Natalie Imbruglia's debut album, Left of the Middle, is a guilty pleasure from my teenage years that has stuck with me for well over 20 years now. While it's not necessarily a revolutionary or boundary pushing album, for its time or even now, Left of the Middle is a fantastic showcase for Imbruglia's promising career to come. Sadly, her popularity and relevancy peaked with Left of the Middle, but she continued releasing several equally interesting and noteworthy albums throughout her career ... read more

Weyes Blood's second album, Titanic Rising, is an ethereal masterpiece composed of captivatingly haunting melodies and introspective lyrics that beg for further examination. This specific grouping of tracks spans several genres and styles while seamlessly blending them together into a uniquely personal and emotional experience. To call this album anything short of a triumph would be unjust - its artistic vision and empathetic songwriting will grip you from the very opening and keep you fully ... read more

What a surprise 100 gecs has been! From the opening track's incorporation of the THX sound (Dumbest Girl Alive) to the chiptune-drenched finale (mememe), 10,000 gecs is a kinetic joyride. From start to finish, this album bleeds creativity, throwing any and every sound you could think of together with a mash-up of styles, genres, and vocal stylings to truly make each track feel unique. 10,000 gecs is a standout for 2023, completely winning me over - I'm not desperate for more from this ... read more

Bold, brash, and chaotic - it makes complete sense why Ashnikko's seems to be so divisive among most listeners here. Her vocals and production border on the obnoxious, and yet this doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I think the inherent abrasiveness to Ashnikko's music adds a bit of flavor that I can (mostly) get behind. Mind you, her aggressive and unrelenting energy is going to play best during specific moods - but I think when that mood strikes, WEEDKILLER is an entertaining album that ... read more

Upfront, I'll admit that I have a soft spot for Killer Mike. I've been a fan since first discovering him as a feature on a couple of OutKast tracks and then have followed him ever since. This album, MICHAEL, fittingly brings back Andre 3000 for a feature, along with Mike's frequent collaborator El-P from Run the Jewels - all adding to an experience that felt very nostalgic and welcoming upon first listen.

From the eyebrow raising opening, DOWN BY LAW, MICHAEL promises a unique and wild ride - ... read more

You Are Who You Hang Out With is one of the recent new listens that has somehow stuck around with me for weeks now. This album has popped up several times when I've wanted something to listen to, but haven't had the energy to look into what to listen to. Consequently, this album has really grown on me over the multiple listens. It's not a perfect album and has an odd tone that's not going to go over well with everyone, so recommendations are going to be limited.

That said, I seem to be in that ... read more

And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow was my introduction to Weyes Blood at the end of 2022. In the time since discovering this album (and countless re-listens), I've gone through her entire discography, gone through every music video...essentially became a huge, unabashed fan of this group. Natalie Mering (vocals) has a phenomenal voice, reminiscent of The Carpenters, Joni Mitchell, and other singer-songwriters of that time. That classic voice mixes perfectly with a collection of introspective ... read more

I've been listening to Paramore since their first release, All We Know is Falling, in 2005. In that 20 years of music, Paramore has certainly evolved in numerous ways - a cheeky reference to both their shifting roster and their continued exploration of new genres and sounds. I have always appreciated the band's willingness to experiment and step outside of their comfort zone. With This Is Why, it feels like Paramore might have taken their biggest step yet.

This Is Why feels more mature and ... read more

Portraits was my introduction to Birdy, ultimately decided to hop in after seeing that gorgeous cover art - very reminiscent of Weyes Blood. I appreciated the somber and moody ambience throughout with an immediate influence being Kate Bush and Florence + The Machine (with Birdy leaning much closer to the former). The instrumentation was nice and subtle but when paired with her restrained vocals, I found a lot of Portraits to be enjoyable though never really exceptional. This is outside of I ... read more