Lana Del Rey - did you know that there's a tunnel under ocean blvd

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

Noname - Sundial

Release Date:  August 11th, 2023

I've been meaning to do a deeper dive into her past albums, but I wasn't listening to much music in 2016/2018.

Review:  sounds good. i'm aware Jay Electronica said something on his verse, but i'm too stupid to understand it. The beats and her flow just sounds pleasing.

Summary:  good listen

Favorite Songs:  hold me down, boomboom, namesake
Rating: 9/10

Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good!

Release Date:  April 28th, 2023

Review:  Is this new?  Is this original?  who knows anymore. I was a big fan of her soul approach on her first two albums, but just like Adele, how far can you take that British sound? Well, Jessie found new life on her 4th album, and on this 5th album, it's the same disco energy, but for modern times. I don't know man, music makes you feel things and this album just feels good (pun intended). Like the way they just slap works at your ears so it makes you want to groove to them. Yes, she sings and the lyrics aren't as romantic, it's sexy. And you can hear a crowd of voices singing instead of it being just her, so it feels alive like a party.

Summary:  Easy to predict where the songs are headed and when the music hits where you expect, it just feels good.

Favorite Songs: Free Yourself, Pearls, Hello Love, Shake The Bottle
Rating: 9/10

Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

Release Date: February 3rd, 2023

This album blew me away, and i can't believe i never gave them a listen when they've been around since 2011.

Review: I knew nothing about this band, but since it was early in the year and I saw this album popped up, I gave it a listen and it blew me away. I was never a big TV on the Radio fan, certain songs hit more than others, but the first track on this album made me miss them. Then the second song is shouting, tribal, and a big release of tension at the end. at this point, I'm locked in. "Tell Somebody" sounds like an entirely new band, or a different genre, but I'm locked in so I'm good with it. "Geronimo" sounds like an alternative rock band again. and so the album continues between switching from this Animal Collective type of songs, to more traditional radio type of songs that you might hear from Bastille or American Authors. I can understand if people aren't impressed, but for me, it's that surprise element from never hearing about this band, and the fact that I'm still not bored of them yet.

Summary: sometimes they go tribal and worldly, to quiet alternative rock, but there's a sense of release when these guys get to explode.

Favorite Songs: I Saw, Geronimo, Ululation
Rating: 9/10

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Release Date: November 30th, 1982

so many albums are influenced by this album, plus i wanted to listen to MJ's other albums, but I know I listened to this before, I wanted a refresher.

Review: lyrically, I don't connect with it, but musically, this album is amazing. It's surprisingly short at only 9 songs so if there is a skip, it'll just make the album tighter. The album closer is a skip. and that Paul McCartney song is a dud. But the other 7 are so good. To be honest, I heard "Thriller" "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" way before I was into music. Part of me feels like it's overplayed and a bit corny, but also in it's own separate category because those three songs are so iconic in pop culture. Revisiting it now, "Beat It" is the best. And the opening track "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" should be top tier in any MJ list. I have no issues with "Baby Be Mine" because i can hear it in today's music. I really like the melody of "Human Nature." and "P.Y.T." is a bit corny, but kind of fun.

Summary: 7 of these songs are great

Favorite Songs: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin, Beat It, Human Nature
Rating: 9/10

Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender

Release Date: March 23th, 2004

I've been listening to this album for no particular reason. I know she made a surprise appearance opening for Fleet Foxes with some new songs (which i haven't listened to yet), and I know I loved this album in the previous decade, I just always had it ranked lower than Ys and Have One on Me.

Review:A lot has changed since 2010, my musical taste has gravitated towards pop and I just don't have the attention span to dive into those later albums. I think I tried to be snobbish by recognizing the difficulty skill level of the music. But this one? i don't know, this one is more child-like and easy to understand. Maybe you could say it's on the traditional side because I want to say the melodies are easy to predict. At the same time, I could feel that way because I overplayed this album from years past.  I would say that "Peach, Plum, Pear" is not a good introduction song to a new fan. it was a stand out for me, but i gotta admit, its irritating at first. "En Gallop" is still my favorite song here, but "Sadie" and the last track really resonated with me this time around.

Summary: I used to rank this lower than her later works, but revisiting now, I think it aged better than the rest.

Favorite Songs: Sadie, "En Gallop", Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
Rating: 9/10

Weezer - Pinkerton

Release Date: September 24th, 1996

yo, what the heck, this is really good.

