Music Reviews

So I know this review has been long overdue, but I really wanted to let this album sink in before I give my final thoughts about it, because I think this is one of Sufjan’s best works to date which is saying A LOT. There is a lot of really tragic context surrounding the release of this album, such as Sufjan’s partner Evans Richardson dying and his diagnosis of the Guillain-Barré syndrome, all of which does contribute to the tragic vibe of this whole album HOWEVER even if those events haven’t occured this album is still a monumental tragic yet beautiful display of decades worth of musical experience. The musical soundscapes of this album are truly something to behold, there isn’t a single song on here that isn’t masterfully crafted to the tiniest of little details.

The whole album opens up with the multi-layered enchanting „Goodbye Evergreen“, which starts of with this lush piano ballad intro, that introduces the listener to the headspace Sufjan is currently in before it all crashes into this heavily industrial colorful and bright explosion of sounds, synths and drums, which all collide together to create the perfect opening crescendo. It then transforms into this jungle-esk beat created from the same sounds as before, that sounds just so good. It also lead smoothly into the next song „A Running Start“ which is more of what we’re used to from Stevens, it being a pretty simple guitar plucky ballad with some touching lyrics and beautiful production all around. What really seperates this album from his other projects thus far though has to be the group vocals/chants present throughout multiple of the songs on this album, this one included. They really bring new life to the all around pretty sad yet hopeful atmosphere of the whole album. Lyrically this song is focused more on the start of the relationship with his now late partner and how all of this newly found love is making him feel. It’s a beautiful ballad with a straight up gorgeous orchestral outro that I just wish was a little more dragged out. Amazing song all around. Next is the song „Will Anybody Ever Love Me?“ which is just all around absolutely breath-taking. It’s once again mostly a guitar ballad but this with some just insanely lush orchestral elements and sharp, kinda even experimental, drums that make it feel much more urgent and grand. The chorus is also one of the most solid on the whole album, I get this one stuck in my head quite a bit. And just the way the violins hit the first time they come in makes me ascend every time, it’s just so well crafted, so far this is easily my favorite. The lyrics are pretty obvious from the name of the song, but the song really makes you feel the urgency and fear behind this question, it honestly resonates with me quite a bit. Just a totally gorgeous track. After that comes the song „Everything That Rises“ which weirdly enough was the first song I hearted on my first listen and now I think it’s still pretty great, but just a tiny bit less great than the first three songs are. That still doesn’t mean it still isn’t amazing, this is just taking it relatively to the rest of this album – the main repeated chorus is stunningly beautiful and just something about the way the guitar is played on this one really hits the spot for me. The vocals are also some of the best here I feel like as are the little electronic effects, which are actually quite detailed and creative, they mash with the very natural instrumentation surprisingly well. My biggest gripe with this song would probably be just that I think it could have been a little bit shorter, but that’s really just a nitpick. Now even though still great, the next song „Genuflecting Ghost“ is probably my least favorite on the album. I really like the plucky guitar on here and this one ESPECIALLY has some Carrie & Lowell vibes which is also one of my favorite Sufjan projects, so I still have a soft spot for it, but relatively speaking, this song doesn’t have THAT much going for it as the others. I really like the group vocals and some of the melodies here, I think the song is really well made from a technical standpoint, but it took me a lot of listens to fully appriciate this one and usually I tend to skip it. The electronic part at the end isn’t as tastefully incorporated as in the other songs, though it still sounds nice obviously. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, just not as exciting. Things do pick up big time though in the form of the next song „My Red Little Fox“ which is just… Yeah, this one was an instant heart for me. I just love the almost christmasy sound palate, the comfy cold feel of it, the really beautiful chorus and just the all-around sentiment of it, it truly hits differently this one. The electronics are also much more natural and seemless in this one and they have their own little segment towards the end where they shine the most. Just another great yet really painful song and oh boy it only gets worse from here, because the next song is „So You Are Tired“ and this one is somehow even more brutal. This is essentially the other person being tired of their relationship and them both coping with it while also trying to salvage it all. It opens up with a really somber piano and Sufjan just doing his thing over it until it gets to this just purely eargasmic part with the group vocals that are EASILY my favorite of the whole album, the melodies on this song are unreal like actually. This song is like the very definition of gorgeous and I know I’ve use that word quite a bit in this review but just LISTEN to it, like how does he even do it. Spectacular song, words truly aren’t enough to convey how much I enjoy this track front to back. And if that wasn’t enough, then you have the last 3 songs that together form essenitally the one final closing track. First of those songs is the title track interlude „Javelin (To Have And To Hold)“ which is really beautiful just on its own, but combined with the other two is unreal. It connects the previous song to the longest song on the entire album, that being „Shit Talk“ where Sufjan and his partner finally resorve their conflict with the main takeaway lyrics here being „I don’t wanna fight at all, I will always love you“ which is just such an emotional gutpunch. The song is almost 9 minutes long yet it doesn’t feel like that in the slightest, even thought like a good third of the song takes up this ambient instrumental outro that, purely musically speaking, might just be the best sounding thing on the entire album. It really feels like the absolute calm after the storm. The one truly final song after that is the song „There’s A World“ which is essentially THE final goodbye to his partner after their death. It wraps up everything elegantly and serves as in my opinion the perfect closer. It’s short but sweet, it doesn’t need to be more than that.

So this was quite the emotional rollercoaster… I am serious when I say this is easily one of my favorite projects of the entire year and I was considering giving it like a 7 on my first listen! This album definitely takes a bit of time and a few listens to be fully digested but please just give it that, because it will reward you handsomely for doing so.

