cjbizzlebizzle | Sputnikmusic

	Power Paladin Beyond the Reach of Enchantment Every year one must find a power metal album that delivers that medieval fantasy vibe and it seems that once again this year it comes down to Power Paladin. After an excellent debut album they are back with tighter songwriting and production on a record that finds a great groove in the consecutive tracks of 'The Royal Road', 'The Arcane Tower' and 'Aegis of Eternity'. Solid riffs, some great leads and excellent vocal harmonies and melodies from time to time.	3.5 07.07.26
	Surfbort Reality Star That awesome feeling when you seem to be the only one that truly loves a particular album. At the end of the day 'Reality Star' is an album that exemplifies an nearly perfect slacker rock sound mixed with punk and a dash of grunge. Every single excellent riff and drum beat just oozes with slacking and boy is that feeling wonderful. Another place that the record shines is the pacing and track order. There is a very nice back and forth between the lower tempo groovy tracks and more up-tempo, high energy punk songs. Inside the tracks the band shows off some nice songwriting chops with solid hooks and playful bridges to break up the verse-chorus-	4.0 07.07.26
	Elucid and Sebb Bash I Guess You Had To Be There Beats and production are the star of the show on this record with Elucid's raps just not meeting the level of the supporting tracks. 'Parental Advisory' and 'Cantata' are memorable tracks but it feels like this record will be lost in the sea of excellent East Coast experimental hip hop albums to come out in the last decade or so.	3.0 07.07.26
	Ronker Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever Great mix of noise rock, punk and post-hardcore with highlight tracks in 'Snuff', 'Tall Stories' and 'Disco Dust'. Nice versatility shown with many of the tracks being very upbeat and aggressive while 'Snuff' slows things down with grander instrumental arrangements and a massive show of emotion. The vocalist stands out with his performance but overshadows the rest of the band which at times doesn't stand out as much. A must spin a few times for fans of these genres but not one that will be in my playlists for years to come it feels like.	3.5 07.07.26
	Neurosis An Undying Love for a Burning World Upon some reflection it feels like it has been quite a while since sludge has really been at the forefront of my music focus but here we are in 2026 and Neurosis drops a banger record. A mix of sludge and post-everything Neurosis toe the line of riffing and atmosphere about as well as anyone in metal in recent memory with a great mix of vocalists and vocal styles. Seriously, the album contains such a great mix of singing, intense screams, yelling and everything in between with a few members of the band lending their efforts. For me that effect is no greater than in 'Seething and Scattered' that opens with shouting above a nervy guitar line an	4.0 07.06.26
	The Twilight Sad It's The Long Goodbye Great sounding synths with good energy and a nice contrast between the heavy and upbeat instruments and the vocals that tend to be on the softer side. Despite some nice elements a lot of the tracks follow a similar sound that feels familiar and the more sombre vocals get a bit repetitive by the end of the 50 minutes.	3.0 07.06.26
	Emily Scott Robinson Appalachia Props to the singing and crystal clear production to capture the vocals and instruments here, you feel like you are in a studio with them. Outside of 'Time Traveler' and 'Cast Iron Heart' it feels a bit hard to latch onto the songs and some of the themes are even pretty run of the mill at this point. A great singer to listen to but by the end you get the point and don't really have to revisit a lot.	3.0 07.06.26