goodbye 2023. i spent this year catching up on old shows. by my count, i only listen to like, 50 albums. if i wanted to cheat, i would combine the best 10 songs from The National this year and put it somewhere in my top 5.
======
5. boygenius - The Record
4. Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
3. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
2. Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
1. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good
25. Sufjan Stevens - Will Anybody Ever Love Me?
24. Tinashe - Needs
23. feeble little horse - Pocket
22. Model/Actriz - Crossing Guard
21. Taylor Swift - You're Losing Me
20. Yunè Pinku - Trinity
19. Slowdive - kisses
18. Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve
17. Fever Ray - Shiver
16. Misamo - Marshmallow
15. Olivia Rodrigo - the grudge
14. Young Fathers - Rice
13. Caroline Polachek - Pretty in Possible
12. Sofia Kourtesis - Madres
11. Twice - Got The Thrill
10. Asake - Remember
9. Ratboys - The Window
8. Nourished By Time - The Fields
7. DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Honey
6. NewJeans - ETA
5. Jessie Ware - Pearls
4. Lana Del Rey - Kintsugi
3. The National - Tour Manager
2. boygenius - Not Strong Enough
1. Troye Sivan - Got Me Started
Release Date: October 27th, 2023
Nice to meet you, where you been?
Review: Was this album a 10 back in 2014? Not for me at least. You see, I grew to love Taylor during the Fearless era, and with Speak Now, and Red, there were increasingly more pop moments and less country. And I felt like she was chasing trends rather than being true to herself. Like on Speak Now, you can hear pop punk elements. And with Red, you heard dubstep. And so back in 2014, I felt betrayed that this girl who would wear diary entries in her songs, was making synth pop.
My original reaction to "Shake it off" was "what the hell is this?" But over time, once that opening beat hits, it does its job. Yeah, the lyrics are elementary and kind of embarrassing if you listed it as your favorite, but it's not suppose to be emotional. it's a "idgaf" type of song.
"Blank Space" "Style" and "Out of the Woods" are top tier. They've always have been. The opening track was never a favorite, but it has this glittery "new" feel to it that I never minded it. "All You Had To Do Was Stay," "I Wish You Would," and "How You Get The Girl" all had this adrenaline rushing quality to them. It's enjoyable, but also felt automatic. Thinking back, this was after Tegan and Sara had released "Hearthrob" and Chvrches released "The Bones of What You Believe." Those records changed my opinion on synth pop so even thought I enjoyed track 5, 7, and 10, I felt anyone could have made those songs, despite how enjoyable it was.
"Bad Blood" is an interesting case because I always though it was catchy and had a good beat. Lyrically, um, "band-aids don't fix bullet holes" always felt cheesy, but at least it made sense. I didn't follow the happenings of who this song is about, but people calling this the worst TS song is baffling to me. I don't sing along to the chorus, but in my head, i love shouting out to "hey!"
Depending on your mood, "Wildest Dreams" can sound really dreamy or really slow. I always liked it, but with so many back to back bangers, it does slow the pace. The last song, "Clean" was one of my earliest stand out when the album was still on my bad side. I just like the way it starts and the instrumental melody felt like a clock. Plus, because of the title, you think about showering or washing right? But her imagery of "downing" in water is the only way for her to be clean. like whoa.
There are two songs that held me back from thinking this was a 10, "This Love" and "I Know Places." Both are fine now, but I never liked the "i-i-i-i" part. For the bonus tracks, "Wonderland" felt too fairytale to me, "You Are In Love" is a slowburner. and "New Romantic" is one of the most overrated songs in the TS community. Yeah, it's fast paced, but I don't think it's deserving to be one of her national anthems.
as for the From the Vault tracks, they are all good. I'm not sure if they sound like 1989. The best one is "Is It Over Now?" which could be a midnight cut. I love that "oh lord" part and the "is it over now" climax reminds me of the climax of out of the woods. So that was cool.
as for the re-recordings, I think she did a masterful job of making it sound identical. I was really worried because for Speak Now, there was something missing. This version is superior.
Summary: Let's give this album its flowers. I don't think it's a perfect album, but lord knows I still listen to this album.
Favorite Songs:
Blank Space, Style, Out of the Woods
Rating: 10/10
Release Date: October 20th, 2023
Review: I know, it's impossible for me to like everything. Maybe by 2029, I will have listened to someone else's work to unlock this type of rnb for me. But for now, my goodness, this is really boring. And his voice is not gravitating. I can understand if you're British, but I feel like there's no flavor to it. So a voice that I don't like plus a genre that is on the slow and steady side, iono. I feel like I have high tolerant for music, however this album made me want to slap it.
