Music Reviews
3/22/24: Hot Singles In Your Area
Porter Robinson - Cheerleader
Three years since his phenomenal sophomore album, and almost a full decade since his debut, Porter Robinson delivers a near perfect blend of the fine-tuned nature of Nurture and the more squarely electronic elements of Worlds. "Cheerleader" is an addictive and punchy pop bop about the thin line between infatuation and obsession. I really like the use of the cheerleading sample to add a little more rhythmic texture to the song in a few parts. My fav lyric has to be "She's got hearts in her eyes, and she draws me kissing other guys" (#PorterRobinsonSlay)
Zelooperz - Smearious
Zeeloperz can generally be very hit or miss, but when he's cooking DAMN he hits. "Smearious" is ludicrous and off-the-wall with absurd bars on top of absurd bars. Some of my favorites are "barkin' up the wrong tree like Old Yeller" and "Been listening like my name Aristotle". The whole song is backed by this unhinged combination of explosive horns and "bang! bang! bang!" backing vocals that make the song at least a hundred times better.
The Marias - Run Your Mouth
Indie pop outfit The Marias is back with the lead single to their sophomore album. They retain their soft-pop and funk blend with minimal changes from their debut, but that's hardly a complaint considering how effective The Marias manage to be with this style. Lead singer Maria Zardoya's wispy vocals mix amazingly with the silky smooth bass lines and soft sytnts, while still having enough energy to complement the more bouncy elements of the track.
Charli XCX - Von Dutch
Charli XCX returns with a heavy-hitting electric dance banger that sounds straight out of an action movie soundtrack. Maybe not Charli's most complex effort, but it's still insanely fun. From just the lead single, it's clear that brat is going to be one of the definitive albums of the summer this year.
3/21/24: Friko - Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here
Occasionally when listening to an album I've never heard from a band I haven't gotten around to yet, I'll push play and be instantly pulled into a completely unique world. Songs like The Strokes' "Is This It", Arcade Fire's "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)", or that goddamn guitar in the intro of American Football's "Never Meant" are so immediately engrossing they give you goosebumps on first listen. It's incredibly rare for a band to nail their sound so perfectly on an opening track of a debut album, so when I felt those same goosebumps when I heard the gentle guitar and tender singing of Niko Kapetan in the opening notes of "Where we've been", I knew I was in for something special. The song slowly builds from a quaint and folksy opening to a cathartic explosive rock ending where Kapetan's endearingly whiny voice goes from singing to desperately screaming the song's chorus about clinging on to those you love. It's one of the strongest intro tracks that I've heard in a long time, and the best part of Friko's debut album Where we've been, Where we go from here is that it only keeps getting better.
The most impressive part of Where we've been, Where we go from here is the sheer variety it packs into its 36 minute runtime. It's easy for any debut album, especially a debut from a small band, to be somewhat one-note. Friko flips this assumption on its head, and instead goes into a largely different direction with each track. The album transitions between exciting indie-rockers, somber piano ballads, and bittersweet string-led serenades effortlessly. No two songs on the album are too similar to each other, and the band consistently introduces interesting production choices to keep listeners invested. One of my favorite of these flairs comes during the bridge of "Chemical". After a short build, Kapetan's repeated yells of "chemical!" fly from left to right in the mix, adding a sense of frantic inertia to the whole song. It might not seem important, but little touches like these add up very quickly to make the album an overall joy to listen to.
One of the album's absolute standouts is "Get Numb To It!", a re-recorded version of the band's first ever single. This song is dripping with character, from the stripped-back acoustic opening verse that slowly builds into the fast-paced percussion of the verse to the group vocals of the chorus to the blown out guitars in the song's explosive conclusion. It ends with a lo-fi reprise of "Where we've been", which ties the entire album together and perfectly sets up the closer "Cardinal", a quaint piano and string ballad that addresses the second half of the album's title: where we go from here. Whereas much of the album's lyrical themes focus on past loves and anxieties, "Cardinal" is much more present, focusing instead on facing a difficult future.
Chicago indie rock duo Friko's debut album Where we've been, Where we go from here is an impressive, expansive, and endearing effort that is emblematic of a band with an incredible amount of potential. Wherever they go from here, it's evident that Friko is a name to remember.
I give this album a "Freak-er? I barely know 'er!" out of 10
Best Songs: Where we've been / Crashing Through / Get Numb To It!
