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rabbitechoes · 6 months ago

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there were some really stellar albums this month, but also some ones that broke my brain. the Beth Gibbons album could end up being my album of the year though, such a beautiful record. all in all, a pretty decent month for new albums and stuff!!! also, rest in peace Steve Albini!!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Lives Outgrown - Beth Gibbons

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: May 17, 2024 ◇ genre: chamber folk

It’s been over ten years since we’ve gotten a new full-length project featuring Beth Gibbons. The vocalist of Portishead has been relatively quiet over the last decade or so, occasionally popping up as a feature here and there. Most notably on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers where she provided a great vocal performance on the track “Mother I Sober.” Anticipation for a new Portishead album, or even a Gibbons solo work, has never not been high, but that feature sort of reignited things. Two years later, she finally announced Lives Outgrown and it immediately became one of my most anticipated records of the year. This is her debut solo album, but she comes into it with a wealth of experience. She’s been one of the most singular vocalists for decades now, her crooning is immediately recognizable as hers and hers alone.

This also marks a departure from a lot of the trip hop, electronic, and rock stylings of Portishead, exchanged in favor of a warm chamber folk sound with other elements masterfully implemented into the mix. It provides the perfect backdrop to Gibbons’ musings on life, grief, change, and the passing of time. She’s been writing this record for over a decade and, if you weren’t aware, a lot can happen in a decade. Her writing here is beautiful, as are her vocals of course. She captures so many of those complex feelings perfectly. She doesn’t have all the answers, none of us do, but she’s using the music as a means of finding something. It’s a bit of a lofty comparison, but it reminds me of Karma by Pharoah Sanders in a way. Of course, they’re very different in sound and style, but they’re both about using music to search for something deeper. Something that may or may not be able to be found, but they’re gonna try. They’re gonna take us along for that ride and I, for one, am very grateful.

There’s not a single wasted second on Lives Outgrown. Every moment, even the quieter ones, is rewarding. These lush, largely acoustic arrangements suck you in, as does her often drawn-out vocal delivery. She emphasizes everything just right, in a way that makes you hang onto every word that comes next. A great example is on the lead single, “Floating on a Moment.” The way she adds a little extra flair to certain words is just mesmerizing. As is the chorus which is one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard all year. Gibbons belting out “All we have is here and now” is life-affirming. Former Talk Talk drummer Lee Harris provides percussion on a number of the songs here and his contributions are so valuable. His drumming has this weighty weightlessness to it. It’s so present, but it’s also light. Not abrasive in the slightest. The way it tracks under the acoustic guitar, the soft strings, and Gibbons’ vocals on the opener “Tell Me Who You Are Today” is amazing. They’re even more present on “Burden of Life,” they’re like thunder rumbling in the distance. That track is another one of her strongest lyrical moments. It’s nostalgic, almost eerily so. She ruminates on generational love presumably as both a mother and a daughter, she’s a very private person but her own description of the record cites motherhood as one of the main themes. It reads as if she’s grieving over the loss of someone in her family or perhaps her past self. She ends the song by singing “And the times never right / When you’re losing a soul.” Whether that be her own or not, it’s an incredibly moving piece. We’re all subject to the passing of time and we change no matter if we’re ready for it or not.

“Rewind” brings some new elements to the instrumentation. It mixes some subtle Krautrock elements which are such a nice touch. “Reaching Out” expands on that even further to an almost haunting degree. Her thin, floating vocals sound like they’re all around you. Not coming from one place in particular, but circling around you. It has Gibbons proclaiming that she needs someone’s love to “Silence all [her] shame.” It’s the most vulnerable she’s been across the whole project. The next track “Oceans” has her singing “I’ll dive into the ocean / On the floor I’ll gather my pride.” It’s like she’s trying to dust herself off. “Beyond the Sun” is the biggest left-turn here musically. It’s some of the wildest instrumentation on the record with the instrumental bridge having almost this blend of Western and Flamenco music that’s so wild, yet so amazing. Her vocal delivery on the outro makes it sound like she’s on a sinking ship. Despite the gratefulness always present in her voice, it’s very chaotic. This fades into the serene sounds of the outro “Whispering Love.” It has one of those arrangements that makes you feel like you’re walking outside on a Spring day with perfect weather, colorful birds flying overhead, and the grass is the perfect shade of green. Gibbons, likewise, sounds at peace. She sings “Oh, whispering love / Come to me, when you can.” She’s not demanding anything, she’s resigned. Finding some sort of peace or hope despite the ups and downs life throws at you.

Lives Outgrown is a gorgeous, rich record that I’m still picking apart after multiple listens. It’s one of Gibbons’ finest works across her career, ranking comfortably alongside the classics she made with Portishead. It’s one of the most beautiful and moving albums of the decade thus far. Everything is just so well-crafted and perfectly arranged. I’m just absolutely spellbound by this release. It exceeded all of my expectations and more. I can see myself loving this even more over the coming months or even the next few years. This is an album that sticks with you.

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Here in the Pitch - Jessica Pratt

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, folk, brill building, bossa nova

After a 5 year absence following 2019’s Quiet Signs, Jessica Pratt has returned with Here in the Pitch and it makes a strong case for being her best record yet. The elusive singer-songwriter has such a singular sound. No one, that I’m aware of, sounds like Pratt. Other artists might use similar sounds, wispy vocals and minimal instrumentation, but no one does it the way she does. She makes very dreamy folk music. The instrumentation is vivid and precise, but her vocals are simultaneously right next to you and in the other room. Her fingerpicking guitar is at the center of it all, she’s added different splashes of instrumentation over the years, but that remains the same. Here in the Pitch is the biggest departure from that sound thus far, but it still sounds so uniquely Pratt.

