THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 6

This album is an absolute mess, but a kind of fun one. I feel like they made two seperate albums with this. One about drugs, sex, partying, sex, and more sex. And another about more serious issues like drug addiciton and mortality. Then once they had those two albums made they completely randomized it into one album and picked the tracklist by throwing darts at a wall. It wasn't boring and Burn It to the Ground is fun so I do think it is a step up from All ... read more

THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 5

We have fallen off of the cliff ladies and gentlemen. These songs range from horrifically written hard rock songs with either the most sexual (Animals) or virtous (Next Contestant, Side of a Bullet, and If Everyone Cared) angles to them. If Everyone cared is a standout as it is basically a song written about how it is sad when people die. Then the songs that sound ok just sound like generic stadium country songs (Photograph and Rockstar) that are again, poorly ... read more

THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 4

We are now heading down the hill. This is just a worse version of Silver Side Up and without the powerhouse of How You Remind Me, there isn't a great deal to offer. The biggest plus of this is that it is reminicent of Silver Side Up (with a better guitar tone) but the writing is worse. I think most people would perfer to never hear Chad Kroeger say "I like your pants around your feet" in the first second of Figured You Out but that is the world we ... read more

THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 3

When starting this challenge this was the record I was most excited for because of How You Remind Me and after finishing it I can say that I actually enjoyed the record. There are a few stinkers here and there but overall the sound is incredibly refined and they finally start to sound like Nickelback (for better or for worse). This was the first album so far where I actively liked 2 different songs (How You Remind Me and Never Again) so that is a big plus and I ... read more

THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 2

I wasn't expecting an improvment so early. I was fully ready for this just to be Curb 2: Even More Boring but I am pleasently suprised. These songs have a bit more edge to them sonically that helps them stick out from one another and this allows for a better experience all around. Sadly these songs are still writen and sung by our lord and savior Chad Kroeger so its still not great. I hope that this is the trajectory moving foward.

THE NICKELBACK GAUNTLET: DAY 1

Have you ever heard a Nirvana song? Ok, now what if that song was bad. That is what all of Curb sounds like. At the very least these songs are just boring and not offensively bad (like I fear the rest of Nickelback will sound like). To me, this is the purest form of Post-Grunge because it actively tries to be grunge but fails. This will be what the genre's sound will move away from as the distilation of grunge becomes the reference. But for now, Curb is just ... read more

If you like $uicideboy$ then you will like this, if you don't like $uicideboy$ then you will not like this. As simple as that. There songs tend to blend into one another which is both a positive and negative comment because the style is clear and persistant but also can get boring and repetative if you don't mess with the sound. Once again I do mess with the sound so I didn't find this a problem. Burgundy is a stand out track.

The problems of this album come from the concept itself. It feels like Eminem wanted to call back to the shit he was saying in the 2000s but believed he couldn't due to modern standards, so he constantly calls back to cancel culture as a driving theme, to the point it completely overshadows the concept of Marshall Mathers Vs Slim Shady. I like Guilty Conscience 2 but it really only works in isolation because what leads up to that is "Silm Shady" trying to get cancelled. Not to ... read more

Incredibly solid output from this duo. I think MIKE's more lowkey delivery works really well on these more involved songs and the pacing is phenominal. I'm not sure if this was a great introduction to MIKE for me but it was a very solid release nonetheless.

Being skeptical of most modern country, this album suprised me. I think the strength of Zach Bryan as an artist is his authentisity. In a world of Morgan Wallen's and Jason Aldean's it is nice that someone who clearly has a love of the genre gets popular. That being said this is a solid album. I think the best parts of this album are some of the arrangments (like on Overtime) and while sometimes I feel that Zach Bryan doesn't sell me as a poet, his lyrics fit the vibe well ... read more

The best part of any Action Bronson record is how he combines incredibly funny bars with some of the cleanest production you've ever heard. He continues that trend on this record with some of his best performances and best production to date. Also come on the first song sounds like a fragrance commercial how could you not like this.

Comparing this to any of their previous work (especially the big hits off of Oracular Spectacular) is really interesting because the songs off of Loss of Life are more tender and subtle. Bubblegum Dog specifically has great space and build that continues on the rest of the album. There is a lot to offer here and I highly recomend you check this out if you have ever been interested in other MGMT projects.

Mean, heavy, unapologetic and at points, straight up catchy. This album will beat you up and then make you feel bad that you ever felt pain to begin with. For anyone who enjoys this type of music, this is some of the best of the genre. Even the slower parts dip into shoegaze territory which provides a bit of levity for the rest of the insanly heavy songs. Highly recomend.

ericdoa manages to combine the astethics of the underground hyperpop, plugnb, and other genres like those with the professional production that he has grown into as his music has gotten more eyes on it. Overall this is a fun record with great produciton. This project is held back a bit by the song writing not being as polished as it could have been, but a good album nonetheless.

The weaknesses of this record come from Don Toliver's inability to feel like a leading artist. To me at least he can come across like a feature artist on his own song. Beyond that (and a few weak features) this is a very enjoyable record with some strong highlights. I have never been a big Don Toliver fan but I can say this is one of his better records.

Your least favorite person's album of the year. Once again we are blessed with the "rock band" Imagine Dragons giving us 9 more songs to be drilled into your skull through ads and store radio. I will not be the first person, nor the last person, to say that Imagine Dragons sucks but this album demonstrates something to me that is much worse then just "being bad", and that is it is absoluetly deliberate. The sound that they have crafted is proven to sell, so they ... read more

Despite this EP feeling like just a device to better emphasis the title track, this is an incredibly interesting project. The title track is phenomenal and despite being a genre with such clear influences (No one can really make black metal-shoegaze without being compared to Deafheaven) it stands out in wonderful ways. Also the suprisingly tender Being Eaten By a Tiger is a great bridge between the title track and In The House of Angel Flesh. I originally checked this project out because I am a ... read more

A remarkable project that has some of the lushest most textured production I have ever heard in a R&B album. Not to mention the songwriting and Sampha's voice create incredible atmospheres and suck you in. Blood On Me is unlike anything I have ever heard it's seriously incredible. And while I'm more a fan of his involved songs but the piano ballads on this album are absolutely beautiful.

Incredibly solid indie rock with enough variation between songs to prevent the sound from becoming monotonous. The strongest parts of this record lean into garage rock style guitar tones and rythm (Crimson to Chrome, Chemical but there is a lot to be found in the more melencholic ballads (For Ella, Cardinal) Overall a very enjoyable listen.

The kings of soft/yacht rock deliver an incredibly tight, fun, technical and danceable collection of hits. The instrumentation that the duo demonstrates on this record is absolutely undeniable and the fact that beyond the technical skill there are strong hooks on all of these songs that create this project to be the perfect combination of accessible and incredible.