I don't understand and strongly disagree with the sentiment that this album is trash. No, it's not the most revolutionary thing ever and isn't some sort of experimental masterpiece, and I'm not sure why so many people expect that out of every album ever. Doing something new doesn't automatically make something good, just as sticking to basics doesn't automatically make something bad (as long as you execute it well). Lemaitre have a very distinct sound that they do well. I do think there are a ... read more

I could go into song by song detail of my critiques and likes of this album, but I don't think it would produce anything useful and wouldn't really be worth the time. This record feels sort of like a compilation, instead of a more cohesive progression I tend to prefer in albums. I don't think it earns the hour and a half length at all. One benefit to the length is that there are bound to be a few tracks that are good, but that also means most of these tracks are gravely underwhelming. I will ... read more

Discovered these guys with this record, and I love it. I've been kinda spamming it the past few days. There is so much to like about the instrumentals across the board but it's also got really great vocals. The drums are magnificent with lots of great stuff like the distortion dialed up to 11 on the first track. Doesn't necessarily blow me away, and has some noticable low points here and there, like the fade out in Boys, and Ride or Die's chorus, but It's always a really enjoyable listen and ... read more

For being their debut full length, I gotta say Dichotomy is pretty damn cool. This album has punchy, groovy beats that don't sound overblown, as well as good melodies and some pretty good sound design, although there's not any revolutionary sounds that'll melt your ears off. Has a sort of "rounded off" or softer master (which kinda fits to the rounded rainbow of the cover?), and mostly very well produced, but I do have some critiques that I hope I've managed to solidify into something ... read more

Here's my first dive into Shlohmo's work and I must say I was just blown away by this. My favorite aspects of Heaven Inc. are the sound design and the perfect hooks and beats. I have exactly one criticism in that I just can't get behind the very narrow mixes. It's at its worst in the two middle tracks, and I can only imagine how much more superb it would sound if all these elements were given more room to breathe and show their colors. Luckily this isn't nearly as much of a problem in the ... read more

Really good but lacks something that would fully push it to great for me. The title track has an amazing mildly creepy atmosphere to it. This whole project is pretty minimal and bare (in a good way) but this track does it best and I think I like every sound on it. Cult Process has really good vocal chops and Vortex has a pretty good fill that pops up a few times, but other than that nothing else I absolutely love. Vortex brings in some heavier synths that aren't horrible but aren't really that ... read more

I just like it, ok?!

This album reminds me of the music I listened to when I first got into EDM, though not in the way of nostalgia, more so just in the tropes of a few years ago.

The drums aren't anything noteworthy and mostly just service to help you know the rhythm of the tracks, but this album is just filled to the brim with strong melodies. I would genuinely say this album has among the best drop melodies I've ever heard. In addition, a lot of my favorite tracks have really good lyrics ... read more

Not something I would come back to personally, maybe because no more than a few tracks blew me away and I guess it just didn't execute the ideas in a way that would really hook me, but it was a very enjoyable listen with no real duds. Although it wasn't wildly catchy all the time, whenever it was it was done in an unexpected way. It has a very distinct sound and the clean production reminded me of what little I've heard of pre-2000s rock and this album sort of awakened me to the idea that ... read more

Really enjoyable and I was genuinely surprised at many moments. Biggest weakness for me is that it's just not that catchy (most of the time) and the vocal delivery isn't too great most of the time, though I did tend to like the lyrics. My favorite part was the instrumentation and production. Though it's not masterful, I really love the unique way it combines and intermingles realistic drumkits and trap drums. The basic rhythms aren't groundbreaking but the acoustic drums are processed in such a ... read more

Really liked this one. It was a really interesting experience, and I never got bored, it just lacks some good strong rhythms in the vocals and also the beats, but I think this album is more about focusing on the atmosphere, so that doesn't mean it's bad. Definitely unique and deserving of the praise, but the electronic elements really aren't anything super mind-blowing, so not one I'll personally come back to a lot.

