There's very little to offend on this Gorillaz album but that can be a hindrance as well as a benefit. It feels like in trying to make the album 'more Gorillaz', Damon made it 'less Gorillaz' in that the songs are more formulaic and less quirky than much of their best work. The production and songwriting remain top-notch at times, especially during Souk Eye, the undisputed highlight of the album in my eyes. Other strong moments include the groovy singles Humility and ... read more

Putting as much effort into my review as he put into the album.

I listened to this whilst doing Spanish revision. Unfortunately, most of what I learned in that hour was how to make new faces of disgust.

I was pretty suprised to see a 2018 Kanye/Cudi project get such a high rating. I remain suprised after listening to it.

A lot of the album has very strong production but is tainted by some pretty rushed lyrics/hooks where artists just shout the same shit over and over again, such as Pusha T on Feel the Love or both Ye and Cudi on Free, which does just sort of feel like a B-Tech Ghost Town. You finally catch a glimse of what the album is meant to be on the brilliant Reborn but then we're ... read more

I think the dance floor is dead so now we’re murdering rock music instead

This has really grown on me. The album is structured brilliantly with great transitions between the songs and the lyrics themselves are also really good at times, perfectly combining with the psychedelic vibe of the album. A couple of the songs (End of Beginning, I Want Your Video) could be said to be out of place but I think they are essential to add some variation to the album while still keeping similar production to the rest of the album. My main criticism would be that the songs can be a ... read more

A very solid album with cool, inventive production. The issues are that, especially during the middle section of the album, the tracks can kinda all blend into one and that this sound dosent give Mac any kinda opportunity with his rapping. The best parts of the album are where Mac allows other instruments to come through over the piano chords in the mix, such as the guitars on stoned or the reverbed piano in a few of the songs later on the album. The drums are also really good, just with not ... read more

I do indeed think I can tell Heaven from Hell and this is much closer to heaven.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 29 IT'S NOT FAIR

Not a particularly good album but not a particularly bad one either. Some kinda cool production on tracks like Knock Knock and Face In the Crowd especially and some very bittersweet moments given what happened to Mac in the end. In particular, the way Mac ends the final track is low-key incredible accidental foreshadowing and the chorus of The Spins played over this joyful teenager just randomly shouting shit is really sad.

Kanye's most consistent album yet also one of his longest. Every track feels purposeful and there are so many great deep cuts like Roses, Addiction and Crack Music to discover as well as the undeniable bangers. Speaking of which, Diamonds may well be Kanye's greatest song, it's so good it's on this album TWICE and it still hits hard both times.

This album is a genuine achievement in songwriting. The songs paint a vivid picture of Fender's upbringing in the North East and while the instrumentation could be seen as fairly generic or as ripping of Bruce Springsteen, that for me cannot hamper my enjoyment of this album one bit. Admittedly The Leveller and Mantra aren't doing much for me but they also serve to demonstrate just how amazing the rest of the album is. There are bangers like Seventeen Going Under, Getting Started and ... read more

There is clearly beauty here, and at times the group really find strength in subtlety, such as in Infinity, but overall there are too few ideas to sustain an album despite the obvious talent of the musicians involved.

There are some really strong songs supported by great guitar riffs and production but many of the ballads fall short by virtue of being uninteresting and obvious at times.

A beautifully claustrophobic and theatrical offering from RAYE that sees her break free of the constants of pop music. She does kinda kill the momentum with the spoken sections but the concept and execution of a yearlong story album is brilliant.

A solid album from Cole. Not doing anything special but it includes some of his best verses and is pretty consistent throughout. Some very nice samples as well but I do find the one on the climb back kinda annoying.
Best: 9 5 . south
Worst: i n t e r l u d e
Most Overrated: t h e . climb . back
Most Underrated: p u n c h i n . t h e . c l o c k

I’m not really sure what this album has done to get such a high score from critics and users alike. Idk maybe people just like hearing something different or feel like they have to rate it highly bc it’s original. Maybe it’s just not my bag.

I feel like when what underscores is trying to do works it works and when it dosen’t work it REALLY doesn’t. Some of the sounds are just a bit obnoxious and the songwriting at times can feel average and overly pop-tinged. ... read more

Most of the songs are solid rather than spectacular but luckily it does have more cohesion than I would have expected. There's a clear contrast between songs like Opening Night, Warning, Flags, Let's Do It Again and Don't Fight The Young which feel fully formed and often poignant and some of the more unfinished-feeling stuff like Wet Leg and Arlo Parks' contributions.
Pretty Good for what it is overall.

Definitely a step up from Lonerism. Feels like Kevin had Really learnt his sound and leaned into the electronic elements of his music. Also, there are less phasers there just for the sake of it, which is a bonus.

Sounds like if the Beatles learned to use Logic and went overboard on phaser and flanger effects. Which surprisingly, yields something pretty good.