8/20/23: AJJ - Disposable Everything
As the official #1 AJJ fan, my opinion on this album is the only one that matters. Since their debut into pop-rock (soft-punk? post-folk?) with Christmas Island, AJJ has been in somewhat of a slump. While I generally consider Christmas Island to be one of if not their best, it's definitely a divisive album with frequent distortion and disgusting, although well-written, lyrics. With their followup, The Bible 2, it seemed like AJJ was doubling down on all of the worst parts of Christmas Island. It was entirely overblown and at times actually difficult to listen to. However, 2020's Good Luck, Everybody swung the dial in the complete opposite direction, with washed out production and simpler song structures. Despite being somewhat of a disappointing release, there still was a lot to love about Good Luck Everybody. Highlights like "Body Terror Song" and "Loudmouth" still contend as some of their best. Similar to The Bible 2, their new album, Disposable Everything, doubles down on previous release. This time, however, the results are much more impressive.
"Strawberry (Probably)" immediately sets the tone of the album in the best way possible. The blown-out guitars are immediately reminiscent of "Loudmouth" off of their previous album, but the distortion and energy are both turned up to 11. The "pyaah" before the guitar solo hits every goddamn time. Following that is "Dissonance", which has the perfect combination of light hearted-energy and pessimistic lyrics that AJJ specializes in. "Moon Valley High" is the first real dud on the album. While it has its moments, it does not go far with either the lyrical or musical themes, and revels a bit too much in AJJ's weirdness. However, the album picks back up with "Death Machine", which, although stupid, absolutely fucks. Shredding distorted guitars and screamed backing vocals give this end of the world anthem the apocalyptic, over-the-top energy it deserves. The album switches up once again with "White Ghosts", which is a slow ballad that highlights the strengths of Sean's despondent singing. This song was actually first played at a solo acoustic set Sean played back in 2019, and was uploaded to YouTube where I stumbled on it by accident. I've been waiting years for this song to come out, and the sweeping strings added on top of the gentle strumming of the guitars create such a lush sound that I did not know this song needed, but it absolutely did. The titular track is somewhat simplistic sonically, and is incredibly reminiscent of the slower songs from their sophomore album Can't Maintain. However, this structural simplicity gives room for the incredible lyrics about falling into despair over the current state of the world and feeling, well, disposable.
The B-side is where this album really starts to show its cracks. Lead single, "The Baby Panda", crosses the line from "a little silly" to "annoyingly stupid". It's not incredibly interesting on any front, which only makes the ridiculous lyrics stand out more. "A Thought of You" straddles this line a little better, and might be one of my favorites if not for the especially odd repeated "box on top" outro vocals. "Candles Of Love" is even dumber, and I'm surprised this even made the album. It reminds me of "Mega Guillotine 2020" from Good Luck, Everybody, where I can see the joke they were trying to make but it absolutely kills the momentum of the album in the process. Next, "I Hate Rock and Roll Again" crosses back into the realm of "a little silly", and is short enough that the goofy concept does not overstay its welcome. "Schadenfreude" is a favorite of mine, even if it's mostly only for the brief "Temple Grandin Too" "like a god" interpolation. "I Wanna Be Your Dog 2" shows off the best of AJJ's stupidly romantic lyrics, with lines like "I wanna be the pebble that gets stuck inside your shoe" and "I wanna be your fucking dog". While the song is a little dumb, it's impossible not to be endeared by the simplicity and authenticity of the lyrics. Closer "In The Valley" ends the album on a sweet, yet crushing note that feels like ending credits for the world. The song lulls you into this oddly comforting feeling, that the world is ending but it's somehow going to be okay. Even if it's not as notable as some of AJJ's previous closers, it feels like a fitting end in a time that is rife with fear of climate change, injustice, extreme poverty, and bigotry.
I give this album a "I Like AJJ Again" out of 10
Best Songs: Strawberry (Probably) / Death Machine / White Ghosts / I Wanna Be Your Dog 2
6/14/2023: Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
I was absolutely not expecting to like this album as much as I did. I generally find it hard to get into longer, drawn-out albums, so when I saw the lengths of both the album as a whole as well as some of the songs, I figured I'd get bored halfway through. However, Lana delivers a consistently interesting and introspective experience from (mostly) front to back. The album opens with "The Grants", which starts with the beautiful yet cryptic lyric "I'm gonna take mine of you with me". After a brief opening section where a quartet repeats this lyric, the song continues into a slower piano section. The instrumental is grand but simplistic, focusing entirely on lush strings, soft piano, and Lana's incredibly impressive voice. After these elements combine and build on each other for several minutes, the meaning of the opening lyric is revealed. Lana sings "My pastor told me 'When you leave all you take is your memories'... And I wanna take mine of you with me". This lyric shows the two main ideas of the album: a desire to be remembered and reminiscing on past love. The first of those ideas is explored heavily on the title track of the album. The titular 'tunnel under Ocean Blvd' is a tunnel under a famous California street that has been largely forgotten after it was closed off to the public. Lana draws a parallel between this tunnel and herself by desperately reminding the audience that "there's a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard" and urging "don't forget me". This doubles as a reference to the audience and a previous partner. Lana doesn't want to become a washed-up and forgotten artist, as well as pleading that people who used to love her remember that love.
