Hello, everyone! Time for more mini album reviews! Some albums I go a bit more in-depth on than others, but all of these are just some brief thoughts on these albums.

As always, it’s all just how I personally feel, and even if it sounds at points like I’m trying to say ‘I’m objectively right,’ that’s not what I’m trying to say. None of this is meant as a personal attack on anyone, or me trying to control what kind of music people make/listen to … it’s just me sharing how much/how little I personally like these albums and why.

Now, let’s get to the reviews:

Dog Dreams (개꿈) by Lucy Liyou:

Well … this is an interesting album experience …

It’s three songs, the shortest of which is over nine minutes, and it’s very dreamy and atmospheric.

Overall, it’s not really an album that gives me a ton to say, but I do mostly like it. It’s got some nice synths and I like the variety of moods throughout the album.

It’s worth noting that when I looked for the lyrics, I could only find the lyrics to the first song, and I can’t hear what all the lyrics are. But the lyrics seem interesting.

For me, this album is getting a 6/10. I don’t love it, but it’s definitely interesting, and I recommend giving it a chance. If you like mellow, atmospheric ambient music, you might love this. But that being said, as someone who likes that kind of music myself, even though I like this album, I personally don’t love it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Dog Dreams (개꿈)”, “April in Paris (봄)”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Fold the Horse (종이접기)”

Everything Harmony by The Lemon Twigs:

I’d heard of The Lemon Twigs before this album came out, but this is my first album experience with their music.

And, well, it’s very impressive, especially because of the production, which, I mean, just listen to it for yourself and you’ll probably hear the great production. And the vocals are really good, too!

And somehow … it’s not quite clicking for me the way it is for a lot of people, and I can’t really say I love the album.

Part of it is that some of the mellower songs kind of bore me, like “I Don’t Belong To Me”, and parts of the album feel like they kind of meander a bit, like the end of “What You Were Doing”.

But also, I’m not the biggest fan of a lot of the vocal melodies on this album. And it’s hard to explain why, but this sound for a whole album can be a bit much when the album is nearly fifty minutes long.

It’s definitely got its moments that I like, though. Overall, for me, it’s a 6.5/10—not anywhere near my favourites of the year, but I highly recommend you check it out! Like I said, at the very least, it’s impressive!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “In My Head”, “Any Time of Day”, “Born To Be Lonely”, “Everything Harmony”
Least Favourite Tracks: “I Don’t Belong To Me”, “Still It’s Not Enough”

The Gray In Between by Jeromes Dream:

This is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year so far, and despite this being their fourth album, it’s the only Jeromes Dream album I’ve listened to so far.

And it’s some pretty hard-hitting metal with great mixing. I really like the snares for the most part here.

But that being said, some of the mellower moments don’t do much for me, and at times the album has a kind of jumpy sound that, for whatever reason, doesn’t really work for me.

I really like the start of this album, and overall I like the album as a whole, but I wouldn’t say I love it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Conversations: In Time, On Mute”, “Stretched Invisible from London”, “South By Isolation”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Last Water Pearl”

Star Lore by Aindulmedir:

This is the third studio album by Aindulmedir, an artist whose first two studio albums I haven’t listened to yet, but I decided to start with this one, and it’s an instrumental album that’s very mellow.

This album doesn’t really give me much to say. I mean, I really like the mixing and production. And also, the repetition can work for or against the album in my opinion, depending on the song.

But overall, I think this album is pretty solid. It’s just a nice, calming listen, and the thirteen-minute closing track is a great example of that!

I mean, it can be a bit boring at points, and the album didn’t blow my mind or anything, but I’m going to give it a 7/10. Good stuff.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Celestial Studies”, “Always A Wind”, “Hidden Pillars”, “Star Lore”, “Silvery Fields”
Least Favourite Tracks: ???

Bunny by Beach Fossils:

This is my first time listening to a Beach Fossils album, despite having seen the band name online quite a bit.

And I’ve got to say, this album is pretty great in my opinion! It has an airy sound to it and uses quite a bit of reverb (or at least what sounds like reverb), but not to the point where it takes away the punch from these songs, and a big part of that is because of the sharper snares that sound fantastic and really elevate this album for me!

I like a lot of the vocal melodies, too, with one great example being the chorus of “Anything Is Anything”.

Other highlights include “Dare Me”—which has an excellent bassline, and I also love the blazing guitar in the chorus—as well as the excellent closing track, “Waterfall”!

Overall, this album is mellow and dreamy while also being quite upbeat, and it’s a great Summer album! 8.5/10 for me. I think this rules!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Sleeping On My Own”, “Run To the Moon”, “(Just Like the) Setting Sun”, “Anything Is Anything”, “Dare Me”, “Numb”, “Waterfall”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Tough Love”

What Matters Most by Ben Folds:

This is my first time listening to a Ben Folds album, and unfortunately it didn’t really click for me.

I mostly like the piano, and there are some nice melodies, but something feels missing. I guess I wish these songs sounded less generic to me. And I feel bad saying this, because I’m not denying there’s creativity here, it’s just that to my ears these songs sound kind of generic for the most part. That’s not to say these songs are generic, just that they kind of sound that way to my ears.

