Gotta get something out of the way here first: SWIM has sooo much aura on this cover, the fit + pose make him look sick as hell. Now for the music! AMERIKA'S NEXT TOP PARTY! is a bit of a mixed bag, with some really high moments brought down a bit by the quite low. There are some really great moments, with the last 4 tracks being really great and the 2nd one being a straight up banger, but the middle is a bit forgettable in terms of everything, along with having JUST DANCE 2, which is ... read more

This may just be Tyler's most beautiful album, at least in the typical sense. It sounds so utterly full the entire time, and really showcases him letting out his real feelings on some pretty serious topics for the first time as HIM and not a character. The way he first mentions himself being queer here is really nice and casual, while still being able to talk about the relationship issues he's been having since he started growing into his own person. This also might be the biggest ... read more

This is possibly the weirdest album in Death Grips discography that I've heard, which is quite a feat. The production is some of the most strange stuff I've ever heard from the group, being very heavy on bass for the most part, and edges on being maybe a bit TOO weird to the point where I'm unsure any sane person would think it sounds good. Under my own perception, then, I must not be sane, as I found this production style to grow on me greatly by the end. With these basslines ... read more

I added this to the site when it dropped because it intrigued me, and I was just now able to get around to listening to it. This is a quite interesting release, as there is a good amount to like here and some things that set them apart from a group like TOOL, but not enough to be as unique as they'd like to be. The biggest difference between these two other than the actual quality of the music is that this album feels more spiritual in relation to the Earth rather than spiritual in ... read more

One of my friends recommended this to me, and I was almost blown away, as this has a lot to really like about it. The lyricism is great, with some really cool language to show some deeper thoughts, with some pretty unique and interesting delivery. The vocalist is really dynamic in his range, and that allows for a lot of variation throughout. The instrumentals are also great and there are some really magical moments in the riffing and playing, with such a large range of tones present throughout, ... read more

JPEGMafia is one of my favorite artists ever, and likely my most listened to by far, so seeing a new album from him is always a treat. The singles for this album have been some of peggy's least interesting songs in a WHILE, but I was still pretty excited because he hasn't really dropped a bad project since Black Ben Carson and I love almost everything else he's made. It turns out that this is the most split I've been on an album of his ever, with some stuff I liked a good ... read more

Saw a clip of some of the production from this album, specifically "What About Us?", on twitter and it had me enticed. As someone who doesn't really listen to too much R&B, what I heard sounded so ahead of the curve that I felt like I had to check it out. This is one of the first albums to feature a "Wonky" production style, coming well before Flying Lotus and that whole movement, so this is some extremely cutting edge stuff. It's also done super well done, and ... read more

One of the most ambitious projects in metal, and something that could only be pulled off by Meshuggah. Immediately opening with the rhythm-focused 8 string guitar riffs previously seen on Nothing, this album flows through as one long song separated into 13 acts, with each being an impressive showing of understanding of the band's skills and abilities. They bring in a good bit more calm and ambient sections in here, which I think helps compliment this really well as a listen, along with the ... read more

God, what an emotionally potent EP. It is really cool to see a conceptual project with a sound this heavy, and being handled this well within the medium. You can so clearly envision the story being told here from the lyrics, it felt like watching a short film in my head about someone going insane due to the loss of their loved one. The way it covers this is also done very well, as previously stated, and the multiple voices and sounds outside the music help create a really vivid environment for ... read more

I've been meaning to check out this guy for a MINUTE, and I figured that since he dropped this, I may as well use this as my entrance to his music. This was really good, way better than I thought it would be at first. Although it is pretty tonally inconsistent, every track here sounds great, and showcases his vocal range really well. The features all fit well, with the JID and Paris Texas features back to back both being incredible. Paris was hitting some pockets and flows that were ... read more

"And everybody means something when they're stuck on your mind
But every now and again, why can't we just be fine?"

One of the strongest memories I have with my best friend, Aubrey, who unfortunately passed away due to cancer at only 17, was listening to this with her. From the end of Good News until a good few of minutes after this album had ended, she was absolutely bawling her eyes out, and it was the most I had ever seen anybody cry to any album in my life, and it made ... read more

The cover drew me in, and the music kept me there. This is one of the few shoegaze-forward projects that I've really listened to, and the first that wasn't afraid of getting dark and heavy at times. As someone who listens to and enjoys a lot of metal, I quite liked those moments, but feel like there could've been more mixed in there, like the outro of Wisteria. Besides that though, the whole experience is really dreamy and moody in a way different from a lot of other stuff that ... read more

Music to listen to while on a roadtrip, staring wistfully out the window.

There is some absolutely beautiful music for the entire runtime of this album, with the absurd riffing that Plini is known for and some really amazing tone mixing and emotional power. This takes a different route from all other progressive metal-adjacent albums I've heard, with most of the songs being very upbeat and in a more major key, which I expected from the title track which I saw the music video for. What I ... read more

This is pretty insane for a debut EP, with a lot of effort and vision being very clear here. There is a lot to love about this, from some pretty cool and inventive riffs for the genre to the surprisingly good mixing for something like this from an indie label that only started a couple of years ago. The vocal performances are also pretty damn on point, and this cover is really sick looking. This has made me want to follow this group just to see what they are capable of in the future, as this is ... read more

I got this recommended to me by a friend who barely listens to metal, and figured it was something I had to check out, and it was worth it. Now, from what I have listened to from Deftones, this is certainly very similar, which is both good and bad, but I feel like mixing that shoegazey metal sound pretty equally with the djentier breakdowns and songs makes them different enough to be "inspired" rather than just a clear ripoff, although I can easily see why one would disagree. ... read more

ITS LIKE SHE NEVER LEFT!!!!!!!! BEEN NEEDING NEW DOEFRIENDS MUSIC ITS SO PEAK

@skratchity recommendation, they are part of this band and asked me to listen, so I did!

I'm with everyone else that the vocals could use some improvement, and the mixing could be a bit better, but I really like the ideas going on here! It's able to create a pretty all-surrounding environment and almost encase you inside the song until the outro sequence, which was a sort of release that I found quite cool. The lyrics are something I can relate to a situation in my life, and I can ... read more

Some really interesting sounds on here, but one of Devon's least interesting releases. There are some great moments on here, but none of these tracks are super strong and a lot of them have some stuff I don't really like. Pretty good still, but not even close to his best.

This guy has ALWAYS been really good at producing. There are some really unique songs on here, with Operation: Kill Stormfront being some of the weirdest and most interesting production of any B.D.H. song, and it is probably my favorite off the album because it has some of his best rapping. Overall, that is by far the worst part of it, because a lot of the time he just is saying some bullshit, which is fine but not my thing typically. You can see some roots of political and more conscious ... read more

Found out about these guys from a random Youtube short, and this is really damn good. This vocalist is incredible here over some really groovy riffs that are so easy to just vibe with. They also have a few moments on here where they let the bass be the forefront and do some interesting stuff, which I always appreciate. This tracklist is really consistent, with nothing being "bad" but nothing standing out too much either, aside from the intro to Give Wings to My Triumph. I really like ... read more