Better than their previous efforts at least. In Your Corner feels like a throwback to stuff they were making a decade ago when they made stuff I found tolerable. The outro on it is genuinely nice with those stings. Don’t Forget Me and Fire in These Hills are also pretty decent. If they focused on these more emotional and low key (at least compared to their usual fair) there’s potential for a pretty alright record. Unfortunately it’s bogged down by the more goofy and over the ... read more

There is zero reason for any of these interludes to be here, let alone EIGHT of them. But hey, I can’t be too mean, Jax is probably just some kid having fu… she’s 28?! Girl, how are you older than me and unironically penning “the math isn’t mathing”??? Honestly just baffled at the choices made here. Overdramatic and not nearly half as clever or funny as it thinks it is. too young to be old and like my father aren’t good, but at least they went for ... read more

The Decembrists are one of my favorite bands ever. Been completely captivated by them since I first heard them in middle school. So hearing we’d finally be getting a new album after 6 long years, I was overjoyed. So how’d it turn out? Pretty good. Oh No! which is easily my favorite on the whole record, is an easy standout. It’s exactly what I crave for from this group. Those horns, the groove in the bass, the vivid storytelling, it has me singing along on repeat all day long. ... read more

Aurora never fails to disappoint me. Her voice is gorgeous as ever on tracks like Dreams and Earthly Delights. Cannot overstate how pretty the production is on these. The birds chirping in the background, the the synths as she wonders “when everything dies, will you stay with me?” Oh my god and A Soul With No King is so incredibly up my alley I immediately fell in love with it the second I heard those fiddles. Lyrically this album is very concerned with where we are as a people. ... read more

Everyone has been losing their minds over this and I’ve given it multiple listens to try to understand, but I just gotta give up. There are some real bangers here, as expected. Von dutch is insane and gets you on your feet. B2b is incredibly catchy and I really dig the instrumental. So I is a really touching Sophie tribute and certainly a lot better than the one St Vincent came out with not too long ago. But other than that a lot of the rest of the stuff here is… fine? The ... read more

Honestly probably my least favorite Billie release to date. Which considering how much I do like it, that’s kind of a crazy statement. The production here is a lot more atmospheric and laid back which allows Billie to shine as a vocalist. She kills it and as always sounds heavenly. The harmonies on Blue especially are divine. Instrumentally the standout here for me is easily Lunch. The ways she glides over that smooth baseline, it does something to me. Love the bouncy energy here and ... read more

Unrelenting and unapologetically loud. I don’t know how they continue to sound more and more pissed off with every album but DAMN. Never overstays its welcome. It comes in, knocks you on your fucking ass, and promptly leaves. I couldn’t have asked for more. Fav tracks: Suffocate, Blinding Faith, Sit & Mourn

This is the longest gap in between BMTH albums, Jordan left the band, there was a lot going into this new release. Which honestly, I feel hurt the record. It’s good, don’t get me wrong. But idk if it was worth the wait necessarily. A lot of my favorites here were already released as prior singles. Not that there aren’t some new cuts that go hard. Limousine is drenched with Deftones influence and you just love to see it. Never thought I’d see Aurora on a BMTH track ... read more

The conclusion to the story twenty one pilots have been telling for 9 years now. Suffice to say there was a lot of hype going into this one, and I at least came out incredibly satisfied. Overcompensate is the sort of dark/mature sound I have been craving from them after the release is SAI. The Bandito and Levitate callbacks set the stage before unleashing some of the catchiest hooks of the bands career. Seriously, what did they lace that chorus and bridge with, cause it has been stuck in my ... read more

Would probably have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t heard so many of these songs endless times at the grocery store, but I’m trying to not let that affect my feelings too much. It’s a fun album. The bass on Don’t Stop Now is killer and Levitating was always destined to be a summer jam. Maybe this is an odd complaint but so much of this feels..too clean? Not a whole lot of new stuff on display, which I’d want at least a little of with future literally being in the ... read more

First St. Vincent record and yeah it’s pretty good. The opening to this is amazing and honestly it never is really topped but a few come close. I really dig the beat on Big Time Nothing, banger track. Also really appreciate the layers present on the closer, great note to end off on. I wouldn’t say there are any bad tracks on here, but there are quite a few I struggle to really connect with. The Sophie dedication on Sweetest Fruit is well intentioned, but idk it fell a little flat ... read more

Found this to be very grating most of the time. There are some cool moments here, particularly the title track, but the rest is just too silly for its own good. It feels like it is constantly making fun of me for listening to the music. Which like, cool I guess, I just won’t bother listening to it then. Least fav tracks: Happy Birthday, Stream This Song, The Magic Word

One of the most profound listening experiences I’ve had this year. Topiary Creatures truly take you on a journey with this album, exploring how truly small we as a people are, relationships with spirituality, and the reality as living as someone in a late stage capitalist society. All of this is paired with some of the pushiest and spacious instrumentation that give these ideas room to breathe. You can really feel the quiet devastation on tracks like Worms, “When it comes to life, ... read more

You start this album and it hardly feels like you’re listening to music. It’s like everyone is tuning their instruments while a man babbles over the nonsensical noise. But amazingly something started to happen about 3 tracks into this and what once sounded like indistinguishable chaos started making sense. I went back to the previous tracks to see if the quality of Dachau Blues was just better, but oddly enough no, they sounded normal now. I’ve never had such a strange ... read more

No idea what is being said, but the vocals are beautiful. So dreamy and relaxing . Great stuff. Fav tracks: Heya, Skirt, hikage

Okay I realize I like this album a lot more than most other people, but idk what to say other than I just really like this bands sound. It’s not their best work, but I still got a lot of enjoyment out of this. The album certainly has a lot more mellow atmosphere to is and switches that up very rarely, but I enjoy the vibe going on here. Once Upon A Poolside sounds beautiful and Sufjan’s vocals really make it feel transcendent. Eucalyptus is probably the heaviest the album gets and ... read more

A lot stronger that Frankenstein and feels a lot more like what a National album “should” sound like. Not that Frankenstein was bad, but band, especially the drummer, felt a lot more like part of the background there. Not here though. Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces) shows more energy than the entirety of Frankenstein and it’s great, even if the aforementioned Paul ngl is kinda scary. Phoebe Bridgers feature on the title track is gorgeous and her and Matt’s voices ... read more

Not an album of theirs I revisit super often, but whenever I do I always a pleasant time with it. Secret Meeting is one of the bands catchiest tunes and is often the reason I find myself coming back to this thing. Fav tracks: Secret Meeting, All the Wine, Mr. November

High Violet shows The National going for a more grand sound which is on clear display with the opener Terrible Love. The slow build up to that finish you can just picture a theatre full of people shouting at the top of their lungs. The album is gorgeous. It still retains the bands identify but builds upon it bringing a much more lush and atmospheric sound that wasn’t present on their earlier projects. Definitely a highlight in the bands catalog. Fav tracks: Terrible Love, Anyone’s ... read more

Whenever I listen to this I think “wow this just might be my favorite National album. I mean no, but it’s pretty close”. The chorus of I Should Live In Salt is so simple yet impactful. Don’t Swallow the Cap is for me flat out my favorite song of theirs. Everything about it sends chills down my spine and resonates with me deeply. “I’m not alone, I’ll never be, and to the bone I’m evergreen”, it honestly hits so deep it can be hard to listen ... read more