Summary: I only liked "Only." and I guess "Jonathan L. Seagull" was alright.
Favorite Songs:
Only
Rating: 4/10
Release Date: March 24th, 2023
When you know, you know
Review: Lana Del Rey sounds like Lana Del Rey, right? so when the singles were release, I didn't think much of it beyond that it'll be on par with her other records. Even though the singles didn't excite me, it's still amazes me how the music can be basic, but her vocals has its own melody.
The opening track is really good, but I credit that more to the choir than Lana's. The "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" part on "A&W" was a little weird, I wish the song had just ended, but it also felt like a flex that she can do whatever the hell she wants.
The turning point for me was when I heard the "Judah Smith interlude." like, what the heck is this? but those pastors know how to speak and it was really interesting. Then "Candy Necklace," I felt like I was transported into another world. "Kintsugi" is beautiful. it's so minimum, but her voice leads the way. "Paris, Texas" has this ballet quality to it that makes it delicate. it's very pretty. Then there's "Margaret" that is super sweet. I would say "Peppers" is the only weird one on this album. "Hands on your knees angelina jolie."
Summary: for 70 plus minutes, I was entranced.
Favorite Songs:
The Grants, Kintsugi, Paris, Texas, Margaret
Rating: 9/10
Release Date: July 31st, 2023
Back when I only listened to a handful of kpop groups, I thought Itzy would be one of the ones I stick to til the end, but it's been rough. I don't remember if I listened to Cheshire, but I miss their sound for Icy and Wannabe.
Review: Anyways, I like "Bet On Me." it has a running pulse to it. It's almost like a rallying cry that makes me emotional. But the actual title track, "Cake" is the type of kpop that i hated when i tried to get into kpop. It goes all over the place and the chorus is just them repeating the word. iono, it worked in the past, but I always hated that. "None of my Business" is chill. A bit of a nothing song, but very agreeable. "Bratty" kind of sucks. "Psychic Lover" reminds me of red velvet's "Psycho." It's fine. It ends with "Kill Shot" which I didn't like. I guess I'm suppose to be impressed that it sounds like the Tron soundtrack.
Summary: Now that I stopped watching their variety content, I feel disconnected to their music. I want to cheer for them, but the music is not working with me.
Favorite Songs:
Bet On Me
Rating: 6/10
Release Date: September 22nd, 2023
a lot of genres mixed.
Review: Their album from 2022 was on my radar, but I never gave it a deep dive, but i remember it being glitchy (pun intended). This album, I'll be honest, during the lead up, I dismissed the singles and hoped it would go away. But here I am, browsing through music sites and decided to gave it a shot.
I think what stood out to me was how much they sounded like Beabadoobee when they sing like its in their bedroom. And there's glitchy stuff too, some of it reminds me of the sweetness of porter robinson. But there's also hints of 90's alternative which kind of sucks. There's nothing here that is sugary pop, but i can hear the cutey electronic in the songs when it's trying to be shoegaze, so it makes me happy.
Summary: Takes a bit to accept it for what it is. They could have passed going the bedroom pop route but the mix of genres keeps it interesting.
Favorite Songs: softscars, fish in the pool, inferno, bloodbunny
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: July 21st, 2023
How was I so wrong on their debut?
Review: They need more songs. This ep is only 12 minutes. It opens with an ok song. Feels like a elevator type of song in the sense that it's fine if they need BGM for their youtube. It fits their sound. But "Super Shy" and "ETA" are top-tier songs. "Cool with You" is ok. "ASAP" is quirky. I don't have much to say about the 36 second "Get Up" other than what's the point?
Summary: Eva, look! Isn't that your boyfriend?
Favorite Songs:
Super Shy, ETA
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: September 15, 2023
maybe i need to be on tiktok
Review: Mitski has a certain singing style that I still haven't warmed up to yet. I know the first song started out okay, but I though the album was pretty boring with not a lot of memorable hooks. Until "My Love Mine All Mine" and "The Frost," it started to sound good. The later parts of the album, I felt like I gained something. I was hoping on a re-listen, I would find something, but yeah, it's still on the boring side. Like there's strings in the songs, but I heard them before. Maybe if I loved her voice, I would catch what her words mean, but I feel like I'm listening to someone be deep for the sake of being deep.
Summary: It's rare, but i feel like the backend is stronger than the first.
Favorite Songs:
My Love Mine All Mine, The Frost, I'm Your Man
Rating: 7/10
