Shaky start, incredibly strong finish. There's a lot to like about this track from this new Twenty One Pilots track, from Joseph's melodic vocal performance to Dun's stellar drum work, but what really makes everything come together is the production. Seriously, this track just sounds gorgeous. There's an excellent bump to the percussion that still persists even at its most distorted times, and really adds to the strong aesthetic here. Some of the experimentation in the vocal ... read more

I mean, it sounds great, but why is the vocal mixing so muddy? Haven't really kept up with Quadeca as of late, though I have enjoyed some of his previous projects (Scrapyard, I Didn't Mean To Haunt You), so I didn't really know what to expect from this track. And maybe that's a good thing, as I was completely blown away by the folk instrumentation and stellar writing. There's some really nice orchestral pockets throughout this track, especially when the heavy strings ... read more

There's an interesting duality at play here; I know very little about F1, and this song does next to nothing for me. That's not to say I had a bad time listening to this, not in the slightest. I thought Tate McRae provided a fairly decent vocal performance, and the writing wasn't too offensive here, but there just isn't enough variation present in the production to really catch the listener's attention, positive or negative. 6.5/10, leaning towards 6 and not 7.

"The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)" revives faith in Eminem's lyrical prowess while killing the expectation of those hoping to see a cohesive project from the rapper.

Review: Eminem has often been considered one of rap/hip-hop's greatest artists, but that reputation has waned as of late, in part due to some average/mediocre drops from Mathers. And going into this project, a part of me had somewhat bought into this narrative, and carried anxiety about what to ... read more

Yeah.

There's a song in here...somewhere. Sadly, it seems to get lost in the subpar mixing of this bewildering attempt at recreating the iconic sound of the Y2K pop era. It's a shame too, since you can clearly tell Kid LAROI is trying to breathe some life into this track with his passionate vocals, but the production choices here do him no favors. But even with a better producer behind this track, it still wouldn't fix the core problem with this song, which is the empty songwriting and ... read more

Wait, why are his production collaborations really cooking as of late? I can't pretend I love everything present here, as the mixing and instrumentation really gets muddled (especially in the bridge/outro), and the vocals have some very noticeable processing on them, but I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't a particularly pleasant groove throughout this track, carried by some standard but fairly strong lyrical content from Sheeran. I mean, the chorus is a full blown earworm, ... read more

Whoa, some actual attempts at variation from Mr. Swims? I haven't been particularly sold on Teddy Swims yet, and have only enjoyed a song here and there from the artist, but this is certainly one of his better releases. Not only does the low-fi, jazzy production contain just enough bump and momentum to hold the listener's attention, but Swims delivers a restrained yet fairly soulful performance that provides some really interesting dynamics, especially when we get to the above average ... read more

Oh no, the pop stars are now borrowing from country. Starting off with the best part of the track (its instrumentation), I felt the blend of synths and guitar strings present here, along with the occasional horn blares in the chorus, really complimented the vocal mixing and provided a nice 80s aesthetic to the track, which Carpenter has nearly mastered at this point in her career. Note that I said vocal "mixing", and not singing, as the country-style drawl Carpenter leans into with ... read more

Bellion engages in a generational tug-of war between his maturing approach to lyrics and painfully childish production.

Review: Despite the title making clear where the album would spend its focus, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Thankfully, it only took a few songs for this project to tell me exactly what I'll be treated to: emotionally raw yet scatterbrained songwriting, so-so production, and vocals that have considerably improved from Bellion's previous projects. As ... read more

Good for Sheeran that he found his old phone, I'm just not sure why this news is being broken to me in the form of a below average track. I don't necessarily hate everything about this song; there's some pretty alright production, both in how the vocals sound and the acoustic arrangement, but the framing doesn't do a good job of selling the track's authenticity. It's also worth mentioning that there's no real attempt at playing with melody, which could have at ... read more

Hold on, who let the Protestants cook? Initially wasn't sure what to expect, but I never could have predicted that the production would have such a pleasant bounce. As for the vocal performances, both Frank and Davis Jr mostly stick to the already existing groove, with their verses providing a consistent vibe while punching at you with some above average lyrics. There's not as much wordplay as I would like to see on a track like this, and the incredibly short runtime (2:14) ... read more

Lorde is back with another track, but the name appears to be misspelled as I'm almost certain it was meant to say "Song Of The Year". All jokes aside, this is an excellent single from what I'm assuming is an incoming album. The discordant production was a bold risk with an even bolder payoff, as the mix really comes through and envelops you in some dark synths and nice synthetic drums. I do prefer the smoother production of "What Was That", but the lyrical content ... read more

Do you even have to ask? Probably one of the few songs I'd ever give a perfect score, but arguably no track is as deserving of it than Bohemian Rhapsody. Not only is the production timeless, but the anthemic lyrics simply never get old. And of course, you just can't gloss over the spectacular, resonating vocals of Freddy Mercury, who truly sets the standard of what rock and roll should (and absolutely can) be. I'm sure there's people that dislike this track and/or insist ... read more

Wait, are all the tracks off Loom experimental like this? Do I really have to go and listen to a full Imagine Dragons album? On a more serious note, I'm surprised at the amount of enjoyment I had with this one. I've seen people argue this one has tacky lyrics and nice production, but I would actually flip that; the lyrics strike me as sincere, and have some of the band's better storytelling and structure, while I feel like some of the eclectic production choices here don't ... read more

Huh, maybe having low expectations is good. I don't have a raging hate boner for Imagine Dragons like most music nerds do, and that's probably why I find this song to be very middle-of-the-road. Unlike previous tracks I've heard from the band, this one seems to be doing some experimentation, which yields...mixed results. The vocal chops are so-so, and the screeching backing vocals teeter between "unpleasant" and "perplexing". But the melodies have some great ... read more

What the hell is this? And why does it have so many streams? Rhetorical of course, as the production has an excellent bounce and proper 80s synths that differentiate it from other songs on the radio that chase a similar aesthetic. But my god, does everything else on this track really drag. The Weeknd gives a competent yet overall pretty generic performance, Madonna comes through with easily one of her most phoned in performances to date, and Playboi Carti has virtually no presence on this track ... read more

While it's great to see Givēon back to dropping music, this doesn't really deviate from what I've come to expect from the singer. Top notch vocals, slow yet incredibly jazzy production (with occasional splashes of R&B), and heart wrenching lyrics that make you want to wallow in sadness while singing along. I wouldn't dare give this a low score, but some experimentation might benefit the singer's (potential?) upcoming project, and overall discography up to this ... read more

Yes, I discovered this from my social media algorithm. No, you can't judge me. TikTok addiction aside, this is a decently put together track from the former child star of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. The instrumentation has a fairly good acoustic groove, especially with the (cymbals?) and guitar strings that break in with the pre chorus. There's some lyrical pockets that really punch when they come through, but the overall storytelling is very messy, further accentuated by some muddled ... read more

Oh, TikTok. Forever subjecting the charts to songs like these, which prioritize style over substance and yet fall flat in both. Now to my surprise, the lyrical content here is fairly decent, especially compared to other contemporary tracks we've seen in recent months. But the vocals...my god. I'm sure Alex Warren has a great singing voice, but the amount of (very noticeable) processing makes it nearly impossible to tell. The production choices here aren't very compelling either, ... read more