|
User
Reviews 416
Approval 72%
Soundoffs 77
News Articles 104
Band Edits + Tags 1,444
Album Edits 765
Album Ratings 5025
Objectivity 75%
Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70
Review Comments 64,287
| S e p t e m b e r of POP
Not a genre I remotely trust 95% of this site on vs. one of the easiest to consume and analyse. What could possibly go wrong? | | 1 |  | TWICE
With YOU-th
Give me the latest Good Thing | | 2 |  | Pet Shop Boys
Introspective
or vintage gems | | 3 |  | Kate Bush
Never for Ever
or art pop flatulence.
i will pop them all | | 4 |  | KILLING JOKE
KILLING JOKE | | 5 |  | STAYC
Metamorphic
September 5th
insomniac rec
2024
K-Pop
Mmmhmm this was fun but I felt it lacked wow factor in a lot of areas: it had versatility in spades, in a way that struck me as slapdash and carefree, but very few individual tracks did much to run with this. The choruses were often perfunctory, the vocals lacked personality at points, the subject matter (from the obligatory 20% English quotient anyway) bordered on kitsch zany party girl antics but the vibe never quite connected with the inherent fun of that premise. Still a good time though - I enjoyed the Latin songs in particular, as well as the ones that flirted with UK garage - but this isn't exactly flying to the top of my K-dar.
3.3 | | 6 |  | Nadia Oh
Hot Like Wow
September 6th
sona rec
2008
Electropop
loud brash dumb bullishly simplistic unstoppably cunty probably the kim petras of her time, or whatever - i would either have understood absolutely none of this back in 2008 or made it a core formative obsession (move over RHCP etc). peaks hard and early in the first 5ish tracks (couple of late highlights though - slow middle third). love how firmly it commits to that smutty phrygian phrasing, and how it offers a hysterical kind of meta-commentary on the second track only to diffuse any potential Smart Moment-ness with the almighty brain-erasing perfect amazing best lyric
MY EGÿyYY$##yYYpPphTiæA$n LUVAAAAA
there is no other
based
3.5 | | 7 |  | Janelle Monae
The ArchAndroid
September 7th
fowl rec
2010
R&B / art-pop
The breadth and continuity of this thing is definitely top-tier, but I'm mixed on its moment-to-moment impact -- is it good because it's so slick and ambitious, or is it good because I like the songs or even her voice? I, uh, do not know! Am sure it's the latter at least a little bit, but it's not hitting my on a blow-by-blow level yet! We'll see. Not a good fit for a cursory project like this -- though I'm still v glad to have heard it through this -- more time needed, preliminary uhhh
3.7 | | 8 |  | Juniper Moon
El resto de mi vida
September 8th
Havey rec
2002
P-p-p-pop... punk?!?!
Bangs, catchy as hell, wholesome cute un-snotty antidote to all the usual pop punk boydemons, nails all the fundamentals and spits out a couple of extra lovely takeaways (opener, El Resto De Mi Vida and Enfermedad for now), lovely girlvox, solid harmonies and backing vox, would recommend this to anyone tbh. Little bit too homogenous and maybe a little *too* consistent to hit a higher rating on first impression, but could see this changing. Special album!!!
