In anticipation of her Super Bowl halftime performance, I wanted to go back and listen to a few of her albums in full. I decided to start with this one because I am very very nostalgic for many of the singles from it, and upon revisiting it the whole album actually has held up pretty well.

I ascended listening to this.

This was my first time listening to Kelela’s music, and this was a great listen. There are just so many solid aspects, such as the production, the fantastic vocals, and the cool atmosphere and vibe that this album has. It’s maybe a bit too long and not every song grabbed me, but I can see this growing on me even more with every listen. Great project.

THIS IS SO FIRE LETS GO

Edit: okay, after listening to this many many more times, here is my review:

Paramore comes through with a great and concise album on “This Is Why”, and they release what will most definitely be one of my favorite albums of 2023 in the process.

I had been a fan of Paramore’s bigger singles and had wanted to get more into their music and discography for a while, but up until recently I hadn’t heard a full project from them. The two I decided to ... read more

“Let Her Burn” is a solid debut album from Rebecca Black that shows quite a bit of artistry and potential, even if it’s not as fully realized as I hoped it could be.

I’ve been excited for this album for a while, and with it finally here I’m very pleased with it. It’s not amazing and may not have been the great album I hoped it could be, but it still has a lot of enjoyable qualities about it and is still very good. The production is really solid here, I ... read more

Yeah I'm so excited for the new Paramore album on Friday lol.

I had heard a lot about RAYE, but I hadn’t really heard any of her music until this album. But this really impressed me and reminded me a lot of Lily Allen (in a great way). This album is just a really solid record that combines pop with a lot of other genres and styles and brings a lot of personality and really good songwriting and production with it. Sometimes the lyrics leave a little to be desired, but for much of the time I do think the lyrics are pretty solid. There are also some ... read more

I’ve wanted to listen to this album for a while, but I finally decided to in anticipation of Paramore’s new album. And I’m glad I did, because this album is great.

Yachty did it!!! He finally came through and capitalized on his potential!!!!

On “Let’s Start Here”, Lil Yachty takes his biggest creative swing yet and completely leans into a psychedelic direction, which mostly goes over well and makes for a pretty great listen.

I have had a love/hate relationship with Lil Yachty’s music up until this point. I’ve really wanted to like his music for a while now, but his projects just haven’t done much for me and he ... read more

As someone who can’t stand “Sweet But Psycho” and generally just hasn’t found Ava Max’s music to be all that interesting, I’m actually really impressed with “Diamonds & Dancefloors” and like it quite a bit, even if it’s not amazing and plays it pretty safe overall.

This album isn’t anything all that special, but it’s not necessarily trying to be. Ava Max is not striving to make anything other than some really well made and ... read more

While “Gloria” is not quite the artistic progression I was hoping for and is still very flawed, I do think it’s a little bit of a step in the right direction for Sam Smith.

Sam Smith is an artist that I’ve had an up and down relationship with. I love their debut “In The Lonely Hour”, which I’m very nostalgic for and has some great tracks and vocal performances on it. However, Sam’s career after that album has been disappointing. Both “The ... read more

This album fucking rules lol, I can’t believe it took me this long to finally hear it in full.

“Nightride” sees Tinashe going in a very dark, atmospheric, and experimental R&B direction and the result is great. The production is fantastic, Tinashe’s performances are too, and the mix of bangers and more experimental tracks make for a very enjoyable listen.

TRACK RATINGS:

Lucid Dreaming - 100
C’est La Vie - 90
Sunburn - 85
Binaural Test - none
Sacrifice - 95
Company - 95
Soul Glitch - 90
You Don’t Know Me - 80
Spacetime - 85
High Speed Chase - 80
Ride ... read more

There are some solid songs and production on “Mansion Musik” and Trippie Redd is able to bring on an interesting array of guests, but unfortunately the positives kinda get lost in the bloated and inconsistent mess that is this stream-bait album.

Trippie Redd has been a frustrating artist for me. He clearly has potential, but he usually phones it in and favors quantity over quality. His albums also have tended to be pretty boring, bloated, generic, and uninspired. And on this ... read more

Ice Spice is so overhated when it comes to her music, because while “Like..?” may not be great it’s just so personality-filled and fun that it ends up being an enjoyable listen regardless.

When Ice Spice first blew with “Munch”, many people wrote her off as terrible (me included). But as I saw more of Ice Spice on social media and heard that song more, she started to grow on me and I started to realize how fun she is. And with her next song “Bikini ... read more

“Bin Reaper 3: New Testament” is way too long, but this is still just so fun and BabyTron has so much charisma that this was still a good time anyway.

BabyTron’s last album “Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament” made my best albums of 2022 list. I really loved how fun it was, the hilarious bars and one-liners, and the ridiculous samples and NBA references. And while that’s all still here, it doesn’t quite hit as much. For many reasons, this album doesn’t ... read more

For the last week I was really sick, but my “Best Albums of 2022” list is finally out now (featuring this great album)

Link: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/case/list/103311/50-best-albums-of-2022/

Worst Albums of 2022 list is out now

Link: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/case/list/101760/worst-albums-of-2022/

My “Worst Singles of 2022” list is out now (featuring a Kid Rock song ofc)

Worst Albums tomorrow

Link: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/case/list/101583/20-worst-singles-of-2022/

My 2022 honorable mentions list is out (This project is NOT on it)

Worst/Best Singles and Albums lists in the next few days.

Link: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/case/list/101390/honorable-mentions-of-2022/

This album sucks. But you know what doesn’t? Year-end lists!!!!

For the next few days, I’ll be starting my 2023 right by putting out my year-end lists. I just put out the first one, which is “2022 Albums I Didn’t Get To”. Link: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/case/list/101107/2022-albums-i-didnt-get-to/

Tomorrow will be Honorable Mentions, and then Worst and Best Singles/Albums after that.