Poppy's newest release is much more focused and smoothly-rounded than 2020's 'I DISAGREE', with great levels of respect to 90's alt-rock, grunge and power pop being shown throughout

At its best, Sleigh Bells' metal-infused electronics demolish all sensibilities to construct some fantastic noise pop tracks, such as the bombastic opener 'SWEET75' and the obtrusively catchy 'Locust Laced'. However, when the record isn't piledriving its way into your skull, 'Texis' finds itself lacking both the sugary sweet hooks and ever-surprising experimentalism that we've become so used to in this hyperpop era. This record leaves the duo clutching at the tails of current trailblazing ... read more

Simz drops her magnum opus, with some of the best production I've heard in a very long time, full-stop. Taking inspiration from funk, soul, Afrobeats, jazz and R&B, along with spoken word passages and dabbles in UK grime, SIMBI is a diverse, multi-cultural dive into the trials and tribulations of life as a black woman in the UK. Packed full of several of the best hip hop songs of the year, this is an absolutely STACKED record, whose only flaw is needing a little greater conceptual focus for ... read more

Cavalcade is absolutely one of the most bizarre rock records I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. How can a band be allowed to place a murderous prog-rock song ('John L') right next to a serene Bossa-nova-esque ballad ('Marlene Dietrich')? How can they get away with placing such muddled, no-wave rhythms ('Chondromalacia Patella') right next to such a hypnotically immaculate jazz-rock masterpiece ('Slow')? Why did no one stop them putting a breezy ambient-rock/post-rock song slap-bang in the ... read more

'Hey What' is more than just the most texturally-satisfying record you'll hear this year; Low have mustered all their experience to write a nuclear-scale rock record, whose intelligent nuances and impeccable flow guides you from thumping emotion to thumping emotion. On their thirteenth record, the duo know when to assault your eardrums with violent, industrial dissonance, and when to thin out the noise to allow the listener some much needed respite - yet the relief is never long-lived, so don't ... read more

Sure, not everything on The Melodic Blue hits home quite in the same way which Keem might have envisioned, but the energy which he brings to most tracks goes a long way to secure his position as one of trap's most promising youngsters. Bashful beats, which go hand-in-hand with the album's bold production, keep the music sounding fresh in the currently over-saturated field of mediocrity. Plus... this is just fun as hell, I don't care

This really is the most generic, average, middle-of-the-road, shoegaze record which they could’ve come out with

Even with instrumentals this eerily empty and production so threadbare, KA's A-grade wordplay and complex deliveries insulate the barren gaps, forming a watertight LP displaying every quality which has made him such an acclaimed name in the underground. 'A Martyr's Reward' is both immensely dense and unorthodoxly light, making it perfect for both high-attention, analytical listens, and for background music in much more laidback environments

The fact that “You Only Live Twice” has a 56/100 rating on the track-list here tells me that there are people who are hating on everything which Drake puts out blindly. That song is heat, no debate, and probably his best since ‘Nice For What’ back in 2018.

So no, I don’t dislike this record because “it’s drake”. I’m not that stupidly unsubstantiated. No, I dislike this record due to its complete lack of imagination, some horribly ... read more

Colors II lives somewhere between fist-pumping freedom and over-blown, pretentious shit, often oscillating between the two within mere moments. At 80 minutes long, I'm not sure that it's worth diving into every one of the record's nuances and subtleties, nor would it be worth your while if you did such

The criticisms of Kanye's newest project are glaringly obvious: bloated tracklist, songs outstaying their welcome, some underwhelming features etc etc etc . It's as if Mr West tried to recreate TLOP, but with a greater emphasis on gospel and ethereal cloud rap, and less focus on the erratic, clusterfuck approach he took on that album. I find the introspective material on the second half of the album to be far more impactful than the messy, feature-heavy first half, which very much so struggles ... read more

‘Any Shape You Take’ is one of the strongest indie rock records of the year so far, with high levels of emotional potency, painfully resonant songwriting, and soul-scratching, scuzzy bass lines. At just 38 minutes long, De Souza’s latest LP is an easy-to-digest, yet viscerally memorable, trip into the world of a modern 20-something

IICHLIWP isn’t necessarily a great pop record, nor the purest form of post-industrial music, yet it doesn’t have to be either. Halsey has managed to release an album which perfectly bridges the gap between music’s most accessible genre and one of its least accessible genres, whilst also weaving in some grungy industrial-rock (“Easier Than Lying”) and spots of relentless electro-pop (“Girl is a Gun”). Heck, you could even argue that “You Asked for ... read more

Nas supplies us with a late-career masterclass in the art of rapping, with beats which will appeal to both old school and new school hip-hop-heads

An album being repetitive and derivative of what has come before isn’t always a bad thing, especially if the artist is perfecting the genre and releasing memorable music. However, when your project sounds as tired as The House is Burning, you’re going to struggle to give people a reason to return to the album

Billie’s sophomore effort is more of a mixed bag than her 2019 debut, containing both some of her best and some of her dullest songs yet. Still, there’s plenty of room for her to flex her vocal chops, and the production is mostly nothing short of exceptional once again. It’s a solid release, but, much like the singles, it didn’t blow me out of the water either

The excellence of these chirpy instrumentals is sadly diminished by weak, forgettable, and sometimes rather grating, songwriting from Twin Shadow

Backxwash comes through and delivers, for the second year running, the hardest hip hop record of the year. It’s a thrilling tour-de-force through the twisted inner psyche of the rapper, and it can only be fully experienced with the volume cranked up to MAX

Achingly dull dream pop, which consistently fails to flourish any kind of seismic crescendo to make the waits worth it. In a way, it’s very similar to a day out at the beach: it’s often unremarkably relaxing, there’s plenty of areas which are washed-out, and everyone seems to say they enjoy it, despite the glaringly obvious drawbacks.

Fave Tracks: “Smile” , “No Hard Feelings” , “The Beach II”

Worst Track: “Play The Greatest ... read more

The brilliance of ‘A Tiny House...’ might not be immediately obvious, especially compared to their highly abrasive and equally innovative 2003 classic ‘Velocity: Design: Comfort‘, but after a few listens you’ll be finding yourself indulging into the album’s rich, psychedelic landscapes regularly. Sit back, grab a drink, and let yourself float away for 70 relieving minutes of dreamy, glitchy shoegaze