Dark, catchy, and incredibly produced, "Torn" is a fantastic debut EP that always keeps you hooked with each song being just a little bit different from the last. It sounds absolutely incredible as well. Everything just hits really well.

I don't know if I'm in a minority here, but I much prefer the sounds that Mitski has been exploring in these most recent 2 albums compared to anything I'd heard before that. It's emotive, beautifully composed, and I really like the rock sections that pop in throughout this album particularly. It's just so effective on an emotional level.

MGNA Crrrta is a duo that I mainly know from their feature on Ninajirachi's work, but I'm glad that I decided to jump on this mixtape because it's quality. With music that spans a wide range of EDM from brostep to electro house, the best moments here are during the middle of the album where it just goes off, but there really isn't a bad moment here. Well worth checking out if you want a 2010s-coded EDM project to jam to.

Life would be a lot simpler if I hated this, but this shit fucking slaps.

It's a rare occurrence that I prefer the deluxe songs compared to the original tracklisting, but here we are. The 6 new tracks here show JVB at their best with dance/hip-hop grooves that absolutely fucking slap. Honestly, if this were a release in its own right, we'd be looking at an AOTY contender for me.

(Score is for the album as a whole. The deluxe tracks are a 90)

Whilst I really like a lot of ideas expressed in this album (to the point where I think loads of this would have worked in the context of a movie soundtrack), I can't help but feel like a lot of these tracks really overstay their welcome. The foundations are great, with catchy hooks and some really interesting production, but by the time you get to the 3-minute mark, the song has fully evolved and now you're just listening to the same thing for another 3 minutes.

This would likely ... read more

A pretty good EP. It just needs a bit more originality, especially towards the end. Horse-related lyrics only get you so far. Still a great vibe, though

"Britpop" is one of the longer album listening experiences I've had, being a bit of an endurance test at 100 minutes in length. But what we end up with is a fantastic display of versatile songwriting and production from Cook. He explores a huge variety of genres including IDM, rock, synthpop, and more – and whilst there are only a handful of big highlights, there's enough quality to keep you engaged, especially if you give yourself a little break between each of the ... read more

When Mars first hit the scene, I really thought he had the capability to be the next King of Pop. But unfortunately – at least as a solo artist – he's never had that album to cement that calibre of title. And "The Romantic" is an unfortunate continuation of this, being his weakest output since his debut. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing bad here. In fact, there are a number of highlights, especially towards the start of the album. However, ... read more

Whilst the songwriting on this album is a bit everywhere – never quite settling on a genre or style – Danger Mouse's production chops on this is absolutely exceptional. Honestly, if I didn't remember this album from when I was a kid, you could've probably persuaded me that it came out in the last 5 years. Cee-Lo's vocals are also superb.
It's just a shame that the actual core music lacks a little bit of consistency and some of the songs are a little short to ... read more

Anna beautifully dances between singer-songwriter and art pop in a way that feels both effortless and completely fitting to the style of this album. With beautiful songwriting and her even more beautiful voice, Savage sings of love, loneliness and plenty in between. There's definitely a lot of depth to this album.

There is plenty to like about "Appalachia": It's beautiful vocals; lovely themes of love; family and community; the warm mixing, but it's not without its flaws. The songwriting is very basic, doing pretty much nothing to differ itself from the standard folk and Americana. Nothing structurally or musically is surprising or unexpected. Don't get me wrong — they're nice, but they're very predictable.

The storytelling is also very nice, but I'd have ... read more

It's always fascinating hearing music from different cultures, and Altin Gün are no exception. Super consistent, psychedelic, well-performed music that's super captivating and just really nice to listen to. There's nothing mind-blowing here, but there's not a single miss either. It's consistently great.

It's explosive, it catchy, but above all else, "STARFUCKER" is a bloody great electropop album that does a stellar job at standing out amongst a sea of other artists making similar music.

The quality of material here is generally quite high, but too many tracks in "Be the Cowboy" are here one minute and gone the next... Literally. And for me, that just leads to so many songs that sound like the great first 2 thirds of a song without any huge payoff.

The fact that 2 chaps made this rather than a band of 5+ multi-instrumentalists is incredible. And doing that whilst keeping the music always flowing and never stale is insane. What an incredible feat.

Leigh-Anne's debut solo album might not be as rock solid as it could be, but it does to prove that she is more than capable of creating a full-length album on her own. Complete with a great mix of R&B and Afrobeats, it definitely has a couple of dips into mediocrity here and there, but altogether, it's a solid debut with a couple of good highlights.

Maybe not always my cup of tea, but when it hits, it hits -- especially in the middle of the album. It's clear to me that music like this lay the foundations for more modern punk bands that I absolutely adore. It's aggressive, frenetic and boundary-pushing.

For over a decade now, Angel Du$t have made a habit of creating short, explosive, high-quality melodic hardcore records that are all killed and no filler, and "Cold 2 The Touch" is no exception. It's angry, powerful and sounds fucking immense. I wish I could get a snare to sound this awesome in my mixes.

Whist Faiyaz doesn't take any big risks in redefining modern R&B, this LP is quality throughout, with some MJ-esque numbers that really highlight his talents as a songwriter and performer. It's just a quality record.