Today's hella stacked when it comes to music. You have Taylor Swift and Silk Sonic competing for no.1 (but we all know who's winning this), and now Twice is throwing themselves into the competition. Couldn't have asked for better belated birthday presents.

In a similar vein to last year's Korean releases, Formula of Love: O+T<3 (equation optional) is Taste of Love's older and more mature sibling. The Eyes Wide Open to the latter's More & More. But is it smarter? That's what the title ... read more

This has been one of my most-awaited albums of the year, and it didn't disappoint. No one does the retro throwback as casually as Bruno Mars, and he's brought Anderson .Paak along for the ride this time.

The theme here is 70s funk and soul, 21st century style, and each track follows this theme. You have smooth soul ballads like the attention-drawing hit, 'Leave the Door Open', 'Put on a Smile' and the epic 'Blast Off' but you also have the more uptempo, funky numbers like 'Skate', '777' and ... read more

The last of Metallica's five-album run, and it's their biggest-selling one. Metallica, aka The Black Album, couldn't have come at a better time for its namesake band.

Having already released a double LP with ...And Justice for All, Metallica took advantage of the burgeoning CD format, which allowed them to go beyond including 8-10 tracks as was the norm previously. Furthermore, this album was recorded in a period where they realised they couldn't thrash it up forever, and it shows here. The ... read more

...And Justice for All is a notable album for Metallica, and for many reasons. This was their first album with Jason Newsted, who replaced the late Cliff Burton, this is the album in which the volume of his bass was allegedly tuned down, this is where they began to have one foot in the mainstream door, and this is their most complex and technical album.

While Metallica had previously flirted with uncommon time signatures, this fixture, associated with progressive rock, is more notable here, ... read more

I don't know how to open this review, so let's cut to the chase.

Master of Puppets is still as thrash as its predecessors, but it's so much more different compared to them. The classic Metallica elements are still there, but they're all wrapped up in a noticeable improvement in sound quality. Metallica were no strangers to mind-blowing intros, and this is the case with 'Battery', which has to be heard to be believed. The rest of the song demonstrates the same kind of aggression as the ... read more

Kill 'Em All is often cited as the birth of thrash metal. Ride the Lightning is cited as the moment where the genre matured, and Metallica really came into their own.

For those who had been around from the start, the medieval intro to 'Fight Fire with Fire' might come as a surprise. A surprise that is broken by a frenzied guitar riff and the drumming technique that would become a Metallica trademark for the most part. 'Hit the Lights' introduced Metallica and their ideals, but 'Fight Fire with ... read more

40 years ago, a guy called Lars Ulrich went on a quest where he looked for anyone who was willing enough to form a kick-ass metal band with him. He found three other men, dubbed his band Metallica and after one replacement, these four men were ready to record their debut album after a year and a half. Little did they know that over the course of 17 days, they would change heavy metal forever and give birth to a new metal subgenre. New subgenre, thy name is thrash metal.

Kill 'Em All is 50 ... read more

After two years of radio silence, Ed Sheeran is back... with an Ed Sheeran album. How does = fare compared to Divide? Let's find out, with my all new track-by-track approach.

Tides: A promising start, Ed really goes all in.
Shivers: Skip at all costs.
First Times: The Wembley anecdote hinted towards something better, but it lost me afterwards.
Bad Habits: Just pretend Ed didn't sing this song and it might be passable.
Overpass Graffiti: Oh look, Ed's next hit single. Sounds new wavey, so I'll ... read more

Wow, the critical dissonance is real in this one. Critics are raving over this, yet us plebs don't understand the hype.

Anyway, Prioritise Pleasure is the sophomore album from subversive pop singer, Rebecca Taylor (aka Self Esteem). The title itself hints towards putting yourself first before others, and this is reflected throughout the album. Like it's a concept album of sorts. Even for an experimental pop album that takes cues from multiple genres without coming off as genre-bending, it ... read more

As hype for The Dawn keeps building, The Weeknd returns with the reunited Swedish House Mafia (part of my teenage soundtrack). I didn't expect this one to meld the SHM sound with the former's recent aesthetic and musical direction, but this mix is so seamless you wouldn't even notice it. It just... works!

It's slightly less melancholic than 'Hello', yet it's still just as moody. Adele things, y'know. Looking forward to next month.

So this is Everyday Life's more commercial, mainstream counterpart. How is it? Will it have the same quality as A Head Full of Dreams?

The album has a planet emoji intro that builds up to 'Higher Power'. While I wasn't expecting the intro to end suddenly, it does its job well enough. 'Humankind' is actually surprising as it takes on a more dance-rock base, something pretty rare for Coldplay. 'People of the Pride' is more anthemic, not what I expected from this album, 'Human Heart' is a quite ... read more

If Dirty Mind was where Prince had started to become Prince, Controversy was where he would refine his sound and polish it a bit more. The bluntly sexual lyrics are still there ('Jack U Off', anyone?), but there is an angrier edge to this album. Dirty Mind's closing track more or less served as a foreshadowing device for what would follow. A slew of political songs like 'Ronnie, Talk to Russia' and the starkly experimental 'Annie Christian', self-deprecating songs like the title track, balanced ... read more

10 years ago, before Ed Sheeran became the 21st century Phil Collins, he was an average singer-songwriter on the come-up, carrying his guitar wherever he went.

+ is where Ed laid down his initial musical groundwork of music that was mentally folk, smoothed out on the hip hop tip with a pop feel appeal to it. Despite what one might say about him, I believe he's at his best when he plays acoustic ballads or something similarly stripped-down. This is why 'The A Team' has aged well and remains a ... read more

I still wasn't impressed by Higher Power and BTS' recent singles haven't been cutting it for me, so I wasn't expecting much here. Needless to say, I am surprised by this one. It sounds like it could be done by either band/group as a solo effort, fitting for both of them.

Can't believe this banger is a decade old. Just one of those songs that you could vibe to and not give a fuck about anything. All of a sudden, I'm 13 again.

Even before this was released, Bad Habits did actually grow on me. Now with Shivers out, the quality of the song all but confirms that Bad Habits has been vindicated as far as I'm concerned.

It's on the same level as How Can I and it's not exactly an improvement, but it does build upon her experimental sound and offers the listener what How Can I could not. More songs in this vein, that you can dance to and just listen to when you're in a chill mood.

I wasn't that hyped for Certified Lover Boy so when I saw the poor reception coming in, I held back from checking it out. Now that I've found the time and energy to do so, all I can say is, wow. Wow.

Drake wasn't lying when he said that people would hate this one like they hated Views (and Scorpion to an extent). Now that CLB's available for public consumption, it actually makes these two legendary masterpieces in comparison. As for the album itself, it's a drag to get into because it's as ... read more

I know that CLB is already out, but I've been waiting so long to review Donda so I might as well get this out of the way first. Nothing personal, just business.

Donda is something of a musical culmination for Kanye West. It's dedicated to his mother who passed before 808s dropped, it retains the gospel and religious elements of Jesus is King but combines it with the experimental approach of his more acclaimed works, and there's a subtle narrative that can only be read if you look underneath ... read more