Every arrangement here is so delicate. The lead single “Life Is” is a great example of that. It makes use of mellotrons, a bass guitar, drums, and even a glockenspiel. It doesn’t sound like something you would consider grand, but compared to Pratt’s previous work it most certainly is. She sounds like an ethereal lounge singer. Another big surprise on this record is how Pratt incorporates elements from bossa nova into her sound. It’s flowing all throughout the album. From the saxophone and percussion on “Better Hate,” to the guitar playing on ��Get Your Head Out,” and pretty much everything about “By Hook or by Crook,” it’s clear Pratt took heavy inspiration from the genre. A lot of it is indebted to Mauro Refosco’s tasteful percussion work across the record. I expected the vocals on the album to be great, and they are, but I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. It helps that these songs have the strongest melodies of any of Pratt’s records, but the way she delivers them is just heavenly. It’s hard to predict where she’ll go, but she gently guides you along with her.

The song that blew me away the most was “Empire Never Knows” which is by and large a piano ballad, but it’s probably the clearest we’ve ever heard Pratt. The melody here is just sublime and she uses a backmasking effect on some of the vocals in between some of the lines in the final verse which was a big surprise. It reminds me of something from Carrie & Lowell-era Sufjan. The instrumental outro of the song is another big highlight and displays another one of the album’s strengths. She isn’t afraid to let things breathe. Despite the album not being super long, every moment feels realized to its best conclusion. The album’s closer “The Last Year” shows this as well. It sounds the most like Pratt’s previous work, shifting focus back to Pratt and her guitar. The verses end with about a minute left to the song, the rest of the runtime is Pratt harmonizing alongside the guitar and piano. Just a lovely moment, one that you just get sucked into. Despite being a little over a minute long, it feels like a lifetime in the best way possible.

It’s interesting how two of my favorite albums of the year take heavy inspiration from 60s music but put a dreamy twist on it, this album and Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, but I’m certainly not complaining. Unlike Diamond Jubilee, Here in the Pitch is short, but sweet. It’s the biggest progression of Pratt’s sound yet and maybe the best she’s ever sounded. Everything just feels so natural, so comfortable. Excited to hear which direction she takes her sound next.

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Fearless Movement - Kamasi Washington

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genres: spiritual jazz, jazz fusion

Kamasi Washington has had this sort of dignified vibe to him since his sprawling triple album The Epic back in 2015. He could be the chillest guy on the face of the planet, but he just has the aura of a real “serious” musician. His music justifies it too. He’s on another level when it comes to modern jazz, one of the few newer artists in the genre who feels like a big deal. Fearless Movement is an apt title for the saxophonist’s fifth studio album. His incredible musicianship is still on display here, but greater emphasis is put on movement. These compositions feel so much more free-spirited. It’s not a massive multi-part experience like his previous two records, it’s just Washington making some damn good tracks. He describes the album, in a non-literal sense, as his “dance album” and that makes complete sense. There is a real groove to a lot of these tracks, everything feels so alive. This is also an incredibly collaborative effort. Guest musicians on the album include Parliament-Funkadelic bandleader George Clinton, Thundercat, and André 3000. They all play their parts very well, as does Washington, in making this an absolutely joyous listen.

This album is a great mix of old and new for Washington. If you’re looking for some killer spiritual jazz and jazz fusion, there is plenty here to satisfy. The opener “Lesanu” is one of the most intricate tracks in his catalog. It sounds so all-encompassing. “Dream State” has great flute contributions from André 3000. The way his flute and Washington’s saxophones pair alongside each other is just magical. “The Garden Path” was released as a single all the way back in 2022 and it still remains one of my favorite tracks of his. I loved it even more in the context of the album. The wildest moments on the album come when Washington mixes jazz with other genres like soul, rap, and funk. For your soul fix, Washington teams up with Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, and Brandon Coleman for a cover of Zapp’s 1986 track “Computer Love.” I wasn’t aware of the Zapp track, I only know Kraftwerk’s song of the same name, but the version on this album rips. For rap, “Asha the First” features some cool verses from Taj and Ras Austin, but they’re very much outshined by Thundercat’s contributions on bass and the chorus. Thundercat’s delivery of the “Now my heart is freeeeee!” line in the chorus is just so cathartic. Funk fans will be the most pleased as this album is full of infectious grooves around every corner. It’s clear he was very inspired by funk rhythms and it comes through in these pieces. Most blatantly on “Get Lit” which features vocals from George Clinton and some rap verses from D Smoke. You can hear that Washington and crew had so much fun making these songs. It’s eclectic and a bold next step for him, but it’s all anchored by the superb musicianship on display here.

The album ends, ironically, with the song entitled “Prologue.” This was the lead single to the record, and it feels like a perfect start to this new chapter of his career and a perfect ending to the record as well. It’s a great indication of what this album is all about and what to look forward to from him in the future. Washington sounds unrestrained across this project which begets some of the brightest moments in his catalog thus far. He’s ready to explore new things with his sound and Fearless Movement is a wonderful jumping-off point.

