The instrumental is much more charming than "Miami Memory", though still not as slick as anything from Forced Witness. The lyricism is still very fun and playful. A sign of a return to greatness for the Australian rascal.

The Boss's Western Stars turn wide-open western landscapes into something gripping with lush arrangements that are still strikingly Springsteen. He's not trying to ape off modern trends like many classic artists have in recent years. These songs establish simple but strong rhythms with a twangy guitar, then slowly embellish them with a number of instruments. Layers of string instruments on "The Wayfarer" are followed by horns that crescendo beautifully. The upbeat as hell "Sleepy ... read more

Ghost is really good at getting the most out of the inherent silliness of metal, classic rock a la Led Zeppelin and edgy lyricism. Rather than getting bogged down in repetitive and incessant noise, Ghost takes classic and prog rock and apply them to their own ghoulish sound. The rhythms read more like hard rock but retain a a cutting edge only attainable by metal. The riffs are heavy, the lyrics are dark and occult, and everything is very agressive. This translates into catchy song after catchy ... read more

Sunbather is an album I struggle mightily with. On one hand, the production on this album is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It’s intense, it’s striking and it’s beautiful, with layers and layers of shimmering guitar chords backed by frenetic drums. The play is impeccable, and the longer tracks with vocals feature many shifts in tempo to balance out the length. It’s technically metal but there’s definite mixtures of shoe gaze and even some space rock ... read more

This is how you try to take side of the "good guys" in the most disingenuous, pathetic, facetious way possible. The beat isn't the worst thing in the world either which makes this even more of a disgrace

Crumb is the band you find in college that you and all your friends vibe to while putting off studying. Jinx, their debut album, is very committed to a downtempo, slacker rock style, and it pays off with an enjoyably lazy, occasionally intoxicating record. These songs are like quick little dreams from an afternoon nap, with very little boundary between them. The guitars are strung out and dreamy, complimented by simple drumming, light synths and hazy singing from lead singer Lila Ramani. ... read more

In honor of her new album being announced, it's a good time to revisit Charli's catalog. She's is an artist who many brush off as one of the many Top 40 singers out there, but you'd be foolish to do so. With Sucker she takes you on a crash course of her style with no seatbelt in sight. Literally as soon as the album starts, with the incredible title track "Sucker", Charli hits you with chants of "FUCK YOU, SUCKER!" surrounded by crazy woo's and one of the most electifying ... read more

With obvious influence from the Fiona Apples of the world, Aldous Harding delivers an indie folk album that doesn't do too much to distinguish itself. That being said, she makes good use of her influences, and the rhythms & production tend to be mostly passable.

When Designer works, there's enough instrumental interest to move the songs forward. "The Barrel" nicely mixes a soft, twangy guitar with some wind instrument and pianos to create a very entertaining folk tune. The hook ... read more

Cut Copy deliver another winner with Zonoscope, an album that doesn't evolve their sound so much as continue to excel at what they've already established. I find myself getting lost on these songs, and before I know it they're already halfway over or finished. There's still an excellent sense of flow through the tracklist, and there's still an excellent sense of what makes a good dance song. "Where I'm Going" makes perfect use of the wooh's around the hook, while the single "Take ... read more

I'm not sure what I was expecting with Prequelle but I'm pleased with what I got. It's uber-silly and over-dramatic almost to a fault, but the riffs and rhythms are extremely catchy. Obvious influces from metal and hard rock, but there's a lot of glam and hair metal, maybe even some disco. Tobias Forge sings as if he's commanding an unholy legion, fitting as he plays a dark Pope-esque character. He sings about the Black Plague, death and other Satanic things, but the overall edginess is ... read more

Red Velvet are back with another Japanese mini album, with three new songs and three Japanese versions of previous songs. "SAPPY" and "Swimming Pool" have everything you'd want from a Red Velvet banger, while "Sayonara" is a little slower, more trap infused jam, and all three are great additions to their catalog. To me the Japanese versions seem tacked on like they needed a few others songs to pad out the album. The instrumentals of the songs are still good, but I ... read more

Ever since the explosion of k-pop around the world, WJSN has been one of my favorite groups to keep up with. They call back to the EDM-infused pop craze of the early 2010's with big bouncy beats and repeatable hooks. For The Summer is their tightest project yet, with 5 catchy tracks that beg to be played poolside and absolutely deserve to be.

The production is fun and exciting, keeping the energy up with a variety of bumping sounds. The typical big synthesizers are catchy as expected, but I ... read more

Happy to help.

"Levels" is a truly underrated song, one that helped define a period in popular music more than most people realize. It set up Avicii as a household name, but for the rest of his career he seemed to be chasing the heights of that titanic first single. With TIM, music Avicii had been working on prior to his tragic passing in 2018, we have more attempts to repeat that original success. However, with any posthumous release, it's hard to tell what the artist originally intended and what ... read more

Grimes has always come from some weird, intriguing place. That much has been apparent on her previous left-field recordings like Visions or Geidi Primes, efforts that were occasionally mesmerizing in sound but not fully compelling all the way through. With Art Angels, Grimes makes good on her promising ideas by combining more conventional pop melodies with her signature weirdo synthpop. The pop melodies allow her sounds to flourish, creating ridiculously catchy songs and hooks that could ... read more

This is the Weezer album we were waiting for but never thought we'd get. After years and years of misfires and slogs of albums like Raditude, Rivers and Co. come through with a nonstop joyride of sunny California inspired pop rock. It is by no means as meaningful as Blue or as personal as Pinkerton, but White doesn't screw around with what it is. The rhythms are excellent, the hooks are electric, the songwriting is vastly improved, and for what it lacks in originality it makes up for in extreme ... read more

You know when you're on Spotify radio or a random playlist, and you aren't paying attention to the music all that much? Then a song comes on that catches your attention for whatever reason and you think "Hey, this is pretty ok"? Then you go and check their artist page and find their new album to listen to? Then you listen through and think "Man, this is much more enjoyable as a one off" and go back to the playlist? That's the kind of music Pip Blom makes.

Maybe that's a ... read more

How has no one else dropped a review of this masterpiece? I'll keep it short but damn y'all

I think the most powerful kinds of media transcend things like language or predisposed knowledge. With that in mind, Tatsuro Yamashita has an uncanny knack for making joyous music people of any kind can enjoy. A shining example of city pop, For You is one of the easiest listens I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The soft rock aesthetic is mixed with groovy basslines and other upbeat ... read more

Without knowing much about Japanese rap, especially on the female side, I think this is a solid introduction. The beats on this thing are surprisingly good, with a lot of the sounds kind of throwing back to a 1960's lounge feel. Lots of record fuzz, bar pianos and brass instruments. There's an entire instrumental track that could've been played in a bar JFK frequented. They consistently keep the energy up, with some oddball twists along the way. "Candy Hearts" starts with an ... read more

My first FlyLo album was a mostly engaging experience. There's a lot of interesting sound textures flowing in and out like in a cosmic stream. Strings, horns, oddball samples, glitchy electronic noises, vocal snippets and more all mix to create uniquely interesting tunes. Thankfully most of the songs are short so not many tracks linger, and each song has a contained rhythm that feels fully realized by the end. "Takashi" does linger a bit though I do like the overall track. There is a ... read more