Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my website! Today I am talking about my top ten favourite hit songs of 2015!

The rules for this list are the same as my worst list, which I just posted recently. There are 92 eligible songs which made the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 in 2015, with the other eight songs having already made the Year-End Hot 100 previously, thus not being eligible for this list. Also, I should mention that if you do plan on reading my worst list, I’d recommend reading it before this list, because there may be spoilers for that list.

And, of course, this list is all just my own personal opinion. Feel free to comment your list down below.

I’m a lot more excited to talk about these songs than the ones on the worst list, so without further ado, let’s go over eight honourable mentions (in randomized order), starting in controversial territory …

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

So, if you read my segment on Sia’s “Elastic Heart” in my worst list, you might be kind of surprised to see this song here. I mean, it’s a pretty generic empowerment anthem which does kind of feel like it’s trying to show off depth that isn’t really there. And look, it’s not even like the production doesn’t have its issues, with the sort of clunky percussion which kind of drowns out the rest of the instrumentation, and some of the strings really don’t blend well with this production.

But what sets this apart from a lot of generic empowerment anthems for me is a few things; for one, it’s got really strong vocal melodies, not only in the chorus but in the verses as well, and I like the use of acoustic guitar in the verses to emphasize the internal thoughts that are here lyrically. And also, Rachel Platten’s vocals really give this song a lot more grit, and aside from those production issues I mentioned earlier, I think the instrumentation has seeds of greatness, including the really pretty piano timbre at the start. I mean, yeah, the song is kind of cheesy, but I honestly do find it kind of empowering … albeit emphasis on ‘kind of’.

I will admit that even though the honourable mentions are in no particular order, this song was the final entry here, and I was debating whether or not it was good enough to make it or if I should just go with seven honourable mentions instead … but honestly, I think the tipping point for me was that this song became part of a huge inside joke with my coworkers a few years ago because I like this song and almost all of my coworkers hated it … and thus this song has a special place in my heart, so I couldn’t bring myself to leave it off the list.

“Good for You” by Selena Gomez (ft. A$AP Rocky)

It’s kind of hard for me to really pin down what it is that’s holding me back from liking this song more. I mean, the vocal production in the first verse is a little awkward, and the percussion could be a bit stronger to really fit the sensual vibe of the production … but I don’t know, something just feels a little bit off about this song, if that makes any sense.

But still, at its core, “Good for You” is a very good song. It’s a song in which the narrator just wants to look good for her partner, and Selena sounds really nervous here, like she’s worried she doesn’t look good enough. And while she doesn’t make any direct references to sex, the sexual desire feels very implied, with lines like ‘Leave this dress a mess on the floor’ and ‘Trust me, I can take you there.’ And maybe it’s just the very sensual production, but I think Selena sounds super horny in this song … but again, she’s worried about what her partner is going to think, and that’s why it’s so odd that something feeling sort of ‘off’ about this song is working against it, because in theory that would make sense in a song like this.

But anyway, then A$AP Rocky shows up, and typically this would be the part of the song I really don’t like, with the guest rapper appearing in a pop song and totally throwing off the vibe … but I actually really like A$AP Rocky’s verse here; his flow is really strong, he sounds really good over this production, and I really like the rhyming.

So, despite its flaws, I do think “Good for You” is a pretty good pop song, just not a great one.

“Waves (Robin Schulz Remix)” by Mr. Probz

This one kind of snuck up on me a little bit. I wasn’t familiar with this song before preparing for this list, and on my first few listens I thought it was only decent, but while I don’t think this is great, it definitely grew on me. The original version of this song really doesn’t do anything for me at all, but Robin Schulz gives this song a bouncier feeling which sounds really nice with the breezy percussion and the faster tempo.

And I really like that groovy guitar melody which repeats throughout the song. And I think it fits with the lyrics which show a sense of calmness despite feeling like everything is coming to an end. I guess it’s just embracing the uncertainty of life, and enjoying the present moment.

I mean, it’s not a super unique song or anything, but I think it mostly serves its purpose as radio filler, and there are certainly much worse songs on the radio than this.

“Ex’s & Oh’s” by Elle King

This is one of those songs where the small details really matter, as it can determine whether it’s really really good or absolutely insufferable. I mean, it’s basically a braggadocious anthem about using a bunch of guys for sex and then moving on to the next, and while she admits how much it haunts her to think about the moral consequences of it all, she can’t help but drown in a pool of her own ego, where she says she’s the best partner they never had.

And the braggadocious energy of songs like these can make them really insufferable … but I think there’s enough eeriness in the chord progression and instrumental melodies and enough self-awareness that the sort of villainous vibe actually really clicks, and it kind of makes you have a bit more empathy for the narrator despite the unlikableness, really giving the sense that this person is mostly well-meaning. And I don’t want to fall down the rabbit hole of discussing morals surrounding casual relationships and casual sex, but it really makes you think about whether or not it’s worth blaming her for this issue—or if it’s even an issue at all.

Again, all that is complicated, and I’m going to avoid falling down that rabbit hole I just mentioned … but sonically this is a really good song, too, with the thunderous kick and toms, the killer guitar distortion, and everything sounds really punchy in the production, with this track being really well mixed!

And I haven’t even mentioned the really clever wordplay with the double-meaning of ex’s and oh’s, which really fits with the playful songwriting style—and it might even be more than a double-meaning, considering the implication that she’s ‘playing games’ with all her partners.

And Elle King kind of knocks it out of the park on the vocal front, especially in that chorus with the descending melody on the word ‘oh’s and other words that rhyme.

So, why don’t I like this more than I do? Well, I think it’s a few things. It’s partially that I wish there was a bit more detail in the verses considering the storytelling songwriting style, and I also find the phrasing ‘they haunt me like ghosts’ a little awkward and maybe a little corny. And really, there’s not a whole lot about this that I find all that unique aside from the wordplay. There are a lot of songs like this, and I don’t think this is among the best of them.

So, while I think this song shows a lot of potential, and I’m kind of curious to hear more of Elle King’s music, it’s not one I really go out of my way to listen to, even though I won’t complain when it comes on the radio.

“Centuries” by Fall Out Boy

This is probably the most ‘problematic’ song mentioned here, and to be completely honest it’s kind of the reason this song is here, as bad as that sounds. I mean, look, I’ve got complicated feelings on this song … because on the one hand, Fall Out Boy are clearly aware of how toxic this is, yet it also shows a desire to simply be remembered, no matter what reason that be for, and unfortunately that’s become too much of a motivation for some people to treat others like crap … and it honestly makes this feel kind of icky. I mean, clearly this isn’t the band showing their beliefs, it’s just painting a bleak picture …

And I think that feeling of ‘ickiness’ is due to a few things. Maybe it’s partially how evil Patrick’s vocals sound in this song, especially in the bridge, and also the notion that the abuser in the relationship described here is ‘just making mistakes’ … but that’s because the abuser is the narrator in the story, and the fact that it feels so believable actually kind of wins me over on this song. I mean, there are a lot of people who are actually like this in real life, as sad as that is, and Fall Out Boy hold no punches here in the writing, with lines such as ‘heavy metal broke my heart’ and also blaming everybody else for the narrator’s problems. And I really like the usage of the “Tom’s Diner” sample, as that song also seems to represent a desire for attention.

And look, I understand the band wasn’t trying to send a bad message here, and I think they might have actually been trying to get the listener to think more about how you, the audience, have a small say in people’s legacy … and look, I very well may be overthinking this, and this not making the top ten doesn’t really have much to do with the lyrics. I mean, yeah, it’s kind of hard to fully get behind a song like this, especially when it’s framed as such an empowering anthem, but the drums are kind of clunky in the verses and in the chorus the snare feels a little too breezy, and not all the guitar work really fits in my opinion.

I wasn’t totally sure how to approach talking about this song, and even now I’m not sure I wrote about it as well as I could have. And I’ve been spending so much time talking about the moral implications of this song that I haven’t even mentioned that it has a really strong melodic chorus, a simple yet effective piano line repeating throughout the song … and that bridge is damn near chilling! And those things certainly don’t hurt. So, while I’m undecided on whether or not I love this song, it’s certainly one of the most fascinating hit songs of 2015 … and at the very least, I definitely like it a lot!

“Cool for the Summer” by Demi Lovato

I feel like this song should be so much better than it is. And it’s really frustrating, because there are seeds of a fantastic song here, and yet so much of that potential is squandered, partially by the production, which really doesn’t flatter Demi’s vocals which really are quite impressive, and the snare sounds super underpowered.

And then the chorus hits, and while I get that it’s supposed to be really huge and anthemic, which I like, I don’t think the snappiness of the sound really helps the soaring feeling of the chorus.

And then there’s the lyrics … and look, the controversy around this song was always stupid, including Halsey’s apparent diss toward this song in 2017, saying that ‘this narrative is so fucking damaging to bisexuality and its place in society,’ implying Demi isn’t taking bisexuality seriously in this song, which looks especially bad on everyone who criticized it considering Demi has since come out as pansexual. But this song is about experimenting with your sexuality, and not caring what other people think. And the feeling of ‘naughtiness’—possibly more as a kink than anything—really fits with the thrilling instrumentation and melodies. But the line ‘don’t be scared’ makes this sound kind of pushy, and that one line really brings this song down in quality quite a bit in my opinion.

And I say all this because there’s a lot about this song that really works for me, such as the great vocal melody in the chorus, the sort of eerie synths, that great guitar melody that continues throughout the song, and again, I like the concept of the song. I feel like this song should be phenomenal … but there are just too many really notable flaws for me to put it on the list, and that’s really a shame.

“Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift

Alright, I’ll just say right off the bat that if this were Taylor’s Version we were talking about, this very well may have ended up in the top ten. But this, on the other hand … well, it’s good, but I think the 2023 Taylor’s Version re-recording is a lot better; it’s got a better vocal performance, and the production is a lot smoother.

But I still mostly like the original, too, although I wouldn’t call it a great song, just a good one. I mean, yeah, the lyrics, while simple, are mostly effective; I like the fact that the only thing the narrator wants from this person after their hookup is to be remembered, just as she will remember this person, and there’s some good imagery used here.

And it’s not like Taylor’s vocals aren’t good here, and the production could be a lot worse. And I like some of the melodies, especially in the bridge which is probably my favourite part of the entire song.

I definitely think there are better songs on 1989, but there are also worse, and I say that as someone who thinks it’s a pretty good album.

“Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith

I’ve heard some people describe this song as being super boring, and … well, I kind of get it. It does kind of move at a snail’s pace, and when the vocal melodies aren’t all that interesting I can understand why a song like this might be a total slog to get through.

But I really like Sam’s vocals, and I think the piano sounds really good, with just enough of a crisp timbre to accentuate the dreamy atmosphere without sounding too overly piercing or metallic.

But really, where I think this song succeeds the most is in the slow build throughout the song, with that marching-band-esque drumming in the bridge being really quite captivating, and there are some really nice strings in this song, too. So, despite the flaws, I mostly do like this track—I certainly like it more than “I’m Not The Only One” and “Stay With Me”, both of which I find a lot more boring.

So far, based on the small amount of songs of theirs that I’ve heard, I prefer Sam’s pop side compared to the slow piano ballads, but of the Sam Smith songs in this lane, this is probably my favourite of the ones that I know.

…

Alright, so those are all good songs … but now for the songs I really like that were eligible for this list …

#10 …

So, I’ve never been a huge fan of Fall Out Boy. In fact, I’m not much of a fan at all. Although an unpopular opinion I have is that American Beauty / American Psycho is their second best album. Although I think that’s more due to being consistently pretty good, as I don’t think the high points are super strong. However, thankfully my two favourites from the album are the two which became hits, with “Centuries” being my second favourite, and my favourite being … well, I think you know what it is.

#10: “Uma Thurman” by Fall Out Boy

This probably has to be one of the strangest songs to become a hit in the 2010s. I think Fall Out Boy songs typically follow this approach of having some of the most random lyrics, but usually their hit songs aren’t quite as ‘out there’, and especially with the Munsters theme song sample, I can’t help but wonder where they came up with all these ideas.

And yet the song really works! It’s based on a reference to Kill Bill, a movie which I’ve personally never seen before, but I read online that this is referencing a murder scene during a dance, and the feeling of being potentially on the edge of danger really shines through on this daring pop rock anthem, which has so many bizarre lyrical references, and yet it all comes together to sort of make sense in a weird, convoluted way.

Really, as far as I can tell, this is a song about a summer hookup which involves some potentially very unsafe practices. And yeah, I feel like I shouldn’t like such an upbeat song about unsafe sex this much, but 1) it’s a song, it’s not real life, and 2) there are potentially other meanings to this song, with the ‘danger’ potentially being only in their imaginations to set the mood.

And I actually really like the use of the Munsters theme sample. Not only is it a really good sample to begin with, but it sounds awesome with that super punchy snare, and honestly all the percussion. And they continue to use the horn sample throughout the verses in the background, and it really contributes to the spooky vibe. It’s the second example here of Fall Out Boy using a sample really well!

And Patrick Stump’s vocals here are really impressive! He really conveys so much thrill and yet so much fear at the same time, but for the most part this is a really fun song more than anything … I mean, be safe out there, but at least if you’re gonna put yourself in a dangerous situation, you may as well at least have some fun, right? And this song perfectly captures that magic, with the bold, adventurous feeling of this song with lots of really catchy moments!

And then there’s that bridge, which really feels unresolved, with it seemingly ending on the third scale degree (I may be wrong about this, though), and I think it actually really fits considering how ‘on edge’ this whole song feels, like something could go wrong at any moment. And the guitar distortion in the bridge sounds awesome as well!

Yes, this song is silly, and at times it can feel almost a little bit too over-the-top because it’s just so ridiculous, but it’s such a fun time that it’s hard for me to complain! This is a great song!

#9 …

Out of every song in the top ten on this list, this one is probably the most controversial. I know there are a lot of critics who think this song is really bad, and to be honest I’ve never fully understood why.

#9: “Love Me Like You Do” by Ellie Goulding

So, based on pretty much everything I’ve heard about Fifty Shades of Grey, it sounds like a really bad movie. And if you read my worst list, you saw I had some not great things to say about the other big hit from that movie’s soundtrack.

But “Love Me Like You Do”, on the other hand, is a much better track if you ask me! And part of that is because it actually sounds like the singer cares—in fact, that’s a huge reason, because this kind of mostly mellow adult contemporary radio hit often have a very small margin for error.

Now, this isn’t entirely that, because it’s got some faster-paced synths and a fairly intense drum pattern in the chorus—it’s certainly not the most mellow hit of 2015, not even close. But it still kind of has that vibe to it similar to a lot of soft rock and piano ballads all over those radio stations.

But anyway, this isn’t really anything more than a simple sex song, and while the repetitive chorus is probably the biggest complaint people are gonna have about this song, I actually really like the juxtaposition of the same repeated vocal melody with mainly just two notes and the changing chords … and most notably, the gorgeous strings and production when paired with these melodies help this song actually be sexy, which I don’t think is a requirement for me to like a sex song, but it certainly helps. Memes aside, this song is so hot!

Honestly this is probably my favourite Ellie Goulding hit of the 2010s. “Burn” is really good, if not great, but I have some nitpicks with its production that I can’t fully look past, “On My Mind” and “Close to Me” are both not very good and I don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion, and “I Need Your Love” is technically listed as a Calvin Harris song, although I don’t think it’s great …

And then there’s “Lights”, the one that all the critics go nuts about … and I’ve just never fully gotten into that song as much as everybody else. But I think “Love Me Like You Do” is a legitimately great pop song that takes pop clichés and turns it into something memorable.

#8 …

Alright, time for something less controversial. How about a song pretty much everybody loves?

#8: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson (ft. Bruno Mars)

I mean, does this one even need an explanation? It’s “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars—you know this song and you love it, am I right?

Bruno Mars has a very commanding vocal presence here, where the listener is basically asked to sing along and have fun with this smash hit which became the biggest song of 2015 in the USA, and in multiple other countries as well, and deservingly so!

I feel like there isn’t really much to say about this song. I mean, the awesome horns, the four on the floor kick drum, and the sick bassline all add up to create a super funky banger of a tune with that guitar being the cherry on top!

And I love how this song moves through its many phases, adding lots of interesting drum fills and transitions.

And the quotable lines, too; ‘I’m too hot, make a dragon wanna retire.’ I mean, I could go on and on, but it doesn’t even feel worth it, because you all know how good this song is!

I guess I may as well add that I’ve been learning it on the drums recently, and it’s a really fun song to play! Aside from that, let’s just move on to …

#7 …

So, this song was under a bit of fire back in the day, for what I would consider a really stupid reason. But I’m going to avoid that conversation here and focus on what made this the best country hit of 2015.

#7: “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town

So, I’m not going to get into talking about ‘queerbaiting’ right now—it’s very much a conversation worth having, but I don’t want to make this particular review about that, because it just feels like a nonfactor here—and the fact that this song was pulled from radio stations due to some people thinking this was about lesbianism … well, I shouldn’t have to explain all the reasons that’s stupid.

Anyway, I think “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town is a pretty great country song. Yeah, it’s mellow, and there’s not a whole lot to it sonically, but when the vocals are so gorgeous it’s hard to complain, especially when the production gives the guitar such a nice, watery timbre without losing that stripped back, natural sound, at least not too much. And the added percussion has just the right mixing and timbre to add a slight sense of frustration without losing the melancholy.

And speaking of which, there’s the lyrics, which are simple on the surface. The narrator is jealous because her romantic interest is with another woman, and she starts wishing she were more like her, because maybe then this person would want her instead. And I really like that she refers to this as a ‘girl crush’ when she starts thinking about all the things about this other woman that she wants, showing that she can’t help but have an admiration for this woman and understand what her partner sees in her, to the point where it kind of feels like she feels bad for the desire she’s feeling and yet can’t get rid of it and can’t help but have complicated feelings about the woman.

In other words, I think this song gets brutally honest in a way which on the surface may seem like your average song about unrequited love, and yet reveals a lot more about itself when you dig a little bit deeper, and I think it’s really powerful!

#6 …

Now here we have pretty much the opposite of the last song. This time the narrator is in the relationship, and yet it’s incredibly toxic. And I’m not sure how many pop songs with this theme have been pulled off as well as this one …

#6: “Style” by Taylor Swift

I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not this is my favourite song from 1989 … and while I think for now I’d probably give that title to “Welcome To New York”, it’s certainly close.

Now, I should stress that I’m specifically talking about the original recording from 2014, because unlike “Wildest Dreams”, I think Taylor’s Version of “Style” definitely pales in comparison to the 2014 recording, and that’s mostly because the main reason the lyrical content works so well with this song is because it has the right production to match the vibe, and Taylor’s Version removes the darkness from it and makes it sound more like a happy, upbeat pop song … and that is NOT WHAT THIS IS AT ALL.

I really like how Taylor plays the role of the lesser of two evils in a toxic relationship, where both partners have been cheating, and her partner has probably been ghosting her. And not only that, but he’s not even looking at the road while driving. And yet something is pulling her toward this relationship over and over again, even when she knows it’s destined to fail, as it should.

And the fear that shines through in the vocal performance is amplified by the eerie guitar, that bassy synth which sounds like something from a slowed-down darkwave song, and many of the subtle details. And those flashy synths which wash over you in the chorus feel like they represent whatever it is that attracts her to this relationship, like a brief moment of euphoria before the sad ending that’s basically guaranteed.

And I think the most striking part of this whole song might be in the bridge when she belts out, ‘take me home’, leaving it up to the listener if she’s looking for a hookup or finally trying to get away from this asshole, with that extra ‘we never go’ leading into the bridge with a vocal delivery that implies a huge conclusion to the story is imminent.

While there’s no way to argue against 1989 being Taylor Swift’s full-on pop era, it certainly wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns.

#5 …

But now here’s a song that has the guts to call out somebody else’s bullshit …

#5: “I Don’t Fuck With You” by Big Sean (ft. E-40)

So, I’m often one to complain about the ‘I don’t care about you anymore’ breakup songs where you have to ask ‘then why are you writing a song about it?’ And yeah, it’s kind of hard not to laugh at Big Sean’s attempt to convince this ex that he’s totally over it when he actually sounds more pissed than anything … but that’s also kind of the charm of this song, and the reason it works. He doesn’t sound like he wants to try again with this person, but he’s clearly still upset about the way that it ended, and the ex’s clinginess despite him making it clear that it’s over.

And honestly, all three verses here are really strong! I really like that the first verse paints the scene, with him clearly having moved on while she’s still calling him, and he’s pretty sure her new partner is just a rebound for her to show off. And there’s a lot of really good lines, such as ‘Fuck your two cents if it ain’t goin’ towards the bill.’ And Sean’s flow is really strong here, too, with the perfect delivery with just enough pissed off energy.

And E-40 has a lot of great phrasing in his verse, with the sort of braggadocious energy which really shows how much fun he’s having, and it’s just so joyful to listen to in a weird sort of way, despite the subtle anger that might be implied here by giving attention to someone he’s not very happy with.

And then there’s a beat switch on the final verse with the sample of DJ Rogers’ “Say You Love Me”, and he’s got a very different flow here, but it’s also really good! And I really like how he just tries to focus on moving forward and even wishing his ex well, and it’s a nice end to the story. And I also can’t not mention the line where he admits that drama can make for the best content, which might be one of the most self-aware lines in any song on this list.

And, of course, there’s the chorus, which is one of the most infectious you’ll hear in popular music from the mid-2010s—it’s funny, it’s pissed off, and I love it!

