Can’t get enough of that powerful larger-than-life voice. Same strength and poise as on “Storm Queen” (2022) but with less piano and more orchestra. Close to perfection.
Stand out tracks: “Ramona” & “Work Today (And Tomorrow)”
I guess Britney’s tell-all biography was the low point of JT’s recent year. The reviews for this album are bound to be the second lowest. If this was an attempt at redemption, it didn’t work.
It’s not all crap. There are just no hit singles to back it up and there are WAY too many tracks on here.
I also wish I never had to hear Justin “rap” about sipping bougie rosé to what sounds like a bad ripoff of Parliament’s “Give Up The Funk”. Does this sound like something you’d like to subject yourself to? Then listen to “Play” and remember I warned you.
Your career goin’ good? It’s because I let it - I’m the greatest rapper ever, yeah yeah I said it.
Yup, she went there. And I’m not going to contradict her. Is she right? Don’t care. All I care about is that her last name Whack is one letter short of Whacko and I’m here to eat it all up.
Whack World (2018) was innovative and fun. This is on another level, though. Listening to this album for the first time and not having any idea what would come next was quite the rollercoaster ride. And I loved every second of it.
Whack World Domination coming up!
Stand out tracks: “Ms Behave” & “Shower Song”… More
Oh, to be so youthful and yet sound so experienced. Oh, to be so emotionally truthful and yet so snarkingly sarcastic. Oh, to have been born on this side of the new millennium and yet handle the grunge genre so effortlessly, despite it being a thing when you weren’t even a twinkle in your father’s eye. Oh, to release a sophomore album at age 20 and already having achieved perfection.
Olivia Rodrigo is here to save us all.
Stand out tracks: “Vampire” & “All-American Bitch”
I started out feeling disappointed, mainly because of the huge created hype that I was unsure the band lived up to. Secondly, I didn’t feel the high drama of the band name and image translated into the songs,
Now, it’s true that many of the songs on their debut album are more subdued than expected. However, it’s still a very good collection of songs, despite them sometimes sounding more like high school drama class than Royal Shakespeare Company.
Stand out tracks: “Beautiful Boy” & “My Lady Of Mercy”
Early 2024 release. Really liked it when it came out but it’s already been surpassed by lots of albums that better managed to set themselves apart. Still good, though.
Quite a different vibe from last year’s “Red Moon In Venus” (which I didn’t warm to at all).
Orquidéas lacks the sleepy dullness of its predecessor and is currently one of the better albums of the year for me. Let’s see where this ends up on my end of year list - probably high.
For continuity, I’ll choose two stand out tracks for this album as well. The chosen ones aren’t the best, but the song titles speak for themselves. The first is what I think of the album and the second is what you’ll be doing to yourself if you ever listen to it.
For some reason (I don’t remember why) I’ve always felt a need to defend Kid Cudi. That’s quite the task considering that he hasn’t really released an album of great value since Indicud in 2013. That said, the statement “Kid Cudi is awesome” is still the hill I choose to die on. Which also leads me to rate this latest album slightly higher than I guess it deserves. KID CUDI RULES. Even when he doesn’t.
Stand out tracks: “Keep Bouncin’” & “Porsche Topless”
I admit: there’s nothing particularly fresh or credible about a Green Day album released almost 30 years after Dookie, but the fact is that this album ROCKS. Sure, it sounds naive and clichéd at times but the tunes are there and so is the joy and the need to listen on repeat. I’m always thankful for albums that make me feel like a teenager again.
Stand out tracks: “Bobby Sox” & “Look Ma, No Brains!”
What a great start to 2024! This album is a real up and comer that sounds both ticking and heavy. I adore adore adore it (without a shadow of a doubt) and can’t get enough of it,
(See what I did there? =)
Stand out tracks: “Literary Mind” & “Adore Adore Adore”
Best album of the millennium so far. One of the great American records and probably what will become the high point in LDR’s career and (finally) her magnum opus.
Stand out tracks: “Venice Bitch” & “Happiness Is A Butterfly”