This album was pitched to me as "gnome music" and I have to say the description was extremely accurate. A half-hour of mystical, digital whimsy perfect for going on silly adventures. Not every song lands for me, but the overal experience is light, breezy, and peaceful. Recommended if you want to feel like an adventurer (in a casual way).

Favorite Track: With Dreams of Adventure, I Smoke From My Longpipe Beneath the Stars
Rating: 7/10

I first heard Illmatic in a Hip Hop class I took in college a few years ago, and at the time I liked it but my feelings on the album didn't really go beyond that. Hearing it in various contexts since has improved my opinion, but I wanted to sit down and give it a full relisten. Now, I'm very happy to say that this is definitely one of my favorite Hip Hop projects. Nas is a fantastic rapper on this record, and the production either amplifies that or, if it's not one of the stronger cuts, still ... read more

Went into this one excited, given its relatively high acclaim as well as El-P being the producer. Unfortunately, I'm left pretty unimpressed with this record. Although there are glimpses of El-P's fantastic production skills here and there, this record feels amateurish on that front (especially considering this was only a few years before I'll Sleep When You're Dead). Furthermore, I felt pretty lukewarm about the rapping on the record, and as is the case with many 90s/00s Hip-Hop projects the ... read more

A great interpretation of Canto Ostinato by multi-instrumentalist Erik Hall. This album's underlying piano/electronic motif is both catchy and interesting, and although it may be slightly longer than would be ideal, it is definitely worth the listen. Furthermore, the whole project being in 5/4 is a nice touch and makes the rest of the instrumentation/production all the more interesting. Not perfect, but definitely worth a listen for minimal/classical fans.

Favorite Tracks: N/A
Rating: 8.5/10

Went into this album relatively blind, having only heard the intro track offhandedly when the album came out. On this album, Julie Byrne presents a series of strong chamber folk/ambient pop tracks that are oftentimes gorgeous and impactful. While I really enjoy this record, I am hesitant to praise it super strongly given that Byrne wears her influences on her sleeve, with multiple moments feeling a little derivative of other artists in this sphere (Cassandra Jenkins, Weyes Blood, etc.). Despite ... read more

Scaring the Hoes remains one of my favorite albums of the year, and as such I was looking forward to the bonus content from this EP. Happy to say that Danny & Peggy deliver some very good material on this, even if the songs themselves don't really live up to the quality from the album. The exception here is the track Hermanos, which continues to floor me with its lowkey production and strong verses (not to mention the absolutely stellar outro). Worth a listen for those that liked the full ... read more

After hearing (and really enjoying) Max & Match last year, I was looking forward to this EP. After a few listens, I'm comfortable calling it good, although I will say that I consider this EP to be a stepdown from their 2017 work. I feel that while this EP succeeds in presenting a short/sweet array of pop music, it fails to leave an impact in the same way some of the material on Max & Match did (especially with tracks like Loonatic). Still worth a listen overall.

Favorite Tracks: ... read more

Been a fan of McKinley Dixon for a few years now, especially his debut "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself". I would put this project on par with the rest of his work. I think Dixon is a great rapper with really accessible, yet powerful, lyrics and is continuously excellent at choosing jazzy production to form the foundations for his songs. Definitely one of the strongest hip hop albums of the year thus far, and is well worth the listen.

I was first introduced to the music of Chad Matheny (otherwise known as Emperor X) roughly a year and a half ago by a friend from college, and I almost immediately fell in love with his work. Matheny's blend of folk, indie, and electronic music serves to create a unique style that forms a strong foundation for his stellar writing. I've loved most of his records up to this point, so needless to say I was excited for the release of this EP. It's been about four months since its release, and since ... read more

Missed this one when it came out a few years back, but I figured I'd check it out since her sophomore album is set to come out this year. I had a mixed experience with this record. On one hand, there were plenty of catch tracks and moments of enjoyable production on the album. On the other hand, however, I feel that the whole tone of this record comes across as very young and amateurish, with the songwriting leaving a lot to be desired. Furthermore, I feel that Rodrigo wears her pop influences ... read more

An extremely serene listen. Almost exclusively using an acoustic guitar, Pedigo is able to craft 34 minutes of gorgeous folk music which borders on ambient at times. It's not the most varied project in the world, but the beauty of it combined with its relatively short length culminates into an experience that never really overstays its welcome. A worthwhile listen if folk and/or ambient is up your alley.

Absolutely incredible. I'd heard F#A# and God's Pee up to this point, as well as some of Silver Mt. Zion's work, but this record in particular has been a blind spot for me in the context of the group's discography/side projects. I'm happy to say that the entirety of this record really resonated with me. This record feels like a perfect execution of some fantastic ideas I'd heard offered on the aforementioned projects: the swelling musical builds and disconnected passages on each track in F#A#, ... read more

Haven't listened to this project in full in at least four years, so I figured I'd revisit it. This time around I found it to be a lot less enjoyable than back when I first heard it. The production on this record is pretty uninteresting overall and I feel that, despite the compliments this record gets for being a bit more personal and revealing, the lyrical content on here is pretty shallow as well. Were it not for the inclusion of "No Mistakes" and "Ghost Town", both of ... read more

Although I like this album overall, I feel that it lacks the eclectic punch that a lot of Cornelius' early work had. A lot of the soundscapes on here, while pretty, just feel a little more straightforward than what Cornelius has offered up to this point.

Favorite Tracks: Drifts, Environmental

It's no secret that I am not a fan of Lil Uzi Vert. At the time of writing this review, they have been responsible for some of my least favorite records of all time (especially from their 2020 run). I went into this record with that in mind, but was completely unprepared for what was to come. This record is packed to the brim with choices I just cannot stand. To start, the album clocks in at a whopping 80 minutes (excluding the bonus tracks) and that runtime is not justified in the slightest. ... read more

In this record, Meghan Trainor presents a 45-minute exercise in taking a variety of influences/musical ideas and exploring them in the least interesting ways possible. The doo-wop style that has been a trademark of Trainor's biggest hits (all of which are contenders for some of the worst pop has had to offer in the past decade) is plentiful on this record. However, unlike singles like "All About That Bass" or "Mother" which see the style at its worst, Trainor instead uses it ... read more

He knows how to make a great track but overall this album just kinda feels like he's spinning his wheels a bit, especially since there's not much on here to set it apart from other projects of his. Very good overall, just not really covering any new ground.

My only real gripe with this album is the songwriting on Hailey, which I think speaks for itself. Beyond that, this is a really great record. Cassandra Jenkins' vocals are great throughout the whole project, and the production shines through really well (especially on Hard Drive and The Ramble). If you haven't gotten a chance to hear it I'd highly recommend this one.

Very uninteresting as a whole imo, although I enjoyed Fire In The Driveway quite a bit

I’d probably rate this a little higher but I wasn’t crazy about the intro track on this one. Otherwise, this is a good nu jazz project that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The whole thing is worth checking out, but its especially worth it for the title track