Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another mini review post! There are ten albums I want to talk about here, in a wide variety of genres.

As always, these are all just my personal feelings on these albums, and even if I say something negative it’s not intended to be mean or anything. It’s just how I personally feel. Music is subjective.

I’ve gotta say, this year for music has been very disappointing so far, at least when it comes to the stuff I’ve been listening to. I’ve really struggled to find great albums this year, despite really looking for them … but fortunately, we’re starting this post with …

The Collective by Kim Gordon:

Kim Gordon is a name I’ve seen/heard online a lot, but I wouldn’t have been able to tell you anything about her until very recently. I didn’t even know she was a member of Sonic Youth until after I had already listened to this album.

Anyway, I saw this album getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, and I was curious to hear it … and good thing I gave it a chance, because this is an absolutely excellent industrial hip hop album which hit way harder than I was expecting!

The percussion has some excellent dynamics to it which I think really gives this album a lot of power in certain moments, but there are also some subtler moments where it feels like tension is building, making it hit so much harder when things get more intense. And it’s not just the percussion that does that, it’s the overall instrumentation and production.

Lyrically this album is very cryptic and difficult to untangle, and while I haven’t really figured it out yet, that very well might be the point. I mean, a lot of it kind of feels like it might be about feeling like you’re losing touch with reality, although again, it’s very cryptic and hard to untangle. But if that is what it’s about, then it feels kind of fitting how mysterious it all is. I mean, the album opens with a track that feels like the narrator panicking while packing for a trip, trying not to forget anything, and then we start to get some tracks that feel like horror stories, such as “Psychedelic Orgasm” and “Tree House”, even though it’s hard to fully paint the picture in your mind of what is going on.

But it all kind of feels like it fits together, creating a cohesive album experience that’ll pull you in so many different directions emotionally. This album is incredibly haunting, with the industrial production that really gives this such a stormy vibe, and Kim Gordon’s delivery has such a sense of desperation to it that pulls you into the album experience.

Start to finish, this is packed with bangers which might be a lot more ‘fun’ than they’re supposed to, but it’s also an album that might be a very challenging listen. I mean, I’ve listened to a lot of noisy, industrial music that’s not meant to be easy listening at all, and even for me this album feels like a challenging listen.

But again, I think this album is absolutely excellent! The sound is kind of messy at points, but not in a way that takes away from the awesome dynamics, and nothing really overpowers the mix in a really notable way. And the percussion has so much variety to it which is one of many reasons this is such a gripping album all the way through. And often the sort of spacey vibe can really help with the atmosphere, making it all the more eerie and haunting!

So, overall, I would highly recommend this album! I guess you could maybe call it nightmare fuel, but it also goes incredibly hard and kind of has a bit of a ‘culmination of experimental music’ feeling to it. That’s not to say this is the best album I’ve ever heard or that it’s the end of experimental music, but this still really caught me off guard in a way I was not expecting, and it’s one hell of a listen that might amaze you! I’m going to give this a strong 8.5/10! Awesome stuff!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “BYE BYE”, “The Candy House”, “I Don’t Miss My Mind”, “I’m A Man”, “Trophies”, “Psychedelic Orgasm”, “Shelf Warmer”, “The Believers”
Least Favourite Track: “It’s Dark Inside”

Bleachers by Bleachers:

I was originally planning on listening through Bleachers’ discography in preparation for this review, but I’ve got so much else going on and I just decided not to. However, I did relisten to Jack Antonoff’s 2021 solo album under the Bleachers name, which I remember listening to multiple times when it came out and not really being a big fan of … and I stand by my original feelings on the album. A lot of it felt really bland and forgettable and blends in with a lot of indie pop-rock to me. But with that being said, “Stop Making This Hurt” and “Chinatown” are both legitimately excellent songs, which made me curious about this new album …

And I’m reminded of all the negative comments I’ve seen about Jack Antonoff’s production in recent years. And it’s been really interesting, because he’s produced a lot of very critically acclaimed albums, but it also kind of feels like there’s been this general attitude of, ‘Oh no, Jack Antonoff’s producing this album, that’s worrying’ (I’m not talking about this specific album, just in general). And to me it’s always felt hit-or-miss. His production usually has a bit of a hollow sound to it, which in certain contexts can really work, whether that be in the introspectiveness of Taylor Swift’s Folklore and Lana Del Rey’s album from last year, or giving more of a soaring energy to the best songs on that last Bleachers album.