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Night Reign - Arooj Aftab

◇ released: May 31, 2024 ◇ genre: chamber folk, chamber jazz

Night Reign is one of those albums I could never imagine playing when it’s bright outside. It’s so nocturnal as if you’re sitting on the beach at night watching the waves slowly move in and out. It’s one of those records that’s perfect for pondering. It lulls you into this meditative state as Arooj Aftab’s smooth vocals guide you along. The instrumentation also pairs wonderfully. This blend of folk and jazz makes for a mesmerizing listen. Every arrangement here is just so gorgeous. Aftab isn’t afraid to let things breathe, and let things build up to a satisfying conclusion. Very rarely does that strategy not work as intended. Like on the instrumental bridge to the opener “Aey Nehin” as the soft-plucked harp notes falter behind the plodding guitar while the upright bass adds the exact amount of depth the song calls for. Night Reign is full of stunning moments like that.

Aftab sings and occasionally writes in both Urdu and English across the record. I tried my best at translating a lot of the Urdu lyrics on the record, to inconsistent levels of success, but from what I can gather these songs are all very bittersweet. She sings as if she’s holding on to every moment, knowing that everything is fleeting, and it makes for such a compelling listen. The instrumentation, like I mentioned earlier, does the same. Like the wading arrangement on the track “Whiskey.” As she sings about being ready to fall in love with someone, every movement musically is felt. It’s one of the songs where Aftab has sole songwriting credit and it shows how vivid of a lyricist she is. One of the more intense moments on the record comes with Aftab’s collaboration with Moor Mother on the track “Bolo Na.” The arrangement here has an edge to it that a lot of the other tracks don’t have, mainly due to the song’s bassline. Moor Mothers’ intense poetry strikes a chord here as it usually tends to do. It’s an interesting mix of styles that pays off wonderfully.

This was my first Arooj Aftab album and after hearing this, I need to go back and explore her previous work. I really can’t get enough of how this album sounds in every capacity. As someone who is a sucker for some upright bass, especially, this album is like heaven to me. I’m also absolutely spellbound by Aftab’s vocals here. I couldn’t imagine anyone else over these songs. Beautiful record, please give Night Reign your full attention on a dark night or a rainy day.

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HIT ME HARD AND SOFT - Billie Eilish

◇ released: May 17, 2024 ◇ genre: alt-pop

If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews, you would know that I haven’t been very ecstatic about the current state of pop music. Maybe I’m just growing more cynical than I thought, but no album this year from a major pop star has truly grabbed me – until now. Billie Eilish has been one of the few pop stars over the last few years that you can count on. She makes music that sounds and feels like a real person made it. I believe she believes in the songs she makes. That rings true more than ever on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. This sounds like the natural evolution of her sound. Eilish and her brother FINNEAS strip things down a bit from her last few efforts. The quirkiness of her debut and the theatricality of Happier Than Ever are toned down considerably here. Traded in favor of more organic arrangements, with some electronic elements thrown in here and there, paired with incredibly strong songwriting.

The opener, “SKINNY,” absolutely floored me on first listen. It features some of the finest melodies I’ve heard all year and that lush chorus is chill-inducing. That bridge leading into the instrumental outro is one of the highlights of her entire discography up to this point with those gorgeous string arrangements. Amazing opener to the record, although I was worried that brilliance wouldn’t carry over to the more upbeat tunes. “LUNCH” proved me wrong very fast. That fuzzy guitar provides the perfect edge to one of Eilish’s most lovestruck cuts. This could prove to be the biggest hit on the album too, it’s just so catchy. One of the key lyrical themes on the record is Eilish’s sexuality. A subject that has been under intense scrutiny, not just by creepy old dudes and your garden-variety bigots, but also by, hopefully, well-meaning queer allies who accused Eilish multiple times of “queerbaiting.” This record is Eilish controlling her own narrative. She touches on the risks and rewards of “[opening] up the door.” as she sings on “CHIHIRO.” Also on the jubilation of falling in love like on the aforementioned “LUNCH.” As she also does, with even more elation, on the chorus of “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.” Her writing and, just as importantly, how rich these songs sound are cathartic presumably not just for Eilish, but for the listener as well.

On my initial listen to the album, the latter half let me down just a bit. “WILDFLOWER” is a nice acoustic ballad, but I didn’t find it to be one of the strongest tracks here. I still don’t, but I do love the instrumentation on it. “THE GREATEST” is a folky track that can plod along a bit, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. The bridge is one of the most explosive moments on the record as she belts out her frustrations at this unrequited love. I absolutely adore “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE.” It has one of my favorite vocal performances of hers and it has some of the strongest hooks I’ve heard all year. Then, out of nowhere, the second part of the song kicks in and she dives straight into some crazy electropop. Never would’ve expected that, but it works so well. “THE DINER” is another track that has big hit potential, but in the context of the album it falls a bit short after the crazy heights of the previous track. It’s still a good cut though.

The album ends on an incredibly high note with the song “BLUE.” It’s a gorgeous track that ties together the lyrical themes of the record and brings them to a nice conclusion. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is a great album. It provides new layers to Eilish’s songwriting and it offers some of the most substantial music from the pop-sphere this year. There’s a beating heart to these tracks which makes them so easy to latch onto. I’ll be surprised if another major pop release this year will be as good as this.

