i currently own this record on vinyl but haven’t listened to it in a while, and wow. i remember thoroughly enjoying this but literally every song here is gold. kehlani is giving some of their best songwriting and most addictive melodies throughout, and not a single moment drags. i love this thing and can’t wait to see what i end up replaying from here. “melt” might just be their best song to date.

i had a ton of fun with this album! the production is consistently great across the track list and maggie lindemann’s voice still provides that nostalgic pop punk sound. if anything the songwriting is a bit left to be desired, but yet this album is still undoubtedly a solid release with some of her best tracks to date.

i get it now.

there’s some really good ideas here, but many songs needed to be fleshed out. the pacing of this album is also thrown off by the last few songs and drastically slows down any momentum left by songs like “850 (We On Top)” and “Up The Score.” not a bad listen, but a rather disappointing one knowing that IDK is extremely talented as an artist.

“Back Home” is rising quickly to be one of my most played songs of the year, and is easily the best song on this EP. Everything else is a pretty standard Kenny Mason banger that doesn’t do too much to expand his sound.

i would argue this is easily his best since “1 Night I Took Acid”.

just a super pleasant listening experience, with great ambiance and gorgeous vocals.

yeah after that first song it goes downhill fast.

i love lancey’s music, but this was just far too repetitive for me. many beats showed promise but ended up going nowhere, and lancey’s vocals were all over the place. i was pretty disappointed, but i’ll still look forward to his next release.

i wasn’t sure how i was going to feel about this album when i started listening. the opening track “15 Steps” threw me off, and the following song didn’t blow me away either, though enjoyable. then “nude” came on, the rest of the album progressively soaked in with me. each track provided a unique, dreamy landscape that i found myself getting lost in. the lyrics started to finally click with me, and the instrumentation while minimal, gave such a lush ... read more

why have i not listened to this sooner? metal isn’t generally my thing, but “toxicity” always caught my attention when i’ve seen it mentioned. so i finally took the time and listened to it and i love this album for its relentlessness. it doesn’t hold the listener’s hand and the album is introduced with one of its challenging songs: “prison song”. the riffs across this thing are fantastic and are elevated in tandem with serj’s powerful ... read more

drove to this during a beautiful sunset and ascended.

happy to be back on aoty after a couple years. this album was cool for what it was. it didn’t necessarily deliver on the marketing of being a great summer album, but there’s some fun tracks here mainly in the front half of the album. my biggest gripe is the consistency of the second half and the disappointing production from a great producer, kaytranada. overall, not a bad listen though just can’t say i’d return to this very often.

FAVORITE TRACKS: There Goes a Tenner, Pull Out the Pin, Leave It Open, The Dreaming, Night of the Shallow, All the Love,
LEAST FAVORITE: Suspended in Gaffa

"The Dreaming" by Kate Bush is a great piece of art pop that features some powerful vocal performances. My prior exposure to Kate Bush was through "Hounds of Love" which blew me away in terms of storytelling and production. It was an album that provided me with one of the best listening experiences I've ever had. So, ... read more

Edit: 90 --> 85, still a great record but not many of these songs have really stuck with me.

FAVORITE TRACKS: All of them except least favorite
LEAST FAVORITE: SIR BAUDELAIRE

"CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST" is Tyler, the Creator's grand return to hip-hop after focusing on soul and R&B on his past two records. One thing I really love about this album is how it balances the different sounds without ever feeling disjointed or unfinished. The bangers on this album, mainly ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: my future, GOLDWING, Everybody Dies, NDA, Happier Than Ever
LEAST FAVORITE: Lost Cause

"Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish is a proud showing of growth and an exploration of sound. Billie Eilish is an artist that I have appreciated for her passion to experiment and further her craft, as well as her fantastic songwriting abilities. Her previous full length record was one that I think was a mixed bag with heavily enjoying some songs and others not having much replay ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: All of them
LEAST FAVORITE: n/a

A Tribe Called Quest, one of the biggest hip hop group of the 90s, deliver a smooth and punchline filled listening experience on "The Low End Theory". The production on this thing is unlike much I've heard with how laidback but effortlessly smooth it is on tracks like "Vibes and Stuff" and "Butter". The latter contains arguably Phife Dawg's best verses on this thing with his great rhyme schemes and storytelling. Q ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Jackie, Tuck, ...And Loyalty Is a Nuisance Child
LEAST FAVORITE: Crushed Velvet

"The Asymptotical World" by Yves Tumor is a great exploration of sounds but one that isn't as impressive compared to their previous works. Last year Yves Tumor released "Heaven to a Tortured Mind" which to this day contains some of my favorite songs of all time and was a great collection of genre-bending tracks that took from a wide range of influence. Now with this new release ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Onto Me, So Cold, Kim, High Beams, Cashmere
LEAST FAVORITE: Eden

Tkay Maidza's latest installment in the Last Year Was Weird series is a project that has its strengths in production and atmosphere with fantastic accompanying vocals. "Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2" is a project that absolutely blew me away last year and end up being one of my favorite projects of 2020 with Tkay's combination of R&B, Hip-hop, and House elements all blending so well for an incredibly ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: ARE YOU WITH THAT?, SUNDOWN TOWN, THE SHINING, TAKE ME HOME, LIL FADE
LEAST FAVORITE: LAW OF AVERAGES

Vince Staples' self titled record is one that is a solid addition to his already consistent discography, but goes in a more minimal direction compared to his previous works. Most of the production here is relatively stripped back compared to a project like "Big Fish Theory", but I love Kenny Beats' execution here with thick 808s and soulful samples. Vince's writing ... read more