"Racing Mount Pleasant" is the second album by the band – but their first under the name Racing Mount Pleasant. It feels like the USA's answer to the blooming art rock scene that has taken the UK and the underground rock world by storm over the past five years or so. Yes, it would be easy to draw parallels to many of the big names in that scene, but RMP have a sound that is distinctly theirs – with beautiful progressive folk and Midwest emo touches that help the band ... read more

Maruja make no effort to obscure the concept behind "Pain to Power". I mean, the concept is literally in the title of the album. They're saying to us: Look, the world is fucked. It's filled with horror and atrocity, and it feels like there's nothing we can do about it – because everything is determined by powers and people that just don't give a shit. But... look how beautiful life can be. Look at what we can make and do if we really put our minds to it.

And ... read more

I'll start this review by mentioning that Little Mix passed me by at a time in my life when I believed that all pop was rubbish and wasn't worth listening to, so I'll be approaching JADE's debut solo album from a slightly different perspective. Yes, I know the hits, but that's about it.

With that said, "THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!" is an extremely solid start. Yes, it's very radio-friendly – to the point where pretty much every song is single-worthy ... read more

A genuinely superb mixture of experimental hip-hop and hard punk. Honestly, this rating could've been much higher if the overall quality matched the peaks. At its best, "Tomorrow We Escape" delivers banger after banger, fusing grimy industrial punk with hip-hop in a way that's an absolute joy to listen to. However, a couple of tracks don't quite reach that peak for me. That doesn't mean there's a bad track here—absolutely not—but there was ... read more

Dijon has a surrealist production style that I’ve really enjoyed in the past—especially in his work with Mk.gee—and while this album is no exception, I do think I’ve heard stronger material from him. That’s not to say the album is bad—far from it. I love many of the songs and genuinely appreciate how varied it is. His production is layered, unpredictable, and emotionally raw, yet still deliberate in its choices. It blends modern textures with an almost 80s ... read more

Consistency is key on "Who Wants to Talk..."
Sure, nothing here is absolutely mind-blowing, but Jade Bird presents a short and sweet, zero-filler indie folk experience that I really enjoyed. It's well-varied from start to end as well, so there's never a boring moment.

Honestly, this rating may just be nostalgia, but I grew up as a kid hearing this song and hearing it as an adult makes me feel emotions that I seldom feel in other music.

Generic, but not bad.

Although it still suffers with the same overproduction that the whole album is damned to face, the core elements of "True Believer" are classic "Modern Biffy', even if it does lean a little on the safe side in some areas.

Honestly, a lot of the songs here would've charted well around 2010. It has that kind of overproduced, kick-clap folk-pop sound that everyone seemed to love back then.
Nowadays, it feels a little stale. Ryan really needs to chill out on overproducing everything to the point where it sounds almost inhuman.
That said, this is probably the best project I've heard from them. It's genuinely not bad. Not great — but not bad.

The Beths return with yet another superb indie rock experience. There's a satisfying mix of laid-back tracks and upbeat jangle pop, with some especially fuzzy hooks that I really enjoy. If I had one small reservation, it's that many of the songs feel just a touch longer than they need to be. The average track length clocks in at well over four minutes, and while the band clearly puts care into their arrangements—with bridges, layered sections, and extended outros—it ... read more

"EVO EVO" kind of sounds like a greatest hits collection of French House bangers with tracks that, whilst wholy reminiscent of contemporaries like Daft Punk and Justice, do just enough to stand on their own merit with some great hooks, and super production.

WE ARE CHAOS, DON’T CHASE THE DEAD and PERFUME are highlights for sure with BROKEN NEEDLE being my favourite track on the album as it sees Manson at a rawness that I personally haven’t seen before. As an audio nerd, however, I have to point out that a fair few of the songs are fatiguing to listen to. All of the songs are pretty crushed which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Manson’s heavier songs. However, surprisingly for me, the album isn’t packed with these and ... read more

It’s probably unfair to draw a comparison to Chappell Roan here, as The Beaches predate her popularity, but "No Hard Feelings" channels the same don’t-give-a-fuck lesbian pop fun—albeit with a more rock, and sometimes punk, edge. It’s catchy and generally well-performed, though a couple of songs are just fine. The production is decent, I suppose. There are areas of the mix that could have been clearer, especially the cymbals, which sometimes get drowned out by ... read more

In my opinion, this is a small step back from her debut. Whilst there still isn't a bad track on "SCORPIO", it does lack a bit in terms of staying power. Sure, there are a few highlights throughout the album, but there are also plenty of tracks that fade into the background too easily. On a couple of tracks, McFerrin's vocals fall slightly short compared to contemporaries like Sade, Josephine Oniyama, or Kelela. There's just that bit of umph that isn't always ... read more

In a year where the top 40 is the most disappointing it's been in a looooong time, it's comforting to see the quality that exists in the more underground circles. "The Provocateur" is a super varied EP, taking inspiration from a wide range of artists from Lady Gaga, to Grimes and Charli. I still think there's some work to be done in actually defining their sound, but it would be understating it to call this a very song debut solo EP.

It’s generally quite rare for me to go against the grain when it comes to positive opinions on albums, as I’m usually quite impressed by new releases. Unfortunately, "A Matter of Time" is one of those times where I’m going to do just that.

I know when we talk about an album being more than the sum of its parts, we’re usually speaking with positive connotations. But in the case of this album, the vast majority of the songs are genuinely great—they just ... read more

"Samurai" has been a very important album to me since its release last year. It acted as a gateway into a genre I hadn’t explored before.

Now, with a number of hip hop albums under my belt thanks to "Samurai", Lupe has released this fantastic EP reimagining some of the best tracks from that album, along with some new material.

It has a more chill vibe, and I really enjoy this direction. It’s an interesting new take on songs I’ve heard many times in ... read more

The vibe is there and some of the songs are amazing. I just wish it was longer because a lot of the songs finish very prematurely.

JVB return after their breakout sophomore album, but it’s not more of the same from the East Coast duo. For their third release, they’ve sculpted a more complete package, with an album closer to the 45-minute mark rather than the 30 minutes of their previous two records. This expanded runtime allows them to retain the big, bombastic hip-hop/dance bangers that made them famous, while also exploring softer, more introspective tracks that help diversify the album’s ... read more