But here I’m reminded more of The 1975’s album from 2022 which I did not like at all, with a lot of the vocal production that feels so mushy and contorted, borderline robotic, and it really holds back a lot of these tracks, such as “Alma Mater”, which features guest vocals from Lana Del Rey, and with the feeling of randomness in the lyrics and some of the vocal production and instrumentation, this track subtly reminds me of “Part of the Band”—I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as that track, but still not a good sign. And some of the synths and guitar have a similar vibe to that album as well, especially with the percussion which really lacks a lot of punch in my opinion.

And the goopiness of some of the synths and the feeling of disconnect between the instruments creates a really awkward texture that reminds me a lot of the production on Taylor Swift’s Midnights (that album and The 1975’s 2022 album were both produced by Jack Antonoff). Also not a good thing in my opinion.

And I don’t find a lot of the vocal melodies all that interesting here, either. A lot of them just feel really generic—not like they’re ripping anything off as far as I can tell, just that they don’t feel all that interesting and sound a lot like what I’d typically imagine when I think of a generic vocal melody, such as on “Isimo”, a song which I think has potential as one of the moments where I think the airy production works for similar reasons to the best songs from that 2021 album, but it just feels like it meanders and meanders. And the following “Woke Up Today”—with the exception of the reverb—sounds like an early-to-mid 2010s mainstream indie folk song, and even as someone who likes some of the songs that made it big in that sound, I don’t mean that as a compliment.

Lyrically I think there’s some interesting storytelling and imagery here and there. I like how “Me Before You” celebrates a new relationship while showing how miserable he was before, without glamourizing self-destructive behaviour or anything like that, but just acknowledging what things were really like in the past (I’m not sure if this is a song about personal experience or not, but I think you get the point). And “Modern Girl” has some good imagery in it, even though the saxophone sounds like crap in my opinion.

But then there’s a song like “Self Respect”, which seems to be a song about trying to deal with fame and getting so much attention, and that being overwhelming and sometimes wanting an escape from that … but the line, ‘Let’s do something I’ll regret’ feels a little odd. I know it’s not meant literally, but it still feels pretty off-putting here, and the vocal layering sounds really bad, making this track feel very cluttered.

So, overall, I don’t think this is a bad album at all. But it is a very messy, inconsistent one that I think could have used much better production, even though there are moments that I think work quite well. So, for me it’s a 6/10, probably the same rating I’d give Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, but I don’t think there’s a song here nearly as amazing as “Chinatown”. I still think this is worth hearing, though.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Jesus Is Dead”, “Me Before You”, “Isimo”, “Hey Joe”, “Call Me After Midnight”
Least Favourite Track: “Self Respect”

eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande:

So, this is a bit of a tricky album to discuss, because a lot of it involves a bunch of the drama surrounding Ariana’s personal life, and a part of me just wants to say, ‘It’s none of my business, I’m going to stay out of it.’ But there’s also a part of me that says, ‘Well, it does have a lot to do with the album, and I won’t be able to review it as well if I don’t look into it a bit.’ But at the end of the day I’d rather just stay out of it, especially because based on what I’ve heard here and there, the full truth isn’t totally confirmed to the public.

I mean, maybe I’m missing something—again, I haven’t looked into the situation much—but anyway, do I like the album?

Well, again, it’s a tricky one to review when I don’t really know the full story of the relationship drama, and whether or not anyone cheated, or anything like that … but I can say that the album isn’t really doing a whole lot for me.

