Average Rating: 3.58 Rating Variance: 0.82 Objectivity Score: 77% (Well Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicKendrick Lamar To Pimp a ButterflyMiles Davis Kind of BlueThere's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. It's a classic. You already know that I'm sure. It doesn't waste your time, it feels consistent the whole through, and everything has a purpose. Everything feels genuine, and the songwriting is ludicrously influential. There's a reason for all this, and that reason is the headspace and genius of the Miles Davis and the record as a whole. The Hotelier Home, Like NoPlace Is ThereI seriously have no clue how I didn't find this album before today. This is fantastic, in almost every single way. Musicwise, the vocal melodies are on point, and so are the harmonies magnificently played on guitar. Really every performance on this record is super tight and feels super raw. I can't get enough of this kind of sound. Along with that, the lyrics aren't like many in its field. It's an extremely personal album and is not afraid to explore pretty much any avenue of grief you could go through. Overall, the songwriting, the performances are really tight mostly everywhere on this project. There are some parts that I feel could've used a little more. Other than that, this record is easily one of the best to come out in the pop-punk/indie/emo scene in a while, and there's not much that has come close to topping it. 4.5 superbConverge Jane DoeA lot of records want to be the next Jane Doe, and for good reason; this record is beyond visceral. Starting off with Concubine, one of the most technically proficient "death-to-your-neck" songs I've ever heard, and ends with the title track, a cathartic ending to a diverse, satisfying, and mostly-consistent record that Metalcore has ever been blessed with.Daughters You Won't Get What You WantJesus Christ. This album is so deeply disturbed and utterly fucked-up in so many ways, and it works. Really, really well. The discordant and tense feeling the whole album pushes is painfully dark and it's horrifying. Yet it feels fucking awesome. Even in the "mellower" parts, it's still anxious and suspenseful mostly the whole way through.Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d cityLoathe I Let It In And It Took EverythingMovements Feel SomethingAlmost everything on this project is ludicrously cohesive. This album wanted you to feel something, anything, and it did. The most standout part of this record is the performances and the writing for sure. The production was pretty standard for this kind of music, but that doesn't matter. This is damn good post-punk/emo. The vocal harmonies and guitar melodies on tracks like "Colorblind", or "Fever Dream" hit extremely well, while the near-perfect songwriting on songs like "Suffer Through" or even "Full Circle". I don't look at lyrics as much as I do the instrumentation of a record in question, because, for the most part, it's pretty standard for most records like this. This though, it's impossible to ignore. They're one of the greatest parts of the record. Overall, some slower parts don't take advantage of the fact that they're slow, but the rest is pretty solid the entire way through.4.0 excellentBest Witches WishesCounterparts Nothing Left to LoveIt's about as good as everyone's been saying. The band writes and performs their fucking heart out on this record. Easily some of the most dynamic, and harmonious songs they have ever put to tape are present on this album. There are brief periods of monotony that unfortunately bring it down, even after repeated listening. It sucks too because that monotony creeping around the corner every once in while contrasts heavily with the really great things about this project. Still, most of this metalcore album hits hard and hits home.Fair to Midland Arrows and AnchorsThis record is undoubtfully colorful and ambitious, and it pays off this time around. FFAM had some of the same instrumentation and concepts found on this record, but the rough mix didn't let those elements bleed through as much as probably intended. Here, those components shine through with the mix as both subtle when it needs to be, to prominent when it has to be. This is a much darker record in contrast to its predecessors. Its lyrics can be convoluted at some points, but it still gets its message across of the looming dread haunting the tracks. This album diverges from its core elements, and most of the time it still feels consistent. The interludes are the only glaring problem with the record. They are good points to catch your breath as to introduce and send a farewell to the front and the ladder parts of the album, but they aren't very good. It feels like they're wasting time at points instead of feeling brief and purposeful.Ghost Spirit HourglassHourglass gives off really strong Counterparts vibes, but it's not even close to a carbon copy. The screams on this album feel like they could've been on an old Converge record, but the aesthetics/artistic choices are what don't make it feel like I'm listening to the b-sides of a Converge/Counterparts crossover record. The recording is pretty raw and sloppy at points, but