This album has some genuinely fire moments. A lot of that comes down to Dijon’s touch, which gives the best tracks real texture and bite.
🌟 All I Can Take, Daisies, Yukon, Devotion
I needed time with this one before trying to say anything. Following Fountain Baby was always going to be brutal. That album isn’t just one of my favorites of the decade, it’s one of the best pop records ever, period. I tried to come in with no expectations, even avoided the singles, but the bar in my head was still absurdly high. Three months later, I finally feel like I can meet this album where it actually is.
The opening run is ridiculous in the best way. It feels like ... read more
What a debut. This album blends R&B and soul with funk, country, and hip-hop in a way that feels confident and seamless. The genre fusion is so natural that, at its best, it honestly outshines some of the stronger moments on albums chasing a similar lane, including COWBOY CARTER. It sounds assured, curious, and fully its own.
🌟 Hello, Gutta Child, Bootleg, This One, Be Careful
I’m sorry, I’ve really tried with this album. I know it’s become a 2025 pop/R&B cult favorite and Pitchfork talks about it like it cured a disease, but I genuinely cannot get past the vocals. I’ve given this album at least ten honest tries, and his voice might be my least favorite I’ve ever heard. It completely derails even the moments I want to like. The production is interesting, the ideas are there, but the second he opens his mouth it’s game over for ... read more
Is anything here actually original? It’s pretty, sure, and it’s catchy enough, but the whole album feels like a collage of every British soul or blue-eyed blues girl to ever touch a mic. Amy Winehouse, Adele, RAYE, take your pick. There just aren’t enough real bops to justify how derivative it all feels.
🌟 Man I Need, So Easy (Fall in Love)
I think I finally get some of the hype around Sudan Archives. At her best, she’s genuinely inventive and fun to move to. That said, some of the almost Irish-sounding violin flourishes just don’t land for me, and the album loses steam fast in the back half. The opening stretch clears easily, while a lot of what follows feels undercooked. The lyrics don’t always help either, with a few lines tipping into cringe in a way that’s distracting rather than charming.
🌟 Dead, ... read more
The hard truth is that this is a clear step down from EUSEXUA. I was honestly bored for a lot of the runtime, and very little sticks outside of a couple moments. The only reason this isn’t scoring lower is because “Sushi” is basically coke for gays and easily one of my Songs of the Year. One insane highlight doesn’t save the album, but it does keep it afloat.
🌟 Sushi, Hard
LUX has moments that are genuinely stunning. The first half floods you with emotion, all ache and grandeur and that overwhelming sense of being pulled somewhere bigger than yourself. Those highs are intoxicating. But after that, the album loses momentum. The back half feels flatter and more inert, like the feeling slowly drains out instead of evolving. For something so hyped, the drop-off is hard to ignore. It just doesn’t sustain its emotional intensity long enough to justify the praise ... read more
It’s upbeat, funny, and catchy. Could we ask for more? Sure. Should we? Probably not.
🌟 Damn, Free, Wet & Wild, Just Two, Tectonic, Party People, Angel of Satisfaction, Switch
LMAO.
Best bar: Need a thick chick like Bebe Rexha😭
🌟 Hyperyouth, Bust Down, Give It to Me, Is This Love, See U Dance, Wassup, Live Right, Billie Jean, Go Hard
Nothing here is particularly unique, boundary-pushing, or original for dance music. That said, it’s still a solid Ava Max–core dance record. If a drag queen lost her USB and needed something to lip-sync to in a pinch, literally any track here would do the job. It’s competent, fun, and very danceable, just extremely formulaic. I guess the title says it all.
🌟 Fast, Here All Night, Sorry To Myself, Frequency, Kiss
Am I the only one who thinks this album is wildly overrated? I’ve really tried with it. Like, genuinely tried. I’ve listened to this very long album all the way through at least eight or nine times since 2022, and every time I come out feeling older and more bored than before. I wanted to look in the mirror to make sure that I didn't develop any grey hairs after sitting through this thing. It’s idiosyncratic in a way that reads dull rather than interesting, and nothing ... read more
“What It Is,” “FOMO,” and “Bliss” are some of the best R&B songs in recent memory. Straight heat. Unfortunately, the album is SZA–Summer Walker levels of bloated, and all that extra padding dulls the impact of the highs.
🌟 What It Is, Healing Hurts, FOMO, Cosmic, Darkside, Bliss
I’ve found basically every Taylor record post-Red (outside of a few songs on 1989 and Folklore) pretty dreadful to sit through, largely because Jack Antonoff’s production feels lifeless and beige to me. So it was genuinely refreshing to hear her actually sing again over lively Max Martin production. And honestly? Even the truly atrocious tracks are catchy as hell. Some of the lyrics are still egregiously cringe, which is a given with any Taylor album, but taken as a whole, the album ... read more
This is a dance record that pulls the best elements from Kelela, Solange, and Azealia Banks, then makes them groovier, stickier, and way more club-ready. The hooks are insane, the vibes are gorgeous, and it’s stupidly fun. There are a few misses that tighter editing probably could’ve fixed, but the highs more than make up for it.
🌟 Ladida, Sum, The Boy, Doing It Too, Bite the Bait, Crave
“Sugar Sweet” was my personal song of the summer, and “Type Dangerous” and “I Won’t Allow It” are fire too. Outside of those highlights, though, the album feels a little washed and uninspired.
🌟 Sugar Sweet, Type Dangerous, I Won’t Allow It
Can we please get Jack Antonoff away from the pop girls. Please. For the love of god. At the very least, keep him with the bedroom-pop crowd and stop forcing these hollow 80s-pop pastiches.
This album is fine. The run from “Cards” to “Stranger” is genuinely solid. But across the full project, singles included, the melodies just aren’t sticky. And for music clearly chasing that Janet–Paula Abdul lane, that’s kind of unforgivable. The production itself ... read more
Create an account to rate and review albums.
Recent Review Comments
On CHUNJuwu's review of Madonna - Madonna
"I don’t mean to be a hater, but saying Madonna brought disco to the mainstream is historically inaccurate. The mainstream disco era had largely ended by 1979, especially after the Disco Demolition backlash. This record came out in 1983, four years after that cultural shift. I also wouldn’t classify this as a disco album. Does it take inspiration from disco? Sure. But it’s much more a reflection of the rise of 80s synthpop and dance-pop."
Advertisement