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Showing posts from June, 2019

Two Door Cinema Club, False Alarm, Album Review

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Two Door Cinema Club False Alarm Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music Out of any artist to re-capture a retro atmosphere so effortlessly, I am pleasantly surprised that indie giants Two Door Cinema Club is one of those artists. In terms of how well I knew the band before this album, I only knew a small handful of their classic tunes. But with the band headlining the up and coming Truck Festival on Sunday (which I am very excited to be going to), I thought that now would be the best opportunity to really delve into their discography. To start off with, I listened to their newest album False Alarm , which was released last Friday. From the few tracks I listened to by Two Door before 2019, it was easy to see that they started off with a purely indie style, but as their discography expanded, the band seemed to be going into a much more electro-pop direction. I can't help but feel that this newest record, is what the electronic transition h

Lil Nas X, 7 EP, EP Review

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Lil Nas X 7 EP EP Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music The year of 2019 has presented us with quite a few innovative underdogs, but arguably the most prevalent of them all, is Lil Nas X. Responsible for one of the biggest guilty pleasure track of the entire year so far, Nas X quickly rose to fame with the unique blend of country and trap in the form of "Old Town Road". Part of me wishes that this track wasn't so overplayed, as it truly stands as an incredibly catchy bop (especially the remix with Billy-Ray Cyrus). My assumption was that "Old Town Road" was all that Nas X felt like he needed to leave his mark on 2019. However, I was pleased to find this EP, dropped by Nas X this Friday. While there was an evident amount of excitement, I was also a tiny bit worried before listening to this EP, as I wasn't sure just how much Nas X was going to push the whole country-trap aesthetic; was it going to become a bit of a gim

Jordan Rakei, Origin, Album Review

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Jordan Rakei Origin Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music My decision to listen to this album was a result of anticipated music being surprisingly scarce of late. However, I do love these kids of opportunities to discover new artists and potentially find a few hidden gems. The instantaneous comparison I would make to this album upon my first skim through the tracks would be that it's aesthetically similar to James Blake's Assume Form , one of the first great albums we received this year. However, there is definitely a more soulful and funky element to this album that what meets the eye. It goes without saying that the fact that it is June certainly helps further this a little (despite it not actually feeling an awful lot like summer so far), but this album has a similar level of ambience to Assume Form, but also has more of a feel-good vibe thanks to the more abundant instrumentation in some songs. The level of versatility on this album

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, And Now for the Whatchamacallit, Album Review

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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets And Now for the Whatchamacallit Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music It is near impossible for an artist to share similarities with so many existing artists. I say "near impossible" because somehow, someway, a band that I have recently discovered, known as Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, manage to pull it off perfectly on their latest record. On their third release, named  And Now for the Whatchamacallit , this band combines a colourful range of musical styles, making the tracks on this album sound like near inconceivable amalgamations of music from The Beatles, Mastodon, Royal Blood and Muse, just to name a few. this all culminates to create one of the most dynamic, exciting and fun pieces I have heard in a fair while, even with the overload of incredible music in recent months. I am a little bit late to the party with this review, with this new album being dropped on the 31st May. However, when I finally disc

Denzel Curry, ZUU, Album Review

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Denzel Curry ZUU Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music Denzel Curry, has been quite the prominent name in hip-hop in recent years. Following the critically acclaimed effort from the Florida rapper Ta13oo , released last year. It was both surprising and exciting to see that we'd be getting another album the following year. Admittedly Ta13oo was one of the many albums of 2018 that I just never really got round to listening to properly (or at least not enough for me to write a well thought out review). However, I definitely felt that his newest release ZUU was at least worth a listen, especially after his awesome cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade" he did a few months back. Naturally, this album is stylistically to the previously mentioned cover. But what surprised me is how well it engaged with me stylistically in comparison to Ta13oo . I understand that Ta13oo was created with what seemed like a three-phase

Skepta, Ignorance Is Bliss, Album Review

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Skepta Ignorance Is Bliss Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music The latest and fifth full-length record from UK MC Skepta, Ignorance Is Bliss, on the surface, wouldn't be an album I would normally go out of my way to listen to.  However, given the numerous songs he has featured in that I have enjoyed such as ASAP Rocky's "Praise The Lord (Da Shine)", and more recently slowthai's "Inglorious", I figured it was high time to give Skepta the benefit of the doubt and give this newest album of his a proper listen. What initially gripped me with this album's music upon skimming over a few tracks and dipping my toes into the grimy waters was in-fact its production. I was happy to realise this as I seem to have built up an assumption that the production behind many grime songs were quite simplistic, sharp and lacking in immersion. However, the musical content this album offered appeared to take things in a more

YONAKA, Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow, Album Review

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YONAKA Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow Album Review Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music YONAKA has been a name that's been fluttering around my city of Brighton for quite some time now. And while I never really gave it too much thought, I was wondering in the back of my mind when I'd be able to come across a full-length album of theirs. That moment finally came to fruition on Friday with their debut record Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow . Prior to the release of this debut album, I was lucky enough to see YONAKA perform live at the Prince Albert the Wednesday prior, and gave the pre-released title track a listen or two to tantalise my taste for YONAKA's music. Fortunately, I was instantly enchanted by both the title track and the live performance. Both seemed to convey a very authentic energy that also felt very engaging. The full album only elevated my existing excitement towards this band. The style that YONAKA have is incredibly solid an