Hello, everyone! I know it’s been a little bit since I’ve last posted anything on this website. It’s been two weeks since my last post, about two and a half weeks since my last legit post (my most recent post was an April Fools Day prank), and over three weeks since my last mini review post.

If I’m being totally honest, I’ve been super busy with school and I’ve been dealing with more burnout than usual lately, which is why for the next few weeks I don’t think my reviews are going to be nearly as in-depth as I was hoping, and the reviews may be slowing down as well. I still listened to all of these albums at least a few times each, but I’ll be honest and say that at least with some of these albums I kind of half-assed the reviews and haven’t looked into the lyrics as much as I would have liked, nor have I listened to the albums as much as I would have liked. And that’ll continue to be the case for the next little bit. Hopefully I’ll get back to making better reviews in the summer.

But anyway, there are ten albums I want to review today, starting with …

Perfume by Cult Black Venus:

Here’s a debut album which I remember finding out about before the calendar even changed to 2024, and it’s by an artist who is not super well known by the general public. But I was kind of curious to hear it, although I wasn’t able to find it anywhere online until much more recently … so, now I’m finally reviewing it, and …

Well, it’s a pretty haunting listen … to a certain extent. Because while the chord progressions and vocal production when put together can create an eerie mood, and the lyrics full of desire fit well with the sound of the album, I’m left feeling underwhelmed for some reason.

And I think part of it is just feeling like I’ve heard this before. A track like “My Lovely Boy Death” is a perfect example of that, because the haunting, mysterious storytelling fits pretty well with the eerie sound, but that piano timbre and the style of the lyrics feels very familiar. It doesn’t feel reminiscent of anything specific, just a bunch of stuff I’ve already heard, and in my own personal opinion I think I’ve heard it done way better.

It feels like a pretty easy listen, which I think can be a good thing, but it also doesn’t feel like it was supposed to be an easy listen in this case. Maybe I’m wrong, but either way … well, it’s not all that hard to recommend, because it’s pretty short and generally likeable, too. But again, it doesn’t feel as interesting as I’d like it to be.

As with almost every review I’ve done, if not every review, I very well could be missing something. Music is subjective, and maybe to someone else this might be a masterpiece, I don’t know.

I do think the album ends pretty well with the stormy vibe of the closing track, “The Magic Mountain”, and there are moments (including that track) where the production is really strong in my opinion. I’m not denying there’s potential here. It does make me curious to hear more music from Cult Black Venus, but I’m just not totally wowed.

But I’m all for supporting smaller artists, and this is also a pretty good album … so, I’d recommend it, at least for fans of mellow, eerie music. And I mostly did enjoy it, albeit mildly. So, I’ll give it a 6/10. The lyrics often feel like they could use maybe a bit more detail, but for what it is it kind of makes sense. And once again, take all of this with a grain of salt, because I’m just some guy talking about how I personally hear the album.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “In Our Secret Place”, “Dark Forest”, “The Magic Mountain”
Least Favourite Track: “A Cradle Song”

Orchards of a Futile Heaven by The Body & Dis Fig:

For a while, I’ve heard of the duo The Body, although I haven’t really listened to them much. I remember not really liking the one album of theirs I’d listened to before, but that was still when I was discovering my taste in music and I’m not sure what I’d think of it now.

Anyway, here’s their new collaborative album with Dis Fig, an artist I don’t think I’d heard of until this album came out.

And the first thing I’ll mention is that I couldn’t find the lyrics to this album when I looked them up, and it’s hard to hear what they are, so I can’t really take lyrics into consideration in this review.

And I have mixed feelings. I mean, the sound quality of this album is really strong. The vocals and vocal production are really strong, and the noisy distortion adds a really nice touch. The overall sound quality of this is very strong in my opinion.

