Yeule - softscars

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

Yunè Pinku - Babylon IX EP

Release Date:  April 28th, 2023

The album cover looked interesting

Review:  the music sounds like 90s Dido or Frou Frou, or some generic club mix that blows cold air at you with a spacey trance. it's only 6 songs, but Trinity and Blush Cut really stood out to me.

Summary:  windows down, cold air to your face.

Favorite Songs:  Trinity, Blush Cut
Rating: 7/10

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

Jo Yuri - Op.22 Y-Waltz: in Minor

Release Date:  October 24, 2022

I keep taps on all the former Iz*One members so that's all this is.

Review:  I really thought Yuri could sing anything and i would love it, but I'm not sure what it is, but i just haven't been invested in her. Anyways, i know this is a singles album so it's hard to judge it really. Loveable" is fine, but the "Ah-na-na-na-na-na-na" felt like a mistake. I hate it tbh. "Blank" is cool. And "Favorite Part" is too short to really judge.

Summary:  Again, there's not much here, but I have all the past Iz*One member's on here so yeah.

Favorite Song: Blank
Rating: 5/10

Yaya Bey - Remember Your North Star

Release Date:  June 17th, 2022

after the Grammys nominations, pitchfork had an article with their takeaways, one of them being the snub of 3 rnb albums from women. This was one of them.

Review:  wow, i really like her style. I could never get into Erykah Badu, but she reminds me of her. maybe it's just the way it was recorded but it feels like a tape recorder at times and i don't know if she intends to be funny, but i found it humorous on how direct she is. i suppose the stand out line from this album belongs to keisha for saying the pussy is so, so good and you still don't love me. there's about 5 tracks that are under or near 30 seconds, and 4 tracks that are between 90 seconds to 2 minutes. so it feels like scraps of her thoughts than fully fleshed out songs. On the longest song, "reprise" she sorta raps and that is such a change of pace from the standard rnb soul vocals. i love it.

Summary:  Really chill, I like that it doesn't sound sexy like typical rnb music, it's just a person with thoughts, sometimes with a recorder, and it feels raw like she made this for a school project and that explains some of the quirkiness because it wasn't meant to be seen by the general population.

Favorite Songs: keisha, nobody knows, reprise
Rating: 8/10

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool it Down

Release Date:  September 30th, 2022

Mars, he says, with a glint in his eye. and that was it.

Review:  Only 8 songs here, but the last one is just over a minute long. Never been a big fan of the band, although I did enjoy their 2009 album. very odd to hear perfume genius featured on this album. "Wolf" is great. I don't think the rest was bad, but nothing really stood out. I thought "Lovebomb" and "Blacktop" would be stand outs, but they kinda faltered away. "Burning" was actually a single, but i didn't know prior to listening. To me, it felt like "Wolf," but downgraded.

Summary:  Hey, if you know them, you know them. I think it sounds passable, but nothing to get excited over.

Favorite Song: Wolf
Rating: 6/10

Yena - Smartphone

Release Date:  August 3rd, 2022

How is she going to top Smiley?

Review:  She doesn't have to. The first song sounds like an intro song, soft pianos, and its clear to have a connection to her first ep. I really like it. But the title track is something else. "push, swipe" is very catchy, and i shouldn't complain, so i won't. i love kpop when its made of high fructose corn syrup. this song went off. Then the following song is a page out of the 00s. I noticed the y2k era is becoming a trend in kpop and i thought Yena fit the concept well. "Lemon-Aid" is breezy dance pop song that i love how it glides while her vocals sort of tip toes "La La La Lemon-Aid." it's really adorable. The last song "U" is clap your hands heavy, its fine, it's cute.

Summary:  I've had "Smiley" on repeat, but i don't remember what else that ep had. This ep seemed to be full of songs that are right at that baseline.

Favorite Songs: Smartphone, WithOrWithOut, Lemon-Aid
Rating: 8/10

Jo Yuri - Op.22 Y-Waltz: in Major

Release Date: June 2nd, 2022

first of all, what a weird title, but once you listen to it, i get it. it has classical music stuff to it.

Review: unfortunately, i don't like much of it. the title track itself is a step up from "Glassy" but as a non korean speaker, when she goes to the chorus, she spells out love and then said sssh and so it kind of makes me feel like something is missing. Anyways, the remaining three has more of a waltz feel, hence the title. I hate saying this because I love Yuri's raspy voice, but the music wasn't for me. I found it fairly boring.

