Babe wake up, new male manipulator music just dropped!!!

Chat Pile’s biggest flaw with their debut is being almost too relentless. ‘God’s Country’ is a non-stop sonic bombardment, slamming through topics both on the personal and the societal scales with animalistic fury. For me, the band’s relative naivety is highlighted in the songwriting of some tracks, with the narrative being held in limbo with a few too many repetitions and call-backs - the lyrics could still be more incisive, to keep in line with the razor-sharp ... read more

Yeezy Szn 😎

20 minutes of Japanese girls screaming at me

Aside from Teletype, none of the singles for this record really piqued my interest - which only fuelled my enjoyment of everything else after that first leg, because my word does the quality pick up from 'Jennifer' onwards. This is probably EE's most fun release to date, and their idiosyncratic style of indie rock flourishes with this jubilant freedom. Even with a few, lets say, questionably random lyrics (partly AI generated, at that), Raw Data Feel manages to stay coherent and conceptual - if ... read more

Alpha Games is the epitome of a band not knowing where to take their sound next. When they first broke through, Bloc Party's ability to blend street sensibilities into the saturated post-punk revival market was what made them stand out - now, the band are left just sounding.. lost.

Best Tracks: 'Day Drinker' , 'Traps'
Worst Track: 'Callum Is A Snake' ... or just most of it really

Lacking the same naive, childlike perspective which made their existential ponderings so hopelessly human on their previous works, Arcade Fire can no longer reach the lofty bar which they set for themselves. Multiple 8-minute-plus, multi-parted songs fly by without saying anything that they haven't already philosophised over before in better detail. No longer are the spine-tingling and uplifting crescendos of 'Wake Up' and 'No Cars Go', nor does the project dive into the nervousness and unease ... read more

'Omnium Gatherum' is a tapas made from all of KGLW's many expansive styles, touching upon heavy psych, prog rock, thrash metal, neo-psychedelia, and even their own take on hip hop. Some parts work better than others, and a couple of the elements are better executed than the rest (I'm really not too fussed on either of the thrash tracks here to be honest, despite digging 'Infest the Rat's Nest'), though it's great to hear such an eclectic mix of music across 16 tracks. It's this variety that ... read more

Push's newest offering certainly has its highlights - one of which is the sublime production from Ye and Pharrell - though it's also somewhat inconsistent and front-loaded

Best Tracks: 'Brambleton' , 'Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes' , 'Dreaming Of The Past' , 'Diet Coke' , 'Hear Me Clearly'
Worst Track: 'Call My Bluff'

In my opinion, this is the most interesting Fontaines DC have ever sounded, with oceans of drowning reverb and a stellar emphasis on dreary gothic rock encapsulating the project from grim start to bleak finish. The flow of the album is generally sublime, too, as the band gain the ability to suspend the listener's reality as they sink deeper into Grain Chatten's miseries. It's their toughest listen so far, so don't be surprised if it doesn't click straight away - I'll admit that it's take me a ... read more

Wet Leg finally release their versatile first LP, touching upon elements of post-punk, soft rock, and melodic dream pop - and for the most part, the group let their personalities shine brightly. They have bucketloads of confidence, which can only be applauded greatly, and their songwriting on some of the softer cuts here is very real and everyday. It's this familiarity and relatability which is both the record's strongest suit, and what's holding it back; I would've liked to hear the band flesh ... read more

'Chloe and the Next 20th Century' shows Josh Tillman expressing his most vintage persona thus far, taking all the glitz and glamour of show-tunes and injecting his own characteristically snarky charm along the way. However, it's not all sepia-toned nostalgia worshipping; Tillman sounds broken, desperate even, on many of these cuts, juxtaposing the instrumental grandiosity with his own emotional longing - a vital dynamic which prevents the record from falling into the "I was born in the ... read more

Unlimited Love is, at its very core, 73 long minutes of fan service, which falls decidedly at generating new, notable tracks. Ultimately, it’s worst crime is being a bit dull, and somewhat cheesy at its worst

While I appreciate the darker style of post-punk they're aiming for compared to many of their contemporaries, I'm not sure if they're doing quite enough stylistically to distance themselves from the likes of Joy Division and Interpol

AMERICAN GURL is something of a rare beauty: a catchy, cohesive, and conceptually-incisive electro pop album, where Kilo Kish never falls into the cliched pitfalls which many similar artists have stumbled into

According to my undrained ears, there's not a lot happening on Crest that's worthy of more than pleasant background sounds

The modern queen of pop returns with her most polished LP in 8 years, and its packed with good measures of catchy bangers, big beats, and unbridled mainstream creativity

Best Tracks: 'Crash' , 'New Shapes' , 'Good Ones' , 'Constant Repeat' , 'Beg For You' , 'Baby' , 'Lightning' , ' Twice'
Least fav: 'Used to Know Me'

Another decent album from the Butcher, but I don't see how it advances the legacy of Griselda, or improves upon their already established formula

Utterly gorgeous, while heart-wrenchingly emotional, Estrada's newest LP is a versatile journey into many roots of latin folk. Most songs start seeming to be as simple as Silvana sitting with her guitar, before a grand ensemble cast ease their way into the scene, with swooning string and horn sections supplying a slicing sentimentality to the tracks

At 26 tracks, MAN PLAYS THE HORN could do with some trimmings here and there, but there are more than enough creative cuts along the way to make the experience worth your time. Definitely one to check out if you're into underground/abstract/instrumental hip hop