NewJeans - Get Up

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

Nourished By Time - Erotic Probiotic 2

Release Date:  April 21st, 2023

awesome album name.

Review:  This album sounds terrible until you reach "The Fields" and it feels like a switch gets turn on and you get it. I still think the music is bad and amateurish, but that's part of the appeal, I guess.

Summary:  I respect the hustle. I hope he leans more into the fields because the rest of this sounds like he did his homework last minute.

Favorite Songs: The Fields, Rain Water Promise, Soap Party
Rating: 6/10

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

The National - Laugh Track

Release Date:  September 18, 2023

The National are my favorite band. Yes, I will be bias.

Review:  It's interesting, leading up to Homecoming, I would see threads pop up on reddit that a new album was coming, but I didn't believe it. When they release Alphabet City and Space Invader, I thought it was a reminder to the fans of who they are because of the poor critical reception. It helps that I didn't overplayed these songs for when the album eventually released

"Alphabet City" is the opener and I can understand why it was chosen. It has this spacey SWB sound. Then "Deep End" has that familiar-ness sound. I always liked "Weird Goodbye" so I'm glad it has a home now. "Turn off the House" is one of those deep cuts that if it hits you, it hits you. I like that towards the end of the song, the music just grows bigger.

"Dreaming" is kind of boring. It sounds like they had an idea and they stretched it out to 4 minutes. "Laugh Track" is amazing. "Space Invader" sounded like "Eucalyptus" at times. People seem to love the outro to this song, but the novelty wore itself for me. "Hornets" is really pretty. I like how the song feels empty, but the melody creeps in on you.

"Coat on a Hook" is ok. "Tour Manager" is that lullaby song to tuck you in bed. "Crumble" is that alt-country vibe they had on SSFDL. and finally "Smoke Detector" is an interesting one, reminds me a lot of Joy Division.

Summary:  This is their 10th album and I imagine some people are wondering if they should have combined this with the last album and trim the fat. From Alligator to Sleep Well Beast, it always felt like the band was always going uphill. I can hear elements of their past work on this album, but I didn't feel like there were any All-Timers here. Still, I like it.

Favorite Songs: Laugh Track, Tour Manager, Crumble
Rating: 8/10

The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein

Release Date: April 28, 2023

The National are my favorite band, so I can't help, but be bias.

Review: This album doesn't suck, but I can understand why some people would think so. It just doesn't flow right. I often read on reddit that fans wish the band would go back to their more loud rock energy, but I'm more of a Boxer type, so I don't mind the soft finger-picking slow burners. Still, when they released 4 songs before the release of the album, "Eucalyptus" was the only one that got me excited. But then they released a live version of it and now I can't listen to the album version without feeling a bit let down.

When they released "Tropic Morning News" in January, I wasn't feeling it, but they are my boys so I can stomach it. It reminds me a bit of "Humiliation" where the music doesn't feel like it goes anywhere, but enough times you listen to it, you sort of get the melodies. On the album, i feel like this song is too long. "New Order T-Shirt" has that finger picking that I love, but there isn't a lyric in the song that grabs me so i also felt this one drags. and the last of the pre-release, "Your Mind is Not Your Friend" sounds like that portal song. I think if this was a soundtrack single or a bonus track, it would be fine, but I found it so boring. 

So based on the 4, I was only excited by 1, but then I read on reddit that this was their best album since TWFM which I thought was crazy because IAETF and SWB were both great. The album started masterfully with "Once Upon a Poolside" that had sufjan stevens background vocals. track 4 has Phoebe Bridgers on "This Isn't Helping" and I thought it was beautiful in a downer way. I really like "Alien" because it has those slow burn Boxer qualms.

I guess the song people were expecting the most from is "The Alcott" which features Taylor Swift. I think it's a great song and deserves to be recognized, but now that enough time has past, it doesn't fit here. it sounds closer to "Coney Island" or "Renegade" and I actually feel it breaks the flow of the album.

"Grease in Your Hair" is high energy, kind of. I like Ice Machines" because of its subtle melodies. and lastly, "Send for Me" is kind of sweet, but also a bit boring.

Summary: I know, its 47 minutes and I love that The National are still able to make music, but I don't think it's a good album from start to finish. There's a video of them at Bearsville Theater where they performed most of the album and they all sound alive. Something is missing here. Still, it's The National and I'm bias.

