Not quite as consistent or as powerful as I was expecting and I wish "Can the Sub_Bass Speak" was on here, but "There Is No Year" is still an interesting ,well-written and performed dystopian post-punk album with lots of soul influence and a great deal of synths and electronics.

Fav Tracks: Unoccupied, There Is No Year, Void, We Can't Be Found, Losing Is Ours, Chaka

Least Fav Track: Hour Of The Furnaces

Score:
7.4
Good

"Music To Be Murdered By" is even further proof that Eminem is failing as lyricist, let alone a musician. The production is fine, everything else flat on their face into the Earth's core. Almost every feature is terrible, but the big aspect that made me especially pissed off is the lyrics. Not only are they utter fucking garbagio, they are also in very poor taste. We have the intro... which is okay. Then we have Em joking about the Manchester Ariana Grande concert bombings and we have ... read more

"Manic" kinda sums up how I feel about Halsey's music in general. It's just... generic. I liked some of the production on here and there were actually a few great highlights. "3am" is a pop-punk-infused track and the only one I deem as actually catchy and "Dominic's Interlude" is... well, it's Dominic Fike. What else did I expect? Unfortunately, the record squanders itself into "sad" pop with nothing to say and nothing to feel from it.

Fav Tracks: ... read more

On September 7th of 2018, Mac Miller had an unfortunate and untimely death from a drug overdose. The world was understandably upset because they wouldn’t be able to hear new music. Little did we know, however, that Mac had been in the studio writing and recording a new album shortly before his passing... and the results are surprisingly great.

This time he was going for a more laid-back, more lively sound. The calming, patient bass grooves, the soft percussion and other sweet ... read more

Okay. First of all, Alexandra Savior has some damn fine vocals... very beautifully-delivered. They mesh really well with the overall psychedelic production, which is also quite beautiful. I'm not sure if I'm gonna come back to this or not, but the results on "The Archer" are definitely worth a shot for its 30-minute runtime.

Fav Tracks: Can't Help Myself, Soft Currents, Bad Disease, Saving Grace, Crying All the Time, The Archer

Least Fav Track: But You

Score:
8.6
Exceptional

Wow, even the B-Sides are great! "List Of People (To Try And Forget About)" especially is a clever(ly-titled), deadpan jam about trying to forget about your past, even if it's still gonna stick with with you forever. The rest of the leftovers are pretty much as good and as pristine as the stuff on "Currents", though I could kinda understand why they were tossed (except for "Powerlines", that would've made for an amazing interlude or a replacement for "Past ... read more

"Seeking Thrills" is a perfectly fine synthpop album with some decent writing and a few great, even slightly experimental, cuts. Unfortunately, the vocals don't shine very brightly and the generic moments fall flat on their face.

Fav Tracks: Started Out, Ultimate Sailor, Honey Dripping Sky, Ray Guns, Till I Own It, Never Let You Go

Least Fav Tracks: Mellow, 24 Hours

Score:
6.2
Fine

I'm gonna be honest here, I've listened to everything by Tame Impala... except for "Innerspeaker". After a year or two of trying, however, I've finally gotten my hands on it and... it's pretty great. Tame Impala kick off their debut with that psychedelic sound they're (he's) known for, though in a more traditional way. It might not have the same amount of soundplay as later projects would, the album makes up for it with loads of reverb/delay and phaser effects, a big soft spot for me. ... read more

On Tame Impala's debut EP, you can see this Beatles-inspired band being... the Beatles. That's not as bad as it sounds, though. While the sound isn't as clean cut as their later works, they at least go for some intriguing, psychedelic 60's sounds here with Kevin Parker doing his best Lennon impression. Okay, yeah, I'm kinda making this EP sound worse than it actually is. But I do recommend you to check this out if you're on a Tame Impala deep dive.

Desire Be Desire Go: 7.5
Skeleton Tiger: ... read more

"Rare" is a forgettable album at best and an annoying one at its worst. It has a few decent cuts here and there, but Selena does nothing to make this stand out from a lot of other cookie-cutter pop albums that have come out the last few years.

