BAD. This is probably a very anglocentric review but this shit sounds like The Garden invented a stupid wacky language to make a joke record but were too exhausted from inventing a new language to make a good record.

GOOD. Cookin Soul's crisp, old-school beats combined with Tha God Fahim's clean, strong flows elevate an otherwise unremarkable Boom Bap Hip-Hop record to new heights. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga is no goldmine of memorable bars or mind-boggling beat switches, but it is a pristine vibe from start to finish.

VERY GOOD. Tapir!'s The Pilgrim, Their God & The King Of My Decrepit Mountain is quite the Indie Folk banger! The record contains fresh takes on old classics, both sonically and compositionally, and a bright, warm, soul that shines through the entire work. It almost feels like an acoustic version of In Rainbows.

GOOD. Ty Segall's Three Bells is another solid entry into his catalog of Psychedelic Garage Rock records, as well as a bit of a return to form, given his relatively weaker recent performance. While far from revolutionary, the record is tonally varied and well-paced, with quite a few interesting ideas to explore.

POOR. Alkaline Trio's Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs is a drop in the ocean of dull and uninteresting Pop Punk records.

FINE. Katy Kirby's Blue Raspberry is a singer-songwriter record with a startlingly good slate of lyrics throughout, but it is severely lacking in the instrumental department. If there were even a couple of interesting ideas on the record it would be good or better.

FINE. NewDad's MADRA is a rather mundane Dream Pop record with a dreary, Shoegaze atmosphere. While not unpleasant, it pales in comparison to their brighter contemporaries, like Beabadoobee or Blonde Redhead.

FINE. I really don't get the hype around this record. People Who Aren't There Anymore is pleasant but nondescript in almost every way. The instrumentals are bog standard for the genre, the lyrical content is very generic, and even the vocals, while unique, aren't unique in a good way - just a different way. Putting out a New Wave record in 2024 should have some musical justification, given how replete with hits the genre already is.

BAD. Courting's New Last Name really wishes it was Is This It by The Strokes. A very derivative Post-Punk Revival record, it stands on the shoulders of giants and is somehow shorter than before. Bizarre use of auto-tune as well. Feels far more like a crutch than an artistic decision.

AMAZING. The Smile's sophomore album is a fantastic Art Rock record. With impenetrable lyrics, bizarre melodic twists, and an aged Thom Yorke's wailing vocals, Wall of Eyes is a journey into the surreal. While there are a couple of low points, no one song on the record couldn't be called good or even great.

FINE. For a record this star-studded in features, Lyrical Lemonade's All Is Yellow is an incredibly underwhelming project. While most tracks are alright, the record as a whole has no theme, flow, or direction.

GOOD. Everybody Can't Go is a series of 12 East-Coast Gangsta Rap tracks with solid production, strong flows, intelligent lyrics, and a good use of features. There aren't any standout tracks in either direction or new avenues explored in terms of production.

GOOD. Marlon DuBois' . is a refreshingly engaging Ambient Drone record. It's rare in this somewhat intentionally dull genre that a record can stay fresh and interesting for over 40 minutes, but with an eclectic taste in sounds and a gorgeously clear and rich mix, that is exactly what . does.

GOOD. Mỹ Anh's debut record, Em is a bilingual V-Pop record featuring lyrics in English and Vietnamese. The production is conventional but detailed, and there's a clear intentionality to the textures of the percussion and specific melodies that enchant the record with a distinctly Eastern feel without breaking from a Western soundscape. As for the vocals, Mỹ Anh has a great voice, and while the lyrics aren't exceptional, they're sung with a passion that gives them credibility.

BAD. What would've been a collection of decent raps over somewhat samey beats is dragged out to an excruciating extent. The record overstays its welcome via its incredibly formulaic and repetitive instrumentals and song structures, and it manages to make just under 40 minutes feel like 2 hours.

POOR. While an interesting concept, zweihandr fails to impress with their combination of light and dark aesthetics on their self-titled record.

FINE. Oddwin's jus hav fun (vol. 2) is a somewhat amusing but otherwise uninteresting Trap record.

VERY BAD. The Plugg record is full of pathetically unmotivated attempts at rapping and dime-a-dozen beats with a staggering amount of dubious features. What a surprise!

GOOD. Chemtrails' The Joy of Sects is a punchy, exciting, yet easy-listening Neo-Psychedlia record. While there's nothing mindblowing inside the relatively unintrusive record, the mantra-like repetition never becomes grating, the instrumentals feel varied as well as rich, and the vocal performances on the record have a unique moxie.

FINE. Very pleasant production under a somewhat underwhelming vocal performance. Not a record worth paying attention to, but not bad either.