Hello, everyone! Yes, I know this is the third day in a row that I’ve posted mini reviews, but like I said, there are a lot of them that I’ve been working on recently.

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums, and if I say something negative I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just sharing my personal feelings on these albums. Music is subjective.

Alright, time for the mini reviews!

EXCELSIOR by Slauson Malone 1:

Well, this album is experimental, that’s for sure!

There’s a lot of creativity here, and a lot of variety, but I’m not going to pretend the album really clicked for me personally.

This album reminds me of Saya Gray’s album from last year, 19 MASTERS, as it’s a very haunting listen with some strong standout moments, but overall I’m just left saying, ‘Well, it’s super creative, but a lot of it just doesn’t really do anything for me at all.’

I’m not really sure what the lyrics are about, but I do still find some of the lyrics interesting, and I find some parts of the album super well produced … and “Love Letter Zzz” is a great track if you ask me.

But overall, I don’t think I’ll be going back to this as a whole much, so for me it’s a 6/10. 

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Fission for Drums, Piano & Voice”, “Love Letter Zzz”, “Decades, Castle Romeo”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Great Wedge”

Ultra Paradise by Angel Electronics:

This is the debut album by Angel Electronics, a duo consisting of Ash Nerve and Ada Rook, the latter being a member of Black Dresses. This came out back in January, I became aware of it a few months ago, and I’m finally getting around to reviewing it now, and …

Well, I’m not always a huge fan of the foggy, distorted sound of this album, but at points it does work for me.

But I’m just not super hooked by a lot of the compositions here, and while there are some strong hooks, like in “One Thousand and One Nights” and “Rainbow”, as a whole album I’m more intrigued to hear whatever’s next for Angel Electronics than I am passionate about this album … because this isn’t really for me.

Because of the moments here that do work for me I’m going to give this an extremely light 6.5/10 … I mean, it’s a short, mostly enjoyable listen, but not a super consistent one, and I’ve heard other albums in this style that feel a lot more experimental and interesting to me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “One Thousand and One Nights”, “Secret Teachings of All Ages”, “Angel”, “Rainbow”
Least Favourite Tracks: “HiDE iN SEW”

Perfect Picture by Hannah Diamond:

This is the second studio album by Hannah Diamond, whose first album I still haven’t listened to. I saw this album getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, so I decided to give it a chance, and … well, the first thing that came to mind on my first listen was how much it reminded me of CHVRCHES … and with every listen I hear a lot of similarities, in both the vocals and instrumentation. And on top of that, the ending of “Want You To Know” sounds really similar to “Empty Threat” by CHVRCHES (and honestly, the whole song kind of does).

And compared to most CHVRCHES music, I don’t think this is nearly as good … the instrumentals don’t feel as interesting, the lyrics don’t do as much for me, and the production feels like it’s lacking the firepower that makes CHVRCHES’ music so great, with some exceptions like “Want You To Know”. And while I like a lot of the vocal melodies, I wouldn’t say they’re quite as strong as most of CHVRCHES’ vocal melodies.

And nothing against Hannah Diamond as a singer, but if we’re comparing her as a vocalist to Lauren Mayberry … well, how many singers are as great as Lauren Mayberry?

But that’s enough of me comparing this to CHVRCHES … do I at least like this album? Well, yeah, I mostly do. Hannah Diamond is a good singer, and there are some really good melodies here, even though the production holds it back for me. But still, I don’t think this is going to have a lot of replay value for me, as I just don’t find it super interesting outside of some moments here and there. And also, I’m not really a big fan of the chopped up vocals that are all over this album.

I’m going to give this a 6/10 … if you’re looking for some catchy pop music with strong vocal melodies, I’d recommend this, but I wouldn’t recommend going into it with the highest of expectations.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Poster Girl”, “Want You To Know”, “No FX”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Affirmations”, “Lip Sync”

1988 by Lori McKenna:

This is my first time listening to a Lori McKenna album, and while I like a lot of the storytelling and production, a lot of the melodies feel really underwhelming to me, and the instrumentals feel mostly generic if you ask me.

The drums sound pretty good here for the most part, and while the guitars aren’t always produced in a way I really like, I think the sound quality of the album is pretty solid. But the compositions often just don’t really do much for me.

I like a lot of the lyrics about growing up, although in “Letting People Down” she says ‘the world is flat,’ which I’m almost positive isn’t meant literally, but the song still loses points for me because of that line, and it’s not like I would have liked the song otherwise.

I’m going to give this a 6/10, as there are moments I really like, such as “The Old Woman In Me” and “Days Are Honey”, but as a whole it’s not really for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Old Woman In Me”, “Days Are Honey”, “1988”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Letting People Down”

Cousin by Wilco:

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Wilco’s music, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever listened to one of their albums.

And in my opinion, this is a pretty solid album. I mostly like the basslines, and the acoustic guitar production sounds great! And there are some really good vocal melodies here, too!

With that being said, this doesn’t sound super unique to me, and the hooks aren’t super strong for the most part.

But still, there are some moments that really impressed me, like the Radiohead-esque “A Bowl and A Pudding”, and I love the slightly gloomy atmosphere of “Sunlight Ends”.

For me, this is a 7/10. It’s not an album that I really see myself going back to much, nor is it really wowing me much, but it’s still a pretty solid indie rock album that’s mostly well produced, and if that sounds appealing to you, I think it’s definitely worth recommending!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Levee”, “Sunlight Ends”, “A Bowl and A Pudding”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Ten Dead”

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan:

So, I started seeing a lot of hype for this album seemingly out of nowhere, and I was excited to hear it, but for some reason I kind of had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this as much as a lot of people do, and I’m not really sure why.

And after multiple listens … well, yeah, I can’t say I’m as big a fan of this as a lot of critics are. There’s a lot of variety on this album, with some more upbeat pop songs and some more mellow songs, and lyrically there’s a lot of variety here, too (take my lyrical analyzations with a grain of salt—like I often say, I’m not great at analyzing lyrics), from fighting back against society’s objectification of women on “Casual” to a friendship completely altered by one event on “Kaleidoscope” to the celebration of being your authentic self on “Pink Pony Club”. But while I like a lot of the lyrics, there’s also “My Kink Is Karma”, which is quite an uncomfortable listen—don’t get me wrong, it’s got a catchy chorus, and I like the idea of the song, as she’s calling out an ex’s bad behaviour and saying how much she wants things to go wrong for this person … but then she says ‘my kink is watching you crashing your car’ … and yes, I get that emotions are not really something people can fully control and that that’s kind of the point of the song, but it still makes for a really uncomfortable listen.

Overall, I feel like most elements of this album are just inconsistent … I mean, there are moments here that really stand out to me in a positive way, like the huge chorus of “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”, but as a whole album it doesn’t feel consistent enough for me to call it great.

But still, there’s a lot of creativity here, and a lot of people seem to really like this, so it’s still getting a recommendation from me, especially if you’re into pop. But for me, it’s a 6/10, as a lot of these songs just feel like they’re missing something to make them click for me more.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Casual”, “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”, “Kaleidoscope”
Least Favourite Tracks: “After Midnight”