And I don’t think it falls flat on its face or anything, because there’s nothing really keeping it from having the eerie, haunting feeling I think it’s aiming for. It does create a very eerie vibe, fitting for a horror movie soundtrack or something like that. And there are a lot of subtle details in the production such as how certain sounds are kept a little further from the front than you might expect, which works well to emphasize other moments where things get a lot more chaotic. It seems to do what it’s trying to do really well.

But I don’t really think this album is going to have a lot of replay value for me, because a lot of this feels like stuff I’ve heard before. Because while I mostly like the vocal style and the vocal production, it feels like I’ve heard this exact same style in so many other albums in this vein, and a lot of them just end up being kind of forgettable to me, which this one very well could, too.

I just wish there were maybe a bit more variety in the sound, or something that made it feel a little more interesting. Something that made this stand out to me more.

As it is, I don’t think it’s bad. In fact, I think it’s quite good, which is why I’m going to give it a 7/10, but if you’re looking for a noisy, chaotic album that’s super haunting … well, this might do the trick, but I also feel like I’ve heard similar albums that I think were done way better. That doesn’t make this bad, but I’m feeling a bit of a disconnect from this album, if I’m being totally honest. It’s just not entirely for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “To Walk a Higher Path”, “Orchards of a Futile Heaven”, “Holy Lance”
Least Favourite Track: “Coils of Kaa”

TYLA by Tyla:

This is Tyla’s debut album, and it comes less than a year after her breakout hit “Water”, which hit the US chart in the fall of last year. And it’s a song I mostly like but don’t really love.

Anyway, now that the album is out, I’ve got to say I’m excited to hear whatever Tyla does next! Because this is a pretty strong debut!

There are some good catchy hooks, I really like the crisp percussion timbre, and the mixing is really strong!

And even in the parts of the album where it doesn’t feel all that interesting or memorable, I still find it pretty enjoyable. There probably isn’t a song here that I’d call bad, even though “Butterflies” has some really messy production that I really don’t like.

I think the bass has some really nice presence on this album, really making these songs feel a lot less hollow than they otherwise would, and I think it fits! The really strong mixing and production makes these tracks way more danceable!

And Tyla is a good singer, too! I don’t always love the reverb on the vocals, but she sounds locked in to these songs without taking away from the chill vibe.

So, overall I thought this was a really strong album! I wouldn’t quite call it great, but I still enjoyed this quite a bit!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Safer”, “On and On”, “ART”, “To Last”
Least Favourite Track: “Butterflies”

Maquillada en la Cama by Juliana Gattas:

Juliana Gattas is a member of the band Miranda!, a band whom I’d never heard of until recently but they’re somewhat popular. Anyway, this is Juliana’s debut solo album, and it’s been getting quite a bit of acclaim. So, I was excited to hear it, and I think it’s a pretty fun pop album!

The lyrics to this album are in Spanish, and the only language I know is English. So, while I translated the lyrics online, I don’t know how accurate the translations are, so I’m not sure I can really analyze the lyrics all that well. But for the most part they don’t seem to be all that deep anyway.

But I think it fits for an album which mostly just feels like it’s supposed to be a super fun time and not much else. And I don’t think it’s consistent enough to fully stick the landing for me, but there’s a lot that I really like about this!

There are some great tracks on here like “Botas Negras” with its buzzing synths and a great groovy feeling to it, especially with those strings! And “Lejos del Fuego” has some really nice horns and strings and some really cool moments in the rhythm!

I do think some of the production can give the sound a bit of an awkward texture, but for the most part I think it’s pretty strong. Even some of the tracks I don’t like as much do usually have production that I like, such as the watery production in “Miro Hacia el Cielo”—yeah, I know I’m often not a huge fan of watery production, but in this case I think it really helps the atmosphere.

And the album’s pretty short, too, running for less than forty minutes! It’s a nice, breezy listen that’s got some really fun disco tracks on it!