Favorite Songs: Once Upon a Poolside, This Isn't Helping, The Alcott
Rating: 7/10

NIKI - Nicole

Release Date:  August 12, 2022

I was looking at Taylor Swift's past opening tour acts and found a name I never heard of, who only did one show in Asia 2014. Her name, Nicole Zefanya, who rebranded herself as just NIKI in 2017. I've should have pay more attention to 88rising because she was the first female signed to their label. And you know that song from Shang-Chi?  yep, that was her.

Review:  Other than that song and "lowkey," i went into this album fairly blind. From a bit of research, Niki was inspired by Taylor's "From the Vault" tracks by going back into her past catalog. On Youtube, you can find re-post of the original bedroom recordings that you'll find on this album. Just that concept alone makes me how cool it is that this album is essentially a magical time capsule.

The album opens with, "Before," and it's a slow burner, packed with a season's worth of storytelling. I love the line "was i just a two-year practice round?" and the vocals soar in the background. Lots of artist say they are influence by Taylor, but this song really really gives off Taylor Swift vibes. It's introspective and there's specific details here that feel like dairy entries, yet, i feel like i'm being transported into her world. I can't say I've been there, done that, but these lyrics, yeah, I feel you Niki. And it does feel weird to stop loving someone and for it to feel like it was before you've met.

On the 2nd song, she really went all out on "High School in Jakarta." In concert, she'll explain to the audience that she just wanted to write a song where she namedrops her best friends. I knew this song would be good when she says, "it's 2013 and the end of my life." It's an upbeat song, but the lyrics can feel chaotic and all over the place, but i guess that's the essence of high school, so many moving parts you cannot control.

"Backburner" is slow and methodical. I think the line everyone will point out is the goo goo dolls line because i think we all share music with the ones we love. but once the relationship ends, that shared bond with that special band also dies. It's hilariously sad.

"Keeping Tabs" is probably the most fun song on the album. It's fast and upbeat. At concerts, it's what she opens up with. "The Apartment We Won't Share" is very indie folk. I like the melody, but it's also pretty standard. I like the atmosphere of "Facebook Friends." "Anaheim" has nice acoustic finger plucking.

"Milk Teeth" is probably my least favorite song. I think there's something suppose to be clever about someone not losing their baby teeth yet, but i didn't connect with it. "Autumn" is louder than the past few tracks. Feels chilly and darker and the bridge has a nice soar to it.

"Oceans & Engines" seems to be the album's climax, and the part where she sings "i'm letting go..." feels like you wave your arms in the arm back and forth. It should feel emotional, but it's also very long that to be honest, i think it's a boring song.

I feel like "On the Drive Home" suffers because there are too many songs like it. Then the album ends with "Take A Chance With Me" that sounds a bit top 40s colbie caillat.

Summary:  The first half of this album is really strong, top notch songwriting, with lyrics that teleport you to your teenage self. A lot of people say they are influence by Taylor Swift, but I felt the essence of Taylor were right there in the first half. Teenage angst tend to blame other people for their problems, so I like hearing Niki just soak her misery in and just misses the way things used to be. I wish the 2nd half wasn't so boring. The melodies are there, but it becomes a bit samey.

Favorite Songs: Before, High School in Jakarta, Backburner
Rating: 8/10

Nilüfer Yanya - Painless

Release Date:  March 4th, 2022

you should never judge a person based on their name, or album cover.

Review: I'll be honest, i overlooked this because i thought it would just be another abstract jazzy performance piece from the UK. But it's just 12 songs, cut into digestible pop sized songs. It took a while to get used to her voice, but i thought the instrumentals really carried the songs here. The guitar work just stay busy, at times, they remind me of radiohead. I became a believer in this album during track 3, "shameless" because i just love the way it sounds so soft, but when its time to attack, the guitars really sneak up on you.

Summary:  Really interesting stuff, first half is stronger than the latter.

Favorite Songs: shameless, stabilise, company
Rating: 8/10

NewJeans - New Jeans

Release Date:  August 1st, 2022

Review:  I wouldn't have checked them out if it wasn't for the company that was behind them. Look, Le Sserafim had some pressures to live up to. But these girls came out of nowhere. Anyways, I always avoid talking about visuals with kpop groups, but because I grew up in that era, it's weird how producers are nailing the y2k aesthetics and making me feel impressed with how cool it sounds. because I did not like rnb back.

