Hi, everyone, and welcome to my final mini review post of 2022, and probably my final review post of 2022 in general. I’ll have more year-end lists posted soon, then I’ll be focusing on the music of 2023 (although I might post some 2023 reviews before finishing all my year-end lists).

This is going to be quite a long post, with 16 albums reviewed! I mean, it’s the end of the year, so why not review more albums than usual?

As always, none of this is meant as a personal attack on anyone, it’s just someone who loves music sharing his own personal feelings on a bunch of albums he’s listened to recently. All of this is just based on my own personal taste in music. There are points where I don’t specifically say ‘in my opinion’ just because I don’t want it to get too repetitive, but it is still just my opinion … actually, ‘opinion’ might not even be the right word, because this post isn’t about how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ these albums are, it’s about how much or how little I personally like them.

Not all of these albums are super new, some are from quite a bit earlier in the year (and there’s also a throwback, as always), but it’s the end of the year, and I decided to review these before my year-end albums lists.

And now, let’s start with …

19 MASTERS by Saya Gray:

So, this is probably one of the most ‘out there’ albums that I’ve heard from 2022. It’s a little more than fifty minutes long, and it’s a mix of songs that are the typical length for a song as well as some much shorter songs, and it’s a very interesting listen. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an album similar to this!

Okay, I probably have … keep in mind, I said it’s probably one of the most ‘out there’ albums I’ve heard from this year, not the most … but it is hard to compare other albums to this one, because it’s just so … out there. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. So, do I like this album?

Well … yes, I do, and I’ll explain why in a moment. But I’ll start by saying there’s also quite a bit about this album that doesn’t work for me. A lot of these tracks don’t really stand out to me, and I think some of the shorter songs could have clicked for me more if they were longer, because some of them just feel kind of incomplete to me. And I don’t mean that in a mean way, it’s just that they sound that way to me. Also, there are some elements in the production at points that I don’t like, such as some of the vocal effects. Also, the lyrics on “2019 WAS AN EMPTY CARB” are really creepy, and not in a good way.

But that being said, I think it’s mostly well produced. Also, I like a lot of the interesting ideas in the song writing, and a lot of these songs click for me … for reasons I’m not entirely sure how to explain. But there are some great songs here in my opinion, like “TOOO LOUD!”, which starts off eerie, and then has a very notable chord change, and adds in some percussion which sounds absolutely fantastic … and where the song goes from there I’ll let you hear for yourself!

I mostly like the production on this album, and enough of the album clicks for me that it’s getting a 6/10, but I feel like it was so close to reaching more of its potential to click for me more, and it really doesn’t get there for me. But again, there’s still a lot to like here. Overall, I’m a fan of this.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “SAVING GRACE”, “TOOO LOUD!”, “SADNESS RESIDUE (ERASER ROOM)”, “LITTLE PALM”, “LEECHES ON MY THESIS!”
Least Favourite Tracks: “FOUND A FLOORBOARD UNDER THE SOIL!”, “2019 WAS AN EMPTY CARB”

5SOS5 by 5 Seconds of Summer:

While I’m not super familiar with 5 Seconds of Summer’s discography, I remember recently listening to a bunch of their albums, maybe even all of them, at least once … and while I don’t remember being really wowed by any of their albums, I’m pretty sure I liked the majority of what I heard, and I absolutely love some of the songs!

Anyway, they have a new album out, and in my opinion, it’s very good! A big part of the reason why is the production, which features some great crunch in the percussion, as well as some glorious synths with fantastic sound quality. Also, the mixing on this album is fantastic, helping the percussion stand out and really have some power without feeling too distracting.

There’s a lot for me to praise here, and while I’m not going to write about all of it in this post, there are some things I want to mention. For example, I love the chorus on “BLENDER”, partially because I love the line, ‘And we’re goin’ ‘round again in an emotional blender.’ Speaking of great hooks, the huge hook on “COMPLETE MESS” is absolutely awesome, with the vocals really well mixed. I also love the mixing that makes the hook on my favourite track here, “Easy For You To Say”, sound even better!

