Takes everything Human did well and improves on every aspect.

Better vocals, more memorable songs and the best playing of their catalog so far. Fantastic.

Favorite Tracks: Overactive Imagination, In Human Form, Trapped In A Corner, Individual Thought Patterns, The Philosopher

On Human, Death evolved into the band they’ve teased at becoming for a while now.

Playing improves from earlier albums and definitely feels like a band fully comfy with being themselves. Playing is technical while still offering intensity that should appease fans of their first three albums, plus lyrics are definitely stronger here than they’ve been in the past.

Still don’t love the vocals and a handful of tracks do sound a bit too similar to each other, but I definitely ... read more

Never one to stick with me be vibe for too long, Vince Staples utilizes Rock sounds to make plenty of vicious attacks against the hypocrisies inherent in America.

This might be new production for him to work with, but his unique voices suits the various riffs and hard hitting drums quite well. Whether this is what we should expect from him going forward or if this was just a fun one off, Vince continues to be an extremely consistent performer.

Favorite Songs: BlackBerry Marmalade. White ... read more

Definitely a transitional album.

You can tell there are plenty of moments throughout where the band is clearly eager to show they can be more than just another Death Metal band (even by 1990, the genre was falling into repetitive patterns), but a lot of instances here still rely on older tricks that just don’t work quite well here since they’re tricks we’ve seen already. Also something about the vocal mixing just never clicked with me.

Maybe Old School Death Metal just ... read more

Improves on certain aspects of the debut, but something about this one was just less interesting to me.

I felt like sonic repetition is more of an issue here than on Scream Bloody Gore, especially on some of the longer cuts.

Still rock solid stuff if you enjoy Old School Death Metal, but I do believe there’s better records in this era/overall style.

Favorite Tracks: Leprosy, Born Dead, Left To Die, Pull The Plug

The debut album from one of Death Metal’s most heralded names offers up a solid if a bit basic early Death Metal album.

Musicianship is honestly pretty impressive and some tracks genuinely stand out, but too often the flaws show up (kind of boring shock horror movie inspired lyrics, mediocre production and vocals you’ll either click with right away or will find more annoying than impressive).

Despite all that, it’s still a pretty fun record if all you want is a taste of ... read more

Kendrick Friday Deep Dives Part 4: DAMN

An album that might not have the overall core narrative of GKMC or TPAB, but it does cover its various themes quite well thanks to clever writing and rapping from Kendrick and production that still sounds lively and exciting nearly a decade later.

Favorite Tracks: DNA, ELEMENT, FEEL, LOYALTY, XXX, FEAR, DUCKWORTH

All of his strengths are fully realized here

An album that is essentially a Director’s Cut of the Self-Titled album. While still pretty consistent and solid throughout, I do feel like it just doesn’t hit quite the same as the previous album does. It’s got similar themes but I don’t think they’re conceived as well here, plus I prefer the production and hooks on Vince Staples.

Still a real nice addition to his rock solid catalog, and it’s great to here him thrive with production that suits him well, but ... read more

Thursday Bjork Binge Part 4: Vespertine

I can understand that Bjork’s voice and overall style might be a hard sell for some, but I truly believe this album has some of her most beautiful vocals. production and lyrics of her career. My favorite album of her catalog so far.

Favorite Songs: Hidden Place, It’s Not Up To You, Pagan Poetry, Aurora, Unison

Grateful Dead Wednesday Binge Part 3: Aoxomoxoa

The Grateful Dead goes for psychedelic music this time a, and the results are mixed. It starts solid enough with a few cuts that wouldn’t be out of place on their previous album but I just found those psychedelic elements to lack anything really interesting, even if it’s decently made.

Not bad, but ultimately kind of forgettable.

Favorite Tracks: St. Stephen, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Rosemary, Cosmic Charlie

2026 Artist Deep Dive For The Week Of 5/31/26-6/6/26

Vince Staples Part 4: Vince Staples

Despite being released three years later, Vince Staples feels like Side B of FM! due to its similar brief run time and collaboration with Kenny Beats. While FM! embraced a more upbeat and vibrant West Coast sound, this one is definitely more laid back and darker with more personal tracks and moments throughout.

The highs of it aren’t as immediately apparent as they were on earlier records, but it ... read more

Brian Eno Tuesday Binges Part 3: Another Green World

This record is honestly more of what I was expecting from Brian Eno when I started to play his discography three weeks ago.

Those first two records were more Glam Rock inspired, and while both offered nice highlights, I just didn’t fully vibe with his blending that sound of 70s Rock with some experimental elements. This time around he puts aside Rock in favor of Pop, and I honestly think this sound suits him more. It just feels like ... read more

2026 Artist Deep Dive For Week Of 5/31/26-6/6/26

Vince Staples Part 3: FM!

A very brief collection of songs from Vince Staples. It’s got some real infectious West Coast vibes that succeeds in offering a good time. It’s undeniably fun but it does feel like it was a tad too eager to end things early before its full potential could be fully realized.

Definitely worth checking out thanks to good production and flows from Vince, but even a brief album can have moments of ... read more

The Pixies Mondays Deep Dives Part 3: Bossanova

The weakest of the first three albums thanks to it lacking as many true stand out tracks, but The Pixies are still good at being The Pixies and offering their blend of Late 80s Alternative Rock. Nothing is bad but I do feel like things can blend into each other more so than what we’ve gotten so far, which can make it feel longer than it actually is.

Still should be appealing to anyone that enjoyed the first two records and it’s an ... read more

Weekly 2026 Artist Deep Dive For 5/31/26-6/6/26: Vince Staples

Part Two: Big Fish Theory

Personally think both his flows and production are more consistent and feel more in tune with each other throughout the album.

Favorite Tracks: Big Fish, Love Can Be, Yeah Right, Homage, BagBak, Rain Come Down

2026 Artist Deep Dive For Week Of 5/31/26-6/6/26: Vince Staples

Part One: Summertime 06

Going back to Vince Staples for the first time in years and after being familiar with his future work is definitely interesting. After being used to short albums, having a double album is certainly an ambitious undertaking for your debut album, and there are certainly moments when I appreciate having that amount of time dedicated to bringing this project to life.

Vince’s flow and voice certainly ... read more

Thursday Bjork Binge Part 3: Homogenic

Definitely a case where I had moments of loving it even if the whole of it felt a tad off in parts.

For the positive, Bjork’s unique voice often shines throughout, proving to be quite versatile and can work with the varied sounds of the record. There are also plenty of creative production here as well.

As for the downsides, as much as I appreciate the varied production, not every experiment yields the best results, with a number of tracks (mainly ... read more

Wednesday Grateful Dead Deep Dive Part 2: Anthem Of The Sun

Definitely a step in the right direction.

Didn’t care for the debut album since a lot of it just felt by the numbers, but I definitely think they stepped up in every way here. Vocals are more pleasing, playing is better and it just flows from track to track better.

Still not super into the lyrics and the overall production can be spotty, but all in all I had a nice time with this.

Brian Eno Deep Dive Tuesdays Part Two: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

When I reviewed Brian Eno’s solo debut last week, I made note of appreciating the more experimental moments while not necessarily loving the Glam Rock vibes, so naturally when the follow up leans more on those vibes, it results in a record that’s still well made but doesn’t really excite me. I just don’t think this side of him is for me even if he can find ways to make this sound stand out.