Hello, everyone! Welcome back to more mini album reviews!

So, going into the year I was hoping to be consistently putting a lot more effort into my reviews and making them more high-quality, but I’ve been really wanting to get ahead of schedule with my reviews so I can hopefully be more thorough in my reviewing process soon, so for now here are some reviews that I’ll admit I didn’t put as much effort into as I would have liked. I mean, I’m almost never really one to look as deeply into lyrics as I want (mostly because I sometimes try to do that and still feel like I don’t understand them as much as I wish I did, but that’s something I’m working on), but with these albums I looked into them even less than usual. And I’m keeping these reviews pretty brief, too. I did look into the lyrics at least a little bit, but probably less than usual.

And yeah, there’s a part of me that feels like my job as a reviewer is to make sure I’m reviewing all aspects of the album really thoroughly … but at the end of the day it’s just my personal feelings on the albums, and even when I do put more effort in to try and understand the lyrics, my thoughts on the album are still not objective. I mean, some people don’t care about lyrics at all and still review albums, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, either.

Alright, now that that’s all out of the way …

Be Right Here by Blackberry Smoke:

Blackberry Smoke are a country band whom I’ve heard of quite a bit, but until just recently I’d never actually listened to one of their albums.

And I think this is a mostly good first impression, with some nice guitars that have a lot of power to them, and there are some good melodies here, too.

But unfortunately I don’t really like the production all that much, as it often sounds really messy, holding these songs back from hitting a lot harder.

But still, it’s got a nice, uplifting vibe to it, and there are some really strong moments. The basslines are really good, as are the vocals … I mean, there’s a lot to like here, so I’ll give it a 7/10, but I don’t quite love it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Dig A Hole”, “Like It Was Yesterday”, “Other Side Of The Light”
Least Favourite Track: “Hammer And The Nail”

Sparagmos by Spectral Voice:

This is a black metal album that I saw getting a lot of critical acclaim recently, and I was quite excited to hear it!

And I like some of the production, with the grit of the guitar and drums giving this a really heavy sound that I think fits with the often dark and graphic lyrics, even though I don’t really understand what the lyrics mean here.

I do wish the bass fit a little more with the rest of the instrumentals, though, and I’m not super wowed by the melodies here.

So, overall I’ll give this a 6/10. It’s not a bad listen, and I’ll admit I haven’t looked into it all that deeply, so there’s a good chance it’s better than I’m giving it credit … but I just don’t really think it’s for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Red Feasts Condensed Into One”, “Sinew Censer”
Least Favourite Track: “Be Cadaver”

Unwired Detour by Asian Glow:

I can’t say I had super high expectations for this album, despite the fact that Asian Glow’s 2022 album Stalled Flutes, means was one of my absolute favourite albums of that year. Part of this is because that album felt like pretty much everything fell into place perfectly, creating a super unique listening experience in a style of music I’m not really a huge fan of, where I could easily see it just being a one-off … and also, part of it is that I didn’t really love Asian Glow’s collab album with sonhos tomam conta last year.

Anyway, this is the final album being released under the name Asian Glow … and unfortunately it’s not fully clicking for me.

The lyrics feel very open to interpretation like on Stalled Flutes, means, and I’m not really sure what they’re about. And musically it’s got some interesting moments, and I mostly like the percussion.

But this also doesn’t feel nearly as unique as Stalled Flutes, means, and there’s not a whole lot of melodies that really stand out to me here.

The production is solid but not all that memorable in my opinion, and it’s also not super consistent, with some moments sounding kind of messy.

I like the way the closing track erupts, which was a nice twist, and I think the album starts pretty strong, and I mostly like the vocals here … but I’m just not super wowed by this as a whole. 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Down in the sink”, “Kuroitamago #2”, “Lightpipe”, “Tunnel of Glass”
Least Favourite Track: “Yr Pane”

Grief Chapter by Mother Mother:

Mother Mother are a band I’ve heard of quite a bit, but I haven’t really listened to them much. But I have heard a few of their songs, and most of what I’d heard didn’t really impress me all that much, so I didn’t really have high expectations going into this …

And thus I’m not really all that disappointed that this is not really doing much for me. I like it about as much as I expected, which is not very much.

