I don't know if I can ever emotionally recover from this album. Unlike anything I've ever heard. Always moving and morphing and transmogrifying into this impossibly beautiful indescribable thing. Epic does not do it justice.

Crisp as the autumn leaves crumbling between your fingers, or soft as a bed of them on the forest floor to fall into and disappear completely. This is the paradoxical state of being within "Leaves Turn Inside You" exists. It is both filled with hope and burdened by bleak grief, intimate and larger-than-life, a product of a local scene that somehow transcended it. Not that the album is unbalanced, quite the opposite is true! "Leaves Turn Inside You" is a cohesive, grand ... read more

A photograph, a polaroid. The colors all weathered, the edges chipped and covered in dust and moss. Vague impressions are all that are left of the picture itself. A forest? A cabin? A person? Only the person who took it can say, if they recall at all. The past is a landscape of sketches in brown and green charcoal washed out by the rain. Yet there are landmarks that are still as sharp in your mind as the day you first saw them, vibrant and glossy and untouched.

This is what Bon Iver's ... read more

LAUGHINGFISH is bloated and poorly mixed compared to Black Dresses' previous albums, yet its authenticity, raw power, and sheer twisted fun are undeniable. If this truly is the end of the road for Devi and Ava, then I'll be sad, but simultaneously grateful for the boundary-pushing music they've made and the rebellious deviance they've displayed in the face of bigots and cunts.

Soulful yet never dull, "Dark Times" sees Vince Staples tackle themes of depression and desire whilst also delivering some real bangers.

I don't know anything about the lore or whatever, but this album kinda slaps.

Some of the boldest and most colorful songs Spinvis ever put to tape. From the groovy rock of 'Paradijs' to the tribal joy of 'Oogstlied', there's rarely a dull moment on here.

A quaint, pretty Spinvis album that doesn't excel but doesn't disappoint. I can imagine this being someone's comfort album during that first winter of the pandemic.

A beacon of hope given shape in beautiful and pure songwriting. The perfect antidote to a gray day.

What it lacks in immediacy and upbeat fusions of Lo-Fi Rock and Nederpop, "Trein Vuur Dageraad" more than makes up for with its intimacy and emotional depth. 'Stefan en Lisette', for example, is a touching portrait of village love, and the title track might just be one of the best songs Spinvis has ever written. This album might not be Spinvis' most impressive, but more often than not it is simply gorgeous.

[90 -> 86]

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is Billie Eilish's most cohesive album to date, combining her softer, intimate songwriting chops with the hard, grungy yet highly-detailed production chops of her brother FINNEAS that were so essential to her early "edgy" material. The end product is a surprisingly honest exploration of queer love and heartbreak, a topic Billie has previously shied away from. It's not perfect, but it's the most poignant and open she has ever been, and ... read more

A diverse collection of songs that somehow work together amazingly. From the almost overindulgent sugary pop of 'We Vieren Het Toch' to the dark psychedelic grooves of 'Club Insomnia', "tot ziens, Justine Keller" sees Spinvis make an album that sounds amazingly clean compared to the lo-fi aesthetics that defined his output during the 2000s whilst doubling down on everything that makes him stand out compared to other contemporary Dutch musicians. A true gem of an album.

"Goochelaars & Geesten" is quite obviously more of a compilation album than a cohesive experience. Still, it oddly has a character of its own, reminding me a bit of Bright Eyes' "Fevers and Mirrors". There are plenty of fun highlights like 'Wespen Op De Appeltaart' and 'Een Kindje Van God', but also go-nowhere instrumentals and underdeveloped ballads. This is definitely not the best album Spinvis has put out, but also not without its merits.

A display of unrelenting force. Insane stuff.

[78->84]

[78] "Dagen van gras, dagen van stro" lacks the cohesion and sonic playfulness of Spinvis' debut album, foregoing the infectious hooks in favor of a more skeletal sound that sometimes feels a little on the safe side, whilst other times being incredibly daring. There are enough highlights like 'Flamingo' to make up for the lackluster songs, making this album an overall success.

In conclusie, 'Lotus Europa' is gewoon heerlijk krankzinnig en als je anders denkt ben je ... read more

If anything good is going to come out of this current beef, it's that it inspired me to go back and revisit To Pimp a Butterfly with a better understanding of Kendrick as an artist and the message he wished to share with the world with this album.

Obviously, this is a phenomenal work of art. Even more phenomenal than I'd given it credit for in the past. It's a finely woven tapestry of black musical styles that is as much about celebrating hip-hop's past as it is a rallying cry for its future. ... read more

Who cares if all the songs sound the same if they still sound great?

Electrifying all the way through! 'Prologue' in particular is just such an unbelievably amazing way to finish off this album. Truly godlike!

Radical Optimism is not a bad album, but it does feel like a non-event.

An infectious descent into madness. Absolute insanity.