I'm not as big a fan of this mixtape as I was of Barter 6, but it's fine for what it is. It's all over the place, as Young Thug often is, and when he does pop into a song, he does fairly well. My biggest complaint, though, is that there isn't enough of Young Thug here. This album is exceptionally narrow, it's clogged up with guest spots and doesn't give enough time for Young Thug to really get anything going. The guest spots aren't bad, but I would've rather heard more of Young Thug and less of them. Overall though, an above average album, a couple of pretty solid tracks, the rest was just alright. _________________ Progressive Rock
Somewhere between Wilco and The Hold Steady falls Pinegrove. Lyrically they're very similar to The Hold Steady's descriptive, imaginative lyrics, with an alt-country kind of feel that's very reminiscent of Wilco. Stephens Hall is a pretty good songwriter, he lays everything out bare, if something is screwed up, he'll straight up tell you it's screwed up. If something is wrong, he'll tell you it's wrong. There's no mixing signals with Hall, he's direct and he's honest, and that's where the strength of his songwriting lies. His emotional, poignant lyrics are all the more emphasized with music that conveys emotion as effective as any rock band this side of Arcade Fire. This album is intimate, and it's that intimacy that makes it so good. _________________ Progressive Rock
If Obscura can do anything well, it's play fast, and the certainly do that on this album. If you're into technical death metal, then this is for you. Obscura blast past you with ungodly amounts of skill that will drop your jaw. The composition of this album is downright impressive, with a very metallic jazz feel, fretless bass and fretless guitars creating music that almost sounds unstable, but is completely cohesive and together. Whenever there's a solo on this album, it commands your attention. None of it is mindless, none of it is just showing off, it's all purposeful, and it's all different. Whether they're playing with harmonics or making strange noises, the guitars are always doing something and it's usually something really interesting. If you like tech death metal, then you'll love this. _________________ Progressive Rock
I think what I love best about this album is how loose it feels. It feels very improvisational, like no one song is completely committed to any singular idea. The music feels loose, but in reality, the band is incredibly tight. They play off each other exceptionally well. They seem to be a group of musicians who love making pop music but like to incorporate other influences as well. The first half of this album is the best, in my opinion, "Hatimanin" into "Light" is probably the best two tracks on the album, then a couple tracks later, we probably get the next best track on the album, "Jewels Of Crime". The only knock I would have against this album is that some of the songs go on a bit longer than they need to, but it's not enough to detract from the album in any meaningful way. Overall, it's a really really good indie psych blues album. _________________ Progressive Rock
It wouldn't be wrong to think that there's nothing new that can be done in rock music. Over the past 60 years, a lot has been done in rock music, and even more has been copied and done to death, so when you look at Night Beats and see that they're a psych-rock band, it wouldn't be wrong to think "Ugh. Another one." because psych-rock has been done over and over again. But even though that may be the case, Night Beats do their own thing here. Their influences are obvious, lots of T. Rex, lots of 13th Floor Elevators, but they don't sound like cheap imitations of those bands, they do their own thing. It's not entirely unique, but it's done exceptionally well. Night Beats have a strong Texan psych-rock influence too, you can hear that in the somewhat Latin feel on some of the songs (most notably "Egypt Berry"). The songs have a lot of muscle, they power forward and never slow down, there's virtually no filler on this album, which is pretty impressive for a 12-track psych-rock album. It's a worthwhile listen. _________________ Progressive Rock
A raw, rockin' country album with some garage rock influences. It's not bad at all, Aubrie Sellers is a fine cournty singer, if a little indistinguishable from many of the other women country singers out there, and I give her a lot of credit for really establishing her identity on this album. She comes right out of the gate at full-speed, there isn't anything slowing her down here, it's all raw and fast. That's both a strength and a weakness though, because while the "garage country" sound is cool and different, over the 48-minute course of this album, the songs tend to blend into each other. On occasion, the music can get a little aimless and a little sloppy, but generally this isn't a bad album, it's enjoyable for the most part. _________________ Progressive Rock
Brooke Waggoner is kind of all over the place. This album never settles, it's constantly changing and evolving. From straightforward rockers to lush, orchestral pop. In most cases, that might make the album sound disjointed, but Waggoner guides you through it as it slowly shifts so that by the time you hit the closing track, you realize you're listening to this beautiful orchestral pop song and you're not 100% sure how you got there but you did, and somehow it all makes sense. Waggoner's lyrics are honest and simple, and the music is intricate and exceptionally well-composed, making for an exceptionally interesting album. _________________ Progressive Rock
This is one odd album. It's probably best described as progressive metal. It might really be a progressive rock record, but there are certain metal elements that are present throughout this whole album that take it to progressive metal, and it's certainly an interesting one. There are moments where you'll be like "what is going on here" and then you'll have moments where you're just in awe of the pure skill that's being put on display here. I would say that the album goes on a little longer than it needs to, but it's not too bad. Overally, it's without a doubt, an impressive album, just from a composition and execution standpoint, and it's a really interesting prog metal album. _________________ Progressive Rock
This album is fine. It's not bad, it's not great, it's just fine. Animal Collective carry with them an expectation for an album. After releasing a handful of now-classics, when you hear about an Animal Collective album, you almost expect magic. Centipede Hz proved that they don't always fulfill that expectation, and Painting With has furthered that. This sound exactly like you would expect from Animal Collective, a schizophrenic, epileptic series of stimuli that sounds like it's constantly on the verge of insane chaos. But they reel it in to a point. The album is a bit all over the place, on previous albums, they've maintained a certain feel, a specific atmosphere throughout the entire album. This album doesn't do that, this album feels like Animal Collective trying to sound like "Animal Collective" in the abstract. Regardless, there are some highlights, the opening track, "Golden Gal", "Recycling", all very good songs to add to their catalog, but the rest is just average. _________________ Progressive Rock
Insane, frenetic, almost chaotic beat-based electronic music. It's a short album (really it's an EP), but it packs a serious punch in the short time that it plays. While it gets crazy, there are breaks, it's an excellent balance between the chaotic beats and introspective atmospheric pieces. It'd be reasonable to think that that would make it sound fragmented, but it doesn't, the balance is nearly perfect and those atmospheric parts work more as breathers from the barrage rather than out-of-place fragments. _________________ Progressive Rock
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RockyRaccoon
