Hello, everyone! It’s time for more mini reviews!

I know I haven’t been posting much over the past few weeks, but I do have quite a few more reviews on the way. And once again, these reviews are more brief than I would have liked, but considering how many albums there are that I want to review, I just want to quickly get out some thoughts on these albums without going into a ton of detail.

As always, these are just my personal feelings on these albums. Even if I say something negative, it’s not an attempt to be mean or anything. Music is subjective.

Alright, time for the reviews!

Something To Give Each Other by Troye Sivan:

This is Troye Sivan’s third studio album, and if I’m being honest my expectations for this were not very high at all, as I couldn’t get into Troye Sivan’s first two albums at all … in fact, I struggle to even understand the appeal. And I’m not saying this to be mean or to judge anyone … if you like his music, that’s great, and I hope he’s making the music he wants to make … it’s just that I personally don’t find his music interesting at all, and that’s just me.

So, now he has a new album out, and while my expectations were pretty low, I decided to give it some listens anyway, and I will at least say I like the production better, as it’s often got a nice, smooth feeling to it, like in “In My Room”, “Can’t Go Back, Baby” and “Honey”. But I also don’t find the production super consistent, and at points it can get really annoying, such as the vocal effects in “One Of Your Girls” and “Got Me Started”, two songs with some really messy production that I don’t think works at all.

And unfortunately, once again the vocal melodies and compositions just feel really uninteresting to me, and I don’t find the hooks to be very strong. And while I don’t think the lyrics are meant to be deep or anything, it certainly doesn’t help that I didn’t really find much in the lyrics that really interests me, although it can get kind of cringey at points, like quite a few lines in “Honey”. I mean, as much as Blue Neighbourhood has its questionable lines and didn’t really interest me all that much lyrically, at least it felt like there was more emotion, which I wish there was more of here. And that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with upbeat, fun music, but this doesn’t feel fun at all … it just feels really boring to me. And maybe there is more emotion here than I realize, and/or maybe the lyrics have more to them than I realize, but I’m just explaining how I personally hear it.

And overall … well, it’s probably my favourite Troye Sivan album to date, but considering how little I got out of his first two albums (and honestly those albums got quite annoying at points), that’s not really saying much. So, overall, this isn’t for me at all, and once again I’m struggling to understand the appeal. I’ll give it a light 5/10, as at least the production is better in my opinion, but I just don’t feel any desire to go back to this anytime soon.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “In My Room”, “Silly”
Least Favourite Tracks: “One Of Your Girls”, “Got Me Started”

Zig by Poppy:

This is Poppy’s fifth studio album, and the follow-up to 2021’s Flux, which is the only Poppy album I’ve listened to other than this one. And while I haven’t listened to that album in a while, from what I remember it didn’t really do a whole lot for me. So, here’s this new album which might be Poppy’s least critically acclaimed album to date … and honestly, I ended up enjoying this quite a bit!

Now, I will say I don’t think this album is great, partially because of a lot of the production not really letting these songs have the impact they could—although there are exceptions, like the title track which not only has a really catchy chorus but the production is much more hard-hitting, with the great percussion and distorted guitar.

But while there are exceptions, I’m not a huge fan of a lot of the vocal melodies here, and a lot of these songs just feel like they’re missing something.

But overall, there is quite a bit of cool experimentation here, and I mostly like the percussion here. And there are enough good hooks for me to give this a 7/10. It’s not the most amazing album ever or anything, but it’s got quite a bit to offer, and I recommend giving it a chance.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “What It Becomes”, “Zig”, “Motorbike”
Least Favourite Track: “Church Outfit”

Sanguivore by Creeper:

I’d never listened to a full Creeper album until recently (unless you count their 2021 EP American Noir), although I’d heard great things about them, so before listening to this new album I decided to listen to their other albums multiple times each, and … well, it’s just not really my thing. I get the appeal, but the lyrics didn’t impress me much and the production felt a lot messier than I would have liked; in my opinion, their first two albums each have one great song but are just decent overall, and American Noir didn’t really do much for me at all.

But going into this I heard that the production was better, which made me a bit more excited to hear this … and once again, it’s another Creeper album that isn’t really doing much for me. And while I like the production a bit better, that’s not saying a whole lot, and I also probably like the vocal melodies less. And I wouldn’t say there’s one song here anywhere close to as good as Creeper’s absolute best.

Once again the lyrics don’t really impress me, and while I’m pretty sure it’s mostly just supposed to be pure fun/melodrama, at points it does feel over the top and not in a good way.

All of Creeper’s albums have felt like they’re aiming for this huge, anthemic sound, and personally I just don’t think the production is strong enough for it to really hit as hard as it’s supposed to … and when I like the vocal melodies even less, it leads to a pretty underwhelming listen in my opinion. There are some good moments, but most of this just didn’t do much for me. So, to me it’s a 6/10, and if you want an example of this style of music done in a way that I really do love … well, stay tuned for an individual album review that’s coming up soon.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Further Than Forever”, “Sacred Blasphemy”, “The Abyss”, “Black Heaven”, “More Than Death”
Least Favourite Track: “Teenage Sacrifice”

Calling the Dogs by Citizen:

This is the fifth studio album by Citizen, a band whose first two albums I couldn’t get into at all, but I’ll admit I was intrigued going into this album, as with 2017’s As You Please and 2021’s Life In Your Glass World, I like the direction they’re going in, even though I wouldn’t really consider myself a huge Citizen fan.

And this album shows potential, but it’s not fully clicking for me. There are some good vocal melodies, and I like the production for the most part, with the snares sounding great—although “Lay Low” is an exception to that, as I don’t like how the snare sounds in that song … and on a side note, that song has probably the most annoying chorus here.

But some of the hooks are pretty strong here, like that really hard-hitting chorus of “Dogs” and the great melodic hook of “Takes One to Know One”.

I really like the guitar production for the most part, and this is an album that I feel like I ‘should’ love, and I don’t … and part of it is due to a few of these songs being total duds to me, but I guess a lot of it just doesn’t feel super exciting or interesting to me and is just pleasant while it’s on and that’s about it. Again, that’s just the majority of this album, and there are a few standout highlights in the track list for me, but as a whole I’m just left feeling like something’s missing to make it click more for me.

Maybe it’s something in the compositions that’s just not really clicking for me … either way, I’m going to give this a 7/10. It’s a good album, and I’m curious to hear whatever’s next for Citizen, but this didn’t really wow me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Headtrip”, “Dogs”, “Options”, “Takes One to Know One”
Least Favourite Track: “Lay Low”

Comfortable Silence by Tomcbumpz:

This album came out back in January, and … well, this is a strange listen … I mean, it’s eight tracks and it’s only about eight and a half minutes … it feels more like an EP than an album, but I’m pretty sure it’s officially an album.

Anyway, do I like it? Well … I guess I kind of do. Some of these songs have a nice vibe to them, and there are some good instrumental melodies, but I find the production inconsistent, and I’m also just left wishing the album were longer.

So, overall, I don’t really have a ton to say about this. But still, as background music I think it mostly works. And considering how short it is, it’s easy to recommend.

I’ll give this a light 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Wake Up”, “Remedy”, “Empty Stomach”
Least Favourite Track: “Tangled”

For All The Dogs by Drake:

Yep, that’s right … curiosity got the best of me and I listened to Drake’s newest album. I’ll admit I’m not super familiar with Drake’s discography, but most of what I’ve heard of his music has been absolutely awful in my opinion, and Honestly, Nevermind was among my least favourite albums of last year.

And after hearing some things about Her Loss I decided to just skip it and not even give it one listen … but for whatever reason, I decided to listen to this …

And this is one of those rare cases where I listened to this twice and decided I just didn’t want to sit through it any more … I mean, it’s nearly an hour and a half, the production really doesn’t work for me at all, the instrumentals sound super generic, Drake’s flows are extremely boring for the most part, and there are lots of cringey moments here … and also some lyrics that are questionable, to put it lightly.

And while this might not seem fair considering that I’m a music reviewer and I’m reviewing the album … I just don’t feel like going into much detail with this one. I just don’t think it’s worth my time, and after sitting through this album twice in full I’ve had enough of this album—this is only my second time reviewing a Drake album, and I’m already tired of talking about his music. And while there’s a few moments here and there where Drake has a good flow or there’s a good guest feature or the occasional good line, in my opinion this is a total slog to get through.

And honestly, in my opinion this is fucking terrible … seriously, I highly recommend you stay the hell away from this album—in my opinion, it absolutely sucks! Strong 2.5/10 for me, and it’s probably among the worst albums I’ve heard from this year.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 2.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Virginia Beach”, “Another Late Night”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Amen”, “Calling For You”, “Fear Of Heights”, “Daylight”, “First Person Shooter”, “IDGAF”, “7969 Santa”, “Slime You Out”, “Bahamas Promises”, “Screw The World (Interlude)”, “Drew A Picasso”, “Members Only”, “What Would Pluto Do”, “All The Parties”, “8am in Charlotte”, “BBL Love (Interlude)”, “Rich Baby Daddy”, “Polar Opposites”

Formentera II by Metric:

I was really excited going into this album. 

This is the ninth studio album by Metric, and before listening to it, I decided to listen through all of Metric’s previous albums that I wasn’t already familiar with … and while their music has a lot of interesting social commentary and they have some very catchy songs, most of their early albums just aren’t really my thing, with the exception of Fantasies, that is. But I think they made their best album in 2018 with Art of Doubt only to top it by making their best album once again on the 2022 follow-up Formentera, which was among my absolute favourite albums of last year! Those albums have incredible production, real lyrical depth, great vocal melodies and incredible hooks, and especially considering this is a sequel to their album from last year, I had really high expectations here …

And this might be one of the biggest disappointments I’ve reviewed in 2023. Their previous two albums are absolutely incredible—what happened?

Look, I really wanted this to be great, and I really thought it would be, too … but after about half a dozen listens, I really don’t think it is. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s bad … but the first thing that stands out that really holds this album back for me is the vocal production, which reminds me way too much of my least favourite Metric album Synthetica, especially in “Stone Window”—honestly, that song as a whole sounds very reminiscent of Synthetica, and that’s not a compliment.

While there are moments here that I really like, the production overall doesn’t sound nearly as punchy as their previous two albums, and a lot of the vocal melodies just don’t really do much for me.

And while there are some interesting lyrics here, it doesn’t feel nearly as deep or layered lyrically as their previous two albums, and these songs just don’t have the same firepower musically.

Again, there are moments that really work for me—“Detour Up”, for example, has a pretty strong chorus, and I really like the guitar with the vocal melodies on “Nothing Is Perfect”.

But overall, this was a big disappointment … I really thought this was going to be great, especially considering how much I liked the lead single “Just The Once”, which is easily my favourite song here, but as a whole I’m not sure I’m going to be revisiting this much … so, for me it’s a 6.5/10 … again, I really expected to like this a lot more.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Detour Up”, “Just The Once”, “Who Would You Be For Me”, “Nothing Is Perfect”
Least Favourite Track: “Suckers”

Winter’s Lament by CRT麻痺:

This is a very short album that came out all the way back in January, but I just became aware of it recently.

