i mean what is there to say? sophie was one of the most forward thinking artists and this album is more than enough to show that. i personally preferred the more intense songs like "ponyboy," "faceshopping," and "whole new world," but even when not being treated to harsh metallic drums and pounding bass, its an amazing listen. i was also not expecting to get all ambient on "pretending" and the last half of the outro, but i am by no means complaining. her ... read more

opn's side are some very distorted drones that reminded me of early james ferraro while slow listener's side is much more actively noisy. nothing really of note is present on either side but i do quite like the rising tones that slow listener's side ends with. overall its more enjoyable than certain other early releases of his, but still nothing i ever need to listen to again.

"original pirate material" is very british, very early 2000s, and unfortunately very hit or miss. years ago i came across "dont mug yourself" and loved the beat and the very conversational flow and lyrics but kept forgetting to check out the album. much to my dismay, the album is not nearly as good as that song is. a lot of people are turned away from this album from the mike's very strong british accent, but that wasnt really my issue. i just found certain songs on ... read more

its very interesting how this album feels somehow so futuristic and so dated at the same time. the glitchy, electronic production definitely still stands up today, but the songs have this indescribable vibe that just doesnt feel present anymore. i want to call it optimism, but thats not quite it. either way, "give up" is a very enjoyable. no surprise that i adore the production, but ben's vocals add a lot to the album as well, perfectly floating above each backing track. also, ... read more

i, like any other self-respecting gay man, absolutely adore "crank," but unfortunately i cannot say that same love applies to the whole album. there are other songs that reach a similar high in terms of energy and quality like "yes goddd" and "$t. loser," but towards the last half of the album there are a handful of tracks that lack the maximalist vibe that had been curated so far and they completely ruin the flow and my enjoyment of the album. like how are you ... read more

pretty decent track from this time of his work. it sounds a bit like something from "find candace" in terms of dark atmosphere and sound selection, but it does a good job of standing on its own. he does a pretty decent job at earning a 15 minute runtime, especially because just when you think its hardly been building up to anything, the last two minutes unleashes all the intensity for an amazing pay off.

most early opn releases that lay mostly ignored by "rifts" are usually ass, and "hollyr" is no exception. 3 dull tracks that fell too noisy to be ambient, but also not harsh enough to be noise. its not really much of a surprise that this sucks, however i was under the impression there were more sampling/sound collage elements on here which wouldve made it stand out more, but those only seemed to be present on the second song. just more growing pains from someone who would go ... read more

i cant believe this is the second highest rated mathcore album on this site. i didnt love this album nearly as much as my other escapades into this genre. it didnt have as much intensity or vitriol as I expected. I could look past that if it made up for it in the math aspect, but it didnt do that either. its not absent of these things, but they are certainly not present at the level I expected/wanted. I found it to be largely boring once past the first three or so songs.

fav track: I wanna be ... read more

yeah this one was not nearly as good as "i'll try living like this," i see why someone sold their copy to my local record store. although somewhat similar in atmosphere and approach, "classroom sexxtape" does not have nearly the same level of polish and attention to detail. its present on some songs, especially in the later half of the album, but on the whole listening to this left me desiring more, especially when considering the concept which wouldve been pretty ... read more

pitchfork's top 50 ambient albums: 29/50

like a majority of the older albums on this list, i get very little out of david behrman's "on the other ocean." the title track isn't that bad, but i did not at all enjoy "figure in a clearing." 20 minutes of early synthesizers piercing your ears with some strings thrown on top is not something i can say i love listening to. like a majority of the older albums on this list, i do not get how this could be ranked above ... read more

this extremely pleasant album is exactly what i need at this time in my life as finals are approaching. "slide" is 10 amazing tracks that feel like songs ive known my whole life and songs i will never grasp the full extent of regardless of how many times i listen to it simultaneously. delectable synths, floaty vocals, and tons of breakbeats litter each song and i adore it. this and "volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern" achieve a hypnogogic pop sound that feels totally ... read more

illogic's debut album reminds me in a lot of ways of doseone's debut. on top of having similar sounding beats/production quality, they both serve as a glimpse into a humble yet hungry beginnings of rappers that would go on to achieve quite a bit. as other people stated, "unforeseen shadows" is definitely not as special or bold as "celestial clockwork," but i think its still got quite a bit to offer. unlike others, i personally dont mind the production on here, even ... read more

pitchfork's top 50 ambient albums: 27/50

okay i skipped ahead a few in the list but thats because i wanted to listen to this and had the uninterrupted time for it.

"rifts" is a compilation album consisting of oneohtrix point never's first three studio albums and a handful of other songs from around that time. being that opn is one of my favourite artists ever, ive already heard all of these songs numerous times before, but its surprising how well they work as a singular ... read more

i didnt really have any expectations going into this other than "its probably good," and it still blew my expectations out of the water. all the hype this album gets for being the best metalcore/mathcore it most definitely deserves. each moment on "jane doe" is delivered with such brutality and disdain like nothing ive ever heard before. the guitar tone is to die for, the drumming is immaculate, the vocals/lyrics match the vibe of the music perfectly, and the last track so ... read more

only three songs, but this release was much more up my alley than "soft metal" was. the first and last song are very distorted approaches to otherwise pretty standard vaporwave tracks, but the personal highlight of the ep for me was the second song. "𓀂𓀂𓀂𓀂𓀂𓀂𓀂" is a lot more upbeat than what comes before and after it and reminds me a bit of the more intense portions of "i've always hated the internet" by mousetrapping and i love it.

must ... read more

i wouldnt say i hate country music, i dont think i could bring myself to say i outright hate any genre, but i dont think i have ever willing sought out and listened to it before. "talkin' honky blues" is way better than i thought was possible for something under the genre of country rap. buck 65 delivers some excellent verses over some equally as excellent instrumentals full of the bitcrush i love so much from the independent/abstract/experimental hip hop from the turn of the ... read more

i dont know if this album is actually worse than "electric chair," but i can definitely say ive grown less tolerant of this new sound of his compared to when his last album came out.

i remember staying up to listen to "cafe tom tom" as soon as it released and being so caught off guard by its drastic change in tone from "secret waters." i remember seeing the pretty negative response and i just couldnt understand it. i thought it was such an interesting to ... read more

while not quite as sophisticated and matured as "yank crime," drive like jehu's self titled debut packs a similar punch. a bit less mathy, but everything is just as unbridled in its energy as their more popular album. i absolutely adore the first song as its serves as an excellent and explosive tone setter, just a shame that the record kinda peaks with it.

must hear song: caress
least fav: none

this was much more enjoyable than my last foray into mathcore (the sawtooh grin's "cuddlemonster"), perhaps i shouldve listen to my brother in law when he recommended this to me all the way back at the end of 2024 lmao. the time signatures and overall complexity of "calculating infinity" makes tool look like music for babies in comparison. its intense and all over the place, but not in a way that makes it unenjoyable. they expertly tow the line between too safe and too ... read more

despite being firmly canadian, i absolutely adore the sheer love and nostalgia for english dance music that seeps from all she does, and its only gotten more prevalent with each of her releases. "fancy that" has some of her most catchy songs yet, but unfortunately not everything on here lives up to the hype of "girl like me" or "tonight." much like her debut album, its got some songs that are absolutely amazing but some weaker/less memorable songs keep this from ... read more