A decent, fairly under-the-radar indie album from the 90's. It's got a slight punkish energy pulsing from its jittery guitars and varied singing. I can't say it's all that memorable, but it doesn't fail in any regards. The tones of the instruments are pretty good; the guitars have that classic 90's indie fuzz about them and the bass is audible enough, although I must complain about the drums. They sound quite flat for the entire record. I don't mind drums that don't do much to enhance the ... read more

Well, color me impressed. I'm vaguely aware of Clams Casino's status as a highly-respected modern beatsmith, but I could never quite figure out what to make of him. He would always make these gorgeously lush hip hop beats and just throw them to rappers like Soulja Boy and the polarizing Lil B--a move I could never understand, and still don't. But on "Instrumental Relics", I don't have to reconcile with the artistry of the people rapping over Casino's instrumentals. These are pure, ... read more

Sludgy, riff-centric, pure rage fueled by alienation. Doesn't go very far, but the songs themselves are good. They just never achieve that "X-factor" that the songs on "Nevermind" and "In Utero" all grasped. I'm not even the biggest Nirvana guy, yet this is a somewhat disappointing debut to me. Still, songs like "Blew", "School", and "Mr. Moustache" are hidden gems of Nirvana's catalog, and the tracklist features some moments of subtle ... read more

"The Money Store" was the breakout hit that Death Grips needed and deserved. Easily their catchiest, most accessible release, this has got all their hits--opening with the perfect introduction, "Get Got", millions were instantly inducted into the freaky, apocalyptic cyberpunk universe of MC Ride and his raider buddies. "The Fever (Aye Aye)" and "I've Seen Footage" are some of Death Grips' danciest and catchiest bangers to date, ones that I still find ... read more

Death Grips changed everything with their first mixtape, forever altering the landscape of underground hip hop. It also helped to cement my tastes in rap music, so I have a lot of personal connection to this. Forgetting that stuff, though, "Exmilitary" is still unlike anything I've ever heard. The production is innovative, the percussion is frantic, the rapping is unhinged; it's a manic concoction of everything modern hip hop is missing.

pros:
- consistent tracklist
- amazing ... read more

Death Grips brought their famously eclectic sound to new levels on "Year of the Snitch". It's always been impossible for me to visualize just how these guys come up with the ideas for their music, simply because of how mind-bendingly great it is. How can you have such a great idea for experimentation and make it work so, so effortlessly well? Apparently, our friends over at Death Grips Headquarters have got that skill down to a science.

"Year of the Snitch" is their most ... read more

Vaguely lo-fi, pillowy R&B. Pretty decent, which isn't something I envisioned myself saying as a contrarian freshman--but I'm also not gonna be praising it as the greatest achievement in R&B since "The Miseducation", because it just isn't. "BALLADS 1" is a far cry from George Miller's past musical ventures under his Pink Guy alias; this is emotional and more often than not, channeling the same depressive energy that I associate more with emo rappers than R&B ... read more

I found this collection of lighthearted afrobeat tunes on Bandcamp, and after seeing Jimpy's glowing review of it here on AOTY, I thought I'd give it a listen.

It's okay.

I still liked this record a lot, mind you; but ehh, a critic score of 78? Not sure about that one. This is more of a 6/10 to me. It's enjoyable, very well-written with no particularly bad parts, but none that made my jaw drop in awe or anything. "The Master", "Freak Machine" and "She Now" were ... read more

Everything Everything release their strongest effort with "Re-Animator"...or maybe that's "Get to Heaven". I'm kind of torn on this whole discography. But no matter how you slice it, this is at least one of their greatest achievements. A brilliantly bright, shining record much like its album cover, "Re-Animator" is a joy to listen to. Complete with an all-killer-no-filler tracklist of eleven fantastic, refined pop songs, this is progressive, psychedelic, joyous, ... read more

My favorite Death Grips album. Bar "Year of the Snitch", "Bottomless Pit" is perhaps the group's most abrasive outing. From "Giving Bad People Good Ideas" to the title track, it's also one of their most varied, bringing a lot of their most interesting ideas to date to the table. Again, excluding "Year of the Snitch", this may be their most eclectic LP. It features some of my favorite songs of 2016 as well as the decade, including "Hot Head", ... read more

