While "Extraordinary Machine" isn't as gratifying as her other previous two records, and I heard about the troublesome development behind this album, it's still a gorgeous and extremely enjoyable ride! Fiona Apple, once again, showcases some outstanding songwriting matched with astounding vocal performances. The instrumentals are also terrific here, with every instrument sounding crisp and setting the mood perfectly for every track! I may be saying what other people are saying here, ... read more

It's hard to get over the common case of "sophomore slump", but Fiona Apple manages to get over that hurdle with ease. While it's pretty much on par with "Tidal" in terms of quality (no, it's better), "When the Pawn" is a lot more ferocious and intense! I mean, she's just angry here, just frustrated about how she handled her past relationships. Even more of her songwriting talent is on display here, along with a growth in terms of lyrical ability and, of course, ... read more

"Forever" is certainly pretty, but pretty is all this album really does. What holds this album back is that, besides a couple of great tracks, a few messy ambient tracks enter the mix, resulting in a rather pointless record (besides being an ode to his late friend).

Fav Tracks: S.W.I.M., Anyone Can Play Guitar

Least Fav Tracks: Vow, Language

Score:
5.8
Okay

"Song for Our Daughter" is a relatively unambitious but beautiful folk record. Laura Marling is terrific here, with amazing, mature writing throughout and lovely vocals on top of simple-but-effective instrumentation and great melodies (especially in "The End of the Affair").

Fav Tracks: Song for Our Daughter, The End of the Affair, Held Down, For You, Strange Girl, Alexandra

Least Fav Track: Hope We Meet Again

Score:
8.6
Exceptional

Horse Lords pack a bag full of music theory on "The Common Task", with off-kilter rhythms and time signatures throughout. The results are very mind-bending, twisted and minimalist-ish. While there are one or two moments where the self-indulgence gets the best of it, I really, really anticipate what they're gonna do next!

Fav Tracks: Fanfare for Effective Freedom, People's Park, Against Gravity, Integral Accident

Least Fav Track: The Radiant City

Score:
8.7
Exceptional

They told us to not pretend to hate Bladee so here I go.

I hate this Bladee album.

Now, I respect the opinions of the fans of Drain Gang, but I just didn't like this very much. I'm sorry. "EXETER" is an aggressively mediocre project that is plagued with a host of underwritten and repetitive tracks, awful vocals and terrible production and mixing. It's pretty, but I can't really go through repeated listens without feeling a little ill. Like, the aesthetic is so unappealingly ... read more

The music being produced by inspired users on this very website is being increased by the minute, all varying in quality of course. We had our first volume curated by @acreativename in August of last year and, while it's kinda unlistenable right now due to many users taking their tracks off of SoundCloud, it was a very mixed bag. However, the quality of the music has only been improving since and it's especially evident on the second installment curated by @evancool.

The results are still very ... read more

The Strokes... they have a history alright. The band practically ruled the rock scene in the early 2000's when "Is This It" and "Room on Fire" came out, but they didn't want to stick to their sound. So they tried to throw whatever ideas were on their plate with semi-mixed results. Julian Casablancas, meanwhile, decided to pursue the experimental lo-fi rock project of his dreams with The Voidz. This is where he was able to regain his composure as an artist, and I ... read more

After the excellent "JazzArt Underground" from last year, "Brass Album" feels a tad underwhelming. The live sound is still there and it's done exceptionally well here. "Hotrs" is an amazing track too... it's so goddamn explosive and it showcases exactly what I love about the post-rock genre. "Same Trupy" was already used on the last album, don't exactly know why it's here, and I still love it... even if this version is a little less punchy than the ... read more

Kicking off the 21st century with a return-ish to form, "Bloodflowers" is another enjoyable Cure record with great production. Not nearly as riveting as their earlier work, but I'm surprised they did their sound justice here. Definitely an underappreciated work from them.

