Music Reviews

They still got it.

After the absolute disaster that was The National’s last album released earlier this year „First Two Pages of Frankenstein“ (which I gave something like a 3/10) they decidede to release an actual competent piece of music with „Laugh Track“, what seems to be that album’s sister album of sorts. Sorry for the rough start but you have to understand I hold a lot of enjoyment for this band and I’m really dissapointed when they release stuff that’s obviously not half as good as they are capable of releasing. Anyways let’s get into „Laugh Track“.

The album opens up with the really pretty „Alphabet City“ which I originally didn’t care for all that much as a single, but it really grew on me as time passed. It’s actually a really great opener for this album, it sets the mood perfectly and captures that iconic The National feel perfectly. Really reminds me of something off of „Sleep Well Beast“. The opening guitar lick sounds like something straight out of the Life Is Strange OST and the orchestral elements in the latter half are great too. All around an absolute joy to listen to. Speaking off, the same can be said about the next song „Deep End (Paul’s In Pieces)“ – this one has some really smooth guitar riffs and sharp drumming, it’s really airy and sentimental, just all around everything a The National song should be. I especially enjoy the subtle guitar licks in the background here + the lyrics in the chorus really hit home for me lately. Yeah, this one’s a banger too, this album is two for two so far. Next is the song „Weird Goodbyes“ with none other than Bon Iver and this one admittedly is a bit too poppy for my taste, with the really simple beat and piano chords without much to make it unique, but Justin Vernon’s and Matt Berninger’s voice chemistry here is kinda unmatched. Plus the little bits and pieces of instrumentations slowly being added to make it more colorful here and there make it a little more fresh throughout. The tune is definitely there, it’s still a really good one. „Turn off the House“ is actually another one of my favorites, this one once again hits you with that acoustic Life is Strange feel right off the back but with arguably even more energy behind it than in „Alphabet City“. The different blends of instrumentation are absolutely seemless and the singing is kinda on point like a lot. I don’t know, this one just works for a variety of reasons, it feels really colorful and really complete, I especially enjoy the guitar work on here and also the way the part after the „turn off the house“ hook part is sung just hits differently. Yeah like up to this point it’s kinda hard to believe that these songs are off of the same the same sessions as the songs on the previous album were. Next is „Dreaming“ and this one has some REALLY nice but subtle synth work scattered throughout. The electronics here aren’t obnoxious at all, they add to the song a lot. Plus the lyrics once again I really enjoy here especially. Not much else to be said about the song though, I just really like it. After that comes the title track „Laugh Track“ with Phoebe Bridgers and as on the previous album, the Pheobe Bridgers track isn’t as great as I expected it to be. It’s kinda anthemic in a sense and the guitar work is once again just really excellent and well-placed, but the song could use a little extra like… Something. Not even the horns that are brough in towards the end add all that much – it’s still a good song, like it’s really pleasant when it’s on and kinda memorable and by the end of it the instrumentation reaches a beautiful mix, but it takes a hot while to get there and the song can otherwise be a bit boring. Good song though. Next song however, is this album at it’s peak – „Space Invader“ is the longest song on here a almost 7 minutes long and it absolutely makes that time worth sitting through. The base song is kinda simple but really catchy immidiately, once again feeling like iconic The National. However after like the second or third chorus the song turn into pure instrumental bliss as it slowly build with really chaotic drums, bright synths and really pretty guitar work, just an absolute climax. It’s genuinely one of the best The National moments period. Insane song. After that comes the much-needed slower ballad in the form of „Hornets“. This song is like the definition of a slow-burner. It’s really simple and kinda average but that doesn’t mean the instrumentation and performances still aren’t pretty great. Plus the horn(et)s (see what I did there) make a little comeback towards the very end of the song, which was a nice cherry on top, even though a bit short-lived one. Not bad but nothing all that great either, it’s alright. „Coat on a Hook“ has a really nice beat, the drums are super smooth and the plucky guitar melodies are pretty sweet too, it’s just that by this point in the album this sound gets a bit repetetive and this song doesn’t do much to stand out. It’s fine while it’s on but it probably could have easily been cut. As could probably the next song „Tour Manager“ – again, it’s fine while it’s on but compared to the earlier leg of this album it’s kinda impressive hoe forgetable it is. It’s fine. The second to last song „Crumble“ with Rosanne Cash and I’ll definitely say that the chemistry is there as is the tune, like especially after the last few so-so tracks. The guitars are much more lively here and overall the song just has more life to it. The solo at the end is really cool too, the song itself probably overall could have been a bit shorter though I’ll say that much. Still a banger. The closing track „Smoke Detector“ is another really really great one, the guitar riff is really catchy and instantly memorable, the singing feels very unique, like the singing range is probably the widest I’ve heard on any The National song up to this point. It’s just overall great. Apart from „Space Invader“ this is probably the most ambitious and complete song on the whole album, an absolute opus of this project. Wraps up the entire project masterfully and solidifies it as a true comeback for the band, at least in my eyes. Amazing closer.

And there you have it – honestly this project could have been not good but GREAT. There are so many amazing highlights, it’s just a real shame that a lot of the tracks here feel like they’re there just to fill up space. But besides that I mean what a comeback – I had very little hopes for the future of this band after the last LP but this is just great. Hope they continue on this path because I feel like a with a little more ambition and polish we could be looking at something really spectacular here.