Summary: good title track, wish she did more bubblegum pop.

Favorite Song: Love Sssh!
Rating: 6/10

Yerin - Aria

Release Date: May 18th, 2022 

I don't know much about GFriend besides lil uzi vert being a vocal supporter of them, and they have one really good song, me gustas tu. Their disbandment was a shock to me, but I really don't know who the members are.

Review: anyways, i don't know what Yerin is known for, like what position she was in GFriend. The title track is really bad, like run of the mill kpop bad. if you're listening to one of the "new" kpop playlist and the title track comes on, ouch. But "Believer" is soooo good. it's so sunny. her voice is so soft. I don't like "lalala" that much, but its passable. And the last track is really good.  Basically a lullaby song to say goodnight.

Summery: Only four real songs, two of them are really good.

Favorite songs: Believer, Time
Rating: 7/10

Yena - Smiley

Release Date: January 17, 2022

Awesome, I gave this a listen back when it first came out, so my opinion on this ep has really solidified. It's good, probably my favorite ep of all the post-Iz*One music.

Review: the opening track is very soft and twinkly. Then the title track is super happy and cheerful. I wish Yena had rapped, it took me a while to warm up to Bibi's mumble rap, but it grow on me. "Pretty Boys" has an addicting "di di da da" sound. I think it's the most memorable. As for the other 2 songs, Lxxk 2 U and Vacay, i feel like they were two songs on autopilot, but in the best way for Yena. I probably would rank Vacay slightly above Lxxk 2 U.

Summary: Yena is so good, the all-rounder. ep did not disappoint.

Favorite Song: Smiley, Pretty Boys
Rating: 8/10

Jo Yuri - Glassy

Release Date: October 7th, 2021

Being a soloist in kpop seems hard. Obviously, I'm a fan of Iz*One and Yuri's was the main vocalist, but I honestly don't know if the song is good or not. Do I like it?  yeah, it's soft and fluffy, but since she sings the whole time, there isn't that moment where her voice feels like a secret weapon. Her high notes don't feel that good either. It's a basic song and I wonder if my opinion will change if she had more songs to put this track into context.

Rating: 7/10

Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes

Release Date: 3/22/11
Genre: Poppunk

Review: Man, this takes me back.  Yellowcard should have been a band that i latched on to, but they felt like an all around teen band so everyone took parts of them so it was less personal for myself.  Still, I always found them to be easy to digest.  This album is fun and i enjoy the energy.  That's all you need to know.

Favorite Songs: For You, And your Denial, With You Around, See Me Smiling
Rating: 6.5/10

YUI - It's My Life

From Album: possible 5th album?

Not a Bon jovi cover. Pretty fun spirited. And check out that smile!

Rating: 7/10

Yellowcard - For You, and Your Denial

From Album: When You're Through Thinking Say Yes

I thought this band went on hiatus. Anyways, i forgotten what this band sounds like and this first single from their upcoming album reminds me a lot of early 00s pop punks. I'm actually curious what the rest of the album sounds like.

Rating: 6/10

Yiruma - P.N.O.N.I

Release Date: 10/30/08
Genre: Instrumental Piano

I use to go on stickam back when it was new and it was easier to find people just to talk. And one dude play a song by this man, but he wouldn't tell me the name of the artist. And I don't remember how I found out it was Yiruma, but damn he's cool.

Review: So this album is hard to describe. I don't wanna talk about each song and go through the twinkles. It's like soundtrack music, but maybe a bit more towards the anime side only because he is Asian. I only say that because American movies don't really have his touch. His music is entirely piano. And it's not Yanni type, it's just pure piano. But I'm into this type of music so his stuff sounds amazing to me. A lot of love in the music. It's always bright and positive. The only downside is the similarities with every song, but it's bound to happen as he uses only one instrument.

Summary: Yiruma is the best in his game. The album melts together towards the end, but it's consistency good music. When an album is really dark, it's dark. This is the opposite.

Key Tracks: Love, Joy, Letter
Rating: 7/10

YUI - My Short Stories

Release Date: 11/12/08
Genre: J-pop

Only one new song, but I never really listen to her b-sides that much. I mean I know I liked them, but as a whole? hmm. It'll be a while before YUI releases anything as she's taking a year break from anything music. She needs to recharge.

Review: So the new song, "I'll Be" is really 'standard.' Not much to say. It's the most middle YUI song you can get and depending which type you prefer, will determine if you like the song or not. It's more of a playful song and I don't feel that she feels strongly about the song's lyrics. It's just...standard.

