"United" isn't particularly an ideal start to a band. While it has a lot of groovy, funky production and some good instrumentation, the mix leaves a lot to be desired and the country tinge during the second half is out-of-place and obnoxious.

Fav Tracks: If I Ever Feel Better, Funky Squaredance, Too Young, Embuscade, Honeymoon

Least Fav Track: Party Time

Score:
6.6
Decent

While there's some potential here and there are a few tolerable-to-good tracks I could pick out, "Stoney" is a giant slog of an album with little passion put into it, with consistently vapid lyrics and stiff, lifeless production.

Fav Tracks: White Iverson, Congratulations, I Fall Apart... I guess?

Least Fav Tracks: Deja Vu; Cold; No Option; Too Young; Yours Truly, Austin Post

Score:
3.3
Bad

Ok. So... I might sound crazy, but I actually love "Red" more than "In the Court of The Crimson King". This record actually connected with me more than that album and, all in all, felt more exciting! There was never a dull moment here because everything here is so perfectly orchestrated! The lyrics are great, the melodies are outstanding, the riffs are incredible and that bass tone is so adrenaline-pumping! Overall, while their debut will always be a masterpiece, ... read more

After all the drama surrounding the band split, I decided "eh, why not".

Now, as an atheist, I don't really bother with a lot of religious music or culture. "Litourgiya" is a different story, though. Even if the concept doesn't touch me and the songs can lack in depth beyond what they have to offer, the instrumentation is sooo, SOOOOO eargasmic, the vocals are impressive and the production, incorporating christian chants, is really creative. Overall, this is an ... read more

The "it just works" gang go for an improvised, jazzier approach on "Starless And Bible Black". It works well most of the time but there are some points where it kind of meanders. The last couple of tracks are quite spectacular, though.

Fav Tracks: The Great Deceiver, Fracture, Starless And Bible Black, The Night Watch

Least Fav Track: The Mincer

Score:
8
Great

"Larks' Tongues In Aspic" is yet another lovely entry to the King Crimson cannon. "The Talking Drum" gets in the way of this being a full on 9, but pretty much everything else is, wait for it, some of their best tracks to date! The second part of the title track especially sounds like the precursor to post-rock.

Fav Tracks: Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Easy Money, Book Of Saturday

Least Fav Track: The Talking Drum

Score:
9.5
Amazing

To be honest, I was never really blown away by Tycho's music and this doesn't really do much to change that. However, I will say that it's a breezy, well-crafted and rather harmless record, with the addition of vocals being a decent change of pace.

Fav Tracks: Pink & Blue, Easy, For How Long, Weather, Japan

Least Fav Track: No Stress

Score:
6.8
Decent

"K.R.I.T. IZ HERE" is a very hit-or-miss record. Some of the production is extremely fun, while at other times it's generic. Big K.R.I.T. shines on here while others either shine with him or falter with their performances. While there's nothing terrible about it, it all just feels like an attempt at reaching a wider audience, even at the expense of consistency.

Fav Tracks: Believe, M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I, Everytime, K.R.I.T HERE, Blue Flame Ballet, I Been Waitin, I Made, Outer ... read more

Ugh, that is a lot of mixed feelings. The first half of "III" is pretty decent and I think the songwriting is OKAY, but the rest of the album just takes a huge dip in quality. Also, despite a few pretty moments, the mixing is horrible. I get that the distortion is intentional, but it grows stale after the first few times. Some of the vocoded vocals also make it ugly (I'm looking at you, "Look What You're Doing To Me"). So... yeah. This record left a sour taste in my mouth, ... read more

Ron Weasley's left testicle returns and he's brought some buddies with him. It's one thing if you're ditching your already bland sound for an even more bland one, it's another if an already dreadful feature list underperforms. How the fuck do you make Travis Scott, of all people, sound so goddamn bored?! EVEN SKRILLEX waters down his production just to make a generic trap beat!!! It's that terrible guys! Not to mention, the production can be horrible at times, the vocal chemistry is ... read more

"Angel's Pulse" is a slight but effective artistic progression from "Negro Swan". The songwriting doesn't feel quite as strong as that album, but Dev Hynes' vocals are great, the production is beautiful and the guest list is very impressive (that JOBA verse fucking rips). If you liked his last record, this is a short but sweet diversion with a lot of Blood Orange's strengths and relatively good standard of quality intact.