There’s a lot of atmosphere to this, and while this album didn’t blow my mind or anything, it’s still a very haunting yet calming listen.

If you’re looking for a short ambient album with a lot of experimentation and a lot of great atmosphere, I’d absolutely recommend this!

For me personally, this is a 7/10, though. I’ve heard similar albums that I personally find more interesting, but I still enjoyed this quite a bit.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “BROADCAST 0.1”, “BROADCAST 0.2”, “Сожалеть”
Least Favourite Track: “(untitled)”

Census Designated by Jane Remover:

This is the second or third Jane Remover album (although she has released other albums under the name Leroy), as I’m not sure if her 2021 release Teen Week is officially a studio album or not. But either way, I haven’t listened to Teen Week yet, but I am somewhat familiar with her album Frailty which was released later in 2021, and despite all the critical acclaim I’m not really a big fan of that album. It’s got some cool ideas but to me it just felt kind of like a giant mess of sounds that I mildly enjoyed, but that’s about it.

This album is also getting a lot of critical acclaim, and I kind of get why. I think Jane’s vocals have improved, and the instruments blend together a lot better than on Frailty in my opinion.

There are some fascinating lyrics on this album, and there seems to be a running theme of a toxic relationship, and while some parts of the album don’t feel all that interesting to me, some parts of it do hit pretty hard, such as “Idling Somewhere”, which at least to me feels like one of the main moments here where it becomes even more clear just how messed up this entire situation is … and unfortunately a lot of the mixing feels inconsistent, the vocal production still doesn’t really work for me, and a lot of the vocal melodies just feel meandering to me. And it’s part of the reason why this album which I kind of feel wasn’t too far from being great just doesn’t quite click for me in the way it is for a lot of people.

And while I did say the instruments blend together better in my opinion, there are still some points where it can feel like a noisy mess musically that I have a hard time understanding the appeal of, even though for the most part I did enjoy this album.

So, in other words I think the album is good, but I personally wouldn’t call it great—honestly, it feels very close to great and very far from great at the same time. So, for me it’s a light 7/10. If you love glitchy experimental pop/rock, or if you’re looking to get into that kind of music, then I’d recommend it. Again, I mostly enjoyed it, but it just didn’t really wow me all that much. Maybe you’ll like it more, though, who knows?

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Cage Girl / Camgirl”, “Backseat Girl”, “Idling Somewhere”, “Always Have Always Will”, “Census Designated”
Least Favourite Track: “Lips”

In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You by Dreamwell:

This is the third studio album by Dreamwell, a band I hadn’t heard of until recently. And while I haven’t listened to any of their other albums, I was curious about this album …

And I’d probably call it a post-hardcore album … or at least something like that. Maybe I’d call it metal? Either way, I can’t say this really clicked for me, even though I understand the appeal. It’s absolutely a bleak listen, and I can see how the messy, cacophonous sounds could work considering the lyrics.

But while there’s a lot of emotion here, this just didn’t do much for me at all. It’s definitely an album I respect a lot more than I actually like.

Again, I understand why the cacophonous sounds might work here, but when the production sounds so messy it really keeps it from having a lot more impact for me. And while the vocals are good, the way they’re produced with the rest of the instruments just feels kind of awkward to me.

And overall, there’s just not much compositionally here that really interests me, either, and as emotional as the lyrics are they just didn’t really do all that much for me personally. So, overall, it’s an album I respect way more than I like, and while I recommend giving it a chance if you’re into heavy music, for me it’s a 5/10 … this was a pretty big disappointment for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Good Reasons to Freeze to Death”, “Studying the Greats in Self-Immolation”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Blighttown Type Beat”, “Body Fountain”

Hello, everyone! Here’s a review I’ve been planning to do for a while, my review of the newest album from Mesarthim, Arrival.

This is the seventh album from this duo, and I’ll admit I haven’t listened to any of their first six, but I first listened to this a few months ago, and I knew I wanted to give it its own review, but I couldn’t find the lyrics for it anywhere … and if it were a mini review I wouldn’t have waited, but honestly I considered just making this a mini review because I didn’t want to give it a full review without knowing the lyrics, as I can’t hear what the lyrics are.

And no, I still haven’t found the lyrics, but I decided to give it its own review anyway, because I think an album this amazing deserves its own review! I mean, I could have made it a mini review, but I just really felt like giving it a full review … because again, this absolutely rules!

This is a black metal album which not only has so many phenomenal moments, but it has the cohesion to make it feel like a complete musical journey, and with a running time of fifty minutes, I think it’s pretty much the perfect length for this specific album!

Because I couldn’t find the lyrics for this album, it’s one reason why this review won’t be super in-depth. But while I think this album is absolutely phenomenal and deserves boatloads of praise, there are other reasons why this review isn’t going to be super long. It’s a bit of a tricky album to review—yes, partially because I don’t have the lyrics in front of me, but also because … well, there are certain albums that are the kind of musical experience where it has to be heard to fully understand what makes them so amazing, and I think this is one of those albums. And of course you have to hear an album to fully know what the album is like, but there are other albums which I could describe and I think it would tell you a little bit more about the album … and this one I think is trickier to describe.

But still, I’m going to at least somewhat try … and one big thing that stands out to me on this album is the synths, which add so much to give this album a spacey feeling that really improves the musical experience, making it feel like a journey through space.

The musical textures here are absolutely gorgeous, with the strings playing a huge role in that at points, like in “Arrival, Pt. 3” (although maybe I’m just hearing synths and thinking they’re strings, I’m not sure) … and it’s also very much helped by the fact that the guitar distortion is extremely fitting for this album … it’s not overpowering, but it’s got just enough bite to it to make the music hit a lot harder, and when the mixing is this good, too, it just sounds absolutely phenomenal!

And I can’t not talk about the melodies … there are so many absolutely gorgeous melodies throughout this album, and often when it feels like the melody ‘should’ go one way, it goes another way, and it honestly improves the album if you ask me—in fact, it’s a big part of why I think the album is so great!

And while the bass isn’t as noticeable as I usually prefer, it still provides what feels like a really nice foundation for these songs, and it sounds fantastic when paired with the distorted guitar! And honestly, I like that the basslines aren’t as noticeable here, and I’m not entirely sure why.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that for me to love an album this much, it can’t be purely from a lack of negatives … although it is a contributing factor, and in this case there aren’t a lot of negatives for me …

But still, I could point out a few things, like how at points the album has a slightly foggier sound than I would have liked, but that’s only occasionally. And also, while I really like the shorter tracks, they feel like they could have maybe used a bit more tension to give them a more dramatic feeling.

Still, though, the shorter tracks do work really well. “Arrival, Pt. 1”, for example, is a great way to start this album! And speaking of the start of the album, once you get to the second track, “Arrival, Pt. 2”, if you love that track (which I do), you’re probably going to love the album, as it feels like a sign of what’s to come throughout the album—although there’s still a lot of unpredictability … and that’s kind of what I mean when I say it’s a sign of what’s to come—it could be seen as a sign of unpredictability throughout the album, as this track really builds up tension super well!

For a black metal album, I feel like this album is surprisingly catchy … I mean, not that black metal isn’t often catchy, but this album kind of feels as catchy as a pop album! And when the snares sound so incredible in the mix, it really helps these songs hit way harder, and the combination of that with the fantastic melodies is just absolutely incredible!

And also, it’s worth mentioning that even though I don’t know what’s being said here, the vocals sound absolutely fantastic!

Often this album feels like it’s building up to something, and I don’t just mean within the individual tracks, but it feels like the whole album is building up to something …

And then we get to the seventeen-minute closing track, “Type IV”, which feels like pretty much the perfect way to end this album!

“Type IV” starts with some of the best tension-building on the entire album, and … well, I’ll just let you hear it for yourself. That is, if you want to, of course.

And speaking of which, I highly recommend this album! To me personally, it’s among the absolute best albums I’ve heard from 2023, and again, it’s full of phenomenal moments while also being a cohesive album experience that feels like a musical journey, and a fantastic one! For me, it’s a 9.5/10, the first album I’ve given a 9.5 in a while!

Really, at the end of the day, I think this is a black metal album, but there’s a part of me that wants to call it ‘pop metal’, even though realistically that’s probably a stretch … but still, it’s one of the poppier black metal albums I’ve heard from this year, and if that sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend you listen to this … honestly, I’d recommend it regardless, because again, I think this absolutely rules!

If you’ve heard this, I’m curious to hear what you think of it. And I’m especially curious, do you think the synths fit well here? Because the idea of synths that sound reminiscent of 80s pop being included in a black metal album this much feels kind of strange to think about … I think it works amazingly well, but I’m curious what you think.

I know I haven’t posted in a while, and that’s partially because I got sick and didn’t feel much like working on reviews … as much as I enjoy reviewing albums, I just didn’t feel like it when I was sick, for whatever reason.

But I do have more reviews on the way soon … and it won’t be too long before year-end list season … wow, time flies. Hopefully I have all my 2023 year-end lists posted around the new year, unlike my 2022 year-end lists, but we’ll see.

But for now, thanks for reading this review!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Arrival, Pt. 2”, “Arrival, Pt. 3”, “Arrival, Pt. 5”, “Arrival, Pt. 6”, “Type IV”
Least Favourite Track: “Arrival, Pt. 7”

Hello, everyone! Yes, I know this is the third day in a row that I’ve posted mini reviews, but like I said, there are a lot of them that I’ve been working on recently.

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums, and if I say something negative I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just sharing my personal feelings on these albums. Music is subjective.

Alright, time for the mini reviews!

EXCELSIOR by Slauson Malone 1:

Well, this album is experimental, that’s for sure!

There’s a lot of creativity here, and a lot of variety, but I’m not going to pretend the album really clicked for me personally.

This album reminds me of Saya Gray’s album from last year, 19 MASTERS, as it’s a very haunting listen with some strong standout moments, but overall I’m just left saying, ‘Well, it’s super creative, but a lot of it just doesn’t really do anything for me at all.’

I’m not really sure what the lyrics are about, but I do still find some of the lyrics interesting, and I find some parts of the album super well produced … and “Love Letter Zzz” is a great track if you ask me.

But overall, I don’t think I’ll be going back to this as a whole much, so for me it’s a 6/10. 

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Fission for Drums, Piano & Voice”, “Love Letter Zzz”, “Decades, Castle Romeo”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Great Wedge”

Ultra Paradise by Angel Electronics:

This is the debut album by Angel Electronics, a duo consisting of Ash Nerve and Ada Rook, the latter being a member of Black Dresses. This came out back in January, I became aware of it a few months ago, and I’m finally getting around to reviewing it now, and …

Well, I’m not always a huge fan of the foggy, distorted sound of this album, but at points it does work for me.

But I’m just not super hooked by a lot of the compositions here, and while there are some strong hooks, like in “One Thousand and One Nights” and “Rainbow”, as a whole album I’m more intrigued to hear whatever’s next for Angel Electronics than I am passionate about this album … because this isn’t really for me.