Overall, 5 Seconds of Summer made a really good album here … and honestly, I’m going to give this album a pretty strong 7.5/10! And later in this post when you see some of the albums I score lower than this one, you might not like that I’m rating this album as high as I am, but these ratings are just based on my own personal taste in music, and I really like this album.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “COMPLETE MESS”, “Easy For You To Say”, “Older”, “BLENDER”, “Best Friends”, “Bleach”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Caramel”

Hostile Architecture by Ashenspire:

I saw a ton of critical acclaim for this new Ashenspire album, and considering that I saw/heard it’s a metal album, as a fan of metal, I was excited to hear this, and … well, it’s good, but I’ve got to say, it didn’t click as much for me as it has for so many people. And part of this is due to the drums being mixed quieter than I would have liked.

But that being said, the guitar distortion sounds good for the most part, and I love the intensity in the instrumentation.

Lyrically, there’s a lot to this, and I’m going to be honest and say that I haven’t looked super closely into the lyrics, but I did read them, and I’ve got to at least say, the lyrics are interesting, to say the least. There are some lines here and there that seemed kind of questionable to me, but maybe I’m just interpreting them wrong. And I’m sure the intentions were good. And I do like a lot of the lyrics here.

Overall, this is still a hard-hitting metal album with lots of intensity, and I still mostly like it, but it’s not blowing my mind or anything. For me, it’s a 7/10. It’s a good album, but it’s not clicking with me as much as it is for a lot of people. But, of course, that’s just me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “How the Mighty Have Vision”, “Tragic Heroin”, “Palimpsest”, “Cable Street Again”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Béton Brut”, “Apathy as Arsenic Lethargy as Lead”

Tunnel Vision by MONOWHALES:

So, this is the second studio album by MONOWHALES, the follow-up to their debut album, Daytona Bleach. And while I like that album, it’s not one I really love. I think it showed a ton of potential for MONOWHALES to make an album I feel is legit great, but I don’t think it really quite got there for me. But what about Tunnel Vision?

And honestly, this one’s clicking for me a lot less. I mean, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to love this album, but I didn’t think I’d like it this little. And let me start by saying that nothing here, in my opinion, is anywhere near as good as songs from Daytona Bleach like “All or Nothing” and especially “Out With the Old”. Also, if you haven’t heard either of those songs, I highly recommend them! But even a song like “RWLYD (Really Wanna Let You Down)”, which isn’t even one of my favourite songs on Daytona Bleach, I listen to it now and there’s nothing on Tunnel Vision I like as much as that track.

Now, I will say, at least this album isn’t very long, which keeps it from feeling like a total slog to listen to … that and the fact that there are some decent tracks here, like “CTRL^^^”, but I’ve got to say, that song has shrunk on me since I first heard it.

Honestly, the only tracks that I really don’t like all come back-to-back-to-back, those being “Change###”, “New Threads”, and “RICH$$$”, but even in the other tracks, something feels missing in all of them to make them fully click for me.

While I like the production here at points, overall, I’m not a big fan of how the percussion sounds, sounding underpowered (at least at points) on songs like “StuckintheMiddle” and “New Threads”, and just sounding out of place on some of the other songs, like “RICH$$$”, which is probably my least favourite track here.

I mostly like the production on “START/NEVER/STOP”, with the snappy percussion in the verses that has some real punch to it, being just at the right volume, but I will admit, I would have liked the chorus more if the percussion were louder.

Sally Shaar is a good vocalist, but some of the vocal effects used on this album sound absolutely awful to me, like on the song “RICH$$$”. Also, the distorted guitars on this album don’t sound nearly as powerful as on Daytona Bleach.

So, yeah, in the end, while I kind of can’t believe I’m saying this, I’m giving MONOWHALES’ second studio album, Tunnel Vision, a strong 4/10. Again, there are some decent tracks here, and it’s short, but it’s just not doing much for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: ???
Least Favourite Tracks: “Change###”, “New Threads”, “RICH$$$”

HEROES & VILLAINS by Metro Boomin:

So, when I review albums, I try to make sure to review the standard edition … and I wasn’t able to find out if the last track, “All The Money (Bonus)”, is part of the standard edition or not. It has ‘bonus’ in the title, but I’m not sure if that means bonus track or not. Either way, I’m including it as part of the version of the album I’m reviewing, because I’m pretty sure it’s part of the standard edition. And while we’re on the topic of that track, it’s really bad in my opinion. I don’t like Gunna’s flow here, and the instrumental isn’t all that interesting to me, either. And there’s also the lyrics, which … I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe there’s more to it, but it seems to just be generic lyrics about money, cars, etc.