-favorite songs: Goodbye Evergreen, A Running Start, Will Anybody Ever Love Me?, Everything That Rises, My Red Little Fox, So You Are Tired, Javelin (To Have And To Hold), Shit Talk, There’s A World

-least favorite songs: Genuflecting Ghost

decent 9/10

I was originally kinda worried going into this one, considering I wasn’t really head over heels for the singles – „Seaforth“ actually grew on me quite significantly, but „If Only It Was Warmth“ I never really got. So knowing that I was kinda scared of whether or not I’d enjoy this one. Turns out I still did quite a bit.

The album opens up with the beautifully haunting „Filmsier“, another single to this album, one I’ve come to really really love. It’s also just the perfect album opener – the opening chords hit you right away and then as fast as they came the fade away into the main melody that starts slowy creeping in – it’s a really impressive way to easy the listener into the album experience. The song is really melancholic and chill, the guitars are super smooth and the electric guitar with all the synths and everything is also a nice touch, makes the song feel like it’s progressing somewhere – overall just a really solid opener front to back, sets the mood pretty well. This song is followed by the fast-paced „Pink Shell“ that is centered more around this hi-hat/bass combo beat with some nice guitars in the background and some really pleasant brass inclussions. It kinda comes and goes but it’s a really solid banger – the chorus is surprisingly agressive, I enjoy it a lot. Also for some reason this song really sounds like how a song titled „Pink Shell“ would sound, I don’t know, it’s all just very fitting. The aforementioned „Seaforth“ is the song after, and this one REALLY stuck with me. I’ve come to absolutely love the different melodies here and the sea feeling that’s just seeping through this song. It’s just so calming and almost puts me in a trance every time it comes on – definitely one of my favorites here. „That Is My Life, That Is Yours“, the next song, starts off with a slowed down version of what I think is essentially the Seaforth melody, or at least a really similar one. It slowly transforms into it’s own song with the brass section coming in with some more crisp and sharp drumming all appearing out of nowhere, until it slowly eases you back into that innitial calmness – this album’s sense of dynamics is really strong. As for the song as a whole, it’s alright, fits nicely after „Seaforth“. Next up is the song „Tortoise of Independency“, a short but sweet little track, almost interlude-like. I really like the chords on this one, it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome and the little freak-out towards the end is also nice, although besides that the song doesn’t really bring anything all that intresting nor memorable to the table. It does transition waay too smoothly into „Empty Stomach Space Cadet“ though, which has this really spacey ethereal sound that I really enjoy. It has this feeling of floating through space that I really like – everything is so reverbed and atmospheric, I kinda wish this one was a bit longer but also it’s kinda the perfect length, this one’s really neat, all the saxophones and what not are super clean on here. „Flimsy“ is an actual interlude to the next big song „Hamburgerphobia“ and yeah, this one is also pretty solid, the fast beat feels really urgent, the main riff sounds kinda scary and it all collides together really beautifully Also one of the more memorable songs on here + the name is funny, so it’s the whole package. „From The Swamp“ is another one of my favorites on here, just something about the main melody really grabbed me – I also like all the different guitar and brass licks in the background, especially the little solo in the middle of the song where they both play off of each other, that’s a really nice moment honestly. Yeah, this one is really up there as one of the best on the album for me, the instrumentation is just really good and Archy’s voice is also top notch here. „Seagirl“ is another one of my favorites (yeah I really like this portion of the album), the female vocals are super nice here, the little ad-libs she does are heavenly, I really love them. The instrumentation works here too, this whole song is easily one of the best on the album, feels like a shorter more depressed continuation of „Seaforth“. And man the instrumental outro with the synths… That’s like the cherry on top. A really strong moment for sure. „Our Vacuum“ has the little leitmotiv repeated from the first song „Filmsier“ – the song itself isn’t as crazy, but it’s a powerful emotional moment and makes the album feel more tight. The title track „Space Heavy“ starts off very lowkey, but starts really building up after a while and becomes one of the most intense moments on the album – the build up is done very naturally without it feeling out of place in the context of this overall lowkey album. The instrumental palate is really tasteful here, with different heavy guitars, shar drums and pretty keys – then the song comes back to it’s more calmer state and slowly finnishes. Not my favorite on here but definitely a good song. „When Vanishing“ is this really gorgeous orchestral piece with some really nice sax inclussions, a really pretty instrumental moment in my eyes. Following that is the song „If Only It Was Warmth“ which I’m still not all that crazy about, however it doesn’t hurt the album in any way, it’s just sort of there. It does lead pretty well into the last song „Wednesday Overcast“ though. The song starts of really ominously and keeps that tone throughout. The soundscapes are really dark here and super intresting – the orchestral elements return towards the end of the song making it feel really final. The lyrics are definitely the main focus on here and they do pretty well in closing the whole thing off – overall a really solid closer.

And there you have it, King Krule’s newest album while maybe not his most exciting at first is definitely one of his most cohesive and complete records. I have to be in a very specific mood for this album but I think it definitely succeeds at what it does. Maybe a bit boring at points, but it has it’s charm, a really really solid record.

