Unt1tled

The Weeknd’s official debut, House Of Balloons, takes us through his unhealthily hedonistic lifestyle with its themes of non-stop partying, emotional detachment, and the damage it’s all doing to him. To start with a sound this ethereal and dark was bold, and yet it makes perfect sense for the artistic identity he has made for himself, built on trauma and his toxic way of life. The opener, “High For This,” is an incredible way to prepare the listener for the experience ... read more

I’ve officially decided to stop reviewing 2026 electropop primaries because, after Kim Petras’s Detour, I am at an average rating of roughly 56.75, including HALO, the only one with any form of bubblegum incorporated into it, as the positive outlier. This is all proof that my ears are broken and need to be replaced. For me, some of the numerous lows of this sounded exactly like those of WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA and U with the cacophonous bass and glitchy style, but here, there was an ... read more

So we’re just going to pretend that “Eleven” didn’t traumatize a bunch of curious eight-year-olds by replacing it with a beautiful piano interlude?

Most of what I said about Volume Alpha holds for this, and despite not quite reaching the heights of something like “Subwoofer Lullaby” and “Mice on Venus,” its two-hour and 20-minute runtime proves worthy. “Aria Math” is probably the most iconic to come out of this volume, and it might be ... read more

Nostalgia’s one of, if not the most, disillusioning feelings there is. The way it’s able to warp your sense of reality by making details of the past seem so much better than they actually were is downright dangerous, and with C418’s Minecraft installments, he sets up that emotion flawlessly. I suspect that without him, this game would not have had the longevity it currently holds. Hearing just one song, at least for me, triggers so many specific memories from when it was ... read more