this is an album where i feel like the first and second half deserve separate sections in my review. so here are my thoughts on the first half:

it's good. but i think this sound strays a little far from my own personal taste and what made me love her music before. something i praised before in her music, specifically on delusional, was her ability to utilize her chaotic and silly energy in small doses that worked really well to emphasize specific moments in her songs. that balance feels a ... read more

ajr almost always, if nothing else, surprises me, for better or for worse. but this is the rare occasion where i was actually fully and entirely bored by a new ajr release. this song really does just feel like a rehash of old shit, even more so than usual. every time i listen to this track, i find myself reminded of other melodies and instrumentals of theirs that already did what this song does. it's not even blatantly awful for the most part- just underwhelming. for the first single on an ... read more

someone said this is Gay Humble and i think that's probably the best way to describe it

not a big fan of this one at all. the verses are ok, but that's about it. the main chorus melody should never have been made into an actual overblown chorus, it doesn't work imo. the fact that the chorus doesn't start with a kick or impact or anything makes it feel like the song just kind of builds into nothing the whole time. not huge on the whistling, feels like when mixed with the drums it ends up feeling like ajr is trying to capture a vibe that is just not really in their wheelhouse. and ... read more

you go to the nude beach? I GO TO THE NUDE CHURCH.

i feel like dev has really found a perfect middle ground between pop, indie, and hyperpop that suits her voice and lyrics incredibly well. it feels like hyperpop done less gimmicky, making the moments that really lean into that loud and chaotic atmosphere hit soo much harder. there's a bittersweetness to these songs that just ties all of the tracks together in a really nice way, and makes for a great listening experience that caters well to the duality of it. the production, vocal performance, ... read more

This song legit helped me recognize the codependency in my past relationship

This song actually grew on me a lot. I mean, don't get me wrong, I liked it from the start, but after seeing it live, and getting the chance to listen to it more times, yeah it's really fuckin good, top 3 Dev tracks for me.

I really love this track. I may be a little biased because of how much I personally relate to the lyrics (daddy issues) but man I just think this is one of her most underrated songs. I would actually say this is probably the best production WhoseRules has done for Dev, I honestly like it more than Guessing Games. Really vibey and catchy track that I find myself coming back to very often

almost every song on this record sounds like a different artist could have done it way better and it would have been significantly less forgettable. wtf is this band even doing anymore lol

also did they just like forget about time 2 or...????

this shit is so boring, man. feels like their writing has gotten very dull lately, just doesn't have the same edge to it. this track feels like all the other half alive songs as of recent, but even less memorable. entirely inoffensive and bland

HOMIE

Kendrick shows me his whoooole ass on this one. Shoved it right in my face. He clearly scrubbed real good back there too cus I smelled no shit whatsoever. Kenny really gave me a good look of what is inside of him and I enjoyed it quite a lot

So far, this album is pretty inconsistent in quality. Songs like Move Me and What's Wrong actually display a reasonable step forward from their previous work, a path I definitely don't mind the band taking, while songs like Hot Tea or Make of It make me feel like I'm listening to AJR at their worst. Even the good songs have these moments where something totally unnecessary happens and I'm completely taken out of the vibe. The band always had sort of a vintage thing to me, at least in their ... read more

Honestly, I'll admit, this sounds like shit. But for the most part, it's at the least a lot more entertaining than The Revenge. There were times I laughed, times I was just absolutely bewildered, and times I was so incredibly bored out of my mind (mostly thanks to the 7th track where he literally just reads from "Why Socialism?" by Albert Einstein over a beat), and that's a lot more than The Revenge has done for me. Sure, this sucks, but at least it wasn't trying to be anything more ... read more