Review: Unlike their debut, i never hear any of the singles from this album get played on the radio. I'm sure I gave this album a listen a while back, but i'm caught off guard how connected i feel it. "Why Bother?" is so catchy, and its such an easy relatable line for anyone that is cynical. I like the longing on "across the sea." "El Scorcho" is a single,  and i dont know how well received it was, but it stands out. I like the melody of "Pink Triangle" but I'm not sure how warm the lyrics would be in today's landscape.

Summary: a bit shorter than the debut, but it helps that none of these songs are overplayed on the radio. Still, weezer sounds like weezer, but i really like the softer songs on here because in my head, i think of them for being a humorous band.

Favorite Songs: Why Bother?, Across the Sea, Pink Triangle
Rating: 9/10

Rachika Nayar - Heaven Come Crashing

Release Date:  August 26th, 2022

there's a cool video of her performing the song "Memory as Miniatures" in a bedroom and it reminded me so much of what I loved about Explosions in the Sky, those twinkle electric guitar sounds.

Review: This album doesn't have much of those guitars, at least not as the focal point, but it does have a lot of ambient sounds that I found lovely. It probably helps that I no longer seek out instrumental music anymore, so hearing this felt like a throwback to 2007. It's interesting because a few days ago, i was listening to an album that was drone based and I found it so unengaging. I guess the best way to put it is, this album feels alive.

From the opening track, there's hints of the postal service because of the electronic beep boops. On "Tetramorph" i like that there's this overbearing helicopter noise while there's music playing only for it to end with some intense guitar playing. "Death & Limerence" sounds like something Hammock or The American Dollar would do. "Nausea" sounds a bit darker from the beginning, then the second half is pumped full of keyboard lasers and piano keys. It feels like it would climax, but it doesn't. "Gayatri" continues that sound where it has that heavenly echo and you can hear the guitars make a pattern. It sounds epic, it soars through the ears.

"Heaven Come Crashing" has a feature vocalist, Maria BC. She doesn't sing, but uses her vocals as an instrument. A lot of the album has that heavenly choir feel, but it uses a musical instrument, so her voice fits well. Then the song took a turn to become a trance song. "Sleepless" is a bit simple, but it's easy to understand the progression it's doing. "The Price of Serenity" follows the pattern of the previous songs, but there's more piano to trace the melodies and this also explodes into a trance song at the end. And finally, "Our Wretched Fate" reminds me of m83 with how it gets so loud at the end.

Summary:  I'm impressed. It's the kind of post-rock that has a choir without having a choir.  This album soars and it's epic.I love that there's elements of other genres like early 00s trance that she some how makes it work. of course, at the core, all of the ambient sounds are beautiful and whenever you hear a guitar finger picking, it feels like a blessing.

Favorite Songs: Nausea, Gatatri, The Price of Serenity
Rating: 9/10

Danger Mouse and Black Thought - Cheat Code

Release Date:  August 12, 2022

Of course I know he's from The Roots. Of course I know he's the other half of Gnarls Barkley. Together, I did not expect anything other than okay.

Review: but this is good. Just don't ask me what it is about. I like conscious rap, but a lot of the time (at least to me), the beats are so dry. This however, only 12 songs, but I thought the beats were really enjoyable and Black Thought had really good flow and all of the feature guest sounded good too.

Summary: at 38 minutes, this album flew by with ease. good beats and good flow.

Favorite Songs: The Darkest Part, Aquamarine, Strangers
Rating: 9/10

IVE - After Like

Release Date: August 22th, 2022

they did it again!

Review: no I'm not late, I actually listened to this when it first premiered and was really blown away. With their other singles, I didn't come out with any lasting impressions for the other four members. Obviously, I knew the former Iz*One members, but with this song and music video, I thought the other girls had their own distinct charm show. And I didn't pick up on the "I will survive" sample so that kind of knocks the song a bit, but because i didn't know and i thought it was just the producer going HAM, I just thought the song was over-the-top, sugary pop.  It's such a cute concept too because they are all so young, so hearing them ask "what's after like?" followed by the "you-you and I-I" is so exhilarating.

Rating: 9/10

Charli XCX - Crash

Release Date:  March 18th, 2022

In the lead up to this, I didn't bother to listen to any of the singles. I was a big fan of how i'm feeling now and i didn't need more of that. to be honest, i thought these were going to be leftovers, but reading the background info in wikipedia, apparently these songs were suppose to be the follow up to Charli.

Review: anyways, months later, i gave this album a listen and i was really caught off guard with how catchy the first half was. "New Shapes" is so good. then "Good Ones" really bites back. I really like the subtle nature of the song "Constant Repeat." it doesn't feel in your face like the ones with music videos, but the "you could have had a bad girl by your side" is really addicting. "Beg for you" is a banger! I can't believe this samples a song from the mid 00s, but it works because I never heard the original.