I think there are points where the production could make the percussion fit a little more and I think some of these tracks would be a lot punchier, and I also think “La Casa del Amor Nocturno” is a dud of a track with some of the worst synth timbres here …

But overall I thought this was a lot of fun! I wouldn’t quite call it great (according to my own personal taste in music, of course), but I do think it’s pretty close! I’ll give this a fairly strong 7.5/10! I think it shows a ton of potential, and again, there are some very strong highlights on here as well! I’d highly recommend this to fans of disco music!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Maquillada en la Cama”, “Botas Negras”, “Lejos del Fuego”
Least Favourite Track: “La Casa del Amor Nocturno”

Something in the Room She Moves by Julia Holter:

I’ll admit I’m not super familiar with Julia Holter’s discography—in fact, this is the first solo album of hers that I’ve listened to—but after her collaborative album last year with Spektral Quartet and Alex Temple, Behind the Wallpaper, I was very excited to hear this, as that album ended up being among my favourites of last year!

And after listening to this album, I’m really starting to think I might want to check out more of her other albums, because this is great, too! The production is so smooth and yet so detailed and fascinating, and Julia’s vocals fit really well in this style!

And there are so many excellent subtle details on this album, such as the haunting backing vocals on “Meyou”, the subtle synths that wash over you in “Spinning”, and so much of the vocal layering throughout this album just sounding absolutely gorgeous!

And while the lyrics feel quite cryptic and I don’t fully get it, I also don’t think I’m supposed to fully get it. But there seems to possibly be a story of someone desiring more than what they have, but not feeling like pursuing their dreams, especially in “These Morning”. And there’s a lot here that I find very fascinating.

So, for me this album is a 9/10, and it’s easily among my favourites of this year!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “These Morning”, “Something in the Room She Moves”, “Materia”, “Meyou”, “Spinning”, “Ocean”, “Talking to the Whisper”, “Who Brings Me”
Least Favourite Track: “Sun Girl”

It Isn’t What It Is by Elysios:

Here’s an instrumental ambient album I discovered recently by a very underground artist I’d never heard of until this came out.

And while this didn’t blow my mind or anything, I do think the textures are really nice, and there are a lot of haunting moments that really feel like a reminder of how impermanent everything is. I don’t know why, but that’s the vibe I get from this album.

And it doesn’t feel like an album that’s meant to make you feel calm (with the exception of the closing track), despite how mellow it is … but as always, different people might hear it differently.

And I love how layered the instrumentation is at points, such as in “Sacred Lust”.

For me this album is a 7.5/10. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Revelation”, “Sacred Lust”, “Untethered”
Least Favourite Track: “My Elysium”

Three by Four Tet:

Four Tet is the solo project of Kieran Hebden, and he’s been releasing albums under this name for over two decades now, a lot of which have gotten quite a bit of critical acclaim. And I think this might actually be the first time I’ve heard of him. I mean, probably not really, but I don’t really remember hearing about him before this.

Anyway, this album is about forty-five minutes in length, it’s almost entirely instrumental, and it’s also been getting a lot of critical acclaim. I’m not sure if all his albums are instrumental or not, but getting back on topic, did this click for me?

Well, it’s certainly got some nice experimentation and unpredictability, and I like the variety of the calmer and more upbeat moments.

And the production feels very fitting for this time of year—in fact, one of the times I listened to this album to review it was right after going out for a walk in the sun without a jacket for the first time in a while, and it felt very fitting to listen to this right after. It feels like it represents the start of something exciting, possibly a change of seasons.

And of course it’s kind of difficult to analyze the meaning of instrumental music, but that’s one thing that I often love about it—it could potentially represent so many different things, and different people can find their own meaning in it. Yes, that can be said about pretty much all music, but especially instrumental music.

And I really like a lot of the sharp synth timbres here, as well as the crisp percussion on tracks like “So Blue” and “Loved” which really help give this a much more breezy feeling. I don’t think this album is doing anything all that mind-blowing or revolutionary, but it’s just got such a nice, chill vibe to it.

