It’s a pure and fleeting kind of loving and being loved, an embracing serenity, a disarming devotion, but also a fragile closeness and a goodbye that tastes of salty air.
Summer has come to an end…

Thinking back to those funky, high-energy singles, the album opens living up to its promises, with bass lines that feel like poetry in motion.
But the real magic is in its unexpected touch of melancholy; tracks like ‘safeandsound’ and ‘sorry’ echo ... read more

I’m coming straight from listening to Dots and Loops, and in this new project I find a renewed energy, one that relies on more assertive rhythms and a rediscovery of sound that can also create noise and distortion.
And yet, although this work feels rougher to me, at the same time it also seems ambiguously more composed; perhaps in support of a deliberate balance between decay and refinement.

okay, i put this album on without knowing either the genre or who stereolab were.
from google, i find out it’s the band’s fifth studio album.
it presents itself with a linguistic interplay between english and french, an exchange that’s also noticeable in the influence of both nations’ musical cultures.
there’s electronic music blending with art rock and bossa nova, creating an ambient groove that never becomes dull.
there’s a pull toward the psychedelic, but ... read more

was he just bored? even so, Earl’s performance sits nicely over these jazz-rap beats; the melodies and bars feel relaxed, but they don’t really go anywhere, leaving you wishing for a stronger sense of contrast. on “tourmaline”, though, it’s like he grabbed a coffee and came back with a more engaging flow. the album’s short, so it stays on the edge of enjoyable.

the first listen was pure pleasure

the bossa nova influences are the real gem of this pop jazz(?) project. i don’t even know, at some point a country guitar kicked in lol. clairo’s backing vocals. it’s all very fun, psychotic, and elegant.

that said, i probably would’ve skipped having aaron dessner on board, since he doesn’t really match the overall vibe, but the songs he produced are still beautiful on their own.

it almost feels like a pseudo operatic version of alice in wonderland, with a clock ... read more

It’s not exactly my favorite type of music, and there aren’t really any standout tracks.
Fred’s productions usually get me excited, and here they complement Skepta’s style nicely, but his rapping and vocal performance don’t quite live up to the quality/mood of the production.

Sometimes, all it takes is a return to one’s roots to truly capture that sweet, suffocating nostalgia that ties us to our land and to the quiet, overlooked corners of ourselves.

With this new project, Blood Orange achieves exactly that, revealing a maturity that is both experiential and profoundly artistic, especially in his choice of collaborators.
Every vocal and instrumental element feels deliberate, shaping the soundscape of emotion itself. And the fact that the lyrics aren’t ... read more

it feels like the neighbourhood making out with tame impala and the strokes.
this is the first project of theirs i’ve listened to, and they’ve put forward a really compelling indie rock sound, especially in the way they play with dynamics. sure, some choices echo other bands, but then there are these subtle production touches that reveal a genuine search for artistic identity. i love the super compressed guitars layered with distortion, they perfectly match the yearning, aching mood ... read more

while contemporary projects are often said to draw inspiration from the past, man’s best friend felt like it came straight out of the 80s.

soft, tragically romantic and occasionally christmasy, jack antonoff and john ryan have crafted a perfect fusion of their sounds, achieving a cohesion that slightly wavered in short ‘n sweet. meanwhile, sabrina and amy return to a writing style and dynamics more reminiscent of eics, nice!

overall, the album doesn’t quite reach the iconic ... read more

mio padre.

fine della recensione

a calmness that borders on monotony, though it might just be a paradox that works. it’s a mac demarco album, and it does what you’d expect, but i didn’t catch any real surprises, apart from the solo in ‘rock and roll’, or any real push toward experimentation: just him and his cozy guitars. chill, but… mmm.

with its ‘80s pop vibe and synths, you don’t even need to look at the production credits. the track isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s undeniably catchy and highlights doja’s versatility. great sound design and a strong visual aesthetic in the music video. the album is shaping up to be promising ✨

okay, it’s a cute male pop project. i get (even if it’s a bit exaggerated) the jeff buckley references that have circulated online in terms of themes; sombr himself admitted that buckley was, in any case, an inspirational figure for him.

there are arctic monkeys-like rhythms, and ‘12 to 12’ and ‘back to friends’ are genuinely excellent tracks. that said, the project feels somewhat one-dimensional and is largely carried by the singles.

what i particularly ... read more

Mitski and Mr. Dessner here. Let’s go gothic witches!

yes! different, but totally back on top with these almost fleetwood mac vibes.
the way the sounds stretch out and slowly build through the vocal harmonies (wtf she’s a siren) and those bridges with the sweet, nostalgic touch of piano, strings, and flute is just magical.

it feels exciting, rebellious, freeing: like accepting your past so you can finally let go of it and be free, rediscovering a better version of yourself. the singles already hinted at all this, but in the album it all ... read more

il pezzo è carino, ma oggi è uscita tanta bella musica internazionale che questo fake daft punk non regge. gue totalmente inutile, mentre per mecna è un buon ritorno all’indie pop di neverland. melodicamente sarebbe stato bene nel progetto di golden years.

there’s so much love!
an unreserved declaration of the joy that comes from fatherhood, in which dijon doesn’t hold back from the possible vulnerabilities that may come with it.

the production on “baby” sits as a pleasant interlude between “sable, fable” by bon iver and “swag” by justin bieber. across the 3 projects, the same collaborators intersect multiple times, delivering through the exploration of various genres a minimal and experimental ... read more

wait, this is ethereal! and to think that if it hadn’t been for tyler’s album, i would have missed this little gem.

i was particularly struck by her tone in ‘don’t you worry baby’, and hearing her perform so gracefully over these soul-r&b sounds didn’t surprise me, on the contrary, it strongly confirms my expectations for a potential solo project from her.

sonically, it didn’t take much to win me over: touches of strings and horns, a laid-back yet ... read more

hayley, what the hell have you done?!

i honestly thought she had dropped a stratospheric single (“glum”) that showed up on my new music friday and instead, here we are with seventeen unreleased tracks.

anyway, i’ve come to terms with the fact that in the best projects of this year, jim-e stack keeps showing up in the credits. maybe it’s time to keep an eye on this guy… thanks to him, we’ve gotten new defining shades of recent alternative music (bon iver, ... read more