Hello, and welcome back to another mini review post! Yes, I know I just posted one yesterday, but I feel like it’s about time that I finally post a bunch of these mini reviews I’ve been working on for quite some time now.

As always, these are all just my personal feelings on these albums. And now, let’s get to the reviews!

JUGANDO A QUE NO PASA NADA by Grupo Frontera:

This is the second studio album from regional Mexican band, Grupo Frontera, who have gotten quite a bit of popularity in the past few years, with quite a few songs charting on the US Billboard Hot 100. And after listening to their debut album once in preparation for this review (not a really in-depth listen, I just listened to it in the background), I can’t say I was all that wowed.

But I decided to give this album a chance … and it’s okay, I guess … but a lot of it feels really forgettable to me.

As usual with music that’s in Spanish (or any other language that isn’t English), I’m going to mention that while I translated the lyrics online, I’m not sure how accurate the translations are, so the lyrics aren’t as big a factor for me as they otherwise would be, and this review is mostly based on the way this album sounds.

And I think it’s mostly well produced, even though a few elements here and there stick out like a sore thumb, such as what sounds like some reverb in “NO HAY VATO PERFECTO”, and the overpowering snare in “ME HIZO UN FAVOR”. But overall, the guitars have a nice crisp sound to them, and I like a lot of the percussion. And the vocal production fits really nicely over the accordion.

About the lyrics—which, again, I can’t analyze super well—there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to them, but I also don’t think they’re all that bad for the most part. They just don’t really contribute much to the album in my opinion.

I wish the vocal melodies stood out to me more on this album, and that’s a big part of the reason why I can’t really call myself much of a fan of this album despite liking the production. There are some good melodies here and there—I really like the chorus of “POR QUÉ SERÁ”, for example—but the majority of this doesn’t feel super memorable to me.

I will admit that regional Mexican is a genre that I’ve struggled to get into for the most part, so maybe for an audience who likes this style more it might really click, but I just can’t really say this is for me. 5.5/10 for me, but I’d recommend it to fans of regional Mexican music. Otherwise, it’s probably worth giving a shot, but there are probably better entries to the genre, even though I haven’t heard them yet.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “POR QUÉ SERÁ”, “YA PEDO QUIÉN SABE”, “IBIZA”
Least Favourite Track: “NO HAY VATO PERFECTO”

Der böse Geist by NIMBIFER:

NIMBIFER are a black metal duo, and aside from a split album with multiple other acts, this is their first studio album.

And I can’t comment on the lyrics, because I couldn’t find them when I looked them up and I can’t hear what they are—and even if I could, they’re in German, and I don’t speak German. But I do like the way this album sounds.

The drums are crushing, the guitar has a lot of muscle and really helps fill up the mix without it being too overpowering, really giving this a lot more impact. And the bass feels like it just kind of floats in the background in a way that provides some really nice atmosphere, with the exception of “Ruinen” in which it sounds a lot stiffer.

The mixing on this album sounds absolutely excellent to me, with the clangy ride cymbal being the cherry on top. And there are some really strong guitar melodies as well, and great basslines!

And when you put it all together, I think it makes for a really good album … albeit not quite a great one, and I’m having a bit of a hard time figuring out why. But I think part of it is just that feeling that I’ve heard this before. No, obviously I haven’t heard this exact album before, but as hard-hitting as it is, and as much as I like a lot of the small details here in the mixing and the overall sound quality of the album, I can’t help but feel like it blends in with a lot of other black metal for me. And I really like black metal, but I usually prefer the more experimental side of the genre.

And maybe I’m missing something and there’s more to this than I thought there was, but I just can’t say it really did a whole lot for me. I do like the inclusion of the mellower interlude track “-”, and I think it’s pretty consistently good … just not all that standout to me personally.

