Hi, everyone! I know it’s been a little while since I’ve made a mini review post, but I’ve still been working on lots of mini reviews, and I’m guessing I’ll have another one ready to post fairly soon.

As always, these are all just my personal feelings on these albums, and even if I say something negative it’s not meant to be mean or anything. I’m just some guy sharing how much or little I like these albums and why.

Ballad of a Bystander by The Reytons:

The Reytons are a band formed in 2017 whose 2023 sophomore album hit the top of the UK Albums Chart, but they haven’t really made it big worldwide. I was made aware of them by a friend of mine who’s a big fan of their music, and I decided to check out their first two albums. And while I mostly liked their first album, it didn’t really wow me and felt way too reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys, and I’m not even much of an Arctic Monkeys fan. And their sophomore album felt even less interesting to me, with fewer hooks that stood out and slightly weaker production.

And unfortunately this new album feels like a step down, even from their album from last year, as the drums feel very stiff and often overpower these tracks, the melodies are very boring, and the storytelling doesn’t feel as detailed or gripping, and that’s coming from someone who wasn’t really super gripped by their storytelling in the first place. But as I often say, take this with a massive grain of salt, as I’m not really great at analyzing lyrics for the most part. But it’s not really doing much for me.

It’s also worth noting that I couldn’t find all the lyrics to this album, although I found most of them.

Once again the Arctic Monkeys influence feels very obvious, maybe not as much as their first two albums, but it still doesn’t feel all that unique to me, often feeling like it blends in with a lot of generic songs you’d hear on rock radio.

The basslines feel really awkwardly miked in a way that really brings down the overall sound quality in my opinion, and some of the more watery guitar timbres feel really out of place as well.

So, overall … well, I don’t think it’s bad, but it doesn’t really give me a whole lot to say. There’s the occasional moment that I find mildly enjoyable, but none that I think I’m really gonna go back to much.

So, for me, album number three from The Reytons is a 5/10. I’m struggling to see the appeal in this.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Market Street”, “Listen”, “What She Won’t Do”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Let Me Breathe”, “2006”

Mountainhead by Everything Everything:

Recently I finally decided to listen through Everything Everything’s discography in preparation for this review of their seventh album. I was already familiar with their 2022 album, but after listening to their other five albums a few times each recently, I can’t really call myself much of a fan of the band. It just didn’t seem like it was for me at all, with a lot of the quirky lyrics and experimental instrumentation maybe feeling like it was trying a little too hard. Now, with all that being said, I didn’t look into the lyrics super deeply or anything, so I very well could be missing something. But it just didn’t seem like my cup of tea at all.

But their 2022 album Raw Data Feel made my top 50 albums of 2022, and after relistening to it I stand by that, for a bunch of reasons which will take a while to fully explain here. But anyway, were they able to follow it up with another great album? 

Well, a lot of the melodies are really strong, and Jonathan Higgs’ unique vocals are very engaging, and the grooves are quite strong, just like on Raw Data Feel.

And I really like a lot of the lyrics here, too. I don’t fully understand what the overall meaning of this album is, but it seems to have to do with an insatiable protagonist, trying to make it to the top of a metaphorical mountain only to be disappointed.

And I think the upbeat sound works considering something feels a little bit ‘off’, and there are so many catchy moments here with a lot of really great lines—one of my favourites has to be, ‘If I’m gonna be tomorrow’s bacon, you deserve a Michelin star,’ even though that song has some annoying reverb and other vocal effects that I don’t really like.

So, yeah, there’s a lot about this that I really, really like! I would absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for a really fun experimental pop album with very complex and layered lyrics … and I just really wish I liked the production more.

The vocals often sound drowned out in the mix, the percussion often feels kind of clunky, and the watery sound of this album really takes away from the punch it could have. I don’t think it fits at all with the vocal style or the quirky instrumentals, unlike Raw Data Feel which I think had great percussion and a lot of hard-hitting production that really helped the emotion shine through a lot more.

