Once again, The Birthday Massacre conjure up a wonderful Through The Looking Glass textured synth rock landscape for us to escape to. There really isn't another band in music in this day and age that can capture that same feeling that they can, with the icy synths and echoing guitars mixing with the angelic vocals from Chibi. They may not have completely changed their sound, and true they did sound a little tired on their last effort, but this is a wonderful return to form after a slight slip. ... read more

Haru Nemuri's last record catapulted her career forward, and this is a perfect example of an artist continuing to mature into their sound. She took the garage rock rap of her last effort and added string, piano, and synth embellishments with nearly every track progressing into a lovely and energetic crescendo. My only real intense complaint is that it is all too brief. I want to hear more and I want to hear it now. The production here is spot on and Haru delivers her words with such potency ... read more

Dua Lipa successfully throws her hat into the retro synth pop renaissance and the results are quite entertaining. I was almost instantly hooked by the absolutely perfect banger Physical, and while some of the other songs pale in comparison, she maintains a certain level of quality throughout. One minor and pretty tame complaint is that Dua has this dichotomy on the songs, switching wildly from feminist free sex advocate to boy desperate party girl. This creates a narrative dissonance to the ... read more

Marshall's follow up to the big breakthrough The OOZ is in some ways its superior, but in some ways its inferior. It's more cohesive, with the overall doom and gloom washing over anything in typical King Krule fashion. It's slightly more optimistic than the last release but that's faint optimism. The vocals here go a bit harder, with some genuinely emotive shouts that make you feel the songs. For my personal tastes, I preferred the wanton madness of The OOZ, but if that record tickled your ... read more