-favorite songs: Alphabet City, Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces), Weird Goodbyes, Turn off the House, Dreaming, parts of Laugh Track, Space Invader, parts of Hornets, Crumble, Smoke Detector

-least favorite songs: Coat on a Hook, Tour Manager

decent 7/10

So I’ll admit I had no idea who this artist were when they popped up on the front page of album of the year, but the album intriguied me for many reasons, the album cover looks fire, the genres such as glitch-pop and shoegaze which this album falls into are some of my favorites and well, it seemed to get a lot of tracktion from the community, so I decided to check it out for myself. And am I glad I did so.

The album combines all these aforementioned genres almost flawlessly and very tastefully. Glitched is probably the best word to describe it. It feel weirdly distopian in like the best way possible. Very industrial yet super sweet and alive. The production is very hazy and shoegazy but also really bright and abrasive at points. It’s almost like the „Loveless“ of this time, almost.

So to start things off, the album opens up with the song „x w x“ a really agressive opener compared to the rest of the album. A lot of rock elements on this one, such as the really tasteful hard-hitting drums, the heavy guitars, the really intense screaming and honestly the orchestral elements too, the song really has it all. It’s very short and straight-to-the-point and pull the listener in instantly. The synths are also a highlight here, overall a great opener. Next is the much more restrained but shoegazy and sweet „sulky baby“ – this song is almost like a complete opposite to the last one in terms of tone even though the musical pallate remains the same, it’s really impressive. And it doesn’t feel forced either, it genuinely feels like the perfect follow-up. As for the song itself I think it is actually an improvement over the last one – the shoegazy synths and guitars scratch the brain just right, it’s almost euphoric. And the singing complete matches the vibe as it did on the last song – just a total banger front to back, one of the many highlights of this album for me. Next up is the title track „softscars“ which follows in the footsteps of the last song – it’s a little slower than the opener with a heavy emotional punch and some really beautiful background guitars and synths. The synths especially on here are an absolute joy to listen to, they feel really comforting. This song could have been longer honestly, another great one for sure. Next is the song „4ui12“ and this one has some HEAVY My Bloody Valentine aesthethics, the lyrics are also really vivid on this one too. I also like the glitchy hook or chorus or whatever you wanna call it, that essentially repeats the song’s name, it feels really bittersweet for some reason. The random crying and weeping noises towards the end of the song in the background also help make it feel more complete another really moving touch to this one, it’s a shame it ends so quickly, it kinda goes nowhere to be honest. After that is the song „ghosts“ and this one features some acoustic guitars, some simple synths and some really nice sheogazy guitars in the background. It’s a little too uneventful for my liking compared to the rest of the album so far but still really great nonetheless. The next song „dazies“ however is an all-out shoegaze banger. The way the song switches towards the end is really nice too, keeps the song feeling fresh throughout it’s runtime. The guitar lick is really memorable and the vibes are enormous – another great highlight here. „fish in the pool“ isn’t all that intresting, it features some really beautiful piano passages and heartfelt vocals – if nothing else it’s a nice change of pace from all the overwhelming shoegaze aesthethics and walls of sound, so I can give it that at least. Speaking of, the next song is „software update“ and it hits you with exactly one of those walls like right as the last song ends. After that the rest of the song is surprisingly mild though, it’s actually one of the slowest song on here – the vibes are still definitely there though, even though I wish maybe a bit more happened in the song. It transitions really nicely into „inferno“ though, which starts with this gorgeous orchestral piece that moves throughout the song – this is the first song in a while that once again has a more steady beat and a sort of heartbeat to it and I really like it for that. The synths are fun and match the aesthethic perfectly. The „drop“ of the instrumentation is a little reminicent of Crystal Castles as are the lyrics here, they are especially dark and twisted here. Really good song in my opinion, just once again a little too short. „bloodbunny“ has some nice synth manipulation and I like how much it does with fairly little, but I really think there could have been more done with this song especially. I like the melody a lot though, so I can’t complain too much. The second to last song „cyber meat“ is a really good one in my opinion, the more rock-centric instrumentals bring some much-needed life to the album by this point, the synths are also some of the catchiest on the album and overall the song just hits all the right notes for me. Finally the closer „aphex twin flame“ is another acoustic piece with some really gut-wrenching lyrics. Makes the lyrical theme of traumas feel really complete by the end of it. It ends in a bit of a freakout that isn’t anything world-shattering but serves as an effective final crescendo before the song come back down to it’s acoustic start. Nice way to end it off.

So honestly what I think this album’s biggest flaw is that it from the first song presents itself as I guess more agressive than it actually is – not saying that a slower album is a bad thing, just saying that from the insanity that is the opener I expected the album to follow in those footsteps. Also the first few tracks really outshine the rest of the album in my opinion. The album is still great though with many memorable highlights that I’ll be bumping for days to come – I’m really glad I gave it a shot.

-favorite tracks: x w x, sulky baby, softscars, 4ui12, ghosts, dazies, inferno, parts of bloodbunny and software update, cyber meat, aphex twin flame

-least favorite tracks: fish in the pool

Decent 8/10

Okay SOUR definitely wasn’t a fluke.