And overall, there are a lot of lyrics on this album I don’t like, such as on “Metro Spider”, where Young Thug sings, ‘Caught up with your wifey, and one night her,’ as well as calling someone his sex slave. But I will admit, aside from what he’s saying, Young Thug’s performance on this track is really good.

And there’s also the track, “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)”, which starts off promising with an interesting instrumental … but then there’s the outro of the song, by Chris Brown. And there are a few points I feel are important to make. First of all, despite Chris Brown’s many legal issues, I want to talk about the song, and not who’s singing it … but that’s hard to do in this case, because it really doesn’t feel like a coincidence that it’s Chris Brown singing this part of the song about villains. And while I personally don’t believe in ‘good people’ and ‘bad people’, and I haven’t done a ton of research on all the details of Chris Brown’s legal history, what I do know is that he’s done some terrible things that have become known to the public, and those things are the reason he’s so controversial. And I can’t help but feel like he’s referencing those things in this song, which makes it hard for me to separate the art from the artist. And this isn’t me ‘hating’ on Chris Brown, this is me saying that I do hope he can turn his life around and be a better version of himself, but it still doesn’t defend his terrible actions, and the fact that he’s talking about people not liking him, and saying, ‘Who’s really the villain?’ is absolutely terrible in my opinion. And it’s not like the song before that part is great or anything, at least to me.

But I will admit that I like a lot of the production on this album, and there are some great tracks like the opener with John Legend, “On Time”. The intro of this track reminds me a lot of “Dark Fantasy” by Kanye West in the way it sounds.

I also like “Creepin’”, which interpolates “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy, and “Feel The Fiyaaaah” is probably my favourite track here, with great production and great performances from A$AP Rocky and Takeoff. And, of course, rest in peace, Takeoff. It’s absolutely terrible what happened, and it’s one of many examples of why we still have a long way to go in creating a better world.

Overall, this album was a mixed bag for me … some tracks I really like, and some I really don’t like. Overall, I just found it too inconsistent to give it a higher rating than a 5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “On Time”, “Creepin’”, “Feel The Fiyaaaah”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)”, “Umbrella”, “All The Money (Bonus)”

White Trash Revelry by Adeem the Artist:

So, I still haven’t listened to Adeem the Artist’s 2021 album, Cast Iron Pansexual, but I’ll get to it at some point. But for now, I’m going to talk about their new album, White Trash Revelry. While I’m not the biggest fan of country/folk music, I’m willing to give albums in those genres a chance.

And I’ll start by saying that I think this album starts off really strong! The first three tracks are all great songs in my opinion!

But after that, I start to like it less, with the songs sounding more simple for country/folk music, and as someone who isn’t a big fan of those genres, simple doesn’t work as well for me.

But that being said, those first three tracks are great, and there are other strong highlights on the album, too, like “Books & Records”, which describes struggling to make money, and having to sell things that are important to you.

Overall, I mostly like the lyrics and production on this album, and while there are some points compositionally where the album can get a bit boring, I’ll still give it a 7/10. I like this album, just not as much as a lot of critics.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Carolina”, “For Judas”, “Heritage of Arrogance”, “Baptized in Well Spirits”, “Books & Records”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Painkillers & Magic”

The Kick by Foxes:

Before this album, I wasn’t familiar with any of Foxes’ music aside from her collaboration with Zedd, “Clarity”, which was a hit in 2013. And as someone who loves that song, I decided to check out Foxes’ third studio album, The Kick, which was released back in February. And how is it?

Unfortunately, this didn’t really end up clicking for me. I mean, it’s an interesting album with a few songs I like, but as a whole, it’s not really something I see myself going back to much, if at all. And I think part of it is a lot of the repetition not really working for me, but also, there are some vocal effects I’m not a big fan of, either.