Fav Tracks: Kinda Crazy, Cut You Off, A Sweeter Place, Vulnerable

Least Fav Tracks: Look At Her Now, Ring, Lose You To Love Me

Score:
4.8
Meh

After constantly swapping and switching styles alongside her internet persona, Poppy manages to create a surprisingly great metal album with “I Disagree”! I feared the mix of pop and metal would get predictable and repetitive as it went on but there’s a surprising amount of variety in the second half. “Concrete” is a multi-phased journey through lolipops and blood-drenched spikes, “BLOODMONEY” is a skull-ripping industrial banger, and then the album ... read more

"Hot Thoughts" goes for quirkier experiments and the payoff is really solid, albeit all over the place. The instrumentation is solid, there are some great hooks, the writing is sharp and the overall aesthetic makes this a very fun Spoon album.

Fav Tracks: Hot Thoughts, Can I Sit Next to You, Shotgun, WhisperI'lllistentohearit, I Ain't the One, Do I Have to Talk You Into It

Least Fav Track: Pink Up

Score:
8.1
Great

"Disintegration" is undoubtedly The Cure's peak. Robert Smith and crew have really stepped up their A-game when it came to this release. The effects-laden instrumentation is simply gorgeous, ethereal and trance-like, more than any other Cure album before, the lyrics are also a highlight, with the poetry and romanticism going hand-in-hand with the nervousness of Robert's vocal delivery. Overall, this was such a beautiful, dreamy album that never overstayed its 60-minute welcome!

Fav ... read more

I regret everything I’ve said before. I remember the reason why I gave this album such an absurdly high score was because of its “classic” status and to show some kind of support for the lead single being on the UK charts when Trump came to visit. Plus I had the shirt and poster for some reason. Revisiting “American Idiot”, I came to the realization of how frontloaded and aggressively average of a punk record this is. The concept seems really intriguing at first, ... read more

"Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" is a charming, energetic and romantic album that makes up for its 74-minute runtime with a HUGE batch of gothic love jams! The writing is great, the instrumentation is outstanding and much of the record manages to be hooky.

Fav Tracks: Just Like Heaven, One More Time, Fight, Torture, The Kiss, Catch, Hey You!!!, The Snakepit, Hot Hot Hot!!!, All I Want, Shiver and Shake

Least Fav Track: The Perfect Girl

Score:
9.3
Outstanding

C'mon. I know what this guy is capable of, just not this. "Barriers" just feels like a forgettable rock album with a few highlights and a lot of forgettable tracks. The instrumentation and guitar work is solid, but Frank Iero's vocals are awkward and sound like Rivers Cuomo trying to be 90's Rivers Cuomo.

Fav Tracks: Moto Pop, Fever Dream, Young and Doomed, 24K Lush, Sixteen Feet Down Under, Medicine Square Garden

Least Fav Tracks: Ode to Destruction, Great Party

Score:
5.6
Okay

The instrumentation and production are raw, the and the vocals are aggressive as hell, but the lyricism is quite watered-down on "Keep The Coffins Coming". Also, did there have to be an ass cover of "You Are My Sunshine" on here?

I'm a Mess: 7
BFF: 8.5
No Fun Club: 8
You Are My Sunshine: 3.5

-2.5

Score:
6.1
Fine

"Parachutes" is quite the mixed bag. One the one hand, you have these great, catchy songs with lots of aggression and great production. On the other, however, you have some weak, sometimes annoying, performances from Frank and some genuinely weak songs.

Fav Tracks: World Destroyer; 9-6-15; They Wanted Darkness...; I'll Let You Down; Dear Percocet, I Don't Think We Should See Each Other Anymore; Viva Indifference

Least Fav Track: Miss Me

Score:
6.6
Decent

As a post-MCR album, Frank Iero's solo debut is great. The raw, lo-fi production is great, though it can be mixed better, the lyrics are great and the guitar work is as good as you can get with Frankie. Overall, this is kinda under the radar... so I recommend you give this a shot if you like some sad, catchy punk rock.

Fav Tracks: .weighted.; Neverenders; Blood Infections; She's the Prettiest Girl at the Party, and She Can Prove It with a Solid Right Hook; .stitches.; Joyriding; ... read more

Poppy still brings us some great pop tunes on "Poppy.Computer" and some of the production is fun and catchy. Unfortunately her personality doesn't always come through on these songs, making some of them seem a little bland.

Fav Tracks: I'm Poppy, Computer Boy, Moshi Moshi, Software Upgrade, My Style, Fuzzy

Least Fav Tracks: Beach Blonde Baby, My Microphone

Score:
7
Good