I feel like in theory I should really like this album, it nails the soundscape it’s going for, I could tell that it’s well produced, I like james’ voice, and it’s definitely very creative, but it does absolutely nothing for me, the first 2-3 songs are pretty good though, then it just falls off a fucking cliff.

The biggest problem for me is that this album just sounds so… disjointed. The melodies often feel like an afterthought and the song is just a space for ... read more

Getting into Perfume Genius' discography in chronological order was the right choice after all, as watching this man's artistry evolve with time has been fascinating to witness. While he first came into the music scene known for his lo-fi, simplistic, and brief piano ballads; "No Shape" is loud, vivacious, and maximalistic. The production is dense, rich, and bursting with color, and to think this night and day difference in styles is merely separated by 2 albums! Yet this ... read more

There is no respite in the sadness of “Put Your Back N 2 It”, listening to that record almost fills you with a sense of dread, it is so affecting in its overwhelming despondence towards the world. On “Too Bright”, that sadness is still present, but mixed in with it is something new — anger. Anger that manifests itself as defiance. Perfume Genius declares himself too bright to let the world dim his shine, reflecting this newfound emotional strength is the ... read more

Did not expect to love this record as much as I did, considering how similar this is in sound to “Learning”, but Mike really elevated every aspect of his artistry on this album. The lyrics, first off, are so vulnerable and impactful, they explore som rlly heavy issues like body image, sexual abuse, prostitution, homophobia (both external and internalized) and they’re written so poignantly and are truly thought-provoking, songs like ‘All Waters’ and ... read more

Vastly different from her previous work, Robyn's "Honey" intrigues me due to its unique approach to pop music, a lot of the songs are not particularly interested in being energetic or to 'pump you up', instead the music is chilled, laid-back, focusing mostly on the groove and keeping its arrangements sparse and the production spacey. In my opinion, the record is at its best when it's most conventional. Songs like "Missing U", title track, and "Ever ... read more

This album certainly isn’t without its flaws. It’s probably about three songs too long, could’ve used a bit more variety, and the few conscious efforts to diversify the album’s sound were frankly unsuccessful (Dancehall Queen in particular left me quite confused), but when Robyn sticks to her trusty pop songwriting skills the results were nothing short of spectacular. The run from “Dancing On My Own” to “Call Your Girlfriend” is the definition of ... read more

“Superbloom” nails the bridge between disco and soul. This album sounds super classic and nostalgic but also fresh with HIGH production value, the arrangements are so lush and the use of backing vocals are so tasteful. The album also just FLOWS so well. The music fits the album title to a T, the record (especially the first half) literally sounds like it’s blooming. Jessie’s voice sounds better than ever before, all the singles sound better within the album. She’s ... read more

Incredible production. Incredible vocals. This album manages to mix together many different genres including folk, pop, soft rock, jazz, and even a little bit of country on “Raised On Robbery”. Musically, it’s her most detailed, complex and intricate album yet but it’s also fronted by a very strong pop sensibility that makes a lot of the songs so immediate and endearing. “Help Me” and “Free Man In Paris” are the biggest examples of this, back to ... read more

Joni Mitchell’s had enough of the bullshit. Years upon years of failed relationships and the increasing pressures of her ever-increasing fame has led to this overwhelming feeling of… spite. Spite that she has to let out one way or another, and out came “For The Roses”, her frustrations towards the music industry’s greed (Banquet), its contaminating effect on artists (Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, For The Roses), and her broader observations on women’s ... read more

Her best produced album so far, also her most pop-leaning album so far. The music sounds brighter and the choruses got catchier. Along with this change was Joni's vocals which became warmer and more dynamic on this record, it's the best she's ever sounded. I also loved the occasional use of backing vocals which added even more character to Joni's music. Her songwriting is as sharp and memorable as usual. I loved the very direct social commentary on "For Free" and ... read more