I like how slow motion "Move Me" can feel right before it hits that chorus. then "Baby" is really hot. "Lighting" is fine, but probably the weakest as a stand alone song. I originally liked "Every Rule" because it sounded like a beautiful ballad, but it kind of wore itself down on me. "Yuck" gives me fame-era lady gaga vibes because it sounds pleasing, but not stand alone song good. "Used To Know Me" sounds a bit outdated, but at this point, its fun. Finally, "Twice" is a song. not sure when it was written, but it feels like it could belong on the how im feeling now album because her voice gets repeated a lot.

Summary:  This album sounds perfect. Like, it's so catchy, it's so easy to follow. I can understand people who say this is not risky, but I like that it's 12 straight songs of crunchy pop perfection. The notes just hits right.

Favorite Songs: New Shapes, Constant Repeat, Beg for You, Move Me
Rating: 9/10

Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

Release Date: February 11th, 2022

you know how i took a break from music during the later half of the 2010s? well, that caused me to know who Big Thief were, but I never took the time to digest them. My favorite song of theirs was
"Mythological Beauty" and i did listen to Adrianne's solo record, but to be honest, i found most of their work to be basic boring folk music.

Review: I was preparing myself to say the same thing about this record and on first listen, it did sound a big boring, samey, and what you would expect from this band. Granted, i haven't listened to enough of their music to be able to recite a song in my head. I guess I needed to take off my kpop hat for this record because there aren't songs that would sound good on a workout playlist, but I found myself getting lost in the music, especially in the first half.  Due to the overall length, its probably normal that the 2nd half felt tiring, but i remained captivated. At times, I'm reminded of Mount Eerie and I'm amazed at how her voice can make the melodies to a simply guitar fingering pattern. But on songs like "Little Things" where it's cluttered with noise, it sounds so joyful.

Summary: Not the biggest believer in the band, but this album convinced me otherwise. So many good songs.

Favorite Songs: Time Escaping, Spud Infinity, Little Things, Heavy Bend, Red Moon, No Reason, Wake Me up to Drive, Simulation Swarm.
Rating: 9/10

IVE - Love Dive

Release Date: April 5th, 2022

Yo, This song is amazing. They manage to blow hot air at my face without consent. I love it, the ooo ooo parts sounds great. Will be one of the highlights of 2022 by the end of the year.

Rating: 9/10

Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

 Release Date: May 13th, 2022

The Warriors win a championship whenever Kendrick releases an album.

Review: I'll be quick, I always feel inconsistent when I talk about what kind of rap music I like. I really loved good kid maad city, but I didn't get the praise for TPAB nor DAMN. But i really liked this album because it just sounded good to me. Maybe it's because there's less jazz and the lyrics sound more introspective. I would say the first half of the album is nonstop amazing, then it gets a bit too long for the second half.  I think the second half was suppose to be more emotional, but I didn't feel it.

Summary: I like the way he raps. "We Cry Together" is an experience.

Favorite Songs: Die Hard, Rich Spirit, We Cry Together
Rating: 9/10

Nayeon - Im Nayeon

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Yep, Nayeon is my bias, the reason I got into kpop, but don't worry, I'm aware of the parasocial relationship the kpop industry likes to give off with its idols. Even thought the group had been popular by the time I'd discovered them with "What is Love", nobody told me about the girls. Plus, they have so much extra content on their YouTube channel, I feel like I'm rooting for all of them to succeed.

I bring that up because I think I'm too deep into the fandom. I'm a Once. Twice debuted in 2015 and for the most part, have recycled the same formula with minor dips in different genres. All their members have their roles and I memorized their voices. I guess the obvious comparison I can make is, how does Nayeon sound without her members?

Review: Well, I love her voice. She's lead vocalist for a reason. I think "Pop" could be annoying to lesser fans, but I think it's a fun, upbeat title track. Her voice sounds different when she does the rap part. I liked the way Nayeon sounded on Sweet Summer Day or on Hello, but dang, she went really high pitched for the rap.

"No Problem" and "Love Countdown" featured a rapper so that took the burden off.  Let's just say, these two songs are perfectly manufacturer heaven, like these producers nailed it. Great job from Felix and Wonstein respectively.  "Candyfloss" is cavity induing. it sounds so preschool bouncy. I like how dumb it sounds. I don't know who does the background vocals, but the part where you hear "Dip it in" sounds like chaeyoung, but it probably isn't. These 3 tracks are the most repeatable.

