Royal Desire is heroin. There are some duds in here, but I left my first 3 listens more than satisfied with AnCo's latest release.

3 Favorite Tracks:
- Royal Desire
- Cherokee
- Dragon Slayer

"Seek Refuge" is divine, and the rest is very pleasant.

My default rating for albums I respect but don't like listening to.

3 Favorite Tracks:
Both Sides of a Smile
Three Rivers
In The Fire

3 Favorite Tracks:
Like a Rolling Stone
Desolation Row
Ballad of a Thin Man

I was very excited for this one and it's just meh. Completely background music at times.

3 Favorite Tracks:
N/A

I'd still rather this than JORDI

3 Favorite Tracks:
N/A

3 Favorite Tracks:
The Beach
How Can I Make It OK?
The Last Man On Earth

3 Favorite Tracks:
Portas
A Língua dos Animais
Praia Vermelha

I almost gave up immediately after hearing "John L" for the first time, but thankfully it gets a lot easier on the ears after that. By the time I got to "Diamond Stuff" I was in a full-on trance. It's frantic, unpredictable, exhausting, and spellbinding. And very pretentious, but we're all pretentious here lbr.

"John L" still sounds like random noise to me though.

3 Favorite Tracks:
Ascending Forth
Slow
Chondromalacia Patella

While it's brilliantly executed, I'm not as big of a fan of this '70s sound as most others here. It works intoxicatingly well on tracks like "Down And Out Downtown", but on others like "The Melting Of the Sun" it sounds a little corny. Like a Disney song. The same ear-worm quality that makes these songs so sticky also lends to their lack of staying power, compared to what I was expecting when it dropped. Despite all that, it's insanely impressive how St.Vincent continues to ... read more

Despite a couple of misses in the recent past and his overly preachy style, Cole never lost his status as a talented lyricist amongst hardcore rap fans. On The Off-Season, he turns back the clock to a more 2000s style of hip-hop, and it generally pays off. This is Cole's best record since FHD.

3 Favorite Tracks:
let.go.my.hand
interlude
amari

Another new post-punk project coming out of the UK this year. And you know what that means, another album with this style of shouty whiny post-punk vocals that I really don't like. I can't help but draw contrasts between this and the new Black Country, New Road record. Where that record was able to build an undeniable feeling of tension with its innovative implementation of jazz horns that felt fresh, a lot of the experimentation on Bright Green Field feels performative rather than warranted. ... read more

I'm so psyched to see artists taking Pakistani folk music and experimenting with it like this. While the final product is a bit meandering, it's never uninteresting. The same enchanting atmosphere you'd find in qawwali performances at dargahs across the subcontinent are reimagined but still very much present here. The harmonium has been replaced with jazzy horns and meditative string sections to give it a decidedly western flair. It's abundantly clear that Arooj is on the heels of something ... read more

In theory, Nurture should be right up my alley. A dance record by a dude who loves video game music and wants to encourage positivity after a bout with depression? Yes please. In reality, I found Nurture to be an inconsistent collection of EDM tracks, some brilliant and others fairly generic. While songs like "Look at the Sky" sound like bulk barrel EDM to my ears, the slower, more experimental tracks on here fair much better. "Wind Tempos" is an entrancing interlude of ... read more

I haven't been as high on Brockhampton historically compared to most others on here, and the story is more or less the same with this record. It's fun, but I still find it a bit generic sonically. Despite that, this project has some of the deepest lyricism in their whole discography.

3 Favorite Tracks:
DON'T SHOOT UP THE PARTY
THE LIGHT
WHEN I BALL

I loved every second of this. Admittedly I'm a bit of a post-rock casual, but this tickled a part of my brain that had been dormant for a long time. I listened to it 3 times back-to-back-to-back, sitting on my balcony at night while it thunderstormed around me. And there's no way I can describe it other than spiritual.

3 Favorite Tracks:
Cliff's Gaze
Job's Lament
OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN

A rapper's rap album. There's not much in the way of hooks here but the psychedelic atmosphere that they've created almost render them unnecessary. Tracks are brisk, making the total length under 40 minutes despite being 14 tracks long. The lyricism from the duo is undeniable but it requires active rather than passive listening. Backpack rap fans should be more than satisfied.

3 Favorite Tracks:
Stonefruit
Falling out the Sky
Chicharonnes