-favorite songs: Filmsier, Pink Shell, Seaforth; That Is My Life, That Is Yours; Empty Stomach Space Cadet, Hamburgerphobia, From The Swamp, Seagirl, Our Vacuum, Space Heavy, When Vanishing, Wednesday Overcast

-least favorite songs: Flimsy, If Only It Was Warmth, Tortoise Of Independency (kinda)

Light 8/10

So I’ve been REALLY binge watching hivemind the last few days and with that I also watched a lot of Dev Lemons content. I knew that she has made music in the past but I haven’t really checked if there was anything new she had under her belt recently. So I said why not, decided to look her up on Spotify and what do you know – not even 2 months ago a new EP, her first ever in fact! And look I’ve never really been like a big Dev fan, up to that point I’ve heard like maybe three songs and all of them were you know listenable, but I did really like the song „One Whole Me“ I think she really came into her own with that one. All of this is to say that I was at least familiar with the style Dev usually de(l)ved (get it) into going into this one, so I wasn’t like completely blind.

But yeah, this EP honestly went kinda hard not gonna lie – it’s only 6 tracks but besides one I’m not all that crazy about it’s basically a hit after a hit. It opens up with the song „Cyberpunk Fairy“ which has these just gorgeous piano keys that open it up feel almost distant and kinda mysterious. The beat is really bassy and full of these swirling strings that I really adore, they make the mix sound really rich. But honestly the thing that just kept me coming back to this album is at the end of the day the lyricism – I really find Dev’s lyrical abilities to be genuinely great. Maybe it’s because I find myself relating to A LOT of what she has to say on these songs, but either way it’s conveyed in a really mature way without it being corny and it’s all also delivered very whole-heartedly, it feels super personal and I can’t help but be drawn to that. Anyways, got a little side-tracked there – the opening track is really good. The second song „NIghtstand“ has this really simple plucky repeating catchy beat that I think is very charming and Dev’s vocals just melt like butter over it. The song doesn’t go in like a crazy direction but it’s just so catchy and playful that I still like it a lot, I only wish there was more done with it. The third track „Dizzy Vision“ is one of the more out-there songs on the album – it opens up relatively tame with a snappy calm piano beat that is however very quickly replaced by this almost hyper-pop sounding instrumental with heavy-hitting drums and huge synthy bass hits. And the chorus in this one is just chef’s kiss, it’s catchy, simple yet super effective as are the lyrics, this one is honestly one of my favorites here hands down. „If You Wanna Reach Me“ the 4th song on here is the one I’m probably least crazy about – it just sort of fills the track-list for me, besides the lyrics there isn’t all that much that stands out about it. And honestly something about the chorus just rubs me the wrong way at times, I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. The hyperpop ending feels kinda out of place aswell even though it’s admiteddly kinda cool. „You Tear Me Apart“ does pick things up pretty substantially though, I really like the chorus on here and the melody after it is just heaven to my ears. Not much to else to say here, I do appriciate the Tame Impala-esk finnish to the track, it’s honestly a really nice touch and the few guitar licks sound great. „Think About It“, the closing track, is almost the perfect finnisher for this album – the electric guitar is an excellent choice and it is honestly executed really well, the way the audio is cut out at first and then brought back in and it all just melts beautifully, Dev really shined here, but once again WHY ISN’T longer.

Like seriously, this album is LOADED with great ideas, most of which are executed really well, but the longest song on here isn’t even 3 minutes long. Just stretch it out a bit, some of these songs were essentially just two choruses on top of each other – fantastic chorus with really great lyrics, but still. But yeah, that’s mostly a nitpick, at it’s core, this EP is a huge dub for Dev, at least in my eyes – I really can’t wait for where she goes next. To summarize, good but not enough Eminem impressions, so automatically a 0/10.

-favourite songs: Cyberpunk Fairy, Nightstand, Dizzy Vision, You Tear Me Apart, Think About It

-least favourite songs: If You Wanna Reach Me

ARIANA GRANDE WITH A VENTI LATE/10 (Strong 7/10)

The long awaited 6th studio album from the legendary pop-punk outfit Paramore is finally here and I gotta say, this one is really something. I enjoyed the band’s previous efforts well enough, especially their self-titled album and their last LP „After Laughter“ which was in my opinion still the band’s greatest accomplishment up until now, but this new album over here, I gotta say, probably took that place for me. Paramore is back more melacholic and open than ever – this album is essentially just a closer look into the band’s psyche and what’s been going on with them for the last couple of years. Themes of burn-out, depression, isolation, dissociation and so much more are what make up the majority of the album’s lyrical theme and all of it is, as always, accompannied by the band’s performance, who are really giving it their all.

