Electropop album. Queer coded (Electra is genderfluid, they/them) pop power tracklist of covers. Self-Titled is pretty safe & fun - the story I saw was Electra wanted to cover old fav tracks to get out of a creative rut, then after adding their musical twist the tracks felt personal hence the self-titling. I'd say the production is somewhat a dime a dozen at the moment & not very ambitious but otherwise totally fine & fun. Few tracks I might replay here and there.

Greek hip hop album (I don't speak Greek). Hip hop duo Joker/Two-Face (J2F) were influences of their time on the Greek hip hop scene. On Crime Alley, the singles are decent - J2F's flows are fast & precise, mixes are energetic. I'm not a fan of the basic production though - especially on the b-sides, but tracks are mainly driven by basic repetitive beats. Hard to review without the cultural context - but leave the dull b-sides, take the singles (first half).

Djent album, first Periphery listen. Stellar production, guitar riffs & grooves are so tasty, and the clean vocals are on point. Very accessible project but I get a feeling APWD isn't the finish line Periphery wants for their new style - it mostly works but sometimes (e.g. Blackwell, Neon Valley), their novel ideas clash with each other & the track direction. I think Periphery will continue to realize their new sound - and I like APWD with its many catchy & memorable tracks.

Singer-songwriter album, finishing the last of the Sheeran LPs. #2 of Dessner produced albums - and this album surprisingly grew on me. Sheeran goes folk indie and although his heartfelt writing is often cheesy, Autumn Variations' considered stripped back production is better suited for this pensive, mellow & melancholy writing. A thankful break from Sheeran's regular slop, but the caveat is the b-sides are a bit dull, so the project can feel a bit long to get through.

Alt metal album. Production is really nice (love that dirty bassy riff line in the first song, wow). Great variety in the mixes, BODIES is just very good at mixing its metalcore and shoegaze together, its mellower and heavier moments together. It's got its memorable, hooky singles (Silver Swarm, Obsession). I don't think it's a particularly ambitious project, but it's one as a new listener I enjoyed. Might come back to here and there for jams, really really nice listen.

Fine debut from Goon Girls. Pretty good intensity, short tracks (avg. 1 min 15 sec) that are basically the same format - start with a voice clip, explode into a short punky track that doesn't let off the pedal. Screaming is fine & matches the energy, can come off a bit shrill. Overall not bad, no strong feelings for this album.

Mathcore album. Good lord the heavy from the bassy guitar tones, booming shreds, hard hitting drums & screaming vocals. Super solid production, absolute chaos in the mixes that can often be disorienting. Not a lot of range in the tracks, they get a bit samey & tiring (esp for someone new to mathcore). Track transitions are super smooth, but there are whiplash jarring cuts I dislike. If you're a fan of this genre, it's bustling - otherwise, it's a once in a while listen.

Technical death metal EP. First tech death album, Viraemia shows off expertise & speed in their chaotic yet quite organized tracks - once I adjusted, the tracks are surprisingly not too bad to follow. The guitar work takes the limelight for its ultra-technical yet fast riffs. EP's theme is pestilence, fed by the vocalist's work (the lyrics are gross af) & sweeping arrangements. A shame their legacy is basically this EP (5 songs), but great intro to what tech death can be.

Dance pop remix release. Honestly, these remixes fit the summer pop album vibes more than the original. They're more flowery, more fun, in general more vibrant (some mellow remixes here) than the original tracks. I'd prefer certain tracks from the original album more but, as a package, I'd rather take Girls Trip to hype up the road trip or the club, they're much more dance pop tracks. Zara's just having fun!

Spoken word/ avant garde metal collaborative album. Never heard of Lou Reed but there's a beauty to absolute chaos of Reed rambling off I AM THE TABLE & 20 million boomer sexual fantasies and Metallica sometimes ignoring Reed & doing Metallica stuff. Holy track/ album lengths - and the 20 min track is the best track on the album?? This is "laugh at the trainwreck" bad, somehow Metallica + the absurdist humour convinced me this isn't as bad as it could've been.

