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.

The Pixies Monday Deep Dive Part 2: Doolittle

Everything is a step up from the debut. Vocals are more varied, playing has more of a consistent core sound while still taking risks and it just flows throughout near perfectly.

The best Rock Album Of 1989

Favorite Tracks: Debaser, Wave Of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man, Monkey Gone To Heaven, Hey

Kendrick Lamar Friday Deep Dive Part Two: Good Kid, M.A.D.D. City

The best Hip-Hop Album of 2012 sees Kendrick improve in every way from Section 80. Flows, lyrics, hooks and production are all top notch as Kendrick tells a non-linear story that is funny, tense and even heartbreaking.

Favorite Tracks: Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe, Backseat Freestyle, The Art Of Peer Pressure, M.A.D.D. City, Swimming Pools (Drank), Sing About Me I’m Dying Of Thrist

Thursday Bjork Binge Part 2: Post

A record that offers more of Bjork’s varied sounds which blends Traditional Pop, Electronic & House Music among others. Her voice remains powerful and compelling throughout all of her experiments.

I just don’t think they all work as a whole. Not because anything here is bad, but because this can feel a bit too much like doing things just to do them at times, making it feel less like a cohesive project than Debut was.

Still undeniably well ... read more

Grateful Dead Wednesday Deep Dive Part One: The Grateful Dead

Decent performances, but not much sticks with me.

I hate Track 3.

Brian Eno Tuesday Deep Dive Part 1: Here Come The Warm Jets

My introduction to the music of Ambient Music legend Brian Eno leaves me in an interesting place.

When this album is good, it’s truly great. Even with the more Avant-Garde elements, it’s still pretty user friendly without ever feeling too out there. Some moments and songs are also just really infectious and pleasant.

When this album kind of loses me is all the times when it veers more into that early 1970s Art Rock/Glam ... read more

Pixies Deep Dive Mondays Part 1: Surfer Rosa

After years of being aware of The Pixies, I finally decided to dive into their work, naturally starting by playing their debut album.

A band that are unapologetically themselves. Traditional Rock song structure is rarely a factor here, offering instead fun ideas that are varied without ever feeling like they’re being weird just for the sake of being weird. Punk Rock jams, stripped down acoustic moments and full on Pop songs are all here, and ... read more

While she has a pleasant voice and has decent lyrics, sonically I just don’t think there’s anything all that special here.

Just kind of starts to blend together after a while. Not my thing, but to each their own.

Favorite Tracks: Dandelion, Choosing Texas,

Understandable frustrations of living in this very frustrating world guide a bulk of the lyric material on Genesis Owusu’s latest record

Favorite Tracks: Pirate Radio, Stampede, The Worldwide Scourge, Most Normal American Voter, Death Cult Zombie, Runnin Out Of Time, One4All

An album that seems to exist solely to appease die hard fans that firmly believe Drake wasn’t destroyed in that beef two years ago because there really isn’t a lot here to talk about.

Like every Drake album, there’s definitely some solid flows and beats, but Drake’s refusal to really look deep into who he is at this point in his life and career as he gets closer and closer to the big 4 0 makes the music largely feel like it’s on autopilot. Like outside of a few ... read more

Friday Kendrick Lamar Binge Part 1: Section 80

Very interesting going back to this with everything that has happened nearly 15 years after it came out.

Definitely has an underground vibe to it despite still incorporating infectious hooks and relatively user friendly sounds throughout. Kendrick sounds like someone excited to prove himself while still being super confident that his work is legit, and that makes for a largely exciting listen.

Certain production choices don’t quite land ... read more

Thursday Bjork Binge Part 1: Debut

While not technically her first album, it is the first record released under the Bjork name. Bjork’s voice stands out immediately, often feeling welcoming while still always having a hint of mystery that offers something different.

Sonically, it’s a bit of a buffet. Electronic, Jazz, Pop are just some of the styles on hand here, and credit to Bjork for mostly being able to make it all sound coherent throughout.

Some experiments work better ... read more