The next song, "Sweet", is by far one of Lana's most beautiful songs. There's these sweeping strings over Lana singing heartbroken melodies. Here, Lana is singing about a desire to move away, to hide, but she also realizes that this would mean leaving behind people who love her. "If you want someone then just call me up, and remember where I'll be" is one of the prettiest lyrics on the entire album. "Judah Smith Interlude" is for all the ex-Catholics and pre-ex-Catholics in the audience. There's a haunting, yet gorgeous piano behind a concerningly angry sermon being given presumably by Judah Smith. Lana's voice echoes in the foreground as she laughs along and agrees with the sermon, creating this disconcerting effect. The song effectively delivers the feeling of the dissonance that you can feel when people close to you and people in power are delusionally religious. "Kintsugi" is one of my favorites on the album just because of how beautifully simple it is. The song revolves around the Japanese word, which literally means "golden repair". It is the art of repairing broken pottery by filling in the cracks with a golden mixture to highlight the beauty of the imperfection. In the chorus, Lana sings "that's how the light gets in", which drives home the point that we can come back more beautiful after being broken not because of the difficulty, but because the people around us care enough to help us and fill in the cracks.
"Paris, Texas" has a very pretty piano being delicately played while Lana sings in this graceful tone. "Let The Light In" includes backing vocals from Father John Misty, which is a collaboration that I did not know I needed but their voices work amazingly well together. This is one of the sweetest songs on the album, with sweeping strings floating underneath Lana and FJM's flowery vocals harmonizing in the chorus. Another great feature is Bleachers on "Margaret". The part where the chorus sings "baby, if your love is in trouble" as guitars and strings rise behind them is absolutely immaculate. "Fishtail" has some pretty unique production with a slow trap beat over the album's familiar orchestral instrumentation. It works fairly well for such a dramatic genre shift, and serves as a good mix in the pacing, if only a little too late in the tracklist for it to shake up the album all that much. "Peppers" tries the same trap production, but falls pretty short of anything worthwhile. Instead, it's just a fairly generic and somewhat annoying song that seems like an unnecessary addition to the album. The final song, "Taco Truck x VB" is good, but it really doesn't end the album on a high note.
I give this album a "No, I didn't know there was a tunnel under Ocean Blvd thanks for informing me" out of 10
Best Songs: The Grants / Sweet / Kintsugi / Paris, Texas / Let The Light In (feat. Father John Misty) / Margaret (feat. Bleachers) / Fishtail
5/10/2023: 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs
gec once again!!! 100 gecs is definitely a band that's hard to recommend to people. "Money Machine", while being one of the greatest songs of the twenty-first century, would probably give any senior citizen an aneurysm and also make them gay. 100 gec's left-field style has previously been a little too strange for most people. However, in 10,000 gecs, 100 gecs (lot of gecs in this review) reign in the more difficult and eccentric parts of their previous album for an album that's still undeniably strange and goofy, but noticeably more digestible. The first song, "Dumbest Girl Alive", has a killer guitar riff throughout with dirt nasty compression that fills the song with gritty energy. "757" is a lot closer to a more traditional hyperpop song, but it has a distinct punk energy that's unique to 100 gecs. "Frog On The Floor" is my song of the year so far. We need more songs about cool frogs who are dancing around, I'd happily listen to an entire frog-based album. "Doritos & Fritos" is the only real miss on the album for me. It has a fun ska-punk energy, but the chorus kills any enjoyment I have while listening. "Billie Knows Jamie" isn't even really a hyperpop song, it's a grungy punk song that still somehow fits perfectly into the album. Closer "mememe", which released almost two full years ago, still goes fucking hard.