I don’t think this is a bad album at all—in fact, I think it’s really good, extremely close to great (there’s enough about this that I really love aside from the production that I nearly think it’s great regardless)—but I couldn’t fully get past what I think are some notable flaws in the production. I’m going to give this an extremely strong 7.5/10. Maybe I’ll call it great in the future, but as of right now, in my personal subjective opinion, it doesn’t quite get there.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “The End of the Contender”, “Cold Reactor”, “Buddy, Come Over”, “Canary”, “Enter the Mirror”, “City Song”
Least Favourite Track: “Wild Guess”

2093 by Yeat:

So, this is my first time ever listening to a Yeat album, and I’ve heard some very conflicting opinions on his music, as well as on this album.

And the first thing I’ll say is that I’m not really sure the lyrics are super important here. I think this album is a lot more about the vibe. Maybe I’m missing something, but that’s what it seems like to me … at least to a certain point, but I’ll talk more about that soon.

And honestly, I don’t really mind this album. Sure, the production at times can sound a little awkward, with some of the watery synth timbres feeling kind of out of place, and while I do like the crisp percussion on some of these tracks like “Morë” and “ILUV”, at times the percussion can also feel a little clunky. But overall I actually think the production mostly works, at least for the otherworldly vibe this album seems to be going for, almost like it’s trying to pull you out of reality for a brief moment in time.

And when you think about it that way, maybe the braggadocious lyrics are really just a disguise, showing someone trying to find an escape from insecurities, pretending that everything is totally great. Now, there’s not really a lot in the lyrics that directly imply that, at least not as far as I can tell. Although “Shade” has the line, ‘Let’s all get high as fuck and pretend,’ which might be the one moment on this album, or at least one of the only ones, where that’s actually strongly implied in the lyrics. Otherwise it’s all about the relationship between the words and the music, and while as far as I can tell the lyrics aren’t super deep or anything, I think they are often fitting with the music.

Am I totally overthinking this? Possibly. But I’m not going to deny that there may be more to this than what appears on the surface. And unfortunately that doesn’t change the fact that this album is incredibly long, with most of the songs blending together for me, without a lot of real strong hooks. Yeah, there are some catchy moments like “ILUV” and “Shade”, but the vast majority of this just feels super forgettable to me.

And also, Lil Wayne and Future both give very weak guest verses in my opinion, and it’s such a shame because in the latter case, “Stand On It” is otherwise a really, really good song!

So, overall, while I think there are a few strong moments here, it is a bit of a chore to get through as a full album. But I don’t think it’s bad, either. I guess I’ll give this a 5/10. I’ve definitely heard albums in this style that I like a lot less, and most of these tracks at least have something about them that I really like, even though I wish most of them felt more fully fleshed out. But again, I don’t think it’s bad. I’m pretty sure I like this a little more than I thought I would.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Morë”, “ILUV”, “Shade”, “Stand On It”, “If We Being Rëal”
Least Favourite Tracks: “U Should Know”, “2093”

TANGK by IDLES:

This is the fifth studio album from IDLES, a band who received a lot of critical acclaim for their 2017 debut, Brutalism, as well as their sophomore album from the following year, Joy as an Act of Resistance.. And I was really into their music as a kid, but a lot of the music I listened to as a kid I don’t really like nowadays and I really feel like I was forcing myself to like when I was younger. But I revisited all of IDLES’ previous albums, and I still think their first two are great! Maybe not the most revolutionary punk albums in recent years, but they were full of personality, humour, and social commentary, and also some interesting meta commentary.

And while their 2020 album Ultra Mono disappointed a lot of fans—and understandably, considering how much of IDLES’ charm was lost due to a much more straightforward approach to song writing—I still think it has a lot of bangers on it, including “Model Village” which might be a contender for my favourite song in IDLES’ discography!

But then there was CRAWLER in 2021, a much mellower album which was quite the change in sound for the band … and unfortunately a lot of it just didn’t click for me. There were moments I liked, mostly the moments where it felt like they were thinking outside the box a bit, but as a whole it didn’t feel as interesting, funny, or hard-hitting as their previous albums.

