Well, it's been awhile.

I can't pinpoint exactly why I stopped posting music reviews, but's some mix of losing passion, being lazy, listening to less new music/albums in general (especially over the summer), and not feeling like I could write anything substantive enough. I've posted a handful of comments on releases and reviews to get my points across, but that's been it.

I want to get more productive and start writing more in my free time, so I figured reviewing ... read more

This is definitely my favorite Shorewood release I've heard so far. Musically, this track shares a lot of similarities with "ROOFTOP," except all the elements come together a lot more naturally here. Nothing feels amateurish, the song feels like something I'd here from an experienced indie artist who already dropped an album or two. I love how addictive the energy is on this track, really feeling like something to get up and dance around to, but then there's also the moments where the ... read more

Sorry this took me so long to check out, I've had a few busy weeks and slowed down on checking out new music. The mix flows between being chill and easy to digest with some gorgeous samples and being really aggressive, both in how its mixed and the chosen song performances in general. I definitely gravitated towards the clearer moments more, like the 5:00 minute mark or so and the stretch from 14:00-17:00, but I was still engaged for the rest of the project even though there was a bit more ... read more

Overall, this album is quite the smooth listening experience. I like the production, it creates a nice, relaxed vibe and is really pretty. It never gets repetitive or anything, with some tracks sounding like something I'd see in a movie or video game. I definitely got some C418 vibes with some of the piano work on the album, but the string arrangements kept anything from feeling too derivative or anything.

As a whole, I'm not the biggest fan of ambient music. Not because I don't like it, but ... read more

Black Country, New Road - #1

"I can only start this feature by apologising to the band I currently believe to be the best in the entire world, Black Country, New Road." - John Doran

I wasn't planning on reviewing any of Black Country, New Road's albums until I touched on everything else, or at least a larger portion of what I skipped reviewing over the summer. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I'd review any of their albums at all. For the past two months, I've practically been ... read more

EDIT: Actually changing this cause I was so wrong. The rock tracks are all bangers, and while the acoustic stuff is nice, those tracks aren't what stand out to me anymore. While her debut took itself too seriously and was wrapped up in teenage angst and drama, this album is lighthearted to the point where it borders on satire. Olivia Rodrigo is my favorite mainstream pop artist right now, I cannot wait to hear what she creates next. Also, the deluxe is pretty good (I don't care for ... read more

Damn, that was quite the ride. Wasn't sure how I'd feel about this, considering it's not a genre I'm particularly interested in and it's half an hour long, but it turned out pretty amazing. My only real reference point for this type of music is Skrillex's "Quest for Fire", and I think this project is decidedly better.

It's produced very well and switches up quite a bit throughout the runtime, never getting repetitive or boring in the slightest. Pretty much all of the transitions were ... read more

SUMMER RECAP #2

Man, do I love some good Bright Eyes. The production on this record is much messier than what's on "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning", but it still certainly has its appeal. Oberst's vocals and lyrics are borderline excessively cynical, so much so that I find it a little hard to take this project seriously. Like, yeah, he was probably very unhappy with the world when making this, but it comes across as morbid teenage venting more than anything. It's a vibe that I can ... read more

SUMMER RECAP #1

These "Summer Recap" reviews will be relatively short for most albums, with a couple of exceptions. I wanted to start with Bon Iver's "22, A Million" because I feel like I don't have much to say about this album yet also want to say a lot about it? It's sorta tough to explain.

Anyways, I was a little disappointed but not necessarily surprised by what I heard after my first listen. I knew Bon Iver went into a more electronic direction with his sound after ... read more

Dang, my first review in like a month. I slowed it down over the summer because I was out of school and writing reviews was a big form of procrastination for me/form of entertainment during boring classes. Also, I listened to a lot of albums while filing stuff for work, giving me the opportunity to listen to some stuff I don't normally check out that I never really formed concrete opinions on. On the other hand, I also tackled new Fleet Foxes work and BCNR's entire discography, along with some ... read more

I don't really like the way Lil Yachty sounds in his music, but it fits the production on this album really well. And I think the production is really good! It creates such a unique atmosphere that really can only be described as psychedelic. The cover art for this project is really weird and unnerving, almost making you feel like you're mis-seeing those faces, as they're somewhat close to normal looking, and the music echoes that feeling pretty well.