Melodically there aren’t a lot of really strong hooks that stand out to me all that much, and a lot of the lyrics can feel very simple and don’t feel all that layered. Maybe I’m missing something, but it’s not really wowing me.

And the production really doesn’t work a lot of the time, with a lot of the vocals sounding kind of robotic at points such as on “the boy is mine” as well as various other tracks on the album, which in my opinion really doesn’t work considering how personal this album is, trying to convey a lot of emotion.

And there’s also just such a messy feeling to a lot of these tracks, as this album often has a much hollower sound than I would have liked … that is, when one element doesn’t totally overpower everything like the bass in “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”.

There is the occasional moment that feels a bit more unexpected, such as “imperfect for you” which feels like she’s thinking outside the box a bit more, with the watery acoustic guitar timbre which I think fits really well with the sharp snare, and the vocal melodies take an odd turn in the chorus that caught me off guard, but I really like it! But the vast majority of this album feels to me like radio filler.

But I don’t think this is bad, and Ariana is a very good singer … so, I’ll give this a 6/10. I don’t think I’m going to go back to it much, but it’s pretty decent.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “don’t wanna break up again”, “eternal sunshine”, “imperfect for you”
Least Favourite Track: “the boy is mine”

Depthdweller by UZLAGA:

Here’s a new black metal album that came out at the start of this month, and while I haven’t seen or heard a whole lot about it (I just came across this album when looking online for black metal albums), the reception I have seen for it seems to be mostly positive. But I didn’t really have any reason to believe this was going to be great or anything … but I decided to give it a chance anyway.

And while I think it’s decent, I don’t find it to be particularly hard-hitting or memorable. The basslines don’t really have all that much power to them, there are a few moments where the guitar can hit pretty hard but for the most part I wish it had more crunch to its sound, and it feels like this could have used more layers to add a more interesting texture.

I couldn’t find any of the lyrics to this album when I looked them up, and I can’t hear what they are, so this review is just based on the way the album sounds … and again, it sounds decent, but I’m just not all that wowed by this.

I think my biggest issue with it is that it doesn’t feel all that distinct to me. It’s not that I don’t think some of these moments are at least somewhat hard-hitting, because I do. “Alone” has arguably my favourite production on the album, with the way the howling vocals cut through the mix while still letting the snare and guitar dominate, and the title track is very intense with drumming that I think fits the instrumental very well.

But even the moments here that do hit harder just don’t feel all that experimental, catchy, or memorable. And maybe that’s a me thing, but at the end of the day these reviews are all just based on how I personally feel anyway.

And especially when there are moments like “Light of the Moon” where everything sounds so hollow and lacking in firepower, I have a hard time fully understanding the appeal of this album. And it’s not that I think it’s bad, because I don’t. But it’s a difficult album to recommend, and I hate to say it especially considering it’s from a smaller act. But if you love black metal and are looking for a mostly conventional black metal album that’s under a half hour, this might satisfy your wishes.

Maybe there’s more to it than I’m giving it credit, but as someone who’s listened to a lot of black metal albums over the past few years, this didn’t feel all that distinct to me. I’m going to give this a 6/10, because again, there is the occasional moment that I think is mostly enjoyable while it’s on, and I don’t find very many sections of this album annoying. But again, this isn’t really for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Know More”, “Alone”, “Lucidity”
Least Favourite Track: “Light of the Moon”

Spectral Evolution by Rafael Toral:

I’ve seen this ambient album getting quite a bit of critical acclaim online, and after giving it multiple listens I’m struggling to fully understand why.

I mean, I guess some of the textures are nice, and there’s some variety here, too, but a lot of it is pretty boring to me.

Maybe I’m just missing some subtle details, I’m not sure. But this just isn’t quite clicking for me as much as I was hoping it would. It doesn’t really bring much imagery to my mind, it doesn’t really make me feel much of anything, and it really just feels like background noise to me that I kind of forget is even playing.

There are moments here and there where it feels a bit more experimental, like something that maybe I could really like if there were some adjustments made to it, but I’m just not wowed by this at all.