And considering the mostly lukewarm reception I’ve seen for this new album, I was a bit worried … and unfortunately my worries came true, because this feels like a disappointment for similar reasons to their previous two albums. It feels a lot more straightforward without the same cleverness as their first two albums, and sonically these tracks aren’t very hard-hitting, either.

And I understand the idea of a mostly optimistic, fun album that isn’t as deep or layered as their first two albums … as much as there’s absolutely a place for art that really makes you think, it also can be nice to kind of turn your mind off from all the problems in the world and just try and have a good time, which seems to be the majority of this album’s theme, despite some exceptions.

And I just don’t find this to be all that fun to listen to—for example, there’s “Dancer”, which lyrically feels like it’s supposed to be a joyful track about just dancing and having a good time, but the eeriness of the guitars doesn’t fit at all in my opinion. And at points this album can get quite annoying, like the extremely underwhelming chorus of “Gift Horse”, with one of the most annoying vocal performances on the album and extremely underpowered guitar.

I like the positivity of this album’s lyrics, and there are moments that I think have potential, such as the opener with its twinkling piano complementing the eerie vibe, or the percussion groove of “Grace”, but I found this album really underwhelming as a whole. In fact, it’s probably my least favourite IDLES album to date. For me this is a 5/10—I really wish I liked it more, but it feels like IDLES might be running out of ideas.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “IDEA 01”, “Grace”, “Monolith”
Least Favourite Track: “Gift Horse”

She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She by Chelsea Wolfe:

I recently decided to try and at least somewhat familiarize myself with Chelsea Wolfe’s discography, and after listening to all six of her albums, I absolutely get the hype!

And while I’m definitely becoming a fan of Chelsea Wolfe’s music, her 2019 album Birth of Violence did feel a little underwhelming to me compared to her previous few albums, as it didn’t feel as detailed, and it left me wondering if maybe she was starting to run out of ideas.

But it has been about four and a half years since Birth of Violence, and I felt cautiously optimistic going into this … I mean, it’s been getting a lot of critical acclaim, so that’s promising, right?

And I hate to say it, but this album was a big disappointment for me. I think the biggest reason—actually, not necessarily the biggest reason, but the first notable reason I noticed—is the vocal production. Whereas her previous few albums let the vocals feel like a part of the messy atmosphere which really fit considering the lyrical content, the vocal production here feels so distant from the instrumentation, really taking away from the emotional resonance.

And while some of the guitar has some nice crunch, the drums feel way clunkier than I would have liked, and the album often has a bit of a demo-like sound to it, which keeps this from hitting way harder.

And when it comes to the lyrics … well, there are some similarities to her other albums lyrically, a lot of which seem to be about trauma, and escapism, and also giving a huge middle finger to those who inflict suffering on her. And while I don’t know this for sure, I’m pretty sure she writes from her own experience, and who am I to judge someone’s art as a way to try and cope with trauma?

But at the same time, I can’t deny that this just doesn’t feel nearly as interesting or layered as her best albums, and it doesn’t feel as much like a complete album, more like a collection of songs, without a clear theme throughout the album that really ties these songs together. Maybe there is and I’m just missing it, but whereas some of her albums feel like the songs are way more connected musically and lyrically, this doesn’t feel that way to me.

I do think there are some good melodies on this album, and Chelsea is a hell of a singer (even though I don’t like the vocal production here), so it’s enough for me to give this a 6/10, but I can’t pretend I love this. Again, I hate to say this, but I think this might be Chelsea Wolfe’s worst album to date. It just isn’t hitting nearly as hard for me as I was hoping it would.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Tunnel Lights”, “The Liminal”, “Place In The Sun”
Least Favourite Track: “Everything Turns Blue”

COMING HOME by Usher:

So, I was originally planning on listening to some (or maybe all) of Usher’s albums before reviewing this album, but considering the number of albums I review and the fact that I’ve been going through a few other artists’ full discographies, I just decided not to for now. I would like to listen to more of Usher’s music at some point, but the time just got away from me here, and I wanted to get this review out sooner rather than later.

Anyway … this is a long, messy, inconsistent album that has some really strong moments and also some really weak moments … and a lot of it just feels bland and forgettable to me.