#4 …

You know those songs that just put you in a good mood whenever you hear them? Because I’m not sure there’s another 2015 hit that captures a feeling of pure joy as much as this one:

#4: “Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON

I haven’t really listened to much of WALK THE MOON’s music, and while I know they’ve got a pretty big fanbase, I don’t really remember being all that big a fan of most of what I’ve heard of theirs.

But I feel like pretty much every fan of pop music would agree that this song absolutely rules! Well, except for Anthony Fantano, but he’s wrong. I should stress I mean this in a lighthearted way, and I am a huge fan of Anthony Fantano.

But anyway, “Shut Up and Dance” has got to be among the best pop-rock songs to do big numbers in the 2010s, a decade full of mediocre and forgettable alternative rock songs hitting the mainstream charts. But alongside a few others, “Shut Up and Dance” actually wound up being memorable and catchy, with that awesome guitar melody with the ascending arpeggios that open the song including a sus4 and sus2 chord which keep a feeling of tension, giving this fun pop song a bit more of an edge, but in a way that complements the song without taking away any of the fun!

I love the four on the floor kick with the claps, the hard-hitting snare which gives the song a huge burst of energy, and I can’t not mention the euphoric synths that enter and leave at the right times, adding just enough glamour to the thrill of it all!

And lyrically there’s not a whole lot to it, but when the song’s message of just letting yourself have some fun without spending all your time worrying about your problems actually encapsulates such a joyful feeling, it’s hard for me to complain!

And then there’s Nicholas Petricca, who has such a commanding vocal presence here that almost distracts from how great the instrumentation, composition and production are! And yet those things are all crucial to this being the timeless banger that it is!

I honestly think it’s kind of a miracle that this song made it as big as it did in 2015, considering this was right around the time that rock songs essentially stopped being popular in the mainstream … and I feel like this sort of The Killers-esque new wave hadn’t been popular on the mainstream singles chart since … I don’t know, maybe since The Killers broke out in the mid-2000s?

But either way, what I can say for sure is give it another decade or so and “Shut Up and Dance” will almost certainly be a classic, and deservingly so! This song will turn the dancefloor into a hell of a party, and I’m here for it!

#3 …

This song, on the other hand, I think has been mostly forgotten, and I’m not sure it ever became a radio hit to the same extent as most of the songs on this list. Even the critics I don’t think praised this song nearly as much as songs like “Shut Up and Dance”, “Uptown Funk”, “Uma Thurman”, and “Style”. And I’m not even entirely sure why I like this song as much as I do.

Yeah, it’s good—it’s really good, but can I really justify it being this high on the list? Well, I may as well try …

#3: “The Hanging Tree” by James Newton Howard

For the record, I have never watched any of The Hunger Games movies, nor have I read the books. Honestly, I don’t really know much about them at all, or even what this song represents in the movie.

But I do know it’s a goddamn fantastic pop song—in fact, calling it a ‘pop’ song doesn’t even feel accurate. Yeah, it was popular enough to end up eligible for this list, but stylistically it doesn’t feel like pop music. It’s hard to even give this a genre label … in fact, it almost sounds like the sort of song that could’ve been written centuries ago—I’ve been studying a lot of music from centuries in the past, and it sounds oddly reminiscent of some of that music.

And there’s not even much to this song, which makes for a pretty easy song to discuss where I don’t really have a whole lot to say. I mean, the vocal melodies are haunting, and the repetition really works when it builds this much!

And while I’m sure I’m missing some context in the movie, lyrically it seems to be describing a location where strange things have happened, and the chill that one gets every time they go there. And the instrumentation and melodies back this up, with those incredible dramatic strings, and the choir that shows up later in the song was a fantastic decision!

This song feels a lot shorter than its three-and-a-half plus minute running time, and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but either way this song is great, and quite possibly the most underrated hit song of 2015 … except for maybe one other one.

#2 …

Now, I should clear this up: this isn’t the other ‘underrated’ song that I just mentioned. We’ll get to that one, but this is probably one of the most ‘obvious’ picks for this list, from one of the biggest and most influential pop stars of the 2010s.

Now, I’ll admit I’m not nearly as big a fan of this artist as a lot of people are. It’s been a while since I went through all his albums in full, and I do plan to do that sometime soon, but I don’t remember ever loving a full album of his, and I think he’s more of a singles artist. But some of those singles have wound up being among the most fascinating pop songs of the past decade, including …

#2: “The Hills” by The Weeknd

I’m not sure if anyone has fully untangled the meaning of “The Hills” by The Weeknd. Yes, on the surface it’s pretty clear that it’s about Abel Tesfaye’s famous character The Weeknd doing typical Weeknd things involving all the meaningless sex, and hard drugs, and all the other stuff you’d expect in a mid-2010s Weeknd song.

More specifically, he’s having an affair with a woman who’s cheating on her partner, and as much as they both try to hide it, and her man so far doesn’t know, her friends have started to catch onto what’s really going on, after she suspiciously kicks them out of her house when she finds out The Weeknd is on his way.

And this has to be one of the most sonically haunting tracks to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the past decade, with that repeating high-pitched synth in the background of the verse before what sounds like a scream leading into the chorus. And the chorus hits really hard, too, with that loud bass which sort of drowns out Abel’s vocals, as The Weeknd realizes how problematic his actions are, and yet he’s not going to stop … and this is the sort of song where my opinion of it really depends on the details. And in this case, the song is very self-aware of its own problems, with one of the most daring lines being, ‘When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me.’

But what really brings this song to the next level for me is the bridge. I’m not familiar with the The Hills Have Eyes films, but there are so many possible meanings of that line in this song, with the most striking being that he feels like he’s always being watched—also, maybe I just have a dirty mind, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s also about boobs; it would make sense considering the song is describing sex with no emotional connection—but anyway, not only does he give an absolutely amazing vocal performance which sounds terrifying in the best way with those vocal melodies, but he seems to be bringing up the idea that maybe we can’t really trust anyone but ourselves … although it’s complicated, and we don’t have all the answers.

Look, this song isn’t trying to justify bad behaviour, but I do think it’s trying to humanize it a little bit more, as a lot of people are just looking for something to satisfy them in the moment and their worst instincts get the best of them. And the fact that the nihilism of it all feels so thrilling in the context of a pop song, it’s kind of revealing of the dark parts of our minds which we don’t want to admit.

Really, at its core, I think this song represents someone’s lowest point, and I think we’ve all been in a situation where we realize we’ve screwed something up, and we may as well make the most of it, even though it’s probably more important to better ourselves.

I’m not sure I’ve done a good job of really analyzing this song, but it’s a tricky one to figure out. But this is easily my favourite song from Beauty Behind the Madness, and one of the best representations of what makes The Weeknd such a special artist. No, I’ve never been the biggest fan, but at his best, when he makes music like this, I can’t help but be in awe.

#1 …

Out of all the artists to have a big mainstream hit in the past decade or so, I’m not sure I can think of a better example of missed potential. Because this was her debut single, and it does so many things incredibly well, while being unique, catchy, and creative … and then the album came out, and the rest of it was nothing more than generic pop music, in my opinion. And the same thing goes for her other two albums as well.

But none of that makes this song any less great!

#1: “Here” by Alessia Cara

The first thing you’ll notice about Alessia Cara when you listen to her music is that she’s a great singer … it’s just unfortunate that, at least based on my memory of her albums, they don’t have very flattering vocal production, and the songwriting really isn’t all that interesting in my opinion.

Thankfully, those are not issues in “Here”, in which the vocals are very emphasized and it’s absolutely the right choice for a song where there’s so much importance to what’s being said.

Built off of an Isaac Hayes sample from the 1970s, “Here” is basically an introvert anthem. And while I’ve never really understood whether I’m an introvert or an extravert, I would consider myself very socially awkward, which I think is a big part of the reason this song resonates with me so much; it’s that feeling that something’s not quite right while in a social situation where you desperately want to fit in … but again, something’s not quite right.

And Alessia Cara is very clearly giving a middle finger to the societal expectation of ‘coolness’ here, where a lot of well-meaning individuals end up in a group setting where they can fall victim to their worst aspects, and she takes pride in not letting that happen to herself … but then she realizes she doesn’t know what to do in this situation, which takes away the feeling of ‘maturity’ that would otherwise be there.

But she just has to accept that not knowing what to do is part of being human, and for her own good she removes herself from the situation. And I find it interesting how despite her dismay at the behaviour she’s witnessing, the lyrics don’t describe any super problematic behaviour. I mean, yeah, there’s the gossip and the excessive drinking, and she mentions being hit on (it’s not clearly mentioned whether or not it’s in a creepy way) … but really the problem might be within herself, and she knows that. Because when it gets to the chorus, the main question she wants answered is, ‘What am I doing here?’

And there is so much to love in the flow of her vocal delivery, with the excellent phrasing, and the backing vocals enter and exit at just the right moments throughout the track!

And as a fellow Canadian, I kind of love how much she apologizes throughout the song, and then at the end she mentions her ‘beanie’, which I personally would call a toque, but she’s unapologetically—or, should I say, apologetically—just being herself here, which I 100% respect.

I really wish Alessia had lived up to her potential more on future albums—I mean, you never know, she’s got a new album coming out soon—but for a moment in time, she had redefined what it means to be cool. I mean, she even says on another track on this album, ‘The cool kids aren’t cool to me. They’re not cooler than we are.’ And while I don’t think that line is the most creative thing ever, and it doesn’t even come from a song I like very much, it’s still a good message … and there’s probably a lot of truth to it. And while I personally think “Here” is an incredibly cool song, what’s ‘cool’ is what you care about … so tell me, what are your favourite hit songs of 2015?

Hello, everyone! Before I get into talking about these albums, I just want to give a little bit of an update on the future of Simon Talks Music. I know I’ve given a few of these ‘updates’ recently, and then I’ve ended up not totally doing what I said I would do in those updates, but at least for now I feel like I’m finally back to semi-consistently working on reviews, although I’ve still got more reviews I started a while back which I want to get caught up on.

Anyway, I typically prioritize quantity over quality in my reviews, which … well, it’s a bit of a controversial approach, but it’s what I feel works best for me. And when I find an album I’m more fascinated by, then I’ll usually put a bit more effort into the review, but if I just don’t like the album all that much I don’t really feel like it’s worth putting that much effort into the review. And yeah, some of these reviews are totally half-assed, but I’m not claiming to be an expert, I’m just some guy writing about how much or little I like these albums, with at least some sort of explanation, even if only a brief one.

I’m hoping to move Simon Talks Music to video form … hopefully sometime this year, although we’ll see about that. It could be as soon as in the next couple of weeks, or it could be a while still. I’m not sure yet. But I do plan to post my list of the best hit songs of 2015 on this blog sometime soon, as I’ve been making some progress on it.

Anyway, let’s get the reviews started!

In Waves by Jamie xx:

Believe it or not, this is my first time listening to an album by Jamie xx or The xx, at least as far as I can remember.

And honestly, a lot of this album just feels forgettable and not that interesting. It’s the kind of dance music which fits a certain vibe but just doesn’t really draw me to go back to it, without a lot of standout tracks.

And then there’s “Dafodil” with the annoying horns and a bunch of extra details in the instrumentation which I think just lead to a busier mix than I would have liked.

But there are also some stronger moments such as “Treat Each Other Right”—not only is there a great transition from the opener to this track, but it’s a really good track which is really well produced and I think uses repetition really well.

And I also do really like the instrumental track “Still Summer”, and there are some other good moments, but while I like the production and mixing on this album for the most part, which has a really nice smooth feeling … I don’t know, something seems missing here. Strong 6.5/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Treat Each Other Right”, “Still Summer”, “Life”, “Breather”
Least Favourite Track: “Dafodil” 

Endlessness by Nala Sinephro:

So, this is my first time listening to an album by this super critically acclaimed jazz artist. And I’ll admit I’m not super familiar with a lot of jazz music, but I do want to explore the genre a little bit more.

And this is probably one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year so far in any genre. It’s an instrumental jazz album that has a lot of synthesizers, and it’s fairly mellow for the most part.

And I do like this album, mostly because I find the production really strong, and it’s quite well mixed, and I think it has a really nice atmosphere … but it kind of feels more like background music to me than anything.

Now, with that being said, “Continuum 2” is absolutely gorgeous, with some of the most beautiful strings on the album.

And there are other tracks that I really like, such as “Continuum 6” with the really nice ascending synth melody.

But … I don’t know. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but something feels missing here. I kind of feel like I ‘should’ like this album a lot more than I do.

Maybe it’s the occasional synth feeling a little too sharp in terms of the production (even though I like most of the synth timbres); “Continuum 7” comes to mind, even though I really like the melodies in that track and it’s got a good atmosphere.

It feels hard to describe this album all that well, but some of it can kind of feel like an otherworldly experience … and you’d think based on that description that I’m praising the hell out of this, but that ‘other world’ isn’t necessarily the most captivating or enjoyable.

I feel like with the right visuals to accompany this, it could really fit in some sort of show or movie or something, but it’s not really an album I’d want to throw on just to listen to it.

So, for me this is a 7/10. It definitely is a reminder that I want to listen to more jazz music … and again, I do think this is good. I just wouldn’t call it great, in my personal opinion. But it’s also not a genre I understand super well … I mean, I feel like most genres aren’t.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Continuum 2”, “Continuum 6”, “Continuum 7”, “Continuum 8”
Least Favourite Track: “Continuum 3”

Whirlwind by Lainey Wilson:

I’ve actually never listened to a full Lainey Wilson album before this. She had one of my favourite hit songs of 2023, and she was a guest on my favourite song from Post Malone’s new album, and I’ve heard quite a few songs of hers—although not a lot that I would really recognize by name—but this is my first time listening to one of her albums, and I wasn’t totally sure what to expect …

And there are some tracks here that I really like, such as “Good Horses” with the great Miranda Lambert feature, and some gorgeous piano, and the vocal melodies are really strong as well. And while it’s quite a simple song, I like the sentiment of the narrator always feeling a draw to go back to familiar territory.

And then there’s “Whirlwind” which has such great production, with the snares having a lot of punch, and the guitars and keyboards really bring forward this feeling of adventure, and it’s just such a joy to listen to, with so many great lines throughout the song which fit really well melodically!

“Counting Chickens”, while kind of silly, is also just really cute and lightweight in a way that really clicks for me, and that electric guitar really adds a nice touch! And it’s got a pretty strong chorus, too!

And I really like how funky “Ring Finger” is. It’s not a style of country music I’m really used to hearing all that much, and I think this song is a lot of fun!

And then there’s “Devil Don’t Go There” … and look, I can totally understand why this song might not work for someone, considering it kind of seems like one of those ‘how could you possibly leave me’ songs with no regard for the other person’s feelings. But I also think that’s kind of the point … it’s supposed to be pissy in a way that isn’t ‘morally right’. And there’s also the implication that the ex mentioned in the song did something really bad, and you’re just left wondering what that is—it’s up to the listener who the bad guy in the situation really is. And considering it’s also one of the best produced songs, and has a lot of great vocal melodies, I actually think this is a great song, and one of my favourites here!

But outside of that, I think the rest of this is pretty good and that’s about it. Really, for the most part, this album is just simple country songs, and I like the genre enough that an album full of simple songs without a whole lot to them can really click for me … but when the production is this inconsistent and when there are songs like “Country’s Cool Again” which just kind of baffle me, I think it leads to an album that, considering the handful of great songs that are here, is a good album. But I wouldn’t call it a great album.

So, for me, Whirlwind by Lainey Wilson is an album I’ll probably go back to in pieces more than as a whole. I’ve definitely heard better country albums this year, and again I don’t think this is all that consistent, but I’ve added some tracks to my personal playlist.

And I think it’s worth noting that maybe there’s more to these songs lyrically and/or musically than I realize. I’ve never claimed to be an expert. It’s just that to my personal interpretation, this just feels like a pretty simple album.

And there are for sure some creative moments lyrically, such as the closing track “Whiskey Colored Crayon”, even though I don’t love that song sonically.

But again, this album just didn’t totally wow me as much as I would’ve liked. Still really damn good, though, and I’d recommend checking it out. I’m going to give this a strong 7/10, and I’d highly recommend at least the tracks that I listed in my favourites!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Good Horses”, “Whirlwind”, “Counting Chickens”, “Ring Finger”, “Devil Don’t Go There
Least Favourite Track: “Country’s Cool Again”

RED FUTURE by Snotty Nose Rez Kids:

Here’s a new album by an Indigenous hip hop duo from BC whom I’d never heard of until recently because I went to see them perform live. And after listening to a few songs of theirs from other albums, I do want to listen to those albums, because it sounded really good!

But this album on the other hand … well, it’s not bad. There are a lot of good messages, a lot of which are about taking pride in being indigenous, but a lot of this album feels underwritten. I mean, a song like “FREE” is a perfect example, where as much as I agree with the message of the song, the chorus is literally just ‘I just wanna be free’, and it feels kind of lazily written. And yeah, this whole post is lazily written, but I never said I have a problem with lazy song writing, I’d just rather listen to some music I find a bit more interesting. If you’d rather read more interesting music reviews than this, I understand.

There are some really good guest features on this album, too, such as Tia Wood on “SHAPESHIFTER” and Drezus on “LET YA HAIR DOWN”, as well as others.

And I like some of the melodies here, too, such as the chorus of “BURN”, and I don’t even mind the production on this album for the most part, with a lot of the instrumental timbres working as a really good foundation for these songs.

But the biggest thing that holds me back from liking this album more is the autotune, which really takes away from the power these songs could have, and it just feels more artificial than it should, especially in a song like “DEVIL’S CLUB” in which there are some really weird autotuned moments.

There are also some tracks like “LET YA HAIR DOWN” with its really catchy chorus and squeaky synths that I really like! And “BBE” also has an infectious chorus as well as the great line, ‘Who ya favourite native? That’s me.’ And speaking of great lines, I really like the line about having this album on replay on “PEACHES” But overall I just can’t say this album fully clicked for me. Again, I’m curious to hear their other music, but I definitely didn’t love this album. 6/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “BURN”, “LET YA HAIR DOWN”, “BBE”, “PEACHES”, “RED FUTURE”
Least Favourite Track: “NO DOGS ALLOWED”

SHINBANGUMI by Ginger Root:

Ginger Root is the solo project of Cameron Lew, and this is the first album I’ve heard by Ginger Root. I saw it getting a lot of critical acclaim online, so I decided to give it a shot.

And I think it’s mostly well-produced. I like the flashy production on tracks like “No Problems”, “Show 10”, and “All Night”, and I think the mixing on this album is pretty strong.

And there are some good melodies here and there in both the instrumentation and the vocals, and the percussion sounds really strong.

And yet something feels missing here. And honestly, I don’t even think there’s one song on this album which I really feel all that drawn to go back to.

I feel like pretty much every track here feels kind of generic, even though I generally enjoyed this album.

So, for me this is a 6/10. It’s decent, but I can’t say I love it.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “No Problems”, “All Night”, “Only You”
Least Favourite Track: “Kaze”

My Method Actor by Nilüfer Yanya:

I remember Nilüfer Yanya putting out a really critically acclaimed album in 2022 which I listened to once when it came out but I don’t really remember any of it at all.

Anyway, I was kind of curious to check out this new album, and … well, there’s a lot to like here, that’s for sure!

And a big part of it is the production, which often really fits with the vibe the songs are aiming for and fits with the lyrical content. For example, a song like “Binding” which seemingly shows the narrator getting bored with life, wanting something more exciting to happen, and I really like the Radiohead-esque guitars, with a sort of brightness in the timbre which gives the song a slight feeling of optimism.

And I really like the guitar distortion of “Like I Say (I runaway)” which helps drive forward the urgency to go with the song’s message of not wanting to waste time in a relationship that doesn’t make you happy, and “Call It Love” is a really good moody song with that cutting synth that shows up out of nowhere and really works with the relatable indecisiveness of the lyrics, as if the narrator is feeling pressure to figure things out more quickly. And I really like the synths that make the closing track feel really uplifting.

And there are other interesting moments, such as “Faith’s Late”, which kind of reminds me of “Dreams” by The Cranberries in the main guitar melody, and the eerie “Ready for Sun (touch)” which almost reminds me a little bit of Halsey in the vocal phrasing and the overall vibe, and I say that as a huge defender of Halsey’s music.

I do think this album could have used more sticky vocal melodies to really draw me to go back to it more, and there are a few bland forgettable tracks, but as it is I still think this is a really strong offering from an artist I’m curious to hear more from. 7/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Like I Say (I runaway)”, “Binding”, “Call It Love”, “Wingspan”
Least Favourite Track: “Mutations”

The love it took to leave you by Colin Stetson:

I’m pretty sure this is my first time listening to a Colin Stetson album, despite hearing a lot of critical acclaim for his music. But I saw this described as ambient music, and it might be among the most critically acclaimed albums of 2024.

And I mostly like it, but I don’t think it’s going to have a lot of replay value for me.

I would normally say that the length of this album is part of the reason it didn’t click for me more, but honestly I feel like this is close to working as a full album experience … and yet I just wish there were a bit more variety.

There are a lot of tracks with these huge waves of instrumentation that come and go, and it creates a kind of eerie vibe which I mostly like.