Not gonna lie I wasn’t really all that hyped for this one – I heard only one of the singles released before this album came out in the form of „bad idea right?“ and thought it was kinda just alright. I liked SOUR well enough and thought Olivia proved that she can compose pretty catchy pop songs with rock elements without them feeling corny or feeling out of place. Overall with some occasional duds SOUR was a big success critically and commericially and I liked it quite a bit. But still I just for a while now didn’t feel like listening to this one for whatever reason, I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m really glad I finally decided to though, because this album kinda slaps.

It opens with the song „all-american bitch“ which kinda says a lot about this album edginess (which don’t get me wrong I think is to the album’s benefit actually) but the song itself is also really good. Short but sweet with some really open and relatable lyrics from Olivia as per usual and some really dope guitar riffs too. Not too bad for an opener, actually a really catchy and hard-hitting one ,kinda like SOUR’s „brutal“, I like it a lot. Then there is the aforementioned single „bad idea right?“ which grew on me quite a bit actually – I really like the guitars on this one and the solo is a nice touch too. Continues the feel of the album really well and the hook is kinda funny honestly, it ain’t half bad. Still like the opener a smidget better though. Now „vampire“ is really where this album’s at up until this point – it’s the first piano ballad of the album, but the chords are just so good and the way the song goes from really slow and somber to this almost dance piano beat is kinda genius? Like I get how it can come off as a bit cheap but I personally really enjoy it. I don’t know, I just think the tune is really there, it’s super fun and catchy and also really heartfelt, like the singing has some unbelievable high points on this one. Gives me just a little Fiona Apple vibes honestly. The profanity feels a little out of place in the chorus though, I’ll say that, but that’s mostly just a nitpick, I really like this song, easy big hit from this album. Next is the song „lacy“ which is this Phoebe Bridgers-esk guitar plucky ballad which serves as kind of a nice comedown from „vampire“. There isn’t all that much to be said about this one to be honest, I like the vibe but it isn’t really all that memorable, but it’s a nice moment regardless. „ballad of a homeschooled girl“ really caught me off guard when I first listened to it, after the short and sweet „lacy“ this song is like an actual punch in the face. A fricking good one at that though. The bass is super tight here, the guitars probably the rawest on this album so far, the chorus is super catchy and almost punk-like, I like it quite a bit. The lyrics are also strong, honestly this song is like one of my favorites on this album easily. „making the bed“ comes after that and this one is another slower one but the lyrics and atmosphere are really what makes this one work. There are some guitars that are brought in after the chorus and they only help built the atmosphere, the distortion works really well with the more gentle instrumental elements. But the lyrics really sell me the most on this song, I really like the way she portrays how miserable she is doing the things she does but she knows that it’s her who’s making the decisions. Really well portrayed, good song. It also transitions really well into the next song „logical“ which is a pure piano ballad that honestly gets a little derivative after a while. Not bad, but it’s probably the closest this album gets to that so far – it’s honestly just kinda boring, even though Olivia’s performance carries the song heavily, her voice is beautiful and it’s given a full opportunity to shine here. „get him back!“ is once again more on the rock side of things, with sharp drums and heavy bass, but this one kinda misses the punch of some of the previous songs. The electronic elements in the second verse are nice though and the chorus grows on me the more I listen to it. Still probably in the bottom half of the songs on here so far. „love is emberassing“ picks things up a bit for me, I really like the cheery-sounding chorus, the straight-forwardness of the song and the honestly really creative guitar work on this song in particular, especially in the chorus, I wish this song was way longer than it is, because it’s a banger. „the grudge“ is one of the more effective slower ballads on the album in my eyes, once again especially in the lyrics/Olivia’s delivery department. And this one has a real indie vibe too, not too shabby this one. Can’t say much else about it, it’s just an alright song. The second to last song picks the tempo up a bit once again with the song „pretty isn’t pretty“ and I really like the message behind this one as I do the instrumental, both compliment each other quite well, the more airy almost shoegazy guitars work really well here. Now for the closer „teenage dream“ I think this is probably the piano ballad that turned out the best on this entire album – granted there is the drum freakout at the end, but that doesn’t last long and up to that point it’s mostly just pure piano so I say it counts. The lyrics summerize all the themes of the album such as anxiety, self-image, abusive relationships, beauty standarts etc. really well and make the album feel really cohesive. Great closer

And so yeah, that was „GUTS“ by Olivia Rodrigo – I get a lot of Billie Eilish vibes with this one, because it’s not maybe as catchy or memorable as her first album but I think it’s much more mature and improved on a lot of things from the previous project to overall make it better than it’s predecessor. There is still a lot of room to grow obviously, but Olivia really killed it in my eyes and I can’t wait to see her grow even more.

-favorite tracks: all-american bitch, bad idea right?, vampire, ballad of a homeschooled girl, making the bed, love is emberrassing, pretty isn’t pretty, teenage dream

-least favorite tracks: part of get him back! and logical

Strong 7/10

Private session turned on for this one… (strong profanity warning for this one as well)

Okay so here’s my dilema – I would rather stick a needle through my eyehole 20 thousand times than listen to this even a single time but I also really really wanna talk about how awful it is because let’s not kid ourselves, from the singles this has to easily be one of the worst things to come out this year if not this decade. And hey, after listening to it, to the surprise of no-one, it’s really really really THAT bad. It honestly just feels like one long-ass add I’m not even fucking joking. I haven’t been this almost like actually physically ill from a piece of music in a hot minute. God I can’t stand everything this album represents – the huge arena rock Imagine Dragon-esk drops (fun fact – did you know that Dan Reynolds has the most production credits on this album?), the awful out of touch use of trap hi-hats, the clunky weird electronic effects, the awful corny disconnected lyrics, the most generic forgetable songs, Jared Leto is like a fricking alien on this album, literal AI could generate a more enjoyable piece of music than this.