But I’m probably missing something, as this has been arguably one of the most critically acclaimed albums this year. I mean, I don’t dislike it, and in the right context I might hear it as somewhat pleasant background music … but I don’t think I’m going to return to this much, if at all.

But at least it does get a bit more interesting toward the end of the record, even though I wish the synths had a less watery timbre.

So, for me personally this is getting a 5/10, as it’s not for me at all. But if you’re looking for some experimental ambient music … I mean, I’m not sure if you’re gonna really be all that wowed by this—I like ambient music, and this didn’t click for me at all—but it might be worth a shot. Clearly a lot of people are hearing something in this that I’m not. (Also, I can’t pick favourite and least favourite tracks because this album is just one forty-plus minute track.)

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

As Grande As by Grande Mahogany:

This is the debut album from an artist I’d never heard of until recently, and it’s both very funky and very experimental, with the cutting production sounding really nice—the sound quality of this album is awesome!

But while I like a lot of the experimentation here, and there are some really strong vocal melodies at points, something feels missing that’s holding this back from clicking for me more.

Maybe it’s just that I get a bit tired of hearing a similar style of music for over half an hour, but even early in the album I’m left feeling like I should like this a lot more.

Maybe it just feels too reminiscent of other music I’ve already heard … but I can’t even figure out which music this reminds me of.

In any case, I do think this could use maybe a little more stylistic variety in the instrumentation, and I can’t quite say I love this album.

And I could make nitpicks about how some elements such as the bass can feel a little quieter than I’d like at points, getting kind of drowned out in the mix, but again, I can’t fully place what it is that’s holding this back for me.

I only found a small percentage of the lyrics on this album, so this review is almost entirely about the way this sounds. And again, the sound quality of this album is excellent, but something feels missing to me. So, I’ll give it a 7/10, and while I’d absolutely recommend it, I wouldn’t recommend you set your expectations super high. But for fans of funk music with a lot of experimentation, this could be totally up your alley!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Bop Your Head (Till It Drop!)”, “Angle of the Dangle”, “Spaceboy Pinkhead”
Least Favourite Track: “November Jewels, the Great Cuddle”

Where’s My Utopia? by Yard Act:

I remember putting Yard Act’s debut album on my list of the worst albums of 2022, and after relistening to that album recently … well, I might have been too harsh on it, but I still found it to be an exhausting listen, and one that certainly didn’t bring up my expectations for this new album.

And I definitely like this more than their debut, but it’s still so far from actually being my cup of tea.

The instruments still feel distant from each other in the production, not really blending well, and I’m still struggling to find a lot of melodies or hooks that really stand out to me in a positive way … or, in this case, that really stand out to me at all.

Now, when it comes to the lyrics … okay, I’ll just be honest and say that I just got over a cold (maybe it wasn’t a cold, but either way, I was sick), and at the time of writing this review I’m really struggling to get back on schedule with my reviews … so, I’m kind of half-assing this review, and while I’m often one to not look super deeply into lyrics, I usually look into them more than I did with this album, at least if there seems to be some huge statement the album is trying to make.

And if it really seemed like there was a lot to it and I might end up really liking the lyrics if I looked into them more, I would have … but I did read the lyrics, and I’m making a(n) (possibly unfair) assumption that there’s not really a lot to it. That’s just what it seems like on the surface level. If I’m wrong, feel free to let me know in the comments, and maybe I’ll do a re-review of this album in the future. Who knows?

There are some catchy moments here and the occasional line that I really like, but overall this just isn’t doing much for me.

