AOTY 2023
Ken Carson - A Great Chaos
82
I loved it when Ken Carson said "It's chaosing time" and chaosed all over the place to the point where the album got leaked 4 days before its release. Anyways, this album is great! Honestly a huge improvement from 'X' in terms of consistency and instrumentals, even though I saw potential in Ken's previous releases, especially 'Project X', this album feels way more complete and fulfilling, honestly a really fun listen front to back with amazing production front to back, the producers ... read more
Sematary - KING OF THE GRAVEYARD
45
Whole lotta mid horrorcore
You know this thing is weak when the highest rated song is a previously released single, and even that single just sounds like by the numbers Sematary. Is this the worst thing ever? No, but it's certainly lazy and adds nothing to the Hounted Mound discography. Anyways, waiting for the 'Warboy' remake, hopefully that won't put me to sleep like this EP did.
Favorite Tracks: KING OF THE GRAVEYARD.. kinda
Least Favorite Track: I DON'T CARE ABOUT SLEEP ANYMORE
Sematary - BUTCHER HOUSE
73
Even though I still view Sematary and the Hounted Mound movement as kind of a one trick pony (they got hard ass knocking beats, spooky sound effects and growly vocals, but when you look at the collective as a whole, the members' sound is basically identical)
BUUUT, this tape is a lot of fun and one of my favorite things to come out in 2023 still, it's edgy, abrasive and ridiculous bullshit that isn't deep fried enough to sound like the wall of noise that was RB3, but also distorted enough to ... read more
Sematary - RAINBOW BRIDGE 3
50
Some of this shit legitemately goes really hard and is catchy, but I can't listen to a full hour of this shit in any scenario or environment, I have no idea what kind of drugs you gotta consume to find this whole tape enjoyable in one full listen. It's funny cause there are some actually really good songs on this tape, but as a whole it feels like more of a earrape-y experiment than anything else. If you love this album, I'm happy for you but also concerned for the safety of your eardrums, you ... read more
Död Mark - 4evigt
72
I LOVE LEAN!!! 💜💜💜 (and all of his side projects)
After hearing 'Sugar World' this year I've been checking out more and more of Lean's side projects under his different aliases, and well, the material on this LP is pretty similar - the vulnerable, one take vocal performances are also here, they are pretty goofy at times, but really genuine and charming, all performed in Swedish. The production by Gud is actually pretty immaculate and versatile, I love the imaginative, magical dream ... read more
Baby Keem - The Melodic Blue
77
It's crazy how it took me 2 long years to get this album, but idk, maybe something changed in me cuz rn it just connected in a really meaningful way, to me Baby Keem is not someone who has his sound and aesthetic completely figured out, hence why this album sounds like an experiment with songs switching between r&b, hip hop.. and 80s alt pop? idk, whatever genre you could classify '16' as, either way it's such a beautiful song with amazing lyrics, hits too hard. obviously the hype songs ... read more
Yabujin - ???? 2021)
75
Ya'll hating on this album so hard llke it's the first dark ambient album you've ever heard, sure it's weird and pretty goofy at a lot of points (cue the squirell laughing sound effect), unsettling and absurd at others, but honestly I enjoyed many parts of this album and I think it's a welcome change of pace for Yabujin and a pretty good transition into something completely different from his HexD / cloud rap sound that popularized him, he just dumps all of this new material onto the listener ... read more
Gorillaz - Cracker Island
59
Gorillaz are the band that initially got me into music and made me really appreciate and look into other genres of it other than.. well, radio filler, and for me most of their allbums are classics, even the recent "Song Machine" project was incredible, showing how Damon Alborn can bring together lots of interesting musicians and making really unique, fun music as a result..

All of that being said, "Cracker Island" comes off more like just a boring collection of Damon ... read more

Thaiboy Digital - Back 2 Life
82
Wtf thaiboy died and came back 2 life? 😱 welcome back legendary member, we missed u!
slowthai - i know nothing
76
Slowthai comes back with perhaps his most experimental track to date, and while I don't love it, it's an interesting change of pace for sure. The spooky minimalistic production that explodes in the second half is pretty unusual and is well executed, slowthai's performance feels like a scream for help with one statement after another, feels like he's just ranting on the song while getting everything he's been thinking about off his chest, but in a good way, since his lyrics hold a lot of truth, ... read more
Bladee - Spiderr
77
"Spiderr" feels like Bladee's victory lap after "Crest", that album put him on the map in a way - the dreamy synth pop was much easier to swallow than the rest of his work to the general audience, but left many hardcore dg fans unsatisfied, but this new album though.. yeah, it's as ridiculous as ever, the production is insane and all over the place, Bladee's flows and inflections are as out there as ever, and you know what? I love that.

Seeing him branch out into something ... read more

Bladee - DRAIN STORY
78
Bladee is completely off beat and this song is all over the place, sounds like he didn't even try to sync his vocals to the beat..
Love it, can't wait for the new album!
$uicideboy$ - Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation
78
I've never been a huge fan of $uicideboy$ in general, but their new material always seemed underbaked and lazy in comparison with most of their material from the 2015-16 mixtape days. That being said, this album's really good! I won't say it's a return to form because it clearly differs in the way it sounds - the edginess, aggression they usually bring has been switched out for more chill, introspective vibes with lofi vocal samples on tracks like '1000 Blunts', but even when they do shoot for ... read more
Carpenter Brut - LEATHER TERROR
82
While Carpenter Brut still has some work to do in terms of incorporating guest vocalists into his music, the vast majority of 'LEATHER TERROR' was exactly what I needed to hear from him ever since the 'TRILOGY' days - the cold, heavy and hellish darkwave sounds like it was ripped straight out of a DOOM game, it's aggressive and unstoppable, while also being rhythmic and quite memorable.

