It was rather tough to determine what I thought about this album because there are times in the second half when melodies become aimless, instrumentals amble morosely, and the commitment to maintain the same emotional depth demonstrated throughout the first half feels rather forced and obligatory. This LP begins the strongest LP Zauner has ever released - gorgeous enveloping soundscapes, memorable melodies that are equally compelling as they are haunting, cinematic-adjacent sensibilities and ... read more

Well, this was a shock. There are pop artists - current and past - who could not conceive an album like this in their dizziest daydreams. It is not groundbreaking and certainly not lyrically profound, but it's a hearty serving of seven delectable pop tracks, no skips, no bloat, no pretense. Instrumentally dense with a rather unpredictable palette, the largely dark soundscape is arranged with a maturity that elevates the compositions to a level that some pop prodigies would be happy with.

An incredibly cohesive debut LP that captures both intimacy and detachment through an alt-electro-pop palette that somehow successfully combines 00s sensibilities, a deliberate ethereal ambience, and baroque/medieval folk tune-adjacent melodies - and it's damn memorable to boot. The album's title track is the standout and the vision around which everything else pivots; opener "Endless" and two ballad closers demonstrate how that vision is taken and interpreted using ... read more

An improvement from his previous EP in all the right ways (in spite of the short length!) - all three main tracks are mature, well-developed, and poignant, particularly "Dust" and the triumphant and virtuosic "Back Pain". In addition to the clear 70s and 80s influences, it's clear that his study of classical and jazz music has shaped his technical sensibilities, as everything from chord modulation decisions to arrangement and production choices are overflowing with a ... read more

An EP rich with sophisticated modern twists on melodies and textures inspired by an assortment of rock and pop artists of the 70s and 80s. Themes of self-doubt permeate the lyrics which are reflected well in each soundscape, constructed meticulously to give the arrangements depth but also ample room to breathe - "What U" is the best example. What this EP suffers from most is self-restraint; each of these songs' core identities could have been pushed into further development with ... read more

Lyrically more rich and vulnerable than past releases (and that's saying a lot), but notably a more immersive soundscape than any other Baths project (that's also saying a lot). Lush, intense, heartbreaking, and eventually hypnotic "Chaos" is certainly a standout, along with "Governed" and "Eden"; "Cedar Stairwell" is really the only point at which momentum is lost, and both opener "Eyewall" and closer "The Sound of a Blooming ... read more

A good effort with a few great tracks ("Basic Being Basic", "Delete Ya", and "Egg"), but most of the rest of the album tends to fall short of the sheer size that it wants desperately to be. It is overall bogged down by objectively cliche songwriting choices that seem like a step backwards for Joe Keery (the opening track being one of the best examples); sometimes it sounds like a 70s cover band. That being said, its charm, production quality, and occasional left ... read more

Chock-full of glimmering, addictive melodies and faithful 60s/70s-adjacent instrumentals, this LP overflows with confidence and compositional finesse. "I'll Haunt You" and "Need Your Love" are tightly written with intricately layered soundscapes, soaring and diving this way and that as every arrangement-related decision falls into place exactly where they belong. There is no loss in momentum although the middle portion is not as immediately gripping, and the closer ... read more

Cohesive and comfortable but not as immediately grabbing, confident, or - frankly - alive as its predecessor, with some of its songs sounding like close variations on a theme of each other in both cadence and melody. It's tough for many artists to capture a very specific sound, but Tennis has certainly achieved it; however, they seem to be allergic to much risk-taking.

A fitting dreamy and bittersweet conclusion to this duo's discography - "Weight of Desire", "Always the Same", and "12 Blown Tires" could have been classics from the back-catalogs of bygone artists 50-60 years ago. It's more subdued than usual yet the most confident they've ever sounded. Lyrics are thoughtful and introspective, and interesting harmonies, modulation, and song structure is key to making each one of these tracks stand alone and work ... read more

Some stunning sound design and rhythmic complexity define this project, showing that you can in fact produce enveloping soundscapes with a fair share of entropy. "Reframing" is the true standout, with development in the second half that sucks the oxygen out of the room. Some of the others hang around a little too long beating the same themes to death, but it all sounds absolutely excellent.

Quite outstanding in its ability to convey such heavy, raw human emotion through such a sparse ensemble. Sufjan's heartbreaking lyrics and his dry, breathy delivery are the clear focal point (as they should be), yet I found that it becomes slightly tiresome past the half-hour mark because of the predictability of the cadence with which he delivers them. That being said, I think the addition of haunting background vocals, development of soft rhythmic elements, and guttural synth ambiences ... read more

Most tracks here are well-produced and have excellent hooks, but it's a true mixed bag beyond that. It's a shame that uninspired "Money is Everything" and "Summer Forever" have as much runtime as more savvy cuts like "Aquamarine" and "Times Like These"; the latter offers striking potential of a pop star-in-training who could, in time, surprise us with a project more cohesive, lyrically thoughtful, and maximally developed. But for now, this is a ... read more

The cuts on this LP that have more ethereal alt-rock/dream-pop elements rather than their hardcore rock forte are generally stronger, which was quite a surprise. Structurally and texturally interesting, some songs like the opener and closer along with "Look Out for Me" are allowed to breathe and transport the listener somewhere as opposed to sit with the same idea and spin in circles like "Ceiling", "Birds", and "Time is Happening". I'd be very keen ... read more

A good effort for a debut LP, but it feels rather uneven with some tracks struggling to keep up with the cleverness, immediacy, and musical rigor of cuts like "Hello Anxiety", "Jelly Tot", and "Future Us". The naivete, cheekiness, and synth/programming-heavy production choices are mostly lost here, and those vestiges of some of her past work could have elevated the entire ensemble into something that makes the attempts at emotion is cuts like "American ... read more

Well-produced, textured dream pop with something to say. "Eraser" is by far the most successful cut - self-assured, a little haunting, and with a more muscular soundscape to contrast with her restrained ethereal vocals. The rest of the songs - while solid - start to bleed into each other on repeat listens.

Northern Transmissions' review does an excellent job conveying my thoughts on this gorgeous album. Sea Lemon's debut LP is incredibly cohesive without becoming monotonic, and dials up their past immersive, emotionally complex, melodically clever work to new heights. "Change Your Face" has some breathtakingly haunting harmonies in the chorus that speak to their deep understanding of how to evoke intricate emotion in music, which is more than can be said of a vast majority of ... read more

Her maturity is obvious here and certainly welcome, as it sure produces some smart pop earworms. There's no song on this album that has a lukewarm chorus, and that alone makes repeat plays inevitable; however, a good deal of her rap verses - while still clever - fall rather flat in their delivery when set against the upgraded, upscale, surprisingly multi-faceted 80s-tinged instrumentals.

This debut thoroughly demonstrates that Kaytranada was already a master of his craft in 2016, full stop. He has an intimate understanding of how electronic and human elements can be interwoven to shape something that sounds both modern and somewhat vintage, all the while adapting to every feature's musical profiles and sensibilities. There's fiery celebration and genuine emotion imbued into this collection of tracks, with the six-track stretch from "One Too Many" through ... read more

A mature, sophisticated, and restrained take on the house genre and its close ties to R&B foundations. There is no one or even a handful of clear standouts, although I actually think "Ladida" is the one weak point with its over-reliance on a slightly out-of-place and monotonous hook; the album as a whole stands strong as one cohesive statement.