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You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To - Knocked Loose

◇ released: May 10, 2024 ◇ genre: metalcore

Not too long ago I listened to Knocked Loose’s A Tear in the Fabric of Life EP and loved it, which was pretty surprising. Metalcore isn’t my go-to genre and whenever I do love something I hear from it, it usually isn’t immediate. I just clicked with this band right away, so I was excited to dive into this new record. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is amazing. It’s a nonstop barrage of dissonant guitar riffs and scorched-Earth vocals. Every song just barges into the next with little time for a reprieve unless you physically pause the music. It’s uncompromising in the best way. “Thirst” and “Piece By Piece” kick off the album in explosive fashion. I love that heavy breakdown toward the end of the latter, it’s just one of those “oh, wow” moments. “Take Me Home” is a lot more atmospheric than the other cuts here, but it doesn’t break up the album’s flow. It also has one of the darkest, heaviest instrumental outros to any track here. The only thing close to a “breather,” is the intro to the closing track “Sit & Mourn.” Even still, there’s this uneasy tension surrounding it. You know, as the rest of this record has shown you, that something crazy is about to happen so when it all finally erupts it’s just so rewarding. The band displays excellent musicianship and songwriting ability across this album. They’re masters at building tension and making you feel uneasy, not in a way that makes you want to retreat, but in a way that pulls you in. I really enjoyed this album. Not only does it make me want to dive into more of Knocked Loose’s back catalog but also more of the metalcore genre in general. It’s such an album experience, I couldn’t imagine listening to these songs outside of it. If you’re in the market for a very cohesive and relentlessly loud record, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is for you.

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Anniversary - Adeem the Artist

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genres: alt-country, americana, singer-songwriter

I’ve been on the Adeem the Artist train since 2021’s Cast-Iron Pansexual. Bad cover art aside (the vinyl one is MUCH better), it was a refreshing, intimate country album that had something to say. As was the follow-up White Trash Revelry which had a greater focus on deconstructing and analyzing the American South’s and country music’s often disgusting short-comings throughout history. It’s not an abandonment of the ship though. They love the South and they love country music. If you love something, you want it to get better. Their music is an interesting balance of introspection, personal discovery, and razor-sharp analysis of their surroundings. Anniversary is no different and while the dive into more commercial country and Americana sounds keep some of these songs from reaching their full potential, their writing is still as strong as ever.

Anniversary is largely about love and parenthood with those occasional detours into some biting political commentary. “Nancy” is one of their finest songs. It sounds so exciting and the scandalous nature of the lyrical content comes through in the music, it’s just so playfully promiscuous. Their lyrics often have this spontaneous wordiness that makes it hard to imagine them fitting into a satisfying melody, but they usually make it work very well. “Part & Parcel,” “Rotations,” and “Night Sweats” all touch on the themes of parenthood and they made me realize that this a point of view I rarely engage with. Not out of any conceited effort, just by coincidence I guess. It was refreshing and touching. “Rotations” is easily one of the sweetest songs in their catalog with very tasteful instrumentation and a chorus that even gets me a little teary-eyed. “Night Sweats” has Adeem giving their perspective as a parent witnessing the ongoing atrocities happening in Palestine. It’s one of their finest moments as a songwriter. It sounds so immediate like they knew they had to get this message out through the music. If you’re looking for more commentary tracks like that, “Nightmare” and “White Mule, Black Man” have you covered. The former tackles religious hypocrisy over some fiery Americana and the latter is a stripped-down, powerful indictment of Knoxville’s racist history, another one of their finest moments. “One Night Stand” is a bit more lighthearted and it sounds like the queer country radio hit I didn’t know I needed. It’s also a great example of how Adeem can write really catchy songs, that hook is incredible. It uses the more commercial sound to its benefit more than any other track here. “Socialite Blues” is the craziest moment on the album as Adeem swaggers and sways all over a honky tonk anthem about being in love. I want more crazy stuff like this from them.

The instrumentation across the album, as I said earlier, leaves a little to be desired. It’s all very tasteful and well done, but a lot of it veers a bit too heavily into some of the played-out tropes of the genre. Despite that, their writing is as sharp as ever, maybe even sharper. Anniversary is another exciting release from one of my favorite country artists going today. I’m always eager to hear what Adeem does next.

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Almighty So 2 - Chief Keef

◇ released: May 10, 2024 ◇ genres: chicago drill, hardcore hip hop

A little over ten years after the original, highly influential, mixtape and after a year of pushbacks and delays, Chief Keef has finally released Almighty So 2. I can’t claim to be a Sosa connoisseur, although I do love the original Almighty So tape, but his impact on hip hop is undeniable. His music at the turn of the 2010s defined the decade. It was a precursor to many of the trends that dominated the era. He was also very young like he was 17 when “Love Sosa” dropped. As someone who hasn’t heard a lot of his work past 2013 or so, I was very curious to hear how his sound has progressed after all this time. Luckily, despite a few weaker cuts, Almighty So 2 is a pretty strong release. A “return to form” isn’t the right phrase for this album because it sort of feels like a new beginning for him.

The intro track samples “O Fortuna” and has him rapping “ Bitch, I'm Almighty, I'll shoot you with my mighty gun” over the epic, orchestral beat. It sounds so unserious but in the best way possible. A lot of the beats on this project have that orchestral twist to them and I love it. He also sounds very aware of his influence, leading to some really funny moments. Like on “Drifting Away” where he pokes fun at Kanye, who playfully proclaimed he invented drill on his “Like That” remix, by saying “Chief Sosa made drill, Kanye think he did too” and then in the final chorus and the outro he says the song has a “Kanye ass beat.” Amid the intense rap beef over the last month or so, it’s nice just to hear more lighthearted disses. Same with the “Jesus Skit” which has him throwing shots at Drake, Chris Brown, and Vic Mensa among others. The song following, “Jesus,” is one of the most aggressive tracks here and it’s a nice change of pace. Another massive highlight here is “1,2,3” which is one of his best tracks pretty handily. It has Chief Keef doing what he does best over one of the best beats I’ve heard all year. The level of quality could be a bit more consistent across this project, but the good stuff is really good.

