This was a pretty good album overall. Some nice indie rock sounds coupled with a great vocal performance from Sharon Van Etten herself. I often would find myself getting a bit lost in the tracks, which works both to its benefit and to its detriment. It really enhances some songs like Afterlife and Live Forever, but it does make the end a bit of a drag. The maximalist production definitely keeps It afloat, and it often reminded me of the highs of artists like Phoebe Bridgers, mixed with The Last ... read more

Score is completely unironic btw. I feel like a lot of people are going into this, not caring about it at all, and then walking out of it just to log it and give it a bad score. While I can't definitively say this is my thing, when you view it from an objective standpoint, this album is pretty good. It's definitely avant-garde, with no singing, and minimalist instrumentals, but that just adds to the main point of the album: the lyrics. The topics here are very dense. The words and ... read more

I was gonna listen to every 2025 album release in order, but that would take too long, so I'm just doing them at random now.
Anyways, this album is kind of a mixed bag. Somehow it's overheated and overrated at the same time. Kyle Gordon drops a comedy album full of musical parodies here, and I can appreciate the variety of genres covered here, alongside the radio station bits before each song. It does lead to some funny moments, like talking about how "her career was in danger so ... read more

I really wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. Showbiz! as an album isn't bad, but it is kind of underwhelming. MIKE has great lyricism, and some good flow, but his consistently low voice and lack of variety in his voice does kind of turn me away. The sampling is pretty nice, but every track tends to fall into the format of "a good long verse, a decently long sample, song ends". The songs are all so short that they end before I get too into them, and with 24 songs, ... read more

Pretty cool album. I haven't listened to much post-rock so I don't really have a frame of reference as to how it stacks up, but I'll try my best to describe it. In a way, it sort of feels like an ambient rock album. There are heavy moments in some songs, but this is definitely an album I feel like is more for the vibes, and that's supported by the general lack of lyrical content in many songs. The instrumentation is cool, but I wish the mixing was a bit more clear. It's ... read more

I think the user score here is kind of harsh. I mean, this album is by no means really good, but it's nothing irredeemable. Central Cee delivers a kind of mid, monotonous albums with indicators towards a potential that he holds. First off, some positives. While the topics of his songs aren't too varied, there are a few songs where he's really introspective, and they end up being the best tracks on the album. Limitless in particular made me appreciate the lyrics, and Don't ... read more

Okay I'm finally here in my very latent 2025 album backlogs listen. I've heard a lot about EUSEXUA, and so going into this I didn't know what to expect. My thoughts? It's pretty good! This record sees her drop her more wonky alt-RnB sound for a more electropop inspired vibe, and it honestly works pretty good. If you think that sounds like she's selling out, I guarantee you she is not. This is still the same weird, niche twigs from before, just branching into a different ... read more

Before I actually make any points, can I just say that Malcolm's estate has done an incredible job with his posthumous career? It's clear the music released thus far has been stuff that Mac himself had wanted: clear, cohesive visions. As a result, Balloonerism feels like the missing step between old and modern Mac. This feels like it was supposed to follow up on Faces. Both albums are actually similar: a more fresh sound, production work by Thundercat, a creative approach to some ... read more

Wow. This album just swept me off my feet. Mac Miller's first posthumous release breaks the trend of disrespectful, out-of-taste releases in deceased artist's discography. Instead, Circles feels like a creative take to completing the double album concept that Miller originally planned to have. Sonically, I absolutely adore this direction for the album. Full of mellow production, even in the more upbeat tracks, and simply beautiful moments. I specifically recall the beginning few ... read more

Throughout my Mac Miller discography deep dive, I've admittedly been a bit harsh on his music. Swimming, however, actually exceeded my expectations. There's something honestly soul-crushing listening to this album where he covers his struggles with addiction and recovery with the background knowledge that he would tragically pass a month later from an accidental overdose. In a way, this album does to me what Faces does to others. It doesn't feel like a swan song, it feels like a ... read more

