Nearly 50 years later, Mother Earth's Plantasia still holds up thanks to its infectious melodies and clear sonic vision. It's sweet, playful, and luscious. In other words, it's definitely 'warm earth music'.

Putting aside the fact that the music on here absolutely slaps, I think this is already a strong contender for the best album cover of the year. It's such a striking image, both in concept and execution, that recontextualizes the music in such an interesting way.

Had to quickly relisten to 'Leave Me Alone' from the last album to make sure it isn't just my music taste that has changed, but also the quality of IDKHOW's music. Don't get me wrong, there are still some pretty creative and fun ideas on this album ('SPKOTHDVL' being the clear stand-out in my opinion), but there are a lot of mediocre tracks as well, which sound particularly unflattering due to the less-than-stellar production. Maybe it's growing pains after splitting with Ryan, maybe it's just ... read more

I don't think Loss of Life is anything special (and it is maybe a bit lacking in big stand-out tracks) but it is a good psychedelic pop album that has a sort of elegance to it.

On his first full-length album after renaming himself to Mount Eerie, Phil reinvents his sound without losing sight of what worked about The Microphones. The result is this gloomy, introspective late-night moodsetter that still has a spark of kinetic energy from time to time. The tasteful incorporation of hand drums adds a uniquely organic and intimate flair to these more acoustic songs, whilst the distorted guitars on louder cuts show Phil still knows how to get loud when needed. Overall, this ... read more

I must've been fifteen when I first heard the name 'Spinvis'. Me and my friend probably saw it somewhere on a poster or one of the hand-outs in Dutch class and started giggling at the sight of it. Because what kind of name is Spinvis (literally Spider Fish in English)? We laughed at that, because what else was there to do in Dutch class? Identify the 'core sentence' of a paragraph for the twentieth time?

For a long time, I've neglected my native language. I felt it was clunky and a little ... read more

serpentwithfeet's latest album is a very sensual if unengaging half an hour.

I can't believe how much I actually enjoyed this record. I'm sorry, Yeat, I should've never doubted you.

I'm disappointed with myself for not liking this more, but this record just feels a little directionless for much of its runtime. There's still lots to like here, both on the heavier and the slower songs. Still, I wish there was more of that usual IDLES edge to this.

Look, I’m all for being confident in your sexuality and expressing this through song, but this just SO tacky! It sounds like something you’d find in a sex shop in 2003.

Quadeca continues to grow as an artist on SCRAPYARD, building on the incredible I Didn't Mean To Haunt You. As a whole, this album is a little less cohesive, yet there are so many highlights that it doesn't really matter. I can definitely see myself spinning a lot of these tracks dozens of times throughout this year.

Compared to the other project The Microphones released this year, Song Islands, Little Bird Flies Into a Big Black Cloud is a lot more cohesive and inventive in what it seeks to do. By stripping down to just an organ or piano, Phil forces you to focus on his poetry more than on any of his other albums released during the early 2000s. And the poetry... is great!

The first three tracks, on which Phil compares himself to a three before calling himself a coward, are beautiful and flow together ... read more

I read Mk.gee as MGK and was very worried for a second. Thankfully, I was mistaken, and pleasantly surprised by how beautiful and atmospheric this album turned out to be. Maybe a little more style than substance, but it's a very good style.

Song Islands' tracklist contains some of the best songs Phil has ever written and some that are just okay. It's just a compilation album, though, so it didn't need to be this grand masterpiece. If anything, its more intimate presentation offers listeners a moment to catch their breaths between The Glow, Pt. 2 and Mount Eerie.

Let's quickly run down the highlights. 'I'm a Pearl Diver' is a breezy sing-a-long folk song that wouldn't feel out of place in a 30s Disney cartoon, whilst the moody ... read more

If Don't Wake Me Up was 40 minutes of Phil trying to perfect a specific type of dreamy noise rock, this album is 40 minutes of Phil throwing anything and everything at the wall to see what sticks. Most of it does. You've got everything from the distorted marching band rhythms of 'The Gleam' to the poppy sing-a-long hooks of 'Between Your Ear and the Other Ear'. There's even 'Drums', which is exactly what it sounds like, and it slaps.

The stand-out on this album, however, is 'The Glow', ... read more

From the very beginning, The Microphones' sound was unique and clearly defined: loud, abrasive, and even clunky, yet simultaneously fragile, intimate, and sprawling. Of course, Don't Wake Me Up isn't as sonically rich as the albums that followed it, as Phil's overreliance on droning guitars drowning in feedback leads to the individual songs melting together until it's hard to tell one apart from the other. Yet his songwriting abilities shine through on standouts such as 'Ocean 1, 2, 3' and ... read more

Talking Heads at their most twisted and moodiest. This is a really interesting step forward compared to the previous two albums (also Drugs goes so hard why isn't it rated higher?)

It would be easier to pack these 17 minutes full with action. Instead, fallingwithscissors make the smart decision to play with negative space. The band slowly eases you into this EP's soundscape, then hits you with the sonic insanity head-on, throwing thrashing guitars and punchy drums at you that crash through the electronic whirlwind of noise. It's chaos, but beautiful chaos.

What Happened to the Beach? sounded like a risky forward-thinking pop album whilst I was listening to it, but as soon as it's done any memory of it completely escapes me. It's good (I think) but it feels like it relies more on flashy production than McKenna's songwriting chops, which were the backbone of his debut album. I hope that for the next album, he'll find a sound he can stick with and develop over time.

Whenever it doesn't sound like Noah Kahan is writing the soundtrack for a yogurt commercial, Stick Season is a pretty good singer-songwriter album. It for sure sounds a whole lot more authentic and organic than a mainstream idol like Ed Sheeran, for example. Just dial it back on those overproduced choruses next time around.