Yard Act’s sophomore album for me is getting a 5/10, but it very well may deserve a much higher rating. I wanted to get this review out, though, and I know this album isn’t really clicking for me, even though there may be more to it than I realize.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “We Make Hits”, “Petroleum”, “Grifter’s Grief”
Least Favourite Track: “When the Laughter Stops”

Underdressed at the Symphony by Faye Webster:

I went through Faye Webster’s discography in preparation for this review, and while I’ve gotten into country music a lot more in recent years, there are still a lot of artists who have kind of an indie country sound where I just really struggle to get into it. And in the case of Faye Webster … well, her albums mostly seem to be about breakups and the struggles that come with that. And maybe it’s just me having been single my whole life up to this point, but her music hasn’t really clicked for me. I definitely prefer her first two albums over 2019’s Atlanta Millionaires Club and 2021’s I Know I’m Funny haha, but none of her albums have fully clicked for me.

So, I can’t really say my expectations were super high going into this album, but I was curious enough to give it a chance. And I actually think the production is legit fantastic, with the gentle piano adding a ton of emotion and giving this a feeling of optimism, and the drums have enough punch without being overpowering.

And the bass sounds great in the mix, too! The album’s production has such a nice crisp sound to it, just super pleasant to listen to!

And I think it fits for an album that seems to be trying to find comfort despite the narrator’s complicated, messy emotions, that might represent a part of most of the population that we don’t really want to acknowledge, but that plays a huge role in our lives.

I also really like how the emotions evolve throughout the album—there doesn’t seem to be any clear story throughout the album, and I’m not sure the order of the track list really matters all that much, but it feels like it all connects, with the complicated, messy emotions, with some happier moments like “Feeling Good Today” fitting in really well as a break from the more frustrated emotions on other tracks.

Overall, this feels like a much happier album than her previous few—honestly, probably her happiest album to date! And the juxtaposition of that while still keeping a lot of the frustration really works as an artistic choice in my opinion—no matter how happy we can become, there’s always still going to be struggles we have to deal with.

And there are so many great moments here sonically, such as those awesome shots of piano with reverb on “Lego Ring”, a song featuring Lil Yachty of all people, and I think it’s a great track! And there are some sudden noisy sections here, too, like on the title track and “Lifetime”, and the production really gives it a smooth feeling that really fits!

Overall, it’s a pretty easy album for me to review, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring, because I actually think this is the most I’ve liked a Faye Webster album to date! I thought I was going to give this an 8/10, but I actually think I’m gonna go with a light 8.5! If you love indie country, this is a gem of an album I don’t think you’ll wanna miss!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “But Not Kiss”, “Wanna Quit All the Time”, “Lego Ring”, “Feeling Good Today”, “Lifetime”, “He Loves Me Yeah!”, “eBay Purchase History”
Least Favourite Track: “Tttttime”

Where we’ve been, Where we go from here by Friko:

Here’s a new trio who have seen a sudden burst in popularity this year. And their debut album has been arguably one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year thus far …

And on my first few listens, sonically this wasn’t really doing a whole lot for me. It felt like it blended in with a lot of other indie-folk-rock (or whatever this style of music is called) that I’ve heard, with the sort of messy production not really helping.

And yeah, I still think in certain points the messiness of the production doesn’t really work, but not only have I noticed it actually sounds a lot tighter when I listen to it more closely, but when I started to pay more attention to the lyrics, I think there’s a lot more to this than what might appear on the surface.

Now, I will start by saying that I don’t think the album starts super strong, with the opening track not only being one of the weaker moments sonically, with the pretty simple acoustic guitar melodies and the messy production once things build up more, but the line ‘four feet between a wall and a window will make your wife a widow’ feels really out of place, considering it feels like the narrator is talking directly to the protagonist, and while it seems to be coming from a place of empathy and trying to be helpful, that feels like a terrible way to prove the point that is trying to be made. I understand that suicide is a massive problem and way too many people are taking their own lives, but that worst-case-scenario mindset in what seems like a conversational song (at least the way I hear it) is kind of awkward in my opinion. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain why this feels so off-putting to me, especially because a lot of it really depends on the way you hear it.

