Reviews

more low-key, or rather not as danceable as their previous releases, but is still some of the most exciting dub techno out there.

moor mother is such an incredibly consistent artist, across side-projects, collabs and her solo output. this album is Dark, poignant lyrics about the past, present, and future. has a safe spot in my top 10 of the year.

noisy instrumentals over trap beats, and kim talking in a stream-of-consciousness, love it.

the body love to collaborate with other artists, and i love that too. this collaboration was very much out of left field, as many of their collabs have been within the metal blanket, but this is my favourite output from the body since 'i've seen all i need to see' in 2021.

it's insane that one of four tet's weaker releases in recent years is still this good.

it's a future and metro boomin collab, it sounds exactly how you'd expect. still waiting for ds3. some of the features suck. stop putting the weeknd on everything.

on the whole, doesn't live up to my expectations after how great 'saint cloud' was, but still a great modern americana album.

the spirit and songwriting of the late great ryuichi sakamoto lives on in kelly moran.

one of my most played albums of the year so far, gendel's sax and nascimento's guitar marry perfectly on this.

really hoping this grows on me, as much as i love faye webster, there's something about a bunch of the songs on here that just doesn't click with me.

when this was announced i said it was already the strongest aoty contender. it's not even in the race for me anymore, but it's still a great album. one of the few radiohead side projects worth listening to, aside from jonny greenwood's compositions for various films.

very fun to hear mike over this kind of production.

the title says it all no? ambient jams with a light country twang, good for lounging in your couch while the sun shines in through your windows.

one of the best metal albums in recent memory. finally someone actually looking to try something truly new within a genre that has been largely stagnant for decades.

baile funk is starting to become my mood for 2024, the samples on this thing are fucking bonkers and i can't help but dance in my chair while i'm listening.

skee mask keeps delivering bangers, no surprise there.

bury me at makeout creek will always have a special spot in my heart, but WOW this album blows your socks off from beginning to end, great hooks, melodies, lyrics, the whole package, easy 10/10.

rip pimp c. some of the best of the best out of the dirty south, and it's all on the same album?? come on.

needs no introduction, brian eno is a legend. amazing ambient musings, background music for any occassion. especially wallowing in your own depression which is perfect for me.

legendary for good reason. the supergroup to end all supergroups before they were even a thing.

aoty 2021. the final release under the lingua ignota name, and what a way to end a project. absolutely devastating songwriting, shakes me to my core. love it.

an absolute behemoth of an album at nearly 2 hours, effortlessly jumps between the improv chaos to some of the grooviest jazz you've ever heard, essential album from 2023.

my favourite jazz record from 2023, whole band just holds a solid groove throughout 1 hour+ runtime.

i am so fucking ready for the trip-hop revival! aoty 2023

dub techno perfection, perfect music for a long walk in the cold early spring weather.

I GET IT NOW. SORRY IT TOOK THIS LONG.

on this album ty segall gives us the best of both worlds when it comes to his songwriting, the ferocity and fuzz of the guitar playing on straight garage rock songs, and some great acoustic pop jams. could end up being my new favourite release, we'll see.

julia holter's pivot from straight baroque pop to this experimental, transcendental pop she's doing on this album has to be one of the greatest artistic evolutions in recent memory.

wow, the sounds on this thing are all over the place, as are the features, but in the end it all just works, and so well at that.

khruangbin doing what khruangbin does. this is just a by the numbers khruangbin album, you get exactly what you expect, no more no less.

vividly remember hearing 'public strain' by women in high school, forever altering my music taste. this is the only album for me that comes close to competing with kali malone's 'all life long' for aoty. just earworms front to back on this one. hope to see an lp pressing in the future.

edit: ordered my copy of the lp today :)

just beautiful. perfect meditative music for taking the edge off and shutting out the chaos of living through climate collapse. instant aoty.

it's alice coltrane, pharoah sanders and joe henderson on the same record what do you want me to say? ofc it's great. shut up and go listen. then go listen to journey in satchidananda.

This didn’t work for me at all. Started out fun but overall it’s just horribly monotonous.

Stand out tracks: “Under The Glass” & “Grief In Phantasia”

needed a few listens before i could really formulate an opinion, but for me it's easy to say that vampire weekend are back and better than ever. this is very much in the vein of contra + mvotc, my two favourite releases from them.

"we are so fucking back" as the kids would say .

So Tangk is the Idles album that turns non Idles fans into Idles fans. It’s a post punk equivalent of… imagine if the douche bag who’s been playing with your feelings and leaving you on read suddenly became emotionally available. That how this album feels in the band’s catalogue.

Stand out tracks: “Gift Horse” & “Grace”

They’re back with a lot of new found energy, while still sounding like old timers who aren’t really interested in evolving. I find myself enjoying a couple of songs but overall it’s not an album I would deem necessary in this day and age. Sounds like great fan service, though!

Stand out tracks: “React, Respond” & “Waiting For Stevie”

VICKI LEEKX BITCHES!

Taylor Swift's latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," is a mixed bag of brilliance and clichés. There's no denying Swift's talent; her songs are charming and subtly elegant. However, the album suffers from occasional generic songwriting and cringy lyrics (I'm looking at you, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"), leaving me frustrated and conflicted.

One of the most significant drawbacks is the album's length. With so many tracks, it's easy to lose interest before reaching the end. It seems as though Taylor Swift's status as a megastar has granted her complete creative control, but sometimes, a little editing (or, in this case, a lot) could go a long way.

What's most perplexing about the album is the simultaneous abundance and… More

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Stand out tracks: “Lorelei” & “Femenine”