Over the last year, I have fallen in love with this band. I discovered them on Stereogum, and Triple Seven was one of my most played albums last year as well as roughly 5 month into 2025. Wishy knows how to write a fucking song, man. They would fit right in on the radio with bands I grew up with like Gin Blossoms, Collective Soul, Better than Ezra. Add a touch of shoegaze influence, and you really can't go wrong with that formula. They deserve to be huge, and I hope it happens. ... read more

Nothing groundbreaking by any means, but this is solid 90's alternative with some shoegaze influence thrown in and it reminds me of some of the bands I grew up with in the 90s (think Veruca Sault, early Smashing Pumpkins, The Breeders, Liz Phair, etc..). I can definitely see myself spinning this one a lot in the coming months of spring and summer.

HIGHLIGHTS: My Old Street, New Friend, Rodeo, Ohio All The Time, Bottle Blond

One of his best albums in over 20 years. Elton sounds great for his age, and he and Brandi harmonize really well. Surprised he had an album this good left in him, but I'm glad to be proven wrong.

Reminds me of a modern day RAM (Macca). Lots of sleepy, bedroom pop circa early 70's mixed in with some really good guitar driven songs (Link). I also get a little Tame Impala here and there with some of the synth sounds and vibes (Fly).
I loved Decide, and as much as I loved this one on the first listen, I think it will eventually rate higher for me. Feels like an album that reveals itself a little more over time.

HIGHLIGHTS: The run from Egg - Charlies Garden is fantastic.

One of the best rock albums of the 80s, hands down. This is a no skip album. Every song is great!

My favorite Goose release. All the songs are in constant rotation during the summer.

Just finished my first listen of Michigander's Self Titled debut album and it's really good! I think it's going to grow on me through repeated listens, but there was a lot to love on the first go-round. I love any album that has sax solos and from what I can pinpoint, Michigander is going for an 80's heartland rock kinda thing combined with a little garage rock and they do a great job with it. The musicianship is really solid and there's some tasty guitar work ... read more

I always like to describe this as Pet Sounds era Brian Wilson releasing a solo album in 1984. Specific? Sure. Completely out line? Not exactly.

Many of Lindsey's contemporaries went the direction of radio pop rock in the 80's, but where they veered right, Lindsey veered left.....and just kept going. Go Insane is avant-garde 80's synth music at it's best. It's pretty criminal how overlooked this album was only making to the low end of the top half of the charts. ... read more

One of the best pop punk albums I've heard in several years.

One of their best pre-Buckingham/Nicks albums. The atmosphere of the album is kinda hazy. It's definitely got quite a bit of different sounds, ranging from progressive to psychedelia to folk. Danny Kirwin knocks it out of the park on this album and is a very underrated part of Fleetwood Mac's history.

Nice collection of indie pop songs. Their first album was incredible, but never got into the follow up. This one is pretty accessible, and may not be what the old school fans were hoping for, but it's got quiet a few catchy songs. Granted, there are several songs here that don't seem to go anywhere (Again, Still Young), but overall, I enjoyed it.

HIGHLIGHTS: Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah), Your House, A Question of You, The Charms, Concrete, X-Ray

I hate to say it, but this album is a big mess. Dawn FM is lowkey his best album (imo) and Starboy & After Hours were great.
Also, who gave him the okay to make this album 1 hr & 24 minutes long? I could cut this thing to ten songs and it would be infinitely better.

Wake Me Up and Open Hearts are the highlights for me.

This album is a little different in some eras than their last, but it's still very solid. Flipturn have adapted to a more vibey, spacey kinda sound and it fits them well for the most part. A few of the songs are a little generic sounding, but overall, it left me impressed. I'll be spinning this one for a while.

HIGHLIGHTS: Juno, Moon Rocks, RIght?, Window

The rollout for this album was atrocious, but it has some really great AVA tracks. I think I can say this is probably their least essential album and having waited so long for it, I feel a bit letdown.

Highlights: Timebomb, Euphoria, Automatic, Rebel Girl, Kiss & Tell

This reminds me of a later stage Steely Dan album and I love that. One of my favorite discoveries this year.

This is actually one of my favorite Toto albums.

If you've listened to the newly released Deluxe Edition of this album, you'd see that many of the songs left off Long After Dark were faaar better than some of the songs that made it. With the original version of this album I'm not quite as forgiving, but there are still some really good songs on here.

*EDIT*: After spening a little more time with this album, I'm going from 60 -->72.

Highlights: You Got Lucky, Change of Heart, Deliver Me, Straight Into Darkness

Been following this guy via Mac Demarco for a couple years. This debut album is incredible and really gives off a big jazz-fusion/80s pop feelings. Definitely some Toto vibes on many of these songs. Would have been great to have in the summer, but I'll take whatever warm, groovy fun I can during winter.

Highlights: Corner Store, I'm So Serious, Crash, Golden Showers, Just Friends

No idea how this album hasn't broken through in some scenes. This is an incredible album. It has the hazy shoegaze inspired production with some 80's bells and whistles tied in with it. Very solid debut. This band has a TON of potential.

Highlights: Tired Boy, Stained Glass Window, Blonde, TV Car Chase, Softly

Not gonna lie, I got this rec off reddit, and wow. I'm glad I did. I had no idea I was in the headspace for something like this. Totally caught me off guard. Having only listened to it once, the whole thing just goes down smooth. Very relaxing, nice production, and the songs flow well.

Highlights: Corsair, Jaguarundi, Chaparral