Dennis left the world way too soon😞 But damn, Pacific Ocean Blue is something else. Honestly, I’d say it might even be the best solo album from any of The Beach Boys, and if you threw it into a ranking with their group albums, it’d probably end up in my top 5. This record proves Dennis was way more than just the drummer and harmoniser, people really overlooked him way too much. Dennis was a serious songwriter and singer. Compared to Carl and Brian, Dennis’ voice has more of ... read more

It's only the second single but we’re already getting so spoiled. After that insane first single Ace Trumpets, they now preview So Be It and it hits just as hard. That beat is absolutely nuts. Pharrell really nailed that. And Pusha and Malice are back in full form, spitting with so much fire and power, like they never left. It’s already an incredibly addictive track, and if this is the level they’re on right now… we might be in for something really special.

Wow.. just wow. After coming through with an absolutely amazing debut album with InnerSpeaker, which was already such a psychedelic journey, Kevin Parker came back with Lonerism and somehow made everything even better. This album is simply something else. It still as spaced-out and psychedelic as InnerSpeaker, but also feels more refined and layered. It’s as bold, and still as personal at the same time.

What I really like about this album is just how accessible it all sounds. Like, this ... read more

Marvin Gaye just couldn’t miss. I Want You is another absolute gem in his legendary streak. If What’s Going On was that deep, conscious soul masterpiece, and Let’s Get It On was his full-on sensual awakening, then I Want You is where he goes all in on that late-night, lights-down, ultra-smooth vibe. And, it works so damn well. This album is my go-to whenever I want that perfect sensual late-night vibe.

From the title track on, it’s silky, sultry, and just dripping with ... read more

Has anyone ever looked cooler than Grace Jones?

I’d had Nightclubbing on my wish list forever, finally got around to it, and honestly, I have to admit, I kind of hoped for a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good album. It’s smooth, groovy, and with Grace’s vibe shining through every second. But for large parts, it just doesn’t do all that much.

Some tracks drag a bit, and while they’re still cool and groovy, I found myself wanting a bit more punch ... read more

After dropping three absolutely game-changing mixtapes in one year, The Weeknd did what only made sense. He bundled them all together, added in three bonus tracks, and gave us Trilogy. And man, he did it right.

These mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, Echoes of Silence were all already masterpieces. Dark, raw, emotional, and genre-shifting. Abel came in at just 21 and basically reinvented the R&B genre. The remastering on Trilogy works well in most places. Some tracks sound cleaner and ... read more

I’ll always have a soft spot for Beach House. They just understand what you need. Absolute legends in the dream pop genre, and with Bloom, they built further upon the greatness of Teen Dream and elevated it to an even higher level.

Every single track here feels like its own little dream. You press play on Myth, and you’re not coming back until the album finishes. It pulls you in instantly with that ethereal vibe, and from there it just flows so seamlessly. Wild, Lazuli, Other ... read more

Very rough listen. Maroon 5 was never that deep to begin with, but at least their first three albums had some charm. They were fine for background music, nothing groundbreaking, but listenable. Then came Overexposed, and things really went downhill.

This album is just dull. Super generic, surface-level stuff with zero substance behind it. Like, what’s even the point? The production is way too polished, everything’s just crafted for radio plays and playlists, and that’s it. No ... read more

When every single track on an album makes you laugh, you really gotta ask yourself if that’s a good or a bad thing. But with Pitbull… man, I can’t even flame him properly. This dude was my childhood. All those party tracks, those wild-ass collabs, that ridiculous Mr. Worldwide energy. I had a great time with his music back then.

But if we’re being honest? This album is hot garbage. Generic beats, stupid-simple lyrics, always some random feature thrown in, like he ... read more

At least… this one’s better than My World 2.0, man that was a terrible listen. With Believe, Justin shows again that he’s got a fine voice, there’s no denying that, but still, when it comes to writing solid pop songs it’s just not there at all. Even with an army of writers behind him, the result is still super surface-level.

