🟡 ATTACHMENT SOURCE
🟢 The other 11 tracks

An even more polarizing album than BLiND FAiTH, except the highs are lower and the lows are significantly lower. This album also appears to have zero direction, whereas the previous had at least some semblance of a theme/narrative. Nevertheless, I still prefer this album, and here's why. For one, where the first album fell well short of what it was trying to accomplish, this album succeeds. It's a trip of interesting sound design and ... read more

A cool listen that mainly thrives in the background but still manages to deliver a bit of emotional impact. If you've heard any Koven DnB, you've pretty much heard this album, but it's a good project for what it is. The dancefloor tunes have greater success than the liquid tunes, but the latter hold their own alright. It's cohesive, it's cool, it's Koven.

Favorite: Turning Point, Where My Heart Is
Least Favorite: Stranger, Circles

Once again, Exobolt hits us with a slightly polarizing 70. It has its weaker points and its very strong points. The throwbacks to mid-2010's EDM styles were also welcome. The last two tracks make this the poppiest project of the three, and that's also welcome. Yet another solid comp from Exobolt.

Favorite: Impact
Least Favorite: Lift Me Up

Big step up from No Mana's last project. Loving the early trance influences combined with No Mana's signature style to bring something relatively new to the table. I gave some slight stank face (the good kind) to this EP at several points. "Phase 4" was the only weak bit, as it didn't veer much from long-established techno tropes. Solid comeback from No Mana.

Favorite: Forget About Us
Least Favorite: Phase 4

🔴 Blumengarten
🟢 The other 4 tracks

Who knew future riddim could be this happy? Each track is pretty straightforward, the drops not deviating much from what they establish early on. But there is so much to love about this EP! The soaring melodies, funky grooves, and soulful off-beat stabs are so uplifting. The drops are bangers, especially if you're a fan of future riddim and colour bass. Such a strong outing that lives up to the hype.

Favorite: Blumengarten (i know i ... read more

🔴 SUBLIMINAL
🟢 The other 5 tracks

"What would a combination of Au5 and Sullivan King sound like?" is a question I have never asked, but for which I just got the answer. This is not only true for the sound design in this EP, but also the quality. I have never heard an EP that more violently jostles itself between absolute fire and dumpster fire, between sick drops and nauseating ones. Ultimately, the good barely wins out, but many of these tracks are so polarizing that it's ... read more

I know I've been using this word a lot recently, but this album is a lot of fun. Whether good or mid, Snail's House generally keeps tracklists consistent in quality. In this case, the tracks are consistently good, even injecting occasional musical magic in the chord progressions. Big step up from PIXELIZE II.
 
Favorite: Stellarium
Least Favorite: Discovery

🔴 THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS, S P E Y S I D E, Everything Is Peaceful Love, Day One, From, I'll Be There
🟡 Walk Home
🟢 The other 6 tracks

First, I want to open up a (civil, please) discussion to whoever's interested. I found quite a few similarities between the vibes, choices, etc. of several widely-hated 2024 albums that I enjoyed and those of this album. Examples of the former albums include Jacob Collier's "Djesse Vol. 4", Lawrence's ... read more

🔴 SKRILLEX IS DEAD, SLICKMAN, TEARS LOST DROP, THINGS I PROMISED, ANDY, HOLD ON, SEE YOU AGAIN, BOOSTER, BIGGY BAP, SAY GOODBYE, G2G, DNB TING, AZASU
🟢 The other 19 tracks

Yes, I did listen to this album. Obviously big red light on the title. But it's Skrillex...so I gotta at least once.

Past the profanity, this is a fun DJ-set-type project with some hilarious moments. It reaches into every era of Skrillex's career, from his brostep roots to his catchy pop style to his wonky ... read more

🔴 Wassup
🟢 The other 4 tracks

1 MAN ARMY has its funni moments, and those keep me going. But most of the EP is just kinda eh DnB that doesn't do much to set itself apart. The simpler style works in some tracks better than others, but most of the time, it works well enough. It's a fun listen when you turn your brain off though, and it has just enough energy to keep you doing whatever you're doing while listening.

