going into this year, i was certain that nothing would compare to glass beach’s Plastic Death record. i was fully prepared to allow that album to sit at my number one spot for the next 11 months. and to be fair, it did stay there for over half the year, only ever contested by Quadeca’s SCRAPYARD mixtape. eventually, records like Imaginal Disk and The New Sound released, which finally made me concede that glass beach had fallen a bit short of my monumental expectations. regardless of ... read more

back at it again for the fourth time

after listening to Ichiko's three previous works, i have to admit that i was a bit worried coming into this one. although i did like all of those albums, i tended to find that a major positive to them was that they're rather short, especially in the cases of Razor Girl and Origami. as i listened through this one, though, i kept forgetting any time had passed. reading along with the translated lyrics and appreciating Ichiko's stories helped ... read more

[75] --> [88]

alright i get it now. this isn't my favorite work from Swans, but it's by no means to be overlooked. really, it blows my mind something so forward-thinking and experimental could come out in '96 and then age like fine wine for those first discovering it decades later. the reason i'm not rating this any higher and probably won't for the foreseeable future is because i still think it's got bloat to it. despite liking every track to varying degrees ... read more

day one, round three

personally, i find this album to be the weakest of Ichiko's i've heard so far, at least right now. don't get me wrong, though, there are still fantastic cuts off here that compete with the first two's best, most notably Imperial Smoke Town. i feel like the long-winded, more progressive nature of this track is an indicator for what's to come, and if that's the case, i'm very excited. i think the reason i like this less than the other two ... read more

fuck it, listening to this right after the debut.

i think i like this one just a little bit more, despite it being a noticeably less ambitious record. the beauty of the first carries over, but some of the serenity and bliss is swapped out with a more intimate and human atmosphere, which is best exemplified on haiiro no hi, in my opinion. hidokei is also a major highlight, bringing back the more sprawling ideas found on Razor Girl and incorporating some pretty groovy passages at times.

favs: ... read more

[82] --> [85]

first and second track grew on me big time, definitely think this is the best of her first three now

--- original review ---

not much more i can say than this is really beautiful stuff. it's my first time truly listening to ichiko aoba, and i think i really connected with the minimalist approach she has going on here. looking forward to the rest of her discography for sure.

favs: fuwarin, kokoro no sekai, michishirube, watakushi no circus

honorable mention to hikari ... read more

Really love the famous one, Subways Of Your Mind, as I’ve been listening to it since around myhouse.WAD released and had used it. I’m so happy to be able to finally hear it in a crisp quality, let alone it being extended a minute longer and accompanied by two other pretty great tracks. Hoping the planned re-recording of this results in something noteworthy as well, would love to hear anything else these guys have to offer.

Kinda assumed this was some throwaway or disguised live session at first, but no this is something totally different. Might be one of my favorite songs they’ve made, even.

i've never heard of Blood Incantation before and i'm not super well-educated on death metal, so i wasn't sure if i'd enjoy this release all that much. however, i'm ecstatic to report that this is one of the best things to come out of 2024. every as aspect of this album is done incredibly tastefully and with what feels like lots of love. the vocals aren't overbearing or grating, which is awesome, since it helps make this album a lot more palatable for people like ... read more

From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free

[review soon once i feel i've fully digested this project]

They can what more than a hundred stallions excuse me

Anyway that ending was ridiculous I clum

for Godspeed, this really isn't the level of quality i had hoped for, which seems to be a pretty common sentiment among the reviews of this album. really, the main reason this one falls flat is due to the two tracks in the middle of the album. both of them feel quite bland and they don't go anywhere too interesting. in fact, i totally missed that "Asunder, Sweet" had even ended, which was disappointing. really, what should have been done was either rewriting these tracks to ... read more

with the new Godspeed record coming out next week, i figured i'd finally give this one a relisten. i first heard 'Allelujah while on a plane, but i didn't remember a whole lot of it since i pretty quickly fell asleep. returning to this now, i really wish i hadn't put it off for so long. despite this album coming out a decade after the band's last effort, it really feels like there's not been a single drop in quality anywhere. honestly, i'd argue that this is ... read more

i've been a pretty diehard Origami Angel fan since i first heard Somewhere City in 2022, so it only makes sense to keep up with each new major release of theirs. unfortunately, i wasn't the biggest fan of their mixtape from last year. it was easily their weakest stuff by far, as it just didn't feel like it was made with the same passion or their unique type of angst that gives their other records so much charm. thankfully, i feel like the majority of the tracks on this new album ... read more

this is the first Xiu Xiu album i've listened to in full, and i thought it was pretty great! aside from a slow start and a bit of an underwhelming ending, i think everything here manages to come out the other end as a very well-executed experimental rock piece, which is really impressive considering how divisive the genre can be for me at times. i can definitely see myself coming back to this, so hopefully it only grows on me further.

favs: Common Loon, Veneficium, Sleep Blvd., T.D.F.T.W.

Coldplay Deep-Dive: LP 1

within my friend group, Parachutes is one of those few albums that everyone just loves, so i have a pretty strong connection to it already. like most other people, i've heard Yellow countless times (even played it on bass while some friends and i were messing around) and heard Sparks a couple times in passing. for the longest time, that's basically all i knew about this record. while these are great tracks, they never really hooked me too intensely to the ... read more

[98 --> 92] unfortunately, after returning to this some time later, i think the mix is just too loud/messy at points. still a fantastic album, i just find it hard to listen to alongside the other stuff i usually hear.

simply a 52-minute tsunami of heart-wrenching noise

like many others, i woke up this morning expecting to go about another average day of summer. another day of feeling like a waste. another day of "wishing i was somewhere/someone else right now." another day of ... read more

an incredibly cozy and easily lovable record. absolutely adore the instrumentation on a lot of these tracks, especially when the horns come in. some of these drum fills are sick as well. i do wish there was a bit more variation with everything going on here, but it's all done pretty damn well so i can't complain all that much.

really love the concept on here, just wish it was executed with fewer corny-ass lines about Gen-Z cancelling everyone and slur usage. it's just a shame that Mathers blew this opportunity to create a pretty substantial work.

coming back to this song recently has really shown me how genius it is. may be one of my favorite songs ever already.