Ever since I first heard "Hey Boy Hey Girl", my mind had probably made up the fact that The Chemical Brothers is going to be one of my favourite electronic dance music acts. That's nowhere near the only fantastic achievement of Surrender, although I have to admit that the song did not get dethroned. What really sold the album to me was the sense of journey it brought alongside the songs - I always appreciate a good musical story, even when it isn't always intentional, which ... read more

With their most recent output or, to be precise, lack of output lately, it's been hard to set demands for what to expect of Modest Mouse and how they should sound like in the 2020s. Their previous record The Golden Casket was received rather poorly, but after initial skepticism I grew to really enjoy some of the tracks there. I certainly hope the same happens to An Eraser And A Maze, because it's a project that lacks some sharpness, but otherwise I'd most definitely label it as ... read more

A step in the right direction, but not quite on the verge of returning to the prime days of Pearl Jam. Actually, scratch that, I'm not even sure what period of the band would I label as their prime, as my opinions seem to be all over the place when it comes to the album quality control, but I guess it's going to be clearer once I wrap up the entire discography. Prior to my listen, this was known to me as the "I Am Mine" album, but now that I have heard it... yeah, it's ... read more

Albums like these are the reason why I sometimes wish I had taken up reviewing by writing one-liners on this website. That's because similarly to Willie Nelson, whose newest studio album I reviewed a couple of days ago, Guided By Voices is the type of musical act that's probably a bit more active than they need to be. There's a good chance Crawlspace Of The Pantheon is only their first album of 2026, and that's a bit of a problem because you can hear the band audibly going ... read more

So this is a bit of an oddity in Latvian popular music. I don't think I've heard an example like this one that starts off an album with all the successful singles of the past and ends the project with previously unheard experimental ventures in alternative psychedelia and other similar subgenres. The concept is very intriguing, but I wish I could say that it worked as good as it potentially could have on paper. First off - I hate to say this, but even with the striking album's ... read more

It's a bit too much of a yee-haw type for this otherwise rock-sounding record. Having heard nothing about Treaty Oak Revival and what they sound like, West Texas Degenerate was essentially what you'd label as something equivalent to a blind watch of a movie without previously seeing any trailers or promotional material to indicate what it's about. The first impression was okay, but I quickly got turned off by the country-esque vocal manner and the lack of variety when it came to ... read more

Lord Willie has spoken once again and has released yet another manifesto that shall be read by anyone who wishes to be spared from torture lasting as long as Willie's entire lifetime. His ruling is fair and merciful, and that is why we are all happy to bow down to his grace.

So Dream Chaser didn't do all that much for me. The charm of Nelson's country music must have lost its appeal with how many albums he has released on a regular basis. This was my fifth album of his, and they ... read more

Finally people who are into crime shows are getting their own version of a Minecraft soundtrack album. Boards Of Canada have returned with a stylish project that more or less confirms that everything's still completely alright with the way they write and perceive their own music, and I can only be happy that the mega fans are absolutely ecstatic about Inferno. I still have some my own growing to do, as I like Boards Of Canada, but haven't taken the time to fully dive into their music. ... read more

Similarly to Ringo Starr's new music drops, every new release by Paul is a delight simply by the rule that it's amazing to have him here in this world, still musically active. There's no doubt that his track record is better than Ringo's, so it's nice to see people responding well to The Boys Of Dungeon Lane. But there's a reason why I brought up Ringo, because similarly to his output, I don't think Paul convinced me very well with the album. Obviously a lot ... read more

Kurt Vile has been repackaging and releasing the same batch of songs for more than a decade now, but even when that comes into consideration, it doesn't matter all that much, because this. man. does. not. know. how. to. miss! The atmosphere and instrumentation is impeccable as always, the instrumental compositions "Red Room Dub" and "Piano For Sarah" are some of the very best that Vile has ever done, and there are no signs of anything potentially slowing down in ... read more

Despite their best efforts to prove everyone else wrong, Les Attitudes Spectrales keeps coming across as a one trick pony in their latest studio effort Watch The Sword About To Drop. It's far from the worst thing ever, as they have mastered their own style of alternative, almost noise-bordering hard rock that continues to impress music critics based on the sound alone. That definitely plays a role in this album as well, but long story short, I think I'm getting a bit tired of it. It ... read more

The premise of a sad man with a lovely singing voice, acoustic guitar and a painful origin story is a classic in the world of folk music, yet it never fails to deliver. For Emma, Forever Ago is arguably one of the best known examples of its kind, yet for some reason it had taken me this long to actually hear for the first time. But that's the beauty of music - a masterpiece can come to your attention at any period of time, and even though I saw the greatness coming from a mile away, it was ... read more

Either everyone in this page has suddenly got very picky with their indie pop or I just haven't listened to Bleachers long enough to get sick of them, but I thought that this was pretty delightful personally. Sure, the singles are the main highlights and there could have been some better creative decisions made with some of the writing and structuring in the weaker parts of the album, but at its best, this is an incredibly hopeful and uplifting experience that unsurprisingly excels with ... read more

Just your casual compilation of inoffensive pop songs. There's a hook or two here and there that might be interesting, a couple of electronic melodies that might make a couple of heads turn, but otherwise nothing much to be crazy about. I can't seem to find a lot of ways to diss this artist, as she's technically fine and her worst crime is an occasional boring song or two, but like I said, if you're looking for something more creative or elaborate, then Delusion might not be ... read more

Probably as delicate of a combination between electronica, orchestral arrangements and the most recent artistic works of Radiohead as it could have been made. There were parts that were probably underappreciated on my behalf and then there were also bits that immediately convinced me to return to this project as soon as possible to hear them again. The title track and "Obrigado" were the main causes, of course, but the way the whole album was built really made me think that there was ... read more

Once again I am very glad to find out that a Fontaines D.C. album that I had been familiar with before was indeed a lot better than I initially had gave it credit for. Not sure whether I can fully agree with the popular opinion on what are the strongest parts of the album songwise, but that amazing sense of darkness throughout the entire project was what gave Skinty Fia such a big character after the cold and restrained A Hero's Death, which in of itself was set up as a strong followup to ... read more

Guys, I think I might not understand JPEGMafia...

What was there to expect from an album that's called Experimental Rap and proceeds to deliver exactly that to its listener? While something like this did come to my mind, it was just one massive eyeroll after another. Adding a ton of Vine boom sound effects and 15 year old dubstep demos simply does not cut it for daring and compelling hip hop, although I would be one to speak as the supposed "fan" of the genre. JPEGMafia as an ... read more

Lately been going through a rougher patch when it comes to my mental health, so for now, music has more than ever helped me get through my struggles. However, you can't always be sure whether you are going to be in for a smooth ride for all brand new records released in the past week, and that's why I'd like to give a special thanks to Nova Koma for delivering one of the most refreshing and satisfying new additions to the Latvian alternative rock and indie music scene. What ... read more

That's an earful. That's very much some of the biggest amount of 8 song musical content I've heard in quite a while, and while it does go a little too far into the technical twisters that take away opportunities to craft something with a more robust structure, it's pretty safe to say that the album doesn't get boring either. The Mars Volta has never shied away from doing absolutely anything that gets stimulated by the brains of Omar Rodríguez-López and ... read more

The album's title is a cool hidden reference to the number of listens you should have for the album. That applies to myself as well, as I suppose it's the type of record that one would get quite attached to if heard on a regular basis. It has not happened yet, so the connection I've got with the heavier tracks, acoustic meditations and the drone-esque pieces, as diverse as they were, couldn't really fully do the trick as well as other Pink Floyd works from the same time ... read more