4.0 | | 9 |  | Jonsi
Go
September 9th
Icebloom rec
2010
Drippy Sigur Ros pop
So fwiw I'll still stick up for Sigur Ros and occasionally tune into them when they sound like a baby whale curled up in a depression ball 2k below the the surface of the ocean, but their kitsch springtime faerie wavelength has never been my favourite, and this whole album is essentially one long unapologetic MORE PLEASE to exactly that. Respect where it's due to the glitch/folktronica palette (and "Kolnidur" has a particularly solid take on cinematic soppydrama strings) and the amount of heart that clearly went into it, but yep hard pass on most of this. There are a couple of yoOOUUuUuUUoOOOs sweet enough to get under my skin -- "Sinking Friendships" is a pretty easy highlight -- so let's just chalk this up as Takk's sweet-toothed lil cousin and slap a vaguely respectful 3 on it
3.0 | | 10 |  | The The
Soul Mining
September 10th
Ryus rec
1983
New Wave
Although I've *technically* heard all this before, the second track is a classic and I've *definitely* heard it (or a cover version) sometime recently? Struggling to form a strong opinion either way about the rest of this though - defs has spirit and personality etc, but I don't love the vocals and found little to latch on over repeated listens. I prefer my new wave bright n kitsch to whatever brand of sardonic this is ig :/
3.2 | | 11 |  | The Seekers
Come the Day
September 11th
Sloth rec
1966
Pop oldworld aussie pop bible pop pop
This is revoltingly wholesome and full of great harmonies and good old sentimental fluff lol, I vibed all my spins and picked up a handful of stellar favourites -- that Ecclesiastes track is almost uncomfortably affirming/stirring, love it. Definitely not an album I'd throw on every day and I could see some people finding it mawkish (they would be soulless), but very glad to have it in the ol wheelhouse
3.7 | | 12 |  | Lady Gaga
The Fame Monster
September 12th
ava rec
2009
GAGA
Okay, I thought I knew every song that mattered from this and I was WRONG! Monster and Teeth are immediate standouts, but this thing cooks throughout the 90 fucking 3 -minute long version I sourced (though it did drop off near the end and jfc that is longer than this needed to be). Gaga's brand of deliciously tasteless sex-kitsch was huge for me on release and has aged WELL because she had the perfect personality for it and subsequent pop gens have highlighted how rare this is! Those '00s electropop trappings have aged less well and are at points frustratingly lowest common denominator, but there's no holding back a classic song amirite uh ha.
No rating for now - this album is HUGE and I haven't organised my vibes yet - but it certainly won't be lower than 3.5 | | 13 |  | Shiina Ringo
Hōjōya (Carnival)
September 13th
DaveyMonsoon rec
2024
J-pop/jazz pop/pop rock
Thanks for reminding me to get on this -- had it in my library for months but had procrastinated it hard for whatever reason (despite falling back in love with her classic work for a few days last week). Will need some more time with it, but my first impression is that it's a partial return to form and *far* stronger than her trainwreck of a last album. Compares overall favourably with Sanmon Gossip and Hi Izuru Tokoro (both of which have admittedly fallen by the wayside for me), but I'm still holding out for strong highlights.
[more tbc) | | 14 |  | Julia-Sophie
Forgive Too Slow
September 14th
someone
2024
Half-lit bedroom A24 pop
wow i have so little to add beyond that second-guess at a genre. not awful.
3.2 | | 15 |  | Banks
Goddess
September 15th
Jash rec
2014
R&B
This spin was heavily overdue, feel I've been hearing about it for years now (though the hype peaked around 2019 and has been simmering ever since) -- as a result, I feel I gave it probably more time + repeats than strictly necessary, waiting for that *it* factor to land. Still waiting tbh: this is a solid R&B record, but its cluster of highlights ("Alibi", "Brain", "Drowning" for now) doesn't quite raise the roof, its stripped-down ballad game is a drag, the production often unadventurous and her voice lacks character (although her chops are indubitable). Also about 15 minutes too long. Glad I heard it, but this + and its discourse feels like it belongs p comfortably to last decade.
3.3 | | 16 |  | Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges
Clube da Esquina
September 16th
Fripp rec
1972
Brazilian pop
This is just a stellar record by anyone's metric. Very even sailing, full of soulful refrains, delicious acoustic tones, loooovely vintage chord progressions ("O Trem Azul" a solid example of all three), understated-weird accents for a little extra character ("Saidas E Bandeiras No 1" packs SO MUCH into those 45 secs damn), and lovely psychedelic overtones that never fog the window more than necessary but do kick up some scuzz where it counts ("Trem De Doido" is a real endgame kicker, and the acoustics on it are also pure ear sex). Incredibly easy chillout album, and not something I'm keen to analyse as such, but glad to have this in the wheelhouse.