Onward to the other stuff. Whenever I feel like listening to her singles, I would hear the single, the b-side, the acoustic version of another song, and then the instrumental song. So even if the b-side is less than good, it goes by quick for me to care. For this compilation album, "Jam" and "It's Happy Line" are the only two that are exceptionally good. I was unhappy knowing "Jam" didn't make it on her latest album. And "It's Happy Line" was actually her first single when she was going indie.

The songs that are pretty forgettable include "Winter Hot Music," "Cloudy" and "Driving Today." Three of those just don't do anything for me. It's not boring boring, just forgettable. "Help" and "Last Train" boring, but the choruses are pretty damn catchy.

"Skyline," "Oh My God" and "Crossroad" are pretty solid songs on its own, but not the star songs. Nice music too. "Free Bird" is a different song. I can't quite describe it, but her voice is a bit youthful. "I Wanna Be..." is a weak song. "Understand" was part of the double-A side single with My Generation, yet was left out of the album. It's a gentler song and YUI sounds really good. Maybe too slow, but I like it. And finally, the last song is "Why Me" and it's a good slow song. She knows how to calm the bubble, keeping it interesting without losing interest of the listener.

Summary: Terrible album if you never heard of her. As a fan, it's nice to have them all in one collection although they might not work that well as a whole. The songs that didn't work so well bring the album down, but where else will they go. It's a b-side album.

Key Tracks: Jam, Skyline, It's Happy Line
Rating: 6/10

Yann Tiersen - Tabarly

Release Date: 05/31/08
Genre: Piano/Instrumental/Soundtrack

I can't believe i didn't know about this album until 3 days ago.

Review: So this soundtrack is for a movie about a french sailor, Éric Tabarly, who is considered to be the father of French yachting and was sadly lost at sea in 1998. But if you're like me, all you care about is the music. And i'm just gonna make this paragraph just a little longer so at first glance, your eyes will meet my 'summary' first.

But as a whole, i notice there's less of a 'french' flavor to it. Like especially on his older albums, the instruments he used, like the harpsichord, it just gives a foreign, ethnic feel to the sound. On Tabarly, it's always consistent and its flow weaves in and out of engaging music to just incidental music. sometimes it can be frustrating because the length of the songs are just an idea and not fully developed. for example, track 5, ".IV" could have been the favorite, but it only lasts for 55 seconds.

As with all soundtracks, there's a common theme that connects all the songs as one cohesive environment. no odd ball tracks. no stand alone tracks either. It just feels like it fits the story. The first two tracks makes me feel like it's raining outside. The high notes makes it sound so delicate. Both "Au-Dessous Du Volcan" and "Yellow" have this crowded city atmosphere to them. "Point Mort" is gloomy and dark with it's haunting bass notes. "La Longe Route" and "Atlantique Nord" feel very isolated with no other instruments joining.

It's only 34 minutes long so nothing drags on. I've always been bad at explaining non-vocal music. I just find this stuff to be relaxing and it mellows me out. It's mainly a quiet album so don't expect to be amazed.

Summary: Anyone who enjoys piano or instrumental music is bound to enjoy most of this CD.

Key Tracks: .IV, Point Zero, 8 mm
Rating: 8/10

Yasushi Yoshida - Little Grace

Release Date: 04/25/08
Genre: Instrumental

I love not paying attention to music and then having it go in sync with my life. Once I fully engage myself, this album is spectacular. I'm glad he has a new one out. "Secret Figure" was good, but I honestly never had the patient to fully digest it.

Review: So Anoice was my first Japaneses instrumental band, then sgt. completely destroyed every thing Japan had to offer muscially. Bands like mono, toe, té, LITE all felt the same to me even though their name gets throw around in conjuction with good japaneses post-rockers.

I really like Yasushi's calming style. In the opener, "Permanent Yesterday,"

"Thread Still" is a 10 minute song that unfolds gradually building layers and layers.

"Three winters our trace" is a gloomy dark piece. Like I don't know, it's 7 minutes long and it gives me this chilly, "fuck, what am I doing here" feeling in my gut. Reminds me of the later half of Sigur Rós's ( ) album.

Up until then, I was ready to give the album a 7, but the last parts of Little Grace really exceeded my expectations.