“Believe” is one of the most personal tracks in his discography and it’s also my favorite track on the album. He reflects on his upbringing, fatherhood, relationships with the women in his life, and his career up to this point. It’s beautiful and poignant, a detour I wasn’t expecting on this album. Ideally, Almighty So 2 will mark a new beginning for Chief Keef. He can still make the bangers he became known for, but he’s much smarter now. Much older than he was when the original tape dropped, but he’s still so young, not even 30 yet which is crazy considering “Love Sosa” seems so long ago. I’m very hopeful that we continue to get more good music from Sosa in the years to come.

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Dark Times - Vince Staples

◇ released: May 24, 2024 ◇ genres: west coast hip hop, conscious hip hop

There’s always been a bit of a darkness to Vince Staples’ projects, but a lot of the time wacky beats and upbeat delivery offset it. He’s been progressively getting more serious album after album over the last few years. His self-titled record and RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART were the most introspective Staples had gotten thus far. Even still, the latter had a collab with DJ Mustard so it’s not all doom and gloom. Dark Times, if the title and cover art didn’t suggest, is Staples diving headfirst into those themes and exploring them both lyrically and through the album’s production. Staples has an incredible ear for good beats and production, see his 2016 record Big Fish Theory for the most definitive proof of that, and that’s no different on this album. That brilliance goes beyond the aforementioned wacky beats as Dark Times sounds very organic on nearly every level – it’s the most grounded Staples project by far. It sounds like the album Staples needed to make right now. A dissection of his mindset during these … dark times.

After a serene intro with birds chirping, the magnificent soulful beat of “Black&Blue” kicks in. The album cycles producers throughout, this one can be attributed to Alex Goose and Michael Ozowuru. I really do adore this beat, but what makes the track even better is Staples’ lyricism as he laments, among other things, that money doesn’t solve everything. Another interesting lyrical theme throughout the album is the idea of a heaven or a hell and how it pertains to morality. He asks in the second verse “To the Heavens above, is it a mansion for thugs? / Where did Tupac and 'em go?” The way he questions these things is through a very spiritual lens which I find interesting. He touches on it a bit more in the song “Government Cheese” as he raps “Everybody gotta die, only question, is it Hell or in the sky, yeah.” This song also features a subtle sample of the beat from “Blue Suede,” one of the biggest songs from his early years, and it’s a really nice touch thematically since the song’s main focus is on his poor upbringing in Long Beach. “Shame On The Devil” has him analyzing his romantic life and his success over the years, but those religious themes are very much present on this track. During the second verse, he reveals a very crucial aspect of the album’s themes as he claims that “only the heavens can judge” people. Staples believes he isn’t in the position of making that judgment call on what is ultimately “good” and “evil.” He wrestles with it, but he places it above him. It’s not the most satisfying conclusion to the album’s narrative, albeit a loose one, but Staples really shines as a lyricist across this project.

The rest of the record continues Staples’ reflections, introspections, and frustrations despite his successes over the years. “Étouffée” has Vince detailing his frustrations with his label and his fans, lamenting how they want “2015 Vince” back. “Justin” has a very light, floaty beat as he raps about meeting and quickly getting his heartbroken. The strongest moment on the back half of the album is “Little Homies.” It has Vince almost racing through these verses while also offering some advice to the ones that come after him. It’s shaky but in a super compelling way. That sort of applies to the whole record too. Staples doesn’t have the answers, but he has questions, thoughts, and feelings that he needed to get out on record. I would say that this makes for his best record since Big Fish Theory, but it also feels like a transitional album. Excited to hear what Staples does next.

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To All Trains - Shellac

◇ released: May 17, 2024 ◇ genres: post-hardcore, noise rock

It’s impossible for a review of To All Trains not to double as a eulogy for Steve Albini. A little over a week prior to the release of the noise rock band’s first record in 10 years, Albini passed away suddenly due to a heart attack. You can’t understate his influence on the state of not just noise rock, but rock music in general. He was a pioneer, no one was making records that sounded like his whether he was in front of the mic or behind the boards. His work with Big Black in the 80s changed noise rock forever and the band’s debut Atomizer makes a strong case for being the best record in the genre. His producing work on records like the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, The Jesus Lizard’s Goat, and Nirvana’s In Utero significantly changed how rock music sounded. That’s just naming a few, by the way, his credits list is miles and miles long. He helped to usher out the suffocating pomp and glamor that plagued the big rock music of the 1980s. Everything sounded so real, you could hear and feel everything in his recordings. Albini was also a very controversial figure, in ways that I don’t really care to defend at all. He was an edgelord, to put it mildly. In the interest of fairness, Albini in recent years has lamented some of the things he said and did. He seemed to be in a different mindset than he was back in the '80s and early '90s, but he still stuck to his “punk ethos” pretty staunchly. He had a specific view of how records should be made and produced. For instance, he never took royalties from the albums he worked on so as not to take more money out of the artist’s pockets. Albini was a prickly character with stubborn sensibilities and, in many ways, that’s what made him one of the best to ever do it. Those qualities came through in his work all the time as well.