Favorite: Bout Your Love
Least Favorite: Wassup

SimOut keeps it 128 with this one, which injects it with some solid energy. Although it deviates from the formula a little bit, it doesn’t do much to set itself apart in comparison to his other projects, nor does it have much of the SimOut magic I’ve come to love (except in the case of “Nightmare”). Even so, this is a fun enough 22 minutes that gets me driving a little faster.

Favorite: Nightmare
Least Favorite: Hometown (Intro)

SimOut’s most vocal-leaning project of his career is also on the weaker side of his output this decade. Some of the movements feel wandering and lost, but not in a way that complements the theme of mental overstimulation. It’s a good project, but at times it does too much and at other times it does too little. Overall, if you enjoy SimOut as I do, you’ll probably enjoy this too. It’s just enough, unfortunately, to end the upward streak. Hopefully he gets his footing back ... read more

🔴 it doesn't have to be perfect
🟢 The other 8 tracks

I was pleasantly surprised here! I knew Sven Johnson had some really good ideas that could deliver some emotional impact, but his songs up to this point had felt a little rough around the edges. While this still has its weak spots and retains some of the oddities of the previous singles, this is his strongest project yet. It does well to translate Sven's awkward persona to a serious music space, delivering some emotional ... read more

The upward trend continues, and surely he can't top this...right? There was nothing to initially suggest that this would be a topper. It has the most nondescript cover art. It wasn't a debut on a new label. It didn't have a clear theme. So why was this project such a superlative banger from front to back? SimOut's heaviest EP is a load of fun to listen to. Maybe it just comes down to personal preference, but dang is this album a forest fire.

Favorite: Alloy
Least Favorite: ... read more

The steady improvement of SimOut EP's continues as this one sneaks up to a 75. Although it gets a bit weaker as you go, it achieves the highs of the previous EP's without ever touching the lows. There's an undeniable whimsy to this instrumental fusion of EDM and J-Rock, which fits the theming of the project. Having regrettably fallen off of listening to SimOut's EP's after Horology EP due to mere distraction, I'm interested to see how long this upward trend ... read more

🔴 Hide and Seek
🟢 The other 4 tracks

A Southeast-Asia-themed EP is of course going to appeal to me, but these tracks have more meat on their bones than just the theming. Opening with a rock banger and then exploring different colors of future bass and trap, SLUMBERJACK delivers an upbeat and fun 20 minutes.

Favorite: Closure
Least Favorite: Hide and Seek

🟡 NORF
🟢 The other 3 tracks

Just a real quick, real fun EP. “Black & Blue” has an infectious groove to it, “Hades” has some filthy basswork, “NORF” has a satisfying progression to it, and “Crucified” (although the weakest track imo), is quite catchy. I’ve been a B&B EP defender as far as I remember.

Favorite: Hades
Least Favorite: Crucified

This journey through a sonic fantasy world is absolutely euphoric from beginning to end. This was a generational album for a reason. The bright synthwork, the vocal juxtaposition from intimate plea to battle cry, the all-too-classic vocal chops— everything is dripping with wondrous spectacle. This doesn’t come at the cost of energy in the driving beats and groovy basswork. A fantastic work that shows Porter Robinson’s ability to handle fiction just as well as he would go on to ... read more

Despite the occasional weak spots in production and lyrics, this is a great debut album from JMH. There’s more topical variety in this album than JMH’s whole career over the past few years, but it still feels cohesive. His creativity shines through the many creative choices in this album, making for a fun, uplifting, and meaningful listening experience.

Favorite: Can We Get Back
Least Favorite: Hero in My Eyes

Widely considered Glacier’s magnum opus for good reason. While it’s not much more than the sum of its parts, its parts sum up to a remarkable amount. To say it is consistent in quality would undercut how dynamic each track is—having its own journey through various movements and motifs while still fitting the natural theme of the EP. Nearly everything hits exactly like it should, and it all flows exceptionally. This is a one-of-a-kind EP the likes of which Monstercat has rarely ... read more