The hidden track is the shit

*will finish later

Summary: This album is better. I was expecting more of the same, but this one really connected with me. No, it's not catchy or epic, but he smoothly carries the musical ideas in a nice twirl. If that makes sense. Like I don't get bored with the patterns. This is an great album. No fancy distortion. Just nice crisp sounds.

Key Tracks: Lullaby for Rainsongs
Rating: 7/10

YUI - I LOVED YESTERDAY

Release Date: 04/09/08
Genre: J-pop, J-rock

When I heard her 2nd album, I initially didn't like it as much as the first album, but it eventually surpassed the first, at least in overall variety. So my first impressions of her 3rd album were no different. I didn't like it as much. But I have to consider that the singles she released are already in my memory so I probably was let down by her album songs only because they were new.

Review: "Laugh Away" is good. A little typical of her sound, but it's a good track from YUI's standards. "My generation" is next and I'm familiar with it and it's a rocking single. "Find Me" has a sharper sound, pretty good for an album song. "No Way" is only a minute long and that pisses me off because it's so strong and a little 'punk.' "Namdiario is a typical ballad from YUI, I don't think it's special, but her voice still captures me.

"Daydreamer" is the best song she has ever done. Just listen to the chorus and the guitar riffs. I want to see a music video of it so it besta be a single soon. "Love is All" "and "I Will Love You" are great. I actually hated them my first listen because it was a little generic. How could I think that? The melody is really chill.

"We will go" is different, i almost hate it. But I think the fan of me won't allow it. "Oh Yeah" is cute. I still feel indifferent about "Love & Truth."

Summary: It's a strong set of songs again. How does YUI write songs to quickly? Maybe it's because I don't understand her lyrics so it all feels good to me. If I had to set a greatest hits for her, there's a good portion of hits on this album. I just wish "Jam" was on the album. It's my favorite b-side. I don't know if it's her best album yet, they were only released a year apart, it could be called "Can't buy my love II." There's a lot of parallel songs. I don't have a problem with that as long as I don't get bored.

Key Tracks: No Way, Daydreamer, Oh Yeah
Rating: 8/10

YUI - Can't Buy My Love

Release Date: 04/04/07
Genre: J-pop, J-rock

I discovered her from a friend's friend and my experience with japanese music prior was that it was the same as pop music in the U.S. But for YUI, she was genuine. She could play the guitar and it wasn't just sappy songs about love, it was real music from her life experiences. She was the Michelle Branch of Japan for me. Her debut album, "From Me to You" was the first J-pop album I could say I liked every song to. I didn't know she finished her second album, which was released earlier this year until it was already out on the internet. Needless to say, YUI kicks ass.

Review: With the exceptions of the English titles, I have no idea what each song of her's are about. Are her vocals amazing? I really don't know. The very first track "How Crazy" starts slow, but eventually becomes catchy, just how an opening track should do. "Rolling Star" has the best hook of the album and highly upbeat. Very rockish. "It's All Right" and "I Remember You" are both calming and the choruses are pretty. The latter has that extra element of strings so it's a quality ballad.

Track 5 is the super-short "Ruido," but it's so jammed pack, it feels complete. "Che.R.Ry" is a summer-breezy song. Like it's so filled with coldair and the way she sings in that 'lost of voice' tone gives it something different in her other songs. "Thank You My Teens" immediately starts with something made of love. I can just feel her heart in it.

"Umbrella" has attitude, while "Highway Chances" is very 90's alternative rock. My least favorite song goes to "Happy Birthday to You You." It's a fun song, but afterawhile, the chorus gets annoying. Maybe it's because I speak English and she's saying the words funny. "Winding Road" feels very mellow and stays that way. It doesn't really stand out after 10 songs.

Perhaps that song had to be average for the song following it. It's YUI's best song in my opinion, "Good-bye Days." Her voice is strong and emotional, her lyrics are...well I don't know what they are, but the mood is there. The music is perfect. There's even a tiny string solo right before the bridge where YUI tears it up. It took me a while to appreciate this song because it was so close to the end of the album, but it's amazing.

The album closer, "Why" feels like an ending. The music reaches for that final note.

Summary: Starts strong, ends strong. YUI reminds me so much of Michelle Branch when I first discovered her. She's young and able to craft hits after hits. Even at 50 minutes, I don't know if adding more songs would help. I think it's perfect the way it is. The 3 out of the last 4 tracks could use more excitement. Nevertheless, it's the best J-pop album I ever heard.

Key Tracks: Rolling Star, I Remember You, Good-Bye Days
Rating: 8/10