And it does kind of pull you into its world, but I just don’t really feel like it’s exactly where I want to be. This is a good album, but I wouldn’t call it a great one, so I’ll give it a 7/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “The love it took to leave you”, “The Augur”, “Malediction”, “Bloodrest”
Least Favourite Track: “Hollowing”

The Forest Is The Path by Snow Patrol:

So, curiosity got the best of me with this one. I mean, I wasn’t really expecting all that much out of a new album from the band who made “Chasing Cars”. Don’t get me wrong, I like “Chasing Cars”, but it just felt like they were probably another one of those bands who had that one big adult contemporary hit and probably didn’t really have good albums. But that’s not really fair of me considering that’s the only song of theirs I knew …

And after listening to this album about five or six times, it’s another reminder not to read a book by its cover, because … well, this might be one of the albums that’s pleasantly surprised me the most this year!

And one of the things that really makes this album click for me is the production, with the really awesome clean guitar timbres, and the percussion which fits the vibe of this album pretty much perfectly.

And speaking of the ‘vibe’ … I don’t really know how to describe it, but it feels like it sums up the idea of living in the present, even when sometimes it can be toxic when it goes too far, such as in “This Is The Sound Of Your Voice”, which … well, I have complicated feelings about that song surrounding its morals, but the glamour of it really shines through in the music!

And I think that musical ‘vibe’ fits well with a lot of the lyrics on this album, a lot of which seem kind of simple, and I think they are—although I may be missing something; there might be more to this—but I think it really works when combined with the music, especially with so many great melodies!

And there are so many great hooks on this album, such as in “Everything’s Here And Nothing’s Lost”, “Never Really Tire”, and “This Is The Sound Of Your Voice”, and lots of others as well!

I feel like this album probably hits a lot harder in the winter—it’s hard to describe, but it’s very much got a ‘winter vibe’ to it—but I still really ended up liking this a lot! I think I’ll give this a light 9/10! Again, I wasn’t expecting this to be this great, but it’s probably one of the best albums I’ve heard all year!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Beginning”, “Everything’s Here And Nothing’s Lost”, “Your Heart Home”, “This Is The Sound Of Your Voice”, “Hold Me In The Fire”, “Never Really Tire”, “These Lies”, “What If Nothing Breaks?”
Least Favourite Track: “Years That Fall”

Songs of Blood and Mire by Spectral Wound:

So, this band’s 2021 album is one that I remember mostly liking but not really loving, and after relistening to it recently I stand by that.

Now, I’ll admit that while I don’t usually put a ton of effort into each mini album review (considering how many of them I do), this one I put even less effort into than usual, and I’ll admit it’s mostly due to me being lazy.

But also it’s because this album just doesn’t really give me much to say. I mean, I could have tried to look into the lyrics a little bit more, and there’s some good imagery here and there, but for the most part it just doesn’t feel all that interesting to me, although again, I didn’t really look into it all that much.

And musically these tracks just don’t really stand out to me much at all. It’s fine, just not really for me.

Yeah, I totally half-assed this review, and you should take my review with a huge grain of salt, but for me this is a 5.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “A Coin Upon the Tongue”, “Twelve Moons in Hell”
Least Favourite Track: “At Wine-Dark Midnight in the Mouldering Halls”

Cascade by Floating Points:

I’m pretty sure this is my first time listening to an album by Floating Points. In fact, I barely knew anything about him until now.

The one thing I’d known about Floating Points was that he made a collaborative album with the London Symphony Orchestra and Pharoah Sanders in 2021, Promises … although I couldn’t even remember entirely who made that album, but I was pretty sure Floating Points was one of the artists—the name definitely rung a bell.

What I definitely remembered was Promises getting a shit ton of critical acclaim and making seemingly pretty much every list of the best albums of that year. I still haven’t listened to that album—although I’m planning on listening to it sometime—but I was still excited to hear this …

And I think it’s pretty good. It’s not the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard or anything, but it’s still some pretty solid instrumental dance music.

And it’s not really an album that gives me much to say. It’s got some punchy percussion, and while it’s not super energetic it is still a fun time overall, with mostly good production and lots of really nice synths, with some sharper timbres in tracks like “Fast Forward” which I really like.

And I like how groovy this album sounds, too, with parts of the album reminding me a little bit of Patricia Taxxon—at least the small amount of Patricia Taxxon music that I have heard.

Again, I’m not really sure entirely what else to say about this album. But it is a really enjoyable listen that I’d absolutely recommend to fans of dance music! 7/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Key103”, “Birth4000”, “Afflecks Palace”, “Ablaze”
Least Favourite Track: “Del Oro”

Hello and welcome to another post! I know it’s been a while since I’ve made a mini review post, but I’ve got more of them on the way after this, and I’m finally getting somewhat close to being ‘back on schedule’ … whatever that means for me, because I don’t really follow a strict schedule for my reviews.

Anyway, as always these are all just my personal feelings on these albums. Feel free to disagree with me on any of these.

Alright, let’s get this post started with …

Exhaust by Pyrrhon:

So, here’s one of the most critically acclaimed death metal albums of the year, and even as someone who’s not really a huge fan of death metal, I was curious to hear this. I mean, it’s pretty short, and considering just how much acclaim this has been getting, I figured it was worth it to give it a shot.

But unfortunately, as I kind of expected considering this is a death metal album, this isn’t really for me. I mean, it’s not bad or anything, it just kind of sounds like a typical death metal album to me. And that’s not really fair of me, and it’s just me not really being a death metal fan—there’s probably a lot more to this—but I just don’t really like this sound all that much.

I mean, there’s clearly a lot of talent here, and I do think the intensity of the instrumental fits well with the small amounts of melody that are here, leading to an album that is mostly pleasant to listen to while it’s on.

But I just don’t really see any reason for me to go back to this. Again, it’s just not really a style of music I like all that much. But there are some death metal albums that I really like, when it feels like there’s a bit more experimentation. And again, maybe I’m missing something here, but there’s just not much about this that stands out to me personally, aside from the occasional groovy moment that I like such as “Concrete Charlie” which has some really impressive drumming, although even the best songs here don’t fully click for me.

When it comes to the lyrics … well, I don’t think they’re bad, I think I just don’t really understand them all that much. And yeah, I’ll admit that’s mostly me just not really taking the time to look into them much, but also I just don’t think the lyrics are all that amazing, at least on the surface. Again, I very well may be missing something.

I do like the semi-nihilist “Last Gasp” that doesn’t fall too far down that rabbit hole, and the vocals on that track are pretty strong, too.

But overall, this album just isn’t really for me. I guess I’ll give it a 6/10. Again, it’s mostly pleasant while it’s on, but I don’t think I’m going back to it anytime soon.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Not Going To Mars”, “Concrete Charlie”, “Last Gasp”
Least Favourite Track: “Luck Of The Draw”

Majordomo by Teenage Dads:

I first discovered this band from their 2023 single “Speedracer”, one of the songs on this album, which ended up being among my absolute favourite tracks of 2023, and I stand by that! And while this is their second album, it’s the first one I’ve listened to, and I was quite excited to hear this!

And I ended up really liking it! It’s kooky, it’s fun, it’s lightweight, and it nails all those vibes pretty much perfectly in a way that is different from anything else I’ve heard recently! And there are so many good choruses!

Unfortunately this album really doesn’t get off to a good start at all with “Boarding Pass” which sounds way too upbeat considering the song’s topic in which everyone is about to die. And look, that sort of thing can work … such as my favourite song from Post Malone’s new album, which I’ll talk about soon. But here it just feels like a parody, and it’s not even like the melodies or production are all that good.

But thankfully the rest of the album is so much better! And yeah, some of these tracks are totally ridiculous, such as “Spiders” which feels very influenced by “Spider In My Room” by Barenaked Ladies, another song which I think is great, but the arachnophobia really resonates with me as an arachnophobe myself, and the guitar solo at the end is killer!

And the production on this album is really strong, with lots of punchy snares, and the guitar sounds really good when paired with the basslines! I mean, a song like “Speedracer” is a perfect example, possibly still my favourite song on the album with just how joyful it sounds, and the way all the instruments just fit together perfectly!

And then there’s a song like “Live Until You Die” which might have one of the catchiest synth melodies I’ve heard all year, and that thick bassline is irresistible!

And “Boyfriend” might be the best song The Tragically Hip never made, although it’s a lot more of a pop song, and seriously, this song might have one of the best vocal performances I’ve heard all year! And on that topic, Jordan Finlay’s vocals throughout this whole album are fantastic!

Honestly, this would be in the absolute top tier of albums for me in 2024 if it weren’t for the fact that “Boarding Pass” is a legitimately bad track. Still, though, this is getting a 9/10, and I’ll absolutely have more to say about this record in a few months!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Speedracer”, “I Like It”, “Spiders”, “Moon”, “Live Until You Die”, “Boyfriend”, “The Commander”, “Tale of a Man”, “What It Feels Like”, “A Day in the Life of a No Good Pirate”
Least Favourite Track: “Boarding Pass”

3+5 by Melt-Banana:

This is my first time listening to an album by Melt-Banana, a very critically acclaimed noise rock band who I don’t actually think I’d heard of until this came out.

And I’ve got to say, this is quite an interesting listen! Right from the first track you can just tell this is going to be a really fun time with lots of intense instrumentation and lots of creativity, and that’s exactly what this is!

This album definitely doesn’t overstay its welcome, running for less than twenty-five minutes, and I think that’s fitting for an album like this. I mean, the songs are so fast-paced that I think it’s supposed to feel like it just breezes past.

I can’t tell what the lyrics are as I can’t really hear them and as far as I know they’re not posted online, so I can’t really comment on that. But as a sonic experience, this is unlike anything I’ve heard this year. The vocals are very high-pitched, and it sounds like there’s some sort of effect on the vocals as well, and it creates a very interesting contrast from the hard rock instrumentals, which are lathered with industrial noise and sharp synths that really hit that sweet spot that so many hard rock albums can’t quite reach for me.

From the blazing guitar of “Puzzle” to the pungent high-pitched synths of “Stopgap” to those awesome shots of instrumentation on “Hex”, this album is full of super punchy, hard-hitting moments that really wowed me! And that’s not to mention “Case D”, which will knock your socks off with its relentlessness!

This has to be one of the most creative albums I’ve heard all year, and it’s kind of hard to explain. It’s an album that needs to be heard to be understood. And honestly, I think it’s among my favourite albums of this year, and I expect I’ll be going back to this quite a bit. I feel like once I start to listen to this more and become more familiar with the songs, they’re going to be going through my head nonstop.

So, I’m gonna give this a strong 9/10! I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this, but man was it ever awesome! I highly recommend this album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Code”, “Puzzle”, “Case D”, “Stopgap”, “Scar”, “Hex”, “Seeds”
Least Favourite Track: “Flipside”

F-1 Trillion by Post Malone:

So, this is Post Malone’s country album, and honestly I can’t say I’m all that surprised at this point. It feels like Post Malone has changed genres so many times that at this point pretty much nothing would surprise me. I mean, he could make a hard rock album or even a metal album, and I don’t even know if I’d be all that shocked.

Anyway, I don’t really remember liking his album from last year all that much, and as I try to get back on track with my review schedule I decided not to take the extra time to relisten to that album, especially because I don’t remember it being all that good.

But anyway, I was curious to hear this, and … well, honestly the vast majority of this to me is just kind of bland and forgettable. Not bad, just not all that interesting. The sort of music that I can kind of appreciate as background music, but it’s just not really for me.

And really, there are only a handful of songs that I would say are exceptions to this, so I may as well go over each of them.

“Guy For That” is a pretty creative breakup song lyrically, with a really good Luke Combs feature, too, and I quite like the melodies on this track.

“Nosedive” is probably the best song on the album, with an optimistic view on life which really shines through with that great acoustic guitar, shiny chorus, and great Lainey Wilson feature! And the vocal harmonies on the chorus sound gorgeous! And the bridge really brings this song to another level! In fact, out of all the Post Malone songs I’ve ever heard, this might even be my favourite!

“California Sober” on the other hand is probably the worst song here, with the awful vocal layering and the storytelling which just doesn’t feel all that interesting. This song just doesn’t feel very fleshed out, and it’s honestly kind of annoying too with such a busy mix.

And look, there’s a very complicated discussion to be had about guns for another day—honestly it would be a lot simpler if no one had guns at all, which would be ideal, but I’m not going to get into that discussion right now—but as a sort of silly song toward the end of the album, I quite like “Hide My Gun” with the narrator asking his partner if she’d protect him from police if they knew he had a gun, because he doesn’t actually plan to kill anyone.

Aside from those tracks, this album is … fine. That’s about all I can say. I guess I’ll give it a light 6/10. The features are hit-or-miss and the melodies aren’t usually super strong, and the production often sounds messier than I would have liked. But still, there are a few good songs, and only one bad song, and even that one song isn’t awful.

But yeah, this definitely isn’t among my favourite country music of this year. Still, though, it was an interesting experiment, and I’d probably recommend checking it out.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Guy For That”, “Nosedive”, “Hide My Gun”
Least Favourite Track: “California Sober”

Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter:

Sabrina Carpenter has to be among the biggest breakout stories in mainstream pop music this year. And honestly, it took me a lot longer than you’d think to actually listen to “Espresso” or “Please Please Please”—in fact, I didn’t hear them until I listened to the album in full.

Anyway, my first introduction to Sabrina Carpenter wasn’t through her music, but the Disney TV Series Girl Meets World, which ran from 2014-2017. As someone who watched that show as a kid, I decided to rewatch it recently, and I think it’s a pretty good show that definitely pales in comparison to its predecessor, but Sabrina Carpenter’s character Maya Hart was arguably my favourite character in the show, mostly because her acting was so incredible. But from what I’d heard of her music, it really didn’t seem like my thing. I don’t remember liking her 2022 album at all, and thus I can’t say my expectations for this album were super high …

And honestly I was pleasantly surprised by the opening track “Taste” which has some really good vocal melodies, and Sabrina really pulls off the role of the viciously jealous ex, with the attitude of this song being really captivating. I do think the production could be a bit punchier, and thus I don’t quite think this is a great song, but it is really damn good.

And unfortunately the album as a whole is nowhere near as good. Look, I don’t think Sabrina is a bad singer, and in certain tracks she sounds really good with this production, but I can’t really say her vocals wow me all that much. But the bigger issue here is that the songwriting really isn’t all that special in my opinion.

To me this just feels like a bland pop album which really doesn’t have a whole lot to offer. Even putting aside how “Good Graces” sounds like a bad cross between Ariana Grande and Magdalena Bay—by the way, I will get around to reviewing that Magdalena Bay album soon—this album just feels boring.

And often it feels a little bit forced, too, with “Coincidence” oddly reminding me of “skinny dipping” from her 2022 album with how much it feels overly kooky in a way that really lacks any sort of personality. And then there’s “Bed Chem”, which … well, that title alone is a really weird phrasing, and it’s not the only line in the song where it feels like she’s trying too hard to make this song stand out—I mean, ‘come right on me, I mean camaraderie.’

And while I don’t think the production here is bad—although in points it is—it just doesn’t really give this the flashiness I think it’s aiming for in tracks like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please”, neither of which are particularly strong singles in my opinion, although the latter does at least have one of the better vocal performances on the album, and I like the lyrics in that track in which she really wants to trust her new partner but she knows she’s forcing that feeling of trust.

So, overall … well, I know this review sounds kind of harsh, I guess because it is. I don’t think this is a bad album, it just doesn’t really feel all that special or interesting. And thus I was going to give this a 5/10, but at least “Juno” is a great song, so I’ll bump it up a half point to a 5.5.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Taste”, “Please Please Please”, “Juno”
Least Favourite Track: “Good Graces”

Here in the Pitch by Jessica Pratt:

Jessica Pratt is one of those artists whose name I’ve heard a lot, and yet I’ve never actually taken the time to listen to one of her albums until now.

This album has been getting a lot of critical acclaim this year, and I decided to give it a shot, and my expectations were quite high considering all the praise it’s gotten …

But unfortunately this really didn’t do much for me at all. Maybe it’s just not really my style of music, but I feel like I’ve heard other similar albums that I really like.

But I can’t say the compositions really grip me all that much, and I’m not a huge fan of the airy production style here, as it distracts from the singer-songwriter folk vibes which I otherwise really like.

Jessica Pratt’s vocals here are good, but I don’t find the vocal production all that flattering, as it really makes this sound a lot more artificial, which I don’t typically like in this style of music.

Lyrically I wasn’t all that wowed by this. I mean, there might be more to it than I realize—as I usually say, I’m not the best at analyzing lyrics—but while I often like this kind of lyrics with the longing for past relationships, I just don’t find this all that unique personally.

And there’s not really a lot in the vocal melodies that I find interesting, and really that’s kind of my feelings on the entire album. There’s just not much about it that makes me want to return to it.

It’s not a bad album, and Jessica is a good singer, but I just can’t bring myself to give this a score higher than a 5.5/10, despite all the massive amounts of critical acclaim. I’m still curious to listen to some of Jessica Pratt’s other albums, but this one just didn’t really click. That’s all. At least it starts pretty strong with a couple good tracks, but from there on it just loses its momentum in my opinion and turns into some of the more boring folk music (or whatever you call this style of music) I’ve heard this year.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Life Is”, “Better Hate”, “Get Your Head Out”
Least Favourite Track: “World on a String”

Vermillion by Simone Simons (ft. Ayreon):

So, before I talk about the album itself, I know there’s no reason for me to point this out, but I find it kind of interesting how there is a featured artist listed for the whole album. I’m not saying it’s a good or bad thing, I’m just saying I don’t know if I’ve seen that before.

Anyway, to those of you who don’t know, Simone Simons, who has one of the best names in the music industry—yes, that is very much biased because my name is in it twice—is the lead singer of the famous symphonic metal band Epica. And as someone who listened through all of Epica’s albums for the first time earlier this year, I can’t say I’m a huge fan of them. I mostly like them, and there are a few songs here and there that really stand out to me, but I’ve never really loved a full Epica album.

Ayreon, on the other hand, I still have yet to really listen to at all, despite all the massive amounts of critical acclaim. And this reminds me I might to get on that soon. But anyway, I decided to give this album a shot. It’s officially Simone Simons’ debut solo album, and … well, it’s pretty strong!

I’m not going to say this is great, but I think I like it more than the vast majority of Epica albums. I mean, the production is stronger, with the drums having a lot more punch, and there are some really good vocal melodies, too! Although “R.E.D.” is slightly obnoxious at points, with it’s overblown production and chugging riffs which don’t really have a lot of power in my opinion.

But I think the album starts really strong with “Aeterna” and “In Love We Rust”, the former of which has some really interesting musical tension, and the latter of which has some of the best vocal melodies on the album.

And while the lyrics don’t seem super deep as far as I can tell, I do like the arc which seems to show the narrator trying to get a grasp on what one’s purpose in this world really is, and the melancholic ending is an interesting twist.

I do think sometimes the guitar riffs and drums can feel a bit generic, and some of the choruses don’t really land for me, such as “The Core” and “Cradle To The Grave”. But then there are moments like “The Weight of My World” with that awesome breakdown at the end of the chorus with that sick guitar solo, and the eeriness of “Dystopia” which is really amplified by the electronic elements. And overall, I think this is a really strong album for the most part, that probably tops every Epica album for me except for The Holographic Principle. I’ll give this a light 7.5/10! Really good stuff!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Aeterna”, “In Love We Rust”, “The Weight of My World”, “Dystopia”
Least Favourite Track: “R.E.D.”

Passage Du Desir by Johnny Blue Skies:

So, I’ve never really listened through Sturgill Simpson’s discography. I’ve heard a little bit of his music but that’s about it. But now he’s released this new album under a new name, and as someone who’s gotten into country music a lot more in the past few years, I was quite intrigued to hear this …

And I ended up really liking this! Sure, it’s not the most experimental or complicated country album as far as I can tell; it seems to mostly just be a bunch of country songs with a very classic style of writing, with the storytelling and almost a bit of a campfire song vibe, especially in a song like “Who I Am” … although it doesn’t go too far into campfire territory that it becomes a chore to get through.

And sometimes this album borders on indie rock, especially a song like “Right Kind of Dream”, with that prompting bassline and those pianos and strings which kind of remind me of early Arcade Fire. And there’s also the borderline psychedelic rock outro of the closing track which reminds me of Pink Floyd!

And he pulls off the classic country song quite well, too, like “If The Sun Never Rises Again” or “Scooter Blues” with really good melodies, descriptive lyrics, and vocals that really fit the production well!

I don’t think there’s much of a lyrical arc throughout this album, aside from the fact that there seem to be a lot of references to him performing under a new name, which makes me wonder if he’s going to release more albums as Johnny Blue Skies. But I do still really like a lot of the lyrics here, especially in “Jupiter’s Faerie” in which he tries to reach out to an old friend only to realize said friend has passed away, and it’s a devastating track. And I like how the album ends, with the narrator realizing he needs to move on from a relationship and he’s the one to blame for it not working out, and he just needs a fresh start and to make some improvements to himself.

Now, I will mention that I don’t think “Mint Tea” really works much for me. I mean, it’s a decent enough song, and it was interesting to hear a possible Taylor Swift reference in a country song—I mean, she was originally a country artist—but it kind of throws off the pacing of the album and it doesn’t have the best melodies.