Because of the moments here that do work for me I’m going to give this an extremely light 6.5/10 … I mean, it’s a short, mostly enjoyable listen, but not a super consistent one, and I’ve heard other albums in this style that feel a lot more experimental and interesting to me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “One Thousand and One Nights”, “Secret Teachings of All Ages”, “Angel”, “Rainbow”
Least Favourite Tracks: “HiDE iN SEW”

Perfect Picture by Hannah Diamond:

This is the second studio album by Hannah Diamond, whose first album I still haven’t listened to. I saw this album getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, so I decided to give it a chance, and … well, the first thing that came to mind on my first listen was how much it reminded me of CHVRCHES … and with every listen I hear a lot of similarities, in both the vocals and instrumentation. And on top of that, the ending of “Want You To Know” sounds really similar to “Empty Threat” by CHVRCHES (and honestly, the whole song kind of does).

And compared to most CHVRCHES music, I don’t think this is nearly as good … the instrumentals don’t feel as interesting, the lyrics don’t do as much for me, and the production feels like it’s lacking the firepower that makes CHVRCHES’ music so great, with some exceptions like “Want You To Know”. And while I like a lot of the vocal melodies, I wouldn’t say they’re quite as strong as most of CHVRCHES’ vocal melodies.

And nothing against Hannah Diamond as a singer, but if we’re comparing her as a vocalist to Lauren Mayberry … well, how many singers are as great as Lauren Mayberry?

But that’s enough of me comparing this to CHVRCHES … do I at least like this album? Well, yeah, I mostly do. Hannah Diamond is a good singer, and there are some really good melodies here, even though the production holds it back for me. But still, I don’t think this is going to have a lot of replay value for me, as I just don’t find it super interesting outside of some moments here and there. And also, I’m not really a big fan of the chopped up vocals that are all over this album.

I’m going to give this a 6/10 … if you’re looking for some catchy pop music with strong vocal melodies, I’d recommend this, but I wouldn’t recommend going into it with the highest of expectations.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Poster Girl”, “Want You To Know”, “No FX”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Affirmations”, “Lip Sync”

1988 by Lori McKenna:

This is my first time listening to a Lori McKenna album, and while I like a lot of the storytelling and production, a lot of the melodies feel really underwhelming to me, and the instrumentals feel mostly generic if you ask me.

The drums sound pretty good here for the most part, and while the guitars aren’t always produced in a way I really like, I think the sound quality of the album is pretty solid. But the compositions often just don’t really do much for me.

I like a lot of the lyrics about growing up, although in “Letting People Down” she says ‘the world is flat,’ which I’m almost positive isn’t meant literally, but the song still loses points for me because of that line, and it’s not like I would have liked the song otherwise.

I’m going to give this a 6/10, as there are moments I really like, such as “The Old Woman In Me” and “Days Are Honey”, but as a whole it’s not really for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Old Woman In Me”, “Days Are Honey”, “1988”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Letting People Down”

Cousin by Wilco:

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Wilco’s music, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever listened to one of their albums.

And in my opinion, this is a pretty solid album. I mostly like the basslines, and the acoustic guitar production sounds great! And there are some really good vocal melodies here, too!

With that being said, this doesn’t sound super unique to me, and the hooks aren’t super strong for the most part.

But still, there are some moments that really impressed me, like the Radiohead-esque “A Bowl and A Pudding”, and I love the slightly gloomy atmosphere of “Sunlight Ends”.

For me, this is a 7/10. It’s not an album that I really see myself going back to much, nor is it really wowing me much, but it’s still a pretty solid indie rock album that’s mostly well produced, and if that sounds appealing to you, I think it’s definitely worth recommending!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Levee”, “Sunlight Ends”, “A Bowl and A Pudding”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Ten Dead”

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan:

So, I started seeing a lot of hype for this album seemingly out of nowhere, and I was excited to hear it, but for some reason I kind of had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this as much as a lot of people do, and I’m not really sure why.

And after multiple listens … well, yeah, I can’t say I’m as big a fan of this as a lot of critics are. There’s a lot of variety on this album, with some more upbeat pop songs and some more mellow songs, and lyrically there’s a lot of variety here, too (take my lyrical analyzations with a grain of salt—like I often say, I’m not great at analyzing lyrics), from fighting back against society’s objectification of women on “Casual” to a friendship completely altered by one event on “Kaleidoscope” to the celebration of being your authentic self on “Pink Pony Club”. But while I like a lot of the lyrics, there’s also “My Kink Is Karma”, which is quite an uncomfortable listen—don’t get me wrong, it’s got a catchy chorus, and I like the idea of the song, as she’s calling out an ex’s bad behaviour and saying how much she wants things to go wrong for this person … but then she says ‘my kink is watching you crashing your car’ … and yes, I get that emotions are not really something people can fully control and that that’s kind of the point of the song, but it still makes for a really uncomfortable listen.

Overall, I feel like most elements of this album are just inconsistent … I mean, there are moments here that really stand out to me in a positive way, like the huge chorus of “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”, but as a whole album it doesn’t feel consistent enough for me to call it great.

But still, there’s a lot of creativity here, and a lot of people seem to really like this, so it’s still getting a recommendation from me, especially if you’re into pop. But for me, it’s a 6/10, as a lot of these songs just feel like they’re missing something to make them click for me more.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Casual”, “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”, “Kaleidoscope”
Least Favourite Tracks: “After Midnight”

Hello, everyone! Yes, I know I just posted ten mini reviews yesterday, but I have five more of them ready that I’ve been working on over the last little bit, so here they are.

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, even if I say something negative.

Also, I’m keeping these reviews very brief because there are a whole bunch of other albums I want to review, and also … well, they are mini reviews, aren’t they supposed to be pretty brief?

Feel free to let me know what you think of these albums in the comments, and now let’s get the reviews started!

softscars by yeule:

This is yeule’s third studio album, although it’s the first album of theirs that I’ve listened to. It’s also among the most critically acclaimed albums of 2023, and I was really excited to hear it …

And yet it’s not really clicking for me. For whatever reason this year it seems like so many of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year just aren’t fully clicking for me personally, and unfortunately this is another one to add to the list. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments here that I like, and yeule is a good singer, and I really like a lot of the vocal effects, too … but a big thing that holds this back for me is a lot of the vocal melodies mostly boring me.

Now, there are exceptions to that, like “sulky baby”, but often I just don’t find the vocal melodies all that interesting, and the compositions also don’t really grab my attention all that much outside of a few moments, and I’m not a huge fan of the way the percussion is produced on this album as it often just sounds awkward when paired with the rest of the instrumentals; a big example of this is “software update”.

And overall, I’ve just heard this sound done a lot better in my opinion … there are some interesting ideas here, but it’s not for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “sulky baby”, “softscars”, “cyber meat”
Least Favourite Tracks: “software update”

Imitation by Harsh Symmetry:

I feel like this album could be described as new wave … it kind of feels like a cross between pop and rock, but not really pop-rock.

And this album really soured on me the more I listened to it. There’s just so little about this that makes me want to go back to it.

It’s worth mentioning that I couldn’t find most of the lyrics when I looked them up, and it’s hard to hear the lyrics, so I’m mostly just reviewing this based on how it sounds … and speaking of which, the vocals sound so buried in the mix, which really holds this album back for me.

But it’s not like the instrumentals or the vocal melodies really do much for me, anyway … and while some elements of the production do mostly work for me, and there are some points where an instrument will really stand out to me (such as that great snare in “Glass Tears”), most of this just barely does anything for me at all, and the cover of “Open Your Heart” by Madonna is quite bad in my opinion.

The album starts pretty strong, and if you really love new wave I’d recommend this, but even as someone who does like new wave, this just totally fell flat for me. 5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Intro”, “Glass Tears”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Open Your Heart”

Isn’t It Now? by Animal Collective:

This is the twelfth studio album by Animal Collective, a band I’ve heard about a lot but haven’t really listened to much. Their 2022 album, Time Skiffs, is the only album of theirs I had listened to going into this one, and it’s not an album that really did a whole lot for me.

But I was curious to hear this album, and unfortunately I’m not really wowed by this, either. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s just not doing a whole lot for me.

Lyrically I don’t really understand this album, which doesn’t make the lyrics bad, it’s just that I can’t really comment on them much, because I have a hard time figuring out what the lyrics are about.

But still, I mostly did enjoy this. “Magicians from Baltimore” is a standout for me with its great drum fills and great production, and there are other moments here that I like, but as a full album that’s over an hour long, it is a bit much for me.

There are elements of the production that I like, but the instruments don’t always blend together in the production super well if you ask me, and the melodies are hit-or-miss for me.

I’m going to give this album a 6/10. It’s definitely interesting, but it’s not really my cup of tea outside of a few moments.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Genie’s Open”, “Magicians from Baltimore”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Defeat”

The Above by Code Orange:

For a while, Code Orange have been one of those bands whose name I’ve heard a lot but whom I hadn’t really taken the time to listen to. So, I recently decided to give their first four albums a few listens each, and after doing that I can’t really call myself much of a Code Orange fan.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking their first two albums, but then came Forever in 2017, which just didn’t do much for me at all, and their 2020 album Underneath was kind of a slog for me to get through. And now they’ve released their fifth album, and it seems to be getting the least critical acclaim of any of their albums to date … so, my expectations for this were quite low.

And … well, I like it more than I thought I would, which really isn’t saying much at all … I expected it to be a total slog to get through, but instead … well, it’s got its moments, like the strong choruses on “Splinter The Soul” and “Circle Through”, and “Theatre Of Cruelty” has an eerie instrumental that I really like.

But still, overall this didn’t really do much for me. At points the production sounds really messy, and outside of a few moments the vocal melodies don’t really click much for me.

Overall, while I like that there’s at least some variety in the sound, it just blends in with a lot of other metalcore to me personally, so I’m going to give this a 5/10. In my opinion this is nowhere near as good as their first two albums, and that’s coming from someone who’s not even a particularly big Code Orange fan. I kind of get the appeal of this, but it’s not for me at all.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Theatre Of Cruelty”, “Splinter The Soul”, “Circle Through”
Least Favourite Tracks: “But A Dream…”, “The Above”

The Harmony Codex by Steven Wilson:

This is my first time listening to a Steven Wilson solo album, although I did listen to and review Porcupine Tree’s album from last year, an album I couldn’t get into at all. But I wanted to give this a fair chance … and I mostly like it!

There are some great synths on this album, and a lot of these songs have this massive sound to them that I think works really well! And I also like the tension in the music at points here, like in “Impossible Tightrope”.

Now, I will say I don’t quite love this album, as I don’t find it super consistent, and there’s also just not enough here to really make me want to go back to it as a whole, but it’s still a really fascinating listen that I quite like!

It does feel a bit longer than I would have liked, running for over an hour, but there are a lot of good melodies, and I mostly like the production! So, I’ll give this a 7.5/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Economies of Scale”, “Beautiful Scarecrow”, “Time Is Running Out”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Actual Brutal Facts”

Hello, everyone! Time for more mini reviews!

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums. Music is subjective, and I’m not trying to control what kind of music people make, I’m just sharing my own personal feelings on these albums.

