Hello, everyone! I know I just posted a mini review post, but here’s another one! I’ve been working on quite a few reviews over the past few weeks, and I’ve got ten more ready to post right now, so here they are!

As always, none of this is meant as a personal attack on anyone, even if the review is negative. And if you disagree with my feelings on these albums, that’s totally fine. I’m just sharing how much or how little I personally like these albums and why.

And also, I’m not going into a ton of depth on these albums, I’m just briefly sharing my thoughts.

And now, let’s get the reviews started!

Dance You Monster To My Soft Song! by Victory Over the Sun:

The solo project of Vivian Tylinska, Victory Over the Sun, has a new album out that was released in late May. I’ve been seeing/hearing lots of critical acclaim for this black metal album, so I decided to give it a chance, and …

Wow! This is fantastic! This album is full of excellent distorted guitars with some fantastic riffs and amazing screams, with some incredible basslines, too!

The album’s a little under fifty minutes long, and it’s five tracks, the final of which is a César Vallejo poem turned into a black metal song.

This album is totally unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and I highly recommend you give it a chance! And I could understand the argument that this isn’t a good starting point for metal if you’re not a metal fan, considering how avant-garde and experimental it is, but I personally think it is a great place to start if you’re looking to get into metal music! Seriously, this is phenomenal! Easily among my favourite albums of 2023!

I don’t really understand the lyrics here, but the mysteriousness really fits with the haunting musical sounds, and when the mixing sounds this fantastic, too … yeah, it’s a strong 9/10! This is absolutely fucking phenomenal! Amazing album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Thorn Woos the Wound”, “Wheel”, “The Gold of Having Nothing”, “Madeline Becoming Judy”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Black Heralds”

The Good Witch by Maisie Peters:

This is the second studio album by Maisie Peters, whose 2021 debut album, You Signed Up For This, I did a throwback review of earlier this year … and while I didn’t really like that album that much, I relistened to it right before this new album came out in preparation for this review, and … I still can’t really say I’m a fan of the album. A lot of the vocal melodies bore me, and I find the production inconsistent. It’s an album that, for me, is mostly saved by the vocals and some of the lyrics—although some of the lyrics also held it back for me. I’d say I like the album more than I dislike it, but that’s mostly because of the title track, and in my opinion nothing else from the album comes the slightest bit close to being as good as that song, except for maybe “Psycho”. But in that review, I said I was curious to hear more music from her, so did I end up liking The Good Witch more?

Unfortunately not … and honestly, on my first few listens, I didn’t even understand the appeal of this album at all. Now, after more listens, I at least kind of get it. There are some creative lyrics, some of which are about feelings of nostalgia, and I will admit some of these songs are pretty catchy. Also, keep in mind, just because I don’t get the appeal of an album doesn’t mean I’m judging anyone for liking it, it just means I don’t understand it … and I still don’t fully understand the appeal of this, but if you like this album, I’m curious to hear why. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

But with that being said, I personally couldn’t get into this at all, in large part because of the mixing which sounds really messy, and to me it really takes away from the punch these songs could have. And the snares have pretty much no impact for me as they often lack the sharpness that I love in snares in anthemic pop songs.

A lot of the vocal melodies are underwhelming to me, and there’s this kind of jumpy feeling to a lot of these songs that just sounds kind of awkward to me, with a huge example being the super annoying chorus of “Watch”.

And overall, there’s just not much about this that makes me want to go back to it. I mean, I like some of the lyrics, but a lot of them just don’t do much for me, and that’s very much a me thing, but I review albums based on how I personally feel about them, not based on how ‘technically good’ I think they are. And Maisie Peters is a good singer (although her vocals often sound drowned out by the instrumentation), but these songs just don’t do much for me at all. At least You Signed Up For This has the title track and “Psycho”, while this album just totally fell flat for me.

I kind of thought I’d like this more than her last album, but honestly I ended up liking it quite a bit less … so, for me, it’s a strong 4/10. This was a big disappointment for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: “BSC”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Watch”, “Body Better”, “You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)”, “Run”, “Therapy”

The Whaler by Home Is Where:

So, this is an album by a band I’d never heard of until recently, and it’s been getting a lot of critical acclaim. It’s kind of a punk album, or a post-hardcore album, or something like that.

And I think this is great! The blazing guitars sound excellent, the snares are really hard-hitting, and the mixing is fantastic! There’s a great combination of intensity with some mellow moments, and the band’s very lively frontwoman, Brandon MacDonald, adds a ton of personality to these tracks!

There are tons of fantastic melodies here, and the clean guitars sound incredibly well miked!

