I think this album's greatest sin is that it doesn't know when to stop.

I was introduced to this Geelong based band through one of my coworkers recommending the track For a Short Time to me and a few coworkers and I decided to listen to the full album. The project reminds me of that Jimmy Barnes and Paul Kelly kind of Aussie country music, and it usually doesn't feel like it's trying to be mean-spirited. The state of country music nowadays made me really wary of what might happen and there ... read more

While I wouldn't say that Struggler is as immediately grabbing as Genesis Owusu's debut record, I feel like it comes at a stronger record to dissect. The album primarily revolves around the ability for we as people to persist, just like how pop culture views roaches as able to survive anything themselves. The persistence of the character of the roach, pretty heavily taking from Franz Kafka's metamorphosis, is an overarching character of this album, similar to the Black Dog of the previous ... read more

So, I wanted to say beforehand, I understand not feeling comfortable with the content of this album. The first time I saw Static's review, the name and album are struck me uncomfortable. The narrative is uncomfortable, potentially highly triggering, and I feel that RiskR's review on this is a perfectly valid response to such a dark and confronting narrative just as much as anyone who doesn't find an issue with the narrative either.

For the album itself, it's crushing, claustrophobic and ... read more

The Cat Empire is a staple of Australian music at this point. Bursting onto the scene with their first ever single, Hello, in 2003, the band has always been defined by I'd say 3 aspects, fun, self-indulgence and looseness. That's why when they announced that half of the original members were moving on from the band, especially one of two frontmen, Harry James Angus, leaving frontman Felix Riebl, keyboardist Ollie McGill, trombonist Kieran Conrau and trumpet player Ross Irwin down from 9 ... read more

I might return to this album at some point, the experience I had with this was stunning, I haven't listened to Hozier since the Snurch was taken but god damn something this sonically luscious was not what I was expecting going in at all. I also loved the introduction of the album having Gaeilge (I think that's what the Irish language is called), and I wish it was spread into this album more than just that track. My biggest issue on first listen is god daaaaaaaamn is it long despite being so ... read more

4 pages of notes later and I think I've finally collected my thoughts on this album. Gretta Ray feels torn between two worlds, the world of the current popular trends and the world of a more textured Australian Taylor Swift. And I think the producers at her side are one of the biggest helps or hindrances to this album. Notably, Japanese Wallpaper I think has some of the best chemistry on this album with Gretta Ray, as well as Maestro, which is strange given most of her debut was produced by ... read more

Omly good thing about this song is whoever Stevie Knight found to do the Guitars for Ren holy fuck this is awful. Ren really ropes the man the Australian pop punk scene is passing around like a blunt into the worst fucking Owl City songs you've ever heard.

I don't really see the hype about Tia Gostelow tbh. She's good, the album is solid, but it really doesn't have something that sets her apart from the Australian indie pop crowd. Early Twenties, Sour and Killing You are okay bops but they aren't anything super special.

Imma be honest, I think Calli found her lane. She's at this point fully immersed in j-rap, while mixing it with rap rock that feels much more nu-metal leaning than the more cringe the genre's worst.

While most tracks still have something holding them back for me, it's a huuuuuge step up, with Calli clearly having stepped back and given herself enough of a break from releasing 3 whole projects in 2022 to actually work much closely fine tuning these tracks.

Carousel featuring Reol was a track ... read more

Okay so, I don't know if I'm getting ahead of myself here but this is something bloody special. I don't think I've ever had something just surprise me and envelop me in warmth on first listen like this did. It's this mix between the looseness of Tash Sultana, the vocal depth of Matt Corby and the control of your heartstrings of someone like Pheobe Bridgers.

While her lyrics might not have the depth of a Pheobe Bridgers, she manages to pull you in so closely to the emotions of longing and ... read more

So I really like what Sophie May has going for her. She's got this really nice country-folk vibe taling aim at shitty relationships. She's got a really nice knack for painting a world for the listener, even if it's not the most detailed thing in indie-folk music.

Quick track summary first.
Doppelgänger a song about being worried your partner is only dating you because you remind them of their ex. Killing You In My Sleep is a track about those kind of lingering, simmering feelings about ... read more

TRULY A SONG FOR CLAPPING THE HANDS

Update 26/12/2023 while working on best of 2023 lists
90 -> 65

This whole thing feels like a stage play, from CHIKA's flow to the way that the album is structured with a statement of intent introducing the album, an intermission and a closing statement from the record to wrap everything up. I might have overrated this album a little initially cause it was extremely pretty, because this is a solid album that blends pretty instrumentals and drill beats and flows but also the feature list is ... read more

🗣 HOOK A POLITICIAN TO A TRUCK THAT'S A DRAG QUEEN

I feel like I'm mixed on this album. Georgia's drumming is on full display on this record compared to their debut, however, there is something that just doesn't fit between their vocals on first run through and the stadium fulling belters that are the instrumentals. Worst Person Alive is an absolute ripper, Baked is a weird track that I'm not sure if I fuck with it or it's my least favourite, and I love how they take a diversion from an album about heartbreak and looking back on where they ... read more

Honestly, I mess with this. It's not the most groundbreaking thing ever but it's got a lot of fun and sincerity and doesn't try to do stuff that a lot of new age TikTok stuff tries to do where it says something it thinks is smart in the lyrics and then almost feels like it's winking and nudging you like "haha you get the joke ;)". There's a lot of stuff on here that's fun or has enough emotions to it to feel genuine, Coming of Age is honestly ending up one of my fav pop songs of the ... read more

Imma be honest, I feel like way too much is going on in this song. The instrumental just feels way too busy and it's just blaring the whole time without much space. There is one time where the beat switches into this cabaret kind of electro swing but both Mori and Reol's flows just don't seem to acknowledge it at all and keep rapping as if it's the original beat. IDK this one's a bit of a mess for me.

I really wanted to like this record more tbh. With mixing credits from people related to Japanese Breakfast, Hatchie and Snail Mail, I was hoping for something really bright, but the vocals and the instrumentals are just so mismatched.

The main thing I found was that while the intrsumentals were often these bright, really methodical, instrumentals, Annie's vocals tend to be really thin and completely lack any kind of processing that makes it feel like Annie is fighting to be heard beneath her ... read more

It's solid but nothing standout. Really beautiful guitar playing and singing but lyrically there was maybe one song that stood out and musically there were two.

Heaving Chest was probably the highlight with some very vulnerable vocals and an absolutely beautiful strings swell towards the end that the rest of this record coulda really used.

This is definitely one of the most out of nowhere collabs of all time but I'm glad a new fanbase will now be exposed to Ada Rook and thus the brainrot I suffer from will spread. It definitely has a bit much of a clash but it's still bizzarely great.