it's almost impossible to just write it off as not intentional an attempt to make it feel more personal. It's short, sweet, and to the point.Kendrick Lamar untitled unmastered.Kids See Ghosts Kids See GhostsLoathe Gored / New Faces in the DarkPeople are saying Loathe sounds like a mashup of Code Orange, Deftones, and Emmure. I'm gonna say yes, but on the other hand, no-one has ever labeled them the "Code Orange, Deftones, and Emmure Lovechild". Their sound borrows from a bit but still manages to be their sound, and it works incredibly well. If everything on this new album takes this direction, it could one of the greatest records of next year.Mom Jeans. Puppy LoveMouthBreather (USA-MA) PigThe breaks in between are haunting and subtly visceral such like the rest of the album. When everything else on the album is straight-forward visceral chaos, it's done in such a new refreshing way through the performances and writing. Fantastic.Movements No Good Left to GiveOrigami Angel Somewhere CityThis record just feels really good. It knows what it is, how to do it, and executes said thing really well. A mix of math rock, pop-punk, and emo is not hard to do half-assed, but the band knows how to take those elements, with a touch of songwriting prowess, and create music that's well composed and enjoyable the whole way through. This isn't the Citizen Kane of all music, but it doesn't have to be. For what it is, and what it's potential reads, this is a step up in the genre.Periphery Periphery (Instrumental)It says a lot that the same record without vocals is better than the one with Spencer Sotelo's frog croaks resembling aggressively performed human speech. Without the vocals though, you can soak in what's going on without any distractions, and there's quite a lot going on. A lot of these riffs don't feel uninspired, and the songwriting is adequate to know enough is enough. Even the 15 minute Magnum-Opus "Racecar" honestly feels like the easiest 15-minute song I've ever heard, which is fine in this context because the record knows it doesn't need to be a challenging listen. It's a Djent record for god's sake, but it's a damn good one. Slaughter Beach, Dog BirdieSwordfish RodiaThe Hotelier GoodnessTiny Moving Parts This Couch Is Long & Full of FriendshipTiny Moving Parts CelebrateTiny Moving Parts For the Sake of Brevity. Fishbowl3.5 greatDaughters DaughtersThis is one of the most discordant, noisy, rambunctious, tension-filled albums I've ever listened too. It works. It just works. It has enough variety to separate it from being another straight wall of noise and to keep it from sounding like it thinks it's something it's not. There are some moments where it seems the reason for the tracks on here is thematically the same in every track. It almost seems they want the vocals to do that job, but it's almost impossible to hear the vocals because of the loud, but consistent instrumentation.Empty Hope and The Loss of ItGood god, this album is pretty great. This album has a lot of infectious riffs and choruses all over it. The subtle diffusion of genres on more than half of these songs is amazing. In the department of dynamics, this album knows more often than not how to use it to its advantage. There are about 4 tracks that are straight forward metalcore with often the same sounding riffs, song structures, and timbre without it being consistent across those tracks. There's also a couple of tracks where I wished for the song to keep its dark tone and feeling through the choruses, it would've added a more impactfully darker flavor on more than a surface level. Overall, this album has flaws, but it's still worth a listen. I will be on the lookout for Empty's future releases.Holding Absence Holding AbsenceSome of the tracks where they pull the huge hard-hitting chords and bombastic drum hits with stripped-down piano arrangements don't feel as earned when put against songs like "Monochrome" or "Wilt", where that same emotional energy is achieved on those songs so much better. Overall though, the record is extremely moving, raw but well performed. I absolutely adore the post-hardcore elements mixed with beautiful flowing elements of ambiance behind it all. Midwest Pen Pals Inside JokesMom Jeans. best budsRich People Grace SessionThe Hotelier It Never Goes OutTiny Moving Parts SwellTurnover Peripheral VisionI'm all about the aesthetic of the production. It's pretty captivating in plenty of moments. Along with the rather consistent guitar timbres across the entire project, this is a beautiful sounding album. It never feels like it needs to veer away from the overall sound very often because it's done in a super cool way on every track. That's often because of the songwriting and implementations of subtlety the entire way through. On the other hand, A couple of these songs feel uninspired. Like the band had a handful of good songs for an EP's length, but they knew they needed a couple more songs to adequately fill the 35-45 minute traditional standard.3.0 goodAaron Diehl Space Time ContinuumThis is something that I wouldn't give repeated listens beyond maybe 2 or 3 times. It's good for what it is, and it's by no means bad. It's main ideas and intended