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User
Reviews 26
Approval 99%
Soundoffs 237
News Articles 5
Band Edits + Tags 10
Album Edits 153
Album Ratings 2348
Objectivity 71%
Last Active 12-19-18 7:20 pm
Joined 06-11-12
Review Comments 2,733
| | 22 for '22 | | 22 |  | Carly Rae Jepsen
The Loneliest Time
Carly comes back with some solid inspiration this time around - The Loneliest Time feels very broadway, very camp, very disco. These are all things, thankfully, that suit Carly and her songwriting. These songs mostly run tight - sometimes too much so. About a third of these tunes could’ve been extended by a minute to make them better, but too many hover around the 2:30 mark. With what she’s doing, trying to bring all these big sounds and feelings, you can make ‘em longer girl! All that said, when those short songs end it’s hard to not throw ‘em right back on. 3.8/5
The Loneliest Time, Talking To Yourself, Bends, Bad Thing Twice | | 21 |  | ALFAXYSM SOFTWARE
CRYSTALLOMANIA (Ver. 1.0)
Exciting jungle - the throwback i’ve always wanted to hear. 30 minutes will go by in an instant listening to this bliss, reminiscent of PSX era dnb/jungle music. 3.8/5
AMBIENT VISION UNIT, OPEN YOUR MIND, ETERNAL CONTENTMENT STATE | | 20 |  | The 1975
Being Funny In A Foreign Language
The leanest 1975 record to date, Matty and the boys cover some solid alt-pop ground - a few funky tunes, a few that rely heavily on string sections, and the new wave bliss of Oh Caroline are all highlights. Unfortunately a couple back half songs halt momentum, but the highs outshine the lows by a mile. 3.8/5
The 1975, Oh Caroline, I’m In Love With You | | 19 |  | Dissidente
The War On Two Fronts
Melodic hardcore-slash-punk that is filled with heavy hitters. Vocalist hits the right notes over songs about class war and burning it down to start all over. Particularly poignant are references to Russia, with two of the band members having roots in the country. 3.8/5
Black Bloc,Reproductive Reichs, 10 / 27 / 18 | | 18 |  | Rina Sawayama
Hold The Girl
Rina tackles turn of the millennium pop on Hold The Girl, and it makes for a super solid listen. It ends up mostly a Y2K pop-rock pastiche, but it’s well done, and it throws a few curveballs for surprise - Shania Twain country-pop and eurodance also make brief appearances, and they’re up to par with the albums best. 3.8/5
This Hell, Holy, Forgiveness, Hurricanes | | 17 |  | Dj Re:Code
ReCodePop!
Recodepop! (Discs 1+ 2)
Dj Recode steps up to the table and delivers the most invigorating take on digicore / hyperpop yet. Both halves consist of busy soundscapes that pound energy into ya earholes w/no cooldown periods. Solid 50 minutes of energy. 3.8/5
Distance, out of my head, adhd, surrender | | 16 |  | Cory Wong
Power Station
Cory revs up every generator with a little help from some friends on Power Station - each sector of this facility is running at 100%. Clearly split into thirds, Power Station is a masterclass in collaboration, and Wong fits himself nicely into an array of disco/pop tunes, electrifying jazz fusion, and fun bluegrass melodies. 3.9/5 | | 15 |  | Trust Fund Ozu
Tribute Summon
Faye Fadem delivers her first full length as Trust Fund Ozu, and it’s a fast-paced romp about identity that sounds like the internet threw up into a recording mic - anime references, obnoxious dubstep breakdowns, glitch-hop - a very fun, and surprisingly catchy take on hyperpop. 3.9/5
Tits Of Glass, What My Angels See In Me, J.K. ROWLING DISS TRACK | | 14 |  | Cheem
Guilty Pleasure
The Pitchfork Connecticut Band of 2022 swing hard with a shameless take on nu-metal that melds its most garish tropes with pop-punk choruses and head-scratching moments, like the breakneck D’n’B pace of Overload. Clocking in at just 22 minutes, Guilty Pleasure is one worth indulging in, at the very least. 3.9/5
Snag, Pay2Play, Cheem Szn, Emerge | | 13 |  | Jack White
Fear Of The Dawn
After the scattered, stretched out feeling of Boarding House Reach, Fear Of The Dawn swoops into save the day. All the eccentricities of the previous record are assorted much more nicely here, keeping things much more interesting from front to back. 3.9/5
Eosophobia, Hi-De-Ho, Fear of The Dawn, Shedding my Velvet | | 12 |  | Ithaca
They Fear Us
Metalcore mixed heavily at times with indie rock - screamed and sung vocals are here in equal measure, and the band knows how to do this right. The last third of the record is very light in comparison, but it works as a cooldown for the first six tracks, a rollercoaster ride of metalcore with riffs and rhythms for days. 3.9/5
They Fear Us, Cremation Party, Camera Eats First, Hold Be Held | | 11 |  | Drug Church
Hygiene
Hygiene turns down the dial just a bit - this is hardcore and post-punk with a smooth sheen that occasionally dips into more of an ‘alt-rock’ sound at times. But it’s all well crafted! Straight to the point in nature, Hygiene is punchy, catchy, and frankly just an all-around great romp. 4/5
Super Saturated, Million Miles Of Fun, World Impact | | 10 | | Tomberlin
i don't know who needs to hear this...