Funny YouTube man, South Carolina mama's boy and resident silly guy makes a bedroom pop EP. It's not great. I dig SuperMega and all, but Matt Watson's music has never been my thing if I'm being honest. He seemed like more of a viral video hitmaker than a legitimate rapper, which sounds more cruel than I intend it to--that's just how I feel. On "Ouch!" he's become more of a serious musician in my eyes--which doesn't amount to much anyway--but hasn't come through with a very good ... read more

The ultimate love-or-hate novelty. Guilty pleasure to most, including myself--for the most part. Some songs do get genuinely irritating, but for the most part, "1000 gecs" is comparable to candy. It's sweet while it lasts and in small doses isn't too detrimental to your health, but if you eat too much you'll probably get diabetes.

pros:
- nothing else like it
- some good melodies

cons:
- inconsistent
- novelty wears off

I never had an emo phase, but I did have a My Chemical Romance phase. Not because Gerard Way is hot or my favorite place to shop is Hot Topic--just because there was a point in time where "The Black Parade" was a very engaging listening experience to me. Nowadays, it doesn't pack the same punch it once did, but it still holds up as an incredibly solid release that outclasses nearly every emo-pop band in recent memory. After all, are people still jamming to Taking Back Sunday in 2020? ... read more

With "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars"...or, as sane people casually refer to it as, "Ziggy Stardust"...sensational rock god David Bowie ascended to new heights. Penning one of the most engaging concept albums ever recorded, Bowie continued his streak of masterpieces with an album of such high quality that had never been seen from him before. This is yet another record where you can pick and choose some of the all-time greatest songs from its ... read more

Apologies for my absence. To be honest, I sort of forgot this website even existed, but I'm back now.

Few people are as synonymous with pop culture (and art in general) as David Bowie. As vast as his discography is, as challenging as his most out-there works were, as confrontative as his persona was, he remains a true worldwide icon. People who have never so much as heard a David Bowie song walk around wearing "Aladdin Sane" shirts, and just as many consider him one of the all-time ... read more

On his debut mixtape, "Ramona", Kill Bill already displays many characteristics that most other rappers are missing. He has well-written lyrics, memorable flows, a likable personality, and an ear for good production. This was another album that was first introduced to me by a friend, and thankfully, it was much better than that IC3PEAK release. I've already spun this record more times than I can count, and I only first listened to it a week ago--a testament to its replayability. ... read more

I was first introduced to Travis Scott during the immense hype for his breakout single, "Antidote", which was riding the wave of unescapable mainstream trap that brought the genre to its pop culture peak. While trap rap had been a major sound in hip hop for years at that point, 2015 in particular was one of the first years where I remember it being a major force in pop music to the point where people who weren't familiar with rap (such as myself) knew what it was. "Rodeo" is ... read more

Outstanding film, decent soundtrack. Let me just say that the average quality of the "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" soundtrack doesn't affect my enjoyment of the movie itself. As you'll find out via a list I'm working on (stay tuned), it's one of my favorite movies ever released. However, if I'm to separate its soundtrack from its respective cinematic experience, most of it is just pretty average. Withstandably average--enjoyably average, even--but average nonetheless. The majority of ... read more

Yet another musical outfit brimming with squandered potential. I was introduced to IC3PEAK through a friend of mine--at first, I was cautious, since this same friend is also a big fan of artists such as Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Peep. But on the flip-side, they've also introduced me to the great scores of Charles Bernstein (AKA the Nightmare on Elm Street guy) and Marilyn Manson, so I just never know what to expect with this person. My first IC3PEAK album was "Сладкая жизнь" ... read more

Without the atmospheric concept or creative ideas that were present on "TA13OO", Denzel falls flat. As a performer, he's still thoroughly entertaining--the problem lies in the album experience as a whole. This is far shallower than "TA13OO", with less substance to its name. It's nowhere near as immersive or even intriguing. The production is dated and tacky, and whereas some of the lyrics on "TA13OO" fell into generic trap braggadocio, that's nearly everything ... read more