The one song here that I love is the title track. I love how this track is mixed, with the synths and percussion sounding great together. Also, this is an example of a track where the repetition works for me, and I’m not entirely sure why. It kind of sounds like a Charli XCX song, and for me, it tops every song on Charli XCX’s newest album.

But there are a lot of songs here that just don’t do much for me. The album opens with “Sister Ray”, which has some elements that I like, but something feels missing to make it as fun as it could be. Also, while I’ve never listened to The Velvet Underground’s song called “Sister Ray”, which this song is referencing, I will say this: in this dance song, Foxes opens the chorus with, ‘We can make tonight one of those Sister Ray kinda nights.’ And just based on one time reading through the lyrics of “Sister Ray” by The Velvet Underground, I’ve got to say, that’s not something to celebrate!

“Growing on Me” did just what the title of the song says, but then there’s a song like “Dance Magic”, which just … I don’t know what to say. The percussion is very loud, and the bassline is pretty boring to me. Also, that chorus just doesn’t work for me at all, and I don’t think all the instrumentation goes together very well.

Overall, while I mostly enjoyed this album, I don’t see it having much replay value for me … very light 5.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Kick”, “Potential”, “Forgive Yourself”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Dance Magic”, “Two Kinds of Silence”, “Sky Love”

SOS by SZA:

For a while, I had been planning to listen to SZA’s 2017 debut studio album, Ctrl, and I finally got around to doing that recently. And after a few listens to that album, I would say I like it, but I don’t love it nearly as much as so many other critics.

But after some very strong singles were released for this new SZA album, did I end up liking this more than her debut?

Well … maybe. I’m not sure which album I like better between this and Ctrl. While that album to me was more consistently good with less great songs, this album has more great songs, but I don’t find as consistently good as Ctrl.

But even though there are quite a few great songs here, a lot of them still feel like they were missing something else to make them click for me even more. For example, while I love the hook sung by Don Toliver on “Used”, the vocal melodies in the verses aren’t super interesting to me.

And also, this album has the song, “Kill Bill”, which is easily my least favourite track here. And yes, I know the lyrics aren’t meant to be taken seriously, but it’s still super cheesy and off-putting. But not only that, it also just sounds bad to me. Something about the vocal melodies really doesn’t work for me, and while SZA is a great singer, am I the only one who feels like her vocals here sound like they were produced for a different song?

But still, I mostly like the production on this album, and it has some great tracks, like “F2F”, which is probably the only SZA rock song I’ve ever heard, and it sounds fantastic, especially the vocal melodies! And if you want to know my other favourites, they’re listed at the end of this review. I’m not going to go into detail about all of them, but this album has great vocals and production for the most part, and despite the elements I don’t like, I think there’s more to like here than there is not to like. 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Love Language”, “Used”, “Snooze”, “F2F”, “Conceited”, “Too Late”, “Shirt”, “I Hate U”, “Good Days”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Kill Bill”, “Forgiveless”

The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen:

After hearing the first few singles from this new Carly Rae Jepsen album, I had no idea what to expect. I mean, “Western Wind”, “Beach House”, and “Talking to Yourself” were the first three singles released from this album, and they couldn’t feel more different from each other!

Anyway, I had a bad feeling going into this album, mostly because of “Beach House”, which is … quite something, that’s for sure! But now that I’ve heard the entire album, I think I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. While I didn’t really like the lead single, “Western Wind”, when it first came out, it has grown on me a bit. I’m still not really a fan of the song, but I enjoy it more now than I did a while back. And “Beach House” is one of those songs that I personally think is super, super bad, but in a funny way. But despite my opinions on those two tracks … well, I think this album gets better toward the end of the album, with the last two tracks being among my favourites on the album.

In my opinion, this album is a lot of fun, with mostly great production, and Carly is a great vocalist with a lot of personality on these tracks. But there are also some mellower tracks that I really like.