I don’t really have much else to say, honestly. For me it’s a strong 7/10, and I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for something experimental but still quite accessible and easy-going. I think this is a very good album! I’m definitely glad I heard it!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Gliding Through Everything”, “Skater”, “So Blue”
Least Favourite Track: “Daydream Repeat”

Psykos by Yung Lean & Bladee:

Despite hearing about these artists quite a bit, I’d barely listened to music by either of them at all going into this album. But I was curious about this, so I decided to give it a shot, and I ended up mostly liking it!

I’m not super wowed by it or anything, but I like the atmosphere the production provides, and there’s a lot of emotion here.

I do wish some of the melodies stuck for me more, and there are points where I wish it were more experimental, but overall I thought this was a pretty enjoyable listen!

I think this album’s at its best when it’s a little more intense musically, like with the lead guitar in the background of “Sold Out” or the clicking percussion in “Golden God”! And “Enemy” has some really interesting production with the drums not being super loud but still hitting very hard!

So, overall, I really ended up liking this! 7/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Golden God”, “Sold Out”, “Enemy”
Least Favourite Track: “Coda”

A Lonely Sinner by samlrc:

I’d never heard of this artist until very recently, but this album which was released in early March has been getting a lot of critical acclaim, seemingly out of nowhere.

And after giving it a few listens … well, I can’t say I fully understand the hype. I mean, it’s definitely noisy, and experimental, and creative … but to me there aren’t really a lot of standout melodies, and the production feels a little messier than I would have liked.

There are quite a few samples used on this album, and I’m not sure where they all are. So, I don’t know how much of this is totally original material. But either way, I mildly enjoyed this, some parts of it much more than others, but as a whole it’s just not really doing all that much for me.

But with all that being said, there are specific moments where I really like the production. The texture in the opening track sounds really good, and the way the piano is miked in “Flowerfields” gives it a really nice, smooth feeling that I really like! And the strings fit really well in “For M.”, helping the texture sound way more crisp, if that makes any sense—and it gives the song a much more dramatic feeling.

And the vocals are pretty good, although I wish they were a bit louder in the mix at points.

On Bandcamp this is described as ‘an album about a sheep experiencing love in it’s nature’, although I can’t help but wonder if there are some metaphors here. A lot of it feels like it represents a person feeling kind of trapped, wanting to make a change but possibly being too scared. I don’t know, it’s hard to tell, but I especially get that vibe from “Storge”, and some of the other tracks feel like they’re kind of connected in a way.

By the way, on a bit of a side note, “Storge” has some of my favourite moments on the album, with its stormy production and hard-hitting drums!

But still, something feels missing here and I can’t fully place it. But I can’t say I love this album. I do mostly like it, but I don’t think I can go higher than a 6.5/10. I get why people like it, but I’m surprised to see it getting this much acclaim.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Lamb Theme”, “Storge”, “Sheep Theme”, “For M.”
Least Favourite Track: “Philautia”

Double Take by Michael Grubb:

Here’s an artist I had never heard of until recently, but I saw this described as an ambient album, and it’s pretty short. I figured it would be pretty easy to review, so after a few listens, how do I feel about it?

Well, I actually ended up liking this way more than I thought I would! I’ve barely seen this getting any traction at all, and I just randomly stumbled upon it online, and thus I had no idea what to expect at all, but this is actually pretty great!

It’s a very calming listen which feels like a break from the chaos of the world and any emotions I want to escape for a bit. It feels like a great album to just turn your mind off to and just experience the peacefulness of this album.

Now, for an album to really reach that absolute top tier, it’d usually have to feel more like it was doing something I found way more unique/groundbreaking, and this doesn’t really feel like it is … I mean, maybe to some extent. But in a lot of ways this does just feel like an album that’s doing a really good job of a style I’ve heard many times before.

Still, though, this is an excellent ambient album full of gorgeous piano timbres and the overall sound quality is magical! 8.5/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Turn/Curve”, “Long White Hall”, “Being Everything”, “Arpeggio In C (Working It Over)”, “Nothing about Something”
Least Favourite Track: “Arpeggio In E♭ (Cabin)”