Jack Doherty
The album is a toybox of pop experimentation that hits much more than it misses. Turns out that the second album doesn’t have to be so difficult after all.
2y
Playing Favorites does exactly what it says on the tin, and you know what? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all.
2y
While in isolation nothing on Homesick is individually breath-taking, as a whole the album succeeds, showing us that all it takes is a bit of good old-fashioned ingenuity for electronic music to thrive outside (and inside) of the box.
2y
By embracing pop structure and early-2000s indie, STRUGGLER cements Genesis Owusu right at the top of the weirdo hip hop pack. A uniquely assertive voice in a scene that regularly crumbles under the weight of its own history.
2y
For many artists this lack of exploration would be seen as a negative, but in a lot of ways Girl Ray’s solidification of their newfound pop attitude is perhaps the most interesting move they could have made.
2y
Each track of sugary psych delight adds new depths to their carefully crafted sound, proving just how valuable world-building can be to pop music.
3y
By doing this, with Breaking the Balls of History, Quasi have shown that these days lo-fi is nothing more than a state of mind.
3y
The jazzy keys are there, the echo chamber is in full effect and the ethereal folk undercurrent is raging, but scratch beneath the surface and it’s clear something is amiss.
3y
Cheat Codes is a timely reminder of what two great hip hop minds can achieve when they put their heads together.
3y
With Chopper, Kiwi Jr. have managed to extend their shelf life indefinitely, showing the world that they’re much more than mere slacker rock pretenders.
3y
Just Mustard are a band completely at one with their sound, and with Heart Under they have well and truly mastered the art of atmospheric rock. Not bad going for a second album – not bad at all.
4y
The reliance on the squeaky clean quickly becomes Mahal’s undoing. For every moment of greatness the listener is met with two or three tracks of airy paisley pop.
4y
Omnium Gatherum’s crumbles under its inability to surprise, leaving us with the sound of a band with nowhere left to go.
4y
Geese manage to add interesting new wrinkles to their sound, suggesting that, in time, the post-punk rulebook could yet be ripped up all over again.
4y
Atlas Landing, the noisy Canadians’ fourth album, delivers more of the same, in the best way possible. It’s loud, angry and ready for a few beers.
5y
While such a bold departure in sound should be applauded, with Renegade Breakdown Marie Davidson has created an album that misses more times than it hits.
5y
It’s beautiful, mad and disturbing in equal measure. Like the real world, but better.
6y
Maybe by the end of 2017, five records of this headache-inducing madness might be too much, but, at least for now, those reptilian magicians have got us wanting more. Bring on album number 11. Let’s embrace the weirdness.
8y
All-Amerikkan Bada$$, the New Yorker's second full length record, feels like a culmination of all of the years spent working away at his craft.
9y
With Kane still seemingly the driving force behind the project, the group have stagnated. Everything You’ve Come To Expect is the sound of a side project with no new ideas.
10y
It’s night music. Headphone melodies that invite you into the world of Mmoths. A world of tearful robotics and shimmering melancholy.
10y
It's rammed full of solid psychedelia that no one could really get annoyed at, but conversely, no one could ever fall in love with.
10y
1