But I do still really like this album a lot! There are some nice, chill tracks and also some long emotional tracks such as “Jupiter’s Faerie” and “One For The Road”, and the production is really nice and crisp. And while, again, I don’t think this is breaking boundaries for the genre or anything like that, I am a sucker for some good country jams, and this fits that bill for me! 8/10, great album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “If The Sun Never Rises Again”, “Scooter Blues”, “Jupiter’s Faerie”, “Right Kind of Dream”, “One For The Road”
Least Favourite Track: “Mint Tea”

your perfect hands and my repeated words by Sadness:

Sadness is the solo project of Damián Antón Ojeda, and while I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a full Sadness album, I’ve definitely seen a lot of the critical acclaim online, including for this album, one of two that Sadness put out this year (I haven’t heard the other one yet). So, I was quite curious to hear this album, even though I saw it described as shoegaze, which typically isn’t a genre I’m a huge fan of.

But I gave this a few listens, and … well, again, this style of music isn’t always my cup of tea, and thus to really click for me it’s typically gotta do a lot of things extremely well. And I’ll admit there’s a lot that I really like about this album.

I like the lyrics full of desire even though they feel a little bit sappy at points in a way which makes it a little harder to take seriously, and I feel pretty bad saying that because there seems to be a lot of genuine emotion in this. But still, when the atmosphere is so gorgeous in moments like “lowsun bridge”, it’s kind of hard for me to complain about that sappiness I mentioned.

But there are also moments where everything feels all washed out and overly dreamy, most notably in “spring flashes”, which is probably my least favourite track here.

Still, though, overall I thought this was a pretty strong album. Definitely nowhere near my favourite albums of the year or anything, and I wouldn’t even say it’s close to great, but I will give it a light 7/10, mostly because I can sort of understand why this might work for its audience, and there are some good moments here and there.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “pink clouds”, “lowsun bridge”
Least Favourite Track: “spring flashes”

Sunday Sadness by Amy Shark:

This is Amy Shark’s third studio album, and after listening to her first two recently (albeit not reading along with the lyrics, just listening in the background), I’m not really sure her music is for me.

And this album isn’t really doing a whole lot for me, either. The songs here just don’t really feel all that memorable, often feeling like they blend in with a lot of other albums in a similar style, with the acoustic guitars and melodic hooks which don’t really stand out to me, and the sort of percussion you’d often hear on an adult contemporary radio station.

I do think the production is mostly good here, even though some tracks like “Babe” have a really weird texture from the vocals and instrumentation not blending well at all, and that particular track has very underpowered drums. But still, I generally think the percussion sounds pretty good in the mix on most of this album, and the acoustic guitar timbres are pretty nice … even though, again, the compositions don’t really grab my attention much.

And there are a few decent hooks here, such as “It’s Nice to Feel This Way Again” with the kind of bouncy instrumental and what I think is really good vocal production, and “Beautiful Eyes” has a nice melody in the chorus.

And I quite like “My Only Friend”, which has some nice guitar and probably the most memorable hook on the album. I mean, I wish the instrumentation built a little bit more, but it’s still probably the closest thing this album has to a great song. On a side note, this is now the third Amy Shark album in a row to feature a blink-182 member, and it’s been a different member each time. Something tells me she’s a blink-182 fan.

Anyway, I think the album ends pretty well with one of her best vocal performances here on “Our Time Together”, and I especially like the outro with only vocals. But again, I just don’t think the album as a whole is all that memorable or interesting.

So, yeah, overall this is going to get a 6/10 from me. I mean, this sort of folk/adult contemporary/indie pop sound isn’t typically one that I really love, at least not if the melodies don’t stand out much to me, and in this case they don’t. But maybe you’ll like this more.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “It’s Nice to Feel This Way Again”, “Beautiful Eyes”, “My Only Friend”, “Our Time Together”
Least Favourite Track: “Babe”

Hello, everyone! Today I am doing something I have never done before on this website, a throwback list for a previous year. Today I am talking about the top ten worst hit songs of 2015. And I’ll soon be posting a best hit songs list for 2015 as well.

So, why 2015? Well, honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I knew I wanted to do a throwback list of the best and worst hits, and I decided if I chose a year in the 2010s or 2020s, I would already know a bunch of the songs that are eligible, thus making this take a lot less time than it otherwise would. But I do eventually plan to do these lists for other years, and I decided not to spend too much time thinking about which year to pick, so I just chose a year and moved on to work on the list.

So, what are the rules for what is eligible? Well, there are 92 eligible songs, all of which come from the 2015 Year-End Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the 8 songs which had already made the Year-End Hot 100 in the past not being eligible.

And overall, I do think 2015 was a below-average year for the charts. Not an awful year, but one which had a lot of bad songs which I felt tempted to put as dishonourable mentions … and speaking of which, I was going to stick with seven or eight dishonourable mentions, but I ended up putting nine of them here because there are so many bad songs that were eligible for this list, including some which didn’t even make the dishonourable mentions.

As always, this list is all just my opinion. I’m going to be quite harsh when talking about some of these entries, and I thought I’d let you know ahead of time. And while I genuinely think these songs are really bad, there is some exaggeration at points here and there.

I’m much more looking forward to making the best list, but for now, let’s start the dishonourable mentions (in randomized order), as I remind you of a bunch of songs you may have forgotten existed, probably for the better.

“GDFR” by Flo Rida (ft. Sage the Gemini & Lookas)

But this song you probably didn’t forget exists, at least I certainly didn’t, because I watch the NHL and constantly hear this getting played on the big speakers. Why? I have no fucking clue, because that drop sounds like absolute shit with that super annoying melody and the obnoxiously overpowering kick drum, and there’s nothing really all that special about this song in my opinion.

Neither Flo Rida nor Sage the Gemini have particularly good flows, and the lyrics are full of cringe, like that ‘Dubai’ pun in Flo Rida’s verse, and that not-so-subtle pun about beaches—we know what he was trying to say—and Sage the Gemini’s verse is probably even worse, with lines such as ‘girls get wetter than Katrina’ and ‘make you cough cough, that’s bronchitis.’

And if the song wasn’t bad enough as it is, the production doesn’t even make this work in a sports hype song way, which already doesn’t really work in my opinion with all the sex references—not the kind of song I’d want to listen to in order to get hyped for a big game.

So, yeah, in conclusion, this song sucks … not as bad as some of the songs I’ll talk about in this post, but still a shitty song regardless.

“Marvin Gaye” by Charlie Puth (ft. Meghan Trainor)

So, a lot of you are probably surprised this didn’t make the top 10 … and don’t get me wrong, it was close, but as cringey as it is hearing Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor trying to pull off this 60s sound with a song that pretty much ended up sounding like a parody of all the shitty music that’s gotten popular in the 2010s, at the end of the day it’s hard to get mad at a song like this.

Now, with that being said, this is probably one of the unsexist sex songs to ever become a hit, with the awful lyrics such as ‘Let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on’—yes, ‘Marvin Gaye’ is a verb in this song—and ‘Don’t keep your secrets to yourself, it’s Kama Sutra show and tell,’ and also the terrible production in which the vocal harmonies sound like Charlie and Meghan were intending to record different versions of the song that accidentally ended up as one version.

And it’s not even a song that I can like ironically … it’s not even particularly bad in a funny way, so while I’ve heard much worse songs than this, don’t think I’m saying this is good.

“Earned It” by The Weeknd

To make this list—even the dishonourable mentions—usually there has to be something notably bad about a song … but in the case of this song, it’s here simply because it’s so goddamn boring. Seriously, what is the appeal of this song?

And being incredibly boring and lacking in anything I find even the slightest bit interesting was the reason I almost put “Night Changes” by One Direction in the dishonourable mentions—unpopular opinion, I know—but at least on that song it felt like there was an attempt for an emotional track with a huge soaring chorus, even if I think it fails miserably. “Earned It”, on the other hand, might be one of the most dull and lifeless songs to make the year-end Hot 100 in the 2010s.

Even when he just makes a simple love song or sex song without any real depth, The Weeknd can at least give a good vocal performance, and usually his songs at least have some sort of good melody somewhere, and I’m saying this as someone who isn’t typically a huge fan of his music. But in this song he doesn’t even sound like he cares one bit, and it moves at such a snails pace. And the lyrics about a few hookups which might turn into a relationship feel like the sort of ‘storytelling’ which doesn’t have much of a story at all. I don’t think there’s any depth here, and when, again, the music is so dull and boring, I have no reason to care. So, at least in my books, the most dull and forgettable hit song award for 2015 goes to this song.

“Want to Want Me” by Jason Derulo

But at least I don’t still have to hear “Earned It” on the radio nonstop all these years later, unlike this song which sounds like a bad ripoff of Maroon 5’s “Sugar” and has one of the worst written choruses of any song eligible for this list.

I’ve never fully been able to figure out exactly why I find this song as annoying as it is, but it does feel overproduced like so many bad pop songs of its era, and I don’t really like listening to Jason Derulo’s falsetto, especially the extra vocals in the last chorus.

Maybe it’s partially just the overplay, but this is one of those songs which immediately makes me want to change the station every time it comes on.

“Only” by Nicki Minaj (ft. Drake & Lil Wayne & Chris Brown)

A lot of people hear Chris Brown on a song and immediately don’t want to listen to it simply due to Chris Brown’s presence, and understandably so considering all the awful things that he’s done. But while I have little to no respect for Chris Brown as a person, I’m willing to separate the art from the artist … and I think it can be easy to forget that he’s actually a bad singer, and even if he weren’t such an asshole, I’d still have no reason to want to listen to more of his music. And yeah, his chorus here isn’t very good, but he’s not even the worst part of this song.

Nicki’s verse here is probably the ‘best’ of the three, but that’s not really saying much. Her verse doesn’t really have anything all that notably good, but there are only a few really cringey lines and her flow is decent, I guess.

And then there’s Drake’s verse where he says he’s first in line to fuck Nicki Minaj when she doesn’t have a man anymore, and then mentions the possibility of fucking her in her car, presumably while she’s driving. And then he goes on to brag about how famous he is, and there’s just so much ego here that really doesn’t sit well with me, and his vocal delivery here is not good at all.

And then there’s Lil Wayne’s verse which starts with him saying he’d only fuck Nicki if she’s drunk, and then he says his girlfriend will ‘beat up a bitch if she wave,’ and then he makes a few really cringey puns like ‘Blood Gang, take the ‘B’ off behaviour’ and ‘my story is how I went from ‘poor me’ to ‘please pour me a drink and celebrate with me.’’ And he sounds like he’s falling asleep in his verse.

While I don’t like the creepy lyrics from Drake and Wayne about Nicki Minaj, it doesn’t feel as bad considering it’s Nicki’s song, and the eerie synths feel like they could have some potential, even though it’s totally wasted here. But I’m just trying to explain why this song didn’t end up in the top ten, I’m not saying this is good. 

“Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)” by Silentó

Alright, I’ll admit even I’m surprised this didn’t end up in the top ten. I’m pretty sure there’s a pretty significant percentage of people who would consider this the #1 worst hit song of 2015, and it’s the most obvious example of an ‘annoying’ song eligible for this list. It’s insanely repetitive, and it’s just Silentó mentioning a bunch of dances, most of which already exist, and asking you to watch him do all those dances, and there’s literally nothing more to it. It’s the epitome of everything annoying about all the viral dance songs from that era.

It seems like Silentó probably murdered his cousin a few years ago—he was arrested, I know that much—and it makes me feel a lot less like defending this song … but really, the song itself isn’t as bad as I remembered it being. Yeah, it’s annoying, and I wouldn’t listen to it unironically, but it is kind of hilariously bad at the same time, which is why I can’t bring myself to put it on the list. But even if we put aside his legal issues from a few years ago, this song just isn’t good at all, and the pure stupidity of it deserves a spot in the dishonourable mentions.

“Hotline Bling” by Drake

So, “Hotline Bling” came out during an era when the general critical consensus on Drake’s music was at least slightly positive … kind of. And I know there are a lot of critics who have defended this song over the years, and I’ve never understood why. I mean, who wants to listen to Drake guilt-trip an ex for leaving him for four minutes over a super boring instrumental with a kick drum that sounds godawful in the mix?

And it’s not even like he can pull off ‘playing the villain’ in his vocal performance here … I mean, he doesn’t even sound like he wants to be in the studio here, and the chorus is arguably one of the dullest in mainstream pop music of its era.

And it’s not even just boring, it honestly feels kind of gross, with Drake going on and on about how his ex totally still wants to fuck him despite having clearly moved on. And it’s even more bewildering as Drake seems to be the one who initially put a question mark on their relationship by moving away, and he criticizes her for travelling, and he even goes as far as to say she used to be a good girl because she stayed at home. Reminder this is 2015 we’re talking about.

And besides, the whole thing feels corny as hell, with the implied general premise that whenever his phone makes a noise it means she wants to have sex … especially considering this is Drake. When you’re that famous, I think there are a lot more things a notification could mean. Let’s just hope this song isn’t his phone’s ringtone, because it absolutely sucks.

“Nasty Freestyle” by T-Wayne

I think one of my least favourite types of hip hop is the dreary, sluggish kind when it sounds like the MC doesn’t give one shit about being there. And speaking of shit, ‘I’m the king of this shit, crown by the toilet’ is only one of many cringey jokes throughout this song—honestly, it feels like they show up in every line.

And again, it just feels like such a slog to get through, because there is no energy here or any sort of catchy hook or anything. It just feels like everything I don’t want to hear in a rap song.

And the rhyming here is terrible, including rhyming ‘peon’ with ‘peed on’. And even the instrumental has no life to it, with the gang vocals just feeling super awkward; at least if you’re aiming for such a dreary vibe, you may as well go all-in on that sound.

I haven’t heard anything else from T-Wayne aside from this, and as far as I know this is pretty much all he’s known for to the general public … and I’m not really sure I want to hear his other music, at least not if it’s anything like this.

“Jealous” by Nick Jonas

When I was a kid, I used to listen to a lot of Jonas Brothers music, and honestly I’m kind of curious to revisit those albums and see what I think of them now … I just hope they’re not like this, because “Jealous” is the kind of song that immediately makes me want to change the station every time it comes on the radio. You know those songs that just really get under your skin? This is one of those for me. And it’s not hard to explain why, considering how dickish the lyrics here are.

This is basically a song where Nick Jonas guilt trips his partner for other people hitting on her, at least that’s the way I hear it … yeah, he admits it’s not her fault, but the whole thing just feels so petty, especially when he goes on to criticize her for the outfits she wears in her social media posts, asking her to ‘save a little bit just for me.’ Come on dude, there’s a difference between cheating and wearing a sexy outfit.

And sometimes I can get behind a song with dickish lyrics, if there’s any sort of charisma or personality, and it depends on the framing of it all, but here it just feels like the narrator is painted as some really respectful guy who ‘just wants what’s best for his partner,’ and I don’t buy it for a second, and Nick Jonas has zero personality behind the mic on this track.

On top of all that, add a bunch of extra noises in the background that never go away, including a bunch of pitch-shifted vocals that sound really bad, and exactly the kind of production that I don’t like in a pop song, where the percussion totally overpowers everything, and the synths have such a goopy texture, not to mention the vocal layering … yeah, I want nothing to do with this.

…

So, that’s the end of the dishonourable mentions—yeah, I know, lots of bad music. And this brings up the question, how are there ten songs eligible for this list that are worse than all the ones we just talked about? Well, there are a bunch of reasons a song could end up on this list, and a bunch of reasons why a song might not quite make the list despite all the issues I have with it.

So, anyway, without further ado, let’s get into discussing the worst of the worst of popular music in 2015!

#10 …

So, this one is here for a pretty simple reason: IT’S ANNOYING!

Now, purely being ‘annoying’ most of the time will only get you so far—to land a high spot on a list like this, typically there has to be something else about it, even something really small, which gets on my nerves. But pure annoyance can still land you a spot on the list …

#10: “Worth It” by Fifth Harmony (ft. Kid Ink)

I feel like every year there are at least one or two songs like this that become a smash hit. And when I say ‘songs like this’ I’m referring to the kind of pop song with a very immediately annoying in-your-face chorus, and usually one with terrible production.

And this song is just a mess. None of the singers bring anything to the table here at all, the chorus is obnoxious as hell, the vocal production sounds like shit, and most notably there’s that godawful horn melody with a terrible timbre which repeats throughout the song, and then leads into a super awkward transition into the mainly synth-based beat—actually, no, I shouldn’t say that, because the synths are totally overpowered by the percussion which just makes this sound even clunkier.

And there are so many awkward transitions here. The chorus, the verses, and the pre-chorus all feel like they were written for different songs, and none of them are good at all.

It’s songs like this that just baffle me as to how they become so popular … and yeah, I know a lot of it comes down to radio play and a bunch of stuff that the general public has no control over … but is there actually a large audience who likes listening to this? And hey, if you’re in that audience, I’m not judging, I just don’t understand, and that’s fine.

But to me, this is just obnoxious as fuck, even more than a song like “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae”, a song which I can mostly just ignore if it’s playing in the background. This song is just so unpleasant to listen to. I can’t say I get the appeal, not even a little bit.

#9 …

So, there are songs like “Worth It” where you hear it and it’s instantly annoying … and then there’s a song like this one which, at first glance, seems like just another pop song … that is, until it starts revealing a bunch of things about itself one-by-one and you realize that the song really sucks.

#9: “Riptide” by Vance Joy

I haven’t really heard very much of Vance Joy’s music, but based on the small amounts that I have heard, I can’t say I’m in any rush to listen to more of it.

Originally I was on the fence about whether or not “Riptide” would even make the dishonourable mentions. I mean, I knew I didn’t like this song at all and actually thought it was pretty bad, but was it bad enough to get a mention here?

Well, I can understand the argument that it’s just yet another boring, generic ‘indie folk’ song destined to cross over and become a mainstream hit despite not having any real substance to it. And yeah, to some extent that’s what it is … and it’s kind of the reason this ended up making the top ten; in a lot of ways this feels like the epitome of annoying pop songs with major campfire sing-along vibes, with how little there is here that I find even the slightest bit appealing.

And the more I listen to it, the more this song gets on my nerves. At part of it is because it just feels so quickly thrown together. It doesn’t sound like the kind of song that had a lot of effort put into it. I mean, maybe it did, but I doubt it.

The lyrics just feel so … random. And not in a fun, charming way where it adds to the mystery of the song, more in the way that it feels like I’m supposed to hear this as some sort of super creative piece of art, and to me it just feels like the references and hyperbole are here to make you remember the song, and not to really add to it artistically.

I mean, if the intention was to confuse the listener and make them wonder what the hell this is about, I guess it kind of succeeds? Sort of? But honestly I think it gets worse, because this seems to be a song about dating someone ‘dangerous’, who’s been ‘taken away to the dark side,’ and while it’s not specific about exactly what makes this person so reckless, the glamorization of it feels kind of questionable, and his biggest concern with his partner is that she’s going to sing the wrong words to a song.

And even sonically there’s a lot about this that I don’t like. The ukulele doesn’t even sound like it’s been tuned properly, and it just ends up repeating the same chords over and over again, without any really strong vocal melodies to make it compelling. And the production isn’t even flattering, with the vocals sounding like they were produced for a different song. And not to mention those annoying ‘ooh’s in the pre-chorus.

But the thing that’s always annoyed me about this song is the chorus. It sounds so dreary, and it has a really bad melody, and the group vocals turn the campfire song vibes up to eleven. And the chorus is also the part of the song where the instrumentation is the busiest; and when it sounds so sloppily put together, that’s not a good thing.

So, please, as a society, can we choose a new song to teach every beginner on the ukulele? Anything but this?

#8 …

“Take Your Time” by Sam Hunt isn’t on this list. Yeah, I considered giving it a dishonourable mention—it was certainly close—but I can’t say I hate that song as much as a lot of people do. I get why people hate it, because the lyrics feel pretty creepy and manipulative—although it’s not as blatant as some songs, and yes, that’s why a lot of people have issues with it, because of the ‘nice guy’ vibes which I also don’t really buy, but he seems to be showing at least some respect for the woman in that song, even if just the bare minimum.

Now, this song is more annoying than anything, and it doesn’t have the moral issues that “Take Your Time” does, but if you want to know the Sam Hunt song that I personally dislike more …

#8: “House Party” by Sam Hunt

I’ve mentioned many times that I’ve gotten way more into country music in recent years, although there are exceptions. This song specifically, however, barely even feels like a country song.

First things first, sonically this feels like a blatant ripoff of Taylor Swift’s “22”, which I think is a much better song, and this pisses all over “22”’s grave. But whereas “22” is simply just a fun party anthem, “House Party” honestly feels a little bit creepy—maybe not as much as “Take Your Time”, but still, when Sam Hunt offers to go to this woman’s house for a ‘house party’, it’s pretty obvious what he actually means. And no, that’s not an assumption, it’s in plain sight all over the lyric sheet. And it kind of seems like she’s not really into it, although that’s where we come back to the conversation about interpretations of lyrics, and it gets really complicated because art is hard to untangle sometimes. But this still feels kind of icky to me.

And like with the previous two songs on the list, this song has a very annoying chorus. The percussion is clunky, the vocal production doesn’t fit at all with the instrumental, and the whole thing feels like it’s supposed to be a fun, epic club jam, and it’s just so underpowered.

Look, I can get behind stupidity in pop music, but this isn’t fun or interesting, and to me it sounds kind of like a cross between Taylor Swift’s “22” and Tom Cochrane’s “Life Is a Highway” but gone to complete shit.

#7 …

But on the topic of country party songs that I don’t think work at all …

#7: “Kick the Dust Up” by Luke Bryan

So, I’ve never really liked most of what I’ve heard by Luke Bryan, but “Kick the Dust Up” is on an entirely different level of embarrassing. I mean, it’s hard to even be mad about a song like this, because it’s just so ridiculous.

