Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by their friend Bell. Bell is here today to talk about Adam's pick, Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life". Released in 1976, it came out as the culmination of a legendary run of albums, beginning in 1972 with "Music of my Mind". Between 1974 and 1977, Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year 3 times, a record. Upon release, the album was critically praised and spawned five singles, "I Wish", "Sir Duke", "Another Star", "As" and "Isn't She Lovely" (although this one was not released as a single in the US). But will the boys critically praise this album? Will they say it "Knocks me off my Feet", or will it leave them with a "Contusion"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Dan Besser, who this time brings his own pick! Unconventionally, Dan's pick is a maxi-single called Payback Time by the The Dysfunctional Psychedelic Waltons. As far as we can tell, the song was created for an advertising campaign by Levi's Jeans in 2003. The single contains four versions of the song, remixed by different artists. We've never covered the same song, four different ways before, but we did cover singles all the way back in Season 1. Come along with us and have a little fun with Payback Time!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by their friend, Dan Besser! Dan joins us today to talk about Adam's next pick, Igorrr's "Spirituality and Distortion". Released in 2020, it was his fourth album. A mix of avant-garde music, metal, and most perplexingly...polka, "Spirituality and Distortion" is a wildly eccentric album, named in 2024 as one of the 10 most wacky by Loudwire. But what will Dan and the boys think of the combo of blast beats and accordion? Will they dance a "Nervous Waltz" or will they think it is "Very Noise"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their new friend Wade! Better known as the hands behind the YouTube channel Dankpods, Wade was visiting us all the way from Australia. His pick for this episode, the Avishai Cohen Trio's "Gently Disturbed" was a favourite from when Wade studied jazz in university. Released in 2007, the trio at the time featured Avishai Cohen on bass, Mark Guiliana on drums and Shai Maestro on piano. At the time of recording, Shai Maestro was only 21 years old, and was considered a rising phenom in jazz music, while Avishai Cohen and Mark Guiliana were more seasoned veterans. The jazz press was warm to this album, with the Jazz Times lauding the piano work by Maestro and saying the playing by Cohen cemented him as one of the elite bassists in jazz. But what will the boys think of the album? Will it be a study of the 'structure in emotion', or will it leave them 'gently disturbed'? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Plouffe to discuss Adam's pick, Geese's "Getting Killed". Released in September 2025, it received nearly unanimous critical acclaim and was ranked highly on many year-end album lists. The album features a lot of surreal imagery and explores a number of themes, such as power and transformation. But what will the boys think of this critically acclaimed album? Will they feel the need to pay their "Taxes"? Will it feel "Half Real?" Come along and find out!*Note: we apologize for the weird banding at the top of the video and will fix it*

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined yet again by their friend Plouffe. His pick today is the 2017 album from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, "Pizazz". Described as a funk jam band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong was formed in 2009. A staple in the jam band community, they are the organizers of the Domefest music festival. But are they actually funky? Do they "put the fun in funk", or is this album "too long"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Plouffe to discuss Adam's pick, Geese's "Getting Killed". Released in September 2025, it received nearly unanimous critical acclaim and was ranked highly on many year-end album lists. The album features a lot of surreal imagery and explores a number of themes, such as power and transformation. But what will the boys think of this critically acclaimed album? Will they feel the need to pay their "Taxes"? Will it feel "Half Real?" Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their friend and former longtime host, Bell. Coming back with him is Begonia, whose album "Fear", we covered in season 1 of the podcast. This time, the album is her 2023 release, "Powder Blue". Nominated for several awards, including a Juno and a Polaris prize, the album explores more lighthearted emotions than her previous release. The album also utilizes several different musical styles and genres throughout, creating a very luscious and warm sound. But will the boys be "Chasing Every Sunrise" after listening to this album, or will they be left "Crying"? Come along and find out

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their friend and former host, Plouffe to talk about his pick: John Mayer's "Room For Squares". His debut album, it was released initially as a digital download in June 2001, before being released as an actual physical album in September 2001. Spawning three hit singles, the album has gone on to sell five million copies in the US alone, and earned John Mayer a Grammy in 2003. But what will the boys think of this album? Will they say it's one of the best of all time, or will it be "No Such Thing"? Come along and find out!

Welcome to season four of Vinyl Verdict! On this episode, Adam and Jamie discuss Adam's first pick, Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City". Released in May 2013, it was their third studio album. Following the success of their second album "Contra", the band took a break before coming back to record this album. The result was an immediate commercial and critical success, with dozens of outlets calling the album one of the best of 2013. The album was supported by three singles - "Diane Young", "Ya Hey" and "Unbelievers", all of which charted. But where will the boys put this on their chart? Will they put it at the top, or will they be "Unbelievers"? Come along and find out!