By Nicholas Kobe, Contributor
[Cactus Jack; 2023]
Rating: 2/10
Key tracks: “If I had”, “Bus Stop”, “LoveSickness”
Texas native Don Toliver has been making major waves in music since around 2018. He released his first album Donny Womack and had a prominent feature on CAN’T SAY by Travis Scott. Despite how long Toliver has been around, it feels like he only picked up real traction in the past year or so, or at least, got on my radar.
Category: Reviews
Album Review: Paramore – This Is Why
By Roman Salomone, Contributor[Atlantic Records; 2023]Rating: 8/10 Key tracks: “This Is Why”, “Big Man, Little Dignity”, “Figure 8”, “Thick Skull” Let’s take a second to travel back in time a decade ago. Paramore just released their fourth full-length album: a boldly self-titled double LP which was easily one of the most ambitious releases mainstream rock…
Album Review: BabyTron – Out On Bond
By Cody Englander, Contributor
[The Hip Hop Lab Records; 2023]
Rating: 4/10
Key tracks: “A2Z”, “Overthinking”
The story of BabyTron’s latest EP may be more entertaining than the EP itself. Much like the title suggests, after being arrested for drug possession, he got set out on bond, and recorded part of this 12 minute EP on the road directly after getting out. This EP is coming off of the success of Babytron’s success of his last album, Bin Reaper 3: New Testament, widely agreed to be one of his better works by fans and critics alike. Babyton addresses his arrest on the very first line of the project, “Stop saying free me, I got out the next day, man.” While this EP may not be high art, the context of this 5 song EP really helps to understand how we got the project that we did.
Album Review: Mac DeMarco – Five Easy Hot Dogs
By Devon Risner, Contributor [Mac’s Record Label, 2023] Rating 6/10 Key Tracks: “Victoria”, “Crescent City” Whether DeMarco is retiring is still up for debate. Entering 2023 with a new record, Five Easy Hot Dogs, it leaves to question if he will quit at his peak. Moving away from his younger sound of “the laid-back prince…
Album Review: Pierce The Veil – The Jaws of Life
By Nicholas Kobe, Contributor [Fearless Records; 2023] Rating 5/10 Key Tracks: “Death of an Executioner“, “The Jaws of Life”, “So Far So Fake“ San Diego rock band Pierce The Veil are a group that feels both surprisingly old and young at the exact same time. Formed in 2006, the band has been kicking for almost…
Single Review: PinkPantheress – Boy’s a liar Pt. 2
By Cody Englander, Contributor
[Warner Music UK; 2023]
Rating: 8/10
In a surprising turn of events, one of the top songs of the month is a sequel to a PinkPantheress track, this time featuring Bronx rapper Ice Spice. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” is a fun single that has more replay value than the original, even if the only major change is the inclusion of Ice Spice as a feature.
Album Review: Parannoul – After the Magic
By Ethan Hofer, Staff Writer
[POCLANOS; 2023]
Rating: 8/10
Key tracks: “Polaris”, Parade”, “After the Magic”
Shoegaze, known for its popularity mostly in the European scene, has truly shown how artists and bands internationally interpret the genre. Anonymous South Korean musician Parannoul has set the standard for modern-day shoegaze, especially on their debut record To See the Next Part of the Dream, known for its noisy, maximalist instrumentals. After the Magic follows a similar pattern to great effect.
Album Review: Show Me the Body – Trouble The Water
By: Liam Syrvalin, Contributor [Loma Vista Recordings, 2022] Rating: 9/10 Key Tracks: “Loose Talk”, “Radiator”, “WW4“ Within every genre of music, there are bands that serve to push the boundaries of the style of music they subscribe to. Show Me the Body is one of these bands, continually challenging traditional ideas of what hardcore music…
Album Review: Jeff Rosenstock & Laura Stevenson – Younger Still EP
By Roman Salomone, Contributor [Polyvinyl Records; 2022] Rating: 7/10 Key Tracks: “Razor Love”, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” Being the unstoppable and prolific machine that he is, Jeff Rosenstock has teamed up with longtime collaborator Laura Stevenson (both formerly in Bomb the Music Industry!) to bless the world with another release at the tail end…
Album Review: The Backseat Lovers – Waiting to Spill
By: Grace Koennecke, Columns Editor Capitol Records; 2022 Rating: 5/10 Key tracks: “Close Your Eyes”, “Growing/Dying”, “Snowbank Blues”, “Follow the Sound” The Backseat Lovers rose to fame with their debut album, When We Were Friends, back in 2019 after its lead single, “Kilby Girl”, won over fans of the indie-rock genre. Since then, the band,…
Album Review: Inclination – Unaltered Perspective
By Liam Syrvalin, Contributor [Pure Noise Records, 2022] Rating: 9/10 Key Tracks: (all of them but) “Thoughts and Prayers”, “A Decision, Commitment to Self“ Whenever I talk about music with other people, I always tell them to give hardcore albums a chance. Louisville straight-edge hardcore band Inclination’s new album Unaltered Perspective is a perfect example…
Album Review: Poppy – Stagger
By Emma Rickett, Contributor
[Republic Records; 2022]
Rating: 4/10
Key tracks: “Pocket”, “Stagger”
Moriah Periera, who started her career on YouTube making surreal videos under the alias That Poppy, has carried her uniqueness through all her creative works. Songs like “BLOODMONEY” and “I Disagree” are glitchy nu-metal compared to her first album, 3:36 (Music to Sleep To), which sounds exactly like music to sleep to. Periera is no stranger to genre-hopping and blending her favorite genres together in a cohesive, digestible way. Her new EP, Stagger, is a genre she shouldn’t have hopped to.
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