The album opens up with the title track „This Is Why“ which talks about „not wanting to leave the house“ as Hayley puts it because of all the eyes that are constantly on her, feeling like she can’t have even a second for herself. The song right off the back is really punchy and sounds almost like something Paramore would do earlier on, but still with a more modern Paramore spin on it, it’s an excellent opener. Following that we have the song „The News“ which is another punchy in-your-face song, this time around even more so and I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite songs on the entire album. The chorus gets stuck infinitely in my head so many times a day and the pre-chorus is just so spacey and beautiful I don’t have enough positive things to say about it, this song is just the whole package for me. Next up we have the song „Running Out Of Time“ that starts off really slow but absolutely makes up for it when the chorus hits, as this song delivers one of the strongest choruses on the entire album. I especially enjoy the funky guitars on here, they are so dancable and fun in contrast to the dark lyrics, which is something the band excels at. „C’est Comme Ca“ which roughly translates to „it is what it is“ is the next song and although the mix on this one is a bit rough and all around it probably could’ve used another minute or two in the oven, it’s still one of my favorites solely for the fact that it’s, simply put, an absolute banger. Next up is the song „Big Man, Little Dignity“ which is a beautiful ballad with some absolutely stunning musical and lyrical passages, it’s definetly a nice slow-down after the last few hectic songs + the synth work here is surprisingly well done, overall just a really nice song. „Your First“ is up next and this one again picks up the tempo of the album a bit, I really enjoy the distorted guitars on here, they give the song a whole new dimension and just sound super cool, but overall I probably don’t have all that much to say about it besides, it’s just another really solid tune. Next up is the song „Figure 8“ and this one took me a while to appriciate, but once this song clicked, it REALLY clicked. The lyrics on this one are especially really heartfelt, but they are definetly sold by the way Hayley sings them, you can just hear multiple times in the song that she’s absolutely singing her heart out and it’s just so beautiful. The next song „Liar“ is once again a much needed calm after the storm that maybe is a bit forgetable if you don’t get into it right away, but if you manage to do so then this one’s a real tearjerker. The lyrics are really the highlight here, it’s once again all brought to live by Hayley’s angelic vocals that are definetly stealing the show here. „Crave“ is the second-to-last song and this one really hit a special place for me. The song talks about wanting to go back to the good times where everything was more simple and just wanting to do it all again but better this time. And the guitar lick repeated throughout this song is just pure musical euphoria, I can’t get enough of it. So yeah, this song is pretty darn good in my opinion. And last but not least we have the closer „Thick Skull“ which is about as close as you’ll get to the perfect closer for this album. Wraps up the entire album really nicely in my opinion.

So yeah, there you have it – Paramore’s latest studio album „This Is Why“. This is slowely but surely becoming my favorite Paramore album and it’s not hard to see why – the performances, the lyrics, Hayley’s vocals are all firing at 100 on here. And even though the album is only 10 tracks long, the songs are just that good that they make up for the overall shorter track list.

-favorite songs: all of them lol

-least favorite songs: Liar IF I HAD TO PICK ONE IT’S STILL REALLY GOOD

Strong 8/10

Parannoul has done it again.

It should come as no surprise that I adore this band – if you’ve read my review of the band’s last solo studio album „To See the Next Part of the Dream“, that came out in 2021, you know I absolutely loved what the band accomplished there. The pure musical euphoria that album brought me was unmatched by almost anything I’ve heard that year, the seemless blend of shoegaze and dream pop and all other sorts of things resulted in, what’s at least in my eyes, one of the best albums of this decade so far. So it’s safe to say that the expectations I had for this album were set very high but I’m very pleased to report that for the most part they were very much met.

Right of the back I have to say that Parannoul is once again bringing their A-game when it comes to choosing album covers that match the sound – TSTNPOTD had a much more colorful and clear album cover and the sound of the album reflected that perfectly, it really did feel like a beautiful dream. So if that album felt like a warm cozy dream, this feels like the moment after when you wake up. Like the musical emodiment of a cold harsh winter, thinking about the beautiful warm summer. And I gotta say nothing is a more fitting example of that than the first three song on this album. First off we have the opener „Polaris“ – it kicks off with a lush somber guitar playing with only the singing humming a singing over it. Then in typical Parannoul fashion the at-first programmed drums come in with a bunch of orchestral strings backing it all up and it all resolves in this beautiful picture that’s being painted with the music. And then it just… Stops. And OUT OF NOWHERE this giant wave of just so much going on comes clashing right in, overtaking the entire song. And I don’t mean this lightly when I say that it really feels larger than life. All of that builds up right back into the chorus that was first shown in the opening of the song but this time with the whole band giving it their all and comes together just so effortlessly and beautifully, I can’t say enough good things about this song honestly. After that we have the song „Insomnia“ which builds up on the last song very nicely. The trademark Parannoul piano melody that’s being repeated throught this entire song really gives of strong „Beautiful World“ vibes. The song maybe isn’t as grand per se as the last one, but I maybe enjoy it even more then I do the last song – it’s just such a solid vibe throughout it’s entire runtime. The melodies are so gorgeous and it all feels strangely nostalgic – there also just isn’t a second wasted with this song, the structure of it is so free and unpredictable yet strangely logical, Parannoul just have this ability to make the most in theory complicated things seem so easy and effortless. Definetly another one of my favorites. And to finnish this insane three track run off, we have the song „Arrival“, that puts a bit of a spin on the Parannoul formula with them incorporating more horns on this song that work surprisingly well with this sound. I mean they are horns they sound good in basically any context bu once again Parannoul finds a way to make them really stand out and make them sound very pleasant to the ears at the same time. Which brings me to my next point, which is that I really have to commend Parannoul here for really letting loose on the experimentation on this album – it all still sounds very much like Parannoul but you can clearly hear that they are much more comfortable with their sound and aren’t afraid to try new things. Like this song in particular has a very strong GY!BE vibe towards the end of it, like insanely so, it’s definetly one of the most crazy musical moments on this entire album. Anyways next up we have the song „We Shine At Night“ which is like the definition of „the calm after the storm“ – the whole song is very light-hearted and more I guess down to earth and although I tend to skip it sometimes, when I don’t get pulled into it right away, I still think it overall adds to the album experience. It’s also a nice stepping stone between Arrival and the next song „Parade“ which is almost like a two part experience – the first half is similar to the previous song, but I think this one has a little more kick to it, the orchestral elements on this song especially are something to take note off, they seriously elevate the song to completely new heights. However the real magic with this song lies within the sudden build up to the second part of the song which only improves the song further and makes it really feel like the whole package. Also the transition from this song to „Sketchbook“ is like as smooth as it gets. And look, I understand that for some this song may not be as ground-breaking or I guess as what you would expect from Parannoul, but I have to say I was once again pleasantly surprised by this one – it’s definetly a lot different from the typical Parannoul style and I guess there is the criticism that it does drag on a bit too long and doesn’t have all that much to show for it, but I still just have to respect the willingness to go out of their comfort zone and try to experiment. So yeah, maybe not the most exciting song on here but in my humble opinion still a pretty solid addition to the track list. Next up we have the song „Imagination“ that is much more low-key and shorter then some of the other songs on here and while it is still very good I honestly could probably have it removed from this album and not much would really change about the experience for me, even though the outro is as expected again really cool. „Sounds Inside Me, Waves Inside You“ is the next track and I don’t have much to say about this one, not because it’s bad but it’s just kinda forgetable – it does feature a really cool kind of breakdown/bridge in the middle of the song that’s really unexpected but once again keeps the whole album feeling really fresh. That’s one thing with this album, you never really get bored when listening to it, even if you don’t love every idea presented to you, the album just keeps evolving and going through so many different ideas that eventually something is just bound to click with you, although admittedly with a few exceptions the first half of this album really out-shines the second in my opinion. „Blossom“ is the next song and again I’m grateful that it’s on here, but nothing about it really sticks with me that much – the phases this song undergoes are impressive even for this album though and the horns from earlier make another appearence here + there are some legitemately insane vocal passages towards the end of the song that sound almost emo-ish, which again, more versatility. Things do pick up pretty substantially with the closing song and also the title track „After the Magic“ which has probably the prettiest intro to any song on this thing, the variety of strings and synths always transport me to like a different realm of existence. The rest of the song also feels very climactic and like the end to a movie and the strings are just… Out of this world, they really make you FEEL like this is the ending credits to just I don’t l´know life or whatever corny thing – look it’s just really good okay?

