over MTV at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, if I had to describe the record \u2013 imagine there\u2019s a perfect happy medium between Nirvana and Weezer. A band more upbeat and melodic than Nirvana, without any of their dirgey \u201cI Hate Myself and Want to Die\u201d nonsense. At the same time, they stop well short of the cloying neuroses and bubble gum songwriting that defined Weezer as time wore on. Yet, the Fig Dish record is still catchy as all get out and musically adventurous, with lots of unexpected time changes and loud\/quiet dynamics. It helps that <em>That\u2019s What Love Songs Often Do<\/em> was produced by ace Lou Giordano, who\u2019s worked with everyone from H\u00fcsker D\u00fc to the Goo Goo Dolls. Crank it up, this record hits.<\/p>\n<p>Fig Dish broke up when their sophomore effort in 1997 was also a commercial disappointment \u2013 but they were remembered fondly enough they reformed and put out a pretty decent album in 2024. They\u2019ve been gigging off and on since.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Nirvana, Weezer, Cheap Trick<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> It\u2019s an album full of bangers, but \u201cSeeds\u201d was the single.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fig Dish - seeds\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XzPgrpbc8Yc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Four: The Blue Nile \u2013 <em>A Walk Across Rooftops<\/em> (1984)<\/h2>\n<p>Of all the bands on this list, The Blue Nile are probably the best known, though any familiarity with them probably depends on your interest and\/or proximity to the U.K. music scene, where they are successful enough to appear on national shows such as <em>Later with Jools Holland<\/em>. In any event, for those of us across the pond they\u2019re elusive. I scoured the country for maybe 15 years before I found the vinyl from <em>A Walk Across Rooftops<\/em> at a record store in Columbus.<\/p>\n<p>Another reason they might remain unknown is that the Scottish band has only put out four records in 45 years, and their last full-length LP came out in 2004. However, their sporadic output only seems to add to the legend. Other musicians speak of the band reverentially; being a Blue Nile fan is something of a secret handshake that lets people know you have good taste.<\/p>\n<p>Or at least people desperate to convince you they have good taste \u2013 the opening lyrics to Taylor Swift\u2019s 2024 song \u201cGuilty As Sin?\u201d references the band and one of their better known songs: \u201cDrowning in The Blue Nile \/ He sent me \u2018Downtown Lights\u2019 \/ I hadn\u2019t heard it in a while.\u201d The song is presumed to be about Taylor\u2019s ex, Matty Healy of the band The 1975. But for what it\u2019s worth, another one of her famous exes, John Mayer, is also quite public about his love for The Blue Nile. Like I said, musicians really like The Blue Nile.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Leonard Cohen, Talk Talk<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> The somber, intellectual funk of \u201cTinseltown in the Rain\u201d is a car crash of music styles that shouldn\u2019t cohabitate, but succeeds spectacularly.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the Rain Live 1996\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7KI0-PTnt3w?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Five: Los Colognes \u2013 <em>The Wave<\/em> (2017)<\/h2>\n<p>I really don\u2019t know much about this band except to say that I discovered them entirely accidentally on the singer\u2019s YouTube channel, which only has a few videos about music gear and doesn\u2019t do much to promote the band. I had to order this record directly from the band\u2019s website, because I don\u2019t think it had distribution. Los Colognes is based in Nashville, but they are definitely not country.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, one of the things I really love about <em>The Wave<\/em> is that, while there are a lot of 80s retro attempts, this record does a remarkable job capturing a very specific 80s vibe \u2013 think of the very slickly produced records from the older rockers of that decade. There\u2019s a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bxz6jShW-3E&#038;t\">gated reverb<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bxz6jShW-3E&#038;t\">Linn Drums<\/a>, and if that means nothing to you, believe me you\u2019ll know it when you hear it. (I would note that John Mayer put out <em>Sob Rock<\/em> a few years later, a record capitalizing on the exact same niche 80s aesthetic right on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/resizer\/v2\/DETDNT7JZNHBFHUQ4JPTWFH7WE.jpg?auth=0b60328f5263c06e28e07cb9b2255f6dad52f2f71a0b7b4c2256473fccebe56c&#038;width=760&#038;height=507&#038;smart=true\">down to the album cover<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not just about the sound; this record is just jam-packed with earworms. I\u2019ve gifted this record to people and every time I play it in front of someone new, they never fail to ask what it is. It\u2019s impossible not to like.