I like the synths at the start of the opening track, and there are some interesting lyrics on this album, but I also find some of these songs pretty cringey, like “Exhausting Lover”, which is easily my least favourite track here, partially due to the overpowering percussion.

So, for me, it’s a 5/10. Not a bad album, and I recommend you listen to it, but I don’t think I’ll be going back to it much.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “But Wait, There’s More”, “Kristine from the 7th Grade”, “Winslow Gardens”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Exhausting Lover”, “Fragile”

But Here We Are by Foo Fighters:

This is the first Foo Fighters album since the tragic passing of drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Some of the lyrics on this album are about Taylor’s passing and also the passing of Dave Grohl’s mother.

And I hope Dave and his friends and family are all doing well, but that doesn’t mean I have to love the album … and do I love the album?

Well … I wouldn’t say I love it, no. But I do like it quite a bit.

I’ve seen/heard some people saying the mixing/mastering on this album is really bad–and it’s worth acknowledging that I’ve been listening to it without headphones–but I haven’t noticed that. I mean, yeah, the snares are a bit quiet at points, but I mostly don’t mind the mixing and mastering, and in some cases it sounds fantastic, like in the title track, which has an awesome chorus, and the drums on this track are really hard-hitting! I also love the mixing in “The Teacher”, a ten-minute track near the end of the album with multiple parts to it, and this song reminds me a lot of “The Depression Suite” by The Tragically Hip.

I mean, sometimes the vocal melodies can be a bit boring, and some of these songs don’t really do much for me, but the best songs are great, and the distorted guitars sound awesome!

This is some really emotional, hard-hitting alternative rock that I recommend you listen to. I’m going to give it a 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Hearing Voices”, “But Here We Are”, “Show Me How”, “The Teacher”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Nothing At All”

My Soft Machine by Arlo Parks:

I’ve been seeing the name, Arlo Parks, all over the internet, but this is the first time I’ve listened to one of her albums.

Now, that being said, it’s only her second album, but anyway, do I like the album?

Well, I think it starts really strong, with three tracks that are very well produced and very well mixed. But eventually I get kind of bored the later it gets in the album.

I’m not entirely sure what it is … I think it’s partially that I start to find the vocal melodies less interesting as the album goes on, but also the kind of airy production starts to sound messier.

There are some songs here that I love, like “Devotion”, which features a great snare, great vocal melodies, and some excellent electric guitar, and I like a lot of the lyrics on this album, too, but overall I can’t say the album really wowed me.

The first three tracks are my three favourites, and then the jumpy synths in “Blades” show up and sound kind of awkward in my opinion, and from there, the album goes downhill in my opinion. But I’d still recommend you hear this, as there is a lot to like, even though it didn’t fully click for me. My feelings on this album are more positive than negative, so … I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Bruiseless”, “Impurities”, “Devotion”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Room (Red Wings)”

Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token:

So, I’ve seen/heard some very mixed opinions on this new Sleep Token album. It seems like lots of critics love it, lots of critics strongly dislike it, and lots of critics are somewhere in the middle. So, I had no idea what to expect going into it. I’m not super familiar with Sleep Token’s discography, but after listening to their debut album once, I can’t say I was a big fan of it … maybe if I listen to it more, it’ll grow on me, though. Who knows?

Anyway, going into this album, I kind of had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it all that much … but I was pleasantly surprised! This is a metalcore album which features some really good melodies, and I really like a lot of the production!

I mean, yeah, sometimes the guitar sounds underpowered, and the vocal effects are hit-or-miss for me. And while I like a lot of the melodies, some of them can get quite boring. And while I mostly like the lyrics here, and a lot of them are fascinating, there is the occasional moment where the lyrics feel … maybe a little cringey?

So, yeah, this album has its low points—for example, the trap beat in “The Apparition” really doesn’t work for me—but it’s also got some incredible high points, like the emotional “Are You Really Okay?”, which shows the narrator trying to save someone from self-harm.

At times the vocals and guitar hit super hard, like in the song, “Chokehold”, which is an excellent album opener!

Overall, while this album is quite long, and it’s not a super replayable album for me, the best songs here are fantastic, and I recommend giving it a listen if you’re into metalcore like I am! I’m giving this a 7/10! But with that being said, if you’re not into metalcore, even if you’re looking to get into the genre, there are other albums I’d recommend over this one.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Chokehold”, “Are You Really Okay?”, “DYWTYLM”, “Take Me Back To Eden”, “Euclid”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Aqua Regia”, “The Apparition”

Failed at Math(s) by Panchiko:

So, this band has been around since the 1990s, but this is their official debut studio album. That being said, there are different versions of some of these songs that have been released already, and it’s worth mentioning that I haven’t listened to those versions yet.

Anyway, did I end up liking this album?

Well … a bit, but not that much. I mean, I really like the mixing, and the snares sound good. And I like a lot of the vocal melodies … and it’s not that I really notice any big, notable flaws with the album.

So why does it feel like something’s missing?

Well, I would have liked if the production sounded a bit more clear, and some of the repetition gets slightly annoying, but I’m still not really sure what’s holding me back from liking it more.

But “Gwen Everest” is a great track that reminds me of U2, and overall I do like this album. 6/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Find it (A Song)”, “Gwen Everest”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Breakfast Séance”