The sophomore full-length album from West Belfast rap group Kneecap reflects a group that has matured, musically at least, since their last LP. Whereas that album sometimes felt like it was having its own identity crisis, this knows it's at the intersection of rap and EDM and it really makes a good account of the band through that. The driving force of the Casiokids sample on the title track works phenomenally, and Carnival and Liar's Tale also make for highlights.

I think it says a huge amount about this album and the music on it that i consistently found my higher track ratings going towards the covers of songs I was already very familiar with. It's never a great sign if, for the most part, you have to hinge your enjoyment on the one part of the album the artist was not responsible for. That said, there are some great moments on this album. The whole Feel Good Inc. cover is very very good. The shimmery and almost ethereal production on Mr. ... read more

If you travelled back in time to the 70s to explain the concept of 'serving cunt' to the band Bauhaus, the butterfly effect would create Haute & Freddy. I never realised that the dance-pop reimagining of goth and new wave music would be something that would exist, never mind that I would actually really like it. Songs like Scantily Clad and Fields of Versailles show exactly the creative vision that this duo have, and show that it can work really really well. This is a strong first ... read more

My rating for this album does outstrip the average user score, but I can't say that entirely surprises me. This album combines the two things users here hate most - country music and a woman. Ella Langley has long been bubbling under the mainstream with her country music, and in the last year has absolutely exploded. There are certainly worse musicians who have had the success she has, and she's a very strong writer as well as a great vocalist. I feel like Dandelion is one of the ... read more

absolute banger

Unbowed and unashamed of its status as a noisy romp, MAN BITES DOG is not going to be for everyone. It's not really the most accessible sort of EDM - but that's not a problem. Somehow, I get the feeling that femtanyl would feel like they were doing themselves a disservice if their project was one that could be enjoyed by even the most novice pophead. Having never really listened to much of femtanyl before this, except for the single release of BODY THE PISTOL, I obviously knew that I ... read more

When this album is good, it's very good. It knows how to be solemn, contemplative, and talk in a really emotionally striking way about identity and what it is to be non-white in an area as white-dominated as Appalachia. But it's sixteen tracks - which is more than Mon Rovia's songwriting and style can really bear for one project. By the end, it all feels so samey that you're waiting for it all to wrap up.

See my previous reviews of this "artist"'s creations of "music" for more details. This one is slightly less egregious because some of it is at least original.

You can spam your own releases with hundreds however much you and your partner want - it's still bad.

Yes I know, my average rating came out rounding up to the funny number. I wanted to enjoy this album more than I actually did - Chuu was always my bias in her previous band and I want to like K-Pop as a genre. But the issue here is the bad songs don't do much of anything and the good ones are just decent, nothing groundbreaking.

There's definitely passion here and lexi doesn't have the worst voice in the world.

It's just that you basically can't hear it underneath the lifted instrumentals.

This does nothing for the musical pantheon. I'm just glad she doesn't have the nerve to charge for the mp3 files like Val V.

See my criticisms of Hyperballad and just extrapolate. Poorly performed vocals over a lifted instrumental. I'm sure she or her girlfriend will send me abuse for criticising these release as they do to others, but I'm sorry - this is ass.

The fact the fans of this artist are making covert Ian Watkins references in the comments of the songs is concerning. But it's not the only issue here. Oh boy is it not. Firstly, this all kind of sounds the same except for I'm Sorry, Iilith which I presume is some kind of skit? Doesn't have much other reason to exist.

Then there's the fact that this album is a scant seven tracks and two of those are taken up by the artist doing what seems to be their daily mirror ... read more

If you're going to release a cover version, it should deliver something that is unique and marks it as an alternative offering to the original song. It brings me no joy to say that I think this song falls very short of that mark.

The instrumental is the first thing I want to talk about and the instrumental of this track is an absolute banger... because it's the exact instrumental track from the original version from the Post album. I'd rather hear a cover with a dodgily ... read more

One of the major criticisms I've seen so far of this album is that it's nearly an hour long. I do have to agree, even as a noted Joost fan, that he overstays his welcome when he puts out a project that long and with 24 songs. Some of these simply didn't need to make the cut, and they do stop the album being truly brilliant. This isn't as good as Joost's previous project Unity and my score does reflect that. But, on the balance of things, it's still not bad and ... read more

I genuinely promise these are all coming out at a mean rating of 68, it's not just a copout. There's two great tracks on here. All I Want for Christmas Is You and Pretty Paper are wonderful, and I'm a big dan of Mary Did You Know as well. But a lot of the others drag and don't do enough to justify them being here.

It's not as bad as a lot of these reviews make it out to be. Unfortunately, that's about the kindest thing I can say. Too long, underwhelming, overblown, and just not good. This is the sort of album Shaggy wishes wasn't him.

When Taylor really wants to lean into the country music scene, she makes it work. When she doesn't, you get almost comical oversinging on a honk tonk instrumental.

The true issue with this album, and the reason its rating isn't higher is simple. Whilst it starts out as a rip-roaring hell of a holiday album, it runs out of steam by the time we hit Leanin' On Jesus, and it just never regains that energy. It limps across to the end before finishing on a low-tempo but altogether pleasant rendition of Auld Lang Syne. It's a decent album but it needed to be tighter and focus on being more killer, less filler.

This album, if everything on here sounded as good as Por Espana, would be phenomenal. But way too much of this album is interludes, and it's kind of the basic drag music sound throughout way too much of it.

Whilst the version of songs like Sleigh Ride are possibly, just about, acceptable and not aurally offensive, most of these songs are. Last Christmas and Snowman are horrific to listen to. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is downright offensive, a cashgrab made from a sincere pacifist plea. This was a bad one.