And I’m not even gonna bother going track by track on this because guess what? EVERY TRACKS SOUNDS THE GODDAMN SAME. The only exception would probably be the opening track and the „big“ single from this album „Stuck“ which I thought was absolutely unlistenable on release but within the context of this album it’s legitimetaly the best track on here and an actual breath of fresh air which is something I’d never thought I’d say about this god awful song. Like you don’t understand how generic these songs, I thought there was like a limit to that but here all the songs genuinely sound like the most corporate, nothing-burger, void of any substance, car-add songs you can possibly get.

The other song that stands out is actually the song right after that „Life Is Beautiful“ because it’s LITERALLY the MOST commerical song to be EVER concieved, I’m not even kidding go listen to it. This song just screams advertisement, it’s gross.

One song that’s also maybe not the absolute worst thing ever is the song „Midnight Prayer“ – like the vocal effects suck as they do on every song on this album, but the beat at least has SOME life to it, which is after like 6 or 7 songs of just actually nothing kind of a relief. I mean like it still sucks, but it’s something you know… I really try to find enjoyable things with this album, but there is just nothing, it’s a wasteland…

Also what the hell is the absolutely horrendous switch towards the end of „Lost These Days“? It’s so out of nowhere and so just unnecessary, I really don’t like it, the effects are horrible. And the chants on „7:1“ don’t even get me even started on those. They are like THE absolute worst thing on this entire album, this whole song is like in the top 3 of the worst bullcrap on this album, I can’t stand it. What else… Oh, I guess „Seasons“ is passible? Like relatively speaking – it’s really bad, but relatively when taking the rest of this album into consideration, it’s kinda just whatever. I’m really struggling here…

Look, I think you get the picture – this album has nothing to offer. Like actually nothing. This is on the same level of substance as that Dream EP I reviewed recently – there is just NOTHING. Few songs are listenable. The ovewhelming majority of them I’d rather neve ever hear again in my entire life. Music is not your thing Jared Leto, please move on from this already, you’re living in a fantasy world.

-favorite songs: no. (Stuck if I HAD to say)

least favorite songs: yes. (literally everything, 7:1 being the worst offender proably)

Strong 1/10

(light profanity warning at points for this one) I REALLY should be writing the Travis Scott review by now but man I just had to review this – I was casually browsing album of the year as per usual when I stumbled upon this… Thing. I couldn’t belive my eyes! I haven’t even listened to it yet, that’s how badly I wanted to write this one. So what I’m gonna do, is give each song its own little review segment in real time as I listen to them and then summarize my thoughts at the end as usual – oh boy, let’s… Yeah, let’s do this or something.

„Slow Down“ – right of the back the vocalizer at the beginning SUCKS Jesus Christ, 3 seconds in and I want to already rip my fricking ear-drums out, who approved this. Then you have the lyrics and the singing… I mean it’s Dream, what did you expect this to sound like even listenable? It’s genuinely impressive how much of a nothing burger this song is all around, lyrically and instrumentally. It’s like Dream’s little anime fantasy, it feels super disconnected and delusional. The chorus is genuinely God awful too, like HOW is this the highest rated song on here, I can’t even imagine this somehow getting worse.

„Kind Of Love“ – oh yeah, it got worse alright. The plucky guitar beat with the finger snaps sounds like Linkin Park’s „Sharp Edges“ but if all the members were having a stroke. The singing is somehow even less passionate here, the lyrics are as generic as it gets, as is the instrumental, this is barely background music. Even the orchestral elemens feel like super programmed, I can’t stand this, let’s move on.

„Paranoid“ – please just stop. The kickdrum/guitar loop is like something off of the new MGK album, which is NOT a good thing. Then you have the vocal effects after the chorus that are abismal, to say the least, like what the genuine shit happened there, they sound awful. Dream’s harmonizing throughout this entire tracks is like beyond annoying, it’s really unlikeable the way he sings here. With this song I can at least say that the tune is more there than with the previous songs, even though quite literally nothing else improved and some things such as the verses got somehow even worse, so honestly it pretty much evens out. NEXT.

„Spotlight“ – THE GUITAR IS SO PREDICTABLE I KNEW EXACTLY HOW IT WOULD SOUND BEFORE IT EVEN REALLY STARTED HOLY SHIT. Man this song is ESPECIALLY bad. I can’t recall who this is ripping off but it so obviously sounds like somebody else it’s laughable. Also the lyrics in the chorus? Kinda give me the creeps honestly, they don’t sound flattering or wholesome at all. It’s generic, unoriginal, boring beyond words, uninspired, lazy, melo-dramatic, void of any substance or emotion and sounds like something the radio would even refuse to play. How are there still 3 more songs to go Jesus…

„Everest“ – just… no. Young Gravy’s verse is probably the best part of this album so far and that’s saying A LOT. Like I don’t even enjoy the guy’s music basically at all, but his inclussion was an actual breath of fresh air in this. The keys are horrible, one of the worst mixes on the entire album on this one. Without the feature this would handily be the worst song here so far.

