Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my website! Today, I’m doing 9 more mini album reviews!

As always, these are just my personal feelings on these albums. None of this is meant to be mean or anything, even if I say something negative. I’m just sharing how I personally feel about these albums.

Also, I will be keeping these very brief for now. It feels good giving myself a head start on reviews early in the year, especially considering I’m going to be super busy with reviews very soon, and also considering the fact that I have a life outside of my music reviews. I mean, that’s kind of the point of these mini review posts anyway.

Alright, time for the reviews …

Classification by Dip Your Teeth:

Here’s an album that’s been getting a little bit of buzz online this year. It was released on the first day of the year, and it’s by an artist I’d never heard of until now … and I’m not even sure if Dip Your Teeth is a solo artist or a band.

But anyway, I can’t really say this is for me. It’s another ‘sound collage’ album that uses samples—I’m not sure where the samples are, though, or how much of the album is samples—and while I can see how it might be fitting for a certain vibe, it’s not an album I personally am gonna really want to listen to.

There are some good melodies at points, and the mixing is mostly solid. Overall, I don’t find the album annoying to listen to outside of some specific moments, but it just doesn’t grab my attention all that much, if at all.

So, yeah … I can’t say this is for me. 5.5/10 if you ask me. But if you love sound collages, especially eerie sound collages, this might be up your alley.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Sail Away Ladies”, “I’m Going To Germany”
Least Favourite Track: “The Nasty Swing”

Aegis by Notochord:

This is the debut album from rock band Notochord, fronted by Jonathan Carpenter, a former member of The Contortionist, a band whom I don’t think I’ve ever listened to at all.

Anyway, is this a good first impression? Well, it does make me intrigued to hear more from this band … not only are there some good grooves here, but the mixing is really strong, and the bass fits really well when paired with the guitar distortion!

And yet … something feels missing here, and I’m not entirely sure what. Maybe it’s just more strong hooks, or maybe the album just feels shorter than I would have liked … and also, some of the heavier moments musically do feel strangely out of place here, and I’m not really sure why.

Again, I am intrigued to hear more from this band, and I also think the album starts pretty strong, but overall for me this is a 6/10. I don’t dislike it, but it’s just not clicking for me all that much.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Indelible”, “Microbial”, “Xylem”
Least Favourite Track: “Plasmodia”

AM/FM USA by Phil Geraldi:

Alright, time for another ambient album for me to review early in the year … and this one’s not really doing a whole lot for me.

This is the debut album by Phil Geraldi, and it seems to be getting a tiny bit of buzz online, although it’s not for me at all. It’s another sound collage album, and this one uses sounds from the radio—although I’m not sure whether or not the musical moments are samples or not.

Either way, each time I listen through this album, I’m left feeling like it’s yet another one of those albums that feels to me like a scattered mess. It doesn’t feel like it connects together into anything all that special. However, I don’t dislike it, and if you’re looking for a nice, calming album to take you on a musical journey … well, it’s not what I personally would go to, but you might get way more out of it than me.

But I rate albums based on how much or how little I personally like them … and thus, this is getting a 5/10 from me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Track: “Chase Your Love”
Least Favourite Track: “Oklahoma After Dark”

I Want To Love Again by doefriends:

This is the debut album by a solo artist whom I hadn’t heard of until just recently, but it’s been gaining some traction online, and I was curious to give it some listens …

And there are a lot of interesting lyrics full of longing, and I think the glitchy sounds fit really well without taking away from the punch of these tracks. But I don’t find the melodies super strong for the most part, and as a whole it just doesn’t feel super satisfying, and I’m not entirely sure why.

Part of it is the mixing at points sounding kind of messy, including some spots where the vocals feel drowned out. And also a lot of the repetition doesn’t really work for me.

But still, if you’re looking for a unique writing style that feels kind of like a diary at points, full of glitchy production … well, it’s certainly worth recommending. For me it’s a 6/10—a few standout moments but not really a satisfying whole if you ask me—but it’s definitely interesting, I’ll give it that much. And I respect the creativity a lot.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “How To Feel Alive”, “Waiting”
Least Favourite Track: “Drunk Again”

Lately by ocarth:

I was looking online at a bunch of albums I could review and I came across this very short album which runs for just over twenty minutes.

ocarth is a sixteen-year-old artist from Australia who I’m pretty sure started releasing music online in 2022, although this is the first ocarth album I’ve listened to.

And it’s a very mellow album with a lot of emotion, and there’s some cool musical experimentation, too.

And honestly, the album makes me kind of worried about the artist, considering the very suicidal lyrics toward the end—most importantly, I hope ocarth is doing well, regardless of whether or not I like the album—and I hate to say it, but I’m not really a huge fan of this album, and a big part of that is the ending in which the narrator commits suicide. And yes, I get that it’s art, and it’s not trying to send a pro-suicide message, but albums that end with the narrator committing suicide don’t usually sit well with me, even if it’s a fictional story. There would have to be some sort of extra context in the album that makes it work for me, and I just haven’t found that in this case.

