Charli’s entire ‘BRAT’ era deserves to be studied.

Song, video, lyrics, cover art, are all so INCREDIBLY GAY and I’m here for it. I don’t think anything’s going to top the Lorde feature amongst these remixes Charli’s been putting out but I do think this one comes with an even greater cultural impact as Billie is one of the biggest queer artists in the world, and she is very much that here too!!

Although, and some people might not like this. I ... read more

Wow, who knew trauma and EDM pair so well? >W<

Honestly, over the course of his career, Porter has excelled in the art of human emotion told through electronic EDM. Then along comes "SMILE! :D" which might just be Porter's most well produced, most emotional, & most consistent record in his catalog yet.

Right off the bat, this record hits off with 3/4 of the singles released so far, which I love. "Knock Yourself Out XD" starts us on a more sarcastic note with ... read more

THIS IS THE MOST BADASS GAMBINO HAS EVER SOUNDED!!?

What a FANTASTIC ride this album is. Even after first listen, I can tell this is already one of Gambino’s finest works. It’s fun, creative, and Gambino himself is RAPPING RAPPING on some of these tracks! For clarity, I haven’t yet seen the accompanying film this record goes along with, so I’ll be reviewing this album based on its music alone. That being said, my biggest concern going in was that some of the narrative ... read more

Okay, here's the thing. This album is a little weird, in that it's not only my first listen to Jojo Siwa's music at all, but also the highly anticipated (for the wrong reasons) first release that isn't a single from Jojo. That being said, I know it's pretty popular to hate her right now, but this album does have some good tunes in there somewhere, it's just buried beneath a plethora of issues like thin production, at times flat vocal chops from Jojo herself, and ... read more

It's amazing what this track was able to accomplish for being so much older. Great production, and doesn't really sound dated like some of the other material from its time do

That said, it's okay. The songwriting is pretty clever at times, and the processing of Brit's vocal takes give it that vocoder sound that more contemporary artists like Charli and Billie are mastering. Certainly better than the *other* version of this track, but not something that I would put on ... read more

Look, we all know Eminem has been struggling to win over the hardcore rap fans for years. Both amongst audiences and even Em's own lyrics, it's clear the discussion around his ability to make any sort of return to real RAPPING is just as prevalent as ever. For years Em has garnered this silly, corporate friendly pop rapper that he's still carrying the weight of to this day. He's not taken as seriously as he once was, and now with the meta naming scheme of "The Death of ... read more

EDIT: If you’re looking for throwback 2010’s pop with a bit more authenticity, stream “JOYRIDE” by Ke$ha

I’m sure as retail stores update their music catalogs I’ll find it more annoying, but as it stands now at least it sounds okay? I don’t know, it’s not grating (production wise) at least

Minus a few more points for working with Dr. Luke as well, I don’t really see how having him produce this record lends itself to Katy’s strengths, ... read more

I've heard good things about Jessie's music over the years, this just turned me into a fan.

I'm not familiar with how this track stacks up to the rest of her discography, but this track is a TUNE! Reminds me a bit of the recent Shygirl EP, even the newest Peggy Gou record. I'm loving this revival of the 90's club sound, and this cut is a great sampling of that! Will definitely be checking out more of Jessie's music in the future! Stellar first impression here!

Definitely a track long term Ke$ha fans are going to love. Not only for the modern coat of paint her sound’s been given, but JOYRIDE really does channel some of her biggest hits, like “Blow” from 2010.

Lyrically this song is great, especially if you’ve followed any of the lore behind this new release.

It really sounds like Ke$ha is back to having fun in the studio again. With her now being freed from studio creeps, she sounds so full of life and in her creative bag, ... read more

I was already digging the vibe of the intro and based off of previews I had no reason to believe this song would be anything other than that initial spacey vibe but wow, what a surprise!

