Reviews

A pop pivot! Playful at its best, but mostly reads Disney Channel. (sealing the deal with a Sabrina feature)

Up Leeds & Up Jungle

I never thoroughly acquainted myself with the jungle genre but if this is what it sounds like then I definitely should! Some strong material on here. However, I need to lower the rating a tiny bit due to NA’s vocals being a bit weak at times.

But still, great stuff.

Stand out tracks: “Silence Is Loud” & “So Tell Me…”

This is elevator music for shoegazers.

Stand out tracks: “Boxing” & “Yukka Tree”

Yeat's really honing his voice and sound here with tons of futuristic hypertrap, but this album was too disjointed and lengthy.

A tight ten written over a tight five, takes all the best inspiration and pays due respect to the laurel canyon legends and y2k pop rock that paved the way while remaining uniquely raw. Her best yet.

That’s Margaret Rogers, MRPL to you bitches.

I was a big fan of the singles and have been following her for years. I think that this only scratches the surface of her potential. The personal and introspective lyrics contrast the music well, but the jungle and d&b instrumentation isn't dynamic or complex enough. That said, this is a breath of fresh air and no singular track was bad, but when put together, the lack of diversity gets a bit fatiguing. She is definitely one to watch for electronic music moving forward.

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)”

One of my favourite albums of all time.

Stand out tracks: “Summer Wine” & “Lady Bird”

Oh dear.

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.

Go home, Justin, you’re drunk (probably… More

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 wow I love this.

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.

Stand out tracks: “Slime” & “Big Sigh”

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.

Stand out tracks: “Te Mata” & “Muñekita”

Not bad overall but a bit on the repetitive side.

The highs are very high though, and I’m always a sucker for a Doja Cat collab.

Stand out tracks: “redrum” & “sneaky”

What’s my favourite TS era? 1989, obvz.

Stand out tracks: “Out Of The Woods” & “Wildest Dreams”

Yes, it’s good. And yeah, that’s it. 🤷‍♂️

Stand out tracks: “Parties” & “Black Friday”

Oh dear GOD, make it stop!!!

WHY are these guys still releasing “music”?

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.

Stand out tracks: “Dirt” & “Self Harm”

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”

Same same, but not very different. Just worse.

What did you expect… was a decent album. Since then (2011) The Vaccines have just been copy/pasting their own stuff, to yawning effect.

Stand out tracks: “The Dreamer” & “Primitive Man”

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!”

So I don’t know what Iechyd Da means, but I do know that I enjoy this album by a dude from The Coral more than I ever enjoyed anything by The Coral.

Stand out tracks: “Nothing To Be Done” & “ A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart pt. 3”

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”

Reina. Génio. Perfección.

Stand out tracks: “Hentai” & “Chicken Teriyaki”

The perfect soundtrack for dancing in your living room, banging your head against a wall, or just waking up, really.

Stand out tracks: “Softly” & “Nothing Like”

These youngsters are giving me early Bright Eyes vibes (Fevers & Mirrors era) and I’m here for it.

Stand out tracks: “Statues” & “Where We’ve Been”

The mixing/production is all wrong.

'Fucks' is a fantastic beast of a song. Combining ferocious Fucked Up with their unique open sound.

The growing up listening to The Chicks in the back of ur moms minivan to stanning Waxahatchee pipeline is alive and well. Full of passion, twang, and Katie’s unparalleled voice.

The dramatic feeling in Grace Cummings' music probably stems from the fact that this Melbourne-based multi-talent is also an actress. On her new album 'Ramona,' produced by Jonathan Wilson, it's a full performance from the first drum intro (magical) to the last note. The sound is as graceful as it is powerful, and Cummings' characteristic voice is hitting right at the heart. An extremely addictive and well-written record. And yes, the title comes from the Dylan classic "To Ramona".

Not my usual cup of tea, but certainly enjoyed most of it.

I gave the EP a try because I came across the band name in both a remark from a colleague and a podcast within 24 hours. That simply got me curious.

Personal take: after the first two tracks being nice'n'weird™️ the third track Teardrops was a bit of a poppy disappointment, almost as though they decided "make a single" (as opposed to just writing music and later on deciding it would make a good single). From there on in it varied a bit.

When I'm procrastinating this is my go to 'let's fucking go!' music.

Pretty corny bars for 80% of the record masked in decent production. Most of the features actually showed out, which felt out of place and didn’t help his case. The Kendrick diss solidified his place out of the top 3.

this bitch knows how to collab and has a killer DnB album inside of him somewhere I just know it. I'm calling a Fred x Chase & Status release in 2024.

Like sun showers. Dreamlike, ethereal, glistening and bright. Misty and melancholy.

While I appreciate the new direction they're seemingly wanting to take things in, it does feel like they've only just dipped their toes in the water — I'm looking forward to hearing what happens when they truly take the plunge.

I just can't stand King Krule.