So yeah, that was „After the Magic“ by Parannoul. Honestly I don’t have much of an outro to go along with this (I’m not as good at those as Parannoul are unfortunately) but this is just another really great album from Parannoul, that’s about all you need to know. For me personally it didn’t quite reach the highs of TSTNPOTD but it was still an amazing other-worldly experience that I highly suggest you give a shot.

-favorite tracks: yes

-least favorite tracks: parts of some of the songs in the second half

Strong 8/10

… wow.

Alright so… I’m kind of speechless right now. The numbers are running through my head and honestly I’m seriously considering giving this the perfect score. Like… Is this even the same guy who made „From Me To You“?? Because this seriously is on another level, this surpassed all and any expectations I ever could possibly have for this man. I still just have no idea where to even start with this, this album is just too much.

I guess the best way to start is just do you know, just do it – the album opens up with the multi-phased „sorry4dying“, an amazing tone-setter that right off the back sounds like nothing Quadeca made up to that point, the improvement on all fronts is apparent right from the start with the lyrics, the aesthethic and just the overall quality of sound off this song, I really feel this is Quadeca at his most realised yet. And the streak of stellar song doesn’t stop there, right after we are blessed with the song „tell me a joke“ which was actually a single release prior to this album and it’s not surprising to see why – once you get used to the burried sound the song is easily one of the most instantly infectiuous and catchy of the whole album, the chorus gets stuck in my head like at least 3 times a day. It’s also just one of the most cohesive songs on the whole album, the song structure is super unique and unpredictable and it never becomes stale or boring, you’re always just at the edge of your seat thinking about where will the song go next. And if that wasn’t enough the song finnishes off with a rather grand finale, a crescendo if you will, that’s just the absolute cherry on top. The next song „don’t mind me“ has probably one of the weaker tunes of the whole album, however it more then makes up for it with honeslty what is just an even catchier chorus melody than the last song, the „closed eyes and a dream“ is just sung so beautifully I can’t get enough of it. It kinda drags in the middle portion of the song admittedly, however I can honestly look past that with all the other amazing things this song does right, it’s just comparing this one to some of the other songs on the album, this one’s just ever so slightly not as impressive I’d say. Even less so maybe with the next song „picking up hands“ which is perhaps the only song of this album I’m not just super in love with – don’t get me wrong it’s still great and continues the narrative concept really well, but the sound isn’t all that memorable compared to the others and the climax at the end just feels a bit rushed and un-deserved, like there was pretty much no build up leading up that – still a pretty good song, but if I really wanted to speedrun through this album and had to skip a song, this would probably be my pick even with the 8 minute closer. Fortunately this is as „bad“ (which is a joke to say obviously) as this album gets, so it’s really only up from here. Speaking of the next song „born yesterday“ is a prime example of that – this song honestly rules. This is the song that also marks the „banger territory“ as I like to call it on this album, which is basically the entire rest of this thing. Anyways the song just paints such a serene and hauntingly beautiful picture with these atmospheric guitars and glitchy instrumentation, it all feels super other-worldly and kinda off but in a good way. The vocal harmonies on this one are also just genius, can’t get enough of the „ooo“s, again, just the way they are sung clicks with me heavy. After this song we have the only interlude on this album titled “ the memories we lost in translation“, which I gotta say for interlude standarts this is a pretty good one not gonna lie. Then again it’s still an interlude so there is not all that much to talk about, but I definetly think the harp strings and swirling orchestration should just absolutely take your breath away either way. It also just leads perfectly into the next song „house settling“ with DANNY FRICKING BROWN. Yes, you’ve heard that right, the guy that made Atrocity Exhibition is on this track and is rapping in the most hungry way from the perspective of carbon monoxide (I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to) and the best part is that it absolutely solos. Like my man absolutely kills it, Quadeca does really well on the song too, but once Danny comes on he honestly absolutely steals the show, who are we kidding. The verse also just goes on and on and on, he just never stops dropping these weird but strangely fitting bars, like there is just something really unsettling (get it) with this whole song and I think Danny has probably the most merit in this. So yeah, this is a pretty good one if I do say so myself and it only gets better from here with the next song „knots“ which is a song I was probably the most conflicted on my first listen, mostly because I just didn’t expect this extremely experimental grungy harsh Death Grips-esk thing from Quadeca and even if I did nobody could have prepared me for how extremely well he would pull it off – like this might just be my favorite song from this entire album now. It definetly takes a while to get used to, but once you do oh boy this song just keeps on giving each and every time. It’s probably the least accessible song from this entire album but with that also the most experimental and boundary-pushing, like even if you don’t like it (which like how) you gotta at least respecet Quadeca for just making this one, like this just shows his artistic evolution. Anyways after this raging banger comes the 7 minute long behemoth of a song „fantasyworld“ which is probably the album’s emotional opus, the build up throughout the song doesn’t get tiring for one second and once everything finally crashes down on you, you are instantly just transported into a different dimension (a fantasyworld if you will). I’m getting tired of just repeating myself over and over again but yeah, another pretty good one, honestly no words can’t really do these song justice. Speaking of these words don’t do you justice the next, and also second to last song, „fractions of infinity“ is essentially the calm after the storm. The mezmerizing keys with the haunting atmosphere of everything is really unnerving but also weirdly comforting and it all manages to not be cheezy or tacky throughout this whole album mind you. This song also feature and I kid you not the Sunday Service Choir, like how does one even get that on a song?? But yeah, just for that this song is a must listen, the repeated mantra „these words don’t do you justice“ (now the transition finally makes sense) is honestly just a complete tearjerker, I cry to this song like 90% of the times I listen to it and I ain’t even ashamed to admit it. And finally the album closes up and ties everything nicely together with the last song „cassini’s division“ which is this spoken word piece with really gorgeous instrumentation that I think fits perfectly right here at the end of the album, it just puts a nice little morbid bow on everything. Once that’s over the song in the last few minutes fades out into this buzzing mess that eventually just stops which was a really nice touch.

