It’s so great to see that Chinese pop music is (or at least was) capable of creating something as impressive as the first 5 tracks on this album. Forward-thinking and daring, detailed yet grandiose. The 90s and early 00s saw so many western popstars (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue) experimenting with new genres, adopting more alternative aesthetics and becoming more ambitious with their art and I’m so happy that we have an eastern counterpart in 王菲, it’s a shame ... read more

After the disappointing and not particularly substantive “Utabiko”, I was very delighted to see the following record “0 having such massive track lengths, as one of my main complaints with Ichiko’s first few records are that a lot of its ideas could’ve been further expanded upon through longer song durations. While not every track on “0” could successfully justify its length, such as the improvised, 11 minute long “Iriguchi Deguchi”, this is ... read more

Ichiko Aoba continues to make very pretty music, unfortunately for the case of “Utabiko” that’s pretty much the only thing it brings to the table. Perhaps it’s contributed by the fact that her first 3 albums are pretty much sonically identical, but I found the record to be quite “in one ear, out the other”, with the exception of the incredible opener that is “IMPERIAL SMOKE TOWN”. This one song alone makes the entire album worth checking out, but ... read more

The guitar playing in “Origami” is much sparser than in “Kamisori Otome”, crafting an even more spacious soundscape, while there’s a certain charm in the serenity, I think the album might’ve been too quiet to the point of being a bit uneventful, that was until the last 3 tracks, particularly “hidokei” where the instrumental became a lot more dynamic and lively. I love the flamenco-influenced riffs in that song and the numerous tempo changes. ... read more

Don't have much to say except that this is genuinely so beautiful, it's unreal how much space she could create in her music with just a guitar and voice. It's just so soothing and serene it's like I'm floating while listening to her sing. It's a shame this is a bit too short and not particularly versatile, because some of the best moments on this 8-track album are when she plays with tempo and rhythm a bit more like on "hikari tokage" and "watakushi ... read more

Might have spoke too soon when I said "Jenny Death" is my favourite Death Grips album, "Bottomless Pit"'s significantly more chorus-heavy approach to its songwriting made this album easily the catchiest thing that the band has ever done. Seriously, this album starts at a 10 and ends at an 11, it is unrelenting in its energy level and it's just banger after banger after banger. The production is immense like all of their records, but their mixing has gotten better ... read more

There are two main threads in "Nothing's About to Happen to Me", the fatal flaw of dependence, and loss of autonomy. Both are reflected through the symbolism of cats, an animal notorious for its clingy and bossy nature. The song "Cats" explores the former theme and "That White Cat" explores the latter. The other non-feline titled songs on the album discuss the overarching effects of that dependence and lack of control, manifesting in feelings of dread, ... read more

Really liked how the production “No Love Deep Web” sounds more spacious while keeping the signature abrasiveness in their music, my biggest complaint towards “The Money Store” was that at times the beats got too busy and distorted for my liking, so I quite liked the sonic direction they went in with this one, and the start of this album was really promising with 4 incredible songs in succession, but after that the album got a bit patchy, not that there were any bad ... read more

Some fluctuations in quality throughout the tracklist, which probably also could've been a trimmed a bit, but overall an incredibly versatile record that manages to mix hip hop, pop, and various EDM genres into something truly unique to Azealia. I was interested throughout the hour-long runtime even though I may not always be the biggest fan of the song that I'm hearing, but when she does stumble herself into a great beat she makes full use of it. Songs like "212", ... read more

Mitski’s lyricism is so effortless, by that I mean that the words she chooses to express herself never feel deliberate nor convoluted, to the listener it sounds so in-the-moment, authentic, and direct, and that makes the emotions she’s injecting into the songs that she writes so very potent and compelling. The grasp that she has over tone and imagery is masterful, the songwriting is melancholic, interspersed with seasonal references, and there’s always that one line in every ... read more

On this album PJ demonstrates the magic in simplicity, with just piano and voice (and a few plucks of harp and guitar), she crafts such a uniquely somber and wispy atmosphere. The production is distant and muted but it works so well with her hushed vocal delivery. I do think this album largely prioritises atmosphere over making very tangible, memorable individual songs, which is why in the several times I’ve listened to it I always sort of tune out towards the middle, but this could also ... read more

The music for the majority of the duration of “Uh Huh Her” is pretty decent. PJ Harvey continues to display her incredible talent as a vocalist, instrumentalist, and producer on this album. What it suffers from, however, is a general lack of direction and artistic growth. With every previous album, Harvey has always homed in on and nailed down a certain aesthetic or sound. Whether it be the raw grunginess of her first two records, the bluesy tones of “To Bring You My ... read more

On “Stories”, we see a lot of the grittiness that informed Harvey’s previous releases smoothed out and rounded off, replaced with a more conventional approach to instrumentation and greater focus on harmony and melody than rough textures. While some contemporary critics treated this record as evidence of Harvey’s artistic compromise, I don’t think she lost either style or substance on “Stories”, in fact this album features some of Harvey’s most ... read more

On many songs on this record, PJ Harvey paints love as this dangerous, intimidating object of desire that she will go to desperate lengths to get. Perhaps this is why the more aggressive, high-key moments on “To Bring You My Love” stand out so much. They simply reflect the intensity behind the songwriting much better. The quieter, more reserved songs on here I’m a bit mixed towards, I absolutely adore “Working For The Man”, mostly due to its delicious trip hop ... read more

Little Simz extends her legendary album run with her newest record “Lotus”, you’d think after 3 consecutive records of outstanding quality she might start to lose a little steam, but “Lotus” is arguably Simz at her most consistent and artistically daring. Part of it is perhaps contributed my mere circumstance, considering this is Simz’s first record since the severance of both her creative and personal relationship with producer Inflo, the new producers ... read more

What an intoxicating album. Rochelle creates a very smooth and glossy take on dance music that doesn’t sacrifice her r&b roots. Throughout its hour-long runtime, “Through The Wall” consistently delivers great vocals, great production and most importantly, fantastic hooks, if there is one word to summarize this album it would be “catchy”, relentlessly catchy at that. This record doesn’t give you much room to stop and catch your breath, and perhaps that is ... read more

Aside from a few confounding detours, “Eusexua” is another home run for FKA Twigs, incredibly versatile and vibrant, the record traverses so many different corners of dance music and does justice on basically all of them. Her take on trance music on the title track and “Room of Fools” is simply magical, I love the very faithful interpretation of trip hop in “Girl Feels Good”, the instrumental on that song sounds like it was pulled straight from ... read more

“Only Dust Remains” is a descent to the deepest and darkest corners of human despair, but it is also a study of human resilience, a reminder that no matter how badly you’ve fallen, there is always a way out through hope, persistence and love. A modern interpretation of the themes of Pandora’s Box, if you will. Deeply personal and fearlessly political, it is one of the most unique and daring albums I have heard this year, both lyrically and sonically, and she produced, ... read more

The music of this album is indeed magical and very much alive. Mckinley Dixon adopts a very maximalist approach to the production of this record, the instrumentals on here are super jazzy, busy and colourful, it’s just bursting with life and energy. This is further enhanced by this album’s short runtime, the music is tight, jampacked, the already high energy of the songs condensed to become even more vigorous and exuberant. This album really does not slow down at all! Yet somehow ... read more

This is an album with music that absolutely justifies its length, there isn’t one moment on this record where I felt that it was going on for too long, that it was bloated, or it would have been better if it was shorter. The expansiveness of the record really allows the music to breathe; the songs are given enough room to build and progress into an unforgettable climax. Like the final chorus of “Fuck Me Eyes” and the extended outro of “Tempest”, some of the best ... read more