Anyways, "Attention" is good, and I like "Hurt" the most. The other two are fine. They aren't my type of songs I enjoy to listen to on repeat, but it's fine rnb.

Summary:  they got my attention

Favorite Songs: Attention, Hurt
Rating: 7/10

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

NiziU - Take a Picture

Release Date: March 28th, 2021

"wanna wanna wanna"

Am I a JYP shill? Not intentionally, when I got into Twice, they were an established group, turning 5 in a few months. I watched the nizi project during quarantine and no, I didn't fall in love with them, but the similarities with Twice were so apparent. Their first mini album reminded me a lot of Twice's first mini album, where they were still trying to figure out who does what best. I've liked most of their singles and the b-sides have been alright, but nothing hit quite as hard as this song, "Take a Picture."

From the beginning, it's catchy as fuck and doesn't stop being in your face. I love the list reciting of 5, it's not original, but it gives the ears something to look forward. I loved hearing Miihi's parts and Nina's high notes are amazing. I sorta hate that it slowed down during the bridge, I usually enjoy their rap-line, but because this song is so sugary, it makes me wonder if the rap was necessary. Nevertheless, this song is the first NiziU song where it felt like they weren't Twice 2.0, but they got the confidence to stand on their own, holding that cutey concept torch.

Rating: 9/10

Neon Hitch - Fuck U Betta

I liked her role in that gym class heroes song so she's on my radar, then i heard this song on the radio recently and kind of had a head shaking moment. another Britney song? still, it makes me laugh (in a good way) with the major use of auto-tune and the chorus annoys me legitimately. But oddly enough, i want to know what else she can offer. hopefully a song that can pound my face.

Rating: 2/10

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

From Album: Pink Friday (Deluxe Edition)

Holy Shit! I never though to check this song out because when Taylor Swift did it, it didn't sound that impressive, but now that it's on the radio, holy shit @ how fun and catchy it is plus nicki sounds like she's on fire. Why is this not on the actual album?

Rating: 9/10

The National - Think You Can Wait

From Soundtrack: Win Win

They are my favorite band for a reason.

Rating: 8/10

Noah and the Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

From Album: Last Night On Earth

N.I.C.E.

Rating: 7/10

Nickelback - Dark Horse

Release Date: 11/18/08
Genre: Post-grunge

The World's most hated band. Thank you internet. Before I liked albums, I liked songs. And at the time, Nickelback produced a lot of good singles. It's what I like. Good friendly tunes. Well of course, I evolved and hated the rest of their discography and found my niche with indie pop and post-rock. Still, my heart will always lie somewhere with the music of my youth.

Review: So welcome back Nickelback. Your music is challenging. Now that I've entered the world of music blogging, I gotta follow the tread. But you know something, this album is very tolerable. The first track "Something In Your Mouth" is pretty stupid, but "Burn It To The Ground" is something I can hear in TV or Movie scenes with hot girls and fast cars. The chorus is designed for a sing-a-long.

Track 3, "Gotta Be Somebody" is hilarious. Being older now, I hate false lyrics. So maybe this song is written personally, but I don't believe. I wanna say it's cheesy, but they play this on the radio when I have no control of it (I'm not driving), so the chorus is etch into my brain.

"I'd Come For You" and "Never Gonna Be Alone" feel like the same love ballad. I can totally see these being used on TV. Like I really hate their overused message of being a nice guy and living life to the fullest. Is there something wrong with it? Shrugs. Love is always a reoccurring theme in music, but this level of corniness is too corny.

"Next Go Round" is a bit more aggressive and the verses seem to be using a vocal effect. Kinda cool only because it's different, but the chorus of "yeah....... we're gonna---" kinda makes me forget everything. There's a very apparent 'guitar solo' in it and on the next song, "Just To Get High," I think I hear it again. Very similar.

"If Today Was Your Last Day" is gonna be a hit song. It's so fitted for radio. Friendly acoustic rhythm during the verses, gradually build to the chorus, and then an infectious back and forth chorus.

"Last Call you sons of bitches"

Summary: So the important thing here is that this album is tolerable. The album has good pacing between fast and slow songs. There's nothing wrong with it, but as I'm a fan of albums, there are other bands that produce much better albums that relate to me. The fact remains, I won't be listening to this album tomorrow.