Also, like with a lot of my recent posts, these reviews are less in-depth than usual. My mini reviews aren’t usually super in-depth anyway, but I feel like these are even less in-depth than usual, and it’ll probably continue to be this way for a bit, as I’ve got so many other reviews I want to post, and I’m busy with other things outside of reviewing as well. But still, I listened to all these albums multiple times, and I found some things to say about each of them.

Also, if I’ve counted correctly, including the reviews in this post I’ve now reviewed 250 albums from this year! I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty surprised I found a way to review that many, especially as early as October!

And now it’s time for the reviews, starting with …

Again by Oneohtrix Point Never:

Well, this is an interesting album, to say the least …

This is my first time listening to a Oneohtrix Point Never album, although I’ve heard his production on other people’s music.

And overall, I mostly like this, but it is kind of a mixed bag, where parts of the album really click for me a lot, and other parts just feel pretty underwhelming to me.

But it’s still pretty consistently enjoyable, and there are some great moments, like the gorgeous “Ubiquity Road” or that absolutely haunting intro of “World Outside”.

Overall, the production is pretty strong in my opinion, and while I don’t love most of this album, it’s got its great standout moments, and I mostly like it overall, so I’ll give it a strong 7/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Again”, “World Outside”, “The Body Trail”, “Ubiquity Road”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Nightmare Paint”

BB/ANG3L by Tinashe:

This feels more like an EP than an album, but officially it’s an album, meaning it’s eligible to be in this post.

And unfortunately I can’t say it’s really doing much for me. I don’t dislike it, but it’s just not really my cup of tea.

I think the album opens really well with “Treason”, which has gorgeous vocals and a haunting instrumental, but pretty much all the other songs feel like they’re missing something, and while I mostly like the production, the vocal melodies often don’t really do much for me.

I can’t say the lyrics really wowed me much, and “Needs” feels really creepy, as the narrator is pretty much telling somebody ‘I need to have sex with you’ while having the attitude of, ‘Oh, I’m just being human.’ If the word was ‘wants’ instead of ‘needs’ I don’t think this would be creepy at all. I mean, based on the other lyrics in the song it does seem like the other person is into it, but it still comes across as creepy. And I know it’s not meant to be taken seriously, but I still don’t want to listen to this.

Overall, while Tinashe is a good singer, and I mostly like the production, and at least the album is short, this album just didn’t really do much for me, so I’ll give this a 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Treason”, “Talk To Me Nice”, “Gravity”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Needs”

It’s The End Of The World But It’s A Beautiful Day by Thirty Seconds to Mars:

This is the sixth studio album by Thirty Seconds to Mars, and while I haven’t heard particularly good things about their early albums, they certainly got a more positive reception than 2013’s LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS and especially 2018’s AMERICA. I personally still haven’t listened to their first four albums and I don’t feel in any rush to do so, but a few months ago curiosity got the best of me and I listened to AMERICA once … and after one listen, I already didn’t feel like listening to it again, and I was kind of shocked by how much I disliked it.

And as I expected, this new album was getting really negative reviews, but curiosity got the best of me once again … and it’s rare that I review an album after listening to it less than three times, but after two listens I decided I didn’t want to sit through this any more, because this is some of the most uninteresting, annoying, overproduced music I’ve heard all year. And considering some of the things I’ve heard about Jared Leto as a person, I don’t feel as bad for giving this such a negative review as I otherwise would—although I don’t know that much about him and haven’t really done a lot of research, so I don’t want to make assumptions or anything, especially because you can’t believe everything you read online … but I think you get the point.

Also, as always, I’m just sharing how I personally feel … and yeah, I can’t get into this album at all. Pretty much every song here—if not every song here—sounds like a million other songs I’ve already heard, and the production takes away pretty much any punch this could have had … but even aside from that, the melodies are boring, and just because there’s emotion in the lyrics doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend I find the lyrics interesting at all. I’m not trying to be insensitive or anything, but I personally find the lyrics to be some of the most generic lyrics I’ve read all year.

This sounds like it’s supposed to sound like a rock album, but the pop elements just totally overpower the rock elements … and it’s not that I don’t like pop music, it’s just that this sounds like it’s going for this big, epic feeling … and it just feels so bland and overproduced, with some really awkward mixing choices. And overall, this album is incredibly annoying and difficult to sit through.

At least it ends with “Avalanche”, which I think is a pretty decent song, but the rest of the album makes it seem like a masterpiece in comparison … and in my personal opinion this is easily among the worst albums I’ve heard from 2023. It’s a very light 2/10 for me, and while I’m not going to judge anyone for liking it, I just can’t bring myself to recommend this at all.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 2/10
Favourite Tracks: “Avalanche”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Stuck”, “Life Is Beautiful”, “Seasons”, “Get Up Kid”, “Love These Days”, “World On Fire”, “7:1”, “Never Not Love You”, “Midnight Prayer”

The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski:

So, for a while, I’d heard really good things about Mitski’s music, but I hadn’t really listened to much of it. And while Laurel Hell from last year was considered by many to be a big disappointment, it ended up in my top 25 albums of last year, and considering the popular opinion seemed to be that her earlier albums are a lot better, that made me really excited to check out those albums!

And yet I can’t really say I was all that wowed, at least in comparison to Laurel Hell, which I can now say is by far my favourite Mitski album, and that made me wonder if maybe Laurel Hell was just a one-off, and maybe I shouldn’t go into this new album with the highest of expectations … but I wanted to give it a fair chance, and …

Well, I definitely don’t like it as much as Laurel Hell, that’s for sure. And that’s not to say this is bad, because I don’t think it is, it’s just not really wowing me as much as that album did.

There are a lot of interesting lyrics here, and I mostly like the production, and Mitski is a good singer, but often the vocal melodies feel underwhelming and for the most part the hooks aren’t as strong as the hooks on Laurel Hell—there’s no standout chorus here like “Should’ve Been Me” or “Stay Soft”.

There are moments that I really like, such as “The Frost” which is a haunting track with a very winter-like feeling to it, but there are also a lot of points that don’t do much for me at all, and “I’m Your Man” is a terrible song in my opinion, especially with the line, ‘when you leave me, I should die,’ and also the dog noises in the end of the song.

The run of tracks from “The Deal” to “The Frost” are all at least solid, some of them great, but outside of that there’s just not much here that really grabbed me, and overall I’m going to give this a light 6.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “The Deal”, “When Memories Snow”, “My Love Mine All Mine”, “The Frost”
Least Favourite Tracks: “I’m Your Man”

Fanfare by Dorian Electra:

This is the third Dorian Electra album and it’s the first that I’ve listened to, despite all the critical acclaim that they’ve gotten … and overall, I can’t say I’m really wowed by this.

That being said, it does make me curious to listen to their first two albums, especially Flamboyant as it’s probably the more critically acclaimed of the two. And this new album does show some promise, as I mostly like the production, and there are some catchy moments here like “Phonies” …

But while there are some interesting lyrics, a lot of which is social commentary, musically there’s just not much here that makes me want to go back to this. It could be described as ‘experimental pop’, but it feels so much like a lot of other ‘experimental pop’ that I’ve heard that it doesn’t feel as experimental. That’s not to say there isn’t any creativity here, because there is, but it doesn’t feel as creative to me as a lot of experimental pop, that’s all.

And about the lyrics … well, I’m not going to pretend I really understand the lyrics that much, but I do mostly like the lyrics, some of which seem to be about social media, and the pros and cons of it.

But overall, I’m going to give this a 6/10. I like some parts of the album, but most of it just feels kind of boring to me, and “Puppet” is incredibly obnoxious.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Yes Man”, “Phonies”, “Warning Signs”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Puppet”

Silence Between Songs by Madison Beer:

If you follow popular music, chances are you already know who Madison Beer is, even though she hasn’t had that huge mainstream breakthrough that feels more like a matter of time than anything. But in case you don’t know, Madison Beer became a YouTube star as a teenager about a decade ago, and in 2021 she released her debut studio album Life Support.

And unfortunately Life Support really didn’t do much for me at all; in my opinion, that album is mediocre at best. So, I can’t say I had super high expectations for this album …

And like I expected, this didn’t really do much for me. I do at least like it slightly more than Life Support, but that’s not really saying much. But the production is pretty good for the most part even though some elements at points sound kind of awkwardly produced in a way that doesn’t really fit with the rest of the song, such as the guitar in the background on “King Of Everything”.

I’m not going to say the lyrics really wowed me all that much, but I don’t think the lyrics are bad, either. And like I always say, I’m not great at analyzing lyrics, so take this with a grain of salt, but a lot of the lyrics feel kind of generic to me.

But still, Madison Beer is a good singer, and there are some good vocal melodies here … but for some reason, when you put it all together, something just feels missing on this album, and compositionally a lot of it feels like I’ve heard it before. So, for me, it’s a 6/10. I’d recommend giving it a chance, but it’s not really for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Nothing Matters But You”, “Home To Another One”, “Reckless”, “Silence Between Songs”, “King Of Everything”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You)”

Infinite Spring by Superviolet:

This is the debut solo album by Steve Ciolek under the name Superviolet. I saw this described as indie rock, and I was curious to hear it.

And I mostly like it! The album reminds me quite a bit of Andy Shauf’s album from earlier this year, Norm, not only because of how open to interpretation a lot of the lyrics feel, but also in the style and sound of the music.

I think the album opens really well with “Angels on the Ground” which has some drums that sound great in the mix and a lot of good vocal melodies, and there are some other highlights here, too, like “Overrater” which has some really interesting storytelling and some great guitar.

So, overall, I’m going to give this a 6.5/10. It’s a good album, and I mostly like the production, but it didn’t really wow me. It’s an album I think I’ll go back to more in pieces than as a whole.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Angels on the Ground”, “Blue Bower”, “Locket”, “Overrater”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Big Songbirds Don’t Cry”

The Weight Of The Mask by Svalbard:

I’ve heard some really good things about Svalbard’s 2020 album, When I Die, Will I Get Better? And while I still haven’t listened to that album, it made me excited to listen to this new album.

And I’m glad I listened to this, because this album is really strong! Now, it’s worth noting that if you’re not into metal or post-hardcore or anything like that, then I’m not sure this will be for you, but I mostly like the production here, and there are some really strong melodies in the instrumentation!

The guitars sound great, and I love the crushing snares! And while there are some passages that just don’t do much for me at all, the majority of this is really strong … even if rarely something that really wows me all that much. But still, “How To Swim Down” is absolutely amazing, and there isn’t a bad song here!

This album has lots of emotional lyrics, and the music fits the lyrics really well. And while I wouldn’t quite call this album great, it’s very close! I’ll give this a strong 7.5/10, and I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of metal or anything close to metal!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “November”, “How To Swim Down”, “Pillar In The Sand”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Lights Out”

Crux by Glasser:

I was looking at new album releases and I came across this album from an artist whom I’m not sure I’d heard of before. It’s her first album in a decade, and while I still haven’t listened to her first two albums, I decided to give this album—which is her third to date—multiple listens.

And while there are parts of this album that really stand out to me, as a whole I wouldn’t call it great.

And I can’t quite place what it is about this that isn’t fully clicking for me, because this album is very creative and it is mostly enjoyable, with really good vocals and melodies! And I mostly like the production, too!