Fav Tracks: Watching Me Fall, Out of This World, The Last Day of Summer, Maybe Someday, Where the Birds Always Sing

Least Fav Track: The Loudest Sound

Score:
7.6
Very Good

I only heard of this guy through recommendations for one of his albums back when he was Milo, "So the Flies Don't Come" (gotta check that out sometime), but damn! This was a treat to sit through! "Purple Moonlight Pages" is a fantastic jazz rap record! The production here is simply beautiful, the instrumentation, especially the bass, is fantastic and Milo spits some heady, wordy verses throughout this entire album!

Fav Tracks: GREENS, LAUNDRY, AN IDEA IS A WORK OF ART, ... read more

While it's nothing that new in the drum and bass genre and it could've benefited from a shorter length, "Draining Love Story" is still very enjoyable with some cool atmosphere, neat samples and a surprising amount of emotion placed onto every track.

Fav Tracks: Mr Kill Myself, Slowdeath, Down the Drain, Lexapro Delirium, This Fleeting Feeling

Least Fav Track: Swinging in His Cell

Score:
7.7
Very Good

While it's clear that they will never reach the heights of their 80's work, "Wish" is still a reasonably solid alternative rock album. There are plenty of "Highs" in the tracklist. That song and, of course, "Friday I'm in Love" are cleverly-written and well-produced tracks that show what makes these guys great. It's just that there isn't anything mind-blowing here and the album feels like it goes on for way too long.

Fav Tracks: High, ... read more

"Earthly Delights" is just as intense as Lightning Bolt's previous albums. The highlights are there, with frantic drumming and cool-ass bass riffs. Only this time they've gone for repetition and it works for most of the time. It can prove a little grating after a while, though.

Fav Tracks: Transmissionary, Colossus, The Sublime Freak, Funny Farm, S.O.S., Sound Guardians

Least Fav Track: Rain on Lake I'm Swimming In

Score:
8.4
Great

It's a shame becuase "Hotspots" started off really well. A few of the songs have this cheesiness that I think is unironically funny and cool. Unfortunately, that fizzles out for the rest of the album in favor of dated production and a couple of bad moments too.

Like, who the fuck thought "Wedding in Berlin" was a good idea? Apparently, Pet Shop Boys.

Fav Tracks: Will-o-the-wisp, Happy people, I don't wanna, Dreamland,

Least Fav Tracks: Wedding in Berlin, Monkey ... read more

I really like the first few tracks and the EP has lots of cool lo-fi beats. I also really like the flow he brings. Quality-wise, though, "The Circus" does fall pretty short after those first few tracks and the length of the overall project does come off as underwhelming.

Fav Tracks: Carefree, The Light, Same Ol

Least Fav Track: Flaunt

Score:
6.3
Fine

Alright, I remember half-assedly reviewing "Us" back when it came out a year and a half ago. I remember liking it but an 8.3... probably didn't age very well. This was back when I was more lenient on pop albums, and it also came out literally a week before Daughters' "You Won't Get What You Want" so my view on music has rapidly progressed since then.

Anyway, "I'm Your Empress Of" is also pretty good. It's pretty formulaic and there are a few tracks that meander, ... read more

Passionate, funny and introspective, "Superstar" is a fun and enjoyable album. Her vocals, while not the greatest, are solid, the pacing is good and the songwriting is great. The album also benefits from having some of the best production of the year, with lots of excellently-placed synthesizers adding to the already amazing engineering on display.

Fav Tracks: Do You Think We'll Last Forever?, Back to the Beginning, Nothing's Impossible, Feel the Way I Want, Pipe Dream, Got to Go My ... read more

Tony Hawk's son (I'm serious) creates some surprisingly great bubblegum bass bangers. These tracks are mostly infectious as hell with some great, goofy production. "Thos Moser" is obviously the best track on here. Fraxiom's feature never lets up with their consistently hilarious lyrics and the absolutely BANGING production from Gupi! While I do wish for a bit more variety towards the end, "None" is still a great homage to the PC Music trend, more specifically 100 gecs.

Fav ... read more

The production on "WOMB" is often very well done and provides some interesting soundscapes. But Purity Ring trades substance for prettiness here, as the tracklist is stiff when it comes to variety and songwriting chops.

Fav Tracks: rubyinsides, stardew, pink lightning, femia, almanac

Least Fav Track: i like the devil

Score:
6.5
Decent