This leads me to this new Shellac record. The band’s first in 10 years. Admittedly, in the grand scope of Albini’s work, I’m not super familiar with Shellac. I tend to lean more towards Big Black, but that could change as I dig deeper into their albums. I only heard At Action Park soon after I heard the news of his passing and that album is brilliant. A lot of the hallmarks of Albini’s sound are present in Shellac. Those jagged rhythms that almost chastise you for listening, those weighty drums, Albini’s misanthropic and bratty vocals, it’s all here and it’s all uniquely his own. The guitar tone on this record is so nasty. It sounds like it’s smoking, about to catch fire, on the opener “Wsod.” It’s just such a gritty sound, unpleasant in the best way. One of my favorite tracks here is “Chick New Wave” which has Albini proclaiming that he is “Through with music from dudes.” It reads almost ironic when you look at who made this record, but it’s playful and it has some of the band’s best performances. I adore Todd Trainer’s drumming, on the whole record, but on this song in particular. “Wednesday” has this ominous vibe to it. Shellac’s songs don’t build or payoff in the way other songs do which makes it all the more anxiety-inducing. It’s also a great showcase for Bob Weston’s bass which sounds so gross (a compliment). “I Don’t Fear Hell” is pretty handily my favorite song on the record. The band is firing on all cylinders, their best work across the album for sure. Albini sings in what could vaguely be described as the song’s chorus “When this is over / Leap in my grave like the arms of a lover / If there's a heaven, I hope they're having fun / Cause if there’s a hell, I'm gonna know everyone.” It’s a fucking awesome way to close out your final album. Some of the songs on To All Trains don’t leave too much of a lasting impact, but it’s easy to overlook that. Even without the context of Albini’s passing, this album sounds like old friends getting back together to make some kickass tunes one more time. There are still some strong highlights here and it feels like a fitting finale to Albini’s career overall. It’s not flashy or anything, it’s just a damn fine rock record.

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Ten Fold - Yaya Bey

◇ released: May 10, 2024 ◇ genres: neo-soul, contemporary r&b

It’s always exciting when an album has a ton of character to it and Ten Fold is one of those albums. Yaya Bey sounds so self-assured and it comes through in these short, but sweet R&B cuts. Despite being almost 40 minutes in length this album flies past you. This works both in the album's favor and against it. So many great ideas are spread across the album’s 16 tracks, but they’re gone far too soon. “crying through my teeth” opens the album with Bey’s dreamy vocals and also features a laidback rap verse from her. It shows some of her strengths very well, but again, it ends with potential left on the table. If you want to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective, you could just appreciate all the great moments here despite their brevity. From the glass-half-empty perspective, you could lament that the bulk of these songs never reach their full potential. It might be a cop-out answer, but I don’t know where I land. Ten Fold is a very nice listen and I would be the biggest liar of all time if I said I didn’t enjoy my time with it, but it also has the potential to be so much more.

Bey is the star of the show here for certain. This is her second “high-profile” project and she carries herself as if she’s a household name. Her singing has weight to it and that remains true for her occasional rap verses. Like on “sir princess bad bitch” where she just sounds so cool rapping over this light, breezy beat. Her singing on “slow dancing in the kitchen” is just a joy. It’s like the music just flows through her. Still, there’s meat left on the bone. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my favorite tracks on the record are the two that go beyond the 3-minute mark. “chasing the bus” is another sunny R&B song with a killer bassline and gorgeous vocals. “yvette’s cooking show” opens with a voice recording of a conversation she had with her father, the late Grand Daddy I.U., before shifting into her powerful vocals over a lo-fi beat.

The voice recordings of her father appear all over the record and I only pieced together after a couple of listens that this album was, in many ways, an exploration of grief. The brief nature of these songs could make you view them as diary entries of sorts. I appreciate the concept and it makes Ten Fold a much more compelling album than I originally believed, but I still feel like the bulk of the material on this album ended before it reached a more satisfying conclusion. Of course, that’s all from a listener’s perspective. If Bey was satisfied with them, that counts for something. On the whole, it’s a good look at an incredibly talented artist bound to reach even greater heights.

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empathogen - WILLOW

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genres: indie rock, art pop, jazz pop

Willow Smith’s career over the last few years has been filled with numerous peaks and valleys. She shocked everyone back in 2021 with the track “transparent soul” which showed her diving head first into the pop-punk world to surprisingly great results. The album that song was featured on, lately i feel EVERYTHING, was good, but ultimately underwhelming. Then in 2022, she dropped two generational stinker collab singles with both Machine Gun Kelly and YUNGBLUD. However, she closed out the year with some more great singles that were then attached to another underwhelming album. Despite the frequent disappointments, it was obvious that she had a ton of talent. She had the potential to make a truly great album. empathogen isn’t that record, I don’t believe, but it is a massive step in the right direction.

The two singles leading up to this record had me very excited, cautiously so, but still. The lead single “symptom of life” had Willow going places she had never gone before. It sounded so weird with those crazy piano arpeggios and weird vocal harmonies. Never expected something like this from her, it’s one of her best easily and it still stands out on the record. The next single, and the album’s closer, “big feelings” (sorry i’m not doing the spaced-out letters thing) was also very good. It’s basically a straight-up jazz-rock song and I love it. The jazz influence across the entire album is really cool. “the fear is not real” is less jazzy in instrumentation, but more in the song’s structure. As is “no words 1 & 2” which is, well, a wordless track with some vocal riffing over some frenetic rhythms. Willow holds her own throughout most of the record, but I often find her to be the least interesting part of these tracks. Not really helped by the fact that some of the hooks and choruses don’t strike as hard as they should. Like on “pain for fun,” a soft-rock duet with St. Vincent, which just doesn’t match the energy of the rest of the record and ends up falling a bit flat. This album also is pretty short and I feel like some tracks sort of waste too much time. Short tracks like “ancient girl,” “down,” and “‘i know that face’” aren’t bad, but on a brief album every minute is precious and they don’t really add much.

