garbeargao

Best of 2025: #2

Paramore, as we know it, is over. This was just one of a few major takeaways from the 17 tracks that Hayley Williams surprise-dropped on her website in late July. The blistering and amorphous set of songs, which fans quickly dubbed as Ego, documented Williams' struggle with depression, family trauma, and the end of her highly publicized relationship with Taylor York, Paramore's guitarist. I've been following Hayley Williams since my preteen years, even doing a ... read more

Best of 2025: #3

I have to admit that I wasn't the most excited for this album, given the singles I heard, the critical reception, and the cover art (which, at first, I thought was super tacky). Still, on one lazy afternoon in June, I had nothing to do and decided to give it a spin. From the first few seconds, I was captivated. Evangelic Girl is a Gun may seem edgy and apathetic on the outside, but it is a deeply emotional album, utilizing its dark aesthetic as a vehicle for ... read more

Best of 2025: #4

There are few things more powerful than art that expresses pain. In August 2023, Florence Welch learned that she had a miscarriage. The next week, while in extreme physical pain, she was on stage headlining a festival in Cornwall. And shortly after that, she learned that her fallopian tube had ruptured, and she underwent an emergency surgery not even an hour after receiving the news, "The closest I came to making life was the closest I came to death," she said in an ... read more

Best of 2025: #5

I Love My Computer took online music spheres by storm this summer, so there's not too much I could say about it that hasn't already been said. Still, I particularly love this album because of how much love Ninajirachi pours into every second of every song. Not a single moment in the album's 40 minutes is wasted as Ninajirachi storms through monumental beat drops, one after another. I Love My Computer is like an energy boost you could only get in a video game; ... read more