Maybe I just need to listen to it at another time of year, or in a different context, and maybe it’ll click for me more. It is an album that feels like it might have more replay value for me than you’d think based on what I’ve been saying in this review, but as of right now I don’t think I can give this a higher rating than a 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Der Wind”, “-”, “Auf endlosen Pfaden und haltlosen”, “Der böse Geist”
Least Favourite Track: “Ruinen”

Focus by Betesk:

I feel like it’s been a little while since I’ve reviewed a ‘sound collage’ album, and they’re usually pretty quick and easy to review, so I decided to check out this album from a very obscure artist, and make a mini review of it.

And I’m not usually a huge fan of ‘sound collage’ albums anyway, so I can’t say my expectations were super high … but I thought I was going to like this more than I do.

This is a pretty short album, running for only twenty minutes, and yet even after a few short tracks I’m already starting to get tired of it. It kind of feels like the sort of thing you might hear at a Disney theme park, and I kind of get the appeal of it. It’s definitely got some interesting experimentation, such as the repetition of “Sorry I” even though I personally don’t really like it. It’s quite an eerie listen, and unfortunately it mostly just sounds like noise to me.

And I get that that’s probably the point. I mean, it is a sound collage, and I don’t think it was intended to appeal to the widest possible audience. And that’s why I would recommend this album despite the fact that I personally don’t really like it.

But I really struggled to get into this one—honestly, I failed to get into it. This kind of abstract art is very open to interpretation, and it’s hard to analyze all that well, but sometimes I can pick up more meaning, even if it’s just my own interpretation that is almost definitely wrong. But in this case, I’m not really piecing anything together.

With all this being said, there’s enough experimentation here and ideas that at least somewhat intrigue me that I’m curious to hear more. Betesk put out two other albums this year, and I think I might actually review them, considering how short they are.

I often feel bad giving negative reviews to smaller artists, but I hope my review will still inspire people to check out this album even though I personally don’t like the album. I’m going to give this album a 4/10, but again, it’s interesting enough that I think it could really click for the right audience. And the only way to find out if you’re the right audience is to listen to it for yourself.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: “Go Time”, “Riddles”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Sorry I”, “Focusing”, “Seeing Stars”, “Icy Icy”

Cold Visions by Bladee:

So, despite all the critical acclaim Bladee has received over the years, I’ll admit I’m not very familiar with his discography. However, I did review his collaborative album with Yung Lean from this year, and I really liked it, so I was excited to hear this after seeing it getting a ton of critical acclaim! This has got to be one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2024 so far!

And there are some moments here that I really like, such as “ONLY GOD IS MADE PERFECT” which has some great flows which fit well with the glitchy production, and the frustration of the lyrics paired with the punchy percussion on “DONT WANNA HANG OUT”, and “I DONT LIKE PEOPLE (WHITEARMOR INTERLUDE)” is a really solid interlude even though the following song is kind of underwhelming. And there’s also the eerie synths on “DONT DO DRUGZ” with the lyrics warning the listener about the dangers of drugs, and “RIVER FLOWS IN YOU” with its awesome synths, the existential crisis of “FALSE”, and I love the repetitive instrumental of “CANT END ON A LOSS (OUTRO)”, and considering the title I think it would have made a lot of sense if it had been the closing track. That’s not to say the closing track here is bad, but it’s not a huge standout to me.

Anyway, the majority of this just doesn’t do much for me. Some of it is mildly pleasant, and there are a few duds—funnily enough, despite me really liking that collaborative album with Yung Lean, his contributions on this album don’t really do much for me and he’s on a few of my least favourite tracks here.

But overall, I guess I enjoyed this, at least somewhat. I’m going to give it a 6/10, as I don’t think it’s very consistent, and it’s over an hour long, but there are some really strong standouts, and I’d say there are probably more hits than full-on misses.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “ONLY GOD IS MADE PERFECT”, “DONT WANNA HANG OUT”, “I DONT LIKE PEOPLE (WHITEARMOR INTERLUDE)”, “DONT DO DRUGZ”, “RIVER FLOWS IN YOU”, “FALSE”, “CANT END ON A LOSS (OUTRO)”
Least Favourite Tracks: “ONE SECOND”, “TERRIBLE EXCELLENCE”, “FLEXING & FINESSING”

CURE by ERRA:

ERRA are an American melodic metalcore band who have been releasing albums for over a decade now. This is their sixth studio album to date, and probably their least critically acclaimed as well.

