Smooth, pleasant and ultra-relaxing. Whilst it never switches gears it never has to - just plain sailing through some soulful songs. By no means innovative but truly well polished and overall, a strong album.

Our expectations were low but holy fuck

Complete regression from what was a lukewarm effort

I really enjoyed Lost & Found, and whilst I am not devastated she remained in the same ballpark, there really isn't any improvement or attempt to innovate here. This isn't really a refinement of what she did right on her debut - just a retread. I felt her singles released since were hinting at incorporating some Afrobeats influences, some more dancehall based tracks, but this was really unimaginative and safe to be honest.

dad rock written by their sons

Umm. Tom Jones is a national treasure in my country, Wales. Kids that have only heard his cheesier hits still revere his star power. I love him for putting Wales on the map, for his hits, for his legend, but no way in a million years was I expecting this.

I mean there are aspects of this that add up, from interviews and covers that he have done in the past. But his entire career trajectory was steering towards touring smaller venues, winding down. This is completely unexpected, but I am so ... read more

I found this to be a more than enjoyable listen overall. I personally think this isn't as good as his debut, but I really appreciate how the album is structured and the distinct split between the two sounds and overall feeling of the two "discs". I felt CANCELLED was too feature heavy, but in the context of the album, it definitely fits. The transition from 45 SMOKE and into MAZZA helps make the track more immersive, and makes it feel less like Skepta's song.

Overall like I said, ... read more

The Foo Fighters made an album in 2021. It sounded exactly what you would expect a Foo Fighters album in 2021 would sound like.

This just feels like a massive downgrade from Petals for Armor, almost as if this was scrambled together from the cutting room floor. The opening tracks blur into one, whilst the pacing is out of control by the time we enter the final tracks that just fly by without impression.

I'm not sure if this is a case of striking whilst the iron is hot, but the complete opposite approach to this release cycle raises questions.

Petals for Armor's release saw the album split into three smaller EPs, ... read more

This has really grown on me over the past week or so. The opener Ella Mary Leather is softly reminiscent to me of the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby. Overall this is consistent in quality and its sound throughout, with enough going to prevent falling into the lullaby status some chamber folk and pop records fall into.

This is an album designed to tide the fan base over before they finally release Van Weezer. In that case it really is just an appetiser, and not a very convincing one. Luckily it's only half an hour long, because if it was anywhere near a full LP it would have been a slog to get through. If Van Weezer doesn't completely overshadow and blow this out of the water, I would be very concerned about Weezer's viability going forward.

Much more danceable than their debut yet consistent with their post-punk sound. Whilst the lyrical content isn't as hard-hitting and political as their earlier work, I feel this record was a lot more transparent and emotion content wise. Overall a great project to start 2021.

This album is the representation of the lull between Christmas Day and New Years when you're in a near vegetized state - it doesn't matter what you eat, what you do, as it is ultimately meaningless and quickly forgotten about.

Don’t make a concept album if you don’t want to stick to the concept

Baring that it is an enjoyable listen, consistent yet not mind blowing

The worst of Maroon 5 crossed with the b sides off of a Blink 182 comeback record, mixed in with some shoddy production and bizarre choices. The parts that aren't bad are formulaic and just plain boring. Just a mess.

Solid yet somewhat safe UK Garage and House. The lead single Thinkin' of You does excite me and shows the clear potential of Bklava. Only 12 minutes long but a fun listen, that does leave me slightly anticipating more.

I'm here for this disco revival, and this is nowhere near the worst thing I've heard this year, but it's one of the weaker mainstream efforts. Very samey, and the lyricism is weak and forgettable throughout. None of the singles really carry this project, but it is consistent and cohesive. Jessie Ware's project does it much better, whilst Dua Lipa's project injects a bit more freshness to the genre. Overall this is slightly above average.

Rahhh how is this not on the website already? Short and simple yet really powerful and worth 20ish minutes of your time. Female R&B artists have been on fire in the UK with their EPs, and I really like the trend of stronger, smaller projects that supplement singles.

Tiana has quite a bit of a following thanks to her feature on Stormzy's project last year and the single from this project, Collide, a collaboration with EARTHGANG for the film Queen & Slim.

This is just good, soulful ... read more

Quite disappointed by this really, especially due to the fact the EP he dropped earlier on this year completely outstrips it. The EP was experimental, brave and cohesive, yet this is just so bland and safe it barely deserves attention. It is the opposite of that EP - with big name features crammed in to the album's detriment. Drake shows yet again that he can't do anything outside of trap rap with an awful performance. Fuck off Drizzy, you're not grime or drill. There's okay moments, mainly ... read more

This is recognisable as NBT but it shows growth and variance, whilst being arguably their most cohesive project yet. I haven't ever had a negative experience with an NBT project, and whilst I was a fan of their work on their last EP, I wasn't disappointed with the direction they went with on this. Groundbreaking? No, but it is well polished, enjoyable whilst avoiding the redundancy and repetitiveness other alt. rock projects this decade seem to fall into. Impossible really brought me back to ... read more

I enjoyed most of this, particularly the pacing - it was frantic and frenetic, but it felt right.

Cancel Me is like Fike's personality and history dissolved into one song - shitty but talented, self-centred with a poor world view. Lyrically, it isn't worth giving attention to due to how awful and tone deaf it is.

I don't hate it. A lot more experimental than I expected, but not very cohesive. High highs, low lows.