I love the lyrics in which the narrator seems to be losing faith in humanity and the world, and while the lyrics do feel a bit too all-over-the-place at points and the instrumentation/melodies can feel like they meander a bit at points, the album as a whole is still incredibly hard-hitting and very catchy, it’s full of creativity, and it’s getting an 8.5/10 from me!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Skin Meadow”, “Yes! Yes! A Thousand Times Yes!”, “Whaling for Sport”, “Everyday Feels Like 9 / 11”, “9 / 12”, “Chris Farley”, “Nursing Home Riot”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Floral Organs”

The Heart of the Anchoress by Bianca Scout:

Released back in January of this year, this is the fourth solo studio album by Bianca Scout, an artist I don’t think I’d heard of until recently … and the album reminds me a lot of Kelly Lee Owens’ 2022 album, LP.8, the second album I ever reviewed on this website. Like that album, it’s an ambient album with a lot of eeriness, but also a lot of prettiness to its sound.

I looked up the lyrics for this album, and I couldn’t find them, so I just wanted to mention that lyrics aren’t really a huge factor for me with this album … even though I don’t usually focus much on lyrics in my reviews anyway.

And while these are two very different albums, if I’m going to compare this to LP.8 by Kelly Lee Owens—because they are very similar albums in a lot of ways—I can’t say I like this one as much. I mentioned the ‘prettiness’ in the sound of both albums, but nothing on this album is as pretty as “Nana Piano” from that album, and I find the production on this album to be messier. Now, that being said, I think there’s a lot more eeriness to this album than prettiness, if that makes any sense. But overall, The Heart of the Anchoress is an album that has a lot of really interesting ideas to it, and like I said, it’s very eerie. It’s a very haunting listen that I’m really impressed by … and yet, I can’t say I love the album. It feels like an album I’m close to loving, but a few key things hold it back for me, one of which is some of the production.

I do like quite a bit of the production here, but there are enough production choices I don’t really like that it holds me back from loving the album. I often find that certain elements kind of overpower the mix, and lead to a rougher sound, and I’m not a big fan of all the vocal layering, here, either, as it often just feels distracting from the eerie instrumentation.

And there are moments here that I really like, such as the somewhat staticky percussion that turns into a regular beat that creeps into “Dealers Portals”, adding to the eeriness of the track. And I love the dreaminess of “Chorus” with those strings that helps it become one of the prettier songs on the album despite the stormy production. And there’s also those subtle shots of synths at the start of “This City Had a Wall” that sound fantastic!

But there are also some moments that don’t really do much for me at all, and “Dedicated Two” gets quite annoying with the repetitive loops—or at least what sound like loops—and some annoying sound effects.

Overall, this is an album which I don’t really love personally, but I mostly enjoyed it, and I could see the rougher sounds really adding to the appeal of this album to a lot of people, so I think there’s a decent chance you’ll adore this album even if I personally don’t love it. So, I’m going to give it a 7/10, but maybe try pretending that score is higher if it’ll make you want to listen to it more, because I highly recommend you give it a listen if you haven’t already!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Empty Space”, “Dealers Portals”, “Chorus”, “This City Had a Wall”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Dedicated Two”

PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard:

Wow! Who would have ever guessed? King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard actually released a new album!

As someone who wasn’t a huge fan of Omnium Gatherum from last year despite all the critical acclaim it got, I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this album … I mean, it’s one of the most critically acclaimed albums of this year, but so was Omnium Gatherum last year … but I had seen/heard this is more of a metal album, so I had somewhat high expectations …

And while I like this album, I can’t say I love it. First of all, I had a hard time following along with the lyrics, but that’s not as much of a negative thing for me as it is just something I want to point out, because I feel like the lyrics are a huge part of this album’s appeal, with the story that’s being told.

But musically, while there are some good riffs, and it’s mostly compelling, there’s not a lot about it that makes me want to go back to it much. I feel like the album starts really strong and then kind of loses my interest.

I wish the snares hit a bit harder, and some parts of the album are kind of annoying, like the hook on “Dragon”. I still find the lyrics fascinating, and I think the music fits with the apocalyptic lyrics, but I just can’t say the album really fully clicked for me. I’ll give it a 6.5/10. I like the album, but something feels missing to me, and I can’t quite fully figure out what that is.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Motor Spirit”, “Supercell”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Dragon”

Chris Black Changed My Life by Portugal. The Man:

I’m not super familiar with Portugal. The Man’s music, but I decided to check out their new album, their first since 2017, and it’s dedicated to Chris Black, a friend of the band who died in 2019.

And I ended up liking this album a lot! The production is gorgeous, the snares have some punch to them, and there are a lot of great melodies!

I like the lyrics which seem to be about staying positive even when everything seems like it’s going wrong, because at the end of the day, things could always be worse. I mean, at least we’re above ground.

And there’s absolutely a place for sad, heartbreaking music, but something about the joy presented in the sound of this album and some of the lyrics just feels kind of magical to me, even though there are darker topics discussed here, too.

And while “Dummy” has one of my least favourite choruses I’ve heard all year, the rest of the album really clicked for me, and I’ll give this a 7/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Summer of Luv”, “Ghost Town”, “Time’s a Fantasy”, “Doubt”, “Champ”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Dummy”

4 (The Pink Album) by Lukas Graham:

Do you remember the song, “7 Years” by Lukas Graham? Yeah, I know it seems like almost everyone hates that song, but I actually quite like that song.