Key Tracks: Burn It To The Ground, This Afternoon
Rating: 4/10

The Narrative - Just Say Yes

Release Date: 08/26/08
Genre: Indie Pop

So I liked this EP so much that I actually learned their names. Jesse's the guy. Suzie's the girl. Charlie's the drummer. Brandon's name doesn't end with an E. What a dickface.

Review: So I can't really see this band getting too popular. They aren't catchy, but I would tune in more if radio did start playing music like this. In short, their music is a long term friendship. Jesse and Suzie share vocal duties and I know I'm a sucker for male/female harmonies, The Narrative impresses me most for being really normal. Based on these 6 songs, Jesse's voice fits with a nice guy finish last motif and Suzie's voice is made of pure love. I want to treasure her voice. It should crack, but she always remains in perfect key. And Jesse isn't too sappy or tough, just a buddy buddy guy.

I'm talking too much. But listen to "Libra" where Suzie gets to be the lead. It's the 4th song on the EP so I was getting used to the band being a duo and Jesse was mainly the voice, but she's so magical on her own. I love the chorus because it sounds like she's trying to fit in too many words in the measure. Even when she shifts from her norm to the more hectic, her voice is natural so both verse and chorus are strong. And the ending is just a nice jam. I think I hear a cello. So for that, I found "Libra" to be their strongest song.

But back up. "Castling" is the opener and it's quiet with taps of the drums and rustling guitars. The keyboard makes the song really cool. It's a twinkle sound and I enjoy the "bob bob bob" towards the end. And in all of their songs, when one is singing, the other compliments the other so it's like they feed off one another. There's a repeating bass riff that sounds like someone is climbing up the stairs. Good payoff at the end.

"The Moment That It Stops" is similar, but the vocals are more broken between words. Mainly because the guitar's melodies has plucking to it so I'm guessing both of them wanted to mimic it. So it's less smooth giving it a different flavor than other songs.

"Eyes Closed" is made of water with Suzie floating in the background. It's mostly quiet so the ripples of the guitar are clean. Crazy vocal harmonies and after 3 minutes, they bring the rest of the band in and it's just a cool clash of music. "The Photographer's Daughter" isn't a bad song, but I can't really find anything to say about it. It continues the other songs with nice duo male/female vocals. Jesse is the lead. I just found it be to be weak.

And last, "Waiting Room" is a Suzie song. I don't want to sound bias towards her because Jesse's voice is good too, but damn this song is gorgeous. I didn't even notice there was a verse-chorus relationship to this song til I looked up the lyrics. It just sounds like she's talking to herself and not making a song about it.

So the lyrics are great because they aren't trying to force a rhyme. Some of the words are words I don't use everyday so it paints a nice picture in my mind when they say stuff like "familiar scent of sterile instruments" or " my hands are wandering astray." So for other bands, sometimes I'll be picky because there isn't much emotional range in vocals or music, but The Narrative are stationed at the same place throughout the album. Yet I don't want to complain. Just wanted to throw that out there because I think that's the only downside I can think of.

Summary: This isn't cutesy like The Weepies or crazy like Stars or catchy like Tilly and the Wall. The Narrative are a conversation between the person and it's mind. I love that they don't force rhymes. I love that they don't hide their simple approach by shorting their songs. They might not be doing anything new, but damn are they good at what they do. And Suzie, "oh my god you're beautiful."

Key Tracks: Castling, The Moment That It Stops, Libra
Rating: 7/10

Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman

Release Date: 09/11/08
Genre: R&B

Shaffer Chimere Smith is not a marketable name, how about Ne-Yo?

Review: I'm really surprise on how much I like this. Sure his name is stupid, but especially in today's over saturated world of R&B, it's hard to stand out. The easy ones to pick out are "Closer, "Single" and "Miss Independent." All singles with "Single" being shared with New Kids on the Block.

"Closer" is just mighty catchy with its furious chorus, "I just can't stop." "Miss Independent" has a really cool beat. I also like "Mad." It's a slow jam, but I just like listening to it for some reason. I like his melodies. It is a little weird that it's after "Single" cuz they both have the same beat. "Fade into the Background" and "So You Can Cry" are nice one. I could have used more guest artist on the album because the bottom half gets a little boring with him alone.

I don't like "Back To What You Know."

"Stop This World" sounds so high.

Summary: A very pleasing album to listen to, but i probably won't re-listen.

