🔴 it's a whole new year!, eighteen, good news, right?
🟢 The other 4 tracks

funyoucanfeel took much of what I loved about Charlie's previous alias, Duumu, and improved on it. The vocals are even better, the lyrics are even deeper (French makes a brief appearance), the production is even cleaner, and the experimentation keeps me guessing just as much as it used to. I wish I didn't have to cut the EP in half, but the four remaining tracks make for a great EP.

Joyful sound from Snail's House that serves quite well as background music. Although, in a focused listen, I find it difficult to stay engaged with it. The occasional uneven mixing keeps it back from the impact it could have as a cheery anime-esque electronic record. But as long as I don't pay too close attention to it as I listen, my mood stays up as I do something else.

With his Arabic-sounding drop melodies and percussive sound design, this artist is crazy. Each song on this debut EP has so many marks of a banger, whether it's crazy beats, catchy vocal chops, heavy sound design, or creative sub bass patterns. If I wanted to lose my mind on some wild bangers in 2023, this was my go-to EP for that. Wacky group of songs that's not for everybody but certainly for me.

Favorite: NUKID
Least Favorite: OVER

🔴 Deja Vu
🟡 Get Through
🟢 The other 7 tracks

As I'd expect from Fox Stevenson, he brings his classic dancey style to more genres than just drum & bass, including house and pop. He also writes more raw lyrics and delivers great vocals to match. Great album from a great artist.

🔴 Goldenrod
🟢 The other 9 tracks

Novo Amor being my favorite new arrival in my 2022 listening habits, I was excited to check out the album of his frequent collaborator, English singer-songwriter/producer Lowswimmer. This album looks back at his childhood in the 90's, exploring the tension between looking to the past and looking to the future.

Strength: Organization
Lowswimmer does a great job of balancing the cozier songs with the more intense songs, as well as the loftier lyrics ... read more

🔴 Locked
🟢 The other 11 tracks

Ever since his debut on Monstercat in 2018, CloudNone has been a staple chill artist for me. After several years of gradually hearing the breadth of what he had to offer, I was extremely hyped for his debut album on Seeking Blue. And it exceeded my expectations.

Strength: Variety
From melodic dubstep to liquid drum & bass to that classic house/garage sound (plus whatever the heck you call the beautiful category that "snowflakes" lands in), ... read more

Aethoro has been one of my staple chill artists the past couple years. Despite the music mainly being homework music for me, sometimes it will be so beautiful that I drift off into another world. It is an annoying yet welcome distraction. This year, Aethoro topped my most listened-to artists, which is in large part thanks to this album.

Strength: Variety
I mainly expect soft piano tracks and grandiose orchestral arrangements, with the occasional upbeat chillout track, from Aethoro. But this ... read more

I find all sorts of new artists through Instagram ads, but few catch my attention, let alone stay with me beyond the ad. One-man rock band Sam Hauge succeeded in the latter. His debut album applies the nostalgia of early-2000's punk with a unique approach to the struggles of interpersonal conflict. Bangers with deep messages are hard to beat.

Strength: Storytelling
A little about me: I hate needless conflict. But I take an ironic amount of joy in conflict that has a light at the end of the ... read more

I've liked DROELOE's style ever since the duo debuted on Monstercat in 2016, but never quite enough for them to top a list like this. I was curious to see what DROELOE would sound like after the duo became a one-man show. This album absolutely floored me. It gave me much more than I could have possibly expected.

Strength: Storytelling
Sure, the story is predictable, but for me, an album that tells a story well will always contest an album with no story or theme at all. The theme of change is ... read more

*sigh* Okay, I could probably count on one hand the amount of people who agree with this take. Which is to be expected. But darn it, this album was underrated!

Strength: Storytelling
This is his most story-centric record to date, evident in most of the song lengths. This is the first album I've heard in a while where most songs have their own self-contained story. Some are from his own experience and some are fictional. Owl City tells stories with such vivid detail, and I loved hearing ... read more

🔴 Houdini, These Walls, Illusion, Falling Forever, Happy For You
🟢 The other 6 tracks

Dua Lipa does what she does best here, and it makes for a fun dancepop record. The lyrics fall short of their emotional potential with me as they fall within a romantic lifestyle to which I don't relate and don't wish to. But the production is solid, the composition is dancey, and the vocals are great. Enjoyable project from a modern queen of dancepop.

