The rise and fall of Lauran Hibberd, in such a short amount of time, is something to be studied. In 2021 the Isle of Wight native released her second EP 'Goober', featuring 'How Am I Still Alive?' with Lydia Night of The Regrettes, a track which tore up the festival circuit for the following 3 years. Unfortunately, however, 'girlfriend material' and its predecessor 'Garageband Superstar' both fail to sustain this momentum, and it would not be surprising if Hibberd fades away in the next 12 ... read more

This album contains some of the best dance music released this decade, bringing club-ready UK garage and breakbeat despite being inspired by the domestic space and Logic1000's recent experiences of parenthood. 'Can't Let Go', 'Side By Side' and 'Self To Blame' provide a flawless three-track run, and while the deep house influences may become repetitive after a while, the entirety of this record is of a calibre enough to have heads bopping and feet tapping endlessly

A huge step up from 'Hell Is A Teenage Girl', here Hannah Grae manages to simultaneously showcase her vocal ability and avoid the traps of cliche

Tierra Whack has come a long way since 2018's 'Whack World', but the direction she has chosen doesn't seem to be working: many of these songs are uninteresting and ultimately fall flat, and the lyricism is no help either

It's still fuck JT, and the majority of this album is as awfully dull as expected, yet there are some highlights, mainly in the form of 'Technicolor'. A dynamic, sprawling 7-minute masterpiece, 'Technicolor' is certainly the album's peak, teasing a return to previous heights that is never quite realised

These 4 tracks are all gorgeous adaptations from Joesef's latest, equally as gorgeous album. A stripped back version of 'It's Been A Little Heavy Lately' has certainly been needed for a while, and here the Scottish artist delivers emotion, sentiment and sincerity in a near-flawless manner

Both relaxed and relaxing without becoming tepid, Norah Jones' 'Visions' sees the Grammy winner doing what she does best. This album is cohesive, pleasurable, and most importantly it sustains the listener's interest throughout, despite being inherently laidback. Composed almost entirely as a duo with producer Leon Michels, the New York singer-songwriter's individuality is allowed to shine, and brings with it a bright kind of balance with satisfying effect

Like YUNGBLUD, but with more autotune

An impressive, unique mix of rap influences and IAMDDB's trademark, silky-smooth R&B

'INSANO' was bloated, sounding rushed and uninspired, so perhaps it was not the greatest idea for Cudi to return in two months' space with its sequel 'NITRO MEGA'. This edition starts strong with 'HUMAN MADE', but this momentum is not sustained as the album, like its predecessor, swiftly slips into banality and monotony

The Sherlocks are a bloody good live band. However, something went wrong here: the sound quality is awful, the mixing is awful, and overall the 14 tracks are very hard to listen to. Not sure who approved this release

It would've been very easy for Yard Act's second album to be a carbon copy of their debut, but it is clear from the start that the Leeds quartet have instead opted for a significant level of diversity, both in instrumentation and lyricism. 'Where's My Utopia?' is laced with their signature piercing irony but simultaneously incorporates an unexpected diversity, being spliced with spoken word samples, synths and influences as varying as dance-punk and hip-hop. In addition, this album is deeply ... read more

Gen and the Degenerates' 'Anti-Fun Propaganda' may be impressively current, but this only means it is in danger of swiftly becoming outdated, alongside the genre of social commentary indie punk it belongs to. Some songs here are incredibly poignant, and some lyrics incredibly biting, but it's hard to see this album standing the test of time

I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH A PAL OF MINE, THEY ASK ME WHY THEY HELPING UKRAINE AND NOT PALESTINE... 'Double Standards' is one of the most poignant, important, well-written rap songs of recent times. Throughout this album, Ghetts' lyricism makes one over-arching statement: 'God made man, and then man made a mess'

A huge step down from 'Real Back In Style', 'Thanks For Hating' sees your favourite rapper's favourite rapper suffer his first miss. Here, his gruff voice isn't only hard to get used to, it's jarring, and the lyricism and features don't make up for it either. Admittedly, one highlight is early track 'Drive By', which showcases excellent production despite Payper and Slim continuing to sound lacklustre

Yeat may be best enjoyed in small doses, and the futuristic aesthetic may be over-done and cliched by now, yet 'Breathe' stands as one of the best rap songs of the decade so far and Lil Wayne delivers his best performance in years on 'Lyfestylë'. Overall, therefore, '2093' is a satisfying listen, if a little bloated

This LP may sound like a DJ Khaled album with slightly better features and a 'CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST' cut-off, but at times the production shines. 'FMFU', for example, sees Drama, Wayne, Roddy and Gucci at their best, all delivering impressive performances. Saying that, most tracks here are genuinely unlistenable, such as 'HO4ME' which does little to help Lil Baby's credibility

Benjamin Francis Leftwich has found God, so now his music is even more boring

Artemas' 'pretty' starts out strong, but fails to sustain momentum and unfortunately lapses into insipidity as a consequence. At times, it also sounds too similar to things that have been done before: there isn't a song on this album which would sound out of place on a Chase Atlantic record instead

The main problem with 'Stick Season' is that once you've heard versions of these songs with artists like Hozier, Sam Fender and Kacey Musgraves, coming to the originals won't be the same. Saying that, 'Northern Attitude' is a stunning opener, perfectly setting the scene for a pretty decent folk-pop album. This record may be bland in places, but one can certainly see the appeal of Vermont native Noah Kahan and his open-hearted introspection