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Dire Straits, The Cars, Phil Collins, <em>Journeyman<\/em>-era Clapton, Don Henley\u2019s solo records, Springsteen\u2019s <em>Tunnel of Love<\/em> record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> \u201cMolly B Good\u201d is instantly memorable.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Molly B Good\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zCzfY3XJqwc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Six: Echo and the Bunnymen \u2013 <em>Reverberation<\/em> (1990)<\/h2>\n<p>Yes, I know what you\u2019re thinking. Echo and the Bunnymen? How is one of the biggest staples of 80s soundtracks, with ubiquitous hits such as \u201cThe Killing Moon,\u201d \u201cLips Like Sugar,\u201d and \u201cBring on the Dancing Horses,\u201d on a list of albums you haven\u2019t heard?<\/p>\n<p>Well, because 1) purists don\u2019t really consider this an Echo and the Bunnymen record and 2) I am justifiably confident you haven\u2019t heard it. I don\u2019t know what exactly was going on at the end of the 80s, but all was not well with the band. (I started guitarist Will Sergeant\u2019s autobiography earlier this year and haven\u2019t finished it.) I will say when I saw Echo and the Bunnymen a few years back, singer Ian McCulloch was basically unable to sing. Poor performances from McCulloch, and attendant rumors of alcoholism and addiction, have dogged him for years.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, McCulloch put out a solo record that received a lukewarm reception in 1989, and in 1990 the band put out a record without Ian McCulloch. McCulloch\u2019s voice is obviously incredibly recognizable and the band plugging on without him was not received well. Sergeant and McCulloch eventually reteamed for the (also underrated!) side project <em>Electrafixion<\/em> in 1994 and we had another Bunnymen record surface in 1997. And the band has been consistently putting out records ever since, including one that came out last month.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s finally become available on streaming services but, near as I can tell, the band has been trying to forget the McCulloch-less <em>Reverberation<\/em> ever existed \u2013 this is one of the records where 9albums didn\u2019t have the cover. Which is a shame, because taken on its own terms it\u2019s a pretty great record. I can\u2019t claim anything on the record reaches the heights of the aforementioned Bunnymen hits you know and love, but it is hook-laden and might be the band\u2019s most consistent record. (That is, if you consider it the same band.) The singer they recruited for the record, Noel Burke of the Belfast band St. Vitus Dance, was definitely a talent who slotted right into the band\u2019s post-punk psychedelia. If Sergeant and company had just decided to release the record under a different name, I suspect people would recognize this as a pretty dang good record instead of a fan-alienating mistake.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Echo and the Bunnymen (obviously)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> The album\u2019s consistency is its key attribute, but \u201cSenseless\u201d is a personal favorite.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Senseless\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XDfI9sdqEO0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Seven: Peter Holsapple &#038; Chris Stamey \u2013 <em>Mavericks<\/em> (1991)<\/h2>\n<p>Holsapple and Stamey hail from beloved 80s college rock band The dB\u2019s, who like a lot of R.E.M.-adjacent bands of that era were more influential than successful. But they were beloved for a reason \u2013 a lot of bands of that era adopted the Byrds-meets-Big Star power pop jangle aesthetic; The dB\u2019s had incredible songs underneath the familiar sound.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, Holsapple and Stamey reteamed as a duo and released a record, <em>Mavericks<\/em>, in 1991 just as their old pals in R.E.M. were finally conquering the music world. Suffice to say, <em>Mavericks<\/em> did not set the world on fire but Holsapple and Stamey produced a remarkable record. It\u2019s less rocking than The dB\u2019s, but is a mature record of unparalleled songwriting. It\u2019s just incredible. The pair have since put out two more worthy follow-ups \u2013 but the next one didn\u2019t come out until 2021.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Already mentioned R.E.M., The Byrds, and Big Star, but XTC and Neil Finn\/Crowded House are obvious touchstones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> \u201cAngel\u201d gives you a pretty good sense of the exquisite craft on display here.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Peter Holsapple &#038; Chris Stamey - Angels\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uhlGyyfLSJ8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Eight: Julie London with The Bud Shank Quartet \u2013 <em>All Through the Night: Julie London Sings Cole Porter<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>I was driving home after dropping my wife off at the airport at some ungodly morning hour, flipping through the satellite radio channels just trying to stay awake and I landed on London\u2019s rendition of \u201cAt Long Last Love.