I give this album 100/100 gecs
Best Songs: Dumbest Girl Alive / 747 / Holywood Baby / Frog On The Floor / mememe
4/7/2023: Tyler, The Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale
It's kind of crazy to think that Call Me If You Get Lost was released two years ago. Each song still feels incredibly fresh, and I don't think there's a single skip on the entire album. From energetic bangers like "Corso", "Lemonhead", and "Lumberjack" to beautiful and bright songs like "Wusyaname" and "Sweet / I Thought You Wanted To Dance", the album's versatility keeps it relevant and interesting to listen to. The Estate Sale takes an already great experience and makes it way, way better. The first song, "Stuntman", has a very fun Vince Staples feature where Tyler and Vince trade verses over some classic bouncy 808s and cowbells. Next, "What A Day" has this ridiculously smooth and floaty beat that makes you feel like you're levitating into the sunset. "Wharf Talk", despite a lackluster A$AP Rocky feature, brings back the slightly off-tune singing from Igor and combines it with the sunny summer energy of CMIYGL, which is such a perfect pairing I almost wish Tyler would do a whole album of songs just like this. "Dogtooth" is a certified munch anthem, and goddamnit, I'm saluting. "Heaven To Me" has one of the best beats I've heard in a while and of course it's a fucking Kanye beat. Hey man, someone who can produce that well deserves a little fascism as a treat. "Boyfriend, Girlfriend" is absolutely going to be a song of the summer, and is probably my favorite song off of the deluxe. The album closes with "Sorry Not Sorry" which both perfectly closes out Call Me If You Get Lost but also the era as a whole. I'm very excited to see what Tyler has next, whether it be a new album this year or something else entirely.
I give this album a "we all got our toes out" of 10
Best Songs: STUNTMAN (feat. Vince Staples) / WHAT A DAY / HEAVEN TO ME / BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND (2020 Demo) (feat. YG)
2/14/2023: Daft Punk - Alive 2007
I was in a record store on Monday with the #1 fan of this blog when I saw this album on the new repress shelf. I hadn't listened to the album yet, but it had almost all of my favorite Daft Punk songs so I figured it would be a good greatest hits collection to have. I'm glad I went into this album blind for the first listen though, because this shit was an EXPERIENCE.
It starts Robot Rock, which is already one of the best Daft Punk songs, and then extremely smoothly transitions into Oh Yeah. Then, after about a minute of that incredibly iconic melody, Robot Rock comes BACK and they do a mashup of the two songs. Two tracks from completely different albums are blended so perfectly, and it's so fucking fun to listen to. Then, as the song fades out, the crowd noise comes back and I remembered that all of this was being done live. I figured this might be a one-off mashup for the intro, but the album just keeps coming with insane combinations. Touch It / Technologic and Too Long / Steam Machine are both fantastic, but Television Rules The Nation / Crescendolls is a fucking legendary crossover. THEN they hit you with Around the World AND Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Each remix brings so much energy to these already amazing songs. The entire album is phenomenal, but the last two mashups, which each incorporate three songs, are insanely good. Even if you've only heard a few Daft Punk songs, this album is absolutely worth checking out. I would recommend the Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger mashup if you want to listen to a single.
I give this album an "I am so sad the funky french robot men got blown up, who's gonna make cool synth music now? Also they made the Technologic baby say 'fuck it' so I give it a 10" out of 10
2/11/2023: Paramore - This is Why
Finally some good new music for 2023! Paramore is one of those bands that I've heard plenty of songs from, but had never really gotten in to. So after hearing the first single a few months ago, I was interested but not completely hyped for this album. I was definitely wrong to be skeptical of this album though, because this is by far the best major rock release of the last few years. This Is Why is both dark and energetic, contrasting with the upbeat dance vibe of After Laughter. Heavy riffs, thick baselines, and some light post-punk influences all contribute to this album's brooding and frantic energy.
Opening track "This Is Why" immediately sets the mood of the album with lyrics about being afraid to leave your house. But, the song itself doesn't explain where the fear is coming from. The next track, The News, gives a pretty good reason. Hayley sings about the panic that's disseminated through the news and how paying attention to the world can be incredibly stressful. In fact, every song on the album provides a different reason. Running Out Of Time is about, well, running out of time. You First is about the baseline distrust we've developed with strangers. Liar is about trying to be someone you're not to impress someone you love. Each song submerges you in anxiety about the world around us in the best way possible. This Is Why (the album not the song) is about the fear most of us are feeling right now. Whether it be the news, lying to the people you love, regrets of your past, or not being able to trust the people around you, this is why we're afraid.
I give This Is Why a "wow this is really good go listen to it also I'm having a panic attack" out of 10!
Best Songs: This Is Why / The News / Big Man, Little Dignity / Figure 8 / Liar / Thick Skull