FINE. In this record, a 30-year-old woman sings about having a situationship. It's not that bad honestly.

BAD. I'm guessing this is a vtuber or something. The record is not unlistenable by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a majorly uninspired set of tracks, and the few glimmers of what could be called musical personality are hit or miss. Cute rat tho...

POOR. Kaiser Chiefs' Easy Eighth Album sounds like you rounded up a bunch of San Franciscans and forced them to make an album under pain of death. This record may have been easy to make, but it is not easy to listen to.

BAD. Incredibly rough vocals and mediocre instrumentals make Sheer Mag's Playing Favorites an incredibly hard listen, despite not being outrageously uninspired or amateurish. I'm sure there's someone out there who can tolerate the singing, but all this record left me with was a headache.

GOOD. While The Mandrake Project is nothing new for the genre, Bruce Dickinson reaffirms his vocal and lyrical talents on the well-crafted if plain record.

FINE. STRFKR's Parallel Realms is a pleasant if forgettable Indietronica record that feels just a little too stale in the grand scheme of their discography and a little too timid in terms of its psychedelic components.

AWFUL. This is exactly the type of comedian that would be booed off a stage while having tomatoes thrown at him. Not only is the record unfunny, it REEKS of cowardice. He could do a better job if he didn't feel like he was too cool for his dogshit record. It would still be shit, but at least I'd respect him as an artist.

POOR. Musically speaking, Ministry's HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES is significantly less interesting than more cutting-edge work in the now very well-established Industrial Metal genre. While there's nothing wrong with a nostalgic sound, the hyper-topical themes and
aging sounds of the record feel deeply at odds with each other. Finally, as someone who is incredibly soy, the lyricism on the album is way too soy. It has big white pick-me energy, which would honestly be fine if it wasn't so plaintive and ... read more

FINE. In classic Caravan Palace fashion, the majority of the tracks on Gangbusters Melody Club are so similar as to blend into each other to create a well-crafted, if predictable Electro-Swing record. Nothing to write home about here, but likely another win for the die-hard fan.

FINE. Pissed Jeans' Half Divorced contains some particularly fun Post-Hardcore shenanigans but is ultimately a bog standard Noise Rock record.

POOR. That Mexican OT's TEXAS TECHNICIAN is the kind of record that makes black people turn to conservatism: crude and moronic lyricism, annoyingly repetitive flows, and dime-a-dozen instrumentals galore. That Mexican OT may be a technically skilled rapper with decent industry connections, but it's clear he has nothing interesting to say.

POOR. In How To Make A Master Peace, the eponymous artist is very much so riding the wave of much more creative and talented contemporaries like Paris Texas and Jean Dawson. For all the talk about being a provocative artist, I was only provoked to take a nap.

POOR. In Liam Gallagher & John Squire's Liam Gallagher & John Squire, two old men struggle to recreate an Oasis album from memory.

POOR. Jacob Collier should remain in his lane as a YouTuber. While undoubtedly talented at making noise with his mouth and various instruments, glimmers of artistically meritorious music are few and far between on this record. This is not a collection of various musical styles filtered through one man's artistic vision. It is a collection of various musical styles executed in a sterile and uninspired fashion.

PERFECT. It's been a long time since I've heard a dance-punk record with as much sonic variety, wit, and charm as Yard Act's Where's My Utopia? The instrumentals on the record are as clean as they are varied, and the conceptual harmony is unwavering in the face of all the record's sonic twists and turns. To call Smith's lyrics simply great would do them a disservice, as within this record blooms a poetic work that perfectly critiques today's media landscape, paints the grim resignations of an ... read more

FINE. Everything Everything's Mountainhead is a very soup du jour Indietronica/Synthpop record in terms of production, but Robertshaw's unique vocal stylings lend it the artistic merit it needs to stand a head taller than sheer mediocrity.

GOOD. Mannequin Pussy's I Got Heaven is a brief and entertaining Pop-Punk album. It's nothing special or particularly impactful whether lyrically or sonically, but the record's vision is clear and its execution is solid.

VERY GOOD. While Blue Lips feels slightly behind the cutting edge of West Coast Hip Hop, ScHoolboy Q's consistent production quality, strong rap performances, and inspired variety of sounds more than makes up for the lack of experimentation.

VERY GOOD. Faye Webster's newest effort is another lovely Soft Rock record, with even more experimental and successful dips into Bedroom Pop and Lo-Fi Hip-Hop sounds than her debut record. A relaxing and endearing listen, replete with a soft, warm lyricism that oscillates from yearning distance to splendorous proximity.

GOOD. Allie X's Girl With No Face is the Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey of synth-wave. It is unbelievable how overrated this record is. There is not a single sound or idea anywhere on this record that hasn't been produced 40 years earlier; the lyrics are passable at best, plain bad at worst, but Allie X's singing is decent. The success of the record lies entirely in its ability to cultivate a fun and nostalgic aesthetic, but it deserves no praise beyond that.