Every song on here that goes into this nocturnal synthwave direction hits hard and doesn't stop even for a ... read more

Yung Lean - Trip
89
One of Leandoer's best songs in a while, love the way he used the hyperpop sound on here, it's a really sweet song with an amazing instrumental that's full of memorable lyrics (shoutout to Eversince), flows and overall just feels like overdosing on sugar.. In the best way possible. Can't wait for the new album!
Bladee & Ecco2k - Crest
81
On 'Crest' Bladee and Ecco deliver one of the most feel good and vulnerably ethereal albums I've heard in a while, and also one of my favorite drain gang projects overall. Much like '333', this album's ethereal and upbeat otherworldly energy is infectious and cute, but this time around, it's even more consistent and childishly imaginative. Is it perfect though? No, while I really like most of Bladee's moany autotuned verses (that might turn off others from enjoying the songs here), it does ... read more
$NOT - Ethereal
55
I've never been a fan of $NOT's music and this album didn't change much for me. 'Ethereal' tries to do a little bit of everything, it's got some cutesy moody lofi tracks like 'BLUE MOON', some cold aggressive bangers like 'Doja' and hyperpop influenced songs on '5AM' and 'ALONE'. And to this album's credit, its production is quite good most of the time, and the features, from Rocky to Kevin Abstract and Joey Bada$$, are all quite solid.

All of that being said, I still don't really see what ... read more

Pusha T - Diet Coke
85
THE KING OF COKE RAP IS BACK, BABY! And I'm so glad to hear him again, it's honestly been so damn long since we've heard from Pusha, and lemme tell ya, this comeback track sounds fire, Pusha's confident, slick flows and braggadocios verses all about pushing coke sound so good over this vintage soulful 18 year old beat. Love the vocal samples in the background and that classic hip hop pace it has, it aged like some fine wine. In short, I'm really hyped for his new album, loved 'Daytona' and I'm ... read more
Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
87
I'll be honest, I didn't really understand the huge amount of hype around BN,CR's debut back in 2020, but 'Ants From Up There' really made it click for me, everything on this album is lush, grandiose, well-written and performed. It feels like one big hour long personal orchestral concert with passionate, explosive low singing, depressing and heartbroken, yet artistic verses and beautiful instrumentation, also one incredible emotional climax after another.

The sonic landscape of this album is ... read more

Bladee - ICEDANCER
84
Ah, the Bladee phenomenon - that weird feeling you get when you start enjoying songs that you hated at first. It really feels odd, going from only bumping 'Be Nice 2 Me' and 'Side By Side' to listening to the deep cuts with shrieky vocals and sad, vulnerable, drugged out verses and really enjoying them. But y'know what? I don't care anymore, 'ICEDANCER' bumps in the whip and gets stuck in your head for ages, and I love it for that.

I can't help but love the futuristic hard hitting trap beats ... read more

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Recent Review Comments
On Brad Taste's review of Ken Carson - A Great Chaos
"insane take ngl"
On Gorillaz - Cracker Island
"skinny ape is kinda fire tho, been on constant replay ngl"
On Brad Taste's review of Yeat - AftërLyfe
"AWOOOO 🔥🔥🔥"
On Brad Taste's review of Bladee - Spiderr
"fair enough"
On twitch.tv/oozePOP's review of Lil Yachty - Lil Boat 2
"based, this album is yachty's 2nd best, full of bangers"
On exception's review of Yeat - Rich Minion
"i just went crazy i did"
On YiJun's review of Destroy Lonely - XO
"Cap."
On exception's review of Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby
"you just don’t get art, get a life"
On colin's review of Ken Carson - i need u
"u spittin"
On Brad Taste's review of Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby
"thank you Brad, very based even if you don't take the allegations into consideration this album is still shitty ass pop music with baby fetishization"
On RiceFridge's review of Yabujin - FLASH DESIRE
"shut up"
On tacogrande's review of Bladee - DRAIN STORY
"quirky blader"
On tacogrande's review of Bladee - Oxygen
":(("
On vmrrobotic's review of Yabujin - Chalice of Mind 守卫大门的鲸鱼。
"he done listened to your advice 😭"
On Remi's Reviews's review of Gorillaz - Cracker Island
"hell naw man how can you give plastic beach a 45 💀"
On Brad Taste's review of Yabujin - Early Works Bootleg
"based review brad, glad you noticed this gem"
On masivnipero's review of Yabujin - ???? 2021)
"mysterious shit gotta become a genre onm this site"
On Run the Jewels - No Save Point
"the whole song is one big reference so i'm fine with it but i see how that could be annoying"
On Aphex Twin - Syro
"@wifehaver i said that aphex twin was abscent, not the afx guy 🧐"
On Gorillaz & Space Monkeyz - Laika Come Home
"@shogun_reviews still a boring ass album, space monkeyz took an L, happy birthday to it tho Ig"
On Brad Taste's review of Joji - SMITHEREENS
"based take"
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November Playlist