A surprisingly funky time! With SEQUENCE 01, f5ve brings a short, but fun-filled project that may not be anything amazing by technicality, but has a lot to love regardless. Everything just works. Good singing, fun production, and writing that creates hooking melodies come togerher to make a collection of lighthearted and easily-listenable tracks! The middle does kinda lag a bit, but a strong start and finish keeps this in good regards in your mind.

WOW what an insane time. This album is full of life and creativity in every single second. The instrumentation is grand, while still having proper buildup. There's enough happening to where you're never bored, and when the tracks do switch up, it feels so earned. The vocal performance is powerful, especially in moments like Yo La Tengo, when it intensifies. It's insane, and mind-melting. It's a haunting journey, and one that feels like it's earned that 78 minute ... read more

Pretty weird album, but it's also kinda solid. The monologuing on tracks wasn't my thing, but they were well written enough. The vocals, for what they're worth, work, even if they kind of lack that vocal range at points. The instrumentals are great though, with lots of neat little moments. I haven't listened to any Pulp at all before this, so I can't compare it to the rest of their discography, but this is a solid middle-of-the-road record that seems to be trying to be ... read more

A very pretty album. This is a minimalistic record that may not have many specific "highs", but is the definition of easy listening. It's chamber music that feels like it was written from the soul, instead of trying to fit a certain melody or structure. The flow is arguably one of its best aspects, along with Natalia's vocals, and the instrumentation, especially the acoustic guitar. While this is good, however, I will say that it kind of becomes hard to follow and tell each ... read more

I don't know how to really feel about this. People have hyped her music up so much these past few months, and then this album comes out and it's just... alright? Like, there's not much to say about it. She doesn't seem to have her own sound, really. She wants it to sound experimental, but it just feels like a blend between Charli xcx and PinkPantheress, but without the unique things that make them their own artists. It's kind of sad, because despite coming from TikTok, ... read more

It's actually kind of insane how drastically your opinion of this album changes with time. This album starts off actually pretty decent. Wayne's flow on Welcome to Tha Carter is good, King Carter is a good intro track, Bells is solid, and even though Sharks was a miss, Banned From NO was decent. This was looking to be a middle of the road album, and then you hit Island Holiday. Sampling Island in the Sun is definitely a choice, but it's not even done in a unique way, and ... read more

Pretty solid album! I think it's a little overhyped, but there's some nice samples and a neat sound from Anthony James's production, and John Michel's rapping is really nice, with a cool range in flow and voice. Some of the tracks do kind of blend in with one another, but it's a nice sound the whole way through, so even if it ever drags, it's not atrocious. Overall this is just a neat and respectable project with a good amount of work put into it that should be ... read more

This is an album that starts off pretty strong, with some nice sounds, but gradually, throughout the span of the album, starts to become more and more bland. It starts with everything to make a solid pop record; nice vocals, fun writing, and decent instrumentation, but with time, the songs start to blend into one another and become more and more repetitive, creating something that drags for a bit too long. It picks up briefly in the middle, with Lucky stars and Million years, and the closer Now ... read more

This album was absolutely fucking phenomenal. I've heard a lot of hype surrounding Little Simz, and DAMN did she not disappoint on this. For starters, her flow is fucking immaculate. Whether loud or quiet, she can keep a consistent stream of bars going that really keeps you engaged the entire time. Her writing is also genuinely insane from beginning to end, with blunt but simultaneously beautiful lines that really impact you. And the production is also varied as hell, with hard hitting ... read more

This is an album that isn't built for a playlist. It's a live album with absolutely no cuts. The tracks serve more as chapters; the entire live album is one uninterrupted set. I've never heard Kelela's music before this, but I'm aware this is a reinvention of her music, and it works wonderfully as this minimalist, atmospheric soul sound. Such a nice sound, with amazing vocals, and a band that does a great job with each track. The interludes baked into each song really ... read more

A pretty underrated album! I've never been too much into country music, but this was a really warm experience. It just felt encouraging and comfortable to sink into this record. Some specific highlights include Turned To Dust (Rolling On), for being a great opener, The Water's Fine, for having great instrumentation, and Guns Are For Cowards, for having really blunt but powerful lyrics. However, some of the writing does get a tiny bit cliche around the end of the record, and some of ... read more

This is an album that starts good, but sorta slowly dies out throughout the album. All the fun beats are packed into the first few tracks, and the remaining 2/3rds or so of the album is just kind of whatever. Decent rapping, although the autotune occasionally works against him on a couple tracks. It's 41 minutes, but the number of songs makes it feel much longer than that, and the tracks are hard to tell apart by the end. It's sad, because I was excited, then it just slowly fell off.

An incredibly well produced album by Stereolab! While it doesn't quite hit the highs of Dots and Loops, and a generally less fluid album, this is still a wonderfully fun time with lots of unique and cool instrumentation! Especially since this is a return to music after 15 years of absense for the band, this is a great comeback album! They've still got it in them, and the highs of the worldbuilding from track to track (especially on songs like Flashes From Everywhere and Melodie Is A ... read more

This is sonically and technically a great album, but I do have some conflicted thoughts. For one, the early Linkin Park influences are apparent, but it doesn't do much aside from those homages. It is definitely heavier than those albums, and there's great rapping and vocal performance, but there's nothing to set this apart as LANDMVRKS's record, aside from the French bits, which don't really work in its favor, in my opinion. A lot of these songs are headbangers, and if ... read more

This is a pretty solid album with some fun moments. I'd say the album peaks around the middle, with tracks like Lifestyle Trainers and Chapel of Salt being clear standouts due to their addicting sound, but the rest of the album is pretty good too, especially near the first half. It does admittedly lose some energy in the second half, but it's still a nice time all around, and great for Panchiko fans.

A pretty good album! Really brutal and blunt with the lyrics about addiction and poverty, and very coherent the whole time. The telephone interludes tie everything together, and it's hard not to feel as he raps over a wide range of heavy topics. His flow is nice, and the features keep things fresh. Overall just a nice time, and while it may not be the best thing that's dropped this year, it's absolutely something hip hop heads should check out.

A pretty mixed bag of remixes and covers of This Is Why. Some of these matches work great. When it works, it really feels believable. For example, Wet Leg's take on C'est Comma Ca fits their style so well (from what I've heard of them), that it fits them better than the OG fits Paramore. Additional highlights include Romy's near-cinematic take on Liar, Remi Wolf's similar-yet-distinct rendition on You First, and Julien Baker's powerful recreation of Thick Skull. ... read more

A pretty solid and cute indie album throughout. There are some nice moments here, and there's good vocal work. The writing can feel a bit juvenile and forced, especially near the last third, but it's a nice vibe, at least. I can appreciate its ability to flow from indie rock to bedroom pop to more acoustic songs while still being on the same theme. (and it loops into itself!) It's not a perfect time, nor something I'd necessarily come back to much, but its neat.

A weird album that does have nice atmosphere, but also drags on a large amount. It's got some nice vocals and instrumentation, but I found it too lowkey to get into, unfortunately. It's good at making an atmosphere, though, I'll give it that. I just wished that atmosphere was a bit more crisp and less subtle, since that's the real meat of the record.

This is the definition of "FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAH" if it were an album. It may be 29 minutes, but it sure as fuck don't feel like it. This is full of adrenaline from beginning to very end. The vocals are fast-paced, political, and full of emotion, which really feels like the return of nu metal, which, as a fan of the genre, I really fuck with. This is a really underrated act that people should check out. Beautifully chaotic.