Goburin Goburin Goburin Goburin Goburin Goburin!

This Is The World may just be my favorite of the singles, gives me all of the dopamine.
Nice Day sounds absolutely incredible, but next to This Is The World at almost double the length it feels incomplete. It's lacking some of that signature Magdalena Bay progression - like it's just half a song waiting for a pay-off that never happens. Nonetheless it still serves as a great proof of concept should MagBay ever venture fully into shoegaze.

Very enjoyable, but a step down from Second Sleep and Star Eyes.

Edit: Human Happens was my favorite at firs, took me a few listens to really appreciate Paint Me A Picture but now I like it best of the two. Both incredible tracks, even if they are just a half-step below Second Sleep and the highest highs of Imaginal Disk

Fate of Ophelia made me believe for a just a moment.

Radical Optimism fails in it's lack of cohesion, not in lack of quality. All songs on the album range from great to inoffensive yet enjoyable, but it feels like they were drafted from three different albums. Radical Optimism is certainly far removed from the psychedlic pop sound we were promised in interviews, and that the lead single Houdini showed off so brilliantly.

EDIT: More than a year later I've warmed up to Radical Optimism a little. It remains not the album we were told to ... read more

Sadness is a large part of Sasha Alex Sloans artistic identity. That is hardly surprising for an artist whose SoMe-handle is SadGirlSloan. However, on her second album 'I Blame The World', that sadness is starting to feel dishonest, and like it's merely pandering to her audience.

On her previous album 'Only Child' aswell as the EP's that preceded it, the sadness in Sloans music was usually accompanied by self awareness and a longing to feel better. She ... read more

Nearly two years on from its release, Golden Hour hasn't aged gracefully. Kygo has a knack for honing in on a sound and perfecting across a handful of singles. That often makes for good singles and lacklustre albums, which tend to become a bit of a haze. That trend continues on the Norwegian producer's third album. It certainly has highlights, but Kygo recycles the same production tricks song after song, and by the end of the one hour runtime, Golden Hour is simply boring. To his credit, Kygo ... read more

Pixie's Parasol is an infectious pop-album, combining soaring hooks with folky instrumentation and gang vocals. At it's best it's grandiose and incredibly catchy, though it's held back by a slightly dull ending.

Following up the huge commercial success of After Hours was always going to be a difficult task, but Dawn FM is arguably even better. On Dawn, Abel Tesfaye doubles down on the 80's inspired sounds of After Hours, albeit with more Disco and House influences, rather than outright synthpop. While it lacks the enormous hits of it's predecessor, Dawn FM more than makes up for it with a strong concept and a cohesive and always interesting sonic universe.