With this project, Annie Clark revitalizes her sound more radically than her previous releases, adopting a psychedelic style that resembles music from the early 1970's in New York. The central theme of this record is family, which was inspired by her father's release from prison. This is symbolically celebrated by exploring the influences of various 1970's artists which her dad introduced to her, such as Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan. Pink Floyd likely had an influence on this record as well, as ... read more

Annie Clark claims that this album is a "party record you could play at a funeral" ... I guess you could say that she knows how to put the word FUN in FUNeral ahahaaaaaa.

St. Vincent's self-titled album explores arbitrary instances of joy alongside dread while criticizing modernity. The record effectively exudes a dance-worthy energy that is concocted with unsettling sounds.

The opener "Rattlesnake" is based on when Annie Clark wandered a desert solitarily while nude. ... read more

"Strange Mercy" presents stories that explore peculiar forms of compassion and the pain that can be associated with kindness. The theme starts boldly with "Chloe In The Afternoon" being about BDSM and prostitution as people visit Chloe in the afternoon for their appointments. St. Vincent's virtuosically rough guitar depicts the pain of the situation, as it clashes with the floaty high-pitched synths which resemble the anxious euphoria of intimacy. It was influenced by the ... read more

The first time I listened to "Actor" was on a train at night and the vibes were IMMACULATE you have no idea.

"Actor" commemorates the magic of older films. The tracks present narratives for assorted characters with lyrical and instrumental designs that parallel the scores of vintage cinema.

The album opens with "The Stranger", which was inspired by "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" from 1937. The song effectively captures the child-like nostalgia from ... read more

"Now Now" is St. Vincent's strongest opening in my opinion, with a choppy rhythm from various instruments that feels somewhat "Remain In Light"-esque. The lyrics suggest that she wishes to escape people's perceptions and how they treat her, with the track's somber mechanical vibe depicting that her image has been forcibly manufactured. The lyrics in the chorus are, "(I'm not) Any, any, any, any, any, any, any, anything"; but it sounds like the "any" is ... read more

The recording sessions for "Electric Ladyland" were relatively chaotic, with Jimi Hendrix including many guests in the studio and transforming their sessions into a party. Manager and producer Chas Chandler considered this exasperating, especially since it seemed Jimi Hendrix's attention was playing for his guests rather than getting the best recording. His perfectionism was also shining, with the band recording over fifty takes for "Gypsy Eyes". After serving as a mentor ... read more

"Axis: Bold as Love" is an album that is banned in Malaysia, since the album cover integrates the band within Hindu culture, particularly illustrating The Jimi Hendrix Experience as the deity Lord Vishnu. Jimi Hendrix was not involved in the development and publicly expressed his disapproval for the disrespectful appropriation. It's crazy how music label people just full send these things, because to my understanding, Jimi Hendrix disapproved of most of his album covers during his ... read more

Right off the bat, an unhealthy romance is illustrated with "You Might Think He Loves You for Your Money but I Know What He Really Loves You for It’s Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat". The title itself suggests romantic attraction due to material ownership (including a Bob Dylan allusion with the "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat"), but there's also unsettling lyrics such as "Come come fuck apart in here", "I die in the process, you die in the ... read more

"Are You Experienced" is an album blessed with astonishing legacy, as it progressed western music by pushing blues, jazz and Eastern conventions into psychedelic hard rock territory. The North American LP immediately establishes this legacy by beginning with "Purple Haze", which starts off with a hard guitar complimented by harsh drumming and Jimi Hendrix's bluesy vocals. Halfway through the song, the guitar scale suddenly sounds Eastern influenced with echoed ... read more

This is easily their grossest album cover, but what blows my mind is that it can be interpreted as a Rolling Stones reference as the tongues allude the band's tongue logo. The same year that this album was released, the band also released a photo on twitter of Keith Richard's memoir chopped into four pieces, similar to the cover of "Exmilitary". This could be a criticism to how the media portrays Death Grips as controversial, while the Rolling Stones were the biggest band in the world ... read more

Not me working 9 to 5 while listening to MC Ride yelling about fucking people in half.

