Charli XCX has long been one of the most hyped-up names in pop music and, truth be told, I never really got it. However, with the release of CRASH in 2022, I really did get it. This is clearly a love letter to music itself and utilises all the best parts of Charli's pop and PC Music eras to craft an absolutely divine, gorgeous album among the best I've ever heard. A modern classic.

Cornish-Welsh songstress Gwenno crafts a lovingly-made homage to the nation of Cornwall and its history and language. It includes musical influences from all across the art form, and is a very unique album. I enjoy it immensely, but it does have a habit of extending songs much longer than they need to go and overstaying its welcome.

DEMONDICE, also known by her newer and slightly less awful alias of Calliope Mori, is here shown making her first attempt ever at rap. No really, she's admitted that. And it shows. The flow is poor, the lyrics range from cringeworthy shit at best to downright racism at worst. This is a bruh moment. "Snake Eyes" is the lowlight of this, if you don't include the singing as a singular element from "C U".

Songs not bad. Voice notes very bad.

Egotistic hubris at its most rampant and sprawling, ruining all it touches; petty entitled whinging and its most pointed and faux-deep. With that said, Getaway Car still slams.

This is the kind of mixed bag that the pick 'n' mix counter could only dream of. While some songs have lovely country vibes and fit Taylor well, some are her at her lowest ebb of just whinging about boys over cheap pop beats.

I consider this the start of Gabbie's most awful era yet, personality-wise, and yet she couldn't turn the visceral arrogance into something even fun to hate. Dull as dishwater.

This album is a hallmark of a career and a sound that has outstayed its welcome and is just getting less and less appealing with each passing year like a fillet of fish left on the kitchen table.

I really enjoy this but not as much as Abbey Road.

This reminds me of the old Washington punk scene for one simple reason. This album revels and takes pride in being silly, unthinking, lowest-common-denominator trash, but behind the appearance is actually incredibly intelligent in the way it's put together. This is a garage-punk album that functions as a defiant middle finger to the classist expectations of Australian society and does so with tongue firmly in cheek.

I never thought I'd feel this way, the way I feel about Absolutely. This is one of the first albums I ever heard as a child capable of comprehending music and understanding that it was something enjoyable made with instruments and mouths. My father has always been a Madness fan and used to pump this in the car all the time. For that reason, I've always casually thought of it as one of my favourites, and it's only when I sat down to listen to Absolutely with a more critical ear that I realised ... read more

There's a lot about MONTERO that is commendable purely for its groundbreaking nature. Not only is it tangible proof that an artist can turn TikTok virality into a serious, successful career in music, but it's also something much more important than that. This is, to my knowledge, the first smash hit album by a black queer artist that is unapologetically and unashamedly about being black and queer.

The high points on this album are incredibly high, with both the title track and "INDUSTRY ... read more

This is the first remix album I have reviewed and, if we're being totally honest and open here, actually the first remix album I've ever listened to the whole way through. This is not for want of trying, I feel the need to point out. I listened to parts of both "The Mindsweep: Hospitalised" and "Neyslutrans Remixed" remix albums and found they just couldn't keep my attention. For this reason, I had low expectations for "1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues", even though ... read more

Frank Turner, as a solo artist, has generally sat pretty comfortably within the bounds of what is considered folk-punk. On his album FTHC, however, he deviates out from this, into heavier and harder rock subgenres that are reminiscent of previous projects Million Dead and Mongol Horde. As well as being an homage to all the styles Frank has performed throughout his career, this album also contains some emotion, personal songwriting. From the angry, angst-bound, undoubtedly Rich Costey sound of ... read more

As any music lover is aware already, Abbey Road was the final album that The Beatles recorded together as a four-piece, and as such it is almost as important as a piece of pop culture history as it is just a damn good album. And make no mistake, it IS damn good. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Side A of Abbey Road might be the singular greatest collection of music ever put together. Songs like "Come Together", "Octopus' Garden", and "Something" all received ... read more

Look, prior to his pivoting to the pop-punk sound, I'd never enjoyed Machine Gun Kelly. Indeed, the best thing I'd seen of him prior was that time Kevin Owens powerbombed him off the stage on Monday Night Raw. However, I actually don't mind this album. While the title track is a whinging, entitled white man at his most whinging and entitled, there are some bangers here. Notably, I really enjoy "emo girl" and "make up sex"; it's perhaps no coincidence that those two standout ... read more

Manchester's pop-punk darlings Pale Waves aren't newcomers to the music scene, that much is for certain. However, this album brings a fresh-faced youthful energy that really works to the credit of the already quality lyricism and composition of the tracks. Furthermore, this album showcases a versatility we haven't seen before from the band, from songs like "Change" that are reminiscent of their own hits like "Television Romance", through the noughties Paramore vibes of ... read more

The passionate, composed, emotionally-charged retelling of the sexual harassment scandals that rocked Australia's music industry to the core. Lyrically, this is ART. Sonically, it's incredible. A great song by a great artist.

Honestly, not terrible. Sure, it's a bit cringeworthy and the lyrics definitely are nothing special. And absolutely, Bibi's vocals need work. But this is listenable. This is something I can happily hear in the background and I won't feel a particular need to get up and turn it up. It's the absolute epitome of milquetoast, middle of the road. Ergo, it has to be a 50.

I didn't want nor need a crunkcore song about an ED. There's better songs about this topic for SURE.