But when you put it all together, I just feel like something’s missing a lot of the time, and I can’t place what that is.

Now, there are some strong standout highlights here for me—“Easy” has some of the best synths on the album, and there are some really interesting lyrics in “All Lovers” … and the latter of those two songs has a very catchy chorus! And “Drift” is a really interesting dance song with a very moody vibe to it, and I love the strings at the end of the chorus!

But overall … well, I don’t dislike it, but it does feel kind of underwhelming to me. Still, though, I’ll give it a 6.5/10 because I did mostly enjoy this … I just feel like I ‘should’ like it more than I do.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Easy”, “All Lovers”, “Drift”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Ophrys”

Born Again by Danger Mouse & Jemini The Gifted One:

So, this album was recorded decades ago but was just finally released this year, and to me it counts as a 2023 album because that’s when it was released.

Anyway, do I like the album? Well, yeah, I like it a lot!

Now, it’s worth mentioning that I couldn’t find most of the lyrics for this when I looked them up, and while I tried to listen to the lyrics, I didn’t want to worry too much about making sure I heard every line, and there’s not as much time to process the lyrics when the rapping is so fast, so I’m not really going to try to analyze the lyrics much. But I do like a lot of the lyrics I can hear, even though if I can hear it correctly “Me” features the awful line, ‘Got gay bitches switched.’

But there are also a lot of great lines here, with great rhyming and also some interesting storytelling, like on “Dear Poppa”—I don’t have the lyrics in front of me, and I very well could be misunderstanding it, but it seems to be about a love/hate relationship with the narrator’s father, who based on the lyrics sounds like he may have been abusive, and it seems like the narrator is trying to appreciate the good things his father did without justifying the bad … but again, I could absolutely be wrong about this, especially because I can’t hear what all the lyrics are.

Danger Mouse’s production here is fantastic, with the percussion sounding excellent in the mix, and the strings fit in pretty much perfectly!

Jemini The Gifted One has so many great flows here, and the flows and instrumentals go super well together, and musically there’s quite a bit of variety on this album!

If you’re looking for a great hip hop album full of bangers with great production, I highly recommend this album! 8/10!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “All I”, “Locked Up”, “Born Again”, “Walk the Walk”, “World Music”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Knuckle Sandwich II”

Hello, everyone! It’s time for another album review, and today I’m reviewing the newest Barenaked Ladies album, In Flight.

If my reviews have felt more brief than usual recently, there are a few reasons for that. The short answer is that I’ve been busy. The slightly longer answer is that I started college last month, and I’m still working part-time, and there are other things I do with my time as well aside from college, work, and working on my reviews. And I just don’t want to feel like I have to understand every line of every song or give a super detailed analysis of every review I write. At the end of the day I’m writing about how I personally feel about the album, and I think it’s okay if I keep the reviews brief. And it’s not that that’s necessarily anything new, because it’s not like I was previously trying to make sure I understood everything being said on every album I reviewed … but still, I feel like I’ve kept my reviews a bit more brief recently than before, because I’ve been super busy.

But there’s another big reason why I’ve been very busy recently, and that’s because I recently listened to every Barenaked Ladies album multiple times each. For a while they’d been one of those bands I wanted to listen to more, as I’d heard some good things about them. And I thought it would be a good idea to do that before reviewing this new album of theirs.

And I’d say I’m becoming a fan of the Barenaked Ladies. In fact, I’d call myself a fan already. Their early albums have a lot of personality to them and are full of creativity! And while the early part of their discography has its moments that don’t really work for me, I think they have a few legit great albums!

But I also think it’s been decades since they’ve released a great album … and not only that, but for the past two decades it feels like they’ve consistently been releasing mediocre albums. So, I can’t say I had particularly high expectations going into this new album … but I wanted to give it a fair chance, so how do I feel about it after multiple listens?

Well, it’s my least favourite Barenaked Ladies album to date … and I’m not sure whether or not I’m surprised by that, but I certainly didn’t expect to like the album, and I don’t.

And considering how little there is here that really interests me personally, it makes for a pretty easy album to review, to the point where I considered just making this a mini review … but after listening to as much Barenaked Ladies as I did, I just felt like a full-length review would make more sense … even though I don’t think I’ll have a ton to say.

As always, this is all just my opinion, so just because I don’t like this album doesn’t mean it’s ‘objectively bad’.

So, going back to what I was saying about how creative their early albums are … well, this album doesn’t feel nearly as creative to me, and it doesn’t feel as unique to Barenaked Ladies, and it feels like this could have been made by pretty much anyone. And that very well could just be a me thing, but that’s how I personally hear it.

The album opens with “Lovin’ Life”, which features the really cringey line, ‘It’s like a pizza and we want another slice,’ and also, ‘It’s even sweeter than a watermelon slice.’ This song is followed by “One Night”, and both these songs just feel like a million other songs I’ve heard before, and while I respect that they seem to be trying to make some uplifting songs here, to me personally these songs just feel incredibly boring, and at points quite annoying, with messy production and vocal melodies that do pretty much nothing for me.

“Enough Time” and “What Do We Need?” aren’t bad, and I kind of like some of the lyrical ideas here, but musically these songs feel incredibly uninteresting to me, and the former has production that I don’t really like, with the bass sounding kind of awkward in the mix and the guitar at points feeling too quiet.

And speaking of production I don’t like, “Just Wait” has bass that overpowers the mix, and handclap percussion that feels really out of place with the way it’s produced.

The next few songs are some of the better songs on the album, although none of them are anywhere close to being songs that I like, and the line, ‘I’ll come collect you’ is one of the cringiest moments on the album … and then there’s a really bad stretch of tracks starting with “See the Tower” with its very repetitive melody, and then “Wake Up” starts with a really annoying synth and some percussion that gets really distracting … and from this point on there’s so little about the song that really stands out to me and I just want it to end.

After “Clearly Lost”—which is another song that just makes me want to listen to some early Barenaked Ladies instead—we get my least favourite song on the entire album, “The Dream Hotel”, which is … quite something.

“The Dream Hotel” features a story that I don’t understand at all … and while that’s very likely a me thing, the imagery doesn’t really work for me as I have no idea what is being described in this song. Somebody’s staying at the dream hotel, but one person doesn’t want to be there, or something like that. Again, I’m probably being totally unfair to this, because maybe I’m just not putting in the effort to understand it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot more to this … but I’m just talking about how I hear it, and I don’t like this song at all, also partially because of the incredibly boring composition and annoying repetition, and the messy production.

“I Am Asking You To” has some nice vocal melodies, and it’s a nice album highlight late in the track list … I mean, it’s nowhere near as good as a lot of the songs they released decades ago, but it’s still by far my favourite song here, especially because the snare sounds really good!

There’s some interesting storytelling on the closing track, but musically the song just really bores me, and overall this track just doesn’t do a whole lot for me.

Overall, I barely found anything about this that makes me want to go back to it. And I’m not saying this to be mean or anything, I’m just being honest about how I feel. Music is subjective.

But to me personally, this just feels so much less creative than their early music, and it doesn’t feel unique to Barenaked Ladies. And I also find the production and melodies a lot weaker.

But feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. For me, it’s a 4/10, but I’m curious to hear other opinions.

Also, I know I didn’t go into as much detail as I could have, but the album just doesn’t give me a ton to say, and if I hadn’t listened to all of their other albums before this review, I’d probably just be making it a mini review—in fact, even after listening to all those albums, I considered making this a mini review because it just doesn’t give me much to say.

I could have said more about this, but, to quote the album, ‘I haven’t got time, oh no. No, I haven’t got enough time.’ But that’s not really the real reason … because really, I just have other things I’d rather do with my time.

But again, I’m curious to hear what you think about this album, and thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/10
Favourite Tracks: “I Am Asking You To”
Least Favourite Tracks: “See the Tower”, “The Dream Hotel”

Is this just me, or are there certain artists whose music it feels kind of strange to review?

Okay, well, I know it’s not just me. But I feel like there’s a small group of artists who, if you ask a music critic to review one of their albums, there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to feel strange for the reviewer to review the album.

And obviously I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so maybe this isn’t a good example, but one band who comes to mind is The Beatles. They’re one of the most critically acclaimed bands of all time, and one of the most famous bands of all time, whose music has become such a huge part of popular culture for so many decades that the idea of reviewing a Beatles album feels kind of strange, even though I’m probably going to review one of their albums eventually, whenever I get back to doing throwback reviews.

But just because a band/artist is super famous and has a huge fanbase doesn’t make it feel awkward to review their albums, does it? Taylor Swift’s music is a huge part of popular culture and she has a super large fanbase, and she’s one of the most famous celebrities in the world, and it didn’t feel strange for me reviewing Midnights last year—although I’ll admit the album has grown on me a bit, but that’s not the point.

I think the big difference is … well, it’s hard to explain, but The Beatles’ music has been around for way longer, and their critical reception in recent years has been really interesting, as they’re still often considered one of the greatest bands of all time, and because of that they’ve also often been considered one of the most overrated bands of all time. So, if someone is trying really hard to be ‘cool’, they could pretty much say whatever they want about The Beatles, and at the same time they’ll also have a controversial opinion—in other words, I think pretty much everyone has some sort of controversial opinion on The Beatles’ discography overall.

And while he wouldn’t be right near the top of the list for me of artists whose music it feels strange to review, Ed Sheeran is a name that comes to mind in that conversation, albeit in a different way than The Beatles. I mean, if I were just trying to be ‘cool’ I would say that all of Ed Sheeran’s albums suck, but at the same time it kind of feels like in the online music critic community, almost everyone likes some Ed Sheeran music.

I recently decided to listen to all of the Ed Sheeran albums I hadn’t listened to, and I’ve now heard all of Ed’s albums multiple times, and I can’t say his first few albums really did much for me, even though “The A Team” and “Castle on the Hill” are great songs. And then there was No.6 Collaborations Project, which in my opinion is his worst album, and a complete mess. It doesn’t even feel like a studio album, and it feels more like a bunch of random ideas tossed in a blender. And while = has its moments, I don’t think any of his first five albums are as good as –, his sixth studio album from earlier this year—it’s a very emotional album which has some excellent songs on it, and I was really excited to hear his seventh album, Autumn Variations, his second album of 2023.

And unfortunately, I think it’s a step down. And in a year full of disappointing albums for me, I guess we have another one to add to the list.

So, why didn’t this click for me? Well, the first thing I want to mention is the production, which in my opinion isn’t nearly as strong as the production on –. A lot of these songs have an oddly messy feeling to the production, such as “Magical” with the acoustic guitar timbre that, for whatever reason, just feels too sharp in the dreamy production, if that makes any sense.

Another example is the closing track, which has an annoying clicking beat that just feels really out of place to me. And “Plastic Bag” has an instrumental that at points sounds like a bunch of sounds just thrown together without them really fitting together well in my opinion, including the percussion that overpowers the mix.

I also think the vocal melodies—outside of a few moments which I’ll get to in a bit—are pretty uninteresting. There are songs here in which I like the ideas, but it just doesn’t really come together for me as a full song, like “Punchline”, a song which has some emotional lyrics and good production, and I do like this track, but the vocal melodies just don’t really grab me much.