Now, with that being said, after listening to their other albums a little bit, while I maybe didn’t give them enough time and attention, so far I can’t say I’m all that wowed by their first four. A lot of it just felt like it lacked identity, although I very well could be missing something in the lyrics, and maybe if I listen to those albums more I might change my mind.

And their self-titled album from 2021, which is the last album they’d released before this one, is the one album of theirs I was pretty familiar with even before listening to it recently. And while I’m not crazy about that album as a whole, there are some really strong highlights on it like “Shadow Autonomous”, “Vanish Canvas”, and “Electric Twilight”. And thus I was quite excited to listen to this new album of theirs …

And I don’t like it as much, but I still think it’s some pretty solid melodic metalcore for the most part. I mean, Jesse Cash’s clean vocals and JT Cavey’s unclean vocals both sound really good, even though I sometimes find the contrast a little unimpactful. And I like a lot of the tension of the instrumentals, such as the synths in the background of “Slow Sour Bleed”, the lively bass in “Cure”, and the simple-yet-effective drum rhythm in “Past Life Persona”.

And lyrically there’s a lot of intriguing imagery that doesn’t fully paint a clear picture, and that’s something that carries over from their self-titled album and I think it mostly works … although I think that album maybe gave a little more detail than this one, and I think I preferred that. But I do still find a lot of this fascinating, such as the extremely high value the narrator gives hope on the opening track “Cure” without much regard to the present, and whether or not it’s the healthy decision isn’t really clear—I mean, it really makes you think. And there’s also “End to Excess” which feels like a really well-painted revenge fantasy after a breakup—probably in which the other person is totally innocent, and I don’t think it would work as well otherwise. Because it shows that sometimes it’s best to just think about what you want to think about as long as it doesn’t harm anyone. And “Pale Iris” feels like a song about seeking validation, and how in some cases it can send people into spirals they don’t really want to be in, even though it’s totally human to want validation—I really like the line, ‘I find the lie that leaves me ruined.’

But where I think this is held back for me the most is the production, especially with the kick drum, which feels way too loud in the mix. I guess it’s not as much the overall timbres and the way they collide as it is the mixing, especially with the way the vocals can feel underemphasized in the mix.

But sometimes this ends up having a much more watery vibe than I would have liked, such as in “Pale Iris” and parts of “Glimpse”, and “Idle Wild” has this really greasy vibe to the production with the way the underpowered guitar feels totally splattered on top of the bass in the chorus, which gives this a very hollow sound which doesn’t give it any punch at all.

The biggest highlight on this album for me has got to be “Past Life Persona”. It instantly got me hooked with those crushing guitars, and also being one of the few songs here where the kick drum doesn’t totally overpower the mix. And I like how it seems to represent someone entering a new chapter in their life and becoming a new version of themselves, with the glory of the music supporting that super well!

And I also really like the crushing intensity of “Crawl Backwards Out of Heaven” with its relentless instrumental and fierce screams which create one of the best songs here in my opinion!

So, overall, there is a lot about this album that I really like, enough for me to give this a 7/10, but I do wish the production sounded a little tighter. I know it might be a nitpick, but if I’m being honest, I just wish I liked this more than I do.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Cure”, “Past Life Persona”, “Crawl Backwards Out of Heaven”, “Wave”
Least Favourite Track: “Idle Wild”

Nonetheless by Pet Shop Boys:

So, this is my first time listening to an album by Pet Shop Boys, although I’ve heard of them a lot. They’re one of those bands whose discography I want to go through sometime soon, but considering how busy I’ve been with other reviews and how large their discography is, for now I just decided to review this without having heard any of their other albums.

Anyway, this has been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, although not nearly as much as their work from the 1980s and early 1990s. So, I was curious to hear this, but I didn’t have super high expectations.