But I think the real reason this landed as high as it did here is because it feels like a bad representation of one of my favourite genres: country music.

Now, that’s maybe not entirely fair, but this feels like the epitome of why so many people neglect all country music. I mean, even putting aside the godawful mixing with the really out of place synths as well as the horribly produced clapping percussion in the chorus, as well as the clunky percussion in the verses … well, this song has pretty much every country cliché you can imagine, as Luke Bryan tries to convince you that this is a fun party anthem, and it fails on pretty much every level.

I mean, I already mentioned how this sounds like shit, but at least in my books it doesn’t feel like there’s any creativity here, and at least if there is, it’s from the most random things that somehow still feel generic, like turning the cornfield into a party.

And it’s also worth mentioning I’ve never been a huge fan of Luke Bryan as a singer. I mean, I don’t think he’s a bad singer in general, but I feel like his vocals have never fully clicked for me, and he sounds like he’s trying way too hard on this track, and he doesn’t really sound like he’s having that much fun.

I don’t really know if there’s a better word to describe this song than ‘embarrassing’ … I genuinely wonder how this became a thing.

#6 …

I feel like this song kind of falls under a similar umbrella of ‘embarrassment’. Because one of the things that can annoy me the most in a song is when it seems like the artists have a totally different idea of the vibe the song gives off than it actually does. I mean, this is the third song out of five on this list that I think does this.

“Riptide” sounds like it’s supposed to be super deep and yet I don’t think there’s much to it at all, and “Kick the Dust Up” feels like it’s supposed to be a really fun song to blast at a party and I think it’s more cringe than anything. And this song aims for a completely different vibe but still fails all the same …

#6: “She Knows” by Ne-Yo (ft. Juicy J)

One thing I don’t think any sex song that’s actually trying to be sexy should have is farting horn sounds … in fact, I don’t really know any kind of song that should have those. It really kills the vibe for me, and in this song it’s far from the only thing that does so.

I mean, first of all, the song opens with a Juicy J verse which is honestly nearly as bad as his verse in “Dark Horse”—yeah, that’s right, I said it—and the vocal production isn’t good at all, sounding super awkward over that really bad synth melody. I mean, the ‘kill that pussy like my name Jack the Ripper’ line just reminds me of the ‘Jeffrey Dahmer’ line in “Dark Horse”. And then he goes on to say ‘Baby, I’m horny and I ain’t too proud to beg, instead show me the bed, early morning breakfast and head.’ I mean, even putting aside the awful rhyming, the line ‘Baby, I’m horny’ just feels overly to-the-point; it’s hard to explain, but doesn’t it just feel a little awkward?

And then there’s that awkward transition into the pre-chorus with the synths that sound really badly blended in with the other instruments.

And the chorus is really bad as well. I don’t like the backing vocals just repeating ‘she knows’ over and over again, and the annoying horns continue throughout pretty much the entire song. Oh, and I haven’t mentioned that baby noise which totally kills the vibe as if the vibe hadn’t been killed already.

And then Juicy J comes back and raps lines like ‘ain’t no I in team, but I got my eyes on you’ and ‘all that cake, come get you some filling.’

And it’s not even like there are any real strong melodies in this song in my opinion, and the percussion feels too snappy to fit with the sort of laid-back, hazy vibe.

And I have to wonder what the point of this song even was. I mean, Ne-Yo is going on and on about how hypnotized he is by this girl, and so is everyone else, and he’s hoping to win her over … but Juicy J’s verse at the start has him talking about having a foursome, and it doesn’t seem related at all to the song’s topic.

I don’t know, songs like these just feel like they were made to sell copies, and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s actually the case with this one. At least to me, this is a worthless dumpster fire of a song that really shouldn’t have become a hit … but hey, I guess that’s how you sell records, isn’t it?

#5 …

Alright, so despite how much critics love to hate this band, this seems to be one of their few mainstream hits of the past decade and a half that seems to have gotten a … somewhat positive reception from critics? And I’ve never understood why.

I mean, even on the surface I think this is an annoying piece of pop garbage that has basically zero reason I could understand anyone wanting to listen to it. But when you actually look into it a bit more, there are reasons it’s landing this high on the list.

#5: “Sugar” by Maroon 5

I’ve never really loved a Maroon 5 song that I’ve heard. It’s worth mentioning I mostly just know their hits, but it’s still not a good sign when they have that many hits and I think the best ones are ‘pretty good’, and most of them are awful. And ‘most of them’ definitely includes “Sugar”, which might even be the worst of them all.

This song has got the same awful falsetto from Adam Levine, the overprocessing of the vocals, and some of the cheesiest lyrics you’ll find on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. And look, some of the melodies could have worked in a different context, but it just feels awkward over this kind of instrumental.

And I kind of feel like every time I listen to this song, I notice something more about it that annoys me. There are so many annoying moments here, from the breaths at the start to that awful ‘ooh baby’, and the specific ways Adam sings so many of the words here, and the robotic effect on the vocals just makes it all the more awkward, especially in that godawful chorus. And while the mixing isn’t awful overall, the overpowered low-end in the chorus does feel quite distracting.

And there are so many cringy lines here. I mean, the chorus is basically as cheesy as pop music gets, and it’s not like the rhymes really have any charm to them.

But then there’s the bridge … and that’s where this song annoys me the most. I mean, even putting aside the super cringey lines like, ‘Girl, you’re hotter than a Southern California day,’ and ‘I want that red velvet, I want that sugar sweet. Don’t let nobody touch it unless that somebody’s me,’ the narrator then goes on to harass this person, asking not to ‘give me all that shy shit,’ and any sense of romance this song was supposed to convey goes out the window. And then Adam suddenly, out of nowhere, mentions ‘no makeup on.’ I mean, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating someone for not wearing makeup, nor is there anything wrong with celebrating someone for wearing makeup … but it just feels kind of weird? Maybe it’s just because of the misogyny that the rest of the bridge conveys making me feel like this other line is supposed to represent more misogynistic bullshit, and maybe that’s not totally fair of me … but I can’t deny that it feels a little bit ignorant.

Either way, the song sucks. And when it feels like it’s about to end, of course they had to add another chorus with all those extra backing vocals from Adam Levine for good measure.

I feel like this should have been the moment Maroon 5 stopped having hits … and, well, I don’t think they’ve had many songs as big as this one since. So, I guess we’ll take that as a win?

#4 …

This one kind of snuck up on me. I originally thought it was going to barely sneak into the top 10, but honestly the more I listened to and even thought about this song, I realized just how bad it is.

#4: “Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh)” by Rich Homie Quan

I mean, this might kind of be the point of this list as a whole, but you know those songs that are just super unpleasant to listen to? Because this song soured on me really quickly while I was preparing for this list, and I never even liked it in the first place, not even close.

And I don’t even know what to say about a song like this. I mean, I can say a few things, like how annoying the ‘ooh ooh ooh’s are in this song, and how he’s bragging about not having to flex while flexing for the entire song, and that this song is full of clichés nonstop. Oh, and there’s also that line about giving someone drugs so she’ll want to have sex.

This whole song is just so unpleasant, and that’s the best word that comes to mind when describing this. I mean, even aside from the lyrics, there’s nothing here that I find at all appealing, and it’s mostly obnoxious, with the overly loud trap snare, and the fact that Rich Homie Quan doesn’t even sound the slightest bit interested in recording this song. And that bassline is really annoyingly repetitive, too.

Again, this one just doesn’t give me much to say. I don’t wanna talk about this one anymore.

EDIT: I didn’t realize when I first posted this list that Rich Homie Quan tragically passed away shortly before this list went public. I apologize for not acknowledging that when I posted this. It doesn’t change my feelings on the song, but if I’d have known I definitely would’ve written this segment differently. Rest In Peace, Rich Homie Quan. Gone way too soon : (

#3 …

So, it’s kind of hard for me to describe how I rank a list like this. Because I feel like this song doesn’t have the same ‘obvious’ problems that those last few songs I mentioned have. And honestly, when it comes to which song I’d least want to listen to between this and some of the songs I’ve already mentioned, honestly I’m not even sure. And look, it’s not like this song is even ‘problematic’ or anything—at least the song itself, that is; the artist has gotten in some huge controversy in recent years, and I am not knowledgeable enough about that whole situation to really comment on it, and besides, this list is about the music.

The point I’m trying to make is … well, you ever hear a song that just sounds like shit?

#3: “Elastic Heart” by Sia

So, one thing I’ve never liked is empowerment anthems which don’t have any real muscle, and this is a prime example of that.

I’m not super familiar with Sia’s music—in fact I only know a few songs of hers—but it seems like she’s probably not very good at making empowerment anthems, because I don’t really like any of the empowerment anthems I’ve heard from her, unless you count “Chandelier”, but that’s more of an openly toxic tragic tale than anything, even though it may seem like an empowerment anthem on the surface.

And look, I like “Chandelier”; I don’t love it, pretty much entirely because of the mixing in which the vocals are way too quiet, but the melodies are strong, the percussion has some real punch to it, and Sia’s vocals are fantastic! But “Elastic Heart” lacks pretty much everything that makes “Chandelier” a good song.

For one, it’s kind of shocking how much worse the vocals are in this song. But I guess it makes sense when you think about it; when the vocal performance is this ‘out there’, like in “Chandelier” as well, unless you absolutely nail it, it’s gonna sound rough. And she hits every note amazingly well in “Chandelier”, whereas here … well, I don’t even know what to say. And I feel bad criticizing vocals, but I do believe any singer can be a good singer, I just think this sounds overly forced.

And the production is a mess. The percussion is way too busy, with those godawful hi-hats in the chorus, and the shuffling groove just sounds so awkward, especially with those repeated backing vocals which make me want to rip my ears off. And the shots of percussion right before the chorus are really clunky.

Also, this might be a total nitpick, but I find it a little weird how she’s describing her heart as being ‘like a rubber band’ as if that’s supposed to be empowering. I mean, aren’t rubber bands really delicate? And the rhyming isn’t very strong, and the production sounds way too dreamy and atmospheric to give this any real punch.

It just feels like the pinnacle of a category of pop songs which flooded the charts throughout the 2010s and took away spots that could have gone to much better songs. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain fully, because this song ‘shouldn’t’ be the worst thing ever … but it really does suck if you ask me.

#2 …

I don’t think this pick is going to surprise anyone. I mean, a lot of people would consider this the worst hit song of 2015. And honestly, it was a close race between the top 2; it really could have gone either way. And we’ll get to talking about the other song soon, but I feel like this song has pretty much everything wrong with it that all the songs we’ve already talked about do …

It’s got the obnoxiousness of “Worth It”, the feeling of faux-depth like “Riptide”, the terrible attempt at romance of “House Party”, the level of embarrassment of “Kick the Dust Up”, the farting horns of “She Knows”, the insane level of cheese as in “Sugar”, the endless annoying musical moments like in “Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh)”, and the total butchering of an empowerment anthem like in “Elastic Heart”. And it’s all packaged into one absolute shitshow of a song …

#2: “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor

I mean, I don’t even think I have to explain this one. Come on, it’s “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor, it should need no explanation. Basically every music critic who’s covered 2015’s pop music has torn this one to shreds already. What can I really add to the conversation?

This might be one of the worst female empowerment anthems to ever become a hit. I mean, even calling it a female empowerment anthem feels wrong. Honestly, this song is completely sexist toward men, and to anyone who would call this song feminism, I think you need to seriously rethink what feminism is.

I don’t even know where to start with this song. I guess I can start by talking about how godawful this song sounds. “Marvin Gaye” was a terrible attempt at a throwback sound, but by comparison that song sounds like a timeless classic. I’m not even going to try to describe the instrumental of this song, it sounds like absolute shit and there’s no point in me even analyzing it.

And yeah, the vocal melodies suck, and the excess backing vocals turn the level of obnoxious up to eleven. But really, this is mostly here for the lyrics.

Even if we put aside how problematic the lyrics are, they’re also just really badly written and cringey. For example, ‘I never learned to cook, but I can write a hook.’ And then there’s the infamous line, ‘I’ll be sleeping on the left side of the bed. Open doors for me and you might get some … kisses’ … that is, right before telling her future husband not to have a dirty mind, and to ‘just be a classy guy’ … and meanwhile she’s listing off this demanding checklist of exactly how her future husband should treat her, including saying he should apologize after every fight, even if she’s the one who’s wrong … but she’s never wrong, is she?

I mean, this is a blatantly toxic song, in which the narrator is trying to entice men into a super one-sided relationship, and what else is there to even say about this song? It’s not even like it’s stupid in a fun way or anything. At least a song like “Jealous” by Nick Jonas kind of feels like a wallow in one’s own problems, if you really strain your ears … and also, while that song’s instrumental is not good at all, it’s not as obnoxious as this one. But yeah, this song has no depth to it or anything, it’s just a blatantly sexist piece of garbage which only became a hit because … well, who even knows? I think we’ve known the charts are broken for decades now, haven’t we?

#1 …

But alright, at the end of the day, “Dear Future Husband” is kind of a silly song. I mean, yeah, it feels like the framing makes it seem like it’s actually trying to send a message, but do I actually think Meghan was intending that? I mean, not really. It doesn’t really feel like a super serious song, it feels more like a silly joke song that was terribly thought out …

This on the other hand, is problematic on so many levels …

#1: “Ayo” by Chris Brown & Tyga

Alright, we’ve reached the end of the worst hit songs of 2015, and I’m looking forward to making the best list. Unfortunately there’s still one more song to talk about, and it’s the one that pisses me off the most out of every song eligible for this list.

I mean, on the topic of blatant sexism, if you think “Dear Future Husband” is bad, wait until you hear “Ayo”. Even if we separate the art from the artist and ignore all the legal issues both of these guys have gotten into—which is kind of hard to do considering all the misogyny splattered all over this piece of crap disguised as a song—this is an absolute mess, which just feels really gross and off-putting.

And look, when it comes to misogyny in music, it’s a complicated discussion which I don’t feel totally qualified to comment on. I think YouTuber Sean Fay-Wolfe of Diamond Axe Studios Music made a really good point about this in 2020 when discussing the worst hit songs of 2013, in the segment about “Love Me” by Lil Wayne featuring Drake & Future, saying that when it comes to objectification of women, while it’s absolutely a huge problem in real life, he can usually tolerate it in music … although there are exceptions when it goes too far.

And to me, “Ayo” feels like one of those exceptions. The whole thing just feels really icky with how Chris Brown and Tyga are going on and on about how many bitches they’re fucking with the framing feeling like they don’t give a shit about them as people, and then Chris Brown is stealing your girl, and I don’t even want to go on and on listing all the awful lines in this song, but I may as well mention some of them, such as how Tyga implies that he’s so hot that all the lesbians want to have sex with him, and Chris Brown BRAGGING ABOUT NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO PEDESTRIANS WHILE DRIVING.

And there’s also ‘We in the hood, tatted like a Mexican,’ and ‘My hobby’s her body, that pussy’s my lobby,’ and ‘If it don’t make dollars, don’t make sense.’ And I can’t not mention the line where Chris Brown specifically says he’s trying to fuck Coco Austin, who is married by the way. I mean, as long as it’s consensual, and as long as she’s not unfaithful, then who am I to judge, but this line does feel really creepy. And then there’s that line about Chris Brown’s time in anger management rehab in which he borderline dismisses it as being unimportant despite the fact that it was his own shitty actions that got him there.

I mean, I could go on and on about this song, but what’s the point? Sonically it’s not much more than a generic piece of pop garbage. I mean, it’s not even the worst sounding song eligible for this list, although it might be close. The vocal melodies are annoying, and neither artist has any sort of charisma behind the mic here, and the percussion is way too loud. So, yeah, it sounds like shit, but not in an interesting way.

I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to listen to this. Instead I can think of a shitload of reasons why I never want to hear this again. Fuck this horrible excuse for a song.

…

Alright, we’re finally done. As always, this was all just my opinion. Feel free to comment your list down below. I’m all out of words to say right now, so I’ll just say thanks for reading, and I’ll be back soon with the best list, as well as some more reviews of new albums.

Hello, everyone! I’m back with more mini reviews! These are mostly reviews I started working on months ago, and now after this I will be (mostly) caught up on the reviews I wanted to have posted back in May or June.

I’ll admit I’ve barely been working on reviews over the past two months, partially because I’ve just felt more like listening to music I already know and love, but also because I’ve been very busy with work, and then I went away on a trip, and my family is in the process of moving, and I’ve also had COVID twice recently which definitely made me feel less motivated to work on reviews. But I’m feeling a lot more motivated now and will try to get back to regularly posting reviews … I guess we’ll just see how much catching up I have to do, as there are so many albums that came out months ago that I still want to review.

Anyway, here are 15 mostly half-assed mini reviews from a while back that I am finally posting now!

Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity by Saidan:

Saidan made one of my favourite albums of 2022, and going into this new album I decided to check out their debut from 2021 which I ended up really liking but not quite loving.

But relistening to their 2022 album, I’m surprised I don’t go back to it more. I mean, it is a very difficult listen, which probably explains it. The subject matter is very heavy, with a lot of lyrics about trauma and abuse, and while it’s hard to hear the lyrics it still makes it a difficult album to go back to a lot even though it’s super powerful.

But I was very curious to hear this new album of theirs … and it kind of feels like more of the same, to some extent. Although I didn’t notice as much of a lyrical arc throughout the album, and the lyrics feel a little more cryptic. I will admit I very well could be missing something, but I don’t love the lyrics here as much as their 2022 album, even though they’re still heartbreaking and fit well with the music.

And speaking of which, I don’t love the melodies here as much, even though the album is very well produced with the bass sounding awesome in the mix and the guitars and drums complementing each other very well! But still, it just doesn’t feel as memorable as their previous album, which to me doesn’t say as much about this album as it does that one.

So overall, I still think this is a great album—I’ll give it a 9/10—but it’s not on the level of its predecessor. Still a recommendation, though!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Genocidal BloodFiend”, “Desecration of a Lustful Illusion”, “Switchblade Paradise”, “Veins of the Wicked”, “Tears Seeping Through Beautiful Agony”
Least Favourite Track: “Sick Abducted Purity”

Under Crumbled Stairs by Lussuria:

Here’s an instrumental ambient album I found when searching for ambient albums from this year, and while it hasn’t been getting a ton of traction, the ratings I did see for it are mostly positive.

And after listening to it a few times … well, it’s certainly experimental and creative. There are some eerie moments here, and it doesn’t feel nearly as ‘musical’ as it should considering it’s not just a ‘noise’ album and there are some actual melodies. And I think that may have been an intentional artistic decision to make this not sound as ‘musical’ as it ‘should’, and either way it certainly leads to an intriguing listen.

But a lot of this just isn’t really doing much for me. There are some moments that I like such as those sharp synths on the title track, but overall I think it’s an album I respect a lot more than I like.

If you’re looking for a unique ambient album, I would recommend this, but it’s just not really for me. 5.5/10

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Human Ruins”, “Cetomba”, “Under Crumbled Stairs”
Least Favourite Track: “Head of the Modernist”

Funeral for Justice by Mdou Moctar:

This is my first time listening to an album by Mdou Moctar, although I’ve heard of them before, and they’ve been getting a lot of critical acclaim, including for this new album.

The lyrics are in Tamasheq, and the only language I know is English, and I couldn’t find most of the lyrics when I looked for them, so I can’t really comment on the lyrics. Although I’ve heard this is quite political.

And there are some interesting musical ideas here, and some moments I really like such as the intensity of the opening title track, and “Oh France” has some really nice punchy drums and an awesome groove!

Overall, the grooves here are pretty strong, and the production and mixing combines the instruments really well together to give this a pretty tight sound that I really like!

I wouldn’t say I’m totally blown away by this album, but I still ended up liking it quite a bit, enough to get a 7/10 from me! Really good album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Funeral for Justice”, “Tchinta”, “Oh France”
Least Favourite Track: “Modern Slaves”

Frog In Boiling Water by DIIV:

This is the fourth studio album by this band whom I’d never heard of until this album came out, and it’s their first in over four years.

And it’s the kind of shoegaze/dreamy alt-rock which I mostly like but don’t feel all that drawn to go back to.

The drums have some nice punch to them, and the bass really complements the main guitar melodies quite well, and overall I like the mixing. And there are some really strong tracks here, such as “Somber The Drums” which kind of sounds a bit reminiscent of Interpol’s debut album. And the following “Little Birds” has some of the most fascinating lyrics here and really awesome, dreamy vocal production!

But something feels missing here and I can’t fully figure out what … maybe I just wish there were more standout choruses, or maybe a little more variety in the sound. And also, a lot of these tracks, while quite good, don’t really feel all that memorable to me and don’t really make me want to go back to this album.

Before I give this a rating, I’m going to say something a little bit off-topic: when I first heard “Soul-net” my first time listening through this album, I legitimately had to check if I had autoplay on because I was sure I had heard this song before. And I don’t mean that as a bad thing—I do like this track. Anyway, feel free to let me know if you have an idea of what song this might be reminding me of. I feel like it’s something from an album I reviewed this year.

But anyway, time for a rating … I’ll go with a 7/10. It’s a good album, but not a great one in my opinion.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “In Amber”, “Everyone Out”, “Somber The Drums”, “Little Birds”, “Soul-net”
Least Favourite Track: “Raining On Your Pillow”

Night Reign by Arooj Aftab:

This is my first time listening to an album by Arooj Aftab, but I saw it getting a lot of critical acclaim, and thus I was pretty excited to hear it …

And unfortunately it’s not really for me. Part of it might be the language barrier (because the only language I know is English), which obviously isn’t a criticism of the album and is just a me thing, but it does hold me back from liking this more.

