I think it's alright. The album is definitely a return to form with the band's industrial palette making a strong comeback, but it doesn't venture off past a couple of new ideas. I really like Trent's singing in *God Break Down The Door*, I think that's the one detail that surprised me most off this record, but other than that, I feel like a lot of these tracks are too familiar to what we've already heard before or could've been slapped on previous projects. ... read more

Yeah, I wasn't really a huge fan of this album. Even though some tracks are uplifting and beautiful, I found a lot of the deeper cuts to be mediocre at best. While the record tries its best to transcend listeners with its grand performances and dramatic emotions, I find a lot of the songs to be underwhelming in instrumentals and songwriting. The synthetic 80's style drums in *Skin Of The Night* are personally way too distracting and simple in the mix. Even as the track builds up to ... read more

This album really surprised me at how ambitious it was. Not only was it very intriguing with its psychedelic aspects, but it was also a lot fun and unexpectedly dark. The opening track, *Apple*, slowly reels you in with its very Björk-like instrumentals and performances. It's a very mesmerizing opener that begins the album really well. Regardless of that, majority of the first half of the album then throws you a bunch of exciting and engaging songs that are wildly entertaining. The ... read more

Death Grips takes it even more casually on this album with some of their most tamed songs yet. It kind of crazy to even say that these are their calmest tracks, as some of them can get nihilistic. However, MC Ride's presence is not nearly as prevalent as it is on other albums, and I think it hurts the album in some places. While the performances along with the production is as good as ever, the writing and progression on most tracks are just not as captivating as their previous work. ... read more

Massive Attack's debut album is beautifully done. While it could've went further with its psychedelic and hypnotizing sound, I think the group does a great job introducing themselves and setting up a new world of this type of genre-mixing. I really like how the sounds and atmospheres in this record can go from heartening to menacing and to relaxing. I mean the album starts off foreboding, but leaves you pleasantly at ease by the end of the record. A really enjoyable listen and I will ... read more

Xiu Xiu takes the best parts of their last record, expand on it, but the result is more or less okay. I really like the glitch pop and synth punk elements of the album, but there's quite a few songs here that remind me of their mid 2000's output, which was all over the place and too strange for me. However, I think this album proves that they're headed in the right direction with a really good first half filled with dark and melodic experimental pop sounds. The 2010's seems ... read more

Death Cab For Cutie leans more into their accessible sounds and textures that were found on their last record, which isn't so much of a bad thing. While I do wish things shifted back towards where Transatlanticism was, it doesn't seem like the band is interested in returning to that sound. However, I'm still quite impressed with some of the songs they manage to pull off here, especially lyrically. Even as the band starts to appeal to wider audiences, their lyrical work is still ... read more

Not exactly a sound I'm looking for when listening to Low, but the the band does an okay job at making some simple indie rock songs. Although, I'm not going to lie, I get really bored listening to the first half of the album. I think most of the songs there are just drowned in generic passages and half hearted writing. The album luckily picks it up by the second half, but it does get a bit tedious at times.

I really like the noisy elements, especially in tracks like *Monkey* and ... read more

It’s just okay for me. It has some beautiful highs and emotional soft moments, but it doesn’t really do anything that is uniquely eye catching. My favorite points in the album is where things get switched up instrumentally, specifically in *What Do You Go Home To?* and *So Long, Lonesome*. I think if there was more diversity in general this would’ve been a lot more interesting, but it does an okay job with what it has.

Favorite Tracks: It’s Natural To Be Afraid, What ... read more

I like all the ideas in this EP, but I think it does drag too much, often creating a slow that is more meandering than interesting. A lot of patience is required for this record, but man I was out of it every so often even for only a 35 minute runtime. *Born By The Wires* definitely took me out with the first listen. I can understand what it was trying to go for, but personally it is a grueling 13 minutes that I did not look forward to for the next listens. This project is rooted in repetition, ... read more

A delightful EP from the bands. I loved the tension building up in *Down By The River*, the vocal performance from Mimi in *When I Called Upon Your Seed*, and the frenzy that was *Lordy*. The instrumentation was really amazing, a big highlight from this EP. I can only infer that most of it was performed by Dirty Three, as I'm not too familiar with them, so I'm glad both projects showed their strengths on this record.