catharsis do get across well. By all accounts, this is something I enjoy for the most part. There is no major problem I have with anything on this album, it's just not all there for me. Maybe it's that some tracks drone on a little too long, I could be that some tracks express the theme of the song excessively. I'm just not thoroughly impressed enough to give it above a 3.Bring Me The Horizon AmoI want to say this is their best album, granted the bar has always been close to a 3.5 their entire career. This album has a lot of elements that hold it together most of the time the entire way through. I've never looked at this band like it they were the second coming, and I don't think I ever will. That doesn't matter though, this is unironically good pop/rock/alternative/electronic with each having their unique way of spinning a darker tone/timbre on it.Kendrick Lamar DAMN.Tiny Moving Parts Pleasant Living2.5 averageBring Me The Horizon That's the SpiritOk, no shit. This is not their greatest effort. Everyone already knows that. Is it this grand purposeful disconnect between their fans and themselves? Probably not. It shows here. They genuinely enjoy making this kind of music. Maybe it's the production here, but it seems like this was a breath of fresh air for them as artists. I respect that, especially because for their first actual attempt at something like this, It's not bad. The songwriting isn't painfully mediocre, it's pretty enjoyable at some points, but some of the bells and whistles on these tracks aren't necessary to any degree. I think they fully realized that on their later works when they went grimier and darker. Don't get me wrong, it's not revolutionary, and something tells me they never will be, but it's not that bad.Death Cab for Cutie The Blue EPFrom a songwriting and production standpoint, this EP is not very great. The ladder-half of the EP are the only songs that stand out. A lot of it is over-done, boring attempts at what made them good in the early 2000s. It's only the times where they experiment that's pretty cool.Parting Gift EnsomI feel this band has a lot of potential to grow into their own. This sounds like the vocalist took a little too much from Holding Absence, while desperately throwing in a spin of their doing. It's still listenable, but I can't give anything more than that.2.0 poorDisillusion The LiberationThe first couple of tracks on here are the most standard, bland, and unnecessarily long tracks with no right being as pretentious as it is. The ladder-half of the album isn't too bad. There are moments on the back-half that understand its place on the record before it bursts back into more standard melodic progressive death metal. This album didn't start strong and it almost didn't stick the landing, but it had enough good moments and performances to be listenable.Sleeping With Sirens How It Feels to Be LostThere are only about 2 or 3 songs on this album that diverge from anything else on this album. Other than that, this album is almost the same song played in 11 different ways. It's not unlistenable by any means, but it's also not something that you'd listen to in one sitting and get anything out of. It's like one of those albums that you would play as background noise. There's nothing that stands out that's worth listening to for more than 30 seconds.1.5 very poorSuffocation …Of the Dark LightThis record is almost insultingly boring. I almost guarantee I could've fallen asleep to this album after about 8 minutes in. Suffocation brings absolutely nothing new to the table conceptually. The songwriting is so predictable and standard that it's almost aggravating and definitely disappointing. It's not even very listenable at points. When this album asks for your attention at certain points, you've probably completely tuned it out just because of how bland it's been up to that point.XXXTENTACION Bad Vibes ForeverAlmost none of this stands out. Then again, there's not much they could do, this being a posthumous album from XXXTENTACION. Oh, wait. How about not making it? We'll never know what these unfinished recordings for songs could have been, and the attempt at making them somewhat finished from the minds of other people/artists, and then proceeding to throw them on an album is insulting. I have to admit, some of these recordings feel like they have potential, but it only helps reminisce of what could have been instead of expressing what he would've done. It just does not work.1.0 awfulWhy Don't We 8 LettersThere's nothing I can say about this project that can't be said about any other album copying every other album in its field. It's not good, it's riding the line of being boring or unintentionally funny. This album seems like it wants to be inventive with "relatable" love predicaments that we all encounter, but one mantra of "8 Letters" doesn't convey that well when the rest of the album doesn't come close to any substantial inventive subject matter that hasn't been said by other artists in the same field. The "8 Letters" theme isn't very creative either. It reads like something I'd find on Tumblr in about 5 seconds searching the "love" board.
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