Despite some lulls here and there, empathogen is Willow’s boldest record to date. It’s her strongest set of material thus far and many of these songs are gonna be in rotation for me for quite a while. With some fine-tuning and further experimentation, I feel like her next album will be a big one. For now, let’s hope and pray another shitty collab single isn’t on the horizon.

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A Dream Is All We Know - The Lemon Twigs

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genres: pop rock, sunshine pop

I’ve always perceived The Lemon Twigs, very cynically, as one of those bands that oldhead classic rock dudes say is their favorite new band so they don’t look like a total snob who only listens to music made before 1980. The D’Addario brothers take heavily from the well of 60s psychedelic rock/pop and package them for a new era. I have to say, they’re very good at it. They clearly have a grasp of this sound and they highlight the little quirks that make the best stuff in these genres as good as they are. They’re also very talented songwriters. These are all well-written, catchy songs, especially the opener “My Golden Years.” It showcases the band’s knack for good harmonies and the bridge on this track is my favorite moment across the entire record. However, throughout the full album, I started to grow a bit tired of this sound. I can see how some would fully embrace it, but to me, it just feels a bit too gimmicky. They stick to tradition almost to a fault.

I feel like an asshole not fully loving this record because it is so whimsical. Everything is so bright and sunny, and the melodies and instrumentation are so lush and cheerful. It’s like I’m raining on their parade. There’s still a handful of songs here that I think are really good. The aforementioned great pop songwriting of “My Golden Years,” the sublime, Brian Wilson-inspired harmonies of “In the Eyes of the Girl,” and “Ember Days” sounds very much like a Simon & Garfunkel song with some baroque elements. Actually, I feel like most of these songs would all be pretty decent and fun to listen to in isolation. It’s just across the album it wears thin for me. The Twigs are excellent songwriters and musicians, that’s for sure, I just find it difficult to fully embrace them. Still, A Dream Is All We Know is definitely worth a listen.

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Stampede Vol. 1 - Orville Peck

◇ released: May 10, 2024 ◇ genres: contemporary country, country pop

Masked country star Orville Peck has released the first volume of his Stampede duets project. Unfortunately, this new EP contains some of Peck’s weakest material yet. About half of the songs here are covers. He’s a good curator, the songs he chose are good songs to cover (for the most part), but they never really reach the heights of the originals or Peck’s previous material. I was ambivalent, yet a bit appreciative, when Peck released the lead single to this EP. A cover of the Ned Sublette-penned “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other” with Willie Nelson, whose cover of the song back in 2006 made the song gain prominence. It’s fine. All of the covers on this EP never excel beyond fine. Some fall very flat, like Peck and Elton John’s rendition of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” a classic in the latter’s catalog, but here it sounds so much less rough around the edges. It loses so much of the charm the original had. The best cuts here are the non-covers. Like “The Hurtin’ Kind,” a duet with country group Midland, which is a sleek cut with a really solid melody.

Stampede: Vol. 1 is pleasant enough to throw on in the background, but it doesn’t mark a big progression in Peck’s sound or artistry like I think it should. He’s coming off of two really good records and, while I’m sure this project was fun to make, Stampede doesn’t seem like the next best step for him. We’ll see if I’m proven wrong, I hope I am!

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Clancy - Twenty One Pilots

◇ released: May 24, 2024 ◇ genres: alt-pop, indie rock

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Twenty One Pilots. In fact, I actively dislike a majority of their music and yet, for some reason, I keep giving them second chances. Everything they do, even the relative bright spots in their catalog, have this overbearing layer of triteness to them. The duo is ambitious in nearly every facet of their artistry except the most important part, the music they put on record. Their last few albums, bar 2021’s Scaled and Icy, have been sprawling concept albums set in this fictional world they’ve created and dealt with themes of mental health, suicide, religion, and a whole bunch of stuff like that. It’s a cool concept and with the right execution it could make for a stellar run of albums, but even in their best moments, Twenty One Pilots never seem to nail the execution. Unfortunately, despite some decent moments, Clancy is no different. It’s not their worst effort by any means, but it might be their most infuriating. After all this time, the band still can’t help but give in to their worst instincts as songwriters and, despite some of the exciting moments on the singles leading up to the record, they stay in their comfort zone musically. I’m beginning to think these flaws are just fundamental aspects of their music.