*NOTE* This is only reviewing the bonus content on that second disc, not both discs tgether
I've owned this for quite a bit now, but haven't actually gone around to listening until now. RAM's extra B-sides released for its 10th anniversary is a very bittersweet moment for the band. Their last album was released in 2013, 8 years before they announced their breakup. While I wasn't actively listening to music back then, I'm sure nobody back then knew this was the end. As ... read more

Overall, CAPRISONGS feels like a more laid back project than what twigs has been putting out up to this point. It feels like a more mainstream pop sound, with less of the almost "electronic interference" type sound that she's had, and more of a poppy and fun vibe. It feels like having a sidequest, and while I can't say I loved everything, there were a few tracks I was quite fond of, namely tears in the club, minds of men, and darjeeling. Overall, this is just solid. It feels ... read more

Okay WOW. Yeah I'm definitely starting to get the appeal for her now. By this time in her discography, twigs as an artist has evolved so profoundly. It's kind of refreshing to see such an experimental artist keep her edge above the others through creative production. MAGDALENE works best, however, because of its lyrical writing. Doing some deeper looking at the lyrics really reveals how empty and lonely she felt during the making of this album, and you can really feel the pain oozing ... read more

Honestly, I thought this was better than LP1. My main problem with FKA twigs was that while I could respect the artistic merit behind it, it felt hard to get into at times. However, this one definitely felt more cohesive. She still stays true to her sound, but also explores new ideas, incorporating more elements of pop into her wonky alternative vibe. In a way, it kind of reminds me of a more experimental Rina Sawayama, especially in songs like Mothercreep and In Time. I feel like I'm ... read more

-HAND ME DOWN CDS BACKLOG #2- (AKA listening to random CDs i was given for my collection)
This was a fun listen. A collection of 10 singles, 5 for each of these popular 80s artists. I think I preferred Blondie's side to Pat's side, and Pat's side did get a bit repetitive near the end, but still perfectly fine. It is at this point in my profile where I become unserious through rating compilations.

-HAND ME DOWN CDS BACKLOG #1- (AKA listening to random CDs i was given for my collection)

This album is so weird because it's so many things at once, and somehow still nothing. On the surface, this is just extremely generic trap music. There's nothing inherently terrible about it, but I can't really say it's good. The lyrics are uninspired and kind of boring, and it's not even a problem about the sexual topics covered, it's the poor flow and the lack of variety ... read more

I FIGURED IT OUT. FKA TWIGS MAKES ADVENTURE TIME MUSIC
And that isn't an insult. I'm honestly kind of surprised this has such a high critic score, because this is so experimental it feels like it would melt the minds of anyone trying to understand it. LP1 sees a natural progression from her first 2 EPs, with more trippy beats, this time adding in more drums and lyrics to make it a more alt-pop experience mixed with RnB and experimental production. I was not aware of her game like ... read more

On the 2nd FKA twigs project for this deep dive, she hones in on her sound of her previous EP, keeping that wonky and experimental sound of a falsetto over trancey beats that are somehow on and off beat at the same time. It's equally as weird as its counterpart, and I can't entirely say it's my thing, but I can respect it.

Starting a twigs discography deep dive so I don't burn myself out on new music, so I decided to start at the beginning. This EP is very weird and artsy, almost going into the experimental side. The melody will be held the same tempo, but the background's tempo will be almost oscillating so it's switching between being on and off beat. It's definitely something to be respected, but I'm not entirely sure if it's my thing. Still, it's bold to debut with something ... read more

I really wish I liked this more, because there are some really good ideas on this record. I can respect the shift in sound for Mac, and it feels like a logical shift to try a more soul and r&b sound. I also like the feature selection, and some of the production is great, especially the piano around the beginning and end. However, my main issue is that the tracks run on for too long with no change. It's not a bad thing to have long tracks, but when the album is very low-key, it kind of ... read more