Hello, everyone! So, I was going to make one of these posts with more than five mini reviews in it, especially considering there are quite a few other mini reviews that I’m close to finishing … but it’s also good to have a mix of shorter and longer mini review posts, and the last one had ten, so why not post a shorter mini review post?

As always, these are just my personal feelings on these albums. If I say something negative, it doesn’t mean I’m trying to be mean to the people who made the albums, nor am I trying to be mean to the fans or judge anyone’s taste in music or anything like that. Music is subjective, and these are just my personal feelings on these albums.

Also, yes, these reviews are super brief, I know. But considering how far behind I am with my reviews … well, I really want to get back on track, and year-end list season is coming up, and I really don’t want that to be eight months late like it was for me last time … so, yeah, as much as it might be the controversial approach, as of right now I’m prioritizing quantity of reviews over quality of reviews. Because I’ve got a ton of albums I want to review soon, and I’ve also got a life outside of reviewing music, too. But my plan is that once I get back on track, I’ll focus more on the quality of my reviews rather than the quantity.

So, yeah, just keep in mind I didn’t look super closely into all the lyrics (I do read the lyrics and try to understand them, but not to the same extent that some critics do), and I’m not trying to say whether or not these albums are ‘objectively good’ … although those things can be said about all my reviews anyway, at least the latter can be, and the former is true with most of my reviews.

But now it’s time for the reviews, starting with …

Paint My Bedroom Black by Holly Humberstone:

It feels like for a while I’ve been constantly seeing/hearing the name Holly Humberstone, and now she’s released her debut studio album.

And honestly, I can’t say this really clicked for me at all. I mean, there’s clearly a lot of emotion here, and while I respect that, it doesn’t mean I have to like the album … and I don’t like the album. To me, the production doesn’t give this nearly as much atmosphere as I think it was supposed to, and the vocal melodies are mostly boring to me.

This album reminds me a lot of Gracie Abrams’ album from earlier this year, except I don’t like the production nearly as much, the melodies don’t do much for me, and while I think the lyrics are well written, they just don’t really do much for me personally here.

So, overall, if you’re looking for a mostly mellow, emotional album, this might work for you, and while I’m giving this a 5/10, I do at least somewhat recommend giving it a chance. It’s just not for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Cocoon”, “Flatlining”
Least Favourite Track: “Into Your Room”

Romantic Piano by Gia Margaret:

This ambient album came out back in May, and it’s the third studio album by Gia Margaret, although it’s only the first one of her albums that I’ve listened to.

And it’s not really an album that gives me much to say … but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, I think this is a really nice, calming listen with really good production that adds a lot to the atmosphere!

And there are a lot of great melodies in the instrumentation, and the pianos sound great. But outside of that, I just don’t have a lot else to add. Although I will say if you start listening to this and it doesn’t really do much for you … well, in my opinion the second half is better than the first half, even though I do like the first half.

So yeah, If you’re looking for some great instrumental ambient music, then I’d absolutely recommend this album! 8/10 for me!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Hinoki Wood”, “Cicadas”, “Guitar Piece”, “La Langue De L’amitié”, “April to April”, “Cinnamon”
Least Favourite Track: “City Song”

Picture in Picture by Nimu:

Nimu is a duo consisting of Nick Malkin and mu tate, and this is the duo’s debut album.

It’s about half an hour long, and it’s some pretty enjoyable instrumental ambient music, even though I wouldn’t put it among the best ambient music I’ve heard this year.

The production gives this a really nice atmosphere, and it’s got a very winter-like vibe to it, with a lot of small details that add a lot.

It’s got a slightly eerie feeling to it, but only slightly, and I think it really fits for this album … so, while I don’t quite love the album, I do like it quite a bit, although I think it works better as a whole than in pieces. So, overall, strong 7/10 from me!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “At Dawn”, “Room Of Mirrors”, “Little Break”, “Deja Vu”
Least Favourite Track: “Ultramarine”

Mid Air by Romy:

For anyone who doesn’t know, Romy is a member of The xx, who are one of those bands I keep hearing about but haven’t really listened to. Anyway, this is Romy’s debut solo studio album, and it seems to have gotten a mostly positive reception from critics.

But to me personally, this album felt pretty underwhelming, and there’s not much about it that really makes me want to go back to it. To me it just sounds like a lot of other dance music I’ve heard without much that really sets it apart for me.

Although that’s not to say there aren’t issues here that hold the album back for me, such as a lot of the percussion feeling kind of clunky, holding these songs back from having more punch to them.

But I’m also just not really gripped by the vocal melodies or the compositions for the most part, and while there are some good synths and I mostly don’t mind the production, this album just didn’t really do much for me.

I do think the album starts really strong with “Loveher”, a really sweet, fun love song which is one of the few examples where I think the percussion legit sounds really good, but the vast majority of this album feels lacking in strong hooks and melodies, and overall I’m gonna have to give this a 6/10. If you’re looking for some upbeat dance music this might be worth a listen, but I think there’s much better dance music out there.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Loveher”, “Did I”, “Enjoy Your Life”
Least Favourite Track: “DMC”

The Devil I Know by Ashley McBryde:

I’ve heard some really good things about Ashley McBryde’s music, although this is the first Ashley McBryde album I’ve listened to, at least I’m pretty sure it is.

And I can’t really say it’s fully my thing. I mean, the lyrics are often well written, even though there are some songs with lyrics that feel contradictory to each other within the song. And Ashley McBryde is a good singer, too. But the compositions here just don’t really feel all that interesting to me, and the production sounds quite messy.

Now I will say at least there are moments when the messy production kind of works for me, like in “Whiskey and Country Music”, although at least the instruments sound like they fit together here, unlike a lot of the other songs where it feels like the instruments were produced for different songs.

Overall this just doesn’t feel super consistent to me, and while I like some of the vocal melodies, and there are a couple great songs in my opinion, I’m still only going to give this a 6/10. But if you really love country music, you might really love this … so, to country fans I’d absolutely recommend it, maybe even if you’re not a country fan, but even as someone who’s been getting into country music more and more this just didn’t do a whole lot for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Devil I Know”, “Single At The Same Time”, “Whiskey and Country Music”
Least Favourite Track: “Women Ain’t Whiskey”