Raye’s debut album, My 21st Century Blues, triumphantly arrives after years of the singer-songwriter battling with an unsupportive record label. With this new project, released on Feb. 3, the British artist charts an independent path with the distribution and artist services company Human Re Sources. Pain, frustration, and the difficult[Read More…]
Tag: album review
Joesef’s ‘Permanent Damage’ delves into the messiness of breakups
On Jan. 13, Joesef released his debut album, Permanent Damage, a soulful and intimate ode to his chaotic romantic relationships. The ominous title describes the indelible mark that love and subsequent heartbreak can leave on a person. A honey-soaked voice and confessional, explorative lyrics characterize the Scottish singer-songwriter, who moved[Read More…]
‘The Loneliest Time’ offers up a mixed bag of delights and let-downs
As a long-time Carly Rae Jepsen lover, I have been eagerly awaiting new music since her last project, 2019’s Dedicated and the accompanying Dedicated Side B (2020). While Jepsen’s sixth studio album, The Loneliest Time, certainly doesn’t disappoint, it doesn’t quite knock your socks off either. Released on Oct. 21,[Read More…]
Alvvays embrace expansive shoegaze in a bold development of their sound
Though it took Alvvays five years to produce the follow-up to 2017’s Antisocialites, their third record Blue Rev proves to be worth the wait. The band grappled with several setbacks in the album’s production, including the theft of their early demo tapes, the destruction of their equipment in a basement[Read More…]
‘Hold The Girl’ explodes with originality, but is lost among the debris
Back in 2020, Rina Sawayama released her debut album, SAWAYAMA, and entered pop consciousness like how one would kick down a door: Fierce and unapologetic. Her sophomore endeavour, Hold The Girl, has Sawayama looking back through the very same doorway, retracing her footsteps down the path of her childhood. Released[Read More…]
Charli XCX’s ‘CRASH’ yields gems among the generic
If you’ve come to appreciate Charli XCX’s hyper-pop charm, you’ll love CRASH, released on March 18, a collection of dance tracks perfect to bob your head to. However, the fast-paced set lacks the expressionism that has defined Charli’s career so far. Especially following her latest, self-reflexive pandemic album, how i’m[Read More…]
Saba’s ‘Few Good Things’ is a musical scrapbook
Four years after the release of his second studio album, the pain-ridden CARE FOR ME, Chicago-based rapper Saba has returned with Few Good Things, released on Feb. 4. This new project takes a refreshing step away from the despair of its predecessor, with Saba reflecting upon what he loves and[Read More…]
‘Donda (Deluxe)’ is hardly an upgrade
Choosing to not leave his fans waiting, Kanye West released the deluxe version of his album Donda on Nov. 14, 11 weeks after the original, adding five new tracks. This release reinvigorated fans’ appetite for Ye, but only one memorable song serves to fill it; the new tracks leaving listeners[Read More…]
Playboi Carti’s ‘Whole Lotta Red’ is unique, for the best and the worst
Nearly two and a half years after the release of his debut studio album Die Lit, Playboi Carti dropped his long-awaited sophomore follow-up, Whole Lotta Red, on Dec. 25, 2020. When I tore into the record like a present under the proverbial Christmas tree, I soon came to realize[Read More…]
Chasing Thunder Road
Loss is hardly a new subject for Bruce Springsteen: Many of his most popular songs surround this absence from arena anthems like “Born in the USA”, to heart-wrenching ballads of dying dreams like “The River.” His new album, Letter to You, returns to this well once again, but with a[Read More…]
