Oh...

uhhh.......

To all of the people who dismissed Quadeca for being a YouTube rapper, I understand. Had I heard this before tonight, I would have done the same.

Listening to From Me To You, it's easy to hear the enormous potential that we've now seen Quadeca tap into on I Didn't Mean to Haunt You.

For starters, the production value is what primarily sets Quadeca apart from other YouTubers, and even other established names in the music industry. There are so many glorious and spacious instumentals on this project, and it's really my key takeaway as to why this album works.

The motif of this mountain that we all are climbing is fun and well thought ... read more

Now Only is the second record from Mount Eerie after the passing of Phil Elverum's wife Genevieve. It is, as you can imagine, really sad.

Released now a few years after her passing, Phil is no longer facing the immediate emotional aftermath like he was on A Crow Looked at Me. Instead, this record tells more stories of their past as Phil tries to keep Genevieve's name alive, both for the world and for himself. As time continues to pass, it becomes clear these memories are becoming harder and ... read more

I wish it weren't true, but Vulfpeck sounds asleep at the wheel on this one. My favorite track from this, by far actually, is the final song that isn't even their own. At least it's something fresh and new, not just the same thing rehashed over and over.

Most, if not all of these instrumental tracks are amazing, the second half of this record especially. However, the vocal tracks don't quite bring the same energy.

Vulfpeck's third studio album Mr Finish Line has more of a soul influence than the previous two, and it's just okay. The overall strong musicality of the group helps this from being worse.

Almost exactly 1 year following their debut album Thrill of the Arts, The Beautiful game is an improvement on nearly all fronts for funk group Vulfpeck.

Specifically, I have to hand it to bass player Joe Dart, as he's the main reason I've been enamored with this band recently. His soloing on this album is even more front and center on this album than the previous. Dean Town and Cory Wong are some of the best Vulfpeck songs I've heard to this point.

Thrill of the Arts is the first studio album for the groovy jazz-funk group Vulfpeck.

If this album is known for one thing, that would be the incredible second track, Back Pocket, which has an infectious melody and beautiful bassline, courtisey of legendary bass player Joe Dart. Besides Back Pocket and some funky performances by Dart, Thrill of the Arts is greatly lacking any other standout moments. Conscious Club is another fun instrumental track, but that's all I'll take away from this debut.

Relistened to this today and decided I needed to rewrite this review.

This album has as much raw emotional storytelling as one piece of media can possibly bear, if not more. Phil Elverum, the face and voice behind Mount Eerie as well as The Microphones, takes us along the grieving path after the passing of his wife of 13 years, Genevieve Castree. The music of A Crow Looked at Me was recorded over a 6-week span following her passing, using mostly her own instruments and being recorded in the ... read more

Thank you to @Dalton for the recommendation! If you have any album/song you'd like to recommend, feel free to drop it in my shoutbox.

This is fun, loud garage punk album with lots of personality. Great to see music like this still being released and finding a place in 2022 and going forward, hopefully more will get the chance to hear this.

Thank you to ImpalaLT for the recommendation (3)! If you have any album/song you'd like to recommend, feel free to drop it in my shoutbox.

This album is exciting and exhillirating, emotional and personal. I was skeptical at first of this, but going through this again I love it. Every song is infectious (except Poledo, it's just alright). Really great recommendation, and would show this to anyone looking for some amazing noise rock.

Thank you to @UltimateLifeFrm for the recommendation (9)! If you have any album/song you'd like to recommend, feel free to drop it in my shoutbox.

This is my first exposure to the music of Cocteau Twins, and overall I think it's pretty nice. The dreamy sound of Lazy Calm was a nice standout for me, and the rest of the tracklist was well made and solidified the overall soundscape.

However, I'd have to agree more with H1DD3N 1N TH3 ST4T1C's review that it's just a little boring for me. There ... read more

Suede God

This project is overall just pretty meh for me. A little bit of good, a little bit of bad. I'm impressed with AJ's rhyming and rhyme schemes, but the flows on this are the same throughout. There's so little varience, you're practically listening to the same song for 18 minutes. I also think there's something really off with the mixing, as everything just sounds a little too dampened. Overall, I'm feeling really neutral on this one.

EDIT: 78 -> 76 (2/2/23)

Yeah, this is a great pop record. While, again, it's not reinventing the wheel or anything, I think the tunes on this are catchy and well performed enough to deserve a good rating.
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(Original review)

Gabrielle Aplin's Phosphorescent is certainly not changing the music industry ... read more

Norfolk Serpent is a nice soothing listen. This album generally features a nice plucky guitar and breathy vocals, the latter of which add more to an ambiance rather than any easily discernible lyrical content (not to say there may not be any, that just wasn't a takeaway for me).

Speaking of ambience, Norfolk Serpent I and II make up nearly 16 minutes of nice flowing ambient music.

There weren't particularly any standout moments for me, but the project as a whole is good. Something I could ... read more

EDIT: 85 -> 77 (1/30/23)

Funny how in my initial review I thought I might be underrating this. It's still great, but not quite where it was for me when it released. Nicole's voice has grown on me even more, though I think the rest of the tracklist doesn't quite stand out as much as the first three songs do. I love the unsettling vibe that those create, and the vocal layering is super intoxicating. However, there isn't enough standout moments in the second half to justify an 85.

Still a ... read more

I mean, this isn't really that bad, it's just not all that good. 19 songs coming in at under 40 minutes seems excessive to me, and YB feels like he's releasing music just for the sake of releasing music.

The first Friday of the new year, and this is what we start with :/

Every Loser sounds, at best, bland and uninspired, and at worst, unlistenable. Neo Punk and The Regency are really, really bad. I will say I'm a little jealous of this man's lower register notes. Now if only he could use that to create some more in-touch music.

Edit: Not the critic “must hear” 😭

Track 1 – Burn the Witch
Burn the Witch is a song about conformity and those in a position of power that spread a narrative that induces fear and compliance.

Track 2 – Daydreaming
Dreamers, or those who live in an idealized world in their head not rooted in reality, are not able to learn from their mistakes, and will inevitably be hurt. This likely relates to our character being unable to learn from the mistake of accepting their partner still, despite their wrongdoing.

Track 3 ... read more

Thank you to @UltimateLifeFrm for the recommendation (8)! If you have any album/song you'd like to recommend, feel free to drop it in my shoutbox.

I was a bit skeptical of this at first, probably because the vocals weren't really clicking with me. But once that beat drop in We Share Our Mothers' Health came in, oh man I was excited and into it. From there, things started getting better and better.

@Doofy's review of this summed it up really well, this sounds like it could have been some wacky ... read more