But either way, I do think the themes of not being satisfied are very interesting on this album. This continues into the next track, “Crimson To Chrome”, which seems to use metaphors for being caught in some sort of cycle where you’re not completing the tasks you want to, and you’re not living the life you want to, ‘Writing the same sad song.’ And then “Crashing Through” kind of feels like a dream sequence with its watery guitar roll in the verses and the awesome buildup in the chorus which feels kind of melodramatic, possibly representing a dream in which the narrator lets fear get in the way of completing a goal, mostly because the lyrics very much imply that. But then there’s “For Ella”, which is a haunting track which might be about someone who has passed away, but it feels intentionally unclear—but if there’s something that connects it with the previous few tracks, I think it’s missed potential; things could have been totally different. Also, on a bit of a side note, the strings and the production on “For Ella” sound fantastic!

But that theme seems to run throughout the album, and while I do wish the instrumentation felt more consistently interesting, it also kind of fits that it often sounds like it’s trying to do something different and unique but fails to stand out. I mean, considering the lyrics, it makes sense … and in points, the more restrained instrumentation does work for me, but as a whole … well, I don’t think I can quite call it great, in my own subjective opinion. It’s not super consistent, and I don’t think the lyrics fully make up for the fact that it does feel lacking in a bit more experimentation, but I totally understand how the relationship between the music and the words could totally work for the right audience.

So, I’m going to give this a 7/10. It’s not totally for me, but it’s very fascinating, and there is a lot more I could have said about it, but I wanted to keep this pretty brief considering it’s a mini review. I mean, I considered making it its own review, but I’m already working on another individual album review and I’ve been very busy with school, so for time reasons I decided not to.

But anyway, in short, I don’t quite love this album, but I certainly like it a lot and would highly recommend it to fans of indie folk, or indie rock, or anything in that vein.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Crashing Through”, “For Ella”, “Until I’m With You Again”, “Cardinal”
Least Favourite Track: “Statues”

Invincible Shield by Judas Priest:

This is my first time listening to a Judas Priest album, although I’ve heard lots of great things about them. They’re definitely a band whose discography I’d love to do more of a deep dive on at some point, but considering just how large their discography is as well as the fact that I’ve been very busy with school, I just decided to go into this without much of an idea of what to expect aside from the fact that it’s metal/hard rock. Although I have heard really good things about this album …

And I think the album is really good! The chugging riffs have some real power to them instead of feeling like they bog down the experience, and I think a big part of that is because it’s contrasted with enough melody, and speaking of which, the melodies here are often very strong! Although I do think the opener is kind of ruined by that interpolation of “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, though.

Anyway, I think there are a lot of strong melodies here, both in the vocals and the lead guitar, which often together create some really nice polyphonic textures where the melodies complement each other really well, letting some of the hooks really soar!

And I think the production is mostly really strong, too! There are some occasional moments where I don’t really think it works, such as how unfit the drums feel in the production of “Crown of Horns”, but I mostly think the guitar distortion adds a lot of power here, and not only do the drums and bass provide a really nice rhythm section, but they sound really good together production-wise!

And there are some absolutely great tracks here! Like “Devil In Disguise”, with its lyrics about people who pretend to have good intentions in order to take advantage of people, and some of the hardest-hitting drum sounds on the album! Also, “Sons of Thunder” has some of the best guitar moments on the album, and there are some really strong vocal melodies in tracks like “The Serpent and the King” and “Escape from Reality”!

And while “Giants In the Sky” could’ve used a bit more firepower (pun somewhat intended) in the production, I really like the choice to end the album with a track that seems to be about leaving a legacy. For a band who’ve been around for over fifty years now, it feels fitting as they may be getting close to the end of their career as a band.

So, overall, I thought this was a very strong album! Maybe not the most unique metal album in the world—I mean, definitely not—but when the best songs hit this hard and there’s enough interesting commentary in the lyrics … I’ll give this a very strong 7/10! There are a few moments I wish I liked a lot more, but I still found it to be a very enjoyable listen overall. 

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Serpent and the King”, “Devil In Disguise”, “Escape from Reality”, “Sons of Thunder”, “Giants In the Sky”
Least Favourite Track: “Panic Attack”