When talking about avant garde or genre shifting music, people tend to have different views and opinions about what they regard as such. For me, Portishead's debut Dummy is as close a representation of those concepts as it can get. I'm not the most informed about trip hop as a genre and its history, but it's apparent how much impact Portishead had on it and on music in general with their discography and this album.
Where to even start with this. The sound palette of this project ... read more

If there is an album that screams summer season for me it's this one by Amaarae, and after 3 years since being released it is even more fun than I remember.
After the sensual short intro "All My Love" the record takes no time to get you in the mood to dance with the first drum hits in "Angels in Tibet". It was a perfect introduction for me to Amaarae and her unique vocal delivery and tone. "Co-Star" next was super fun, with her going over all the signs in such ... read more

The long awaited Kim Petras album is here, and while I don't know if this is the final product she envisioned with all the label drama, I think she is finally doing what she wants with her music, at least that's what it sounds like.
The record kicks off strongly with the title track, which puts you immediately in the mood for what's to come. Production wise it's strong, abrasive yet so satisfying on the ear, and Kim does an exceptional job over it. "DTLA" continues ... read more

After all the borderline crying in the first album, Drake is finally trying to have fun with his music again in this one. I've always found Honestly, Nevermind to be an overhated album of his. While that record lacks a lot in some aspects it still had some qualities to it, and Maid of Honor feels more like an upgrade on that sound with much more experimentation than its predecessor.
Production wise I'm torn, because beat wise this might be one of the best produced Drake albums ever, ... read more

I'm a bit late to the party but damn has it been painful to see the discourse about the new Drake albums. Either you find the nonstop glazers who won't stop talking about numbers and I don't know what else, or the haters who would take any opportunity to clown on his music.
It's no secret how much I like Drake. His early albums have been a huge part of my life, the first album I ever heard front to back is his infamous Nothing Was the Same. But even I can't deny that ... read more

Shakira is undoubtedly a voice of a generation. There are people who don't know anything about music and can still recognise some of her songs. For the longest time, I always saw her as an artist with legendary singles, cultural moments, but not necessarily someone who could deliver a full album experience with the same level of quality. This record, alongside Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, completely shatters this persumption.
This album had always been fairly enjoyable for me, but not ... read more

We are honestly living in the golden age of electronic music. The amount of high quality albums with prominent electronic elements released over the last few years has been massive, and April is definitely one of the pioneers of this movement, delivering two phenomenal albums in less than three years.
At just 34 minutes, the album offers a concise experience packed with banger after banger. The three singles are phenomenal, "Music" and "Do It" might be in my top five singles ... read more

I've been obsessed with this album the past month, I always knew Fiona Apple and how much impact she has on modern music and I always wanted to listen to a full album of hers, but this was a total life changing record and I'm not even exaggerating, damn was I missing out on a generational piece of art.
From the get go this album took me in awe with its opener "On the Bound", where to even start with this one, Fiona has an angst in her voice that I can't even describe, ... read more

EDIT: 90 to 95
This is getting dangerously close to a 100, every minor problem I had with the album just melts away little by little with every listen.

Pop music has never been better than in the last few years, it feels like every now and then we get an extremely different and boundary pushing pop album, and that's exactly what Slayyyter is doing with this album.
First thing, the rollout for this was phenomenal, "BEAT UP CHANEL$" the first taste we got from this album, which ... read more

Man am I gonna sound like the biggest hater of Harry Styles, and at this point of his solo career with how much I’ve seen, I guess I am. Coming to this record I expected it not to be good to be honest, especially after the single "Aperture", a track that in my opinion tries to do a lot and ends up doing nothing.
The only respectable aspect of this record is that Harry tries to experiment a bit with the sound unlike his previous albums, it gives for decently produced songs at ... read more

This is one of the densest albums I’ve heard in a while, I’ve been listening to it this whole week and I still feel like there is a lot more to unpack. Gorillaz really go back to their roots in terms of experimenting with crazy sounds, the album truly feels like a musical world tour from India to Latin America to the Middle East and more, it is a true love letter to all cultures.
The opener is a pretty gorgeous instrumental that takes you straight to the world the album is painting, ... read more

EDIT: 70 to 65
Seems like the album just came and went with no impact whatsoever.

Huge day for new major album releases, starting with this one since it is the easiest to digest. The man himself finally decided to drop an album after nearly 10 years since his last solo album, and that wait might be the major thing going against his newest release. Such a hiatus can’t help but generate hype for whatever comes next, especially it being 24K Magic, which is arguably one of the most ... read more

EDIT: 85 to 80
While i still love the record, i think it would not be one that i revisit a lot.

Charli xcx coming off the highly successful Brat decided to give us a movie soundtrack album, which in my opinion is a genius move on her part, it lowers the expectations and the comparisons that are bound to be made with Brat. With that being said, this is a really solid album in its own right. I was pleasantly surprised with how much care and attention was put into it. It is not by any means a ... read more

J. Cole dropped what might be the most anticipated hip hop album in a good while, and coming to it i was really worried about the run time. an hour and 40 minutes of material is really long, especially considering J. Cole has never, in my opinion, put out a full album without some filler. But i can say that for a record this long, he really stepped his game up.
The major highlights of the record, since i can't talk about every song individually, are his incredible writing and storytelling ... read more

God knows how much i need some new music from Rina Sawayama. I don't know exactly what is happening with her and the label, but i wish for it to be solved as soon as possible, i hate to see an artist who offered one of the most innovative pop albums of this decade get lost in the shuffle like this. But anyway, let’s hope for the best.
The sound Rina offered on this album was unprecedented in my opinion. The blend of j-pop elements with rock and metal sounds was phenomenal and done to ... read more

EDIT: 85 to 90
The more i listened to it this week the more i realised that this album is just gonna be one of those classics people will remember for years to come.

It has been a minute since my last review, and what better way to be back than the album of the year itself. on a side note, the grammys the last two years were on point for the most part, not one choice to get mad about honestly.
with that being said, this is one of those records that transcends the music itself and offers ... read more

This year has been a blast for Latin music in general, with a lot of high quality records and incredible depth. This album is a perfect example of that.
To keep it straight to the point, this is hands down the best vocal performance I’ve heard this year, and that’s saying a lot, considering how many great ones there have been. With her voice alone, she transmitted every feeling I needed to feel, even without understanding the lyrics on the first listens. That’s the essence of ... read more

this is gonna be a very emotional one for me , Future Nostalgia was literally the soundtrack of quarantine and a part of my last year in high school , it got me through some of the most chaotic moments of my life , the good and the bad .
i could keep talking about how much this record means to me all day but this would be too long , so lets talk music . absolute banger of a tracklist from start to finish , the title track is a great intro , very groovy beat with playful vocal delivery from dua ... read more

This is how you drop an album . Everything about the rollout was perfect , dropping a single out of nowhere and following it up with the full record right away , no unnecessary teasing or delays . Impeccable . Honestly , Rosalía is one of those artists people will be talking about for decades because of her impact . I’m talking the level of Prince , Madonna , Björk etc and LUX is a testament to that .
Where do I even start with this ? I always struggle to write about albums ... read more

As much as I love the first one , this is the real deal for me . Carly is still experimenting here , but the ideas land a bit better overall .
The album kicks off with “Anything to Be With You” , one of her craziest songs to date , absolute chaos , but it somehow works . Then comes “Kamikaze” a straight to the point banger . “After Last Night” and “Aeroplanes” slow things down with a sudden change of pace that might throw some listeners off , but ... read more