\u201d I was amazed how I could be so riveted by such a smoky ballad at 5:30 am. Within a day or so, I\u2019d ordered the vintage vinyl and it has been in the pantheon of Great Dinner Party Albums ever since.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always regarded London as one of the more underrated jazz chanteuses, but her performances here and the arrangements are superb. The band cooks \u2013 among others, jazz guitar legend Joe Pass plays on the record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> Blossom Dearie, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Chet Baker<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> I already mentioned \u201cAt Long Last Love,\u201d but you can\u2019t go wrong here.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"At Long Last Love\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I4-zP4FRuXQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Record Nine: No Los Angeles \u2013 <em>El Prado<\/em> (2014)<\/h2>\n<p>What\u2019s in a name? Well, if you\u2019re in a band these days, it turns out a lot. Case in point: Some friends of mine were in a fantastic, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/4yR0CtRGnIQNgzRqG2keEH?si=f487de1367df4d6d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tragically overlooked band called The Standard<\/a>. (Another act I could easily add to this list.) Their name wasn\u2019t really an issue when they formed in the late 90s, but as the influence of the internet grew, trying to Google a name as generic as \u201cThe Standard\u201d became a major marketing handicap. (For what it\u2019s worth, The Standard\u2019s singer Tim Putnam eventually got damn good at marketing. In 2007, he founded <a href=\"https:\/\/grokipedia.com\/page\/Partisan_Records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Partisan Records<\/a>, which is now the home of major indie acts such as Fontaines D.C. and PJ Harvey.)<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, by the time 2014 rolled around the band No really, really should have known better. No was the moniker they were going under when I first heard of them, but in addition to being Google-screwed, perhaps there were legal issues because they changed their name, and fast. By the time I tracked down vinyl a couple of months later, the band was going under the name \u201cBlack English.\u201d And worse, the name of the album had been \u201cEl Prado,\u201d but in order to make the name change they had lazily slapped a sticker on the record cover where the album title had been, thus changing the record title <em>and <\/em>the band\u2019s name. So instead of \u201cEl Prado\u201d by the band No, the album was \u201cNo\u201d by Black English. If I hadn\u2019t seen the record cover online previously and recognized it, I probably never would have found it randomly in the \u201cB\u201d section of the record store \u2013 and I had been looking for it. Anyway, I looked up the band on Spotify when I was writing this and had trouble finding them yet again, because at some point in the last couple of years they changed the band\u2019s name again to \u201cNo Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re wondering why this album didn\u2019t take off, I suspect making the band\u2019s name like a box of chocolates really, really didn\u2019t help. Anyway, that\u2019s too bad because this is a remarkably hooky, anthemic indie rock record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RIYL:<\/strong> The singer\u2019s baritone draws obvious comparisons to The National, but the band\u2019s sound is a little more driving in a way that evokes The Killers at times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample Track:<\/strong> Check out \u201cLeave The Door Wide Open,\u201d which has a fun Magritte-inspired video.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NO | Leave The Door Wide Open\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W09JxJSjoO8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>   Mark Hemingway is the Book Editor at The Federalist, and was formerly a senior writer at The Weekly Standard. Follow him on Twitter at <b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/heminator\">@heminator<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone&#8217;s sharing their nine favorite albums online lately<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":2677827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Book-Cover-Image-6.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2677826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Book-Cover-Image-6.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2677826"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2677829,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677826\/revisions\/2677829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2677827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2677826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2677826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2677826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}