So, yeah, overall, while this album didn’t blow my mind or anything, there are enough great hooks and vocal melodies along with the great production for me to give this a light 7/10. I wouldn’t say I really love the album, but I do like it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Talking To Yourself”, “Bends”, “Go Find Yourself or Whatever”, “The Loneliest Time”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Beach House”, “Shooting Star”

Premonition by White Lung:

This is the final album by White Lung, a band I wasn’t familiar with until just recently. I still haven’t heard any of their other albums, but their newest one, Premonition, has made me curious to check out the band’s full discography, which I’m sure I’ll do at some point. This album has some great guitar melodies throughout, and I also really like a lot of the vocal melodies.

But with that being said, the production really holds this album back for me. And that’s not to say I think the album is bad. I mostly like the album, but the production holds me back from liking it a lot more. I often find the vocals mixed too quietly for me, for example, on the song, “Mountain”, which features some great drumming, but I just don’t like how the instrumentation drowns out the vocals. Also, something about the way the snares are produced on a lot of these songs doesn’t quite work for me, with the snares a lot of the time just sounding kind of underpowered to me.

There’s quite a bit to like here lyrically. For example, the song, “If You’re Gone”. I could be wrong about this, but the lyrics seem to be sending the message that suicide is wrong. And I think it’s really well written.

Overall, I’m giving this album a light 6.5/10. If I liked the production more, the score would be higher, but it’s still a pretty good album in my opinion. If you’re into rock, I recommend you hear it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Hysteric”, “Date Night”, “Under Glass”, “If You’re Gone”, “Girl”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Tomorrow”, “One Day”

The Car by Arctic Monkeys:

I remember listening to “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” when it dropped as the lead single for this album, and being unsure how I felt about it. But now that I’ve listened to it multiple times, I like the song. I wouldn’t say I love it, mostly because the ride cymbal can get a bit annoying, but overall it’s a nice, mellow track with some great pianos, and I think the song is mixed really well.

This album has gotten very mixed opinions. It feels like any opinion on this album is a controversial one. And how do I feel about it? Well, it’s an interesting album, to say the least. But it’s not really clicking for me, and I think a big part of it is the compositions and vocal melodies just feeling kind of boring.

The are lots of strings used throughout this album, and I think it’s a nice addition. But while there’s a lot that I like in the production, there are also some things in the production and instrumentation that I don’t like, such as that clicking sound in the background that gets annoying on “Mr Schwartz”. And while I mostly like the strings on this album, something about the way they sound when paired with the rest of the instrumentation just sounds off on the title track, and I’m not quite sure how to describe why.

Lyrically, there’s a lot to take in here, and while I like some of the lyrics, quite a few of the lyrics don’t really interest me personally, even if they’re well written. For me, The Car is getting a 4.5/10. I don’t like it nearly as much as a lot of critics do, but I also don’t think it’s as bad as many people do.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Car”, “Mr Schwartz”

NO THANK YOU by Little Simz:

I was really excited about this album considering that Little Simz released one of my favourite albums of 2021, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. And while I’m surprised how quickly Little Simz released a new album, I still had pretty high expectations for this album, and … well, if I’m being totally honest, for me it’s a big step down from Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. And just to be clear, I don’t think this album is bad, I just think it’s a big step down from Little Simz’s last album.

A lot of what I love about Little Simz’s last album is here on this album, too, like her incredible flow, with lots of great rhymes. I also like a lot of the instrumentation on this album, like the horns and bassline on “Gorilla” and the strings on “X”. I also think the percussion is mostly well-mixed.

Also, as with her last album, I think it’s really good lyrically, like on the song “X” which might be my favourite track here, not only because of the way it sounds, but also because of the incredible lyrics that mention lots of issues relating to injustice. It has a lot to say, and I highly recommend reading the lyrics when you listen to this track.

But with all that being said, something feels lacking here. And I think it might be that something feels missing in the instrumentation to give these songs a bit more punch.