On the more negative side, there are songs like “BIG”, with that McDonald’s line being really cringey in my opinion, and the horns and bass in this song sound really obnoxious, as do the vocal melodies. And some of these songs can feel a bit possessive and creepy, too, like “Please U”, which feels pushy despite him saying his intentions are good—it feels like one of those faux nice guy anthems. And there are also some moments on this album where it feels like cheating is being glorified. I’m not saying the lyrics were written with bad intent—I’m confident they weren’t—but it still feels really off-putting.

And I wish the production was a bit less airy in certain parts of the album, where it often feels like it lacks more punch.

But on the more positive side … I think the album starts and ends relatively well, and outside of Latto’s verse I kind of feel like I like “A-Town Girl” way more than I should … I mean, on paper it seems like a terrible idea, with the combination of the interpolation of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” and the trap beat, but I actually think it works pretty well! Why is that? I have no idea!

And some of the melodies are really strong in certain songs, like “Stone Kold Freak”, which might be my favourite song on the album—although “One of Them Ones” is also a contender!

As a whole, I’m going to give this a 5/10, but not because I think it’s super boring and forgettable or anything like that … I just think it’s inconsistent.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Coming Home”, “A-Town Girl”, “Stone Kold Freak”, “I Am the Party”, “One of Them Ones”
Least Favourite Tracks: “BIG”, “On the Side”, “I Love U”, “Please U”, “Margiela”

Mercy by Remo Drive:

So, I was going to check out Remo Drive’s other albums before this one, but to save time I just decided to go into this one without having heard their others …

And to me this mostly just feels like some pretty bland indie rock. I mean, there are some interesting moments, like the lyrics on “White Dress” in which the narrator is explaining to his partner why he’s not ready to get married, and I also really like the roaring guitar on the title track.

But a lot of this just feels really forgettable to me, without a lot of strong vocal melodies or catchy hooks.

The instruments feel more distant from each other in the production than I would have liked, and the drums don’t have the punch that I wish they did.

I guess the lyrics are kind of interesting—there seems to maybe be a theme of the complexities of human emotions, and there are a variety of song topics here—but a lot of it just doesn’t really grab my attention all that much … and yeah, that’s a me thing, I’ll admit.

But overall I’m going to give this a 5.5/10. I don’t think I’m going to go back to this much, if at all. At least not any time soon.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “White Dress”, “Mercy”
Least Favourite Track: “Houseplant”

See The New Dawn by Caleb R.K. Williams:

Last year, I reviewed a Caleb R.K. Williams album, and I didn’t really love it, but I found it mostly pleasant as background music, and I decided to listen to this album which came out at the start of February 2024.

And once again, it’s not doing a whole lot for me. It’s a very mellow ambient album that has some nice synth tones, and it can create a very calming, peaceful listen at certain moments, but the vast majority of it just feels like it’s there, and that’s about it.

And at points this can get very boring, without doing much at all that makes it feel distinct in the field of ambient music. And as much as I’ve gotten into the genre a lot more recently, a lot of it just feels very forgettable to me, including this album. That’s not to say it’s bad, or that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, just that it’s not for me.

The strings can often create a nice, warm vibe, and while I wish the texture felt a little more clean and the strings had a bit of a softer sound, they do still add a nice touch that makes some of these tracks fairly pretty.

And I think this album also does bring some images to my mind, maybe of an empty field where not much is happening, but it feels like something huge is about to transpire, whether that be physical or just in one’s own mind. Yes, that was very oddly specific considering there are no lyrics here, but it’s what I could think of … I’m not sure that fully explains how this makes me feel, but I think it’s close enough.

But I also think my uncertainty of how I personally interpret it does kind of say something here. This album doesn’t really pull me into its world all that much, and thus I have a hard time getting into it.

