I hinted at this on my Miles Ahead review, but Big Band Miles Davis really just isn’t one of my favorite permutations of his. So much of the implicit charm and careful intricacies of his more subdued works are lost with such a robust, bombastic sound. That said- if big band or broader, grander jazz is your thing, this will be too, no question

Milestones sees Davis becoming more and more of a jazz powerhouse- whereas most of his other works prior to this pin him as being backed by a quartet/quintet (or in the case of Miles Ahead- 19 other musicians!), Milestones is billed as just Davis baby! Though there’s obviously the help from other acclaimed heavy-hitters here such as Coltrane & Cannonball, it nevertheless really *feels* like Davis has hold on the reigns, even more so than, say, Round About Midnight despite both being ... read more

Relaxin' is right- these six cuts are some of the breeziest and *smoothest* in all of Miles Davis' repertoire. Sure, you *could* say that means these are forgettable- but I'd argue the loftiness these tracks bounce along is a testament to Davis' mastery in the sound

The big band approach here is a pretty jarring one, and more often than not says down what are otherwise some great tunes. That said- the title track is excellent

Though the Funny Valentine iteration steals the show here (understandably), Airegin also caught my ear and makes for one of my favorite early-Colombian era David cuts

The jump to Columbia also acts as the seismic jump forward in Davis’ discography from well-versed jazz musician-to-eternal jazz-juggernaut. The sound *feels* much like his prior works- but just so much more refined and sparkling. Sure, he’d outdo this, duh- but Round About Midnight is nevertheless a deeply important steps (one of the most important I’d argue) in a discography chock full of seismic steps

My pick for the best Davis record to this point/his best pre-Columbia outing. So much of the *sauce* that would become synonymous with his sound as soon as a year after this makes an early appearance here- tracks like There Is No Greater Love and that splendid Stablemates iteration make for early David pseudo-essentials

Much like Blue Moods, this record finds Davis staying in a comfortable pocket, meaning this record feels similarly ‘muted’ compared to his better works, but still jazz very clearly driven by a legend

Compared to the majority of Davis’ projects to follow? Forgettable, no two ways about it. However, taken on its own merits, all four pieces here make for perfectly digestible, occasionally even quite enjoyable, Cool Jazz with a Noir-twist. Even Miles Davis on auto-pilot cranks out some solid tunes

Despite starting out with an incredible opener, This Is Our Music is undoubtedly the band’s weakest offering. The “”sound”” of the band is here, but stripped back to its rudiments so starkly that it nearly sounds like a phony is left in its wake. The only of Galaxie 500’s projects I’d dare to label as ‘boring’

Though Today is still the best from Galaxie 500, On Fire still makes for a mostly pleasant and crisply-produced Dream Pop classic. I say 'mostly' because there are some vocal takes here that are almost shockingly... weak? for lack of a better word. Still, tracks like the opener, Strange, Decomposing Trees, and that slick Harrison cover make this a suitable follow-up to their debut

Something of an odd cookie- the easy-going, smooth approach here feels reminiscent of something like Mojave 3, though with markedly little twang. The vocals leave something to be desired more often than not, and these guys can *not* play the harmonica well- yet, when a track like It's Getting Late or Tugboat graces itself to your ears... it all just makes perfect sense

Yeah, the vocals are woefully uninspiring at best and downright repulsive at worst- but the instrumentation is nearly on par with some of Death’s worst (which is to say- REALLY GOOD). Had Control Denied carried on and Schuldiner taken over the vocal reigns once again, we’d likely had a worthy follow up to the best Death Metal band of all time. RIP Chuck Schuldiner, one of metal’s torchbearers in countless ways

My first hundo of 2026 is also the fourth I’ve given to Death… are there any other metal bands with four perfect albums in a row? I’m sure some get really close at the least, but the fact remains that Death never put out anything less than absolutely essential for the subgenre. Individual Thought Patterns is no different- it could be said for any of their post-1990 records, but I would absolutely hear an argument that this is the band’s strongest offering. The opener, ... read more

Though I don’t think it quite stacks up against Leprosy and the records from the band to follow, I can’t in good conscience consider this Death’s worst release. The riffs and performances may not be *quite* as strong as Leprosy, but especially on a lyrical/thematic front there are major leaps forward nonetheless. Spiritual Healing marks the point where the ‘bloody guts and gore’ motifs found on the band’s prior two records take a backseat to far more holistic ... read more

An improvement on all fronts from Death’s debut, which was already top-of-the-crop. The riffs, the vocals the *intensity*- they’re all ramped up tenfold from Scream Bloody Gore, making one of the best sophomore releases in metal history

The worst thing you can really say about Scream Bloody Gore is it’s sonic ‘samey-ness’, in that most of these tracks sound as though they’re pretty pinned-down to 1987. That’s quickly forgiven, however, by the sheer firepower of the performances and Schuldiner’s guttural howls- which, sure, on all fronts would reach more soaring heights as the 90s unfolded, but for a debut there’s no denying that this is wholly impressive

A sort of ‘leftovers’ set for the sound Aphex goes for on Syro. Pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of his discography but there’s still some gold production here ofc

Aphex’s most recent proper studio LP may be his most strait-laced to date in terms of production clarity and ease of access (though the jumbled track names may have you second guessing). Not a particularly challenging offering, but a perfect slice of IDM to put on around friends without having them scared of a horrifying cover

100000000% Aphex Twin’s most unsettling cover- what a crime against humanity. All is forgiven, however, once the beauty of the title track washes over you, with the two tracks to follow after that making for the cherry on top