But the music itself often feels very forgettable to me. Arooj Aftab is a good singer, and her vocals are quite possibly my favourite thing about this album, especially with the great vocal production which sounds gorgeous with the rest of the instrumentation. But there’s just not a lot melodically that stands out to me much, and it feels like it’s relying too much on subtle details.

I’d recommend giving this album a chance if you haven’t yet, and the production is mostly good, but it’s just not doing much for me personally. I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Na Gul”, “Saaqi”, “Zameen”
Least Favourite Track: “Last Night Reprise”

Umbilical by Thou:

This metal band has been active since the 2000s, although it’s my first time listening to an album of theirs.

And I’d probably describe this as death metal, which isn’t usually a genre I’m a huge fan of, but I saw this getting a lot of critical acclaim …

And like a lot of music in this style, it’s just not really doing a lot for me. There aren’t a lot of standout melodies to me, and it’s got a bit of a messy sound that keeps it from hitting a lot harder.

There are some moments that I like, such as the crushing production of “Emotional Terrorist”, and “Panic Stricken, I Flee” has some really interesting production which buries the vocals in the mix but it still feels really hard-hitting!

And while I’m not entirely sure what the lyrics are about, some of them do intrigue me, a lot of which seem very philosophical, possibly about some of the potential negative implications of thinking too much about deep philosophical questions.

But overall, I don’t see any reason for me personally to go back to this anytime soon. It’s not bad, but I just can’t really say it’s for me. 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Emotional Terrorist”, “Unbidden Guest”, “Panic Stricken, I Flee”
Least Favourite Track: “I Return as Chained and Bound to You”

strain LP by betesk:

This is one of three albums betesk has released in 2024, and it was the second of the three to be released. I reviewed the other two, the first one being Focus. This artist is pretty obscure and I just randomly found that album online and decided to listen to it and review it, and it was the kind of sound collage that I respected way more than I actually liked it. But it made me curious to hear more, and I was surprised how much I ended up really liking the first of the three albums betesk released this year, lava operation.

So, I was curious to hear this one as well …

And as I expected, if I were to rank all three albums from favourite to least favourite, this one would go right in the middle.

I think the mixing is pretty strong here, and there are some moments where I really like the crisp percussion, such as “that type of timing”. But this also just feels more messy and less cohesive than lava operation, and some of the higher frequency sounds can be a little annoying, such as on “massive props” and especially “trouble”.

I don’t dislike this album, but it just doesn’t give me a whole lot to say. I mean, it’s a sound collage album, and that’s not really a style that usually appeals to me. I do think this is decent, it’s not like I find it annoying or anything. And there’s enough experimentation here that, like with Focus, I can see it working for a lot of people if they give it a chance, but while I like it more than that album, it doesn’t really feel like it all coalesces into more than just a bunch of experimental ambient tracks, a few of which I like but none of which really make me want to go back to them.

I would recommend giving this album a shot. I think it’s kind of a fascinating listen in ways that are hard to describe, and it’s also pretty short, running for under a half hour, but I just can’t say it’s for me.

I’m giving this a 6/10.

[Note: When trying to find the album cover for this album, I couldn’t find it, and the Bandcamp page that this was on seems to have been deleted. So, I’m not sure if this album is still available to listen to. But I decided to keep the review anyway. Also, that is part of the reason I didn’t make a main image for this post … the other reason is because I was being lazy.]

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “cog behavioral”, “continuumm”, “pitch black”, “that type of timing”
Least Favourite Track: “massive props”

For What It’s Worth by Corey Lingo:

This is the debut album from Corey Lingo, an artist I’d never heard of until this came out. And it’s been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim …

And I’m kind of surprised by how much acclaim this has been getting considering it’s a style of music that critics often seem to really not like, with the autotuned vocals and the very radio-ready sound to the instrumentals.

But I don’t think this is bad. In fact, I think I like it more than I don’t. I mean, there are definitely flaws here in my opinion, with a lot of these songs sounding very generic, and a few of them feeling pushy lyrically, but there are some good melodies here and I actually like the way the autotune adds to the vibe. And the percussion sounds really good in the mix!

Maybe it’s mostly nostalgia for listening to this kind of music on the radio, but I actually kind of like this. 6/10, and “Time Will Tell” is a great song!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Time Will Tell”, “Skyfall”, “I Got You”, “Fell So Deep”
Least Favourite Track: “Look What You’ve Done”

The Dream of Delphi by Bat for Lashes:

This is the sixth studio album by Natasha Khan who releases music under the name Bat for Lashes. And it’s the first album of hers that I’ve listened to.

And I think it’s an album I respect a lot more than I like. This album was written in large part about Natasha’s daughter who was born a few years ago, and while I respect that a lot and I think these songs are well crafted, it’s just not really doing a whole lot for me.

The production is peaceful and haunting at the same time, and while I get why that could work, to me it just doesn’t feel all that interesting and just makes me wish there were more standout melodies or lyrics.

I mean, there aren’t a lot of lyrics on this album, and when the vibe of the music doesn’t hit the right sweet spot for me personally, I’m just left feeling underwhelmed. I like some moments such as the simplicity of “Christmas Day”, and the closing track is quite pretty as well. But again, I respect the album more than I like it. I’m going to give this a 7/10 as I do mostly still like this, but I don’t love it and I doubt I’ll be going back to it much.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Christmas Day”, “At Your Feet”, “The Midwives Have Left”, “Waking up”
Least Favourite Track: “Home (Single Version)”

Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain by Raveena:

This is my first time listening to an album by Raveena, and this album has been getting a lot of critical acclaim.

And while I like a lot of the silky smooth production, and Raveena is a good singer, a lot of the vocal melodies don’t really stick for me, and the fantastical imagery really could use more memorable compositions for the writing to really shine through.

But there are some moments that I really like, such as JPEGMAFIA’s verse on “Junebug”, and the subtle details in the instrumentation of “Lucky”, and the sort of back-and-forth vocal melody in “Smile For Me”, which probably has the best vocal melodies of any song here.

But a lot of this album just feels very forgettable to me, and I can’t really say I’m a huge fan of it overall. So, I’ll give it a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Lucky”, “Lose My Focus”, “We Should Move Somewhere Beautiful”, “Smile For Me”, “Little Bird”
Least Favourite Track: “Rise”

<Dall> by ARTMS:

This is the debut album from this K-Pop band who’ve been getting a lot of critical acclaim. And I’d never heard of them until this album came out, but I saw the acclaim it was getting and decided to check it out …

And there are some moments that I don’t really like, such as “Sparkle” which kind of sounds like a bad Ariana Grande song, and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” has some overpowering synths and drums at points, but overall I actually ended up really liking this album!

The vocals and vocal layering is really strong and fits well over this production, and for the most part I like the sort of watery synths because they have strong percussion to make this punchy without the synths overpowering everything.

And there are some good melodies, too, even though most of them aren’t that memorable to me. And thus I think this album is quite good, but I wouldn’t call it great.

Lyrically I might be missing something in the translation, but it doesn’t seem to be super deep or anything. It seems like it’s just supposed to be a fun pop album, and I think they do a good job of that.

And with some really strong standout tracks such as “Distress” with its super lush production and the gorgeous vocal high notes, and also “Virtual Angel” which has some of my favourite vocal melodies here … I’ll give this a 7/10. Really good album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Virtual Angel”, “Air”, “Unf/Air”, “Distress”
Least Favourite Track: “Sparkle”

empathogen by WILLOW:

This is the sixth studio album by Willow Smith, who I’ll admit I haven’t really listened to much. But this is her most critically acclaimed album to date, and I was somewhat curious to hear it.

And I mostly like it! There are some good vocal melodies, and the production is mostly strong, and there are a few tracks that really stand out to me, like the great collab with St. Vincent, “pain for fun”, and “run!” which has one of the best vocal performances here which fits well with the lyrics which are seemingly about escaping from demons, and the outro of this track is really quite haunting! And the chorus of “symptom of life” is really catchy, too!

And I really like the sound of the percussion here for the most part, such as the punchy snares in the closing track, and the awesome drum rhythm which sounds great in the mix on “symptom of life”, which really complements the awesome chord progressions. And the percussion throughout most of this album just sounds really clear, complementing the breezy production.

But overall this album just doesn’t totally click for me as much as I’d like. A lot of these songs feel mostly enjoyable while they’re on but just don’t really make me feel like going back to them all that much.

I’m going to give this a 7/10, though. I mostly like it, but something feels missing and I can’t quite figure out what that is.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “symptom of life”, “pain for fun”, “run!”, “b i g f e e l i n g s”
Least Favourite Track: “false self”

I Hear You by Peggy Gou:

Peggy Gou is a DJ who just released her debut album back in June (around the time this review was written—yes, you read that right), and while this didn’t seem to be getting the most positive reception, I was curious to hear it.

And I mostly like it. It’s mostly well produced, with the synth timbres fitting really well with the rest of the instrumentals, and it’s just got a nice chill but danceable vibe to it.

But I don’t think I’m going to go back to this much. It’s got moments that I like, such as “I Believe In Love Again” with those really catchy synths and the very melodic “I Go”, and “Back To One” is a really fun, groovy disco track!

But there are also moments like the instrumental closing track which just feel mostly boring to me, and I don’t think this album is doing anything all that groundbreaking, as far as I can tell.

So, I’ll give this a 6.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Back To One”, “I Believe In Love Again”, “Seoulsi Peggygou (서울시페기구)”, “I Go”
Least Favourite Track: “1+1=11”

Chaos Angel by Maya Hawke:

This is my first time listening to a Maya Hawke album, and unfortunately it’s not really doing a whole lot for me.

A lot of the melodies feel forgettable, and the instrumentals blend in with a lot of other music in this style if you ask me.

There are some moments that I like—“Missing Out” has some nice melodies throughout it, and “Okay” seems to be about a well-intentioned person who keeps screwing up, and the hopeful-yet-gloomy instrumental fits pretty well. And I like how “Okay” is immediately followed up with “Better”, in which the narrator tries to make up for what happened.

And “Big Idea” might be my favourite song here, including the great line, ‘All intelligence is artificial.’ But then it’s immediately followed by “Hang In There”, and while I respect the lyrics on this song with the narrator telling a victim of abuse that it wasn’t their fault, the instrumental here is a total snoozefest, and this song just doesn’t work for me at all.

So, overall … well, I haven’t even mentioned the production not sounding as smooth as I would have liked, and there’s just not a lot about this that stands out to me. I’ll give it a 5.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Missing Out”, “Okay”, “Better”, “Big Idea”
Least Favourite Track: “Hang In There”

POST HUMAN: NeX GEn by Bring Me The Horizon:

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned Bring Me The Horizon on this website before. And it kind of feels like any opinion on their music is an unpopular opinion. But I’ll admit this is pretty much the prime example of a band I either pretended to love as a kid or just simply outgrew—probably a bit of both. There was a time when I would have called them one of my favourite bands, and I think some of that is the fact that I was still discovering my taste in music and I feel like I’ve just outgrown this band’s music, but I also don’t think I ever really loved them as much as I pretended to, probably because I thought it made me ‘cool’ to like them or something like that.

And revisiting their albums … yeah, I can’t say they’re for me at all. I do think they’ve gotten better since their early deathcore days, with albums like That’s the Spirit and Amo showing a little more versatility in their tank, but their mega critically acclaimed 2020 EP (or mixtape, or album, or whatever it is) POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR just didn’t click for me at all when going back to it, and I honestly think I prefer those other two albums I just mentioned over that one, and even those albums are decent at best in my opinion.

So, here’s their first official studio album in over five years, and it’s the second in the Post Human series … and just like its predecessor, I think there are a few good songs, and I wouldn’t say there are any great songs … except for maybe “Kool-Aid”, which probably has the best chorus on the album, and the pure venom of this track fits pretty well with the hard-hitting guitars. I think Within Temptation pulled this sort of thing off a lot better with “Cyanide Love” last year, but this song is still really damn good!

And the chorus of “sTraNgeRs” is pretty strong, too, as is the case with “DiE4u” … although the latter of those songs has some of the cringiest lyrics on the entire album in its second verse, and there are other flaws in the production that hold it back for me. I’m not really sure what I think of “DiE4u” as a song, because there is a lot about this song that I don’t like, and it feels very generic in a lot of ways, too, but some of the melodies are pretty damn strong!

A lot of the lyrics here seem to be about depression/mental health struggles, and I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything, but it just doesn’t really click for me. That’s not necessarily me saying the lyrics are ‘bad’—although there are some cringy moments such as the line about fucking a chainsaw or the line I alluded to earlier in “DiE4u” where Oli Sykes sings, ‘You could slit my wrists, and I’d write your name in a heart with the hemorrhage’—it’s more just that this album doesn’t really do a whole lot for me personally. And it’s not like the melodies really stand out to me much, either, aside from a few exceptions. And the production sounds messier than I would have liked, with the drums often feeling like they lack more punch.

I don’t dislike this album, but it’s yet another Bring Me The Horizon album I’ve just struggled to get into. 6/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Kool-Aid”, “liMOusIne”, “sTraNgeRs”
Least Favourite Tracks: “[ost] (spi)ritual”, “n/A”

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to another individual album review! Today I’m reviewing what is arguably the most critically acclaimed album of 2024 thus far, the newest album from Charli xcx, BRAT. Also, at the end of this review I’m going to give another quick update on what’s going to be happening on this website in the near future. I already gave an update recently, but there’s more I want to say because my plans have changed a bit.

Anyway, before we get into that … well, I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge Charli xcx fan up to this point. Maybe I haven’t listened to her music enough, but I have listened to all of her albums at least a few times each, and … well, out of her first five albums, I honestly think three of them are legitimately bad, those being her first two as well as her fifth album CRASH, which was a dishonourable mention on my worst albums of 2022, and I stand by that. All three of them, in my opinion, are very basic pop albums with production that I don’t like and barely anything that pulls me to go back to them at all. And maybe I’m missing something, but whether I’m just too harsh a critic or the albums just aren’t good, either way they’re definitely not for me.

But even her super critically acclaimed albums in the past haven’t fully clicked for me. Both 2019’s Charli and 2020’s how i’m feeling now are both good albums, with the former being my personal favourite … but I wouldn’t call either of them great as full albums, even though Charli definitely has its moments.

But I can’t deny my expectations were actually pretty high for this new album, even though I didn’t like CRASH at all. Because this is not only by far Charli’s most critically acclaimed album to date (which is saying a lot considering how much critics have praised those two albums I mentioned earlier), but it’s probably the most critically acclaimed album of 2024 thus far, and it’s probably going to be on pretty much every ‘best albums of 2024’ list, and it’ll probably be a very popular pick for the #1 spot.

I mean, I can’t deny there was a part of me that said, ‘Simon, you’ve heard all the praise for her albums in the past, and they haven’t clicked for you. This is probably going to end up falling flat.’ But the more I thought about it, something felt different this time, and I was really, really excited to hear this!

So, after probably about a dozen listens, where do I fall on this album? Does it live up to the hype like I was really hoping it would?

Well, it is arguably my favourite album of hers to date … and that means it’s on a similar level for me as Charli, another album which I’ve never really loved as a whole. And it’s a frustrating album, not in that it’s bad—I absolutely don’t think this is bad at all—just that it feels like it should be so much better! There are elements of this that I really like, and I absolutely think it has some highlights in the track list … but as a whole it just doesn’t fully click.

So, I may as well begin by talking about the opening track “360” which is a pretty good track but not one that I feel all that drawn to return to. It’s got a nice trap snare and the synths that continue throughout the song have a nice bounce to them, but I don’t find Charli’s delivery all that captivating. I guess it kind of works as an intro to the album, with Charli showing a lot of personality and confidence, although I don’t think it’s really the best representation of the album as a whole, a lot of which is a lot more thought-provoking.

Although if you want the definition of a pure banger designed for the dancefloor, then track 2, “Club classics”, fits the bill. I mean, it’s literally a song about dancing at the club to the ‘club classics,’ listing a bunch of artists she wants to listen to at the club, even saying she wants to dance to her own music at the club … and I think this song would probably go pretty hard in that setting, even though I wish it had a little more to it structurally.

The first truly great song here in my opinion is the next song, “Sympathy is a knife”, which is a contender for the song on the album with the best chorus. And it’s kind of hard to untangle lyrically, but to me it seems like the ‘sympathy’ might be the sympathy that others feel for Charli, hence why she mentions needing the sympathy but feeling embarrassed about it, because her insecurities are affecting others, not just herself, and while sometimes you feel like the best thing to do is just hide it, you eventually hit a point where you can’t do that anymore, and it can feel like a sigh of relief. And I think the chorus really encapsulates that feeling with the sudden hits of bass and what sounds like some subtle strings which really help this hook soar!

“I might say something stupid” seems to be at least partially about Charli feeling like she doesn’t really fit in with the mainstream pop crowd or the underground indie crowd, and worrying about what others think of her. And I think the autotune fits quite well with the feeling like you’re walking on eggshells.

But the next track, “Talk talk”, is mostly a dud for me (although it does remind me I want to listen to more music by the band of the same name). The chorus is very underwhelming and the watery production feels a little off-putting.

“Von dutch” was released back in February as the lead single for the album, and this song is an absolute banger! It has one of the best choruses on the album, and the synths build so much tension! And that post-chorus is incredibly catchy as well!

“Everything is romantic” is probably one of the most difficult songs to untangle here, and while I’m not going to try too hard to analyze this in this review, it kind of feels like it somehow represents the passing of time and how quickly it goes by, and it’s not even as much the lyrics that give it that sense as it is the way it sounds, especially that haunting outro. Whatever this song is about, though, it’s a haunting listen which really brings up a lot of questions, and it’s the sort of weird, cryptic song that really works for me!

“Rewind” is a pretty good song, but definitely not among my favourites here. I like the idea of the song about wanting to go back in time, although the lyrics don’t really feel all that interesting, and while it’s well produced and the chorus is pretty catchy, there’s just not much about it that makes me want to return to it.

But then there’s the most heartbreaking song on the album, “So I”, which was written about the legendary music producer SOPHIE who tragically passed away suddenly in 2021, and who was friends with Charli. And she realizes that she never fully appreciated SOPHIE as much as she does now, and it’s too late to show her that. It’s not a super deep or complicated song … and it doesn’t have to be. It’s just pure emotion, and that vocal effect at the end really gets to me every time. It’s a fantastic song, and there’s a very good argument to be made that this is the best song on the entire album.

And I also quite like the next track, “Girl, so confusing”, although it’s not fully clicking for me. And maybe it’s my gender getting in the way of fully connecting with this song, because I think it does what it’s trying to do really well, showing how she can sometimes struggle to get along with women in a society which always talks about ‘women supporting each other.’ And the frustration of trying to live up to that but realizing that you’re not going to get along with everyone really shines through with that really catchy chorus.

“Apple” is another one of those songs that I think is good but feels like something’s missing. I don’t know, maybe it’s just that I find the ‘apple’ metaphor a little bit cheesy with just how much it’s used here, although I very well may be missing something that makes it all make sense. I mean, I like the bouncy groove and the vocal effects, but maybe it could have used a really huge chorus to help this fully click.

“B2b” doesn’t really have a lot to it, but it’s a perfect jam to dance to. If I want a song from this album that feels built for the dancefloor, my go-to would be this over “Club classics” any day! That progression of the bass complements the vocal melody super well, and the mixing is fantastic! It’s a great song and easily one of the catchiest songs here!

And then unfortunately we have my least favourite song on the album, “Mean girls”, which I think is the only bad song here. And the thing is, this could have worked. This sort of ‘bad girl anthem’ can be done really well, and if there’s an artist to pull it off it’s probably Charli xcx, but the vocals feel kind of lifeless which doesn’t match at all with the upbeat, EDM instrumental. Also, maybe this is just me, but I can’t help but be reminded of “Sexy Bitch” by David Guetta ft. Akon with that synth in the chorus, and that is not a compliment at all. I do think this song is probably better than “Sexy Bitch”, but the fact that it’s only ‘probably’ better than that song is a bad sign.

“I think about it all the time” seems to be a fan favourite on the album, and … well, I can see why. I really like the lyrics where she starts thinking about whether or not she wants to have kids, and she knows a part of her absolutely does but she knows it’s a really huge decision. But with that being said, I don’t really find much about this sonically that stands out to me.

Finally the album ends with “365”, a catchy enough song that also just doesn’t really stand out to me. It’s kind of a part two to the opening track, and while I don’t dislike this track it just feels kind of generic.

But yeah, those are my thoughts on BRAT. Again, there are moments that I really like, but as a whole album I can’t say I fully loved it. I definitely don’t think it lives up to the hype.

But as always, this is all just how I personally feel about it. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you thought of this album and/or what you thought of my review.

Before I end this post, I just want to give a quick update about the near future of my reviews. So, like I mentioned recently, I’ve ended up taking a little bit of a break from my reviews, and I was going to try to get ‘back on schedule’ (whatever that even means—I never followed a strict schedule with my reviews anyway), where I would eventually get back to reviewing about one album per day, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a review per day done for the whole year because I missed a bunch of days.