As I'm not a big fan of how Lil Yachty ... read more

I thought Travis Scott could maybe change my dislike towards trap. Unfortunately, he could not.

This album isn't necessarily bad or anything, but jeez is it boring. I guess the production is mostly good and varied for the most part, but trap always feels too low energy for me to enjoy at all. I'll give it to Travis, at least all the tracks sound unique enough as he certainly has a knack for experimenting with different sounds, but I wish he sped up the pace a bit more at times. After ... read more

Maybe this is just the inner "I'm not much of a fan of a lot of hip hop" coming out, but man was this not a fun experience. From what I hear people playing in public, Cochise doesn't seem to present anything that hasn't already been overdone when it comes to his rapping, the production, and the lyrics. Well, except for the various...noises (?) that he makes throughout the project that I have come to familiarize with kids from the ages 6-12. I guess it makes him stand out and proves ... read more

Uh, not what I was expecting? I started getting Dev's dating videos in my Youtube recommended a lot over the past month, and have been exposed to that stuff, her content covering music, and some of her Queef Jerky stuff which...was interesting. I did love the Eminem impression, though.

I thought this would be kind of a meme project, considering the cover and what I've seen from Dev, but what she actually presents is a handful of catchy tracks that reveal a more emotional and vulnerable side ... read more

This is probably a pretty hot take, but I enjoyed this more than "SCARING THE HOES" as a whole. I think I'd genuinely prefer to listen to this two and a half times instead of the entire record.

Hip hop isn't my go-to genre in the first place, even though I can derive a lot of fun out of it. It's probably not very surprising that the experimental hip hop approach that Peggy takes with his production doesn't always work for me. Sometimes I find it overbearing, sometimes I just find it ... read more

At least Thom Yorke sounds pretty good, even if he doesn't reach the heights from any other Radiohead song I've heard. I don't get much out of standard rock/grunge electric guitar and drum stuff, so I wasn't engaged for nearly the entire album. One of the only albums I've listened to where I wouldn't consider putting any song on my main playlist, this music just ain't for me.

Y'know, I really wanted to do an entire Radiohead discography dive in order, something I kinda wish I did for The ... read more

Well, you can't say that Swans can't create a darn good mood and atmosphere. That's probably the best thing I can say about this polarizing project. I doubt the length of the album or "The Beggar Lover (Three)" is an issue for any Swans fan, but for newcomers, especially me, who prefers shorter listening experiences, it seemed quite daunting. The only way I got through the entire thing was by listening to it during a 10-hour filing shift, where all I can really do is focus on whatever ... read more

For some reason, I thought this album was a concept album about the positive feedback loop of poverty and stuff. Hence the album title, "The Forever Story". Instead, I got a pretty solid introduction to JID as an artist and person, learning about his rise to musical success and his unbreakable bond with his family members.

JID's rapping, singing, and lyricism are all pretty incredible throughout the project. He brings such energy with each performance, really making all of these ... read more

Neat project that was recommended to me by a friend. Some tracks feel more fleshed out and fun than others, leading to some great highs and forgettable lows. The tracks can sort of blend into each other, but my relative unfamiliarity with this kind of music is probably a big reason for why that happened. Regardless, the music feels really groovy and is super fun to listen to.

My friend recommended this to me because I liked the song "Green Jewels" by Kriill, an indie pop-ish band ... read more

Yeah, this is really good. I don't really know what I can say about this album that hasn't been said before. The production is great, the vocals are great, the lyrics are great, the themes are great, heck, even the cover is pretty darn cool.

I love how seamlessly the album flows from being fast-paced and high energy to slower sections, both between tracks and within them. I know this is a stupid comparison to make, but they really feel like BCNR if they were theater kids (I've only heard ... read more