Jazz album. Gorgeous musicianship - I feel swept away into the artistry & expertise of the musicians & their instruments. It sounds so simple, yet the pacing, solos, wilful expressions of art are performed so masterfully. I simply adore how full of quality & timing the tracks are - I haven't listened to a ton of jazz, yet Kind Of Blue has a timelessness that lifts it above so many albums to come later. Very honoured to hear this art, so relaxing, truly great.

Art pop album, cool idea the story of adding the features to demonstrate grief. Experimental production with cool cultural influences. I think The Mountain is like other concept albums I don't like - shows off their experimental production but it's quite one note/ a crutch for other lacking parts. I find myself tired of The Gorillaz's singing style, random sfx noises & bloated songs/ album length. Plus I find the songs unmemorable - great art experience, dislike the album.

Very fun electropop album. HALO stands out for its high production quality, but the tracks, although meaningful in its messaging, aren't groundbreaking. Day is great vocally, but I can't say what makes her music unique. Your opinion of HALO depends on what you want in electropop right now - it's not wrong to want fresh in a scene oversaturated with EDM & electro leaning pop. Though if you want a solid culmination of the current electropop scene, HALO is safe & very fun.

Hyped Kpop comeback. I agree, the tracks feel unfinished and ARIRANG doesn't sound like BTS. ARIRANG moves more into trap mixing with dry noises, but the quality is poor. Esp in the first half, those tracks often are filled with noises (e.g. sfx, filtered vocals) but lack interesting melodies. Second half, tracks are blander musically and are simply duller. ARIRANG will work in a triumphant stadium setting but otherwise, it's a letdown for the hype around their return.

German rock album. I don't know German, AnnenMayKantereit is apparently one of the biggest German bands. On this album, the singer is decent, the mixes are pretty basic and sometimes mixed pretty badly (I do like the piano). The album does convey some emotion through some tracks, the b-sides are pretty dull though. Overall you feel the 50 minute runtime & I wouldn't advise listening for the mixes alone.

Pop rock classic. I had the honour to hear this on vinyl - absolutely delightfully layered & textured. The title track steals the show, everything else is hit or miss depending how much nostalgia/ love you have for the 80s & Prince. I admire the craftsmanship but it's not my favourite - to me, Purple Rain is great but I wouldn't consider it one of the greatest.

Metalcore album, first ERRA album. Really impressed by the depth of the production, the mixes are nicely layered & varied with great riffage, guitar tones & djent chugging. I really like how considerably paced & neatly balanced the clean vocals are with the heavier guitar work, melodies, riffs. The singles + some b-sides sound more like generic metalcore, but ERRA execute them well with tasty riffs so it doesn't matter much. Really impressed, very solid project!

Neo soul album, beautiful listen. Distracted's first half feels fleshed out and realised, absolute pleasure to listen. Nice funky bits are thrown throughout the album, really tasty to listen to. The features really sell the smooth experience (Tame Impala fits like a glove). While the first half is quite strong, the second half is less interesting - I think leave the last 4, you've got a fantastically smooth and funky, very cohesive albeit better for background listening album.

Dutch gabberpop album. Party club tracks with much doot doot. Unity contains Europapa, which was DQ'd from Eurovision finals after an off-stage incident involving Joost - and the album pokes at the bad handling of the incident. The tracks are REAL hit or miss in quality but without understanding Dutch/ German, it's easy to miss which are mocking on purpose (United By Music). Most are really fun (personal fav Kunst und Musik), fun project.

Synth pop album, also dance pop but mellower mixes. With some signature robotic sounds & synths, Sexisential's somewhat simpler club mixes shine a light on Robyn's more meditative messaging on sex. The album's fun, nice to bop to. The title track's lyrics are very explicit & crazy (doesn't work for me personally), the other tracks are fun but nothing outstanding. Fine listen, Sexistential works decent as a cohesive project.