Despite the intriguingly noisy and rough production, this album doesn’t feel nearly as adventurous as I would hope for, with the noisiness often feeling like nothing more than a poorly utilized gimmick. The structure and composition of most songs here is also quite basic, which isn’t inherently a bad thing of course, but I find that it really doesn’t do the record any favors, especially in combination with the somewhat uninteresting vocals. I do like the core ideas behind many ... read more

An individualist and explosive record, with a distinctly bizarre and fiery sound to it. While the swift pace and short lengths of these tracks works quite well for the album as a whole, I do feel like a handful of these songs are missing something, as they often feel a little unsatisfying and leave me wanting more from them. Additionally, the sound of this project does start to feel pretty one-note by the end, though that’s not to say there isn’t still great moments and interesting ... read more

It’s not without a few bumps along the way, but Hannah Frances continues to enchant me with her meticulously interwoven instrumentals and beautifully enticing vocal performances. The way many of these tracks seamlessly progress and develop is really remarkable, and it’s exciting to see Hannah push her sound in a slightly different direction, even though the sound of her previous record is as impeccable as it is. I hope she continues to get even more exposure and recognition beyond ... read more

While Maruja generally excel at making powerfully tight and straight to the point tracks and climaxes, some of the mellower moments and slow builds don’t feel as fulfilling or as strongly crafted to me. That being said, I still think nearly every song here has something impactful to offer, even if the messaging can feel a bit too on the nose at times. To the albums’ credit though, that easy-to-understand and blunt messaging does work very well on some tracks, just not as ... read more

I went into this project with little to no knowledge on or expectations of electroclash, and I can safely say that it delivered. This album is full of super engaging and varied production, and the vocals and lyrics also consistently work very well with the sound the album is trying to pull off. There’s a few weaker tracks along the way, and the quality dips a little in the last leg of the record, but the bulk of the material here is both impressively assembled and greatly enjoyable. ... read more

There’s lots of solid production and some pretty nice sound design all throughout, though the predictably formulaic composition and execution of many tracks here really holds the album back. The features often don’t pull their weight either, and leave a lot to be desired in both the performances and especially the writing, the latter of which is painfully simple and shallow the majority of the time. There are still a handful of standout moments across the album, but the quality of ... read more

Greatly flavorful production that has plenty of variety to keep things interesting from front to back, and makes for lots of inventive and forward-thinking dance tracks. It can feel quite cluttered in its sound at times, but I think it’s usually done in a way that gives the project more personality and style rather than make it feel like too much going on at once. There’s some slight missteps along the way, and some general room for improvement for the sound of the record as a ... read more

The incredibly off beat and poorly played instrumentals combined with the ugly, dissonant guitars makes this quite a trippy listen for me. The lyrics, as to be expected, are super simple and elementary, and the singing isn’t a whole lot better either. Given all of that, this album really should suck in theory, and I think it would if it was performed by actual musicians, but the terrible execution of it all actually makes it a whole lot more interesting to listen to. It does lose some of ... read more

A ghostly, unconventional listen, with many unpredictable shifts within and between each track. The production is incredible all throughout, blending elements of instrumental hip hop with aspects of ambient and sound collage music, making for a uniquely memorable, wonderfully textured, and impactful listen. The samples are well placed and add a lot to the project, and I would say the same for most features as well. Some songs don’t click with me to the same degree as most others, but the ... read more

Pretty great production and some very solid vocal performances, though the instrumentals are a bit inconsistent in how creative they are from track to track, sometimes feeling a bit too generic and uninteresting. The progression of some songs feels slightly too predictable as well, though the strong execution of their sound still makes them considerably enjoyable for me. Even if it could be better in some places, I wouldn’t say there’s any filler tracks here, and it all rounds out ... read more

Incredibly strong first and last leg, and even though a few tracks in the middle do falter a little, it’s not enough to stop most of them from still being very solid overall. Some features are great, but others are a bit lacking to me, especially compared to how fantastic nearly all of JID’s verses are throughout this project. Speaking of which, JID is at the top of his game here when it comes to his rhyme schemes, his wordplay, his flows, and his performances, with only a few ... read more

Similarly to Preacher’s Daughter, this album often doesn’t have engaging enough instrumentation to justify the length of many tracks, though I do think the more ambient leaning tracks were comparatively better put together. The writing is usually solid, but it’s just not enough to make up for the somewhat cheap sound of the project, as well as how underwhelming it feels even at its most climactic moments. I was hopeful to see some improvement from Ethel Cain with this record, ... read more

Outside of the first handful of tracks, most songs have aged pretty horribly, and don’t have much to give outside of the occasional moments of being “funny bad”. The writing and performances are quite awful too, and the entire second half feels incredibly messy and generic, and sometimes also really boring or annoying. I wish the start did more to make up for the rest of the record, but it simply doesn’t considering the albums’ length, so it’s still a pretty ... read more

Even if it’s much less polished and more simplistic than their future works, it still has just as much whimsy as something like Bonito Generation, and it all comes together in its own charming way. This is especially true because of the many videogame samples and silly lyrics and sound effects included on pretty much every song. It’s just such a goofy album that feels like it shouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is, but the personality of Kero Kero Bonito is seriously unmatched, ... read more

There’s a very warm and inviting tone that constantly permeates throughout the sound of this record, which does a lot to keep my interest and attention for the duration of both the slower and quieter tracks, as well as the more danceable and energetic ones. The vocal performances are passionate and serene, with some strong features backing them on a handful of tracks too. The album has a slightly weaker end compared to the rest, but there’s plenty of fantastic moments and many great ... read more

Perhaps it’s a decent enough starting point for getting into drum and bass due to its high accessibility, but compared to other drum and bass projects I’ve heard, it pales in comparison with its creativity and execution of ideas. The vocals are usually pretty decent, although the writing is generally quite mid and doesn’t really add much to the record. It’s not without some splashes of creativity here and there, and most of it is listenable enough to have on in the ... read more

Beautifully dreamy and mesmerizing vocals, with the atmosphere of most tracks being easy for me to get lost in. It’s a record that’s both easy on the ears and also very soothing to listen to, with straightforward yet polished instrumentation, and with writing that fits nicely with the methodically crafted sound of the album as well. Some songs and moments aren’t as effectively entrancing as all others, but that doesn’t stop me from loving the experience this thing ... read more

Cashmere Cat’s technical ability as a producer is evident at a handful of points throughout this project, but when it comes to actually applying that skill to making compelling songs, they definitely falter a whole lot. The sound and progression of these tracks often feels very lacking, with many either simply being very plain or just weirdly meandering until they end. The many features here don’t add nearly as much as I would like either, with most just feeling like an excuse to ... read more

Obnoxious vocals and writing with some terrible blends of genres and instrumentals, leading to a collection of songs that drag on for far too long, bore me out of my mind, and honestly just piss me off. Genre blending with metal is a risky move to begin with, and this thing pretty much does it in all the worst ways. The songs and segments that don’t feature metal elements are just as bad as the ones that do too, as everything still feels so painfully bland, poorly arranged, and simply ... read more

The sound of this album is very unpolished, which oddly enough is part of the appeal for me, as it gives it a “dumb fun” feeling that works very well for it. That being said though, it definitely does hold the record back in some aspects, as the beats and vocals on some tracks feel pretty weak compared to others, though the album really hits its stride in the second half, serving up banger after banger until the end. It’s surprising how good this is given how amateur it can ... read more