Among the strongest Jazz-comeback records of the 90s. Sharrock's guitar work remains the beating heart of Ask The Ages, never quite descending into the exalting mania of Black Woman, but nonetheless feeling wholly enlightening in many ways

Moves through the space like a trapped animal yearning for freedom, though at many points it also sounds like that freedom has been granted beyond the creature's wildest splendor. It's a record full of pain and pleasure, at many points blurring that line indiscriminately. Sharrock's guitar work underpins the whole thing and acts as your guide-line through this snarlingly gorgeous landscape

honeydip’s final record sees the outfit branching *way* out to a whole slew of different rock-adjacent (and even beyond that scope) genres, all interwoven of course by the band’s phenomenally layered and multi-faceted Shoegaze sound. One of the most sonically diverse Shoegaze records I can think of

The most stunning Shoegaze record ever released. Summer's Gone is the best track of the subgenre in my opinion, but all the other non-interludes here are just a couple rungs behind. Breath-taking, stunning, and blissfully beautiful

A sweepingly breathtaking Shoegaze record that delivers some of the most immediately enjoyable production of any 90s record, sonically speaking. Just, do yourself a favor and don't pay attention to the clicking

Performance-wise- it’s obviously excellent. Meshuggah *are* Djent, and Djent are Meshuggah. I, unfortunately, don’t love Djent

Even with some intentionally grainy and often outright ‘rough’ mixing, Sky Hundred is another stellar addition to Parannoul’s discography, likely the strongest and most consistent Shoegaze discography of the decade thus far

Parannoul's best non-live record to date. His entirely singular brand of nostalgia-gaze as I like to think of it is the sharpest and most impactful of any Parannoul project to date. A fog-covered mirror that refracts

Parannoul and Asian Glow's styles are entirely natural companions for each other, as evidenced by all four of these tracks- Wheel in particular being one of the best songs from either artist to date

It's not often that a demo can nearly exceed the eventual finished product in terms of scale and magnitude. The remainder here is also enjoyable, though only Soft Bruise felt like the absolute essential beyond said demo for me personally

It’s messy, jagged, unintelligible vocally- and yet it all serves to form a cohesive idea of visceral nostalgia. Parannoul’s music often floats within a realm of utter liminality mentally speaking, and that sentiment is perhaps best demonstrated on To See… It’s the feeling of looking forward through rose tinted glasses, while also looking back on through the other side

Compared to many of Parannoul's projects to follow, Let's Walk sounds muted- obviously the production leaves a lot to be desired, but even the substance here feels largely empty compared to, say, To See... That said, Parannoul's patented Post-Shoegaze-esque sound very much still makes up the running DNA of this record, so if that's your bread and butter, this will surely suffice regardless

Starts out with one of those tracks that just feels so mystifyingly captivating despite being from a genre that was in an incredibly odd period- the good news is much of the record to follow is nearly as solid. Toward the back half, there’s a few comparative lulls, but it’s regardless true that Jasmine Rodgers’ voice and the guitar work are in constant competition to outdo one another in terms of sheer bravado

Owusu’s most politically charged record to date, though there’s still such a strong emphasis on hook and palatable production which I appreciate. 4LIFE is maybe the worst track he’s ever released, but barring that this is remarkably consistent, even if I (as of this moment) prefer his other two records marginally

Deceit does its absolute best to dissuade, plead, and even *beg* you to stop listening, with its discordant vocal harmonies, constantly oscillating production, and incomprehensible lyricism. Thankfully, it fails.

This Heat’s ‘thing’ is making music that sounds as though it’s in great pain, and, well that’s the case for their debut no doubt. Though weirdly I think where this falls short compared to Deceit is how a lot of the passages here are more foreboding than they are ‘pleading for mercy’

Nearly every song is incredibly catchy, but also immediate- it's a crossroads between the innovation of Genesis and 80s pop sensibilities, and it's a good time

The most vibrant release from the Avalanches since Wildflower, though I’d even go a step further and say their debut personally. Needless to say- they are back.

It's releases like this that honestly do cement Simz as being one of the greatest innovators of hip-hop this decade. She *could* release exclusively conscious, jazzy declaration after declaration and assuredly gain the flowers and praise of online nerds everywhere- but she experiments, a hallmark of the greatest innovators in hip-hop history.

That said, do I personally enjoy this? Not quite

Certainly a ‘spiritual’ jazz record, just doesn’t sound like your typical ‘spiritual jazz’ record- capiche? Lateef brings in Eastern elements that gracefully adorn these tracks like ornaments on a tree. At its core, it’s really quite a simplistic Jazz record- but it’s one that reflects its sincerity and sophistication with incredible tact and bravado