Better than it's given credit - Navarro is the heart and soul of this band. Sorry Perry. Lush and warm for whatever reason, full of riffs and grooves aplenty. Standouts include The Riches and Grammy-nominated Just Because
Continuing the trend from their self-titled release, P Daddy further sanitizes their sound alongside frontman Kory Gregory's continued voice lessons. Turning the dial further towards power pop away from their noisy, raw and boisterous 4th wave emo sound, the band finds more success by doing what they do best: anthemic and just plain fun songs with an edge of anxiety. I've heard early Weezer allegations, and that isn't far off. Best tracks for me are the timely release of ... read more
You don't need to hear my thoughts about this album. It's all been said before.
It's more Joyce Manor. If you like them, cool. If not, this album won't change your mind. There's some sonic exploration at play here, mostly in the realm of "y'allternative" which is all the rage these days. Inoffensive but a far cry from their best work
Dare I say a return to form? I didn't really care for the trendy soft indie sound of Things Take Time, and it seems like she chucked that sound in the bin and exchanged it for having some energy (and drums) again. Lots of new sounds besides her usual garage rock and a further refinement of her strongest element (songwriting) makes this my AOTY, pun intended, thus far
Listen. It's phenomenal musically. However, it loses a lot of points with me because it seems like Matt and Mica couldn't decide if they want to write a concept album or not. Two mostly useless interludes and a closing track that completely breaks kayfabe does not make for good storytelling, and in my opinion concept albums should deliver 100% of the story through the music or be able to completely stand on their own without having to do homework. This album does neither, leading to ... read more
Some of Ben’s most refreshing work due to its’ separation from the staler half of his ability - his songwriting. Hornby’s words allow the 5’2 Carolinian to grow up. Bonus points for containing some of my favorite solo songs from Ben (Doc Pomus, From Above) and for following up a Heartbreaking Childhood Cancer Song™ with fucking Levi Johnston’s Blues, which is composed of Alaskan hillbilly Myspace posts.
the most talented songwriters in the emo scene topple their monumental debut album with more country-tinged songs about love, leaving, and the brokenness many feel as a young person
MGMT-style indie pop blown up to grandiose proportions. Big. HUGE. Grimy, overwhelming synth bass and plenty of shimmer give this project a sound worth listening to.
for me, this is a review that’s been stewing for 3ish years. i became a mac fan in 2021 as i entered a real dark time in my life, and quickly found that my favorite era of his is from 2012-2016. dark, introspective lyrics, trippy, sludgy beats, and lots of experimental sounds and ideas. (rip delusional thomas) as a result, i chased down the leak of this as soon as i heard it existed. the re-release is essentially all the content that had been leaked, plus a new track in Rick’s Piano ... read more
i love this album to the point of having some of it tattooed on my body forever. just pure, raw energy and angst bottled up and shipped straight to your doorstep. this place sucks ass is my favorite PUP thing but this project is by far my favorite album by Ontario’s pop-punk heroes.
an incredibly tight and technical little DIY album. Riffs and hooks and screams galore. idk i don’t have much to say i’m a huge fan of Riley! The Motherfucking Band and would put this in my top 3 releases of 2024, honestly this one is a no-skip 😳
This is an album of almosts. Almost anthemic, almost neurotic, almost a return to form, but there is still a step or two left to go before PUP retakes their title of a band who can release no mediocre music. Not all hope is gone, however. This is, bar none, the most diverse PUP album. PUP is a band that has spent a large majority of their careers singing songs about how much it fucking sucks to be a DIY touring band in the age of Ticketmaster and Spotify, for better (The Dream Is Over) or worse ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On Nathanknowsall's review of Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit
"barely anybody is hating lmao I think it's just you man"
On Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
"@9876rcm @v1xn no. I'm not doing homework to fully understand an album. I don't know how many times I have to say this - MUSIC IS MUSIC. The movie is not music and should not be required reading to fully get the concept. The band themselves said the concept was applied to the music after it was written. Ziggy Stardust, Tommy, Dark Side, De-Loused in The Comatorium, Good Kid, What's Going On, Hospice, American Idiot, Illinoise, undun, Black Parade, Deltron 3030, ArchAndroid, all of those albums tell the story without needing crutches. It's fine that you like expanded universes. It's not bullshit for me to say that the story (not the themes, the story) is half baked and relies too heavily on outside media to tell it. Opinions are opinions."
On Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
"@Illusionbound your definition of concept album applies to nearly every album with any amount of throughline. I'm not lazy, I just want the album to tell the whole story, because I listen to music for the music, not the social media and the tours and the music videos.. My sincerest condolences that I dared to critique your favorite band, I will keep my opinions exactly homogeneous with you and the rest of this website from now on"
On Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
"@Illusionbound music is not a literary medium. It's okay to like the vibe of a project more than the actual content within, but it's foolish to say that a concept album is effective if you need to do homework to understand it. Because the Internet (an album considered to be one of the best concept albums of all time) was written to be the soundtrack to a fake movie but it also stands completely alone without knowledge of the screenplay or ARG. the themes are enhanced by the extras; the extras are not crucial to understanding the album nor do they leave the album feeling incomplete. Music is music. The extra content around the album is not music, therefore it should not be necessary to understand the themes of the music."
On Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
"@Illusionbound you wouldn't know that without supplementary material which is exactly my point"
On firegold763's review of The Replacements - Let It Be
"it’s obvious i idolize this band but i think you might be missing the entire point of this album and the replacements as a whole, do some research and give it another try"
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