Well, at this point I’ve realized that at least for this year, I think it will make the most sense to just cut down on the amount of albums that I review. But I still want to find enough great albums to make a top 50 list at the end of the year, so that means that instead of trying to review pretty much every album I listen to, I’m only going to review a percentage of the albums that I listen to. What percentage? I don’t know. But I think I’m mostly going to review either albums that I think are great, or really good, or that I think will be really easy to review, or that I think will create interesting reviews, etc.

We’ll see how this goes, and again, I might be switching to making video reviews, possibly as early as sometime this year. I don’t have a permanent strategy for how to approach my reviews, but I’m going to try this for now. So, the reviews might not be super frequent for the rest of this year, just thought I’d let you all know.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Sympathy is a knife”, “Von dutch”, “Everything is romantic”, “So I”, “B2b”
Least Favourite Track: “Mean girls”

Hello, everyone! So, first of all, yes I know it’s been a while since I’ve made a mini review post. In fact, it’s been over two months. If you want a bit of an update on where I’m at regarding the near future of my music reviews, you can check out the update that I posted recently.

These reviews aren’t as high-effort as I was hoping they’d be, but I’ve been working on so many things over the past few months (and also taking a bit of a break from reviews), and at the end of the day it’s not like this is a job or anything. I’m not required to be ‘objective’ or anything like that, I’m just giving some quick thoughts on these albums, some of which I only listened to a few times and didn’t analyze super deeply.

Anyway, let’s get these reviews started with …

You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To by Knocked Loose:

Knocked Loose are an American metalcore band who have been getting a lot of critical acclaim for this new album of theirs. In fact, I can’t remember the last time a metalcore album has gotten this much critical acclaim!

And I really thought I was going to at the very least like this … but after giving their first two albums each one listen all the way through—albeit just listening to them in the background—my expectations for this album were lowered, and yet somehow I’m still disappointed after listening to this album a few times.

This album is a little under a half hour long, and it’s very heavy and intense, and there’s a lot of emotion here, with the lyrics seeming to be about an endless battle with depression and trying to find a way out of it but constantly running into demons along the way—with the occasional moment that doesn’t really seem to relate to that theme.

I don’t know whether or not the lyrics are about a personal experience with depression, but either way I don’t want to be insensitive or anything, but I just personally don’t find this album all that interesting. There are a few moments I like, such as “Moss Covers All”, a very short track with some super fast, intense drumming, and there are some really good guitar melodies in “Slaughterhouse 2”.

But for the most part, beyond the theme of the lyrics and the fact that this is some super heavy metalcore which has the sonic fundamentals of a really strong metalcore album, aside from the production sounding rougher than I would have liked (although the rough sound was probably intentional, and I get why it could work) … well, to me it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot more to it.

I very well could be missing something—maybe there’s a lot more to this—but I’m just not wowed by this at all. Light 6/10 for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Moss Covers All”, “Slaughterhouse 2”, “Blinding Faith”
Least Favourite Track: “The Calm That Keeps You Awake”

From the Other Side of the Mirror by Glassing:

This is the fourth album by the American post-hardcore band Glassing, who I only heard of once this album came out. But I decided to check out their first three albums in preparation for this review, and I ended up really liking all of them. I didn’t give them a ton of time and attention, but they’re definitely albums I want to listen to more, and I was really excited going into this album!

And aside from a really underwhelming opening track which has some really rough production in my opinion, this ended up being a really strong post-hardcore album that does a lot of things really well and doesn’t have a lot of super notable flaws in my opinion!

And there are so many strong moments here! The intense drumming is incredible on “Defacer”, a track which seems to show someone on the verge of escaping demons, but there’s a subtle sense of hopelessness which makes the song really heartbreaking. And I love the eerie vocal effect on “Ritualist”, as well as that spectral bass in “As My Heart Rots” that fits really well with the bleak lyrics. And the ending of “Circle Down” is absolute madness, and I mean that in the best way! The ending of that song with headphones on is absolutely insane!

And there seems to be a theme throughout the album of a toxic relationship, although it could potentially be a metaphor for any of a plethora of things. But excessive submission is a topic that is reoccurring on this album, and I really like the arc that shows moments where the narrator nearly breaks free, but it doesn’t feel like it ever really happens, although there are some ambient pieces that feel like a calm within the storm. And at the end of the album, we realize the narrator’s demons may actually be guilt, and whether or not it’s all just unfair humility is open to interpretation.

And “Nominal Will” has some of the best lyrics here in my opinion, as it seems to possibly be framing FOBO and determination as two sides of the same coin. And whether or not I agree with that is something I’ve barely even thought about, and we could be here all day if I go down that rabbit hole right now, but the emotional aspect of this dawns really well, and I especially love the line, ‘Consoling what I can’t change, still I remain lost to spirit and emotion.’ It’s really powerful stuff, even though sonically I think it’s one of the weaker tracks here.

So, overall, I’m really surprised how much I ended up liking this album! It’s a really strong post-hardcore album that doesn’t get off to a great start but really picks up quickly and has a lot to unpack! What a great surprise! I’m going to give this an 8/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Nothing Touches You”, “Defacer”, “Nominal Will”, “Ritualist”, “As My Heart Rots”, “Circle Down”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Anything You Want”

Under Sound by Prize Horse:

So, this is the official debut studio album from this band I’d never heard of until recently, and it’s kind of like a shoegaze grunge album, with a bit of a dreamy vibe to it but not too much that it takes away from the very noticeable guitar distortion and hard-hitting snares.

And speaking of those snares, I really like them in certain parts of this album, such as “Your Time”, which has to be my favourite track here with the way the snares alone pretty much make the entire instrumental feel way more hard-hitting and vigorous than it actually is—and I mean that as a compliment!

And if I’m being totally honest … this meshing of styles can lead to a really rough sound at points, and it’s a big part of the reason why this album isn’t really clicking for me.

And a lot of this has to do with the lyrics, which kind of feels like a sequence of events where it’s not entirely clear what the story of the album is. And while I’m not super gripped by the lyrics, probably in large part because I don’t really understand them—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing—the music could really give this a lot more meaning for me to make the lyrics stand out more!

And thus, maybe if there was an amalgamation with more atmosphere that really gave this a much foggier yet tantalizing blanket in the album’s sound, I could get into this a lot more. I know that’s oddly specific, but I’ve heard albums do things like this musically which fit incredible well with the lyrics and the vibe it’s aiming for; if you want a recent example, Playground by House of Harm, which was released late last year!

Now, that album is nothing like this one, but I’m just giving an example of how this kind of ‘conspicuous bleakness’ in the production can be done in a way that I really like. I’m not even sure if ‘bleakness’ is the right word, but there’s a certain enchanting vibe this seems to be strongly aiming for, and I don’t think it fully coalesces for me.

With all this being said, there are moments here that I really like—I like the guitar melodies of “Your Time”, “Know Better” has the intensity of a post-hardcore track in the guitar and drums and I think it mostly works with the watery production, and the drumming is really strong on “Stone”!

So, as a whole, I don’t think Under Sound is a bad album. There’s enough here to keep me somewhat intrigued to hear more from this band, even though I can’t really see this album having much replay value at all for me.

Still, though, I mostly enjoyed this record, I’d say enough to give it a 6/10. If you can get past some inconsistent mixing and some roughness to the production and you’re just looking for a 90s-esque rock album that feels like kind of like a cryptic TV show, this might satisfy you.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Your Time”, “Reload”, “Know Better”
Least Favourite Track: “Under Sound”

Maze Envy by Civerous:

This is the second studio album from death metal band Civerous. In preparation for this review I very briefly checked out their 2021 debut Decrepit Flesh Relic, and by that I mean I gave it one full listen in the background, and it didn’t really seem like it was for me.

But this new album has been getting lots of critical acclaim, although I’ve never been a big fan of death metal, so I can’t say my expectations were super high …

And I actually like this more than I thought I would. I don’t love it, and there are some moments such as “Shrouded in Crystals” which just feel overly intense without much that makes it stand out, but some of the non-metal moments such as the intro of “Labyrinth Charm” actually really work for me, and “Endless Symmetry” is another example with its eeriness.

And some of the metal moments are pretty strong, too, such as that black metal passage in the second half of the title track and the way the kick drum is amazingly well miked in “Levitation Tomb”.

I’m not going to pretend I understand the lyrics (which I’m pretty sure include a lot of references to Greek mythology), but I mostly like the production here, and it’s got a nice balance of heavy and mellow, and overall I’m feeling a 7/10 on this album! But it is a death metal album, and that might be a big part of the reason why this didn’t fully click for me. But for fans of death metal, there’s a good chance you’ll love this!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Endless Symmetry”, “Labyrinth Charm”, “Levitation Tomb”
Least Favourite Track: “Shrouded in Crystals”

Flyin by Wade Bowen:

This is my first time listening to a Wade Bowen album, although he’s been releasing albums since the early 2000s. And as someone who’s gotten into country music in recent years, I was very excited to hear this …

And don’t get me wrong, I think this is very good. In fact, I don’t really have any major complaints with it, as I think it’s an album that does pretty much everything really well … but there’s not much about it that I find exceptional.

I mean, yeah, there are some moments where I don’t really like the production, like the watery texture of “Friday Night” and the airiness of “When I Wanna Be Wanted”, but for the most part I think the guitar and drums complement each other well, and the vocal production gives the vocals just enough emphasis without taking away from the powerful instrumentation.

And there are some good lyrics, too. Wade Bowen describes a lot of things really well here, especially in a song like “Someone Else’s Now” with lines such as ‘Loves her music country, but her boys rock and roll’ and ‘the wildest flower out of Pasadena.’ And there’s some good wordplay in “Two Hurts, One Stoned”.

But I’m also not going to pretend I find the lyrics super deep or anything … I mean, maybe there’s more to them than I realize, but most of it feels pretty surface level, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m just not all that eager to go back to this any time soon, aside from some individual songs.

And the vocal melodies, while mostly good, aren’t super catchy and definitely aren’t among the best I’ve heard this year.

So, overall, I mostly like this Wade Bowen album, but I’ve heard quite a few country albums in recent years which have stood out to me a lot more. I’ll give this album a 7/10. I think it’s quite good, but I wouldn’t call it great. But still, if you’re looking for some really solid country music which does a lot of things really well, I’d recommend this.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Rainin On Me”, “Two Hurts, One Stoned”, “Someone Else’s Now”, “Love Does What It Wants To”, “The Hardest Part”
Least Favourite Track: “Friday Night”

post weaning by pinniped:

So, I came across this fifteen-minute ambient album online, and I had never heard of this artist before.

And it wasn’t until I’d already started listening to it that I found out this is literally just noises made by a seal … at least it appears that way, based on what I’ve read.

Well, no, it’s not just noises made by a seal, because there is this ambient synth (or at least what sounds like a synth) in the background.

And I hate being the one to give a negative review to an album by a smaller artist … but I’m struggling to even call this art. I mean, technically it is, but it doesn’t feel like it. I’m pretty sure it’s literally just noises made by a seal with a drone synth in the background that doesn’t change at all.

Now, I will say this: I think the album is better in reality than it is on paper. But that’s really not saying much since it sounds like about the most unappealing album ever—and that’s an exaggeration, but not a huge one.

And I was considering whether or not to even review this, but the mindset I usually have when reviewing smaller artists is that it might give the album more attention, even if I don’t like the album, and that’s probably a win for the artist. And besides, I highly doubt this artist is really trying to make high quality art here. And if this artist is really trying to make it big, I don’t think this kind of music is the way to do that. And maybe I’m wrong about all that, and if I am, my apologies. But I honestly can’t help but wonder if this was just made as a joke.

I guess there might be an audience for this—there probably is—and I do think the ambient drone synth in the background is kind of pleasant for a little bit, even though I wish it had more variety … but I’m struggling to get the appeal of this album. Just being honest.

I can’t give this a higher rating than a strong 3/10. Again, I’m surprised I don’t dislike it more, but especially considering how short it is, it could be a lot worse. And I’m not even sure I’m as much actively annoyed by it as I am baffled by it.

Now I honestly kind of want to listen to more by this artist just so I can hopefully find an album I like and give it a more positive review. We’ll see, maybe I’ll do that.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

Let’s Start Degeneracy by Microwave:

I’ve heard of this band quite a bit, but I haven’t really listened to them much, so I didn’t have much of an idea what to expect going into this new album … and unfortunately it’s not really doing much for me.

I’m going to keep this brief as I’ve been in a huge time crunch recently with my reviews, mostly due to spending a lot of time on other things, but I want to get a bunch of reviews posted and this album just doesn’t give me a whole lot to say.

This album isn’t really doing much for me, so instead of trying to find a bunch of things to say about it, I’ll just admit I didn’t give this album the time of day that I wanted to, so take this review with a huge grain of salt. (Honestly, that can all be said about quite a few of the reviews in this post.) But the melodies aren’t really grabbing my attention much and the production often sounds a lot more watery than I would have liked.

I do think the groovy instrumentation of “Strangers” is pretty fun, and and I like the guitar distortion and punchy drums of “Bored of Being Sad”. But the vast majority of this album just isn’t really doing anything for me at all, and I wouldn’t say I love a single track here.

Overall, this just feels like a pretty by-the-numbers alternative/pop/rock album designed for alternative rock radio. I’m not saying it was only made to do big numbers, I’m just saying it has that sound to it. For me, this is a 5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Bored of Being Sad”, “Strangers”, “Huperzine Dreams”
Least Favourite Track: “Ferrari”

Tidal Memory Exo by Iglooghost:

Iglooghost is an electronic music producer who I don’t think I’d ever heard of until very recently when I found out about this album. And this album has been getting a ton of critical acclaim, arguably one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2024! And thus, I was quite excited to hear this!

And I am so happy to say I absolutely get the hype with this album! This is a chilling electronic album with so many riveting details which intricately connect in ways that can’t really be understood without hearing it. And while I’m not going to pretend that I fully ‘get’ this album, I think that may partially be the point, although there’s a lot more to it than that … and I think this is easily among the best albums I have heard from this year! Seriously, this is INCREDIBLE!

And a big part of this is the production, which really gives this album such a chilling vibe, while sounding quite futuristic, almost like I’m listening to the end of humanity—yes, that’s a strange way to describe it, but considering how glitchy it sounds, it kind of feels like everything is just fading out during the apocalypse. And some of the lyrics feel like they really fit with that vibe, such as in “Alloy Flea”.

And I’m not even sure how to accurately describe this album beyond that … I mean, it’s such a strange, experimental album which blends genres like EDM, hip hop, maybe a bit of post-punk, maybe some disco … it’s really hard to explain, but if you listen to it there’s a very good chance you’ll end up really loving it like I did!

Overall, I think this album works a lot better as a whole, and while I wouldn’t say it has any of my favourite individual songs of the year, as a whole album it is such an incredible experience that is unlike anything else I’ve ever heard! Strong 9/10, and easily one of my favourite albums of 2024!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Blue Hum”, “Alloy Flea”, “Spawn01”, “Flux•Cocoon”, “Pulse Angel”, “Echo Lace”, “Germ Chrism”, “Dewdrop Signal”, “Geo Sprite Exo”
Least Favourite Track: “Nemat0de”

Neon Pill by Cage the Elephant:

This is album number six from American alternative rock band, Cage the Elephant, and it’s their first in five years.

I relistened to the rest of their discography in preparation for this review, starting with their self-titled debut album from 2008, one that really didn’t do much for me at all, arguably their least catchy album. And while 2011’s Thank You Happy Birthday had better melodies and showed more potential, to me it’s still nowhere near great. And despite all the critical acclaim, 2013’s Melophobia felt a lot less gripping to me than I think it’s supposed to, and 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty was a new low for the band in my opinion.

But their 2019 album Social Cues actually surprised me a lot! I don’t think it’s a great album, but it’s a very good one with the most standout tracks on any Cage the Elephant album in my opinion, which made me excited to hear this new album … and it’s probably my second favourite Cage the Elephant album, only behind Social Cues. I’m not really a huge fan of a lot of the psychedelic production which has a much more watery texture than I would have liked, and some of the lyrics can feel a little overly cliché at points, but there are some good grooves here, and a couple great songs.

The biggest standouts to me on the album have to be “Rainbow” and “Out Loud”. The former might be about drug addiction, and if it is, the sort of faux-happy sound fits really well, with that squealing guitar in the chorus feeling like a hint that something’s wrong. And “Out Loud” was written about band members Matt’s and Brad’s father who passed away, and it seems to be about them wishing they’d been there for him more, even though they chased their dreams of being musicians. There are a lot of complicated emotions here, and I love the gorgeous strings which really help the emotion shine through even more!

Outside of that … I mean, I like the blazing guitar in “Metaverse”, and the dramatic tension in the instrumental of “Good Time” with those elegant synths that shimmer in the background of the chorus, and I like the chorus melody in “Same”.

But there’s also a song like “Ball and Chain”, which has quite a clunky chorus that I don’t like at all, and a sort of spoken delivery in the verses which sounds really awkward over the bouncy instrumental.

I feel like this is the kind of album that would probably hit a lot harder for me if I related to it more—and considering a lot of the subject matter, I’m glad I don’t relate to it more—but I still generally like this album more than I don’t. I’m gonna give this a 6.5/10, as it’s got its moments that I like, but I don’t think I’ll be returning to it much as a whole.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Rainbow”, “Metaverse”, “Out Loud”, “Good Time”, “Same”
Least Favourite Track: “Ball and Chain”

Anniversary by Adeem the Artist:

I was convinced this was only the third studio album by Adeem the Artist, and I gave their 2021 album Cast Iron Pansexual a few listens in preparation for this review, as well as relistening to their 2022 album White Trash Revelry, and I can’t say I’m really a huge fan of their music. I respect it a lot, and there’s clearly a lot of emotion that’s gone into the song writing, but a lot of it just didn’t really click for me, and I felt a strange feeling of distance from those albums.

I still mostly liked White Trash Revelry, though, even though I do think it was maybe a bit overhyped. I wouldn’t call that album great in my personal opinion, just really good.

And when I was almost done making this review, I found out they released quite a few albums even before Cast Iron Pansexual, and I just decided not to take all the extra time listening to those albums in preparation for this review. So, this is the third Adeem the Artist album that I’ve listened to …

And unfortunately, once again, I’m struggling to fully get into an Adeem the Artist album. But while White Trash Revelry still felt mostly enjoyable as a whole, this album was much more difficult to get through. And I’m not saying I think this is bad, because I don’t. But it’s just not really grabbing my attention all that much.

And it’s especially frustrating in moments such as “Wounded Astronaut” in which they admit to mistreating women in the past and apologize for it, trying to figure out what it was that made them the person they were in the past, while also moving forward and trying to be better. And I like the honesty of it, and it feels like it should be a really nice song that I should really like, but everything other than the lyrics feels super boring and bland.

And there are some moments where this just doesn’t work for me at all, like “Socialite Blues”, with the noisy background sounds that don’t fit at all with the main instruments in my opinion—and I get that it’s probably supposed to be meta with the ‘out of tune songs’ line, but it just feels more forced than anything.

Also, kind of off-topic, but “Rotations” reminds me a lot of “Heritage of Arrogance” in the vocal melodies, except I don’t think this song is nearly as good.

And the thing is, White Trash Revelry and Cast Iron Pansexual, while not being albums that fully clicked for me as a whole, both had strong moments that really stood out to me … whereas here, I don’t think there’s a single great song. I mean, there’s some that get kind of close but are usually held back by the production. For example, there’s “One Night Stand” which has really good storytelling seemingly about a one night stand that turns into a relationship, although the relationship described at the end could be with someone else, so it’s open to interpretation … but the drums totally overpower the mix. And there’s “Nightmare” which comments on how some ‘safe spaces’ really aren’t as safe as they should be, but I don’t like how the vocals are drowned out in the mix. And “Carry You Down” feels like it should really click for me, but some of the guitar moments just stick out like a sore thumb in the production.

“White Mule, Black Man” is probably my favourite track here, and if there is a great song here I’d say it’s that one. I really like the lyrics about the Knoxville Riot of 1919, and this song seems to be pointing out the bad excuses people find to cover up acts of racism, talking about the legend of the white mule curse in Knoxville. And I’m no history expert, so I’m not sure if the white mule legend and the riot are related or not, but either way it’s a really good use of wordplay with the double-meaning of ‘white’. But the combination of the sung and spoken delivery just doesn’t quite work for me, and I’m not entirely sure why.

So, overall, while there are some things I like about this album, and I respect it a lot, it’s just not really clicking for me personally. I really wish I liked it a lot more, but I’m going to have to go with a 6/10. It’s just not really for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “One Night Stand”, “Nightmare”, “Carry You Down”, “Plot of Land”, “White Mule, Black Man”
Least Favourite Track: “Socialite Blues”

A Dream Is All We Know by The Lemon Twigs:

The Lemon Twigs are a duo of brothers Michael and Brian D’Addirio, formed in New York about a decade ago, and they’ve become famous for their very 60s-like sound, which doesn’t only sound very heavily influenced from that time, but honestly sounds like it was released then! If you don’t believe me, try listening to their music and tell me otherwise!

I personally didn’t really love any of their first three official studio albums, but last year’s Everything Harmony was significantly more critically acclaimed, and I mostly liked it but didn’t really love it. It’s probably my favourite of their first four albums, though—I reviewed it last year, and after relistening to it in preparation for this review, I stand by my original score of 6.5/10.

And this new album is also getting a ton of critical acclaim … and unfortunately I don’t like it as much. I can respect what The Lemon Twigs do with this throwback sound and how well they make it sound like it was from decades ago, but it doesn’t really sound like a great 60s album … to me it sounds like a mediocre 60s album.