And before I talk about the elements of this album that I really like, I do want to mention my least favourite track here, “The Day I Was Born”, which not only has similar production issues for me as a lot of this album, but it also just doesn’t really do anything for me compositionally or melodically. And also, I get that this is supposed to be a really emotional track about a lonely birthday, and about feeling alone in general, and I don’t want to be insensitive or anything, but something about the main line of the song being ‘nobody cares this is the day I was born’ just feels kind of cringey to me, almost like I’m listening to myself as a five year old, complaining, ‘But it’s my birthday! I should get everything I want!’ Again, I know that’s not the point of the song, but for some reason that’s all I can think of whenever I hear this.

Now, with all that being said, there are a few strong high points on this album, such as “England”. The guitars have some real firepower to them, and the snare adds a lot of punch. It’s also one of the few songs here where the vocal melodies really click for me. The bass sounds really good in the mix, really helping this feel a lot more anthemic and replayable. And I really like the lyrics that are celebrating Ed’s home country. I love the line, ‘I find this country of mine gets a bad reputation of bein’ cold and grey, but on the coast of the south to the east followed round, I find serenity I’ve never felt.’ I mean, it’s a simple song, but there’s a lot of really good imagery, and the instruments all come together to create a really powerful song.

Speaking of songs in which I really like the vocal melodies … well, “American Town” comes to mind. I mean, with its super catchy chorus, I get why it was released as a single … and I really hope it becomes a hit, because this song is great! The acoustic guitar sounds really good, I think it has some of the best vocals on the album, and I love that little guitar lick at the end of the chorus!

There’s also “Midnight”, a song which I think is mixed really well, and the vocal melodies are some of the better ones on the album in my opinion.

But overall, I just didn’t find much here that made me want to go back to the album. I mean, I can tell there was a lot of emotion put into this, but the album just isn’t really my cup of tea. And while there are a few moments that really clicked for me, none of the songs here are as great as the very best from – in my opinion, and the majority of this is just decent to me.

But as always, it’s just how I personally feel … and I still like this more than I don’t, so I’ll give it a 6/10.

I know I didn’t really say much about this, and my apologies for not really going into much detail at all here. I’ve got quite a few reviews I’m working on and I’ve been really busy recently with school. I considered just making this a mini review, but I’d already started writing this post and I decided to just make it a full review, just not a super long one.

There’s a part of me that feels like if I’m going to do full-length album reviews I should put a bit more effort into them than I do … but at the end of the day, I’m just some guy writing about my personal feelings on albums. I’m not trying to control anyone else’s feelings on the albums I review. And overall, I just didn’t really feel like putting a ton of effort into this review considering how many other reviews I have coming up. And part of that is probably because I work at a Starbucks, where I’ve constantly been hearing an Ed Sheeran playlist on the store’s speakers … and considering the fact that I also listened to a lot of Ed Sheeran in preparation for this review and listened to this album multiple times … eventually I guess I just reached a point where I got really tired of listening to Ed Sheeran’s music for the time being. But I still feel confident about my feelings on the album, I just didn’t put in the extra work I could have to make the review more detailed.

But take my review with a grain of salt, like any of my reviews. It’s all just how I personally feel.

And with that, thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “England”, “American Town”, “Midnight”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Day I Was Born”

Hello, everyone! I’m back with another mini review post, this time with seven mini reviews.

As always, nothing here is meant as an attempt to be mean or anything, even if I say something negative. I’m just sharing how I personally feel about these albums, and music is subjective.

I know these reviews aren’t super in-depth, but that’s kind of the point of these mini review posts.

Alright, time to start the reviews!

Unbearable Light of the Earth by Evergreen Avenue:

This is the fourth Evergreen Avenue album I’ve reviewed this year, and like with Springtime (which I reviewed last week), I like that this album has more variety than the other two Evergreen Avenue albums I reviewed this year, but I still don’t really love this album. There are points where it’s got a nice atmosphere to it, but overall it’s just not an album I see myself going back to much.

With that being said, though, if you’re looking for some experimental instrumental ambient music, this might be what you’re looking for! And I still mostly enjoyed this!

This album has some very eerie moments that I really like, and even if as a whole it’s not fully my cup of tea, there is still a lot to like here.

I can’t pick favourite or least favourite tracks, because just like the other three Evergreen Avenue albums I’ve reviewed this year, this album just consists of one track that’s over thirty minutes and that’s the entire track list.

But back to my feelings on the album … well, I still mostly like this. I’ll give Unbearable Light of the Earth a 6.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons by The Hives:

This is The Hives’ first album in over a decade, and it’s also the first one of their albums that I’ve listened to.

This album has been getting a lot of critical acclaim, and at points I really like the album, with some great basslines and catchy choruses … but at points the production sounds quite messy, and it leads to an album I like more in moments than as a whole.

There are some great songs here, like “Rigor Mortis Radio” which has some absolutely awesome percussion, or “Two Kinds of Trouble” with its great chorus and awesome guitar, but as a whole I’m going to give this album a 6.5/10, as I personally find it very inconsistent. But still, there are a lot of interesting lyrics here and I really like the vocals, and there are points where I really like the production!

If you’re a fan of punk music, I highly recommend this!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Countdown to Shutdown”, “Rigor Mortis Radio”, “Stick Up”, “Two Kinds of Trouble”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Trapdoor Solution”, “The Bomb”

Scarlet by Doja Cat:

This is Doja Cat’s fourth studio album, and despite how popular she’s been, this is the first time I’ve listened to one of her albums. But I will say I haven’t liked most of what I’ve heard of her singles … in fact, of all the Doja Cat songs I knew going into this, I don’t think I love any of them, although I do like “Get Into It (Yuh)” and “Vegas”.

But I decided to give this album some listens, and … I just can’t say it’s doing much for me at all. And that’s not to say there aren’t elements of this album that I like, because there are—I like the carefree attitude of a lot of these songs, and there are some moments where I really like Doja’s flow, and the production is decent even though at points the snare overpowers the mix, and there are other moments where the production overall just feels quite messy.

Also, “Wet Vagina” is easily my favourite Doja Cat song that I know! Again, I don’t know that many Doja Cat songs outside of this album, but still, this is a great song! I love that awesome synth that continues throughout the song, the mixing sounds great, and it’s got an absolutely infectious chorus that’s kept me hitting the replay button! And while as far as I can tell there’s not really much to this song’s lyrics, there are points where there’s more to the lyrics, and I often think it works well, like on the feminist anthem “Fuck The Girls”.

But there are also some very low lyrical lowlights in my opinion, such as that ‘vegetables’ line on “Can’t Wait”, or “Gun” which not only has a lot of cringey lines, including when she describes a gun as a metaphor for a penis, but she also mentions having sex with someone who she knows is cheating … and I’m sure it’s not meant to be taken seriously—at least I certainly hope not—but it still really doesn’t sit well with me and makes this song really off-putting.

But the majority of this album I just don’t really feel strongly about one way or the other. I don’t dislike this album, but I don’t really like it all that much, either. So, for me, it’s a 5/10. It’s got its moments, but I don’t think I’ll be going back to this as a whole any time soon.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Wet Vagina”, “Fuck The Girls (FTG)”, “Love Life”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Gun”

Atlas by Laurel Halo:

Laurel Halo is an electronic musician whom I’m not sure I’d heard of until I saw this album getting a lot of critical acclaim.

This is a mostly instrumental ambient album that’s quite mellow but doesn’t usually seem to be aiming for a particularly calm vibe. And at points it feels like there’s quite a bit of tension building, like in the opening track, “Abandon”.

And unfortunately I can’t say it’s clicking for me. I do like the production, but as a whole I’m just wishing it stood out to me more.

The melodies just don’t do a whole lot for me, and the tracks don’t really combine to create anything more than the sum of its parts if you ask me. Of course, as always, this is just how I personally feel … and thus I’m giving this a 6/10. I kind of understand the hype, but it’s just not for me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Abandon”, “Sick Eros”, “Sweat, Tears or the Sea”, “Earthbound”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Reading the Air”

serenity, a passing moment by eden clear:

I talked about two eden clear albums recently in another mini review post. I could see the appeal of both albums, one of which I mostly enjoyed and one of which I didn’t really like at all. And in this post, I’m reviewing the other two eden clear albums from this year, which, like the first two I reviewed, each only have one track on them.

And this album was a bizarre listening experience for me. Because this just feels like I’m listening to static for fourteen minutes, and it’s the kind of album where, as far as I can tell, there’s so little to it, to the point where you’d think I would really dislike this … and yet I don’t. Because eden clear somehow found a way to make an album just full of static that somehow doesn’t annoy me. And I guess it’s just that there are maybe some really subtle details here … maybe—I mean, there probably are, because I feel like I can hear them (just in the timing/rhythm/etc.), but I can’t really describe it. And also I like that it changes at the very end.

Now I’m not saying I love this album, because I don’t; in fact, I don’t even particularly like it. And while I’m all for supporting smaller artists, it is a hard album for me to recommend because to me it just sounds like noise, but I am kind of impressed by it for some strange reason.

But overall, I’d recommend listening to those two eden clear albums I reviewed last week over this album any day. For me this is a 5/10, and I kind of can’t believe I don’t dislike it.

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

pulverize by eden clear:

So, this one feels strange to review, considering that the one track here is only about six and a half minutes … and while I’m pretty sure this is officially an album, it doesn’t feel like one. That’s not to say it’s bad, because I don’t think it is—in fact, I mostly enjoyed listening to it, even though it didn’t blow my mind or anything, and I can understand why some people might hear it and say it just sounds like noise.

What I really do like is the music being played in the background which adds a lot of detail here … I just wish it were a little bit louder in the mix, and while I like that it’s quiet as I feel it adds to the haunting feeling of this album, it feels so quiet to the point where it doesn’t add as much to the album as I wish it did.

This is a difficult album to rate, because I don’t usually rate individual songs … and this might get a different rating if I were to rate it as a song (I’m not sure if it would be higher or lower or the same), but I’ll give it a 6/10. But please don’t put too much value in that score because this is really tricky to rate, and the only reason I’m rating it is to follow my own rule.

And yeah, I recommend giving this at least somewhat of a chance … there’s a very good chance you’ll find it to be way too much, but I mostly did enjoy this, and you might, too! And it’s very short as well!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

RUCKUS! by Movements:

I don’t think I even knew this came out until one of my favourite music critics, Jon from ARTV, reviewed this album. I’d heard of the band Movements, but this is my first time listening to an album of theirs, and …

Well, I’m struggling to understand the hype here. Again, that’s not intended to be mean or anything, and I’m not trying to judge anyone for liking this, but I just barely found anything here that interested me personally at all.

The vocal melodies really bore me, and there’s not much about the album’s sound that really feels all that interesting to me. I mean, I mostly like the production, but there are points where certain instruments have a timbre that doesn’t really fit if you ask me. And the production doesn’t even come close to fully saving this album for me, especially considering that some parts of the album are quite annoying, like the chorus of “I Hope You Choke!”

