ACT I – Storm
Rome did not fall in one day. To the men and women listening to the orchestra within their modern temples the end might have seemed sudden, but to those sleeping on the park benches it had already come a long time ago. Still, the grandeur was undeniable. Of those towers of Babylon built at the center of global empires, ruled by capital. Of those neoclassical facades behind which vaults of steel were hidden. And of those murals of ever-rising mountain peaks, drawn in green ... read more

💫🌟✨ethereal ✨🌟💫

Where are you going, car down there on the blackened highway? Are you still driving towards our monotonous downfall, or already away from the end of time? Are those dark thunderclouds up ahead, or the billowing smoke from the burning city behind you? Are those still the grandiose movements I hear, or are there only ruins of sound coming through on the radio now? Is the fire yet to come, or is there no driver behind the wheel?

After having familiarized myself with the extended version of this album, listening to it all crammed into the space of 40 minutes feels uncanny. It's a more digestible experience, for sure, but it misses out on some of the vast emptiness that I've come to appreciate from GY!BE, and the lack of the crescendo on 'The Sad Mafioso' is also felt. It's still F♯ A♯ ∞, however, which means it's still incredible. Although I'll be sure to pick up a copy of the vinyl if I ever plan on ... read more

Beyonce returns to her roots on COWBOY CARTER, but doesn't get stuck in the past. The result is this tasteful mixing of country and pop that feels true to the American South but also future-proof. It's a bit overstuffed, but it's overstuffed with hits.

I've only ever learned about IShowSpeed through the biannual clips of him doing incredibly stupid shit going viral on social media. Therefore, seeing him attempt to make something of substance is an interesting experience. It's not amazing or anything, but it's not shockingly bad like the overwhelming majority of music made by internet celebrities. Although Trip 2 Brazil is not an album I plan on returning to, I can come close to respecting it.

yikes

I love my sister, but why must she trick me into listening to Fleetwood Mid?

the fact that mgk had to experience sadness in order to write lost boys... i can't move

If I ever get a driver's license, this is what I'm putting on the aux as I hit the open roads.

'Sadness As a Gift' might have been an even better title for this album, because within minutes Adrianne Lenker had me on the edge of tears with 'Real House'. The raw descriptions of childhood memories sung so heartwrenchingly, coupled with the distant piano and the morning light creeping in through the window were so emotionally powerful that it took me another five minutes to recover. The rest of the album is fantastic too, of course, from this new incredible rendition of 'Vampire Empire' to ... read more

Sauna has its highlights and lows, but it manages to do enough to keep things interesting. There's a smokey quality to the music here that suits the title well, and the longer tracks like the title track and 'Spring' really show how talented Phil is at ambient music.

Funnily enough, it took the album getting removed from Spotify to finally get me to listen to it. Thankfully I could find it on Internet Archive, where it stutters for just a split second every time it plays the next track and the last five songs have been added to the front of the album for some inexplicable reason. If anything that added to the experience though, because Angelic 2 the Core is the sort of album you'd expect to find in some archive centuries from now. It's a relic that was ... read more

I came into this album knowing next to nothing about Modest Mouse and came out a convert. Everything about this works: from Isaac Brock's angsty yammering and yelling to the unpolished yet intricate guitarwork and the clear-as-day drums. It's this unfiltered, melancholic portrait of being young and wild in the American West that immediately grabs your attention, no matter how far from the highways and powerlines you are.

17-year-old me would've thought this was the shit, 22-year-old me thinks it's just shit.

Even at its most abrasive, this is an album that manages to speak to the soul in inventive ways.

A real snoozzzzzzZzZZzZzzzZzZZzZER!

Oh boy, it seems like another lamb-themed post-rock album is going to make my top 10 list for the second year in a row...
A Lonely Sinner couldn't be more different from The Lamb as Effigy, however. This is a really sweet album about vulnerability in love, brought to life with stellar production and quiet soothing vocals. Highly recommended!

If Benny had kept the momentum of the first three tracks going all the way through, this would have been a strong early contender for the best rap album of the year. Sadly that infectious energy starts to run out by the end of the album. Everybody Can't Go is still a fine record overall, however, with its incredible highs making up for its middling lows.

The motion graphic for this album on Spotify is one of the most unintentionally creepy things I've seen this year. Just this eerily still picture of Kacey Musgraves staring into your soul whilst her hair and the flower she's holding wave unnaturally in some AI-generated breeze.

Anyway, 'Anime Eyes' made me laugh out loud. Cool stuff, Kacey!