The next two songs are like Red Velvet's velvet side. She's so cute when she goes "say what? say what?" Nayeon wrote the lyrics to "All or Nothing" and in interviews, she always mentions she has dark days or dark times and maybe the language barrier makes me disconnect, or I'm blinded because i always see her as the energizer bunny, anyways, my vibe from it is that it's a romantic song, instead of it being interpersonal or sad.  I get the same feeling from Happy Birthday to You. No disrespectful, but the mood is cool, that's all that matters.  

Lastly, it ends on Sunset, which is really odd since Twice already has a song called Sunset. I want to trash it because it's pretty uneventful, but it got me thinking, this is a side that Nayeon rarely shows, so I'll take it. It reminds me a bit of Twice's 21:29 where I thought the song was boring, but maybe if they used this song on their YouTube channel, I'll love it.

Summary:  It's Nayeon from Twice, the best NFT of the year.  As a Once, it's really good and will contain us over till the ot9 comeback later in the year.

Favorite Song: No Problem, Candyfloss
Rating: 9/10

fromis_9 - Talk & Talk

Release Date: September 1st, 2021

hey, How come this song is so cuddly?  it's so cute. I like the video game beat. Sometimes I complain about songs not being catchy enough, but I like the chorus for being gentle with its punch.

Rating: 9/10

illuminati hotties - Let Me Do One More

Release Date: October 1st, 2021
Genre: indie rock, punk

back in the mid 2010s, I was into female fronted rock bands, like Bully, Speedy Ortiz, and Hop Along seemed to be my peaked. I kinda grew away from that when I got into bedroom pop, but I had been hoping to find another female voice to really blow me away.

Review: n/a

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Pool Hopping 10/10
2. MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA 10/10
3. Knead 8/10
4. Threatening Each Other re: Capitalism 9/10
5. u v v p 9/10
6. Protector 8/10
7. Joni: LA's No. 1 Health Goth 7/10
8. Kickflip 7/10
9. Toasting n/a
10. The Sway 10/10
11. Cheap Shoes 8/10
12. Growth 10/10

Summary: Like the other bands I listed in my intro, there's something unpredictable about their song structure, like it sounds weird and unconventional. At times, it feels wild and "what the fuck?" but during quieter moments in the album, I really like how intimate it feels, like the twinkles and lullaby feels.

Key Tracks: Pool Hopping, MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA, The Sway
Rating: 9/10

Twice - Taste of Love

Release Date: June 11th, 2021
Genre: kpop

We're finally here. I wanted to review all of Twice's albums because I loved their whole discography and it was very hard for me to decide which songs was my favorite. The girls never disappeared after the release of "Eyes Wide Open." From my perceptive, they continue with their YouTube series "Time to Twice," a few of the members dropped melody projects or performance projects, there was an online concert for their Japanese fans and we have a great "Secret friend" vlog that took 10 weeks to finish.

So 7 months flew by. I really had no expectations because from my experience with "More & More" and "Eyes Wide Open," it really doesn't matter what they do, their overall package has already gotten me hooked.

Review: So with the title track, "Alcohol-Free," I once again did not listen to the teasers, but I did read it was a bossa nova type so right away, I was thinking about "Oh My Girl's "Who Comes Who Knows." It didn't sound like that. To me, it sounded very bare and the melodies didn't grow on me til much later. "First Time" was written by Jihyo and it has some interesting high notes during the chorus. I think it sounds fluffy, like something soft touching your body, but it's not warm. Then "Scandal" really made me go "holy shit." Dahyun wrote the lyrics to this one and it begins with Chae's loud whispers. The whole song sounds spicy.

Then "Conversation" is a Sana written track and I wonder if it was intentional that the chorus borrows a Elvis lyric, but whatever, the song is just sexy. "Baby Blue Love" is written by Nayeon and it's a very easy song to get into, but it heavily sounds like a Burno Mars song, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Finally it ends with "SOS" which Dahyun wrote. It's good. I like how smooth it flows.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Alcohol-Free 7/10
2. First Time 8/10
3. Scandal 10/10
4. Conversation 10/10
5. Baby Blue Love 9/10
6. SOS 9/10

Summary: The album cover really encapsulates these songs because it's not the bubblegum pop sounds, nor is it the 2019 era, they just sound fresh, clean, and no emotional baggage.

Key Tracks: Scandal, Conversation, SOS
Rating: 9/10

Twice - Eyes Wide Open

Release Date: October 26, 2020
Genre: kpop

By the time this came out, the pandemic was becoming our norm and I was listening to more kpop than I ever had in my life. "More & More" had disappointed me, but I felt deep into their variety show content, watching every new video that got posted to their YouTube channel, and part of me knew, these girls could be my favorite group for my 30s.