„Invincible (like u)“ – I don’t remember a single thing from this song and I just finnished listening to it. Void. Emptiness. Nothing.

„Until I End Up Dead“ – uhhhh, this is trying sooo hard to be like the impactful hopeful closing track and it falls flat on its face. The post-chorus effects are pure auditory torture, they sound actually just horrible. Once again there is just nothing to say here, I’m trying really hard to find any positives here, but it all just sounds so bland, so disconnected and so unexplainably boring, like you have noo idea how boring it all is. It has quite literally the most basic uninspired tasteless musical palette there is. I’m done with this, let’s get this review over with finally…

So yeah… Dream’s first little project here is to the surprise of absolutely no-one devoid of any actual substance and instead it all sounds like bad covers of i-Carly songs, if even those had zero punch to them. Dream sounds bored to tears on his own project (which I would be too if this was what I was making) and is the centerpiece and the main reason of why this album doesn’t work. His delivery and lyrics are childish and really dull and he brings zero actual character to his music. The production choices are mostly questionable, with some occasional decent sounding tracks (at points) that however still get overrun by different issues – there isn’t a single track on here I don’t have a major gripe with or isn’t just overall unlistenable. In short – it’s shit.

-favorite moments: uhhhh chorus of Paranoid maybe??? Let’s see, what else… Oh, some production choices on Slow Down I guess??? And the Young Gravy feature on Everest wasn’t like horrible (even though it’s VERY out of place)… Look I’m really trying here.

-least favorite songs: c’mon…

Decent 1/10

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)

I’m a bit late with this one but that’s because I really wanted to give this review the attention that it deserves – Gorillaz are historically a band I hold in high regard and have a good ammount of expactation for their musical output. This album in particular had a really promising build up towards it, even though basically the majority of the album was released before it even came out. The majority of the songs the band put out during this era were however genuinely great in my eyes, which even escalated my already really high expactations for this upcoming project. Which is why it’s really disapointing to say that this album was overall rather… Well, disapointing. Like it seems the band released all the good song they had prepared for this project beforehand and just decided to fill the rest of the album with just filler passable tracks and called it a day.

To start off, the album opens up with the title track „Cracker Island“ which is probably as good of an opener as this album could have – already when this was released as a single I was absolutely in shock of how much this song goes. The heavy infectious synths start the song off and from there it’s a non-stop energetic ride. Thundercat’s contribution to the song is also really pleasant, the guitar licks and voice ad-libs he adds really elevate the song to new heights. This may just be my favorite song on the album and honestly, even Gorillaz songs period, I can’t get enough of it from the day it came out. Following that we have the first non-single song „Oil“ with Steve Nicks who I would have no idea is even on the track if it wasn’t specifically said in the title. However the song is one of the more decent non-singles – the keys are really what save this one, they are really colorful and catchy, I can’t get enough of those. And the somewhat of a grand finnish is a nice touch too, this song is fine to be honest, just not the best Gorillaz have to offer. Speaking off the next song „The Tired influencer“ I legitemately forgot is even on this album before starting to write this review. It definetly has it’s moments, some of the guitar licks and sound effects in the verses really hit in the right spot, but overall the song just lacks anything that would really make it stand out among the sea of others on this album. This one would honestly fit right in with some of the tracks from „The Now Now“ which isn’t a bad thing per se, it just kinda kills the momentum of the album a bit, but besides that it isn’t like unlistenable. Things do pick up substantially after this point though with the song „Silent Running“ featuring Adeleye Omotayo, another single and this one in particular struck a chord with me – the synths and main melody on this one are just gorgeous. The song does get a bit repetetive after a while but that honestly didn’t lower my enjoyment of the song in any way, because the repeated melody is just so infectious and 2Ds vocals sound super heartfelt to me here, I don’t know, this song just does something to my brain, I can’t help but love every second of it. Now for the next song „New Gold“ with Tame Impala… This one’s a weird one. On one hand OH MY GOSH it’s a Gorillaz song with Tame Impala this is a dream come true right??? And yes, for the most part it is – Kevin Parker’s chorus gets stuck in my head multiple times a day, it’s just such a jam, I can’t get enough of it. No, the problem I have with this song doesn’t lie in that – my issue is with the verses. You see this song also features Bootie Brown who doesn’t do terrible on his verses but man do they pale in comparison to the potential this song had. Like they aren’t bad but just so forgetable that it almost kills the song. And I obviously can’t just rate the song for the chorus part alone so… But yeah, besides that kinda major dud, the good elements of the song still out-weights the bad. The next song is „Baby Queen“, another single, and this song I really enjoyed on release however with some time the song really shrunk on me – it’s still okay, but I just don’t care about it all that much anymore, the story going on throughout the song just isn’t intresting enough nor is the accompanying instrumental. And honestly the same goes for the next song „Tarantula“ – this was surprisingly enough one of my favorites from this album on my couple of first listens but this one just has some really weird production choices that I’m not that crazy about the more I listen to it. However probably the worst offender on this album has to be the big hit from this album „Tormenta“ with Bad Bunny because it’s essetially just a Bad Bunny song featuring Gorillaz and not even a really good one at that, feels like a weak Bad Bunny B-side. And the song doesn’t even go anywhere, all this song has going for it is literally just the Bad Bunny and he doesn’t even do THAT well. Fortunately the second to last song „Skinny Ape“ does pick things up pretty substantially as it provides what’s in my eyes the musical climax of this album – as basically all the songs on this very synth-based album it kicks of with a strong synth-line that slowly evolves into what’s essentially the chorus of the song before going back to said synth-line as a sort of bait-chorus, before finally the song just explodes in sound and color and makes for one of the most musically rewarding musical experiences this album has to offer. Seriously, this song take a bit of patience but when it hits, it really hits. The final leg of this song is just beyond euphoric, I really like what the band did here. And I gotta say, I kinda wish that THIS was the closing track, as it wraps things up almost perectly – the actual ending song we got „Possesion Island“ is fine, but just nothing to write home about. It’s essentially just a guitar-paino ballad that feels really out of place with the rest of the album even though the tune itself is as I said just fine. Though I’ll say the outro of the song has this nice trumpet section that ranks it up a few points, but it’s so short-lived that it honestly barely even counts.

