From the main genre tags, I expected this to be a "standard" power pop/indie rock record. But one click of the play button sent bombs of wholesome, lo-fi joy. This is a very welcoming change of scenery from the darker music I always listen to. The assortment of creative ideas, heartwarming writing and fun production got me hooked throughout its hour-long runtime. Definitely excited for what they have in store for the future!

Fav Tracks: dallas, glass beach, yoshi's island, classic j ... read more

I never expected myself to fall in love with an Anamanaguchi album (besides the Scott Pilgrim game soundtrack) but here we are. "[USA]" is an explosive and beautiful chiptune/bitpop album that contains some of the best production in the chiptune scene all while providing some infectious melodies.

Fav Tracks: On My Own, Lorem Ipsum (Arctic Anthem), Overwriting Incorporate, Sunset By Plane, The C R T Woods, Air On Line, B S X, We Die

Least Fav Track: Apophenia Light [Name ... read more

While I can definitely see the intention for this album, it's pretty much a criticism on nostalgia through TV, the rest of the album can never match the interesting concept. The mixing is horseshit, the production falls flat, the lyrics are overly basic and it ends too short to even leave a single impression on it.

Fav Tracks: Private Time, Goodnite, Arthur

Least Fav Track: Is a Teenage Witch

Score:
3.8
Bad

Medhane's delivery can feel a kinda sluggish, but it doesn't prevent "Own Pace" from becoming yet another great addition to an amazing hip hop movement. I also feel like the production is a lot cleaner? I mean, the loops are so smooth and the samples are so crisp that I kinda feel that way about this album compared to others in the scene.

Fav Tracks: Affirmation #1 and 2, Trauma & Grace, Looking 4 Runtz, 2020sht, Bloody Knuckles, Stranger

Least Fav Track: Walk With ... read more

Ffffuck. That shit hurted. My heart feels like it wants to force its way out of my body and... okay. I need to calm down first.

"The Origin of My Depression" is frightening, maybe too frightening. Sure, it gets a little unsettling in the beginning, but it gradually increases in intensity. Her vocals go from whispers to uncontrollable screams and the drones get more and more abrasive and noisy. It gets even more intense as Uboa puts in even more unsettling sounds. This record is not ... read more

TNGHT's trap sound hasn't really aged that well, but they make up for it with the sheer experimentation and wonkiness of the production. Granted, this does make it a bit more confusing to listen to at first but when it does kick in, it works.

Sepent: 8.5
Dollaz: 8.5
First Body: 8
Club Finger: 8
What_It_Is: 9
I'm In A Hole: 7
Gimme Summn: 8.5

-3.25

Score:
7.7
Very Good

UPDATE FOR [Album of the Day Challenge: Day 19]

So, in all seriousness, I still think this is a very cute little EP. It's nothing remarkable and it's, like, 6 minutes in length but this is still a decently-made effort with a few creepy moments of ambiance too. Not too much to report on.

Oh made an EP

It has clovers

It's adowabow

Go check it out

UwU: a random ambient track that doesn't fit the ep at all, Clover Beat, Sad Clover :(

OwO: HEAVY METAL CLOVER WITH BIRDS

ScOwOre
6.5
ADOWABOW

Hey look! The cover has someone holding an iPhone, and the album is called "Our Pathetic Age". DJ Shadow is so woke rn omg!

As of writing this, I haven't listened to "Endtroducing..." yet. But I don't think that highly-praised record would be this... dull. The first half of this record, while it contains a few fun highlights, mostly resorts to disappointingly cheap production and meh sampling. The second half fairs much better, with the production mostly being a step-up and ... read more

"Soundtracks For The Blind" is a unique beast from everything else I've listened to, not just in Swans' catalog, but in experimental rock in general. The fact that they managed to even make an album of this magnitude and this length (141 minutes) and release it 21 months after "The Great Annihilator" (simply due to some of it being live recordings) is absolutely baffling! The production is hauntingly good, with a lot more editing tricks up their sleeves than before. Michael ... read more

Simply put, "The Great Annihilator" is Swans' darkest album so far! It doesn't just taunt you with dark lyrics in top of sunnier instrumentals anymore. Instead, this goes back to their more experimental past (while fixing many of the issues) and combines it with everything else that they've done. This record is scaarry. Whenever a nightmare of a track ends, another one comes. Aside from the frighteningly good production, Gira and Jarboe's vocals and songwriting are more dangerous than ... read more

HeY lOoK! iT'S wHiTe LiGhT fRoM tHe MoUtH oF iNfInItY pArT tWowo!

