Wow... who knew Arca's production could be so sexy?

Anyway, this is a big step up from her previous record with a style that suits FKA twigs perfectly. These are all incredible, wonky R&B tracks!

How's That: 9.5
Papi Pacify: 10
Water Me: 8.5
Ultraviolet: 10

-1.25

Score:
9.2
Outstanding

FKA twigs' cleverly-titled EP shows a lot of potential for the artist, with some wonkyass production. There's still some more room to grow, though.

Weak Spot: 8.5
Ache: 9.5
Breathe: 9
Hide: 7.5

-1.25

Score:
8.3
Great

Incorporating violin into contemporary R&B and art pop, Sudan Archives isn't really what you would call a conventional artist. The violins and production are great here and the overall concept is empowering. There are a few tracks that don't impress due to how sparse they are, but "Athena" is still a solid debut outing.

Fav Tracks: Black Vivaldi Sonata, Glorious, Pelicans In The Summer, Honey, Did You Know, Iceland Moss, Confessions, Down On Me

Least Fav Track: ... read more

"Kiwanuka" is a soulful little soul gem that souls the soul until your soul souls and you can't sell your soul. The production from Danger Mouse (whenever I see him credited I get hella horny) is beautiful and the instrumental pallet is simply immaculate. Meanwhile, Kiwanuka's vocals tenderly penetrate the ears and the lyrics, while slightly cliche, provide plenty of emotional depth.

Why is this review so aroused? Help me.

Fav Tracks: Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love), Solid Ground, ... read more

Earl Sweatshirt’s new surprise release retains the same sound he helped popularize on “Some Rap Songs”, his best sound. Still, the results are as riveting as ever. The lo-fi, whirling production is fantastic, and it once again complements Earl’s poignant lyrics, which are actually more depressing than SRS. Top it off with the brilliant guest appearances from Mavi and The Alchemist and “Feet of Clay” is yet another welcome contender for the ever-expanding ... read more

An album recommended to me by my good fellow @Sooperatory on the M/P Gang Discord Server, “Daughter of Darkness” is something I wasn’t expecting myself to not get bored of. I don’t usually listen to drone but, even when tracks would reach up to 40+ minutes in length, the album always captivated me. The atmosphere is immediately haunting, one of the most striking I’ve heard on a drone record, the instrumentation is gorgeous and each track presents itself with a ... read more

Very impressed with this EP! The production is really good, the delivery is well-done and the lyrics are funny and come with heartfelt, personal messages. It’s stuff I can totally relate to. Maybe the flow can be a little spotty at times, the mixing can be hit or miss and I felt like “ice pack” was more of a head-scratcher (though I did think it was one of the most lyrically impactful on the entire project), but otherwise, I wouldn’t really pick out anything outright bad ... read more

"I abhor that record. Bill Laswell is a very good producer, but we didn't mesh well. I was intimidated and sang in this cramped, monotone way. It didn't sell, and we got dropped." - Michael Gira on The Burning World

"The Burning World" is not at all bad. In fact, I like this record a lot. The production is good, the songwriting is great and the instrumentation is fine enough. It's just that it isn't really a "Swans" record. It's a lot more accessible and maybe a ... read more

After a pretty bumpy start, Swans redeem themselves with "Children of God"... and they're better than they've ever been. They go for a more neofolk sound while retaining the gothic aesthetics, foreboding atmosphere, terrifying lyrics and sheer brilliance that make Swans such staples of experimental rock in the first place.

Fav Tracks: New Mind; Blind Love; Beautiful Child; Blackmail; In My Garden; Blood and Honey; Like a Drug (Sha La La); Children of God; Sex, God, Sex

Least Fav ... read more

It didn't connect with me as much as "Immunity" did, but "Singularity" is still a beautifully-organic electronic record packed with many memorable moments and breathtaking atmosphere.

Fav Tracks: Emerald Rush, Singularity, Everything Connected, Neon Drum Pattern, Luminous Beings, Feel First Life

Least Fav Track: Echo Dissolve

Score:
8.8
Exceptional

[Treasure Tuesday Ep. 12]

“Stereo” is a brief, formulaic but perfectly decent and easygoing LP-ish with great vocals, crisp production and some incredible instrumentation. The aesthetics kinda remind me of “SATURATION” era BROCKHAMPTON, especially on “Hijo de Su Madre”. The lyrics are nothing interesting and I wish these vocals had more presence in the mix.