Joni Mitchell took the reigns for production on this record, and immediately fixed a lot of the issues I had with her debut, the mix is much clearer now and she no longer sounds like she was wearing a mask while singing. I still think a lot of the songs are a bit too similar to one another but the songwriting on this record became tighter and there are so many lyrical highlights, I loved the cheerful “Chelsea Morning” and the honesty in “I Don’t Know Where I ... read more

Joni Mitchell’s debut is a pleasant enough listen, very warm and pastoral folk songs of neat little stories that showcase Mitchell”s great lyrical talent. “Marcie” has my favourite lyrics of all the songs and I also quite enjoyed the macabre tone of “Pirate of the Penance”. The songs don’t really do much to stand out from one another though and the production doesn’t really help things, I really disliked how reverby the recordings were and it ... read more

The unforeseen genre-bending, global musical influences, deconstructed club sound palette, hectic beats, pop sensibility, and natural swagger in the vocal delivery; it’s like the M.I.A. that died back in 2013 after making Matangi transformed into a spirit and possessed her. The song MIXTAPE is the only thing I’ve heard so far that was able to give me the same high as listening to Vicki Leekx for the first time. But Marina Satti is far from an M.I.A. copycat, what she’s doing ... read more

The biggest highlight of this record is its production. First of all, it’s effortlessly versatile; bending to what each individual song needs with ease without losing the album’s sonic cohesion. It’s also deceptively innovative; hiding behind a very easy-to-digest, contemporary 2000s style is the infusion of so many different genres and influences. Now factor in the intricacy and meticulousness of the sound design, makes this one of the best produced mainstream albums ... read more

Truly the daughter of Velvet Rope through and through, a lot of the production on Full Moon pulls from various subgenres of electronic dance music and merges it with catchy R&B melodies. The result is an album that sounds fresh, sleek, and at times futuristic even to this day. Some of the instrumentals on this thing, like on the incredible “What About Us?” and “All In Me”, are so busy that it’s almost unbelievable that somebody could sing R&B over it and ... read more

Musically, D’Angelo’s Voodoo is very unique. The structure of many songs on this record is very loose and unconventional, and the density of D’Angelo’s vocal layering contrasts heavily with the soft instrumentation. Combine that with the 80 minute runtime, makes for a surprisingly inaccessible record, especially when you compare it to his debut Brown Sugar. It took multiple listens across 2 consecutive days for me to finally wrap my head around this album, to fully ... read more

While I do appreciate how organic this album sounds and how prominent the guitars are, I don’t like how thin the production is and I simply prefer my synthpop to be more “synthy”. But an even bigger problem is the fact that the album severely lacks dynamism. They pick one groove for each song and stick to it without switching it up throughout its entire runtime. Even if the initial groove is pretty decent, it gets tedious quite quickly. This criticism that I have also explains ... read more

The fact that one of the most experimental pop albums I’ve ever heard came from the cantopop scene of all places is absolutely wild. Considering how artistically restrictive the industry is then (and even moreso now), it’s a miracle that something this defiantly uncommercial was even approved to be made and released, with seemingly minimal label intervention as well. “Golden Flower” has such a strong artistic vision, nearly all of the songs are built on top of dense and ... read more

The follow-up to 唱遊 sees Faye Wong distancing herself from the Cocteau Twins-inspired sound that she has been operating in artificially for the past few years, instead crafting an incredibly versatile record where she tries out a wide range of different genres. You could tell her approach in making this record was different from the getgo, the first track 開到荼蘼 is easily the most dramatic thing Faye has made up to this point, the lyrics speak of a buddhist view of existence, that ... read more

唱遊 feels like a more accessible version of 浮躁, the dreamy soundscape is still there but the melodic lines of the songs became more prominent. She also took the opportunity of venturing out to try some different sounds. I loved the lowkey trip hop of 色誡, but the cantonese version 情誡 is even better, loved how the instrumental of the latter is more aggressive with an almost alternative rock flavour to it. The closing track 童 is another highlight, a rare dance track from Faye and ... read more