It's a very pretty album, I'm still just not quite enamoured with Shoegaze as while it's foundationally solid I can't really say what makes it stand out from other shoegaze records.
Is what I would say, but this record for me seems like the first shoegaze record I've heard that incorporates a Vocaloid into the instrumentations. I at least assume that's a Hatsune Miku vocal synth in there, because the tuning is done so well that it sounds like someone's voice put through a vocoder it just blends ... read more

Get it, cause the title is saying jazz is the black community's equivalent to classical music?

Anyways, I randomly got put onto this record late at night during a blues, roots and jazz show was on on Triple J and my first thought was "god, I just listened to Sprain's new album this morning, am I really prepared to listen to another hour+ long album that might disappoint me?"

It did not disappoint me. With mixtures of jazz, funk, latin jazz and psych, this is one of the most diverse ... read more

So, I wanna get this out of the way first. Whatever I say about this album, I think what Laufey is doing for cabaret and bossa nova jazz in general is amazing. Jazz has long been dominated culture-wise by this stangely uptight, oldhead kind of approach where no one gives new artists the time of day and this idea that jazz is limited in scope to a collection of standards put together in the 1970s. Laufey's success and popularity is important because it's breaking that stigma for the specific ... read more

My biggest issue coming away from this record is really the question of "what did I actually come away from it with". When I compare it to things like say, BCNR's longest tracks like say, Snow Globes with some punchy refrains and crescendos , or more recently CyberCrashers' Detransitioner with a haunting atmosphere that feels like it's narratively spiraling through the music, I feel like I didn't have something to truly grab onto on this project. That isn't to say I wasn't bloody ... read more

The first 3 tracks are kind of good but in a 7/10 way and did not prepare me for how much this this was just gonna send me for most of it. Ethereal, dreamlike and unique all coming together. The closing track is a little weak as well.
I take personal offebse to the track Fire the Editor though the fuck did I do to you James.

Didn't realise this was one of the members of BTS till I checked the Spotify page. It's a vibe, it's chill, it's well produced and sung, nothing groundbreaking, not much more to say about it.
Dog

Relisten 06/01/2024 50 -> 75
Okay I really did not engage with this album on first listen. It's funny how originally I was whining about how few slow, winding narrative songs there were on this thing where after sitting with the singles on this thing for so long I wish there were more upbeat bamgers in the midsection, especially the clever wordplay of stuff like Get Him Back.

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This album feels like the definition of a 5/10 ... read more

Finding his sound somewhere between Flume's electronic pop and the soundscapes of artists like RÜFÜS DU SOL and Porter Robinson, Ukiyo definitely shows a promising moments on this EP, with tracks like Through My Teeth and Here Now being fun electro pop jams. It does fall flat on its face at times though too, with some songs feeling underdeveloped and the stiff drums on closer Deadlock causing the EP to trip and fall flat on its face right at the finish line

It's good don't get me wrong, but as someone who doesn't go here really, this doesn't really hit like some of the other really great stuff I've heard. It's so hard to grab someone's attention with nothing but a piano, and while Naoko Sakata is clearly talented, there's not a lot of feeling of progression on a lot of these tracks. It's definitely pretty at times but it doesn't feel like a lot more than that sometimes when I compare it to something like the sheer emotion that just exuded from the ... read more

Damn, electonic-cum-ballads are sick as if this is what Line of Best Fit calls an electronic-cum-ballad

Def an album I'll need another listen to, first thing I've heard by Jeff Rosenstock outside of the ska remix album he did (didn't even listen to No Dream whoops just Ska Dream), but it's like if PUP made a Skate Punk/Ska Punk record.

Radiohead for people who have seen the sun in the past week

Wait a second, there are seven songs here.

This kind of makes me appreciate the Chats even more than I already did. Some of the songs just wind on for way too long and lack the real punch and charm that could really put them over.
Dial Before You Dig is a fucking banger though

Maybe a few more listens will hit harder for me it's a good little duology of tracks though. Both pull their weight but the beats just don't quite hit the same as their mainline work and it's not really highlighting either of the flows in the way they usually do.

I love a skate punk band who nearly 30 years into their career, still sounds fun, haven't turned into weird bigots, and basically says on one of their songs "if you ever see me within 50 metres of a neo-nazi proud boy cunt literally just fucking kill me" while having other tracks about eating horse meat or needing someone to inject them with dog transquilizer.

Nothing wrong with it, it's passable, there's just nothing in it that that actually sticks with me or really stands out for MAY-A as an artist. Perfectly fine indie-pop

RIP Ryan Siew, an absolutely ripper guitarist who really gave Polaris some amazing breakdowns, backing riffs and solos over the years. He will be missed.

I'll get a full review up over time but really, Polaris means so much to me and no matter what, Ryan Siew was a legend of a guitarist at only 26 and his loss has been a huge loss to Australian ... read more

I don't really think this adds anything to the song tbh. Hyunjin is basically only present for the buildup to the chorus after the second verse I don't understand why he's here? Pink Pantheress' performance is alright but lackluster as hell.

So this is what Circles by Post Malone sounds like to Anthony Fantano

God, Kiara's music has just never grabbed me. I don't know what it is. but she just doesn't seem to have much of a personality or voice of her own, it just feels like kind of personalityless, happy-go-lucky k-pop which doesn't really stand out from the crowd. I don't know, there is a point on one song, I think Fever Night, where she talks about turning off the generic pop songs and having something more unique and it feels like a slap in the face to the rest of this album.
I apologise if this ... read more