3.9 | | 17 |  | Loma
Don't Shy Away
September 17th
Reefa
2020
Art pop
This isn't bad, but its production + atmosphere hearkening after a *slightly* exotic sound with *slightly* ambitious arrangements and steady, dusky overtones gave me the always-unwelcome impression of being trapped in Have You in my Wilderness B-reel in its early tracks (though this isn't as disappointing as that record). It does well to break out of that groove ("Given a Sign" pulls a lot of weight as a distantly synthed-up midway highlight (even if those hooks still feel tired -- I'm reminded of the points in LCD Soundsystem tracks I tend to zone out at)) but never lands as more than inoffensive. Her voice never gets out of the comfort zone of a list bedroom croon (reminds me a little of Lightning Bolt lady without the same ear for a perfect hook) and uh, does it need to? Pass -- gave this enough spins to know I don't need to know the answer there.
3.0 | | 18 |  | Seiko Oomori
Zettai Shoujo
September 18th
self-rec
2024
J-Pop
Best girl dropped her first post-divorce record today, so I gave myself this one off. Honestly, my expectations for this were mixed -- was lukewarm on most of the singles, and after dropping the most astonishingly great run of albums throughout the '10s up until 2020 (or maybe 2022) and now writing/managing/producing for however many other projects, her solo career is tbqh no longer at the point where I take its excellence for granted...
...and I'm glad of that, because once this thing hits its groove (about 1/3 of the way in -- that intro combo is some janky shit jfc), it takes the back-to-basics approach she rolled with on her last album Chotengoku (which I found fractious, manic, and a little weary in turn, mostly to great effect) and offers a grosser, girlier, perplexingly (though delightfully) 80s-retro advance on it that raises a bunch of interesting questions about the kind of artist she wants to be rn and tides most of them over with impeccable earworms. She literally has an album called Kusokawa [revolting-cute] Party, but this one might be truer to that title. Hmm. Still got a lot to digest here, and I've barely even started on the lyrics, but I dunno. It's easily in my bottom 3 of her solo albums, but she's still got her X-factor and is still taking her unbelievably robust songwriting chops to bold new territory. Won't be my pop AOTY, but it does cook. Will write something longer and more coherent about it further down the line.
3.9 | | 19 |  | Kylie Minogue
Fever
September 19th
Butkuiss rec
2001
Kylie fucking Minogue fucking dance fucking pop
stacked
danceable
bops
classics are classic
i am not tired of hearing them
i am shocked at how consistent this tracklist is even relative to them
i even am less tired of hearing the classics than i was before hitting this
shocked also at how well this has aged (appreciate there's a little '00s nostalgia creeping in here, but to me this sounds so much tighter and less dated than, say, the Gaga jams overhead prod-wise)
the only album of hers i'd heard end-to-end was Tension from last year, and i honestly wouldn't have been *that* thrown if someone mandela-effected me into believing this had dropped within 5 years of that record
we are go
fuq
4.0 | | 20 |  | Lady Gaga
The Fame
September 20th
ava rec
2008
GAGA
TIME TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS! We are going BACK to Gaga, treating the Fame Monster as an independent EP as it deserves, treating this as a bloated but based LP as it deserves, ignoring the Fame Monster Deluxe version I so foolishly blundered into forever and, uh, yeah. Results! | | 21 |  | Karin Park
Apocalypse Pop
September 21st
cylinder rec
2015
Angsty synthpop
Surprised by how little I got from this -- majority of it felt bland, strained and edgy (not a comfortable convo), which was not helped by some jarringly bad lyrics + little in the way of character to make up for it. "Stick To The Lie" was the first track with any mileage for me, and even that felt overly derivative. "Whipped Cream Silver And Pearls" sees her defer to the production, which holds the floor pretty successfully and makes her vox a much more enjoyable point of contrast when they do appear -- pretty clear highlight. "Opium" kinda goes the other way and staples a vaguely abrasive coda onto an extremely tedious vox-led drag: not a fan! A lot of this reminds me of that indie-adjacent ultra-sanitary distantly artsy brand of moody girl pop Aurora cruises off on, and not in a good way. "Daemons"/"Hard Liquor Man" is a particularly unfortunate combo. Not feeling that edge unfort!