But I also do find the production a little messy and the melodies a bit boring at points … but overall, if you’re looking for an emotional listen with some interesting experimentation, I’d recommend this album. For me personally it’s a 5/10, but my scores are just based on how much/little I personally like the album. I’m intrigued to hear more from this artist.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Sometimes I look at strangers and wonder what their most…”, “Real life problems and their effect on the consumption of media”
Least Favourite Track: “There’s nothing out there for me.”

Vicarious Life by the apology club:

Here’s an artist I hadn’t heard of until recently. I saw this described as slowcore, and while that’s not really a genre I usually love, I do want to try exploring the genre a bit more, so I decided to give this album some listens and to include it here.

And I really like the style of the lyrics, with the kind of straightforwardness that is probably a lot less common than you’d think. It doesn’t feel disguised in metaphor or anything like that, it just feels like someone sharing a bunch of personal feelings for the first time without holding anything in.

And there are some dark moments here, such as the opener “school” which mentions a dream the narrator has had about hurting other people, and the narrator is wondering if that dream meant anything or not, a topic that continues into the next track, “what i might see”.

But I just can’t get into the way this sounds at all … compositionally, these songs just feel so boring to me. I’m not saying that to be mean or anything, I just personally find so little to like about the way this sounds, especially with the fogginess of the production.

And then there’s “Smoking/Dying” which almost feels like a pro-smoking anthem, which I’m sure wasn’t the point, but it does rub me the wrong way. And yes, whether or not you smoke should be a personal decision, but I think we all know smoking is a bad idea and the lyrics here kind of sound like this song is denying that.

So, overall … well, again, I like a lot of this album’s lyrics, but it’s just not resonating with me much emotionally. 6/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “School”, “What I Might See”, “It Felt Weird”
Least Favourite Track: “Smoking/Dying”

I Beg Your Pardon by Polarlicht:

So, this album is exactly a half hour long, and I guess you could call it a ‘harsh noise’ album … and I’m not really sure how to review this.

To me this just feels like a bunch of static with nothing interesting at all about it. Sure, there are some small details here and there that do feel artistic, but it’s a hard album for me to recommend … and I hate to say that, because I’m all for supporting smaller artists—and if you love super distorted sounds in music, maybe this’ll be up your alley—but I just couldn’t get into this at all and I don’t understand the appeal.

Maybe I’m missing something, and there’s more to this than I realize … but while this is listenable, I’m going to have to give it a 4/10, because it doesn’t grip me at all in any way.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

Wildergrave by Windark:

This is some atmospheric black metal by an act I hadn’t heard of until recently. And I’m not even sure if Windark is a solo artist or a band, but either way, I’m pretty sure this is the third Windark album … and unfortunately, I can’t really say it’s clicking for me.

I can’t comment on the lyrics here, as I couldn’t find them when I looked for them and I can’t hear what they are. But I do think it’s got some decent atmosphere to it, with the sort of airy sound that still gives the drums a lot of punch and the guitars some real firepower, and I also think this is mixed pretty well … but outside of the occasional moment, I don’t find the melodies to really click for me.

The basslines have some nice presence, helping these songs feel more complete … but there’s also the vocal production, which doesn’t really fit with the instrumentals in my opinion … there’s an odd feeling of disconnect there.

Again, there are some good moments—I especially like the rising synth melody on “Dark Wind Of A Forest Forgotten”—but as a whole, it’s just not really for me. It’s not very long, but it still doesn’t feel like it fully earns its running time to me. But I do kind of see the appeal of this … it’s a 6/10 for me, and I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of black metal … but even as a fan of black metal myself, this didn’t do a whole lot for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Dark Wind Of A Forest Forgotten”, “Black Mountain Beyond The Moonlight”
Least Favourite Track: “Winter Grave Below The Forest Midnight”

All Of Heaven’s Luck by Rejoice:

Here’s a metal band who have been releasing music for at least a few years, but this is their official debut studio album … and you could argue it’s more of an EP, considering it’s not even twenty minutes long. Although I’m pretty sure it’s officially a studio album, so it’s eligible for this post.

And unfortunately it’s not really for me … don’t get me wrong, there are elements of this that I like—the drumming is good, the band sounds pretty locked in for the most part, and the lyrics about commodification are pretty powerful, and I especially like the line on “Bloodsucker”, ‘Bloodsucking was never lost as an art. They exchanged their fangs for credit cards.’

But to me this doesn’t feel like it’s really doing anything all that unique with this style of music, and there aren’t a lot of strong guitar melodies or catchy moments here.

Maybe I’m missing something, but especially considering I do often find the production pretty messy as well … I just can’t really call myself much of a fan of this. I think it’s decent, but I don’t love it … so, for me it’s a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Bloodsucker”, “Burnt By Dusk”
Least Favourite Track: “Dancing On the Cross”