medúlla, as an album, is pretty interesting, with almost nothing but the human voice being the source of its sounds, but it's always felt really gimmicky to me and doesn't have that many engaging moments on it as a result. "pleasure is all mine," "where is the line," "who is it (carry my joy on the left, carry my pain on the right)," and "oceania" are the only songs i really return to.
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original score: 82
no original review
vespertine is the album that, in my opinion, solidified björk as the artist she's known for being today. it's extremely lush and atmospheric and dreamy, but it also feels like she's speaking directly to you, and that's a quality that a lot of her later work has. there's not a bad song on here, too, which is always a good thing.
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original score: 95
no original review
although i enjoy björk's sound on homogenic a lot more than her previous records, the album still suffers because the singles are so much better than the rest of the album. "hunter," "jóga," and "bachelorette" are some of my all-time favorite songs, let alone favorite björk songs, but nothing else on homogenic seems to have that level of quality except for the album's production.
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original score: 88
no original review
for being half an hour long, be the cowboy feels bloated. i'm glad to see that mitski's found a good blend of mellow and noisy, though, especially on standouts like "geyser," "a pearl," and "washing machine heart."
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original score: 85
no original review
bury me at make out creek was a huge breakthrough for mitski's style, finally incorporating the indie rock aesthetic that she was missing from the start. songwriting is great as always, but now that it's paired with these instrumentals,,, wow!! is this great. "townie," "jobless monday," and "carry me out" are standouts.
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original score: 91
no original review
mitski's sophomore effort still showcases her artistry very well, but it really isn't as engaging as lush was. "shame" is a standout track though.
yeah, making a door less open does have its flaws, like that a lot of its electronic production that sounds either like nothing or like something you'd make on an iphone app, but i really enjoyed a few cuts from it. "weightlifters" was pretty cool and retro, and "can't cool me down" sounds like a modern version of the buggles and that's a cool aesthetic. "hollywood" and "famous" were also pretty good.
although it's great to see jojo do her own thing, i wish most songs on here didn't sound like an ariana grande bootleg because she can definitely do better. "pedialyte" is the best song on here, and if jojo's sound on the entire album was as hard-hitting as that, good to know would be a better album.
apparently i was following austra on spotify before listening to this? but this is also the first thing i've heard from the group so i have no idea where that came from. anyway, i'm glad i was, because hirudin is a great art pop record and i haven't really heard anything like it recently. katie stelmanis's vocals are really highlighted by the sometimes sparse, sometimes not, kind of atmospheric and nature-ish(?) production, and that's good because she's a talented singer. most of the melodies ... read more
hazel english's debut album—finally!—is really dreamy and kind of just the overall aesthetic i aspire to have, but it sounds too polished at times and, as a result, doesn't hit as hard as her two prior eps. highlights include "born like," "shaking," "off my mind," and "combat."
irisiri is a natural step forward following rip chrysalis. by further erasing the boundary between folk and electronic music, eartheater is able to create an atmosphere that is truly surreal. songs like "peripheral" try to maintain their ethereal soundscapes, but they're then contrasted with much darker pieces like "inhale baby" or "c.l.i.t." it's what folk music would be if we lived in a dystopian future, and it's great.
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original score: 87
no original ... read more
rip chrysalis is such an improvement over metalepsis. not only is it much more interesting, mixing avant-folk with more electronic production, but it's more enjoyable as a result. it cements eartheater's sound as being really, really dreamy and hypnotizing, and that's great. "humyn hymn," "mask therapy," and "petal head" are standouts, but so is the rest of the album.
eartheater's debut offers some really interesting and unique psychedelic folk, but after a while it just kind of wears off. the big standout here is "put a head in a head."
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original score: 68
no original review