By Andrew Breazeale, Staff Writer [Republic; 2019] Rating: 8.5/10 Key tracks: “NASA”, “bad idea”, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” Pop-princess Ariana Grande makes her triumphant return with her fifth studio album, thank u, next. Grande released this album just six months after her fourth album Sweetener, an uncommon feat in the pop industry….
Tag: Album Review
Album Review: Cherry Glazerr – Stuffed and Ready
By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Secretly Canadian; 2019] Rating 7.5/10 Key tracks: “Daddi”, “Juicy Socks”, “Stupid Fish” Cherry Glazerr triumphantly return with their third studio album, Stuffed and Ready. Filled with rage, self-loathing, sexiness, power and overall weirdness, the trio relives moments from their previous albums and pushes them forward with a more mature approach….
Album Review: Weezer – Weezer (Teal Album)
By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Atlantic; 2019] Rating: 3.5/10 Key tracks: “Africa”, “Take on Me”, “Happy Together” When Weezer dropped their cover of “Africa” this summer, we thought: “Of course! Weezer does it for the memes! Haha so funny!” and we thought nothing more. We were wrong… So wrong. The success of “Africa” and harmless…
Album Review: Future – Future Hndrxx Presents: The WIZRD
By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Epic/Freebandz; 2019] Rating: 6.5/10 Key tracks: “Never Stop”, “Crushed Up”, “Baptiize” With 20 tracks and clocking in at just over an hour, Future Hndrxx Presents: The WIZRD marks Future’s seventh studio album. This album is freaking massive and covers themes of power, fame, mental state and drug abuse — the…
Album Review: Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Jagjaguwar, 2017] Rating: 8/10 Key tracks: “No One’s Easy to Love”, “Jupiter 4”, “Seventeen” Taking time to act in a TV show and raise her young son, Sharon Van Etten’s been off the radar for four years. Fittingly, Van Etten’s fifth album, Remind Me Tomorrow, brings sonic maturity with its…
Album Review: Tyler, The Creator – Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch
By Kwase Lane, Contributor [Columbia; 2018] Rating: 8/10 Key tracks: “Hot Chocolate”, “Big Bag”, “When Gloves Come Off” Tyler, The Creator’s latest EP is the Christmas miracle that no one knew they wanted until it came. During this most festive of seasons, many artists get overtaken by the all-consuming spirit of wintertide when they decide…
Album Review: Anderson .Paak – Oxnard
By Kwase Lane, Contributor [Aftermath; 2018] Rating: 7/10 Key tracks: “6 Summers”, “Cheers”, “Sweet Chick” In his third studio album and final “beach trilogy” entry, Anderson Paak showers the auditory canvas with musical ideas of different tints and tones. Oxnard shows how far Anderson has come from Venice, even if it isn’t as critically acclaimed…
Album Review: The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
By Lane Moore, Contributor [Napalm; 2018] Rating: 5/10 Key tracks: “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”, “Solara”, “Seek and You Shall Destroy” The stone-washed arena grunge of The Smashing Pumpkins was a defining sound of the ‘90s, but the group found themselves at an impasse after the release of 1998’s Adore. As the band fell apart and stumbled…
Album Review: Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – The Capitol Studio Sessions
By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Decca; 2018] Rating: 7/10 Key tracks: “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “Me And My Shadow”, “This Bitter Earth” Is there anything Jeff Goldblum can’t do? Because apparently, he is a pretty good jazz piano player and is even better at gathering people to sing with him. Though he graces…
Album Review: Lil Peep – Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2
By Lane Moore, Contributor [Columbia; 2018] Rating: 3.5/10 Key tracks: “Life is Beautiful”, “Fingers” Lil Peep’s first posthumous record, Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2, resembles found footage that was sculpted into a full project by Peep’s producer, Smokeasac. Whether it is the result of the record’s unfinished, puzzle-piece complexion or Smokeasac’s tampering, Come…
Album Review J Mascis – Elastic Days
By Abby Jeffers, Contributor [Sub Pop; 2018] Rating: 6/10 Key tracks: “Drop Me”, “Elastic Days”, “Web So Dense” Marketed as a slight electric shift from his previous acoustic albums, Several Shades of Why and Tied To A Star, J Mascis released another project in a string of solo albums, Elastic Days. The frontman of Dinosaur…
Album Review: Charles Bradley – Black Velvet
By Kwase Lane, Contributor [Dunham; 2018] Rating: 8/10 Key tracks: “Slip Away”, “(I Hope You Find) The Good Life”, “Fly Little Girl” Serving as a sort of final gift from the Screaming Eagle of Soul, Black Velvet is a lovingly curated collection of covers and original compositions by Charles Bradley. After being taken from the…