And I’m actually really surprised how much I ended up liking this! Not that I had any reason to believe I wouldn’t like it, it’s just that I didn’t really know what to expect, and I think this album is great! As far as I can tell, there’s not a whole lot to it, and it’s mostly just an upbeat album that acknowledges the struggles of life but motivates you to just try and enjoy the ride anyway, despite the challenges.

And I think the music really encapsulates that, with the breezy feeling of so many of the synths throughout this album, and in certain moments I like how the vocals get kind of drowned out, as it feels like it represents something, such as in “A new bohemia” where the ‘new bohemia’ might be within the narrator, potentially self-love, and thus the vocals are kind of ‘hidden’.

And the percussion is really strong on this record, too! I don’t think it’s super snappy or hard-hitting (with some exceptions), but that’s why I think it works so well, as it fits with the delicate vibe of these well-crafted instrumentals with the slightly airy production, potentially representing just how unpredictable and delicate everything is.

And there are so many absolutely glorious moments here, such as the gloominess of “Loneliness” with the slight sense of optimism in the instrumental melodies, the way the busy percussion complements the vocals incredibly well in “Why am I dancing?”, the beautiful arrangement of the layered instrumentation in “A new bohemia”, and much more!

And I really like a lot of the melodies on this album, too! I feel like I often hear music in this style of pop which have a lot of the production and lyrical elements to really click for me but where the melodies just don’t stand out. But this album is very melodic and the melodies stand out a lot in a positive way!

So, overall, I ended up really enjoying this Pet Shop Boys album! It’s about forty-five minutes in length, which I think is about right for this album—it doesn’t feel short, but it doesn’t drag on too long, either—and I love the progression throughout the album as it feels like a journey to find whatever it is you’re looking for most in life, or maybe just to find peace within yourself.

But I also really like how the album ends on a slightly bleaker note with “Love is the law”. And what this represents in the overall arc of the album … well, I think that’s up to you. But I can’t help but feel like there’s more to this album than what appears on the surface, and while there are some specific reasons why this album hits so hard for me due to my own interpretations of this, I think the point might be to find your own meaning in it.

Anyhow, this is an absolutely terrific 80s-esque pop album with so many excellent moments and very few misses, if any. For me this is an 8/10, and I highly recommend it to fans of pop music, or anything that will make you really think.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Loneliness”, “Feel”, “Why am I dancing?”, “A new bohemia”, “The schlager hit parade”, “Bullet for Narcissus”
Least Favourite Track: “The secret of happiness”

Infinite Mortality by Replicant:

This is the third studio album from this death metal band, and while I haven’t heard their first two albums, I was still curious to hear this album, even though I’m not much of a death metal fan. Because this has been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, and it’s probably their most critically acclaimed album to date.

I couldn’t find the lyrics to this album when I looked them up, and it’s hard to hear what the lyrics are, so lyrics aren’t really going to factor into this review … but I actually really like the way this sounds!

I mean, it’s a death metal album, which almost always—this album included—means it’s not really going to fully click for me as much as I’d like. There’s just not a lot about it that I find all that memorable personally, even though I can respect the effort that clearly went into it, and the impressive instrumentation.

But I do still mostly enjoy this album. It’s got some killer guitar moments, and the snares are super hard-hitting. And while I’m often not a huge fan of this vocal style, it does sound pretty fierce and fitting with the instrumentation. And I really like a lot of the intense drumming here as well!

This album doesn’t give me a whole lot to say—again, it’s a death metal album, and that’s usually going to be the case with albums in this genre—but if you’re a fan of death metal, or even if you’re not, this might be worth giving a shot. I don’t think it’ll have a lot of replay value for me, but add a few more strong melodic moments and maybe a bit more tightness to the production, and this band very well could make an album that really clicks for me! I’m definitely excited to hear more from them!

When it comes to this album, though, I’m gonna give it a 7/10. I’m feeling mostly positive toward it still, it’s just not blowing my mind or anything.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Acid Mirror”, “Reciprocal Abandonment”, “Dwelling on the Threshold”
Least Favourite Track: “SCN9A”