Ok, so "Love of Life" is probably a bit more filler-y than its predecessor, but that doesn't mean it isn't magnificent. There are so many memorable songs that take the formula provided on "White Light" and build upon it. The production and instrumentation is great, the lyrics are unnervingly dark and the atmosphere is great! Some of their best shit to date!

Fav Tracks: Amnesia, The Golden Boy That Was ... read more

"Harmony in Ultraviolet" contains some of Tim's most layered and beautiful, sometimes terrifying ambient pieces to date! It also manages to avoid a lot of the problems that plagued his previous works.

Fav Tracks: Dungeoneering; Whitecaps of White Noise; Chimeras; Spring Heeled Jack Flies Tonight; Stags, Aircraft, Kings and Secretaries; Blood Rainbow; Harmony In Blue

Least Fav Track: Palimpsest I & II

Score:
9.2
Outstanding

Tim Heckler returns and is even noisier than before. The contrasts between the noisier and more ambient sounds are seemless and the flow is perfect, but it also feels more aimless and there's no standout tracks other than the dense "Incurably Optimistic!"

Fav Tracks: Incurably Optimistic!, Neither More or Less, The Truth of Accountants, Balkanize-You, Celestina, Aerial Light-Pollution Orange

Least Fav Track: Counter Attack

Score:
7.7
Very Good

[Treasure Tuesday Ep. 14]

I'm usually very open-minded when it comes to exploring new genres. However, "Midnight At the Movies" just read as "COUNTRY ROOOOADS, TAKE ME HOOOOMMEE". I like some of the storytelling here, but at the same time do I really want to hear something I don't like again, especially when it never interested me in the first place?

Fav Tracks: Can't Hardly Wait, They Killed John Henry, Midnight At the Movies

Least Fav Tracks: Walk Out, Dirty ... read more

Tim Hecker has created a dark and emotionally powerful ambient/drone record with "Radio Amor". Each track is beautifully-textured and appropriately buggy, and they all transition seamlessly.

Fav Tracks: Azure Azure; I'm Transmitting Tonight; Song of the Highwire Shrimper; (They Call Me) Jimmy; Trade Winds, White Heat; Careless Whispers; Spectral

Least Fav Track: 7000 Miles

Score:
9
Outstanding

"Haunt Me" can feel a bit aimless at certain points, but it's still a sonically gorgeous and extremely layered ambient debut that shows much potential for Tim Hecker.

Fav Tracks: The Work of Art in the Age of Cultural Overproduction, Music for Tundra, Art Lover's Rock, October, City in Flames, Border Lines

Least Fav Track: Night Flight to Your Heart

Score:
8.5
Exceptional

I have the most conflicted feelings in the best way possible. It's one of the stupidest pieces of shit I've heard in quite some time yet it's also the most intelligent. I'll just put how @acreativename described this album.

"gecs sound like solving the mysteries of the universe with a box of half melted crayons"

So, yeah. "1000 gecs" was an undeniably fun and instantly replayable record for me. You may love it or dread it, but the bizarre mixture of sounds and genres ... read more

Youth, young love, looking back at the past, loneliness, these are the themes that some of the most praised lo-fi indie artists put into their music. Weatherday is no exception, and they're a worthy addition to the crowd. The lyrics are reflectively-written, the songs are extremely well-structured and their vocal delivery is heartwarming. If you could forgive the mixing (which I definitely can), then "Come In" is definitely gonna be a lo-fi classic.

Fav Tracks: My Sputnik Sweetheart; ... read more

WOW! Just WOW! This is breathtakingly good, maybe TOO good!

"It's a Whimsical Afterlife" is a noisy, chaotic, raw-as-shit record that showcases Avenade's sky-high potential as an underground artist. The instrumentation is stellar, the vocals are very versatile, the melodies are outstanding, the lyrics are dark and poetic... I feel like I'm not even scraping the bottom of the barrel for the praise I have for this album! I wholeheartedly loved this!

Fav Tracks: Have It Your Way; Over ... read more

Coming straight outta the Cape, Highly Suspect churns out what is one of the shittiest rock releases of the year. Other than the constant fucking mimics, the features are misused, the production is cheap, the lyrics are downright cringe-worthy and it will probably give you flashbacks from the rap rock uprising of the late-90's and start of the 21st century.

Fav Tracks: Upperdrugs, 16, Arizona

Least Fav Tracks: Fly, @tddybear (WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU CONNIE?!?!?!), SOS, Tetsuo's Bike, Tokyo ... read more