2.8 | | 22 |  | Kitty
FROSTBITE
September 24th
Ryus rec
2014
Dance fucking pop
Uh yes fucking please, this absurdly blissed and bops undeniably. Her voice pivots so damn smoothly between those breathy raps (which are somehow *so* clear in their delivery), atmospheric croons and driving DANCE refrains; first three tracks are one rush after another, and then "Secondlife" shatters the cosmos and blitzess off to fuck knows where. You go! Closer is a notable step down, but nothing offensive. Mmm. Love this! It *is* extremely adjacent to all the reasons I love Doss, but so much more outgoing! Get in my canon!
4.2 | | 23 |  | Junior Boys
So This Is Goodbye
September 23rd
Fowl rec
2006
Indietronica
Mmmmhm I *like* this band but am continuously waiting for them to make me love anything they do? Their tunes are so greyscale and gaseous, and I dig it when they lean way into that only pull a deceptively robust chorus (or whatever) out of the indistinct middle distance -- this is something their debut Last Exit did really well at its best (though at the cost of more nebulous downtime), whereas this shies away from that album's glitchy, liminal side and dishes out a whole record of understated synthpop in the vein (but not always to the standard) of "Teach Me How To Fight"? It's proficient stuff, but has a pretty modest ceiling to me (certainly nothing here comes close to the Last Exit t/t) and not quite as much of an edge. Highlights are "The Equaliser", t/t, "When No One Cares", and maybe "When No One Cares" and uh this is a decent record I guess?
3.4 | | 24 |  | Brandy
Full Moon
September 24th
sona rec
2002
R&B
Can't mind the new Moon Kissed on any source that isn't Spotify (yuck) so I guess we're doing Brandy instead | |
JohnnyoftheWell
09.04.24 | S h o w me what you've got
All forms of pop are welcome, but please avoid the trash ones thank you | insomniac15
09.04.24 | STAYC - Metamorphic (Kpop) | robertsona
09.04.24 | hmmmmm hrmmmmmmm
hmm
There's more obvious stuff, but why do I want to recommend you Nadia Oh - Hot Like Wow (2008)? | FowlKrietzsche
09.04.24 | Umhmmm
Tempted to submit something from the aughts hipster music garbage pile like Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye (wow you even reviewed their (inferior) debut) or the poppier side of 2010s alt rnb with Banks - Goddess but had a morning poop epiphany that reccing albums I enjoy playing into the dirt is a good way to get reality slapped
INSTEAD try Janelle Monae - TheArchAndroid. It has killer guitar solos, hooks galore, and 2010 Big Boi (A top 5 Big Boi year fs, maybe top 3) | robertsona
09.04.24 | If Johnny hasn’t heard the archandroid then jeez yea that, such a fun record | Havey
09.04.24 | juniper moon - el resto de mi vida | Icebloom
09.04.24 | Curious to hear what you think of Jonsi-Go
You might hate it, hope not though. Album is fun and cute | Ryus
09.04.24 | the the - soul mining | JohnnyoftheWell
09.04.24 | ^have heard this ages ago via my dad's vinyl preferences, so should be interesting to come back to
have been lukewarm on all the Janelle Monae I've heard, but most of that came via neekafat so maybe a new leaf is in order | alamo
09.04.24 | Nadia Oh - Hot Like Wow [999999] | SlothcoreSam
09.04.24 | The Seekers - Come the day
https://open.spotify.com/album/5LLqAL9NU3ToPoeu2Vqxwt?si=DG7nORndTqKu61dlHaT2hg | Avagantamos
09.04.24 | I could tell you to listen to lady gaga but it feels kinda superfluous | DaveyMonsoon
09.04.24 | Shiina Ringo dropped a new one this year, not sure if you've jammed it yet. Disregard this if you have. | jrlikestodance
09.04.24 | Seconding ArchAndroid. One of the best pop/neo-soul crossovers of the 2010s. Janelle's best | someone
09.04.24 | Big gamble, as it's probably a definite 2.0 from old JohnnyoftheSuperiorTasteBuds but it's a cute internet age pop with "goth girls love me too" queer beats
Julia-Sophie - Forgive Too Slow | Jash
09.04.24 | Banks - Goddess | budgie
09.04.24 | 1 list per day dude | Frippertronics
09.05.24 | Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges - Clube da Esquina | ReefaJones
09.05.24 | Loma - Don't Shy Away | Butkuiss
09.06.24 | Dannii Minogue - Neon Nights. Has a dud or two on the tracklist but is simultaneously a crowning achievement in 00s diva pop. | Butkuiss
09.06.24 | Wait, you don’t have Kylie’s Fever or any Madonna rated either? Here I am reccing deep cuts when you haven’t even covered the basics John!!! | cylinder
09.06.24 | Karin Park - Apocalypse Pop | robertsona
09.06.24 | the best songs on fever are insane yah, it's mostly the two famous singles for me but "fever" (song) might be better than both | Trebor.
