Big Fish Theory is an experimental fusion of west coast hip hop, Atlanta trap, and electronic dance music. It is ambitiously bold, and while I commend Vince Staples on this different artistic approach, I can’t say this album is entirely successful from beginning to end. In this case, it is better in theory than in practice.

The lacklustre song structure and instrumental build up on ‘Crabs In A Bucket’ leaves a lot to be desired, but it still sounds decent; sonically and ... read more

This isn’t an essential EP from Vince Staples, it’s a rather pointless and boring EP.

Not only does Vince fail to capitalise on the potential of the weird instrumentals with memorable hooks and captivating rap performances, but the interlude acapella moments on tracks like ‘Let It Shine’, as well as after songs abruptly end out of no where on ‘Smile’, ‘Loco’, ‘Prima Donna’, and ‘Big Time’ are repetitively boring and ... read more

This debut album from Vince Staples is enjoyable, yet flawed. Not only does Summertime ‘06 fail to reach a thematic conclusion by the end of each disc to tie the whole narrative together into a consistently tight and substance heavy listening experience, especially when there’s filler that dawdles throughout the hour long runtime, but disc 2 just doesn’t have the same quality or staying power as disc 1 does.

Disc 1:

‘Ramona Park Legend Pt. 1’ opens the album up ... read more

Very much surprised by Vince Staples ‘Dark Times’, so I wanted to dive into his discography, since I’ve only been familiar with his feature appearances and a few tracks off of ‘Big Fish Theory’.

Hell Can Wait is an enjoyable 7 track EP with these clever low key hood bangers like ‘65 Hunnid’, ‘Hands Up’, ‘Fire’, ‘Blue Suede’, and even ‘Limos’, which has a pretty weak
Improvised bridge, but the song still ... read more

Dark Times is a lyrically introspective, atmospherically moody, blissfully chill, and sonically soulful hip hop album. Even if this project doesn’t reach the strongest thematic conclusion by the end, Vince Staples 100% delivers the vibes on this with banger after banger. I immediately fell inlove with this album on first listen, and I have had it on repeat for a whole day now.

This is Billie Eilish’s best project- a depressingly written and beautifully composed two track indie folk EP.

Don’t Smile At Me is a pretty boring and stale EP, but it has four thoroughly enjoyable tracks. ‘Bellyache’ is a catchy tongue-in-cheek electropop tune with a bright and spacious mix. ‘Ocean Eyes’ is the song that got Billie Eilish famous over night, and there’s good reason for it. This song is melodically and sonically blissful to listen to. ‘Idontwannabeyouanymore’ is a beautifully written song about body insecurity with pretty instrumentation ... read more

The pop soundscape is given an edgy and quirky gothic decor by a teenager of this generation. WWAFAWDWG? is exactly what you would expect from that description, but it’s actually a pretty successful endeavour into that world, despite its faults.

‘Bad Guy’ is overplayed, for sure. However, there’s a quirky playfulness to the song that lends itself so much to the weird production style. This quirky personality of Billie is set up in the intro track ‘!!!!!’ ... read more

Happier Than Ever is a disjointedly and boringly sequenced record of everything Billie wants to get off her chest, and everything Finneas wants to try out production wise, but one that is still thoroughly entertaining.

‘Getting Older’ is a honest songwriting piece, confronting the idea of growing older, and what she has realised with her life experiences, so far. ‘I Didn’t Change my Number’ is this smooth banger with weird trippy detuned synths, simplistically dry ... read more

This is Paramore ditching their emo punk roots for a poppier direction in sound, and the progression they made as musicians and as a collective unit on ‘Brand New Eyes’ is completely missing on this project. It’s a bloated mess of lazy generic pop filler with a major lack of personality and originality. A try hard attempt at derivative radio friendly pop tunes with boring uninteresting melodic hooks, Taylor Swift levels of cringe lyrics, and questionable production ... read more

Another nostalgic listen for myself, but one that was more rewarding than Paramore’s previous two records. This is where Paramore really shined into their own as a band and matured as musicians to give us a fairly successful emo pop punk album. Brand New Eyes doesn’t take any risks, and occasionally, it still struggles to rise above its run of the mill formula, but it makes up for it with catchy pop hooks, killer vocals from Hayley Williams, and solid moments of memorable ... read more

An improvement over their debut record, but unfortunately, it still suffers from the same issues. It’s an unremarkable emo pop punk outing because of how cheesy, generic, stale, and bland of a formula it is playing to, and without anything particularly fresh or interesting to add to that music scene. It was hard to set aside the nostalgic memory I have with this album and how it has held up today, but it was something that needed to be done over many consecutive listens on the album. ... read more

Holy shit. What an experience. ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’ is a short but relentlessly heavy 27 minute descent into chaotic madness, destroying everything in its path, and not giving a fuck doing so. Honestly, this has some of the best production and mixing on a metalcore album I’ve heard; the tonal clarity of the thick monstrous guitar riffs, the insane bassy eruptions of low end, the ferocious burst of flavourful drum sounds, and the awesome higher ... read more

Hit Me Hard and Soft does exactly that. The wave of soft and hard emotions I felt listening to this album, wow. This is a bittersweet journey of emotional catharsis for Billie Eilish, as she tries to navigate and understand the love and heartbreak she’s been going through, as well as her sexuality, her identity, and her celebrity status in the midst of this too.

The opener ‘SKINNY’ has a hypnotically symphonic and atmospherically cinematic soundscape, while Billie Eilish ... read more

All We Know Is Falling is a very safe, bland, and generic piece of 2000’s emo pop punk. Most of these songs bleed into each other, and end up sounding the exact same, specifically songs like ‘Pressure’ and ‘Emergency’, as well as ‘Here We Go Again’ and ‘Never Let This Go’. None of them particularly stand out with their own individualistic traits or offer refreshing perspectives within the genre, but also the mixing is incredibly flat and the ... read more

Red is Taylor Swift’s career defining album, as it sky rocketed her into superstardom, and she became the ultimate pop sensation… I don’t understand why though. This album is a meandering bloated derivative snoozefest of corny pop songs with dated production elements and eye-rolling teen songwriting. “All I know is you held the door, so you’ll be mine and I’ll be yours.” *cue vomit noise*

After Laughter sees Paramore paint their depression and pessimism in cheery glossy synth dance pop rock production. A complete detour in sound, but a rewarding transition of contrasts. ‘Grudges’ is the only track that doesn’t do much for me, whereas every other song successfully delivers its intentions, with silky smooth bangers like ‘Hard Times’, ‘Rose-Coloured Boy’, and ‘Caught in the Middle’, and riskier experiments like the odd ... read more

The perfect vibe for a road trip.

This sounds like the soundtrack for the most cheesiest Disney channel movie you can think of.

Re: This Is Why offers an interesting and refreshing perspective on the original album, but with a few moments of unnecessary and awkward remixes.

The positive side:

Julien Baker’s ‘Thick Skull’ cover doesn’t quite hit as hard as the original, but the unique and trippy production carries this track. ‘Crave’ and ‘Liar’ feel the most similar to their original counter parts, but both Claud and Romy give their own gorgeous stamp on the material. ... read more