Overall, I still think this album is pretty good, but she set the bar so high with that last album that despite me mostly liking this one, it’s a big step down for me. But I still mostly like it, so I’ll give this a 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Gorilla”, “Silhouette”, “X”, “Heart on Fire”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Sideways”

Stick Season by Noah Kahan:

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this new Noah Kahan album. But now that I’ve given it multiple listens, I can say there’s a lot to it lyrically. The title track, for example, seems to describe Noah looking back at a past relationship, and the complicated reasons it didn’t work out, which aren’t even fully explained in the lyrics. And there seems to maybe be a theme on this album of trying to see different perspectives, and I’m not even talking about the song called “New Perspective”, which, probably sarcastically, kind of does the opposite, but a song like the title track that I just mentioned, which mentions that the failure of the relationship wasn’t either person’s fault, but Noah Kahan likes to play the victim.

Musically, the album is somewhat mellow, but only somewhat. Yes, there are mellow songs, but there are also a lot of rock elements here, for example, in the song, “Homesick”.

And unfortunately, if I’m being honest here, something feels missing to me. A lot of these songs are well-written lyrically, with good production, but then suddenly there will be a disappointing chorus, bridge, etc.

And also, despite me mostly liking the production on this album, with the nice-sounding guitars, and the drums being mostly well-mixed, I will admit there are a lot of points on this album where something feels missing in the instrumentation, and I’m left feeling like this album was so close to being amazing … but it just doesn’t get there for me.

But still, there’s a lot to like here. There’s something about the way the songs go together on this album that I really like, and it’s hard to describe … but in other words, I think it works better as a full album than it does as a collection of songs, even though there are some great tracks here, like “Come Over” and “Strawberry Wine”.

Overall, I like a lot about Stick Season, but I’m left feeling like it had a lot of potential that wasn’t met. But, of course, music is subjective, and by ‘potential’ I mean potential to really click more for me personally. But you know what? There’s enough here that I like for me to give it an extremely light 7/10. To me, there are very notable flaws, but I still think it’s pretty good. I’m a fan of this.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Come Over”, “Strawberry Wine”, “Homesick”, “The View Between Villages”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Everywhere, Everything”

THROWBACK REVIEW – PARAMORE by Paramore (2013):

Paramore are releasing a new album in 2023, and I think it’s usually more interesting for me to review albums when I’m already familiar with the act’s discography … and I’m only somewhat familiar with Paramore’s discography. So I’m going to write about their self-titled album from 2013, and … this is going to be controversial, isn’t it?

Let me start by saying that there’s a lot here that I do like, such as the amazingly produced snare on “Fast In My Car”, the amazing vocals and vocal melodies on “Still Into You”, and the vocal melody on the hook of “Now”. Of course, those are just a few examples. Overall, there’s a lot to like about this album.

I also like a lot of the lyrics here, like on “Grow Up” where Hayley sings about moving on from the past, and also the lyrics on “Last Hope” about trying to stay optimistic despite it feeling like everything is going wrong.

But overall, if I’m being honest, this album isn’t really clicking for me.

The one song here that I really love is “Still Into You”, which is just so much fun to listen to! Hayley’s vocals are fantastic, and so are the vocal melodies! I love the drumming on this track, and how well-timed all the instrumentation is! I also think it’s mixed really well.

But I think one of the main reasons this album doesn’t fully click for me is the production, where a lot of these songs have some elements I like, but the production holds them back for me. “Ain’t It Fun”, for example, feels too jumpy to me, and the lead guitar in the chorus sounds underpowered to me. There’s also the underpowered percussion on “Now”, and while I like some elements of “Daydreaming”, the production on the chorus really doesn’t sound good to me, with everything sounding so dreamy (not in a good way), and the vocals sounding drowned out by the instrumentation. And while I respect the creativity of the closing track, I’m not really a fan of it, partially because of how the snare is produced in the context of the rock section of the song, and I’m not entirely sure why.

I also didn’t find a ton to like in the vocal melodies here. A lot of them just bored me.

And then there’s “(One of Those) Crazy Girls”, which is clearly satirical, but there are points where it kind of sounds like what it’s trying to be a parody of. Also, it just doesn’t interest me much musically.