Fav Tracks: Erase, Ignorin, Hijo de Su Madre, Ugotme

Least Fav Track: Amor Malo

Treasure Approval ... read more

"Immunity" is a beautiful, complex, emotional and oddly human electronic record. The attention to detail is simply astonishing and the amount of variety presented on each track is incredible. Overall, this is one of the best IDM records of the decade!

Fav Tracks: Open Eye Signal, Immunuty, We Disappear, Sun Harmonics, Breathe This Air, Collider

Least Fav Track: Form By Firelight

Score:
9.6
Amazing

The execution leaves a lot to be desired, but "Insides" is still a very impressive leap from Hopkins' previous works. There's a lot of amazing IDM highlights here, and the attention to detail is something to behold.

Fav Tracks: Insides, A Light Through The Veins, Wire, Colour Eye, Autumn Hill, Vessel

Least Fav Track: A Drifting Up

Score:
8.2
Great

"Spiritual Instinct" is a pretty epic "metal" record with incredible riffs, great vocals and outstanding production. There's also a concept to chew up, but the language barrier and the translations coming out as vague didn't really make me envelope it as much as I needed to.

Fav Tracks: Les jardins de minuit, L’île des morts, Sapphire, Spiritual Instinct

Least Fav Track: Protection

Score:
8.6
Exceptional

I think King Princess has huge potential to be a great queer artist and it shows on a number of songs. I think the production is great, her songwriting is catchy and pretty solid and her vocals are really good. The big problem I have with "Cheap Queen" is that the tracklist is extremely inconsistent.

Fav Tracks: Prophet, Cheap Queen, Ain't Together, Tough On Myself, You Destroyed My Heart, Trust Nobody, Homegirl

Least Fav Tracks: Do You Wanna See Me Crying?

Score:
7.3
Good

"Cry" is a beautifully-produced but monotonous dream pop record with some predictably cliche writing. The vocals have enough emotion to carry these tracks and the melodies are fine, but they can only do so much to the already basic, dramatic lyrics.

Fav Tracks: Heavenly, Don't Let Me Go, Cry, Touch

Least Fav Tracks: Kiss It Off Me, Hentai

Score:
5.9
Okay

I actually quite enjoyed this compilation! Everyone here (Xiu Xiu, Open Mike Eagle, Street Sects/Nick Sadler/Lingua Ignota, Chong the Nomad, etc.) did an great job! The fact that Anthony got all these big names to do this is absolutely insane, especially since it's for a good cause.

Fav Tracks: Last Coat of Paint, Yellow Candle, Fourteen Frames, The Edge of New Clothes, Undervelvet (I want an album btw. No pressure), Gloria, Kick in the World, Grey Jab, The Harp Song

Least Fav Track: Rubber ... read more

Here goes another cliche review in 3... 2... 1...

"Pony" is a fun indie record with some great production, clever lyrics and introspective themes. I wish there was more material on it but I still get some sweet value from how much I enjoyed it.

UGH that was painful!

Fav Tracks: Pluto Projector, It's Not The Same Anymore, It Gets Better, Always, 10/10, Laser Lights

Least Fav Track: Stressed Out

Score:
8.5
Exceptional

"Impermanence" is a beautifully-bare album that uses its minimalist arrangements to great effect, and they act as a textured support for Peter Silberman's hauntingly intimate vocals and outstanding lyrics. The album as a whole doesn't really leave the same impact as a normal Antlers project, though, but it gets away with enough to spare.

Fav Tracks: Ahimsa, Karuna, Gone Beyond, New York

Least Fav Track: Impermanence

Score:
8
Great

It may not have the same somber storyline as "Hospice", but "Familiars" makes up for it with everything else. Peter Silberman's falsetto has been fine-tuned to perfection on this record, and his thought-provoking songwriting is at peak form. Meanwhile, the production is beautifully-haunting, with great guitar and bass work and steady drum grooves. Overall, "Familiars" is The Antlers' most seductive work yet and I can't believe how much I'm LOVING this band!

Fav ... read more