So, this is my first time listening to a full album by Lukas Graham, and a lot of people seem to think this is one of the worst albums of the year, and after multiple listens … well, honestly, I get the appeal of this album.

Now I’m not saying I like this album—I absolutely don’t—but there’s a lot of emotional song writing here, despite these songs being pretty simple. I mean, it’s a kind of simple that I understand the appeal of, and sometimes I like music that’s very simple.

But I find a lot of the choruses here annoying and I don’t find the instrumentals all that interesting. There’s just not much about it that makes me personally want to go back to the album, and nothing here is as good as “7 Years” in my opinion. But with that being said, I don’t think this is terrible. 3.5/10 for me, but as always, that’s just because I personally don’t enjoy listening to it for the most part.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Wish You Were Here”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Stay Above”, “Share That Love”, “All Of It All”, “Never Change”, “One By One”

In Times New Roman… by Queens of the Stone Age:

I’ll admit I’m not super familiar with Queens of the Stone Age’s discography, but I’ve heard great things about them, including this album!

And if I’m being honest, I can’t say I really love this album. Often the instrumentation overpowers the vocals in the mix, and a lot of the melodies kind of bore me.

I mean, it’s got its moments that I like—the crushing guitar at the start of the closing track comes to mind. There are some good hooks like the one in “Negative Space”, even if it kind of sounds like a lesser “I Sat by the Ocean”.

But a lot of the guitars feel overly distorted to me … and it’s not that I don’t like distorted guitar, but here it feels like the guitar is distorted to the point where it takes away from the punch of these songs that kind of have a jumpy/bouncy feeling to them.

I like some of the lyrics but I can’t say I’m really blown away by them—but like I often say, I’m not very good at analyzing lyrics—and overall, I feel like while there are some strong standout moments and standout tracks, like “Obscenery”, “Carnavoyeur”, and “Emotion Sickness”, the latter of which contains one of my favourite choruses on the album, as a whole album I can’t really say I love it. 6.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Obscenery”, “Carnavoyeur”, “Emotion Sickness”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Made to Parade”

Fountain Baby by Amaarae:

I’ve seen this album getting a lot of critical acclaim, and as someone who’s never listened to Amaarae’s music before this, was it a good first impression?

Well … mostly, yeah. But it’s an album that I keep feeling like I should like more than I do. I mean, it shows a lot of promise, but it kind of seems like every time I think the album’s really clicking for me, something happens that feels underwhelming to me … for example, I’m not always a big fan of the repetition here. I also find some of the mixing to sound quite messy.

Now, as much as this album on the surface seems to just be a bunch of fun pop jams, I think there is kind of a hidden darkness in some of these songs, showing that the narrator might be hiding some emotions—and it’s sometimes subtle and sometimes just in the sound of the songs alone, but it makes for a very interesting listen, and “Disguise” is an absolutely phenomenal track with absolutely amazing production and melodies, with that darkness to its sound that works super well with the strings—it’s such a fantastic track that has got to be one of my favourite songs of 2023!

But the biggest example of the song that really throws off the pacing of the album for me is the next song on the album, “Sex, Violence, Suicide”, which not only has some ‘I can’t live without you’ lyrics and also the line, ‘if you choose to die tonight, I’d be right behind you’—yes, I know it’s not meant literally (at least I certainly hope it isn’t), but that line still really rubs me the wrong way and comes across as very toxic—but then the song goes into a punk outro with snares that sound very quiet, underpowered guitars, and vocal effects that drown out the instrumentation, and at least to my ears it sounds absolutely awful!

But overall … I mean, there are a lot of good hooks, and the production at times sounds fantastic, and Amaarae is a great singer. I think there are some great songs here, but the album as a whole is very inconsistent and kind of underwhelming to me. I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Co-Star”, “Princess Going Digital”, “Wasted Eyes”, “Disguise”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Sex, Violence, Suicide”

Maritz by Jonnine:

For the final review of this post, here’s a very short album—barely over eighteen minutes—that doesn’t really give me a ton to say. I mean, I mostly like it, but I’m not going to say it really wowed me that much.

It’s certainly an interesting listen, despite it not giving me much to say. I mostly like the production/instrumentation, even if at points it doesn’t quite work for me, like the percussion and bass sounding awkward together in “Tea For Two (Boo)”.

I mostly like the basslines here, though, and the vocals are good, and there are some good melodies. I kind of wish the album was longer, though, because it just goes by really quickly and leaves me wanting more—it’s almost like an EP.

But I still mostly ended up liking this … I’ll give it a 6/10. I recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t already.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “I Put a Little Thing in Your Pocket”, “Portrait”, “Can I Trust the Flowers”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Tea For Two (Boo)”