Fav Tracks: Take It Back, Dark & Handsome, Gold ... read more

Justin's brighter vocal tones work jarringly off the darker instrumental, his entire feature is dull and there's barely any vocal chemistry between the two. He also seems to ad-lib a lot here, like "Hey look! I'm in this song too! Remember me?". I love the original song a lot but this just does not work... at all.

J. Cole and his labelmates have put together a decent compilation. A lot of the verses are good, some of the songs are pretty great ("Wells Fargo" is an amazing change of pace from the rest of the comp) and some of the guest features, ESPECIALLY Kendrick Lamar, are fantastic. Unfortunately, there are some pretty half-baked cuts on here and some of the beats get samey after a while, which makes listening to "Revenge Of The Dreamers III" a bit exhausting.

Fav Tracks: Wells ... read more

I wasn't expecting this album to be good, but it was definitely better than I expected... in a couple of ways. "PINK" is a great opener with some outstanding, creative production (especially the toothbrush sample on "K"). The Tyler and Cudi features were also spot-on and they bring in some much needed charisma to this record. Unfortunately, the flaws that are associated with Jaden's music, and Jaden himself, remain. There are so many corny-as-hell lines on here ("'Til ... read more

"Happy Songs for Happy People" isn't that happy but is happy at the same time. I dunno, it's confusing. But I did get some joy out of this record! The compositions are great, the addition of synths really adds to the atmosphere and it contains some of their greatest tracks yet!

Fav Tracks: Kids Will Be Skeletons, Hunted By a Freak, Ratts of the Capital, Stop Coming to My House, Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep, Moses? I Amn't, Killing All The Flies

Least Fav Track: I Know You Are but ... read more

"Rock Action" took me on a depressing journey that "Come on Die Young" only wished it provided. Sonically, this record is fantastic, providing noisy atmospheres with calmer melodies and when the lyrics pop up, they're hauntingly beautiful. It also contains some of Mogwai's best work to date!

Fav Tracks: Take Me Somewhere Nice, Two Rights Make One Wrong, You Don'T Know Jesus, Dial: Revenge, Sine Wave

Least Fav Track: Robot Chant

Score:
9.2
Outstanding

Wow. Just amazing! It's a great change of pace from their last record with some epic composition and instrumentation and one hell of a noisy ending!

I mean, it's slightly better than the second one but it's still a very generic, barebones and outright awful EDM record that still proves that Marshmello has absolutely nothing to offer.

Fav Track: Rescue Me

Least Fav Tracks: Everything else

Score:
2.2
It's Marshmello, what else did you expect?

"Come on Die Young" is a very depressing album and, in that regard, it mostly works well. The instrumentation is stellar and the performances are very tight overall. Unfortunately, it also ends up being slow and monotonous throughout its 67-minute time-frame. It does pick up during the end, however, with "Christmas Steps" being the standout.

Fav Tracks: Christmas Steps, Cody, Ex-Cowboy, Chocky, Waltz for Aidan, Kappa

Least Fav Track: Oh! How the Dogs Stack ... read more

"Mutant" expands upon the sounds that made up "Xen" and goes into more abrasive territory while also getting more and more eerily beautiful as the 20-track record goes on. Overall, Arca continues to show that she's one of the most unpredictable electronic artists of the decade!

Fav Tracks: Mutant, Sinner, Faggot, Front Load, Snakes, Vanity, Alive, Umbilical, En, Hymn, Anger, Soichiro

Least Fav Track: Enveloped

Score:
9.3
Outstanding