[ Originally posted Jan 11 2022]

It's hard describe why I feel the way I do about this album. I just can't properly quantify why it doesn't hit as hard as BS3Y.

My best guess would be that the production is probably simpler and more "minimal" in a lot of ways and not nearly as synth-heavy. Maybe also the fact that a lot of verses just don't have any drums at all, losing a lot of the upbeat rhythm of their previous work that you get from a consistent beat. Though there is some of the Cash Cash style melodies I'm ... read more

Lost starts off at a damn fantastic start. The first four vocal tracks (Try, Homesick, Hurt, and Without Me) I absolutely love to death and may even say reach greater highs than a lot of the tracks from MitiS's debut, or at least a lot more often. Sadly, I'm not a fan of most of the rest of the album. Nearly every song has a very similar drop, even my 4 favorites, but I think the vocal performances and melodies are the best on those 4. The next best one would probably be the drops of Forgotten, ... read more

To be real, it's really hard to explain why this record is so amazing to me. I could go on for thousands of words about every single thing that elevates this album past the threshold for perfect, but I think I would go insane if I tried to. I agree with the sentiment that this is a grower album. I still really liked it first listen, but I came to love it more and more after every listen to the point it's very possibly my album of the year. Porter does an absolutely excellent job balancing the ... read more

(slightly rewritten but overall same opinion)
I fell in love with Bad To Me when I first heard it earlier this year, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was part of a new EP. Luckily I went into it without any specific expectations because I was immediately blown away and hooked on the whole thing as soon as I heard Blame You. The chords and vocals just work so damn well to create that combined feeling of sadness and comfort for me. I love a good, simple dnb beats but the surrounding ... read more

Oh no! I really like this album?! Personally this record feels uplifting in a very respectable way. Aggressive instrumentation combined with many of the lyrics give me that drive to push through hardships. Who I Am is the epitome of this I think. It's not perfect; a couple of moments in some of the songs have gotten mildly annoying over time, some songs go on just a little too long, and the structure and arrangements of the songs are all very similar. I've also noticed minor production oofs, ... read more

Hate Imagine Dragons? Then guess what, 9 times outta 10 you'll hate this record too. Me personally, I'd rather not waste valuable time of my life listening to and ranting about something I already decided I was going to hate beforehand. I actually had high expectations for this album because I was so surprised by Cutthroat I had to hear what else they had in store.

And shit, they delivered with a surprisingly interesting experience. I'm a sucker for the passion behind screamy vocals, and even ... read more

On it's own, this album is not at all bad, but I got hyped for this hoping for something similar to Crown Shyness but just better all around since I originally didnt like that album too much besides a few 10/10 songs. There are still traces of that sound here, but not enough for me to come back to this one.

Ekali definitely blew me away with this one. It's honestly hard to describe what this EP sounds like. The easiest observation is that it has many trap elements, but it's not really a purely trap project. I think that's a testament to how unique I think this project sounds. Besides some criticisms, like how the saws in the title track kind of fall flat, this is a really nice project. The first two instrumental tracks have really addictive vocal chops that go two different way stylistically, with ... read more

I've never heard a rock album more seamlessly interconnected than this one right here. None of the songs drag on too long, and all of the vocals are catchy and amazingly well written. This album features some of the most compelling riffs and grooves I've heard that all flow together with the fantastic transitions between every song. It has a very unique sound with tons of interesting distortion, really good ideas, and I can't forget that the closer song gives me chills on every listen. ... read more

As one of the first drum and bass albums I ever heard, ShockOne really delivered an interesting experience that skyrocketed my interest in the genre. I love the fact that it has a present yet somewhat ambiguous theme that I relate to, and I appreciate the effort put into making it feel cohesive. Till Dawn and Klaxon are probably my least favorite tracks, simply because they aren't as riveting as the rest of them, and the former especially feels like it drags on. But my favorite part about it is ... read more