Favorite Tracks: I Hear...Goodnight, Down By The River, When I ... read more

It's very interesting to see Coldplay's progression all the way to this point. This album is definitely their most luscious and ambient by far, but I think the band goes a bit too heavy with the production to the point where it sounds artificially dreamy. Still, I think the textures here are solid and way more interesting and appealing than what was on their previous. In fact, I think I actually prefer this record over Mylo Xyloto for its sounds, which really surprised me.

However, ... read more

If Interpol was one side of the coin in respects to the post-punk revival sound, then Bloc Party is defitenly on the other side. Lively, jittery, and punching, this album is packed with enthusiasm and zest. It's very flamboyant at times with Kele's vocal performances often taking the stage. I love all the vocal harmonies, dynamics, and passion in his performance; it's a clear and unique style that is attached to this band.

The tracks that are more low-spirited work really well ... read more

Bursting with creativity, excitement, and ambition. LCD Soundsystem comes to create 9 incredibly polished and well produced tracks that are very humanly, emotional, and lively. The album never stops to slow down or take it easy, as all tracks are filled with urgency and complex layering. The writing is amazing, taking unique twists and turns that keep the tracks very much on their feet. With all performances coming in to complement together as well, this makes for a fun and remarkable ... read more

Presentation here is incredible. Every time a chorus comes in, it's like Weyes Blood is bursting through the cathedral doors to greet us. The singing, instrumentals, and atmospheres are beautiful and very lush. *Movies* is definitely one of the most outstanding tracks, creating such a theatrical and elevating buildup. I hope I see the artist do more of this in the future, as I think it was really well executed and inspiring. Dreamy and uplifting.

Favorite Tracks: A Lot's Gonna ... read more

Abel continues his conceptual storytelling with a set of funky and synthpop orientated tracks. I love the direction this album takes, its very fresh for Abel and lots of fun. Even at its emotionally lowest points, I still find myself moving to the rhythm, as melodically its very lively. Oneohtrix Point Never's production is really outstanding, and complements very well with Abel's vision. The strange and darker points of the album are very interesting to see, as sometimes you have OPN ... read more

Abel opens up a lot of new directions here, as he builds a world that is at points very captivating and emotional. The singles of this record have already proven themselves to be strong and are some of the greatest highlights of this album. However, a track like *Faith*, my personal favorite of the album, greatly exemplifies Abel's growth as an artist, showcasing a sense of great vulnerability and conceptual storytelling.

Additionally with the story, I very much like the opening and ... read more

Phoebe Bridgers' songwriting and soundscape flourishes even more on her sophomore record. There is a lot of emotional baggage here, and both the lyrics and the music makes sure that you're very much drowned in it. It's not so much of a weighing feeling, but more of an warm invitation into a luscious world. Whether Phoebe is dipping her toes into something more upbeat and catchy like in *Kyoto* or sending us off to see the stars in the culminative *Chinese Satellite*, the ... read more

Just when you think the music is kind of getting interesting and actually a bit moving, Jared Leto's vocals come in and ruins everything. Seriously, the biggest problem this album has are the vocals. Jared's vocal inflections whenever he screams or shouts are not very pleasant to listen to. I don't think it pairs well with the music they're trying to make, nor the feelings they're trying to evoke. Most of them time, it sounds pretty pretentious and melodramatic. I feel ... read more

This album really holds no weight beyond its singles, and even they aren't perfect. I like the concept of the album and how it revolves around the title track, focusing on the mid-life crisis of a character, however, it doesn't nearly get explored as often or go deeper than a surface level. And this can attributed to one of the main flaws this record has: inconsistency. Not only is the music itself very inconsistent, jumping around from grand pop rock anthems to very tacky and hollow ... read more