So through and through, this album was a complete mess and a mixbag of songs that range from exceptional and genuinely some of the most ear-grabbing in the band’s catalogue to literally can’t recall how they sound at all. At the end of the day I really expected more from this record but still got some banger tunes with it so it isn’t all bad… Just kinda underwhelming for Gorillaz standarts.

-favorite tracks: Cracker Island, Oil, Silent Running, parts of New Gold, parts of The Tired Influencer, Skinny Ape

-least favorite tracks: Tormenta, Tarantula

Strong 6/10

The long awaited 3rd studio album by the infamous youtuber turned singer Joji is after what felt like an eternity finally here and right of the back I gotta say this one kinda flopped. I’m not sure if Joji’s label was just forcing him to release something but besides a few key tracks this album feels more like an EP than his literal EPs. Like the enitre second half of this album is as undercooked as it gets – also on that note this is the last album in the world that would need 2 fricking discs, like the material on here can barely be counted for one disc considering it’s just around 20 minutes long. However there are, as always with Joji, few incredibly high highlights but even the short runtime can’t save those from being burried beneath just so many filler and clearly unfinnished tracks. Let’s go through some of those now, shall we?

The album kicks off with the literal best track on the album and also the big single from this thing „Glimpse Of Us“ a heart-wrenching piano ballad that sets the bar up so high for the rest of this album that even actual non-rushed tracks would have trouble measuring up to it. The lyrics are really heartfelt and Joji’s singing is very on point, everything just clicks with this one and it also just sticks with you for a long time. Things go south from here super fast though. The next song „Feeling Like The End“ has a solid trap beat that I think could have worked if the song just had a little more meat on the bones – it just comes and goes before you even get used to the switch in sound from the last song and it just leaves you kind of confused and craving for more. I do like the song overall, I just think it would have really benefited from just being longer, maybe have anohter verse also something like a bridge and you’ve got yourself a pretty decent Joji song, but like this it’s just decent. However the next song „Die For You“ does picks things up quite substantially, it’s another really solid ballad, with actual drums this time around and honestly just ear-gasmic Space Song-esk guitar licks and synth work that just transports you into another dimension – this one’s another hit for me, really wish this album had more songs like this one. After that comes the song „Before The Day Is Over“ where the only redeeming quality is honestly the lyrics, they for some reason really hit close to home for me, but I just wish the rest of the song was as intresting to convey those lyrics. Like if I don’t get grabbed by the lyrics and the story immidiately, the song just starts to drag so much and I usually tend to skip it. The first disc if you can even call it that closes of with the song „Dissolve“ that’s kind of hit or miss for me – there are some parts of it I really like but overall it’s just super forgetable and uninspired, not much else to say about it, the autotune is used really poorly here and the watery guitars just do nothing for me, it’s just a nothing burger of a song.

Now the second half has only 4 songs out of which 1 is an interlude, 1 is a demo and 1 is apparently a freestyle that’s honestly barely a song. And the only actual song on this side „NIGHT RIDER“ just straight up is not good. The sound effects are obnoxious and super distracting and again, there is just nothing to talk about here, like if you removed this song and honestly the entire second half and just released this as a weird EP mixtape thing it would have honestly been just so much better. The „BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO“ sucks, like the song is just bad. The vocal melody is kinda nice? But yeah, the song literally says to you it’s a demo, like why is it even included on here. „YUKON (INTERLUDE)“ is probably the best song out of the bunch here, it’s just the most listenable and solid cut on this side, but again nothing mind-blowing, I could take it or leave it to be honest. And finally the outro song „1AM FREESTYLE“ is just barely a song, it’s a nice outro song I guess, but it just tries to make this whole thing somewhat of a full experience when it’s just clearly just not.

And yeah, that’s Joji’s latest album SMITHEREENS – an album that had a lot of potential for being his best but ended up being arguably his worst. I’m sorry, I definetly can appriciate his growth as a singer and his song-writing capabilities have definetly improved as well over the years, but this is just blatantly unfinnished. I really think his label was just pressuring him to release something, because this album is the third of the length of his last and it has somehow double the ammount of filler.

