By Ethan Bloomfield, Contributor[Merge; 2020]Rating: 6/10 Key Tracks: “The Last Place I Saw You Alive”, “Bell Swamp Connection”, “Getting Into Knives” What can be said about The Mountain Goats that hasn’t been? John Darnielle and company have created 13 studio albums and some of the biggest indie classics for the better part of three decades….
Tag: Album Review
Album Review: Ariana Grande – Positions
By Lauren McCain, Columns Editor [Republic Records; 2020]Rating: 7.5/10 Key tracks: “positions”, “34+35”, “safety net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)”, “pov” After the whirlwind of her albums Sweetener and thank u, next less than five months apart in 2019, in 2020, Ariana Grande brings a more intimate, sultry R&B sound to the table with Positions. Positions makes…
Album Review: Tricot – 10
By: Kwase Lane, Features Editor
[cutting edge/8902 Records; 2020]
Rating: 9/10
10, Tricot’s second album of the year, demonstrates an almost unbelievable amount of technical and conceptual refinement compared to their previous projects. Like always, the quartet weaves together complex polyrhythms, gentle melodies and impassioned cries, but 10 is marked by the sense of ease that each piece generates. The album flows from aggressive guitar riffs to mild, barely whispered vocals, all the while being imbued with an intricate serenity that feels unknowable and familiar at the same time.
Run The Jewels releases shirts with a purpose
By Lauren Patterson, Copy Editor Hip-hop duo Run The Jewels have announced a limited edition T-shirt collection, “Hold Our Hands,” with Charitees. The announcement came Monday via Twitter, urging voting and supporting organizations. All proceeds from the tees go to corresponding charities, Brooklyn Vegan reported. Read more: Japanese electronic group Black Boboi announce new album…
Album Review: Touché Amoré – Lament
By Jonah Krueger, News Editor[Epitaph; 2020]Rating: 8.5/10 Key tracks: “Come Heroine”, “Reminders”, “Limelight”, “Deflector” Touché Amoré has rightly become an emo A-lister, managing to vary its approach to songwriting while remaining remarkably consistent in quality with each release. Yet, the glamorous rise of the band was abruptly halted with the release of their fourth album. …
Album Review: Machinedrum – A View of U
By Kiah Easton, Editorial Director[Ninja Tune; 2020]Rating: 5.5/10 Key tracks:”Kane Train”, “Believe in U”, “Inner Eye” Machinedrum, a.k.a. Travis Stewart, delivers a product fitting for his moniker. A View of U is a clean, percussion-heavy project hosting a total of nine different features, from Father to Tigran Hamasyan. Reflecting this lengthy list of collaborators, the…
Album Review: Teenage Halloween – Teenage Halloween
By Jonah Krueger, News Editor
[Don Giovanni Records; 2020]
Rating: 7/10
Key tracks: “Drown”, “Racehorse”, “Turn Right, Goes Straight”
New Jersey power-punk collective Teenage Halloween may have just served up the sweetest existentially-concerned cocktail this side of Jeff Rosenstock. One part Pacific Northwest indie, two parts California ska/pop-punk, with a dash of Springsteen and modern folk-punk for garnish, Teenage Halloween’s self-titled debut is a satisfyingly melodic crowd-pleaser.
Album Review: A.G. Cook – Apple
By Kiah Easton, Editorial Director[PC Music; 2020]Rating: 6.5/10 Key tracks: “Oh yeah”, “Beautiful Superstar”, “The Darkness” Apple is the second full-length album from PC Music founder A.G. Cook. His first LP, 7G, came out less than two months ago and consisted of 49 songs, lasting more than two and a half hours. Apple fits much…
Album Review: Joji – Nectar
By Ethan Bloomfield, Contributor[88rising; 2020]Rating: 8/10 Key Tracks: “Run”, “Afterthought”, “Like You Do” Nectar is the highly anticipated, second full-length release of lo-fi and R&B artist George Miller, aka Joji. Dropping almost two full years after Ballads 1, Joji takes his signature sound to a much cleaner, more focused and emotionally mature place on Nectar. …
Album Review: Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
By Keri Johnson, Copy Editor [Epic; 2020] Rating: 10/10 Key tracks: All of them?! “Shameika”, “Relay”, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”, “Newspaper”, “Ladies”, “Cosmonauts”, “For Her” Where to start with Fiona Apple? Well, anywhere — start here, now, with her new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Fetch the Bolt Cutters is classic Fiona Apple. The record…
Album Review: Arca – KiCk i
By Kiah Easton, Editorial Director[XL Recordings; 2020]Rating: 7/10 Key tracks: “Time”, “Mequetrefe ”, “La Chiqui” KiCk i is the first studio album in over three years from Alejandra Ghersi, more popularly known as Arca. Within these three years, Arca went through somewhat of a transformation within the public eye and publicly stated her non-binary identity…
Album Review: Charli XCX – how i’m feeling now
how i’m feeling now was born within and shaped by the current state of the world. Charli XCX, less than a year since her last project Charli, capitalized on the unique situations of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than growing sedentary in isolation, she took action using the internet to collaborate – not only with peers, but also fans.