Review: I remember seeing people call this Twicetober because of their past comebacks on this month. I never got to experience their cute sound in real time, and I made sure to not listen to any of the teasers. So with the title track, "I Can't Stop Me," it sounded good and it was interesting to see to see the red red red light, but I kept thinking they were chasing trends because of Dua Lipa's "Physical," and Everglow's "la di da." So the song didn't feel fresh.

"Hell in Heaven" sounds spooky and i'll always assoirate it with TTT: Crime Scene. "Up No More" and "Do What We Like" are pretty standard pop songs, but they work for me. "Bring it Back" sounded weird, but it grew on me. "Believer" is a strong song. "Queen" is a song Dahyun wrote and I think it slaps, then with "Go Hard" they have this build up that drives me nuts.

I used to dislike "Shot Clock" because we already have "Touchdown" but because I go back to listen to "go hard" so much, hearing the intro of "shot clock" with that marching band drug and nonsensical words in the background, it gets me hype, plus the way Momo says "countdown" makes me laugh.

"Handle It" was another song I originally disliked, but only because it's so slow compared to the rest of the album. I would say it took 4-5 months for this song to finally grab me. Go Chae!  "Depend on You" is a Nayeon song and I think it's the most easy to get into on first listen.

The last two tracks disappointed me. "Say Something" is a city pop song and I tried to appreciate this, but it's just a nice song. And Dua Lipa is credited with the music for "Behind the Mask," but it's not the future nostalgia sound, so it felt a bit slow.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. I Can't Stop Me 9/10
2. Hell in Heaven 8/10
3. Up No More 9/10
4. Do What We Like 9/10
5. Bring it Back 8/10
6. Believer 9/10
7. Queen 10/10
8. Go Hard 10/10
9. Shot Clock 9/10
10. Handle It 9/10
11. Depend on You 10/10
12. Say Something 8/10
13. Behind the Mask 7/10

Summary: So this is their 2nd full length album and it's very cohesive that I rarely listen to these songs outside of the full album. I always felt like the pre-2019 sounded like it came from the same source, and then something switched in 2019, and this album sorta stands alone with the 80s sound.

Key Tracks: Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You
Rating: 9/10

Twice - Feel Special

Release Date: September 23rd, 2019
Genre: kpop

I guess technically, "Feel Special" was my first Twice comeback because I had started following them on twitter, and when these teasers came out, it had the pre-chorus instrumentals that felt like it was building to something, but silly me, I wasn't sure if it was an album, a one-off M/V, or perhaps a concert. I didn't even know that Mina was taking a break. So this was my first exposure of a Twice comeback, each member getting a teaser everyday.

Review: I feel like I said this on my blog a few times, but certain things needed to happen before I fulled embraced kpop and what Twice was. Because there was nine members, I originally didn't like the song because Nayeon didn't start the song, and it wasn't cute, I didn't understand the words, and the "feel special" chorus felt weird to say out loud. Of course, as I gotten smarter and understood the meaning of the song, it's a very sweet song about their friendship and love for each other.

"Rainbow" was written by Nayeon and the music is feels very unstable, like a lot of clashes. I love it because it's feels hard and crunchy. "Get Loud" has those same qualities, very chaotic music, then with "Trick It" just feels like they are shooting phases at me and they just shock me. Most people know about "Love Foolish" and its either overrated, or MTV got it right declaring it the best b-side of 2019. I imagine people who love the song love it because when chaeyoung goes "i hate you" like holy shit, it sounds so good.

"21:29" supposedly is a song "to Onces" (21), "from Twice" (29) and yeah, it's a ballad, written by all of the members, but kinda boring if I'm being honest, however, I don't mind it when they use it for their variety show content, but i tend to skip this song. And finally with the korean version of Breakthrough, it's just a bonus, but I'm not a fan of the song.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Feel Special 10/10
2. Rainbow 10/10
3. Get Loud 9/10
4. Trick It 10/10
5. Love Foolish 10/10
6. 21:29 7/10
7. Breakthrough (korean version) 5/10

Summary: So removing the last two songs, those five tracks are ridiculous. "Fancy You" were more mature in how it sounded like they are grown up women, and "Feel Special" sorta continues that, but I don't hear a clear sound from the 70s or the 80s, it just sounds like a noisy dance trick with a lot of fun repeating syllables, and it drives me mad. Also, all of the b-sides are co-written by members of Twice.

Key Tracks: Feel Special, Trick It, Love Foolish
Rating: 9/10