09.06.24 | Be gay, listen to hyperpop, do crime | Butkuiss
09.07.24 | Johnny listen to Crystal Kay - 4Real | JohnnyoftheWell
09.07.24 | perhaps i WILL let's go
this month looks slow enough that i'll be taking multiple recs lfg | Ryus
09.07.24 | site's dead
ctrl f kitty frostbite in ur ratings = no results wtf?
i rec that | JohnnyoftheWell
09.07.24 | oh damn, is that a Doss wavelength? | Ryus
09.07.24 | kinda but more housey plus breathy white girl raps | FowlKrietzsche
09.07.24 | Yass, okay have Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye | robertsona
09.07.24 | The new moon kissed album comes out this month, same-day it | GmemberKills
09.07.24 | cindy - angel touch
also kitty frostbite is such a fun ep, apparently she is working on frostbite 2 | Icebloom
09.07.24 | "this month looks slow enough that i'll be taking multiple recs lfg"
Well in that case I'd also rec Jenn Champion - Cool Choices (solo project from the female singer of Carissa's Wierd). Should be a good counterpoint to the utter happiness of the Jonsi record lol
Not full-on pop though, more like somewhere in between indie pop & indie rock | FowlKrietzsche
09.07.24 | Thought that sounded cool Icebloom, shame that album isn't on Spotify but her weezer covers album is ohnoohfuck | Icebloom
09.08.24 | Oh for me it is on Spotify, but onder her 'S' moniker. Maybe you can find it there. Otherwise it differs per region? | budgie
09.08.24 | "Well in that case I'd also rec Jenn Champion - Cool Choices
the track tell me from this album is one of my fav songs of all time. so awesome. so awesome | Icebloom
09.08.24 | Nice, that's prob my fave from that album as well! | SlothcoreSam
09.08.24 | You missed mine | Havey
09.08.24 | not your turn buddy today is punk pop | Drifter
09.08.24 | snoop dogg - bush | JohnnyoftheWell
09.09.24 | still dunno how moderately/very positive i am on 7, which means that POP PUNK wins so far uh continue | budgie
09.09.24 | you missed mine | Havey
09.09.24 | basado | JohnnyoftheWell
09.11.24 | okay we are getting somewhere hm | Ryus
09.11.24 | this is the day
actually yesterday was the day 😏 | granitenotebook
09.13.24 | dw im here to save the month: prefab sprout - steve mcqueen | granitenotebook
09.13.24 | im also seconding the crystal kay rec although my pick would be 637 always and forever. and goddess by banks is great | JohnnyoftheWell
09.13.24 | lfg!!!
am caught up until yesterday, will be blurbing soon | Butkuiss
09.14.24 | Johnny your lack of diligence and discipline are disappointing. I was under the impression you held yourself in higher stead than this!! | SlothcoreSam
09.14.24 | Ok, just found a fantastic EP from last year. Noise pop out of Chile, think Pom Poko. It's a must.