The lyrics, the production, the song structures, it’s all just really generic. Feels like something that was designed in a lab to be a ... read more

Well… by this point in his career, Chris Brown kind of made it clear he’s not really built for the album format. It’s more of the same he’s done before, just with heavier autotune and those generic 2010s dance-pop beats.

And it’s just that there’s nothing much going on here. The album leans hard on standard song structures that feel pretty safe and predictable. It’s like he hit a creative wall and just kept cruising.

Sure, there are some decent hits ... read more

PARTYNEXTDOOR was such a vibe back in the 2010s (and still is tbh). He really was one of the most exciting artists coming up in that moody, dark R&B wave. With his self-titled debut, he just locked into that whole late-night, half-awake atmosphere and didn’t let go. It’s dark, it’s smooth, and it’s a project that immediately makes you want to just zone out and let the night take over.

The production is minimal but in the best way. Nothing feels overdone but just ... read more

After delivering two iconic albums with Man on the Moon and Man on the Moon II, Kid Cudi came back with Indicud, and honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The signature Cudi elements are definitely still here: the hums, the deep voice, the psychedelic vibes, the introspective lyricism. But, somehow the album feels a bit more scattered and disconnected compared to his first two projects.

It’s not a bad record at all, and it’s clear that Cudi was trying to branch out and ... read more

Yours Truly is a decent debut album from Ariana Grande, and honestly, it does exactly what it needed to do at the time. Coming fresh off her Nickelodeon fame, she had a lot to prove stepping into the music world, and you can immediately tell she’s got the voice for it. She wasn’t just another TV star trying to sing, she actually had real vocal chops, and this album makes that pretty clear.

That being said, as a full album, it’s a bit bland. There are some nice moments, and a ... read more

True was Avicii’s big debut album, and it’s fine. It’s decent, but it’s nothing mind-blowing or revolutionary. You can’t deny it has the hits: tracks like Wake Me Up and Hey Brother were absolutely everywhere back then. You couldn’t walk into a store, turn on the radio, or open YouTube without hearing them. And sure, they’re catchy, they stick with you, but looking back, the album as a whole doesn’t hit that hard.

A lot of it feels a little too ... read more

Empire of the Sun is definitely one of those guilty pleasure bands for me. Their music is a bit quirky, and while their albums aren't groundbreaking, they sure know how to create some catchy tracks. Ice on the Dune is no exception. Alive is a huge anthem that everyone knows, and the first half of the album has some solid tracks that keep you hooked. But as you get deeper into the album, it starts to fade a bit. The energy dies down, and by the second half, the songs feel more like ... read more

I have to say Rudimental was definitely a vibe back then. And on Home these vibes are definitely present. Song like Feel the Love and Waiting All Night are great tracks, full of energy. But the rest of the album is just there. Some decent tracks, some quite underwhelming ones, and some that just run in the background but doesn’t get you going. Overall, the album doesn’t do much besides a handful of tracks.

PRISM is definitely not as bad as some of Katy Perry’s previous albums. On this one, she finally seems to have found a bit more depth, daring to explore things in more detail rather than sticking to generic, overly polished pop anthems (though there are still a few tracks like Roar and Dark Horse that fall into that irritating category). Despite being a step up from her past work, the album still doesn’t make a huge impact. Even the better tracks don’t really shine. It’s ... read more

Will.i.am, one of the more captivating members of the Black Eyed Peas, really showed here that he’s not a good solo artist. #willpower might honestly be one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard. It’s irritatingly bad. Like, horrendously bad. It might even be worse than the worst music the Black Eyed Peas dropped during their peak popularity, and that’s saying a lot.

I can’t for the life of me understand how anyone could make songs like Hello, Geekin’, Freshy, ... read more

After the really ethereal Autobahn, Kraftwerk came back with another spacey, synth-heavy concept album: Radioaktivität. And, it’s great again. This album also leans heavily into that ambient, spaced-out vibe. Super airy, super floaty, almost like you're just drifting through frequencies.

Tracks like Radioactivity, Radioland, Airwaves and Antenna really stand out, they just lock you into that spacey atmosphere. It’s wild how these guys were doing this kind of stuff back in ... read more