And there you have it folks, my album of the year contenders made by a youtuber, never in a milion years though I’d say that but here we are – however don’t get it twisted, this thing truly is a masterpiece in the purest sense of the word and I just can’t wait to see where Quadeca goes from here, because in my eyes I think there is still a chance he might top this one of someday in the future – either way, go stream this thing, bye.

-favorite tracks: all of them lmao

-least favorite tracks: picking up hands (if i had to PICK one get it)

Strong 9/10

The definition of playing it safe.

It’s currently 11 PM here and I have to write a review for something that CLEARLY didn’t have much effort put into it in the first place… So this is gonna be just mostly me ranting, but yeah, I’m just waaay too tired to get fired up over a lost potential like this one here, more then mad at this I’m just dissapointed – though that implies I had any expectations for this going into this which let me clarify I didn’t. I knew exactly how this was gonna sound and I got exactly that – so maybe even disapointed isn’t the right expression I’m looking for here. No, maybe what I meant to say is that I just COULDN’T CARE LESS. And that’s coming from someone who really defended his early stuff – his 2020 effort „Ugly Is Beautiful“ is still in my opinion vastly underrated and had some of my favorite musical moments from that year on it. And while a lot of the stuff on there was a bit too generic or un-inspired, the tracks that did pop out REALLY popped the frick out. I mean songs like „Me, Myself and I“, „1993“ and „Jerk“ just to name a few still hold up to this day. And there I was, a 2020 me completely naive thinking that Oliver had a bright future ahead of him – I really wanted him to succeed you know, his meme personality combined with the killer production made for something that not many people were doing at the time – I’m not saying it was anything innovative or ground breaking or anything, but it sure made for a collection of banger songs that didn’t took themselves too seriously and weren’t afraid to go nuts with the production. Unfortunately this new album is like the polar opposite of that – these songs have nothing intresting going for them, they are bland generic pop wanna-be-country garbage that are on top of all that SUPER safe. Like these songs don’t take any risks whatsoever at any point on this album – they always stay the same and it’s so frustrating, because I really tried my best to like this album but I am so immensely bored by this thing, it puts me to sleep everytime. Some „stand-out“ tracks (if I had a gun put to my face and had to pick) would probably be the opening „Cowboys Don’t Care“, like the one passible track on here, „Things We Used To Do“ which has a nice sentiment to do, but just fails in execution and finally maybe the closer aswell as the title track „Cowboy Tears“, maybe like the only instrumentally intresting song – why wait the whole album to actually put something intresting or different on here for a change will probably forever remain a mystery, but the track is for sure one of the highlights, if you can call it that. But I mean that’s like it for the positives – the production isn’t even like offensive or even bad, it’s just so boring and uneventfull I don’t get it. It’s whatever I don’t wanna waste my time and sleeping schedule on this any longer, I am slapping a juicy Strong 3/10 on this and going to bed (probably putting this album on just to fall asleep even faster).

What the hell were you smoking when making this album name and WHERE can I get it.