So, overall … well, I don’t think it’s bad. In fact, if you’re a fan of ambient music, I could understand why one might really like this! So, I’d definitely recommend it to some fans of instrumental ambient music, but even as someone who’s warmed up to this style of music a lot in recent years, this album isn’t really my cup of tea. So, I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Overcome I”, “Home”, “Thought Sanctum”, “I Am A Stranger Here”, “Overcome II”
Least Favourite Track: “Fields Of Gold”

Loss Of Life by MGMT:

So, up until very recently, MGMT were one of those bands whose name I’d seen/heard a lot but whom I hadn’t really listened to. But when I saw they had a new album coming out, I decided to give all four of their albums a few listens each in preparation for this review. And while I, like seemingly pretty much everyone else, think “Kids” is a fantastic song, I do go against the general consensus on that album, their 2007 debut Oracular Spectacular, as it just didn’t really do much for me. The production didn’t feel as tight as I would’ve liked, and the melodies didn’t stand out to me all that much. And after listening to their other albums a few times each I don’t really think any of them rise above just decent for me, and I don’t think they’ve come close to making a song as great as “Kids”—although “Me and Michael” is lowkey a pretty great song from their 2018 album Little Dark Age.

But it’s been about six years since Little Dark Age dropped, and I was hoping maybe they’d have more up their sleeves this time …

And I think they did, as this is easily my favourite MGMT album to date, even though I don’t quite love this album.

I like a lot of the lyrics, some of which seem to be the duo reflecting on their success over the years, such as on “Bubblegum Dog”, at least the way I hear it, like they’re trying to be creative and unique with their music but might feel like they’re running out of ideas—partially ironic considering I think this is their best and most interesting album, and also kind of fitting considering just how much this track reminds me of “Tranquilize” by The Killers ft. Lou Reed (a song I don’t really like at all), with the kind of booming percussion, the vocal style, and some of the melodies. I do like this song more than “Tranquilize”, though.

And “Nothing Changes” is probably my favourite MGMT song to date—that’s right, I probably love this even more than “Kids”! This track seems to be about feeling like you provide nothing for the world, and even though that’s clearly an overreaction that so many of us worry about even though it’s not true at all, there’s also the fact that we exist and can try to find enjoyment in life regardless, which really seems like the message they’re trying to send on the bridge. And the acoustic guitar really fits the vibe super well!

And I think the album ends really well, too, but there are also some moments that feel like they should be a lot better, such as “Dancing In Babylon”, which starts off really strong but then those icky synths in the post chorus just ruin it.

And the production on this album often doesn’t feel nearly as tight as I’d like. For an album that seems like it’s supposed to be this epic, emotional experience, I just wish it hit a lot harder.

I don’t dislike this album—in fact, I mostly like it—but I can’t go higher than a 7/10. It’s good, but I wouldn’t call it great.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Nothing Changes”, “I Wish I Was Joking”, “Loss Of Life”
Least Favourite Track: “Loss Of Life, Pt. 2”

Girl With No Face by Allie X:

Before listening to this new album, I decided to check out Allie X’s first two albums, neither of which really did a whole lot for me. I felt like I’d heard that style of synth-pop done way better, and the hooks didn’t really stand out to me all that much.

But this album is by far her most critically acclaimed album to date, so that definitely brought my hopes up …

And it’s just not really doing much for me. The drums don’t feel super connected with the rest of the instruments in the way they’re produced, which leads to moments like “Staying Power” with its overpowering snare, or that incredibly obnoxious kick on “Hardware Software” that I think is way too loud in the mix.

And the synths often don’t feel as sharp as I’d like, just not having much of an impact if you ask me.

And it’s not like the melodies or hooks really do a whole lot to stand out to me, either. And while Allie X is a pretty good singer, I just don’t feel much of a desire to go back to this album.

Lyrically, a lot of this seems to be about personal demons and trying to find self-love, and struggling with that but still just pushing forward and trying to enjoy life despite all your struggles. Maybe I’m not interpreting it totally right, but either way, as much as I respect the lyrics here, it doesn’t really grab my attention all that much personally.

I don’t think this is a bad album, and there’s the occasional moment I really like, such as those awesome synths on “Galina”! But as a whole this didn’t really do much for me, so I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Galina”, “Black Eye”, “Saddest Smile”
Least Favourite Track: “Hardware Software”