This song takes you on a ride, and I'm a sucker for dynamics. To go from the subtle performance of the intro into the bombastic, tom heavy drum fills of the second half of this song, it’s just magic! I’m not quite sure what to even expect anymore for Gambino’s upcoming record considering ... read more

This record begins with a song that I believe gets too much hate for what it is. However, I think it’s worth highlighting how much of a tone setter it winds up being. Sure, the chorus repeating “I love it” over and over is annoyingly uncreative, but the song surrounding it is actually not so bad. The Playboi Carti feature also doesn’t do this song any favors, whoever was in charge of collaborators this time around also needs to head back to the drawing board

The rest of ... read more

*Alec's Top 5 Albums of 2024 (#4)

At first glance I wasn’t sure that merely extending these tracks would solve any of the issues I had with the original record earlier this year but I gotta say this might be the better version!

On top of simply making the runtime longer, some of these tracks do contain additional vocal runs/synth melodies and even whole new verses, “Houdini” being a good example. Where were these extra vocal harmonies on the final release? Album opener ... read more

An incredibly produced project, in huge part due to Max Martin being behind the boards, I presume.

However for all of its highs (“Out of Time”, “Take My Breath”, “Sacrifice”, etc) it shares an equal amount of lows with some tracks feeling unfinished and others occupying time with Jim Carrey’s narrator speaking over some synthy backdrops. While these tracks do serve the overall story of the record, considering its other weak points I do think some time ... read more

*Alec's Top 5 Songs of 2024 (#2)

My favorite Chappell cut, by a huge margin.

This is a damn near perfect love song. I love the melody, I love the singsong stylings of the verses/chorus and of course the playful lyrics throughout

(“I heard you like magic/I got a wand a rabbit!”)

This track also has some great vocal runs from Chappell with some incredible harmonies/layering to boot. Incredible, incredible work and easily the most interesting artist in the pop scene right ... read more

Even so early on in her career, it is damn impressive Chappell had the lyrical prowess to write one of the most sincere anthems for what those in the queer community desire most in this modern world, a sense of belonging.

‘Pink Pony Club’ perfectly captures the feeling of choosing to love a life so authentic that not even the narrator’s own mother can talk her out of becoming who she is. I think that’s beautiful and will certainly touch the hearts of many other queer ... read more

I don't typically leave reviews for remixes, let alone rate them.

However, this remix, and Lorde's presence, add so much not only to the song itself but the dialogue of Charli's real life feelings towards her as well. For fans that have been following the relationship Charli and Lorde, like myself, it's really great to see that not only were Charli's estimates on what Lorde thought of her wrong, Lorde goes on to pen a beautifully written 'emotional vouch' in ... read more

This is a special review for me in that, this is a genre I'm relatively new to! I like to pick a few records each year that are out of my comfort zone, and this is one of them!

That being said, I picked this record because of all the hype it got earlier in the year, and I can certainly see where that comes from. This record starts off with the track "Thirst" that immediately hits you in the face with a huge wall of sound that never really lets up the whole way through. Weaving ... read more

The best Eurovision song to never win Eurovision

Loving the electronic metal fusion stylings on this track!! Electric Callboy was a great collaborator choice, really brings out the best in both acts and the video is great to boot!

I like it. I’ve been following Peggy’s stuff for a while waiting for this first full length and it’s…okay!

Definitely not a consistent listen as certain tracks feel so paper thin, in terms of production and even structure, much like the album opener and tracks like “Purple Horizon” exemplify, some tracks just feel unfinished

Luckily these moments are helped by the strong singles leading this LP’s release with tracks like “I Go”, “I ... read more

*Alec's Top 5 Songs of 2024 (#3)

Incredible track

The lyricism on display here is so well constructed in the way Porter navigates themes of depression, suicide, the pressures of life, it’s all so powerful to hear as a listener, especially for those who share similar struggles

These words all being written under the Russian Roulette motif make the performance all the sweeter as it really does reflect the real life complications of someone struggling with depression. Taking more and ... read more