Overall, if I’m being honest, Paramore’s self-titled album isn’t really my cup of tea. I’m curious to hear more from the band, but I’m going to give this album a strong 5/10. There are some songs here that I like, but as a whole, it’s not for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Grow Up”, “Last Hope”, “Still Into You”, “Anklebiters”, “Hate To See Your Heart Break”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Daydreaming”, “Proof”, “(One of Those) Crazy Girls”, “Be Alone”, “Future”

Dawn FM by The Weeknd:

For the last mini review post of 2022, why not review what might be the first 2022 album I listened to? Well, that especially made sense for me to do considering that I was already planning to give this album at least one more listen before the end of the year, because I wasn’t sure I’d really fully formed an opinion on it yet. And now that I’ve listened to it more … I’m just going to be honest and say that this album didn’t really click for me, as controversial a statement as that is.

Yes, I like the concept, as if you’re in a car listening to the radio, but a lot of these songs feel like they’re really missing something, like “Here We Go … Again”, which features some great vocal melodies, and I like the production for the most part, and I really like Tyler, The Creator’s flow here … but I don’t see myself going out of my way to listen to this song, and I’m not sure what it is that’s missing for me.

But there are also some real duds on this album for me, like “Don’t Break My Heart”, which not only feels boring melodically, but also contains these lyrics: ‘I can’t take another heartbreak or I’ll end it all. And the girl I used to love, we broke up in the club, and I almost died in the discotheque.’ Those lyrics suck for the same reason as the one line most critics hate from “SAD!” by XXXTENTACION, which is also a horrible line. And yes, I get that it’s not supposed to be taken seriously, but honestly, those might be among the worst lyrics I’ve heard from 2022, for obvious reasons.

Speaking of terrible lyrics, “I Heard You’re Married” features a guest verse from Lil Wayne, which has the lines, ‘I’m still in love with you. Where the love at? You walk down the aisle, I can make you run back. Like, fuck that, where the love at? And tell hubby I’ll kill him, no hub cap.’ Again, I get that it’s not supposed to be taken seriously, but I still don’t want to listen to it. And the song as a whole has pretty much nothing that stands out to me in a positive way, and it’s close to being my least favourite track on the album … but that would be “Best Friends”, which features some annoying deep synths, percussion that I find way too quiet, and the lyrics are so cheesy, especially when combined with the melody.

But despite my criticisms of the album … it features some tracks that are absolutely amazing. I loved “Take My Breath” as a single, and I especially love the extended album version. I also love the emotional “Less Than Zero”, as well as “Gasoline”, which took a few listens to really click for me, but once it did, it really clicked! And yes, “Gasoline” is a song which mentions dangerous sex and drugs, but I don’t take it too seriously. It’s not defending these actions … it’s just painting a picture.

But at the end of the day, this is a massive step down from the mind-blowing After Hours … I mean, I didn’t expect to like it as much as that album, but I expected to like it more than I do. So, for me, it’s an extremely light 5/10. It’s got its moments, but it just didn’t really click for me as a whole.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Gasoline”, “Take My Breath”, “Sacrifice”, “Less Than Zero”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Best Friends”, “Don’t Break My Heart”, “I Heard You’re Married”

the classic symptoms of a broken spirit by Architects:

Last year, Architects released For Those That Wish to Exist, an album that a lot of critics really didn’t like, but I honestly ended up liking way more than the vast majority of critics. I think it’s a legit great album that has a lot of great melodies and hooks, and a gloomy feel to it that I think is pulled off super well!

But if I’m being honest, I ended up liking this album way less. And I think a big part of it is that this album is much less orchestral than their last album. The strings are one thing about that album that I really love, and they don’t show up nearly as much here, and it leaves this album feeling a lot more boring to me.

“doomscrolling” stands out as my favourite track here. It’s got some great vocal melodies, and I love the rhythm of the drums on this track, too! I like the lyrics, too, especially the use of the phrase ‘delete another day’ which seems to be referring to wasting time, and I love that description of wasting time.

Overall, I just find a lot of the compositions uninteresting, and there are some elements of the production that hold it back for me, with the instruments at times sounding disconnected from each other. So, yeah, I like this a lot less than their last album … 4.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “deep fake”, “when we were young”, “doomscrolling”, “be very afraid”
Least Favourite Tracks: “tear gas”, “burn down my house”, “born again pessimist”, “a new moral low ground”