Key Tracks: Closer, Mad, Stop This World
Rating: 6/10

The National - The Virginia EP

Release Date: 05/20/08
Genre: Indie Rock

It's funny, ever since i wrote a review for Boxer, The National have increasingly become one of my most listened to bands and although I can't get into their music before Alligator, I'm pretty sure they are one of my favorite bands. This EP is pretty long, but most of it is left over material so it's just a nice bonus to keep me company for a while.

Review: It's nice to have a studio version of "You've Done it Again, Virginia." The next two are b-sides so I've heard them, but still, it's great to have on the album. Any of the top 3 songs will end up on my top 25 songs of the year list.

The demo version of "Slow Show" is pretty interesting, like I like it, and at times I'll prefer it over the Boxer version, but my heart knows it's not as serious as the boxer version. After knowing Slow Show by heart, it feels amazing to experience the same song in a more loose and almost in a nonsensical form.

Everything else is fairly good. I'm not too big of a fan of the songs they covered (Mansion on the Hill is great), but I can't be negative because Matt Berninger has that effect on me, plus this is the b-side/leftover album so of course it won't compare to Boxer.

Summary: Pretty good EP

Key Tracks: You've Done it Again, Virginia, Santa Clara, Slow Show (demo)
Rating: 7/10

The New Frontiers - Mending

Release Date: 03/11/08
Genre: Mellow rock

These guys are on This Will Destroy You's top 8. And yeah, what is this band doing on a instrumental band's top 8?

Review: For the most part, are these guys originally or creative? probably not. But for all the cookie cutter bands out there, I really enjoy these guys. I don't know much about them. I tried googling around but all I could find was that they changed their name from Stellamaris.

From early on, the album really reminded me of the Augastana's type of bands. It's soft in nature, the music isn't junky and the lyrics are dipped in warmth love. The 1-2-3 punch of the album that really made me go 'wow' are "Mirrors" and "Strangers" followed by "Pressing On."

For me, I enjoy listening to them because they have a comforting quality to them. I barely discovered them a week ago, but they remind me of bands like Sleeping at Last, The Fray, Augastana and I'm not even big fans of those bands, but it's hauntingly beautiful when there's something new and familiar that creates a very pleasing sound.

Summary: Soft, safe comforting music, but never slow. The chorus really work well in every song. The faster pace songs are hit and miss, but the comforting ones are worth a keep.

Key Tracks: The Day You Fell Apart, Mirrors, Pressing On
Rating: 7/10

The National - Boxer

Release Date: May 22, 2007
Genre: Indie Rock

I downloaded this album when it first got leaked back in April and I quickly had it on my guilty pleasures list. The vocals are deep, the music is gentle like a quiet midnight drive to nowhere. I'm always trying to get my friends to listen to new music, but when I tried to put together a mix CD for them, I couldn't find a track on Boxer that would fit on its own. And as the year comes to a close and I try to compile my top ten albums of 2007, I realize that The National have never left my top 5.

Review: The first four tracks are just so good. The mellowness of the piano in "Fake Empire" and the drums creates a slow-motion vivid memory of your painting of the perfect world. Then with songs like "Squalor Victoria" where I have no idea what the hell he's talking about, but absolutely love the melody of it.

"Mistaken for Strangers" was one of the first songs to hit me for it's fast paced and the lyric sticks out, "You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends." A lot of times, I won't be able to understand what he's singing about, so I'll fit it in myself. I even looked it up and it's a lot of nonsense, but I enjoy his passionate voice.

My favorite song is "Slow Show," because the chorus is romantic in a weird way. But also the way the song ends with the repeating "You know I dreamed about you" in a very sorrow manner as the piano slowly dies away.

"Apartment Story" and "Guest Room" are similar because it starts with the drums and his baritone voice, which is almost like fast talking, but somewhere in the song, he'll start singing and I think it sounds amazing.

Surprisingly, my two least favorite songs, "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada" are the two songs Sufjan Stevens played piano on. The change up between the verse and chorus aren't as great as the other tracks so it doesn't stand out as much, but it's still good.

Summary: I'm not a fan of Interpol, but Interpol is the first band I thought of because of the monotone voices. What's different is that in Boxer, the lyrics make me smile, vocals make me sad, and best of all, the temple changes gives the album great pacing. Everything works although at times the instruments attack very subtlety, it eventually kisses you on the forehead.

Key Tracks: Squalor Victoria, Green Gloves, Slow Show
Rating: 9/10