Well hello there friends and welcome to this special review – this day’s review is about Big Thief’s new album „Dragon New…“ (I’m not writing all that, you read the title) and what an album it is – almost 80 minutes long and 20 whole fricking songs. I mean trust me I like me some Big Thief but for a full hour and a half? Well it’s safe to say I was a bit skeptical at first going into this, but I’ve heard some pretty positive things about, so I gave it a shot and well, I can pretty much safely say that the runtime is, for the most part, justified. Sure there are ways to cut corners here and there and yes, there is a track or two that could have been cut in it’s entirety, but in the greater scope of things, this thing just delivers. For many it may sound a bit underwhelming at first glance but further listens reveal the true beauty in the songwriting and by the end of it you realise that this is Big Thief’s most cohesive complete and fulfilling body of work to date. I’m not gonna go through ALL of the songs, just the ones that stood out to me the most, wether that means good or not so good, because there necessarrily isn’t a bad track here.

So with that out of the way, let’s get into the actual meat and potatoes of this record – the album open’s up with the at first kind of underwhelming „Change“ which is ironically a song that doesn’t really change during it’s 5 minute runtime – but as everything on this album, it’s a grower. Over time I learned to appriciate what it’s going for and learned to love it and I’m sure you will too. Definetly one of the more accesible tracks here, because believe it or not, Big Thief actually get a bit experimental on this record – case in point the next track „Time Escaping“ which sounds like some sort of ritual being performed, especially the drumwork, that’s like something out of a psychological horror movie. Probably the first track that really caught my ear on first listen, but this one kind of shrunk on me over time – it’s still fantastic and I appriciate the band’s efforts to try something new here, but it doesn’t have the same replay value as some of the other tracks I think. „Spud Infinity“ is a really goofy and dare I say wacky track, it’s really country-ish and has this weird bouncy effect at the start of the track and just the way the strings and vocals are eranged sounds just super like something I’d hear some random rednecks play from a Barn in the middle of nowhere and I mean that as a compliment belive it or not. Though innitially I was super put off by this track, just something about it rubbed me the wrong way. „Certainty“ is certainly a sweet track, though there are tracks on this album I belive that do this style much better and honestly with one of my biggest criticisms towards this album being it’s length, this one could have been easily cut I think. Still a nice moment on the album and since it as of writing this review stands as THE most popular track of the album, people seem to really enjoy it, so I digress. Anyways after this we have what I consider to be the best track of the entire album in the shape of the title track (no I’m not writing all that again) – a beautiful guitar-driven ballad with a dusty atmosphere and a deeply layered instrumentation with some beautiful and haunting vocals merge together to create one hell of a track that always leaves me utterly mezmerized by it. From here on out things get a bit all over the place – „Sparrow“ has one of the better choruses on the album but is way too long for it’s own good, „Little Things“ on the other hand is probably the only song on the album justifying it’s longer than 5-minutes runtime, it feels like the title track but with like a more punch to it – the second half of this song always blows my socks off, the guitarist can really shred let me tell you. Then you have the song „Blurred View“ probably the most „different“ song on the album – the vocals sound like they were recorded on a potato or something, yet it works somehow – the heavy bass hits with the super compressed sound of the track create this eerie atmosphere, that just, something about it is… It just feels like I’m drowning, like this track is swallowing me whole, it’s a super neat moment, that also serves as a nice middlepoint for the album – now onto the second half. Now if „Spuf Infinity“ was inspired by country in some aspects, then the song „Red Moon“ makes country it’s only aspect and it does it well. I’m not super big (pun intended) on country but I can appriciate when it’s done well and this song certainly does just that – it’s just not one of MY personal favorites. „No Reason“ has exactly that – no reason to GO SO HARD GODDAMN. The chorus hits harder then my dad’s belt and not only that, it also has a FLUTE OUTRO – I mean this song is the full package. Seriously though, great track all things considered. „Wake Me up to Drive“ is anothe one of those… Weird ones. I like the artificial drums and the burried mix, it sounds pretty solid, but I’m just stuck here wondering like…. What does this track’s existence provide to the expirience of the album? I mean sure, more variety and all that, but it’s so out of left field I still don’t know how I feel about it – it’s an okay track though, one of the tracks that stick out more on first listen for better or worse. Now I DID say that the title track is my favorite, but is it the catchiest? Well no, that award goes to „Simulation Swarm“ an absolute EARWORM that just won’t stop playing in your head – it’s just so bouncy, so full of life, it feels like it has a heartbeat man. Really dig this one, one of my absolute favorites for sure. I really love love love the next song „Love Love Love“ even though it start off like we’re already a minute into the track, I just can’t help but love the guitars on this track and the chorus while yes very repetetive does it’s job well enough – I approve of this track. The closing duo „The Only Place“ and „Blue Lightning“ are both fine, „The Only Place“ is more stripped down and lowkey with some pretty impressive guitar-plucking flexes and „Blue Lightning“ is not really my cup of tea once again, but it fits the album well enough and does it’s job as the closing track too, so I can’t really complain.

So yeah, this is what’s in my opinion the best Big Thief album – then again I only heard like 1 more, but I have a feeling that this is just their most cohesive body of work to date. I like to just put this album on and just escape reality for a hour and a half – it’s beautiful, immersive whatever else you wanna call it and yeah, I think I’m just gonna leave it with that, great record all around.