This style of indie rock feels very mid-2010s, and I feel like this just blends in with so much other radio rock that I also find very boring and generic. I mean, there are some creative lyrical and musical moments here, and I understand why it might click for some people, but to me it often just comes across as maybe a little corny. I respect their ambition to try to create something different, but to me personally it just feels like I’ve heard this before.

Yeah, I know I’m pretty much contradicting myself over and over again in this review, but hopefully what I’m saying makes sense.

Now, with all this being said, I don’t think this is all bad. Like I said, there are moments that I like, such as “Explode!” with its explosive chorus (see what I did there?).

But most of the production here really doesn’t work for me, with certain elements being overpowering, leading to a really messy sound that doesn’t feel nearly as punchy as I think it’s supposed to.

So, overall I’m feeling a light 5/10 on this album. I don’t dislike it, but it’s not really doing much for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Explode!”, “Head Shrink”
Least Favourite Track: “Days”

Ashes In the Huron River by Theophonos:

Here’s another black metal album that’s been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim recently. I’d never heard of this band until this album, but I decided to give it a chance …

And I certainly get the appeal. The devastation in the lyrics fits really well with the crushing drums and guitars, and overall I quite like the production, which I think sounds very tight.

And I’m not really sure why it’s not clicking for me more … maybe I just wish there was a little more variety in the sound, or maybe it’s the fact that the screamed vocals just aren’t really doing much for me, and I’m not really sure why. But that’s a me thing, and if you’re into black metal I would highly recommend this.

It’s not really my thing personally, which is why I’m giving it a 6/10, but there’s a good chance you’ll absolutely love it!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Built World”, “An Elegy”, “Ashes In the Huron River”
Least Favourite Track: “Grid of Sorrows”

Peacemaker by Vera Sola:

Here’s a new album by an artist I’d never heard of until recently, and this has been getting a lot of critical acclaim.

And unfortunately it’s not really clicking for me. The production often feels messy, with the percussion feeling out of place and the bass sounding kind of awkward, and I’m not a huge fan of the vocal melodies here, either.

There are some interesting lyrics, although I’m having a hard time understanding what they’re about, even though I like a lot of the imagery and metaphors. There seem to possibly be themes of people not understanding things and things not being how they seem on the surface—I could be totally wrong about this, though. But if I’m right, then does it feel more or less fitting that I haven’t looked into it super deeply? I’m not sure, but make of all this what you will.

Overall, though, it just kind of feels like an album I’ve heard before. There’s not really a lot about this that pulls me to go back to it. So, I’m going to give it a 6/10, but I would absolutely recommend you listen to it, because it’s kind of fascinating.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “I’m Lying”, “Desire Path”, “Waiting”
Least Favourite Track: “Get Wise”

Everybody Can’t Go by Benny the Butcher:

This is my first time listening to a Benny the Butcher album, and while there are definitely ideas and moments that I like here, I can’t really say I love this album as a whole.

And like with a lot of hip hop albums, a lot of it might be due to me not really understanding it. But still, there are things about this that I really like, such as some of the instrumentals (especially on a lot of the tracks produced by The Alchemist), and I also really like the storytelling on some of these tracks like “TMVTL” and “How To Rap”.

Hip hop is a genre I definitely want to listen to more and try to understand more, because as much as I respect the genre it’s not one I’d consider myself a huge fan of personally, and I know that says more about me than the genre itself.

But I have loved some hip hop albums, and this just isn’t one of them, especially with moments like the really cringeworthy Lil Wayne verse on “Big Dog”, even though that song might have one of my favourite instrumentals on the album.

But I’m also not really a huge fan of a lot of Benny the Butcher’s flows on this album, and the way the instruments sound when put together can be a little awkward at points. So, I’m going to give it a 6.5/10. There might be way more to it than I realize, but I can’t really say it’s clicking for me personally.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Jermanie’s Graduation”, “TMVTL”, “Buffalo Kitchen Club”, “How To Rap”, “Griselda Express”
Least Favourite Track: “Back Again”