To be a little bit more positive, the two opening tracks are some of the band’s best. “Overcompensate” has a soaring chorus and while the rap verses from Tyler Joseph don’t hit for me, a common complaint that pertains to this record and the band’s previous efforts, the positives far outweigh the negatives. That chorus has been stuck in my head for days. “Next Semester” is perhaps the best the duo has ever sounded. Upon first listen, I wasn’t too impressed. I was being a bit too cynical, but hearing it in the context of the record made it click for me. It shows them getting out of their comfort zone, and trying something different and it pays off tremendously. It’s just excellent songwriting on every level. The verses rip hard and the chorus is one of the best I’ve heard all year. Josh Dun’s drumming on this song, and the whole record, is fantastic. He’s almost too good for these songs. “Next Semester” is a blessing and a curse for Clancy because it’s far and away the best song here. No song comes close to its brilliance, painfully so. This is just me, but whenever Joseph starts rapping, I tune him out entirely. His bars are boring and his delivery is irritating. Haven’t been able to take him seriously since he delivered the line “I wasn't raised in the hood / But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness” on “Lane Boy” from the Blurryface album. So imagine how loud I audibly groaned when “Backslide” played after the band’s best moment. The highest praise I can give to Clancy outside of those two tracks is that it’s listenable. A majority of the cuts here don’t make me want to crawl out of my own skin which is better than some of their other albums, namely Vessel. Other moments close to highlights include “Midwest Indigo,” “Navigating,” and the closer “Paladin Strait.” Apparently, this marks the end of this series of concept albums, and if there was ever a time for them to reinvent themselves, NOW is the time.

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Radical Optimism - Dua Lipa

◇ released: May 3, 2024 ◇ genre: dance-pop

Dua Lipa’s last album Future Nostalgia remains one of the finest pop albums of the decade. No shortage of great hooks, melodies, vocal performances, and production on that record – about as good as a mainstream pop album can get these days. It was the perfect slingshot to send Lipa into the stratosphere so she could reach even greater heights. It brings me great sadness to report that the follow-up Radical Optimism is anything but said greater heights. All of the great craft and star power is gone, traded in favor of painfully generic hooks and shockingly dull performances. I know Lipa has it in her to make absolute bangers, what happened here?

The songwriting here, for the most part, is pop music at its most tedious. Empty, vacuous, and grand. Despite that, the album starts off decently. I find the hook on “End of an Era” to be a bit irritating, but it’s a fine opener, especially with that funky house sound. “Houdini” and “Training Season” didn’t wow me as singles leading up to the album, but I found myself enjoying them way more here. These songs actually make her sound like one of the world’s biggest pop stars. The former is far and away the most well-crafted song here. This album’s sound is heavily indebted to Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and you can definitely hear it, his hallmarks are all over the place. His contributions are pretty good, but good production work alone does not make a good pop album. The album takes a more introspective approach to its lyrical themes towards the midway point, and that could be an interesting change of pace if these songs just weren’t so dull. “These Walls” has one of the lamest choruses I’ve heard all year, it’s so anticlimactic. The ending of the chorus where Lipa sings “Oh, if these walls could talk / They'd tell us to break up,” falls so frustratingly flat. Was there not a more creative way to convey this? Lipa’s vocals and lyricism here are just so non-specific to her. Even when the album gets a bit more sensitive, there’s nothing that makes this hers and hers alone. The weakest stretch on the album comes with the three tracks before the closer, specifically “Anything for Love” and “Maria.” They feel like such massive steps backward for her like she’s being thrown into sounds that were cliche years ago. At least the album’s closer is pretty decent, but at that point I was already too disappointed to care.

This album is competently crafted. It has good production, big choruses, and some slower moments to feign depth, but it’s all just so sterile. Assembly line pop music, Lipa is just here to get the job done. I still herald Future Nostalgia as one of the finest pop albums in years, rife with hit singles that are still in rotation four years later. I don’t foresee smash hits like “Levitating” or “Don’t Stop Now” anywhere on Radical Optimism and it might just be due to a lack of trying.

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Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense

◇ released: May 17, 2024 ◇ genre: new wave, pop rock

To preface this review, I am a massive Talking Heads fan. I consider many of their records to be among my favorites of all time. Stop Making Sense especially, both the live album and the concert film itself, which this tribute album commemorates in dubious fashion. I had very low expectations heading into this, but I decided to give it a chance. The only singles that moved me leading up to the album were Paramore’s version of “Burning Down the House” and, surprisingly, Teezo Touchdown’s version of “Making Flippy Floppy.” The former sounds like the band actually wanted to be a part of this and the latter sticks so close to the original that I can at least fein some enjoyment. Having trudged my way through the whole thing, those really are the only two tracks that stick out. Everyone’s Getting Involved is decent at best, irritating at worst, and often just plain lifeless. Which, certainly when you’re paying tribute to one of the most frenetic bands of all time, is a crucial error.

Some of the artist/song pairings on this release are just baffling. Who in their right mind thought Kevin Abstract should cover “Once in a Lifetime?” The funniest thing is, the cover is absolutely worse than you could imagine. Abstract strips the life out of the song and waters down one of the most wild choruses in new wave history to the musical equivalent of a wet fart. It’s just a disaster on every level. As is girl in red’s version of “Girlfriend is Better” which butchers the personality present in the original. Nearly everyone here sounds asleep at the wheel. BADBADNOTGOOD and Norah Jones’ version of “This Must Be the Place” is pleasant enough, but again, it feels like no one is putting in the effort they should. Lorde’s cover of the Talking Heads’ cover of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” just sounds awkward, just a misguided effort. I have to give some props to Miley Cyrus for her take on “Psycho Killer,” it isn’t particularly good, but she at least sounds confident in it. To put it simply, the bar on this record is incredibly low. Everyone’s Getting Involved doesn’t have the fun air a tribute album should, instead it just feels tedious and an afterthought to everyone involved in the process of putting this thing together.

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Valedictorian - ian

4202 ,71 yaM :desaeler ◇ ??? :serneg ◇

here is my review .

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psssst. i made a discord server ... if u wanna join here's the invite https://discord.gg/rsHMenTU see u there and thank u for reading :3

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