I have actually listened to this before, didn't really like it, but saw the score, and felt I was somehow missing something. Today I can back to it, and I understand it now. This album (to me) conveys similarly to Blonde in terms of its style (not sound), with Casabalancas' voice really elevating this feeling to the next level above the careful guitars. My only real complaint is that this album really stays in its own area, not experimenting or properly changing up the backing. Other ... read more

Experimental melodic terminally online Hip hop, which is simultaneous unfocused, yet much more than his debut (as JPEG, not counting Devon) Veteran. Doesn't come close to his later works though, as while some songs on here are really good, there are a lot of missable ones that are just ok, and don't hold up the quality.

Best tracks: Jesus forgive me for I am a thorn, Free the Frail, Kenan Vs Kel, Thot tactics

Worst: PRONE, Sorrel

As expected, this album is much closer to Testing than it is to the A$AP series, and with this being the direction Rocky went, he definitely improved on Testing. However, the album really lacks and real masterpiece tracks to elevate it past his other albums.

My first thought after this is that it feels like a 'fun' album, similar to something like DTTG, which may not make sense to some people but I guarantee that as we learn more about the creation of this it went through different ... read more

I know that this song is takes large amounts of inspiration from rewind, and that he, unlike Rewind, doesn't have no crazy wordplay within the song, but this easily one of Coles best from a sound perspective (all of those saying he sounds sleepy should fuck off), and is accompanied by a great music video. This man actually does seem to know how to do an album roll out.

I dunno man it just doesn't click for me on the first listen, the production is good but not incredible, Rocky's lyrics are fine, the vibes are good but not next level. I get that this album was pretty innovative for its time,but I just don't enjoy it as much as some of his later works. BY NO MEANS is it a bad mixtape though, it's pretty good but just not incredible for me.

This album is probably Rocky's best showing (that I have listened to) so far. The album is incredibly consistent, with songs having cohesion in production while rarely sounding the exact same. Production and song structure really carries this project, but Rocky himself does pretty well lyrically, though not outdoing himself. I really think Rocky pretty much mastered his style her, as I honestly see this as a pretty straight improvement over his 3 album trilogy.

Best Songs: Holy Ghost, ... read more

As was suggested by an earlier interview (I forgot what for) rocky is definitely going to move even further out of his box on this album. Definitely makes me excited, bold to put out a non hip-hop first single

Pretty good jazz rap album, especially the last 2 tracks, but honestly most of the project is too same-y and forgettable, which is a shame as redveil has previously shown himself to be capable of variety. Many tracks have similar jazz elements and singing in the background, which really doesn't help.Lyrical content is also pretty good, but not quite good enough to really bring something within itself

This could definitely be a stepping stone to something greater in the future for him ... read more

Kinda just sounds like OPM music but much better, project gets pretty repetitive as it continues on, and Jane's vocal delivery goes from really good to just straight boring. The beats throughout are really good and would definitely go hard in a club, but again they are definitely repetitive. However, it is definitely still enjoyable, and a decently fun listen

Listened to it earlier this year, was lukewarm on it, and didn't rate it. Came back, and holy fuck McKinley really mastered making a modern jazz rap album on this one. There really isn't much to improve here, great storytelling, incredible beats, and a nice message throughout the album. Arguably some of the features dropped the ball a little, but no where near enough to have a big impact on the listening experience

Best Tracks: Run Run Run pt 2, Magic Alive

Found this by randomly scrolling best EPs of the year, and am pleasantly surprised.

Whimsy rock album is actually super damn good, a 22 minutes of just refined songs with a surprising amount of variety between them. The screamo vocals work surprisingly well with the sweet, jazz backed pop instrumentals, which weirdly sort of remind me of lake 00s Sonic music, but evolved a lot. Very good EP, and excited for a full release

Best Songs (In order) : Petal Dance, Samba de Nosso Céu, Honey

Well this is not what I came in here expecting

This project has so much variety, it seems like Jim took every genre that has appeared in the UK Hip hop mainstream and was like 'What if I tried to do all of it, then put it on one album', and then did it but in a very eclectic way. It feels like a very genuine reflection of the person themself.

My main issue is that not every style on here works as well as the others. But considering this is one of his first releases, this is sort of ... read more

Very soothing vocals, and low-key instrumentation that makes her voice more of an instrument, this album is a listen that is very nice on the ears. Feels somewhat similar to Laufey, and reminiscent of Pop Soul from the 80s / older. This albums biggest problem is a relative lack of variety in both instrumentation and songwriting, and it doesn't really do anything boundary pushing. I do think that Dean could definitely pass this on quality on future releases, if paired with the right ... read more

This album is just straight really damn fun. Lyrics are pretty much insane for the entire project, but in a fun way. It did not surprise me to find out these people are Nordic. Also, the backing for the entire album is done really well, making it an easy listen that doesn't scar my eardrums, mostly because it's mixed quite well.

Favourite tracks: Pyramid of Health, Man made of Meat, Uno II

This sounds like the internet personified, a very fun EDM / Electropop album.

Don't really like the first track, which is more noise rock. The rest of the project is rooted in more 70s 80s rock, but doesn't really step it too far in its own direction in my opinion. Feel like the ideas run out a bit along the track list, but it's enjoyable enough. Not really sure what the insane hype behind this band is about really.

A few fun alternative hyperpop songs to end out the year. Fun, and decently well produced, but not worth quite an 84 rating. Track list lacks variety, and from what I know some of these are just official releases for songs from a few years back (and yes this does effect my rating)

Favourite: Magic I Want U

Well this was surprisingly good.

I was coming into this expecting to not really like it, as noise rock, punk etc aren't really genres I like, but infact this was actually a really good, high quality album.

I think the thing that really separated this album from similar ones is the heavy use of saxophone throughout the project, which really completes it for me, as well as never letting the noise fully consume the song, drowning out the lyrics and also my enjoyment. It also shows more ... read more

This is honestly a brilliant 2nd album, improving almost all of the ideas put forward on their first album, resulting in a great mix of music inspired by Hip-Hop, Alt Rock and Pop. This album showcases a brilliant amount of variety, and some truly great tracks across the project. The main issue with it (to me) is the large amount of filler tracks nearing the end, this album being unusual in the fact that the middle of the album is actually the best bit of it.

Best Tracks (in order, this time): ... read more

On this one, Gorillaz drift away from their grungy, hip hop & rock inspired roots, and embrace a more electronic, pop focused sound, resulting in a follow up to demon days which easily lives up to the heights reached on Demon Days, while also feeling completely separate. The only thing it really shares is the quality of the features, and the same problem of having quite a some tracks that feel like filler for other tracks (while still being good, but maybe should've been removed for a ... read more