"Bottomless Pit" exudes themes regarding evil and how this has affected their music. "Giving Bad People Good Ideas" establishes this concept, featuring an assertive yet melodic chorus from Clementine Creevy of Cherry Glazer and another phenomenal application of the electric guitar from Zach Hill's high school friend Nick Reinhart. The song can be interpreted with how art is frequently ... read more

In 2014, Death Grips shared a message announcing their sudden disbandment on a napkin. Their career would end after their anticipated double album, "The Powers that B" gets released once they share the second disc for the album, "Jenny Death". Shortly afterwards, an anonymous individual leaked six tracks from "Fashion Week" on reddit (and two unreleased tracks), and were met with accusations that the music was fake since it largely deviated from Death Grips' sound, ... read more

"Jenny Death" was the first Death Grips album that I enjoyed upon first listen since "The Money Store", with overstimulating production and gnarly instrumentals (I feel like overstimulating and gnarly should be negative adjectives, but in this context it's positive because it makes the music go hard!!).

"Why A Bitch Gotta Lie" features robotic production similar to many tracks on "No Love Deep Web". The track sounds explosive yet computerized, with a ... read more

This entire project feels blissfully broken.

The scattered instrumentals are crafted primarily from a drum kit and Bjork's vocals, which is particularly highlighted on the final third of "Big Dipper". During this portion of the song, Bjork's singing is cut so frequently and sporadically that whenever her full vocal performance plays, it feels like a sweet release, especially at the end. There is something oddly satisfying about that, like somebody is stuck on a painful array of ... read more

"No Love Deep Web" was self-released by Death Grips via a deliberate internet leak since their record label was postponing the release. Therefore, it only feels appropriate that the album cover is drummer Zach Hill's 8==D as it clearly communicates that the band operates on their own conditions. They truly do whatever they want. On an intriguing more deeper level, Zach Hill has also revealed that the album cover is about resisting caustic societal conformities regarding gender, ... read more

The first time I listened to "Exmilitary", the song "Thru the Walls" had a sound effect that sounded like a Combine soldier from Half-Life 2. I don't play video games often, but Half-Life 2 is probably my favourite game, and I thought that the chances of this album making an arbitrary reference to a game that means so much to me was impossible. BUT NO. A speech sound effect from a Combine soldier is integrated and I have no idea why?! Also apparently this song overloaded ... read more

My roommates and I decided to decorate the living room by printing a bunch of glossy album covers at Walmart and then hang them above our doorway. One of the covers we decided to hang was "The Money Store", and it wasn't until I made the print request that I realized I had just printed a kinky ass image with nudity at a corporate store. AND THE PRINTING WAS DELAYED so I had to spend 20 minutes at Walmart lowkey freaking out that I was about to get reprimanded by Walmart staff for ... read more

"Everyday Life" is a political statement against xenophobia, reminding the world that everybody is simply living their life and dealing with their own issues. There are many references to the Middle East, which is introduced with "Church", featuring beautiful vocals from Norah Shaqur who sings with eastern style. This is also seen in "Arabesque", titled after Islamic art, with lyrics that criticize racism. "بنی آدم" further celebrates Islamic ... read more

This project is one of my least favourite Coldplay records since it's overwhelmed with clichés, but I still have a weird amount of nostalgia attached to it. I remember listening to this album for the first time shortly after its release as I was on vacation, and I was walking a beach with crappy headphones making it difficult to hear. I entered a quiet area for "Everglow" and that track blew my mind, serving as a balladry melodic bridge between this project's two explosive ... read more

With "Ghost Stories", Coldplay returns to melancholy, temporarily devoting themselves to a haunting yet ethereal sound. This project exudes a lot of pain as it conceptually explores Chris Martin's separation from his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, but some of the more celestial overtones also suggest feelings of hope. For instance, "Always In My Head" features angelic backing vocals (sung by Chris Martin's daughter !!) alongside spacey synths and a dreamy reverb-soaked guitar. ... read more