-favorite tracks: Glimpse Of Us, Die For You, parts of Feeling Like The End and YUKON (INTERLUDE) and lyrics on Before The Day Is Over

-least favorite tracks: Dissolve, BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO

Light 6/10

… more like MIDnights amirite? Alright now that we got that out of the way…

So yes, new Taylor is here – now to be fair this was always gonna flop a bit considering the insane ammount of hype build around this thing, like not even Taylor could live up to such high expectations. But honestly, after a few uninterupted listens… This things is just okay. Which after the amazing couple past couple of albums kinda hurts to say – it doesn’t mean the album is bad, it’s just that there isn’t honestly that much that stands out about it? Like okay now imagine this album wasn’t released by Taylor Swift and it was just some random girl singing – NOONE would care about this album. And you can’t really say that about the majority of her other releases because they are just that instantly good, but this album takes a bit of digesting and even after that you’re still kind of left hungry for something more fulfilling. Anyways let’s take this track by track like we do.

„Lavender Haze“ is the opener and honestly I was super scared when I saw that this song has the highest rating of all the songs on this album considering I wasn’t all that crazy about it. A lot of the elements that made Reputation such a mid album for Taylor are once again present here and that was like a major red flag for me right of the back. Fortunately the song did grew a bit even though I still don’t really see it – the thing about this album that sucks probably the most is just how overdone her narrative is at this point and she just doesn’t bring anything new to the table lyrically and also does it over some of the most dull instrumentation she’s been over in a while. So yeah, not of to a great start but as I said the song is a bit of a grow admittedly. Next up is „Maroon“ which sounds like 3 other different Taylor songs combined into one, it’s alright, continues the vibe pretty well, it’s just a bit empty you know. „Anti-Hero“ is a bit more like it – I really like the lyrics on this one and the instrumentation isn’t that bad either – it’s also one of the more memorable songs on here even though it’s still nothing mind-blowing. I really enjoy the next track „Snow On The Beach“ with Lana Del Rey even though I genuinely can’t tell when Lana comes in, they just sound so similar to each other on here and overall I did expect much more from a collab this huge, but as a song on its own it definetly is like a top 3 from this thing and it’s not even that crazy, but the imagery is just the most vivid here so far and I kinda like it. „You’re On Your Own, Kid“ is probably my favorite song on the album – it’s just the most memorable and sticks out the most, also the story is not that bad and the tune is just there. Kinda wish more of this album was like this, this is a really good one, but you can still hear that I’m kinda running out of things to say, because truth be told there just isn’t that much to talk about here. Next is „Midnight Rain“ and uhh… I mean, I’ll say one thing, I appriciate the experimentation on this track and overall it’s more memorable then some other tracks even though mostly for the wrong reasons. The production choices on this one are really bizarre and by this point in the album I started to notice that this whole album just sounds like it’s burried under a pile of snow and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Now with this song I still at least enjoy it to some extent but the next song „Question…?“ i just found to be super melodramatic and just boring to be honest, like the lyrics make me physically cringe and it’s probably the most shining example of this album just being so redundant lyrically. Now I’ve heard some big talk about „Vigilante Shit“ being like the worst thing that ever happened but honestly? I’m just so glad that she switched it up SOMEHOW so I don’t even care – the song is fine even though sure, it’s edgy and a Billie Eilish rip-off, who cares, at least it keeps it fresh. The next song „Bejeweled“ just sort of exists, the synths are kind of annoying, but I like the chorus well enough so it balances out i guess, NEEEXT. „Labyrinth“ is honestly pretty alright, it’s very lowkey like the rest of this album, but with this one I feel it more for some reason, it just feels much more genuine and heartfelt. Next up we have „Karma“ which I’m really split on – instrumentally it’s one of the most adventerous and intresting songs on the whole album, but the song doesn’t have that much going for it besides that. The chorus is just alright, it’s alright, everything is just alright. I’m getting bored just writing about this, let’s just wrap this up… „Sweet Nothing“ is like the perfect two-word description of not only the song but basically the entire album and that’s all I have to say about that. And finally the closer „Mastermind“ is… What’s the word again?… Oh right… ALRIGHT. IT JUST EXISTS. I FEEL NOTHING DURING THIS. IEOIAHJOJHOFJAEOIjf

… well that was weird ANYWAYS yeah the album itself is super fricking boring. Like after it stopped playing spotify automatically started playing „Style“ and I immidiately thought to myself „wow, not a single song on here is half as fun nor memorable nor impactful as this song is“ and I think I’m just gonna leave it with that. There are some small highlights but honestly through and through this is just kind of a disapointment if I’m being honest.

-favorite tracks: Snow On The Beach; You’re On Your Own, Kid; Labyrinth; Karma; Anti-Hero

-least favorite tracks: Question…?; Bejeweled

Light 6/10

The return of the queen.

Yes, the rumors are true, Björk is back with a brand new release out – following her pretty decent 2017 album „Utopia“ Björk took a much needed break from releasing albums back to back and finally after five whole years decided to come back with once again this brand new sound and aesthethic and boy is it a weird one for even Björk standarts.