Gracious and serene, Tomberlin strings together tunes that reflect the many emotions we experience day-to-day. The surface of the mundane is peeled back and feelings are laid bare - leaving a best friend behind, feeling dour scrolling through social media, somber notes on a penny-pinching big talker…All delivered so delicately with the gentle strum of guitars and piano. 4/5
Collect caller, tap, unsaid, idkwntht | | 9 |  | Leyla McCalla
Breaking The Thermometer
Breaking The Thermometer feels like an autobiography in the best way possible - Leyla McCalla spends this record looking into her past, her families past, and the trials and tribulations of her heritage. What does it mean to be Haitian-American? What does it mean to be Haitian? Breaking The Thermometer speaks to us in English and Creole in an effort to bridge all these topics into one question and answer, and it’s a very enlightening one. 4/5
Vini We, You Don’t Know Me, Fort Dimanche, Dodinin | | 8 |  | Nas
King's Disease III
Nas, age 50, murders the game with some modern, smooth production from Hit-Boy. The longer a hip-hop album is the harder it is to get me into it. But KD3 takes an hour and fills it with fire lines, catchy rhymes and hooks that embed in the mind. According to like every music site this is his best record since Illmatic. I wouldn’t know bc i have only heard the 2022 Nas records lol but this is fire 4.1/5
Michael & Quincy, Once A Man Twice A Child, Legit, Recession Proof | | 7 |  | Kurt Vile
Watch My Moves
Kurt does what he does best - noodle on songs that people probably think go on for too long. I’ll be honest, KV as a whole can be very hit or miss. And honestly, a few of these tracks could’ve been cut! But here the grooves feel meditative - excellent chill out on the porch with a beer and the boys kinda vibe. I love it here. I could live in some of these songs a whole weekend. 4.2/5
Palace of OKV in Reverse, Flyin (Like a Fast Train), Hey Like a Child, Cool Water | | 6 |  | Bjork
Fossora
Bjork is in her mushroom era which is also her grieving her mother era and those two things are an accurate summation of Fossora. It feels useless to call a Bjork album an ‘oddball’ one, but this has its eccentricities just like any other of her works. Though it often calls back to previous records, there is something about the gratuitous clarinet usage and occasional gabber influence of all things that make this a rollercoaster instrumentally. There are also a few very emotional, powerful moments here where Bjork eulogizes her mother. 4.2/5
Ancestress, Sorrowful Soil, Fossora, Atopos | | 5 |  | Jenny Hval
Classic Objects
Airy and meditative, Jenny graces us with another piano driven set of tunes relating to fate and the musician/audience relationship. Musings on previous generations and alternate selves, death and the passage of time, and whatever the word play is supposed to mean on Jupiter all catch the ear. A sweet record. 4.2/5
American Coffee, Cemetery of Splendour, Jupiter, Year Of Love | | 4 |  | Ethel Cain
Preacher's Daughter
A moody, emotional roller coaster seeped in southern gothic imagery. Dreamy americana, turning its dial from pop-rock (American Teenager) to epic ballads (Thoroughfare) to down and dirty, dark psychedelia (Gibson Girl) just for starters. Listen twice - once to appreciate how lush and full this thing is, and once to let the conceptual side hit. A real doozy. 4.4/5
American Teenager, Thoroughfare, Ptolomea, Sun Bleached Flies | | 3 |  | Alvvays
Blue Rev
Overflowing with melody, Blue Rev lets you bathe in its sweet vocals and fuzzy guitars from start to finish. They’re still lyrically on their game, with some real contenders for lines of the year (Belinda says that heaven is a place on Earth, well so is HEEEeEEEeeEEEeeEEEeEELLL). Pleasing to the ears on all accounts, Alvvays have perfected their sound on this one. 4.4/5
Belinda Says, Many Mirrors, Easy On Your Own, Velveteen | | 2 |  | Soul Glo
Diaspora Problems
What it means to be punk seems to change every year, and for 2022 it’s Soul Glo that personifies the spirit best. Pierce Jordan screeches and screams verses at warp speed, his poetry barely able to escape his lips at times. Lyrically this thing is cathartic and historical, looking inwards and lashing out for good reason. But it’s the sound that lands this record so high on my list. Soul Glo melds hip-hop, punk and hardcore together to make this deliciously loud paste that bends in ways you don’t expect, but satisfy anyways. 4.5/5
Gold chain punk (whogonbeatmyass?), Spiritual Level Of Gang Shit, GODBLESSYALLREALGOOD, Coming Correct Is Cheaper | | 1 |  | Chat Pile
God's Country
Each of the nine songs found on Chat Pile feel claustrophobic and overwhelming, all brimming with purpose with an important message to get across. It feels like the state of the nation for the US - homelessness runs rampant, opioid crises scar the nation, shootings in the news feel like a daily occurrence. It’s the madness of this sea-to-shining-sea country put to tape. It’s harrowing. Dreadful.
Why do people have to live outside? We have the resources. We have the means. 4.6/5
Why, Pamela, Anywhere, grimace_smoking_weed.jpg | |
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