This feels like a degree away from future funk city pop Jessie and I would die for that

Electro Wet Leg? At its best, it's great dance punk. The synths are fat and layered live/programmed drums hit hard. The last leg of the album started to lose me though, which was disappointing because the sound and energy of some of the first half ticks alot of boxes for me. Can't say the songwriting is top tier or consistent though.

Highlights: Untethered, Hero Man, Bunker

This is my introduction to Horse Lords - didn't know what to expect going in, but I left pleasantly surprised. Mostly exciting, mathy, and mesmerizing krautrock with clean and punchy production.

The first half is alot more frenetic and exciting than the back end. My least favorite track may be final one, Plain Hunt on Four, which is overlong but kept me entranced with the guitar, sax, and keys all oscillating and around this one melody.

Highlights: Zero Degree Machine, Mess Mend, May Brigade, ... read more

Wall to wall eclectic production and songs made from an array of influences. I don't know if it made for a satisfying album but there are some glorious highs, the album is generally pretty fun and uplifting.

Highlights: Rice, I Saw, Sink or Swim, Holy Moly, Be Your Lady

Admittedly, I could barely get through To See The Next Part Of The Dream. Despite that most emo-adjacent things are not my cup of tea, the mix was so overbearingly tinny and harsh, and that's a quick way to make me stop myself from listening to something. I could tell it was made and written with a lot of passion, though.

After the Magic still has that heart on full display, and I was so glad to hear some big improvements with the overall mix. I was pretty floored by the wall of noisy guitars ... read more

Geese's prior stuff did not catch my attention at all, but this track is too good to ignore.

Relistened for the first time in a while. Yeah, it's fantastic.

Instead of listening to the new Yachty, or Parannoul, or any other album I know I'd enjoy in the slightest, I chose to listen to ATUM - Act II. For my 100th review, apparently. (oops)

Once again, Billy continues to be the worst part of the Pumpkins. The quality of his voice has become nails on a chalkboard to me. I really don't feel like his voice meshes well with the backing vocals at all.

As for the rest of the band, it isn't all completely hopeless. The performances are generally fine, ... read more

A fun single. Starts out kinda goofy but levels out as it goes on with a more acid/breakbeat/jungle influence. Feels like this could have been in a chase sequence in some early 2000s cyber-thriller movie. Interesting to hear Sextile taking their sound in this direction

I've had Dsco on a playlist of mine for years but haven't listened to a Sweet Trip album until now. Dreamy, glitchy, noisy, sometimes saccharine, sometimes chaotic. Was not expecting such an experience. Dsco is probably the most straightforward track here, the rest of the songs are pretty long and can change on a dime. Awesome production and sound design all around.

A sort of overproduced slog that sounds like it's going for awe-inspiring but ends up sounding so hollow. The vocals are uninteresting, sometimes borderline dreadful. It isn't all terrible sonically, and the more ambient cuts were actually really nice, but not significant enough to save the album for me.

Another fun, catchy, slightly off-kilter banger. Hemlocke Springs giving us more reason to be excited for an LP!

Beautiful and sort of hypnotic. Jenny Hval's songwriting is direct but gives an enchanting performance.

Highlights: American Coffee, Classic Objects, Jupiter

I wanted to like this more but man, I found it to be kind of a chore to get through. Finely produced, but the songs are all over the place. They tried to do too much here and the songs suffer because of it.

I've never been a huge Jack White fan, but I absolutely loved The Dead Weather when they came around, and their first two albums still have a lot I love about them. Jack does some solid drum work, and the energy of Dean's grimy keys is what makes it all work for me. Allison Mosshart frequently kills it as well.

Highlights: Hustle and Cuss, I'm Mad, Gasoline, Jawbreaker

Generally solid synth punk album. Floored is kind of a clunker, and though I like Mental a lot, the guitars were pretty harsh.

My introduction to Sextile was their catchier, more cleanly produced EP "3", which I kind of prefer over this, but the rawer energy here is pretty fun.

Highlights: Who Killed Six, Ripped, Mental, AVC

Blistering

Ironically, Excess is a little lacking. Not bad for what it is, pretty middle of the road new wave / post-punk but kind of missing some personality. The hooks and melodies are sort of weak, but overall the production is decent, with snappy drums and some nice synths.

Highlights: Automaton, NRG

Chaotic, fun, and impressive across the board. Doesn't end as strong as it starts, though.

Highlights: OOOL, 冗談検定, エンドロールに間に合うように, アンドロイド

Took me a minute to get into the vocals.

Highlights: Jackie Down The Line, Skinty Fia, Nabakov