I mean, there are still some moments here and there that I like—for example, the crushing snare in the chorus of “Dance With Death”—but no individual song here really wowed me, and as a whole the album just didn’t do much for me at all.

A lot of people seem to really like this album, and I’d recommend giving it a chance, but it’s just not for me at all, and because of that I’ll give it a 5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “You’re One Of Us Now”, “Dance With Death”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Killing Time”, “I Hope You Choke!”

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another mini review post! I’m reviewing eleven albums in this post (a little more than usual), and I’ve got more mini reviews on the way that I expect to have posted soon!

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums. Even if I say something negative, I’m not trying to be mean or anything. Art is subjective, and I’m sharing how I personally feel about these albums.

Alright, time for the reviews!

voices of flowers by eden clear:

You’ve probably never heard of this artist or this album, and … well, a few weeks ago I was looking at new album releases, and I found out about eden clear, an artist who released four very short albums in four days this September, each of them with only one track (ranging from 6 and a half minutes to over twenty minutes) … and yes, the reason I decided I wanted to review those albums is mostly because shorter albums are usually easier and quicker for me to review, but I also do like to review some albums by obscure artists as opposed to just reviewing what’s popular. And this is one of two eden clear albums I’m reviewing in this post, and I’ll also be posting mini reviews of the other two very soon.

And this particular album doesn’t give me much to say … but I mostly ended up enjoying this, even though there isn’t a ton of variety here.

Now I will say this: for a lot of people, this wouldn’t count as ‘music’. I personally would argue that it is music—and that it’s good music—but I can see the argument that it’s just noise. But if you’re looking for a challenging listen that might surprise you, I’d highly recommend this!

Yes, it’s got a very distorted, haunting sound to it, that for a lot of people isn’t going to be an easy listen … but I like it. 6/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

eternal stasis, encompass me by eden clear:

You might be wondering, ‘Simon, once you choose which albums to review in a mini review post, how do you determine what order you review them in?’ Well, I mostly write all the reviews, and then use a random generator to determine what order they go in. Then I make edits after that … so, yes, it’s a coincidence that this is right after voices of flowers in this post.

This is the first of the four eden clear albums (and also the first one I listened to), and overall, this album isn’t really for me. It’s full of staticky sounds—which is something I often like in music—but it doesn’t really feel like a cohesive album experience to me, as listening to it kind of just feels like going around in circles and not really going anywhere.

There are some parts of this album that do change, but it doesn’t feel like enough to make me want to go back to the album.

But if you really love staticky, noisy experimental music … well, this might click for you. I’ve certainly heard much worse albums with a similar sound, and at least there’s a bit of variety here to keep it at least the tiniest bit compelling for me.

So, I’ll give it a 5/10. Not bad, but not really my thing … still, I can kind of see the appeal.

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

Springtime by Evergreen Avenue:

And now another obscure artist who’s released multiple albums this year and also has another album I’m reviewing in this post … well, this is the second time I’ve reviewed an Evergreen Avenue album, as I reviewed Favorite Hiding Place last month.

This is one of TWELVE ALBUMS Alec Critten has released this year under the name Evergreen Avenue, and Evergreen Avenue has released OVER A HUNDRED ALBUMS IN LESS THAN A DECADE. And before I talk about my feelings on the music, at the very least I’ve got to say I’m very impressed!

I also just want to say I can’t pick favourite and least favourite tracks for this album because the album is just one thirty-plus minute track.

Compared to Favorite Hiding Place, this album has more variety to it, and it feels more like an album experience! And it’s not like that album doesn’t have the atmosphere to really click for me, it’s just that I wanted to hear more variety.

And as much as I hate to say it, I think I like this album less than Favorite Hiding Place. The atmosphere doesn’t feel as calming or interesting to me personally, and the sections of the album where the instrumental changes don’t really feel all that gripping to me.

So, overall, it didn’t really click for me, but I’d recommend it if you’re looking for some instrumental ambient music.

This album has the variety, and Favorite Hiding Place has the atmosphere … listening to this album, I was just left wanting an album with atmosphere that really clicks for me and also more variety like this album has. So, I’ll go with a 5.5/10. It’s just not really my cup of tea.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

Behind the Wallpaper by Spektral Quartet & Julia Holter & Alex Temple:

Well, this is some pretty haunting stuff!

I’ve never listened to a Julia Holter album aside from this one, but I’ve heard really good things about her music, and I decided to give this collaboration album a chance … and I’m so glad I did! Because this is excellent!

Now, it’s not an album that I really feel like saying a whole lot about, because it’s one that I think speaks for itself a lot … and that doesn’t mean you have to like it, but it kind of feels like an album that wasn’t even meant to be analyzed … and of course I don’t know what the intentions were, but it still feels that way to me.

Yes, I could talk about how amazing the strings sound, and how great a singer Julia Holter is, and how great everything sounds when put together, and I could talk about the amazing vocal melodies and compositions … and I could go on and on, but this album is incredibly open to interpretation with lots of potential double-meanings in the lyrics. I’m not going to pretend I understand it, but it’s an incredibly haunting listen that I absolutely love! For me, this is a 9/10 and one of my favourite albums that I’ve heard from this year! And I highly recommend this album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 9/10
Favourite Tracks: “Midnight Bus”, “Tiny Holes”, “This American Life”, “Science Park”, “Fishmouth”, “Night After Night”, “Jolene”, “Spires”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Unnatural”

What Now? by bridge of sand:

This is a twenty-two-minute ambient album by an artist I don’t think I’d heard of until just recently, and it’s a fascinating listen that I didn’t see coming at all!

I can’t say it’s fully my thing, but there is a lot to like here, with so much experimentation and creativity!

There are samples on this album, although I’m not sure where they are on the album. So, I don’t know how much of it is original material, but still, you can be creative by taking samples and turning them into your own thing!

It’s also worth mentioning that I couldn’t find the lyrics when I looked them up, although I can hear what some of them are—but not all of them, so the lyrics aren’t as big a factor for this review as they otherwise would have been.

I think I’m going to give this a 7.5/10. It’s a lot to take in, but at points it’s very eerie and very haunting! It’s an incredibly fascinating album that I highly recommend!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Wool of Desire”, “0Pen”, “Fast To Love”, “What Now”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Rush”

Smartwoods by Piotr Kurek:

This is a mellow, instrumental ambient album that doesn’t really give me much to say.

I mean, the production is pretty good, but there’s almost nothing melodically or compositionally that really sticks with me, and a few listens in I’m just left feeling really underwhelmed.

The album isn’t even forty minutes long, and yet it kind of feels like it’s an hour full of sounds that I understand the appeal of but that don’t do much for me at all.

So, yeah, I do kind of get why this might click for someone, as there are quite a few small details here that—despite not clicking for me—could really elevate this album for some listeners. But it’s just not for me at all … it’s a 5/10 for me, and if it weren’t for the really nice, smooth production, that rating would be lower. I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of this style, but I couldn’t get into it in the slightest.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Walk”, “Klamm”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Maybe Life”

Signs by Purelink:

Here’s another instrumental ambient album, and it’s one that I quite like!

This album’s sound has a nice, smooth feeling to it, and I think it creates a pretty good atmosphere. But with that being said, compositionally I don’t find it super interesting. But there are some small details that add a lot for me.

So, overall, I wouldn’t say I love this album, but I still did enjoy it quite a bit. It’s a nice, calming listen that I’d probably like a bit more if it were shorter, but as it is it’s pretty good.

I’m going to give this a 7/10, and if you’re into instrumental ambient music—or looking to get into it—I think this album is worth listening to.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “4k Murmurs”, “Stadium Drive”, “Pinned”
Least Favourite Tracks: “We Should Keep Going”

Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again by Lydia Loveless:

This is my first time listening to a Lydia Loveless album, although I know one of my favourite music critics is a huge fan of hers, and I was really excited to hear this!

And after giving it multiple listens, I can safely say it’s an interesting album that I’d absolutely recommend. And while I think it’s a pretty great album, there is still this strange feeling I get that I ‘should’ like this more than I do. And I think part of that is because quite often the vocal melodies feel underwhelming here, leading to it just not resonating for me as much as I’d like.

I like a lot of the lyrics on this album, such as the messy situation painted on “Sex and Money” in which the narrator is getting caught up in a bad habit of spending too much money, and there’s this sense of emptiness in the lyrics that really works. And “French Restaurant” has a really interesting breakup story, and instead of the cliché food as a sex metaphor thing, food seems to be used as a metaphor for the relationship here. And there are other moments here that I really like lyrically, and I think the lyrics and music often fit really well together.

And don’t get me wrong, I do like some of the vocal melodies here, and there are some standout choruses … and I like the crunch that the guitars have at points, and the basslines are good.

Again, something feels missing here that I can’t fully place, but I’m still going to give this an 8/10, because Lydia Loveless is a great singer and it’s consistently enjoyable … and the best moments here absolutely rule. This makes me excited to listen to more of Lydia Loveless’s discography, and if you’re into indie rock or anything like that, I highly recommend this!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Sex and Money”, “Runaway”, “Feel”, “Toothache”, “Ghost”, “Do the Right Thing”, “French Restaurant”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Song About You”

Releasing Tension by Evergreen Avenue:

Alright, now the second Evergreen Avenue album I’m reviewing in this post … and I’ll be reviewing another Evergreen Avenue album soon!

This is the second Evergreen Avenue album I listened to, and while I wasn’t a huge fan of Favorite Hiding Place, I wanted to review some of Evergreen Avenue’s other albums from this year, including this one which was released on the first day of the year, and also only features one track, with the one track here being over thirty minutes.

And unfortunately, this album is held back for me by the same thing that held back Favorite Hiding Place for me … it kind of feels like when you’ve heard a short passage of the album, you’ve pretty much heard the whole thing … and I say it ‘kind of’ feels that way because there are some changes throughout. But there’s still not much variety here at all if you ask me, and I didn’t really find a lot of small details that made certain parts of the album stand out.

But with that being said, it’s just got such a nice, calming feeling to it that I’ll give it a 6/10 anyway. If you’re in the mood for some really nice, relaxing ambient drone music, I’d recommend this.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

Cold Blood by Fully Involved:

This is Fully Involved’s second studio album, and while I haven’t listened to Mark Berman’s 2017 debut album under this name, I decided to give this album some listens, and … well, it’s pretty great!

First of all, the mixing/production here is absolutely fantastic! These songs have a lot of punch to them with a really tight sound in the production, and I love the blazing guitars all over this album!

And there are also a lot of really great hooks and catchy moments here! For example, “Dopamine” has a super catchy chorus that I love! And I love the groovy feeling to the instrumentation of “Wait No Don’t Go”, another incredibly catchy song! And speaking of catchy, there’s also the excellent closing track, “Give It a Name”!

I also really like the lyrics about neurodivergence, and while I’m not sure whether or not I’m neurodivergent (I have OCD, but I’m not sure if that counts as neurodivergence or not), I will say some of the lyrics really resonated with me with that feeling that you’re different than everyone else … so, while I wouldn’t say I fully relate to the lyrics here, there are some elements of it that I do relate to, and even when I don’t relate I still really like most of the lyrics here.