-favorite tracks: Change, Time Escaping, Spud Infinity, Certainty, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, Sparrow, Little Things, Flowers of Blood, Blurred View, Dried Roses, No Reason, Simulation Swarm, Love Love Love, The Only Place, Heavy Bend

-least favorite tracks: 12, 000 Lines

Light 9/10

Alright alright, this one is a quickie…

So, Wilbur joined a band, huh? The important question we’re all asking though is – is the music any good? And I can happily report to you that yes – for the most part anyway. There are some pretty major flaws but other then that, I’m just impressed by the sheer musicalship of this album – it’s just a bunch of dudes being dudes and it works like a goddamn charm.

Now there are just four song on this four song EP (who would have guessed?), which don’t really varry in quality, they are all relatively well made indie rock song with one thing holding all of them back – the mixing. The mixing on this album is very… Ammateurish to say the least. Some could argue that the rough around the edges mix benefits the raw sound of the album, but I just don’t feel like that’s the case – the ideas are still present there though, I just think that with some better production and more of a vocal presence from Wilbur, this thing could go from good to outstanding. The opener „Taunt“ is probably my favorite song on here, really cool Arctic Monkeys inspired guitar work, with horns that just add so much to the mix, it sounds so much richer and so much more sweet to the ears. The follow-up „One Day“ is much more poppier in comparison, the drum work on this song is something else truly and honestly. I like the catchiness of it, it’s just a really fun song, the tune is certainly there. The second to last song „Sex Sells“ lives rent-free in my head and I’m not even mad about it – being the longest song on here it manages to keep my attention all the way through, the chorus is the main selling point here. Now the closer „Cause for Concern“ is nothing special but it does it’s jov right, closes the whole thing off fairly well – once again I really like the trumpet here, it just adds so much.

So yeah, if this project shows anything for this up and coming band is mostly potential – with some proper mixing and once Wilbur gets his vocals more worked up, this can be the start of something truly special.

Decent 6/10

So here it is, after a tremendous ammount of waiting we finally arrive at the new Twenty One Pilots a highly anticipated follow-up to their critically aclaimed magnum opus „Trench“ – on Trench the group proved that they were more then your average pop music duo, experimenting with variety of sounds and styles, with very statisfying results, yet they still managed to keep their signature sound through all of it. Now here we are, Scaled and Icy, it’s fresh, exciting and most important of all, super disapointing – here is why.

So breaking this track by track we have quite a lot to unpack here and let me tell you, this thing is like the definition of a mixbag – the record starts with the low-key charming Beatles inspired ballad „Good Day“ which is an okay mood-setter. Off the back it’s very piano-driven, very tame with some occasionally cheezy but otherwise introspective lyrics talking about a hypothethical scenario, where Tyler looses everything in his life, from his wife and children to his music career, just all gone – the cheery sound compliments the depressing lyric quite well actually. The follow-up „Choker“ aslo the second single released prior to this thing is the first red flag that got me a bit worried going into this album – the souund clearly takes inspiration from their Vessel roots, the synths are kind of cute and the weirly mixed drums actually grew on me a bit, but I just can’t get past the chorus on this thing and ESPECIALLY the final rap verse at the last leg, that really makes me physically cringe, it really gets on my nerves. Now the first single „Shy Away“ is actually one of the best if not THE best song on the album – the clever synth-driven beat with the sharp drumming and the kind of 80’s inspired sound really works in the song’s favour. Now so far the album is okay, but just suffers from one critical flaw, which is how poppy it sounds – this album just takes NO risks whatsoever and rather then an evolution from Trench it feels like some cheap radio-friendly knockoff of that album. This also carries to the next song „The Outside“, which I found insultingly boring at first, but if I’m being completely honest, it grew on me a little – the rapping here is also substantionally better compared to like let’s say Choker – it’s justt kind of a funky vibe. Which is also something that can be said about the next song „Saturday“, the instrumentation is really what saves this one, beacuse the chorus is legitemately horrible. I also really like the pre-chorus on this one, it sounds really nice to the ears. It’s not bad, but neither is ait all that good, it’s just kind of there, whatever. „Never Take It“ is like Choker part two, with the weird mixing and more sellout sounds, like the handclaps. There are SOME cool ides but just burried under this awful mix and commercial sound that just starts to get a bit tiring by this point in the album. „Malberry street“ is one of those songs that you just completely forget every note from once the song ends, I can’t recall anything from this, all I know is that it sounds exactly like it’s title – make of that whatever you want. „Formidable“ more like FORGETABLE amirite? No but to be honest, this song is one of the more better sounding of this whole thing, it’s just kind of a charming guitar ballad with a nice laid-back summer vibe and some actually pretty cool guitar passages, but as everything so far in the second half of this album, it just gets stale after a while. „Bounce Man“ is literally so horrible I can’t even begin to tell you why – first of all the awful ukulele intro gives me severe PTSD and it somehow actually gets worse from there – the song is just a fricking mess, that’s what it is. This is three minuts of my time I’m never getting back, oh my lord… Anyways the band kinda saved the best for last with the both barely tolerable „No Chances“ and „Redecorate“ which the former of the two makes me so damn mad, because there is just so much potential to this song and yet it wastes almost every single bit of it – it’s just all over the place, when it should have been the biggest banger in the world. The closer is the more statisfying of the two with some legitemately beautiful guitar plucks that almost make up for some of the weirdly mixed backing vocals – I gotta say though, this song really is a grower and quite a nice finnish to this album.

This thing really is a front-loaded snooze fest with some cool ideas saved for last, but that doesn’t excuse the painfully average part in the middle. Also the mixing throughout the whole album is just so… Cheap and skeletal, I just don’t get it, what happened Tyler? It’s still istenable though, I’m not mad at this, just very disapointed.

Light 5/10