So why is Allah-Las’ Worship the Sun on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
In trying to explain Allah-Las’ sound and style, you could do worse (he said humbly) than my description of the SoCal band from the best 1,000 albums ever piece on their self-titled album, Allah-Las (#764) from 2012:
Allah-Las – and this holds true for their self-titled debut album, Allah-Las, for that matter – defy easy definition. They fall into the garage rock side of the rock ‘n roll spectrum (and, which, by the way, I’m usually all in if the band is decent right there), but usually one thinks of much louder bands ranging from The Kingsmen to The White Stripes. They’re clearly influenced by quieter, moodier, indie rock style vibes, but they shouldn’t be confused with a band like The Shins either.
Worship the Sun is very much along the same lines, except it’s an even stronger record, featuring better and catchier hooks and fantastic songwriting overall.
In fact, my favorite two Allah-Las’ songs are on this one: “Had It All” and “Follow You Down.”
I should add that Allah-Las’ music feels very hip, very cool, another pair of labels that defies easy definition, dig? I mean, a band like Devo owns its uncoolness and is so passionate about its brand of nerd rock so as to become all the cooler for it, Revenge of the Nerds-style.
It’s tricky, as the Reverend Run and Darrl McDaniels might say, this coolness thing. But let’s suffice to say that Allah-Las’ music is inherently cool.
The twang of the guitar to open “Had It All” almost has a harpsichord feel before building into a catchy and slightly psychedelic groove that slides along like the best late ‘60s party that ever could be conjured by a mid-2010s garage rock band.
“Follow You Down” follows a similar model, but this time uses a surf rock vibe and killer hook to power things along.
“No Werewolf” is an instrumental number with a dreamy surf rock vibe that seems like it would fit in perfectly well on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack or some sun drenched SoCal locale.
Some stats & info about Allah-Las – Worship the Sun
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? SoCal Bands, Garage Rock Revival, Indie Rock, Neo-Psychedelia
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Worship the Sun released? 2014
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – ##383 out of 1,000
Allah-Las’ Worship the Sun on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Allah-Las’ Worship the Sun that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
But it all just came and went faster than I could, have the time to separate the bad from good.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery. But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.