Favorite: Whatcha Doing
Least Favorite: ... read more

🔴 LUNCH, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, THE GREATEST, BITTERSUITE
🟢 The other 6 tracks

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS are incredible musicians, and this album is a perfect example. It flows seamlessly between the hard and the soft in creative and gripping ways. With each listen, it wows me more, as I notice more cool details and increasingly vibe with the elements I'm already familiar with. The songwriting here is stylistically mature as ever as Eilish navigates some difficult topics. Some content ... read more

Bound to please the fans and add fuel to the haters' fire, TOP plays it safe throughout this project. Fortunately, I enjoy their music, so I was in the headspace to find the heart in this album. The bits of variety amid the highs and lows keep the listener on their toes. Overall, a solid project that finishes(?) the story well.

Favorite: Overcompensate
Least Favorite: The Craving (Jenna's version)

EDIT: 70 --> 80
I don't usually edit reviews, but there's more to this ... read more

I approached this review a little differently, giving more weight to how much I enjoyed each track individually rather than the EP as a whole project. The strong tracks are 1 (solid) and 4 (awesome). The okay ones are 2 (especially) and 3 (easily the better okay). I can't stand behind track 5 as I feel it threw away the Grabbitz-esque potential it built in favor of half-hearted heaviness, which is a shame for David Vance as he wrote and performed solidly. When I took the average of my rankings ... read more

🔴 let them know they're on your mind
🟢 The other 4 tracks

I walked in expecting a cute lil' EP and came out with so much more. Cavetown had me hooked on every turn here, keeping the production interesting, the vocals mysterious, and the lyrics thoughtful throughout. It doesn't overstay its welcome in the least (in fact, if this were an album, I would not be mad). This is a project I'll return to often and love every time.

Favorite: obvious
Least Favorite: let them ... read more

The desperate feel of this EP gives it the potential for impact but, unfortunately, nothing more. Uneven mixing and shallow songwriting keep the EP from achieving greatness. Whatever wows me about it is balanced out by something that displeases me. So, the redemption? That Nytrix can do a whole lot better. He truly can.

Favorite: Speed of Light
Least Favorite: Embers

🔴 Interlude
🟢 The other 7 tracks

Although the theming is strong with this album and Paper Skies gives some interesting thoughts regarding the relationship between AI and art, he often comes across as more preachy and pretentious than introspective, nullifying the need for the spoken word portions that present those thoughts. Nevertheless, he delivers a colorful album that engages the listener. A project with high highs and low lows to even itself out.

Favorite: Listen/Learn
Least ... read more

🟢 IDK Y, DIVA
🔴 The other 10 tracks

I like Bishu. His style of EDM and pop has always intrigued me, and I enjoy his content on YouTube. But for some reason, I had very little hype for this album, and it fell just short of my expectations. The album's high points in all areas are few and far between, not worth sifting through all the "between". The production is the strongest element, but the songwriting still needs *so much* work. That being said, I see this as just one ... read more

🔴 In A Little, Sacrifice Tomorrow, King Size Bed
🟢 The other 9 tracks

Pleasant album that does little to set itself apart from his other projects. It falls short of his own standard for theming, but if you're looking for a solid collection of new Alec Benjamin tracks, look no further. Although it will make a nice soundtrack for my next few days, it will probably not have as much staying power as his other albums did.

Favorite: 12 Notes
Least Favorite: Sacrifice Tomorrow

PREFACE: Tread lightly on any visual promotions for this album (images, videos, etc.). WILLOW shows *ahem* a lot of herself.

Writing philosophical wanderings while creating a cohesive project is an ambitious endeavor that WILLOW more than accomplishes here. Underscoring the thought-provoking lyrics are all kinds of unique rhythms, time signature changes, and key modulations. She also has a wonderful voice that she controls impressively to enter vocal territory that hardly anyone enters in the ... read more