The teaser tracks to this thing were all very… Abstract to say the least and you know that’s to be expected with Björk but there was just something… Off with these songs – take the opener „Atopos“ for example, it starts off with these sequenced drums that sound like a march coming towards you followed by just a plethora of sounds ranging from horns, strings and whatever else is in there I honestly still have a hard time pinning that down. It mashes together really awkwardly the first time you hear it but it becomes clear that it’s very intentionala and creates this reall uncomfortable feeling that doesn’t really let go throughout the entire album. Björk sings her absolute heart over this chaos only giving more fuel into the fire. Then if all that wasn’t enough these just alarming synths with huge bass appear in the second half making the track feel even more like some ancient evil is chasing you in a dark corridor. After repeated listens the song is honestly an absolute masterclass at setting the tone for the rest of this thing, it immidiately let’s you know that you’re in for one hell of a ride. This is followed by the next song and also a single „Ovule“, probably the most song-like sounding song on this album. The horns on this are really pleasant for a change and it serves as a nice breathing room between what just came and what’s about to come. The song features similar drums to the last one but in this context it’s much more catchy and just overall just less scary. „Mycelia“ is the next song and it’s right back to the weirdness – it’s all essentially an acapella consisting of just snipets of sounds that clash together in this really haunting experience. It’s more of an interlude than anything but I still commend Björk for experimenting. After that we have „Sorrowful Soil“ which much like the last song is mostly acapella but this time around with actual lyrics in which Björk talks about her complicated and painful roots and her ancestors , a theme that’s brought up many times throughout this album. Speaking of which the next song „Ancestress“ is a 7-minute beast of a track just about that – this song was also one of the singles for this album which is like the most Björk thing to do to have the longest and one of the most hard to swallow tracks as your single. Anyways the song is very long-winded with beautiful orchestral pieces scattered througout that slowly but surely all colide together around the halfway mark – then the song quiets down a bit and starts building up again for another crescendo that ends as fast as it comes – then silence again. The song play VERY WELL with this dynamic and makes for an amazing centrepiece in this album. Combine that with Björk’s heavenly singing and introspective lyrics and you have yourself one of the best Björk songs period which yes is saying a lot. After that comes another short interlude that I honestly won’t even mention and we’re thrown right into the secod longest track on the album „Victimhood“ which manages to be just a few seconds short of those seven minutes. This song build on the last song with much darker orchestration and more lowkey sound, it’s honestly one of the most haunting and sorrowful moments on this whole album. The electronic elements of course find themselves a way in aswell, at around the 4 minute mark there is this EDM-esk beat that just comes out of nowhere and once again only adds to the chaos, then just after like a minute just vanishes completely, it’s so random but it works very well and doesn’t break the immersion at all, only adds to it. Then at the last leg of the song it just goes almost full techno for a moment and then transitions into an acapella outro – I mean it’s just so unpredictable, you never know what’s around the corner and I love that about it. „Allow“ is next and honestly I don’t have much to say about this one besides the fact that it sounds very sweet and the flute-work on this song is on another level, like seriously LISTEN TO THEM GO. Maybe I wish the song was a bit more memorable (she just keeps repeating the word „allow“ over and over again for the majority of the song) but it continues the vibe very well and there are some genuinely angelic vocal passages towards the end so I can’t complain that much. The next song „Fungal City“ sounds EXACTLY like the title implies, everytime I listen to it I just imagine a magical forest full of mushroom trees with a full society living in them, it’s unreal the imagery this song paints. The orchestration sounds straight out of some old Disney film with just a tad of electronic madness sprinkled throughout. And Björk’s voice was like born for this aesthethic, she feels super comfortable over it all. Definetly one of the best tracks on the album for sure, the sheer ammount of musicianship is just one a whole nother level with this one. There is another interlude before the next song „Freefall“ but the interludes are honestly like the least intresting parts of the album, they don’t ruin it or anything but are just kind of meh, but just know that they are there. Anyways „Freefall“ – yeah this one’s pretty standart Björk. It’s really heartbreaking and full of genuine emotional ache and pain, it makes me just sad – this is like the sad part of the Disney movie. Her performance is super powerfull on this one aswell, like the pain in her voice with the ascending strings is like a top 3 moment from this album, super underrated song. The switch up is also pretty neat, one of the most seamless and effortless switches on this whole album, the faster strings make for some really pretty musical passages and this time repeating „illuminate“ all over again and again only adds to it in my opinion rather than take away from it. Yeah, this one’s a pretty good one. ANYWAYS the title track Fossora is on a whole nother level of good, dare I say even great. No seriously, this is my favorite song on this album for a reason – it just mixes all the great parts of this album into one spectacular experience that ends with the biggest and most powerful and earth-shattering musical crescendo of this whole album. The pummeling bass and drums with the super abrasive synths make for an absolute musical treat that I just wish lasted longer – it honestly feels like the whole album has been building up to this moment, it’s just so climactic and insane, words can’t do it justice, but when it comes you just absolutely ascend. So yeah, this one’s pretty alright if I do say so myself – anyways onto the next and final song of this album „Her Mother’s House“ which is like the perfect musical and lyrical ending for this album. It’s like the most beautiful calm after the storm you’ve ever heard and puts a nice little bow on this whole album making it feel like a full journey and experience.

So yes, if you couldn’t tell, this is in my opinion of Björk’s best bodys of work to date. Super pleased with how it turned out and even though I could probably do without some of the interludes and some tracks do drag on a bit too long this is honestly through and through spectacular. Can’t wait to see where Björk comes next.

-favorite tracks: Atopos, Ovula, Ancestress, Victimhood, Fungal City, Trölla-Gabba, Freefall, Fossora, Her Mother’s House

-least favorite tracks: like two of the interludes and maybe Sorrowful Soil??

Strong 8/10