In some ways, II is just TNGHT picking up where they left off from in 2012. This EP is still full of club bangers buzzing their way around; it still has its share of pitchy builds and drops . But the seven year gap of time between the two projects has left a dynamic shift in the trap scene and the trap sound, which means that II is quite distinct from its predecessor. For one, the style of festival trap that TNGHT helped usher in has been replaced with quirkier house style tracks after the ... read more

I fear that some of the ratings going into this are a little rash considering this is one of Kanye’s most experimental albums, and consequently, one of his most difficult to digest. Having said that, I feel like it’s more appropriate for me to hold off on completely analyzing this album. However, that doesn’t stop me from having some early thoughts.

This is one Kanye’s grandest albums in a while, at least since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or Watch the Throne. For ... read more

As someone who seriously got into not electronic music through the amazing Coloring Book mixtape, I was excited to see how Chance would evolve past his relatively matured (compared to Acid Rap) project. But I got worried by a series of career missteps, from the back to back Christmas EPs, a few weak singles in 2018, corny features on songs like “Cross Me”, and the god-awful lead single that is Groceries. And once I saw the 22 song, 1:17 runtime, and boring feature load (none of ... read more

He literally spits the same verse every song. It’s not a bad verse, but it gets tedious.

Favorites: Have Mercy, Bad Idea, Broke as Fuck, Way Back Home

Worst: We Gon Make It

A loud and campy pop record with admirable song choices and passionate vocal performances. And each of these aspects go too far at one point in the album, which adds to its relative campiness. Pretty fun I general though.

Favorites: Life is Life, The Homosexual, The Whole of the Moon, It Takes a Muscle To Fall In Love, Rise, Vienna

Worst: Return to Center

Through the constant barrage of the uninspired and monotonously obnoxious k-pop EP we have been subjected to this year, Twice cuts through the crowd by releasing an EP that is actually enjoyable, albeit a little one-note. And thank God they don’t put fucking ballads.

Favorites: STUCK IN MY HEAD, GIRLS LIKE US, HOT, TURN IT UP

Worst: FANCY

Unfortunately, it's less consistent of a project than Hynes' previous work. The mixtape label seems like a cop-out; usually this would suggest a less serious project like ZUU, but less serious is confused with less effort. Many of the features add nothing to the project. Some of the solo tracks are alright, and features like Toro and Pat are fine, but much of this just pales in comparison to Negro Swan.

Favorites: I Wanna C U, Dark & Handsome, Good For You, Baby Florence (Figure), Gold ... read more

Inconsistent, with a lot of forgetful artists on the Dreamville line up. A lot of the bangers are really solid, though not as much of the slower cuts live up to them. Cole and JID are both getting better at rapping. EARTHGANG is hyping me up for Mirrorland. Cozz is okay. I don't know the others' voices.

Favorites: Down Bad, Oh Wow...Swerve, Wells Fargo, Costa Rica, Sunset, MIDDLE CHILD, PTSD, Sacrifices

Worst: Sleep Deprived

From the sci-fi electropop to the blaring metal, Poppy's direction into a darker and heavier sound has produced her most intrusive, haunting, and complex piece. Every song sticks out as a shot into the crack of her disturbed mind. The song topics get creepier and creepier, from a murder scene to a prophecy of being thrown into a food processor alive. And even though she takes her sound far out into mainstream accessibility, she still succeeds in making a pop album, with its memorable hooks and ... read more

I thought we were getting set up for disappointment, but this is great. Gibbs flows well and Madlib has creative production. The album is relatively consistent throughout, but the highs aren't as far removed from the lows. Good album though.

Favorites: Freestyle S**t, Crime Pays, Massage Seats, Flat Tummy Tea, Giannis, Cataracts

Worst: Palmolive

Beautiful and triumphant jazz-soul. Kane is a powerful voice, but also has tender moments. This production reinforces my belief that the trumpet is the greatest instrument of all time. The spoken word pieces bring it down quite a bit though; the first one seems pretentious to me for some reason.

Favorites: Feel the Need, Fragile, Sawt al-Hurriya, Hummingbird, With You

Worst: Deeply Rooted

Mindless Drivel: The Album

Favorites: Fret Street

Worst: Three Minutes

Thanks Ava

I almost got a heart attack listening to this, and that's a good thing. This is the most-off the wall album I've heard all year. Some of the transitions are a little jarring in a bad way (opposed to the other transitions, which are jarring in a good way??). The genre fusions between the heavy punk style guitar sections, the loud brostep sections, and the PC Music style vocals are interesting to say the least.

Favorites: 745 sticky, money machine, stupid horse, xXXi_wud_nvrstøp_ÜXXx, ... read more

I know it's late and I took all year, but you can stop complaining cause I'm finally here.

The first couple of times I listened to this, all I heard was weird sound collage, which in itself is an admirable effort, and was something I liked when it released. However, that was all I really saw in it; ultimately, I thought the actual music sacrificed substantive quality for impact and an outward expression of supposed dementia. But the more I listen, the more I appreciate the intricacies of the ... read more

Bro, can you, like, not?

Favorites: Please Tell Me

Worst: Extra

A good cool down from the intensity of TA13OO, ZUU is simply a collection of amazingly aggressive rap songs, and that’s all that it needs to be.

Favorites: ZUU, RICKY, BIRDZ, AUTOMATIC, SPEEDBOAT, CAROLMART, SHAKE 88

Worst: P.A.T.

This is the closest a rap album (or an EP, I guess) has come to sonically embodying the term "rock opera"* since MBDTF. And almost all of us non-bald folk we know how good that album is. This is a good mix of luscious and eerie, the songs are instantly catchy while remaining structurally complex, and the various sections of melodic vocals offer a lot of dynamics to this project. Sonically, it's all over the place, pulling from typical hip-hop, but also electronic, rock, avant-garde ... read more

This is kinda fucking weird. It's also kinda fucking mixed like trash; it's a sonic mess, despite all of it's interesting production styles. The singing isn't that good, but somehow that ends up as a good thing half the time. I appreciate that he sticks with a concept throughout the album, but it's not that interesting. Yeah, weird album.

Edit: Chat moving so fast nobody will see this stupid opinion. I'll explain later. It's not a Fantano thing, I was thinking of changing the score even before ... read more

Budget Kali Uchis shows that she is, once again, better than actual Kali Uchis.

Joooooooking. Very endearing pop rnb. It’s nothing completely new and innovative, but it’s pretty enjoyable.

Favorites: lowkey, urs, move!

Worst: odds

This isn’t what I expected to hear from the group based off the singles, and I’m not sure if I would prefer my envisioned album or this realized one. But I can say that I think the stylistic change that is handled on by the back half is a brave, bold move, and was a very risky move by the group. So I’m happy they decided to do something like that. As for my opinion on the album, I think that it’s that the front half is very brash and up front with its experimentation, ... read more