Half a bassline off this album would be enough to build a band's career

Given its playtime, this album holds extremely well. There are many mood shifts, unorthodox beats and virtuoso flows that keep things interesting. I still haven't met a single soul (and I have quite a few friends who are much more into hip-hop than me) who sit through these bloated 1+ hour records - and on repeated listens, mind you - instead of skipping tracks and/or throwing the best stuff into a playlist at some point, but I take this for granted before jumping in each time. Funcrusher ... read more

yaaaaaawn

The definition of a grower album. Didn't like it much at first but there's something to it that makes me want to revisit every now and then. Each time there are new sounds, flavors and paths to uncover, and if this is not great art then I don't know what it is.

Metallica's Black Album is arguably the most famous crossover in metal history. An album so far away from the band's previous releases that it caused intense polarization among the fans, and the "sell-out" tag continues to spread among the purists. In today's age, however, genre-defying internet communities still scratch their heads on what the whole fuss was about, oftentimes rejecting the "scene" mentality of older generations. And I think that this switch was something ... read more

I have to say that Ostinato records is a really underrated label. The story of the recently deceased Abu Obaida Hassan, a local Sudanese tambour specialist who spent most of his life in poverty, but was later rediscovered and asked to record his music just a couple of years before his death, is something that gave this record a more personal character, made the music much more alive. Hearing Abu's rhythmic tambour mixed with some lovely folky choral sections was quite a pleasurable experience. ... read more

Not much to say for now, but this might be 2021's greatest metal release.

Less noise. Much more sophistication. Beautiful, oftentimes minimal arrangements. Powerhouse vocals at the forefront. With this album, Leprous abandon metal almost completely to make a prog record which could even be labeled as adult contemporary. While the free space that surrounds the compositions might seem surprising at first, it excels much more often than it falters, and that is a testament to the band's versatility. Transitional albums rarely manage to stick - usually it is the ... read more

Wow, this blew me away. The instrumentation is avant-garde and adventurous but at the same time fun as hell, feeling like a blistering deconstruction of trap music. Awesome.

Giving an 80+ score on a trap rap album is something I never would have imagined, yet here we are. Given its runtime, Rodeo holds up astoundingly well, with great futuristic production, excellent mood changes and unconventional song structures. A progressive trap record, if there was ever one.

Original score: 84

Oh yes, this record was even better this time around. The minimal, psychedelic, exceptionally executed R&B of Blonde is still something unparalleled, a tour de force of artistic freedom and bare sensitivity which, in my opinion, even managed to top Ocean's highly acclaimed debut. Might sound a bit boring and challenging at first - and it is true that some of the interludes are distracting at times - but, overall, this record is one of the greatest growers I had the ... read more

Such a sweet album from Sade. The vocals and the instrumentation are top-notch, creating a minimal but beautiful atmosphere and an ideal late night record. The ballad-heavy tracklist could have made the record monotonous in less competent hands, but the strong songwriting completely prevents that from happening. Beautiful and elegant.

Why is this acclaimed

I never expected to get through all of this, but, despite the abundant cringe moments, there was something really cute and joyful that kept me wondering how the story would end. I don't know, as an experience, it was weird, like a really dated children movie you used to watch, but every time it randomly shows up on TV you would still enjoy it (plus I couldn't take my mind away from ERB during the cabinet battles). Oh well.

While not being a hater, I have to admit that Eilish's debut had not impressed me that much. If you ignore the hype, however, that record was pretty good compared to other "industry plants", so I felt that the older generation comparing Eilish to artists like e.g. Justin Bieber was something more than unfair; it was plainly wrong, as Billie and Finneas established an aesthetic approach that not only refreshed the pop canon, suggesting a darker mood, but gave birth to a lot of promises ... read more

A great release, crafted by a veteran. At 40 minutes length, Drama does not overstay its welcome and manages to shift moods in the blink of an eye, offering a bundle of great tracks in the process. Amarante is equally skilled on both uptempo and laid back songs, without falling to the trap of repeating himself in each composition. There are various joys in this record, but what stood out to me was the percussion, which I believe drives the album, as well as Amarante's voice, mixed just ... read more

I was not expecting Wavves to offer fancy ideas or wacky experiments on their new record. But I was expecting at least some energy. You cannot expect to save an album based on straightforward rock structures otherwise, and unfortunately Hideaway fails to fulfill its purpose.

Early on, it is plainly obvious that the band lacks punch, from the bland Thru Hell to the pointless riff repetitions of Help is on the Way. And while the more sophisticated Sinking Feeling is good enough, especially ... read more

An interesting project, albeit a bit underwhelming at times. Willow is not merely imitating the classic pop-punk sound (as collaborations with Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne would suggest), but instead renews it, adding elements of contemporary R&B and noisy lo-fi to form an idiosyncratic mix. Some of the songs tend to be more formulaic and forgettable, but others, and especially Come Home and XTRA, reveal a lot of potential in their uniqueness. In terms of pure sound and production, I ... read more

Sling is a very good album with exciting instrumentation, blending heartfelt folk melodies with classical and jazz elements. Although the pace derailed towards the end and the songs felt more directionless, Clairo's sweet voice prevents the album from going completely off. A welcome addition to the chamber folk canon.

GY!BE's debut is a fine post-rock album, though not as refined as the band's subsequent releases.

Of course there are moments of absolute greatness, like the second half of Dead Flag Blues, the East Hastings' frenzied middle part or the first half of Providence, but there were also moments during which I was taken aback by the obvious lack of coherence. While most sections flow and fit together nicely, some of them, like East Hastings' cool down after the crescendo or Providence's echo-heavy ... read more