This is some really hard-hitting alternative rock that I highly recommend listening to! For me it’s an 8.5/10! Awesome album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Publick Occurences”, “Dopamine”, “Wait No Don’t Go”, “Exhibit Z”, “Cold Blood”, “Paralyzed (Anew)”, “Give It a Name”
Least Favourite Tracks: “The Cover”

Blame My Ex by The Beaches:

The Beaches are one of those bands I’ve heard of a lot, but I hadn’t listened to them much until recently. So, I decided to check out their 2017 debut studio album Late Show … and it didn’t do much for me. To me, it’s a decent alternative rock album that isn’t actively annoying or anything but just feels like it blends in with a lot of other alternative rock for me. And honestly, I kind of expected more of the same from their sophomore studio album this year.

But what a pleasant surprise this was! I didn’t expect to like this as much as I do, and I’m so glad I gave this album a chance! Because this album feels more unique to The Beaches, and the production is more hard-hitting, too! And there are way more standout melodies and choruses here!

The mixing on this album is really strong, and the snares add a lot of punch to these tracks! Not only is Jordan Miller a great vocalist, but the vocal production is also great! And there are so many awesome choruses, like in “Blame Brett”, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid”, “Shower Beer”, and “Edge of the Earth”! And there are some small details in the instrumentation/production that add so much, like the excellent vocal layering in “Edge of the Earth”, the way the guitar and snare complement each other in the chorus of “Kismet”, and the reverb in “If A Tree Falls” that gives the song more atmosphere but doesn’t feel too distracting.

And I really like a lot of the lyrics, including some really great standout lines. With that being said, there is the occasional line that I don’t really like, such as ‘I wanna be your cigarette’ in the closing track, “Cigarette”, and there’s also one line in “Me & Me” that I just can’t ignore: ‘If I go twenty-seven years with someone who treats me like shit instead of going out with my girls fuckin’ L-I-V-I-N, is it really such a sin? Is it really not a win?” And I get that she’s trying to say being single would be better than being with someone who treats her like shit, but if you read the line again, the wording makes it sound like she’s saying the opposite. You could call it a nitpick, but I just couldn’t ignore it.

But with that being said, I love the ‘alphabet soup’ line in “Shower Beer”, and while you could argue “Kismet” feels a bit stalker-like, I don’t hear it that way, and I think in the context of the song the totally ridiculous lyrics really fit! And I love how “Blame Brett” calls out an ex by name (I’m not sure if this is actually about someone named Brett or not, but either way I really like that there’s a name used here), and she’s acting as if being mistreated by her ex justifies her mistreating her new partner—and in real life, that would be a problem, but in the context of the song I just find it hilarious how she’s taking no responsibility for her own actions … and at least she warns this person that she’s going to be an asshole; this is some really creative song writing.

And “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid” might be the best song on the entire album, with its paranoid lyrics (as the title would imply) and a The Killers-esque chorus that absolutely rules!

Again, I didn’t expect to like this as much as I do, but I’m so glad I decided to listen to this, because this is great! I’m giving this an 8/10, and I highly recommend you listen to it, especially if you like alternative rock, because this album is absolutely awesome!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “Blame Brett”, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid”, “Everything is Boring”, “Kismet”, “Shower Beer”, “Edge of the Earth”
Least Favourite Tracks: “My Body ft Your Lips”

Hello, everyone! Welcome back!

So, I haven’t been posting as many reviews recently as I was before—I’m now in college, which has taken up a lot of my time—but I have been working on reviews, including this mini review post.

And this post is going to be a bit different than usual. As I’ve mentioned before, one of my biggest inspirations for doing these mini review posts is Spectrum Pulse’s series On The Pulse, and he has sometimes done episodes where all the albums are a similar genre. And I decided, why not try doing something like that myself?

I did something kind of similar about a month ago where I reviewed only instrumental albums in the same post, and today I’m reviewing only black metal albums … now, how do I determine what is or isn’t black metal? Well, I’m not sure, but these albums are all at least something similar to black metal.

All that being said, I don’t plan on making these themed mini review posts a regular thing … I’ll probably do something like this again but probably not any time soon.

As always, this is all just how I personally feel about these albums. Even when I have something negative to say, it’s not meant to be mean or anything. I’m just sharing my own personal feelings on these albums, and music is subjective.

And now, time for the reviews!

Silhouettes of Disgust by Downfall Of Gaia:

This album came out all the way back in March of this year, but I saw it had been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, so I decided to check it out.

And I’m pretty impressed! This is some really solid black metal with hard-hitting snares that sound really good when paired with the guitar, and there are some really interesting compositions!

This is another album which I couldn’t find many of the lyrics to when I looked them up, and even the lyrics I could find are in German, meaning I had to translate them online, and I’m not sure how accurate the translation was. So, my feelings on this album are pretty much entirely based on how it sounds.

But it does sound very good! I wouldn’t quite say I love this album, and as a full forty-five minute listen I do wish a bit more of it stood out to me—in other words, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting this much—but this is still a very good album that I highly recommend if you’re a fan of black metal. I’ll give this a 7.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Existence of Awe”, “Eyes to Burning Skies”, “Unredeemable” 
Least Favourite Tracks: “While Bloodsprings Become Rivers”

Saturnian Bloodstorm by Lamp of Murmuur:

Albums like this one are a great example of why I make mini review posts and not just full-length reviews. I mean, there are quite a few reasons I do that, but here’s an album that just doesn’t give me a lot to say, even though I mostly enjoyed it.

This album has been getting quite a bit of critical acclaim, and I get why, as I think this is some pretty solid black metal with hard-hitting distorted guitar and punchy snares … but while the compositions fit well with these songs, there’s just not much here that really makes me feel like going back to this, as it just kind of blends in with a lot of other black metal for me. And that’s very much a me thing, especially considering that analyzing lyrics is not one of my strong suits as a reviewer, and therefore the lyrics just feel to me like a bunch of imagery and not much more, even though there’s probably way more going on lyrically that I’m just unaware of.

And also, the bass usually feeling underpowered in the mix is another reason why this just didn’t fully click for me.

There are some pretty strong guitar melodies, and the vocals sound good even though I don’t usually like the way the vocals are often buried in the mix … so, overall, I like this enough to give it a 7/10, and considering it’s only forty minutes it definitely doesn’t feel too long. But I just personally don’t find it super interesting or memorable if I’m being honest … again, I’m pretty sure that’s a me thing, but while I recommend giving this album a chance if you’re a fan of metal, I wouldn’t recommend going into it with the highest of expectations.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10
Favourite Tracks: “Seal of the Dominator”, “In Communion with the Wintermoon”, “Saturnian Bloodstorm”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Descending from the Aurora”

Lëyl Efën by Sëht:

I was originally planning to review Dlahdlhë by Trhä (whose album I’m reviewing later in this post) and Sëht, but then I found out it’s an EP, which according to my own rules isn’t eligible for these mini album review posts (even though there’s a good chance I’ve accidentally broken that rule before), so instead I decided to review this Sëht album, which might not even officially be an album (it’s only one track, although it is nearly half an hour), but a) I’m pretty sure it is, and b) I don’t want to get too worried about whether or not it’s ‘officially’ an album—it feels like an album, and I’m pretty sure it is, so I’ll review it here.

And while I couldn’t find the lyrics to this album and I can’t really hear what the lyrics are, the album does sound pretty good. It’s a pretty interesting listen with lots of experimentation and variety throughout, including some synths that add a lot if you ask me.

I’m not always a huge fan of the production, as at points the vocals feel buried in the mix, and the snare can feel a bit clunky sometimes, but I still recommend giving this a chance, and I do still like it!

It’s not among my absolute favourite black metal albums of the year, and I wouldn’t say I love it, but it’s still a very interesting listen, and I recommend giving it a chance if you haven’t heard it yet. It’s a 6.5/10 for me!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: N/A
Least Favourite Tracks: N/A

Malivore by HASARD:

I was looking for critically acclaimed black metal albums from 2023 and I came across this album which has been getting a lot of acclaim.

I couldn’t find lyrics for the album, and I can’t hear what the lyrics are, so my feelings on this album are just based on the way it sounds … and, well, I certainly get why it’s getting so much acclaim. The production is pretty hard-hitting at points, with the basslines sounding really good in the mix, and the snares add a lot of punch.

Overall, I really like the mixing here … it’s just unfortunate that the compositions themselves don’t really grab my attention all that much. I’m not saying it’s bad, it just sounds like a really well-mixed, mostly well-produced black metal album—and not much more than that.

So, again, I get why it’s getting a lot of acclaim—I feel like one of the most subjective parts of music is compositions/melodies, so if the compositions/melodies click for you here, you’ll probably really like it, but it just didn’t do a whole lot for me personally. So, I’ll give it a light 6.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Choral Inane”, “Interespace”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Vicivers”

Devil Music by Portrayal of Guilt:

So, this isn’t really what I was expecting … because this feels more like a deluxe edition EP than an album. Because this album is pretty much in two parts.

There’s the first five songs, and then there’s the last five songs which are all just different versions of the first five songs.

And while I think I prefer the first half over the second half, neither really does all that much for me. There are some hard-hitting moments in the first half with some really good production, but there’s just not much about this that really makes me want to go back to it … and then it gets to the second half which feels like a combination of classical music and black metal, and while I think that could be done in a way I really like, I personally just find it awkward on this album, and I’m not entirely sure why.

So, overall, while I found it to be a kind of interesting listen, it’s not one I think I’m going back to any time soon, if ever. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t really like it, either, so for me it’s a 5/10. The opening track is pretty strong, but after that it just loses my interest.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “One Last Taste of Heaven”, “Untitled”, “Devil Music”, “I (One Last Taste of Heaven)”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Where Angels Come to Die”

enΩëcunna edëno£sa qud’lhëlh by Trhä:

So, first of all, I found the lyrics to this album but I tried translating them online and I couldn’t find anything, so I’m not sure what language this is in, so even though I usually say to take my lyrical analyzations with a grain of salt anyway, in this case I can’t comment on the lyrics at all.

Overall, this is an album that grew on me the more I listened to it, but it still feels like it’s far from being an album that really clicks for me all that much. First of all, I’m not a huge fan of the foggy sound of this album’s production—when I first listened to this, one of my ears was quite plugged, and at first I thought that was why it sounded so foggy, and then I realized that’s just the sound of the album.

While there are moments that I really like, especially in the first of the two tracks here, it just doesn’t feel very consistent to me, and at points it can get boring.

The basslines are pretty strong, though, and I really like the synths at points, but overall it’s just not an album I’m wowed by. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it, but it’s just not fully clicking for me.

If you’re a fan of black metal you might really love it … but even as a fan of black metal myself, it’s just not for me. But at least I get the appeal, and I enjoyed it enough to give it a 6/10. If the production felt more hard-hitting it probably would have clicked for me more … but even aside from that, there’s not really enough in the compositions to bring this all that close to being an album that I really love.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “mi zu◊á£sdëg oΩa d’la gone”
Least Favourite Tracks: “enΩëΩanêr”