POOR. To understand Gracie Abrams' The Secret of Us, imagine what it'd taste like if she made you a platter of baked chicken. Did you imagine it dry and lacking flavor? Perfect.

FINE. Peggy Gou's I Hear You is nothing new under the sun for House music, but it is not an unpleasant listen.

BAD. It's records like Timeless by Meghan Trainor that remind me why everyone is so optimistic about pop music nowadays. It usually doesn't sound like this anymore. The lyrics, instrumentals, and vocals all melt together in a stew of half-boiled mush.

GOOD. AURORA's What Happened To The Heart is an expansive Art Pop record containing mostly soothing, ethereal melodies, with the occasional rise of energy into bassy, fervent dance-pop.

AMAZING. Joey Valence & Brae's NO HANDS is far from just another wannabe Beastie Boys Boom Bap record. The duo are earnestly themselves, despite their clear influences, creating a record that captures the infectious energy of the New York legends with truly youthful instrumentals and a modern sense of humor.

GOOD. KAYTRANADA's Timeless is a strong collection of R&B/House instrumentals with an even stronger selection of featured vocal performances, yet only a couple of tracks are truly memorable.

VERY GOOD. BRAT is another Bubblegum Bass record in a long line of very similar albums by Charli XCX. Despite the lack of new ideas, sonically speaking, the lyricism on the record is her most vulnerable and expressive since Charli.

POOR. While Darko's Starfire has a smattering of potentially interesting ideas, the Deathcore record feels amateurish at best, struggles with intra-genre variety, and drags on for a dolorous 70 minutes.

GOOD. Gonnn's Void: Land of the Forgotten is an original and well-produced Doomgaze record, with a compelling blend of lighter ambient movements and dark, noisy crescendos that give the record that haunting Post-Rock feel.

FINE. While better than a lot of other K-Pop records, Kep1er's Kep1going On offers little else than a few generic, yet catchy tracks here and there.

GOOD. On There's Nothing New, many tiny boxes create a discordant cacophonous racket that is ironically nothing new for Death Industrial or noise in general. That being said, there is still a cohesive, haunting atmosphere built up over the course of the tracks quite successfully. The August, Yours Truly feature is fantastic.

GOOD. The Marías cool down the pace significantly on their sophomore record, Submarine. They execute this far spacier and colder soundscape without losing any of the charm of their steamier efforts.

BAD. aespa's Armageddon, like the majority of new gen K-Pop, is not good. The focus of the group and their corporate overlords is clearly not the music, and anyone who listens past the first two tracks on the record should understand this.

GOOD. Rachel Chinouriri is a talented artist, made evident by their Indie Pop-Rock record, What a Devastating Turn of Events. However, it is also apparent that they've yet to carve out a particularly unique or compelling sound.

VERY GOOD. Mach-Hommy's #RICHAXXHAITIAN is an expertly crafted Abstract Hip-Hop record that recertifies the New Jersey rapper as a true conscious lyricist. The great variety of detailed instrumentals, technical flows, and guest vocals keep the record feeling fresh throughout its 47-minute runtime.

FINE. Bro's 37 and British singing about what it feels like to be a middle schooler... that being said this band has done this same shtick for so long that they have a pretty strong grip on what to do sonically. The second half's dramatically increased variety and depth of detail put the record on life support.

AMAZING. Vince Staples' Dark Times is a sensational West Coast Hip-Hop record with deeply Conscious themes, both lyrically and sonically. It is a step forward for Vince regarding emotional maturity, keeping up with the few other rappers who have transitioned to deeper messages without sounding out of their depth.

VERY GOOD. Beth Gibbon's Lives Outgrown is, at times cinematic, at times subtle, but always an excellent listen. The Chamber-Folk record contains multitudes, all of which are stirringly beautiful.

VERY GOOD. While not as consistently brilliant as their 2018 release, Clancy is an intricately produced Alt-Pop record with creative vocal performances and evocative lyricism throughout.

VERY GOOD. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is another strong Alt-Pop performance by Billie Eilish. Somewhat more sonically focused than their sophomore effort, yet lyrically and vocally Billie is at her best.