Case in point, “Peppermint Roses”, which despite not having seen much discussion about the individual songs online I pretty much know is going to be a favourite for lots of people, to me sounds like a bad Beatles song. I like The Beatles, but there are certain eras of their music that I don’t really like much and this sounds like it was from one of them.

I know people often talk about how music production has gotten way better over the years, and while it’s definitely gotten more advanced and there’s way more you can do with it, there are very well-produced albums from the 60s and this to me sounds worse overall. I don’t hate the production here, but I wish the vocal layering did more to really make the melodies stand out, and it just sounds kind of messy in a way I don’t really know how to describe well. And overall, this album doesn’t have the same polish that made Everything Harmony as good as it is—and this is coming from someone who’s not even a huge fan of Everything Harmony, although I’ll admit the production is great on that album!

There are moments here I really like such as “Sweet Vibration” and especially “If You and I Are Not Wise”—the Christmas song vibes on the latter sound immaculate, and I love it!

But overall, I wish I liked this a lot more than I do. I think I’m gonna have to go with a 5.5/10 to be totally honest.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “A Dream Is All I Know”, “Sweet Vibration”, “If You and I Are Not Wise”, “Rock On (Over and Over)”
Least Favourite Track: “Peppermint Roses”

Fearless Movement by Kamasi Washington:

Kamasi Washington is an artist I’ve heard of quite a few times but hadn’t really listened to until this album, and while I still haven’t listened to any of his other albums, I do know he’s received a lot of critical acclaim, including for this new album which is nearly an hour and a half long.

Now, I’m not super familiar with a lot of jazz music, but I wanted to give this a shot, and I was quite curious about it …

And I can’t help but feel a bit of a disconnect from this album. It’s very impressive and there was clearly a lot that went into it, but at the same time I’m not going to pretend it really keeps my attention all the way through for the whole running time, and even the moments that do still feel like they’re missing something to fully click for me as much as I’d like.

And yet I can’t help but feel like there’s something connecting this all together that I’m just not quite understanding. I mean, a track like “Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)” feels like a part of a larger statement, and it doesn’t even have lyrics!

“Asha the First” is definitely a song that has a lot to say lyrically, and I love the line, ‘Anything can become your everything in the moment.’

And I really like the penultimate track “Lines in the Sand”, which has some really nice keyboards and is really groovy and fun, and the lyrics which seem to represent delicacy fit really well with a song which is so unpredictable musically.

But I just can’t help but feel like this isn’t really for me. It’s an album that feels like it’s trying to make some larger statement than what appears on the surface, and while sometimes that sort of thing can really click for me, what I personally hear when I listen to this is an overly long, occasionally boring album with a few moments here and there that I really like and a lot that feels like filler. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.

In other words, while music is not ‘objectively’ good or bad, if I had to try to be as ‘objective’ as possible I would say this is a very, very good album, probably deserving of a higher score … but based on my personal taste, I think a 6/10 is appropriate.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Asha the First”, “Dream State”, “Road to Self (KO)”, “Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)”
Least Favourite Track: “Computer Love”

lava operation by betesk:

I recently reviewed another album by betesk, Focus. Although that album shows the name Betesk capitalized, which leads me to wonder if this is the same artist, because on Bandcamp it kind of makes it seem like this might be a different artist. But I am pretty confident this is the same artist, so I’m just gonna assume that for now.

And while Focus definitely made me curious to hear more, I didn’t really like it all that much. In fact, I didn’t really like it at all, and I actually mostly dislike it. It was the sort of sound collage album that felt like nothing really fit together and it ended up feeling like a bunch of random noise. And while there were moments that I got the appeal of—and even moments I kind of liked—it’s nowhere near one of my favourite sound collage albums I’ve heard in recent years, and I’m not even much of a fan of sound collage albums.

This album, on the other hand, feels less like a sound collage and more like just a very experimental ambient album. And I’m quite surprised how much more I like this! It creates a really eerie vibe that really brings up the question, ‘Is there some sort of hidden meaning here?’ And there very well could be, although it’s very much up to the listener what that is.

And the funny thing is, if I were to recommend either this or Focus, I’m not sure which one I’d pick. Because it feels like they were made for very different audiences. It’s hard for me to describe why I like this as much as I do, but there are certain moods I can think of where this would hit so goddamn hard for me! “textures”, especially, it kind of reminds me of the Radiohead song “Kid A”, and that’s a huge compliment! 

But what mood is that that I was talking about? Honestly, it’s hard to describe, because I’m the only one who really knows what it’s like to be me. But I guess what I’ll say is that I can imagine this hitting really hard on an evening in the Summer when I’m having a slight existential crisis—I know that was very oddly specific, and that circumstance doesn’t happen very often for me, and I haven’t listened to this album under those circumstances … but even without the existential crisis thing, I can see this album just being a very enjoyable listen on a Summer evening, and I don’t entirely know why! At least for a specific mood, which, once again, I am having a hard time describing.

So, when it comes to a rating … honestly, I think I’m gonna go with an 8/10 on this album, a huge step up from the 4/10 I gave Focus. Again, it’s hard for me to fully figure out why, but this album really hits hard for me. What a great find! And stay tuned for my next mini review post to find out what I think of the other of the three betesk albums from this year, strain LP.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “dark fog”, “textures”, “spoils”, “storm wave”
Least Favourite Track: “residue”

To All Trains by Shellac:

I had never heard of the band Shellac until this album came out earlier this year, and it wasn’t until I had given this multiple listens that I found out Steve Albini was a member of this band up until his tragic passing less than two weeks before the release of this album. And it put me in a bit of an awkward situation with this review, because if I’m being honest I’m not really liking this album all that much, and I felt kind of bad posting a mostly indifferent review of the album so soon after his passing.

And thus, I was having second thoughts about whether or not I wanted to post this review. I mean, I did want to, it was just a question of whether or not it was too insensitive. And while in my opinion there wouldn’t have been anything all that wrong with posting this review earlier, I just decided to wait a bit, and once again, unfortunately I can’t really call myself a fan of this album.

The production has a sound to it which almost works for me, but it sounds too rough and messy to really hit as hard as I’d like, despite the sharp snares and the guitar distortion which feels like it should totally click for me on paper.

And often it feels like this album is kind of meandering compositionally, without really making the hooks all that memorable, and the bass can be overpowering in moments such as “Scrappers” and “Tattoos”.

And lyrically this isn’t really doing much for me, either, with a lot of these songs feeling like they don’t really have a lot to say. I could be missing something, but that’s how I hear it. For example, there’s “How I Wrote How I Wrote Elastic Man (cock & bull)” which feels like it’s describing a song writing process without much detail to make it compelling, or “Chick New Wave” which just feels like the most basic female empowerment anthem ever.

There are some kind of catchy moments such as “Scabby the Rat” with its pummeling drums, and “Tattoos” has some nice building intensity with the guitar and drums, even if I don’t find it all that gripping, but the vast majority of this album just feels really forgettable to me.

Rest in Peace, Steve Albini. It’s super tragic that he passed this year, especially so suddenly, and I really wish I liked this album more, but I can’t pretend to like it.

If you’re looking for a post-hardcore/indie rock album that is slightly ‘out there’ while still mostly sounding like a typical indie rock album, this might be up your alley. But I just couldn’t get into this at all, and I’m going to give it a 5/10. I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s not for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Tattoos”, “Scabby the Rat”
Least Favourite Track: “I Don’t Fear Hell”

Eleven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal by Adam Wiltzie:

I don’t think I’d ever heard of Adam Wiltzie before this album came out, but I was looking for a critically acclaimed ambient album I could review, and while there hasn’t been a lot of that in 2024, this was getting a mostly positive reception, and instrumental ambient albums are usually pretty quick and easy for me to review …

Well, maybe not ‘easy’, but usually quick, at least if they’re short albums like this one is, running for less than forty minutes. But it’s often hard for me to describe why I do or don’t like ambient albums, because they often don’t really give me a lot to say. And thus, I feel like my reviews are more ‘valid’ in that case because I’m not leaving out any important information about the albums … and really, I think it’s mostly stupid that I worry about that, because my role as a music critic isn’t to ‘objectively’ review albums and all important aspects of them. It’s not like this is my job or anything, I’m just some guy who writes about music online, and my personal experience with that music. And yes, I try to analyze it more ‘objectively’ sometimes, but at the end of the day it’s all subjective, and everyone listens to music differently.

But still, that doesn’t change the fact that when I’m super busy with lots of reviews, I’ll often try to find some instrumental ambient music because I feel more ‘valid’ reviewing it and not really saying much about it … and as someone who’s gotten into ambient music in recent years, it’s not too rare I’ll find an album in the genre that really clicks for me, such as this album!

And like with most instrumental ambient albums, there’s not really a whole lot for me to say. Yes, I could comment on some of the imagery it brings to mind—a lot of this has a slightly futuristic vibe to it, like it’s sending some sort of message from the future but only fragments of it are getting through—but even though when I find a ‘meaning’ in an album and describe it on this website it’s often probably wrong, with instrumental music it’s almost definitely wrong, almost all of the time. Or maybe you could argue it’s just as accurate as anyone else’s interpretation.

What I can say is that there are a lot of gorgeous synth timbres which blend together super well and the layers fit together almost perfectly, and the higher frequencies are ‘off-putting’ enough to stand out and add some variety and eeriness without totally taking away from the vibe.

And the album sequencing is really strong, too! It feels like it gets a bit more eerie as the album goes on, albeit only slightly, like hope is being lost while trying to untangle a mystery.

I’m not a big fan of the sort of staticky sounds toward the end of “Stock Horror”, and this album overall isn’t doing anything all that revolutionary, but it still does what I think it’s trying to do really, really well! It’s an 8/10 for me, and I highly recommend it to fans of ambient music!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Buried At Westwood Memorial Park, In An Unmarked Grave, To The Left Of Walter Matthau”, “Tissue Of Lies”, “Pelagic Swell”, “Dim Hopes”, “We Were Vaporised”
Least Favourite Track: “Stock Horror”

Hex Dealer by Lip Critic:

This is the second studio album from Lip Critic, following their 2020 album Lip Critic II. I still haven’t heard that album, but I decided to check out this new album after seeing some critical acclaim for it online.

And it’s definitely interesting, that’s for sure! I don’t know what genre to describe this as. Is it hip hop? Kind of, but it’s also got elements of hardcore punk, and maybe even some post-punk elements. And there are a lot of hyperpop elements here, too!

“Love Will Redeem You”, for example. What genre is this song? It’s got a Danny Brown esque vocal delivery, with the sort of intense instrumental with the breakbeat percussion and the awesome bass that feels like it would fit in a club song or some kind of EDM music!

And honestly I’ve got to say I’m very curious to hear this band’s debut album now … because this is great!

There’s a lot packed into this lyrically, and while I’ve never been the best at accurately analyzing lyrics, there is still a lot that I really like here. There seems to be an overall theme of cynicism, and the metaphors make it hard for me to really figure out what’s going on, but I often think that kind of helps the album. “Spirit Bomber”, for example, seems to be about someone feeling like they’re giving way more than they receive, and the frustration that comes with that, with a bit of paranoia as well which makes the song’s lyrics a lot more haunting.

And what I really like about a lot of this album is that as far as I can tell it’s not particularly clear whether or not the narrator is actually facing any sort of oppression or if it’s just supposed to represent someone who thinks the world should revolve around them, or maybe it’s somewhere in between. Now, take this all with a massive grain of salt, because my lyrical interpretations are almost always wrong, probably here as well. But if you want to know what I really like about a lot of these lyrics, that’s my explanation.

And I really love a lot of the instrumentation and production as well, which gives this a lot of real intensity. The drums are super hard-hitting and they complement the dramatic synths super well, and the mixing gives it a really fine-edged sound that feels like it blurs the line between fiction and reality. And considering everything I said about my interpretations of the lyrics (even though they’re probably wrong) this makes perfect sense!

So, yeah, if you want a genre-blending album that’ll pull you into its world of fear that’s still got enough catchy moments to be a ton of fun despite all the madness, this could be exactly what you’re looking for! This is an 8/10 for me, what a great surprise!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “It’s the Magic”, “Love Will Redeem You”, “The Heart”, “Spirit Bomber”, “Death Lurking”, “I’m Alive”, “My Wife and the Goblin”, “In the Wawa (Convinced I Am God)”, “Toxin Dodger”
Least Favourite Track: “Sermon”

Hello, everyone! It’s time for another individual album review, and one that I was planning to post months ago, this one being for the newest Cloud Nothings album, Final Summer.

Cloud Nothings are a band whose name I’d heard a lot for a while, although up until earlier this year I hadn’t listened to them at all. They’ve been a band for about a decade and a half, and going into this review I decided to somewhat familiarize myself with the rest of their discography—emphasis on ‘somewhat’.

I listened to all of their other albums in preparation for this review at least a little bit, and my favourites so far are probably Attack On Memory and Life Without Sound, although they might require more relistens.

But for now I just want to focus on their new album, Final Summer. I’ve noticed in recent years their music has seemed to be getting more melodic and maybe slightly less heavy, and while it didn’t always click for me, I felt like there was a lot of potential being shown.

And for whatever reason, I had a really good feeling about this album. I don’t know what it was. This might not be a good reason, but I think it might have partially been the fact that this has probably one of my favourite album covers of the year. It’s just a really beautiful shot of a bewitching sunset over a city/town (I’m not sure where the picture was taken) with a forest. It seems like a really simple photo which also could have something to do with the band’s name with the clouds, or maybe it’s just a coincidence, I’m not sure. Either way, despite the simplicity of it, I can’t help but be in awe of this curiously riveting image. Although I’m not sure it’s the image itself; I think it’s mostly just with the context of it being an album cover. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great picture, but something about it really made me excited about this album, and I’m not entirely sure what.

Anyway, I gave this album about five or six listens … and then about another five or six listens, because the more I listened to this, the more it easily stood out as one of the best albums I’ve heard all year! It’s been a slow start for albums in 2024 in my opinion, and I’ve struggled to find as many great albums as I would have liked, and the number of albums that I’ve really fallen deeply in love with has been very small … but we got one here. Because this is absolutely phenomenal! It’s the kind of glorious indie rock album that soars with such muscle and breathtaking splendour that I can pretty much look past all nitpicks I could make. Not that there are a lot of nitpicks I have here, but the elements of this that I think work really well are absolutely amazing!

So, where do I even begin with an album like this? I mean, part of me feels like there’s not really a lot to talk about, because it’s very much an album that needs to be heard to fully understand the experience, and it’s pretty straightforward for the most part. I mean, it seems to be an album about persevering despite life’s challenges, and finding catharsis from your own inner demons. And I wouldn’t say it’s the most layered album lyrically or anything like that … but it captures the emotions it’s aiming for so incredibly well that I don’t really care that it’s not more complex! In fact, I think it kind of helps that it’s not!

So, I may as well start by talking about the lyrics on this album, and I actually really like the lyrics despite a lot of simplicity. And I think it’s because it really gets the point across in most of these songs, and often in a really nice poetic way with some standout rhymes and great phrasing.

I mean, the opening track is a great example. This song, called “Final Summer”, is one of my favourite songs on this album, and considering how much I love the album, that is saying a ton! Not only are the rhymes really strong, but it’s got a really good message to it. There are always things we wish were different in our lives, but why should that stop us from appreciating all that we do have? And I know it’s not the most unique song topic ever, but the way it’s all written feels so magical, like there was no better way to get the message across.

The next track is “Daggers of Light”, which really hits close to home for me, as it seems to be about the sudden shifts in emotions, and it feels like the soundtrack to those days when I can’t figure out what I feel compelled to do. I think the line, ‘I was on the edge of another life’ really sums this up well, which especially hits hard for me at this point in my life when I have to make some big decisions about what I want my future to look like.

“I’d Get Along” is the third track on the album, and there’s not much to it lyrically, but I still really do love this track for reasons I’ll explain later on, and the following “Mouse Policy” is a really interesting track which feels very hard to untangle lyrically. I wonder if it’s about someone depending too much on the narrator, and the narrator is trying to help this person learn to be more independent, while realizing that that in itself involves being there to help the person, as ‘a stop along the road before your tiny work is done.’

“Silence” might be one of the best songs here lyrically. It’s got one of the best opening lines I’ve heard in any song this year, ‘If there are no new ideas, do you have any reason to learn?’ And it seems like this song might be about trying to enjoy life without focusing too much on the fact that things ‘could be better,’ because there is only one reality.

And then there’s “Running Through The Campus”, which shows the narrator realizing that even though it’s great to help other people, sometimes you just have to focus on yourself without worrying about anyone else.

“The Golden Halo” goes along with what feels like a bit of a theme on the album of asking questions to the audience, with the line, ‘If the sun went out today, do you think your life would change?’ And obviously it’s not meant literally, because … well, yeah, if the sun went out, we’d all be dead. But there are so many ways this can be interpreted, and I think that’s the point. Obviously pretty much anything that happens in our lives changes it to some extent, but how much? Well, that depends.

“Thank Me For Playing” seems to be about people who are overly competitive, and the narrator stops trying to compete with this person, instead just trying to live a happy life without worrying about ‘keeping up’ with others. It’s a very simple but effective song lyrically.

The second to last track is “On The Chain”, which kind of feels like a callback to the opening track, as there seems to be a theme of hoping for change, but it doesn’t feel as optimistic as that track—or at least it’s a different kind of optimism. Because here, the emphasis seems to be on the potential for a better future. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to enjoy the present moment, but sometimes it can really help to believe in yourself that you can get to where you want to be in the future, and when I say that can really help, I mean even in the present.

Now, I’ve given the lyrics here a lot of praise, but I will say the closing track doesn’t work for me quite as well. I like the overall message of it, about forgiving yourself for small mistakes and realizing that everyone is flawed. But I wish there had been a different wording picked than ‘just give more than you take.’ I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, but while I think this is supposed to be saying ‘just make a positive impact’, it almost feels like it’s implying sacrificing all your own happiness, even though it’s obviously not. In other words, this is a total nitpick by me and I know it, but I still would have preferred this with a different wording used. And thus I wouldn’t quite call it a great song, probably the only song here I wouldn’t call great … although it is still very good; again, I like the overall message of the song, and while the production is some of the weaker production on the album, it’s still got some punchy snares and some great vocal melodies, and that ‘chorus’ is really catchy—I used quotations because I’m not really sure this song has a chorus.

And speaking of which … I’ve barely talked about the sound of this album! And considering how late this review already is and how many other reviews I’ve been working on that are already going to be super late, and the fact that I want to get back to reviewing newer albums soon … well, I’m not going to go into a ton of detail here.

But with that being said, there are so many excellent moments, and I’ve got to talk about at least some of them! And one of my favourite parts of this album has got to be the dramatic first minute of the opening track with those awesome synths building up to that excellent guitar melody! And it’s not even until nearly halfway through the song that the vocals in this song start, but none of that time feels wasted! I mentioned the lyrics earlier, and sonically I’m not sure what a better way to represent this vibe would be!

And there is so much excellent guitar distortion on this album, and the basslines complement it all so well! “Daggers of Light” has such perfect instrumentation to really help the frustration of this song shine through, with that ferocious guitar and the slow-yet-pummeling drums, and that bassline sounds phenomenal in the mix!

And speaking of the bass, how can I not mention that absolutely killer bass in “Thank Me For Playing” which sounds totally locked in with the guitars and really provides some punch to this awesome instrumentation!

And not only are the vocal melodies throughout this album absolutely fantastic, but Dylan Baldi’s vocals are absolutely incredible! He does such a good job of subtly changing his vocal delivery to fit the song while still having a very recognizable voice, and it doesn’t seem too all-over-the-place.

Also, I said I’d talk more about “I’d Get Along” … and it’s a bit of a tricky song to describe why it works so well unless you hear it for yourself, but this song has probably one of the best snare sounds on the entire album, and the grimy guitars feel like they’re in a battle against the vocals, and I actually think it really works considering how the song feels like it’s about being tough and pushing through things.

And before I wrap up the review, I want to talk a little bit more about “Running Through The Campus”—I’ll be honest, one of the biggest reasons why I love this album so much is this song alone! I mean, I’m not sure there’s not a whole lot to it—I’m pretty sure it’s a song about going for a run to clear your head and feel a lot of joy, and forgetting about everything else going on around you, if only for a moment to escape it all. But there’s something about it that I can’t quite put my finger on that really resonated with me in a way I was not expecting at all! And when you also factor in some of the catchiest guitar and vocal melodies and a brilliant song structure which really represents the feeling of going out for a run and feeling all carefree, before it all eventually ends … yeah, this is easily among my favourite songs of 2024!

And yeah, the entire album is absolutely incredible! Again, I wanted to have this review posted months ago, but I just never got around to finishing it until now, despite knowing this was gonna be one of my favourite albums of the year!

It’s only the second album I’ve given a 9.5 so far this year, and we’re already more than halfway through the year … but don’t worry, there are a few specific albums I’m planning to review soon which I’ve listened to enough to feel pretty confident are going to be getting 9.5s as well … but I want to really sink my teeth into those albums a little more before I can say for sure.

Anyway, thanks for reading my review, and feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Final Summer”, “Daggers of Light”, “I’d Get Along”, “Mouse Policy”, “Silence”, “Running Through The Campus”, “The Golden Halo”, “Thank Me For Playing”, “On The Chain”
Least Favourite Track: “Common Mistake”