Osmiini- Estruendoso Fulgor
| robertsona
09.14.24 | Oh fuuuuuck has Johnny not heard ol Stevie mcqueenie | Frippertronics
09.14.24 | johnny has a lot of learning to do | JohnnyoftheWell
09.14.24 | steve mcqueen is another dad LP - heard it at least a couple of times, but goodbye lucille #1 is the only track that stuck beyond childhood
"Johnny your lack of diligence and discipline are disappointing"
proof will be in the pudding, scamp boi. see you at the end of the month | robertsona
09.14.24 | Of course goodbye Lucille stick with you! | JohnnyoftheWell
09.14.24 | lol
we are updating and learning uh | Havey
09.14.24 | didn't know anyone other than doof actually liked The The
| SlothcoreSam
09.14.24 | Glad you found The Seekers grandmotherly wholesome, I'll let her know when I see her next, she's 96 and still lives in her own home.
| bellovddd
09.14.24 | Johnny jam the veronicas | Butkuiss
09.14.24 | Uhhh Johnny the 93 minute version of Fame Monster is Fame Monster with the full The Fame tacked onto the end. Fame Monster ends with Teeth!! (And is a flawless 8 tracks baby) | JohnnyoftheWell
09.14.24 | you're telling me i just packed TWO gaga days into ONE gaga day!!!!???? | Sinternet
09.14.24 | red velvet - the red | robertsona
09.15.24 | Idek when it comes out but moon kissed rec was serious | Icebloom
09.16.24 | Too bad Jonsi didn't click. Think I already knew Takk wasn't your favourite, should've probably rec'ed something else | Havey
09.20.24 | who will put an end to the pop punk sweep is it gaga | JohnnyoftheWell
09.20.24 | (((it is Kylie))) | granitenotebook
09.20.24 | 16 is so good | Drifter
09.20.24 | where's bush i told you to add it | jrlikestodance
09.20.24 | Don't see you have it rated so Brandy - Full Moon | JohnnyoftheWell
09.22.24 | wow today we strike back
have taken a small sabbatical and uh listened to other pop that will appear here soon today is Karin Park lfg | robertsona
09.22.24 | Full moon goes hard | Butkuiss
09.22.24 | Man I don’t even have time to miss Hawks now Johnny has taken over the mantle of abandoning rec lists they pledged to update after three entries. | JohnnyoftheWell
09.23.24 | abandoning the list =/= abandoning the recs! have hope ye all | JohnnyoftheWell
09.23.24 | wow we are so close to being back | ArsMoriendi
09.23.24 | Can I pick something that's more indie pop/dream pop/bedroom pop type stuff
Cuz I wanna shill an album that comes out on the 27th (it's sona-pilled (is that Johnnyspeak? Prob idk)
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/fantasy-of-a-broken-heart/feats-of-engineering/ | dedex
09.23.24 | Ascendant Vierge - Une nouvelle chance
there is some pop behind the boomboom | Butkuiss
09.23.24 | Glad you’ve finally found the time to appreciate one of pop’s canon texts, Johnny! Fever t/t is such an all timer. | robertsona
09.23.24 | Full Moon ends with like five dumpy ballads but is a strong 4.5 otherwise and maybe even so check that shit two thousand twooopo | jrlikestodance
09.23.24 | Brandy needs more love here agreed | JohnnyoftheWell
09.24.24 | it is kitty day wow gg everyone else | dedex
09.25.24 | oh yeah kitty is bae forget everything else | JohnnyoftheWell
09.26.24 | one of these days were are gonna fully CATCH UP
3 more jams + one Gaga binge away!! | robertsona
09.26.24 | Lots of slammers on full moon. The what about us video is S-tier unmissable, the full moon video rocks for parties and hangs imo too | robertsona
09.26.24 | Also I’ll see you in New York is on Apple Music and surely bandcamp I’ll check now | jrlikestodance
09.26.24 | I mentioned Full Moon first! Lol. Can drop a new rec tho |
|
