Might as well

[Space-Dementia]

November 23, 2017
Be by Common
Be (intro) - 8/10
The Corner - 9/10
Go! - 9/10
Faithful - 8/10
Testify - 7/10
Love Is... - 8/10
Chi-City - 8/10
The Food (live) - 8/10
Real People - 8/10
They Say - 8/10
It's Your World - 8/10
He seems like the Joey Badass of ten years ago. His beats are all so soulful and such feel-good throwbacks (it helps that Kanye made most of them), and while the lyrics and themes can get a bit cheesy, the delivery is on point, and the rhymes and wordplay are unreal. 8/10, Best Song: The Corner.

Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg
Ring-A-Ring O' Roses - 8/10
Lying with You - 8/10
Kate - 8/10
Deadly Valentine - 8/10
I'm a Lie - 8/10
Rest - 7/10
Sylvia Says - 8/10
Songbird in a Cage - 8/10
Dans vos airs - 8/10
Les Crocodiles - 9/10
Les Oxalis - 8/10
It's hard to pick a standout song because they all pretty much follow the same formula: unorthodox chord progression, melodramatic orchestration, verses in French, choruses in English, but the most important thing all songs have in common is the wonderful mixture between simple dance pop and complex orchestral pop. 8/10, Best Song: Les Crocodiles.

[Space-Dementia]

December 1, 2017
The Dusk in Us by Converge
A Single Tear - 8/10
Eye of the Quarrel - 8/10
Under Duress - 7/10
Arkhipov Calm - 7/10
I Can Tell You About Pain - 7/10
The Dusk in Us - 8/10
Wildlife - 8/10
Murk & Marrow - 7/10
Trigger - 8/10
Broken By Light - 7/10
Cannibals - 8/10
Thousands of Miles Between Us - 8/10
Reptilian - 8/10
For my first Converge record, this is a great start. They seem to be sure of their sound, and it'll be interesting to go back a couple years and see how they sounded when they were just beginning. 7/10, Best Song: A Single Tear.

[Space-Dementia]

December 2, 2017
Who Told You To Think by Milo
Poet (Black Bean) - 8/10
Landscaping - 8/10
Call + Form (Picture) - 8/10
Magician (Suture) - 8/10
The Young Man Has A Point (Nurture) - 8/10
Pablum // CELESKINGIII - 8/10
Note to Mrs - 7/10
Paging Mr. Bill Nunn - 8/10
Sorcerer - 8/10
Take Advantage of the Naysayer - 8/10
Idk - 7/10
Yet Another - 8/10
Ornette's Swan Song - 8/10
Embroidering Machine - 8/10
Rapper - 7/10
This kinda sounds like if Earl Sweatshirt were happier and less... lo-if? I'm not really sure how to describe this sound. It's not quite jazz rap, not really experimental... Milo's just in his own world. I feel like right from the first song he sucks you into his mind and the recurring ideas that he can't shake off. It's hard to figure out what point he's specifically trying to make, because he floats around ideas like "real rap", racial issues, and stupid cultural phenomena, but he never really sticks to one idea. That's fine though, because I'm mostly here for the beats and flow anyway, and in those areas he succeeds. 7.5/10, Best Song: Landscaping.

Forever by Code Orange
Forever - 8/10
Kill the Creator - 7/10
Real - 7/10
Bleeding in the Blur - 8/10
The Mud - 8/10
The New Reality - 7/10
Spy - 8/10
Ugly - 8/10
No One is Untouchable - 8/10
Hurt Goes On - 7/10
dream2 - 7/10
They're dealing with a large variety of influences here. "Hurt Goes On" sounds like Nine Inch Nails 2.0, while "Bleeding in the Blur" is almost similar to Queens of the Stone Age or Mastodon. But throughout all the sound changes, the band is able to keep their energy high and the noise loud. While there are some moments that do nothing for me, at its best, Forever is loud, pounding, headbang-inducing noise. 6.5/10, Best Song: Forever.

[Space-Dementia]

December 3, 2017
Antisocialites by Alvvays
In Undertow - 9/10
Dreams Tonite - 8/10
Plimsoll Punks - 8/10
Your Type - 8/10
Not My Baby - 8/10
Hey - 8/10
Lollipop (Ode to Jim) - 7/10
Already Gone - 7/10
Saved by a Wolf - 8/10
Forget about Life - 8/10
Man I wish they released this album back in the spring cause this would have been perfect summer music. Their sound is somewhere between Blondie, Angel Olsen, REM and Beach House. The choruses are catchy, the vocals are easygoing, it's not exactly a throwback, more like an 80s vibe but it's clearly a modern record. Basically, this album is so damn catchy you'll get a foot cramp from all the tapping. 7.5/10, Best Song: In Undertow.

[Space-Dementia]

December 4, 2017
Jane Doe by Converge
Concubine - 7/10
Fault and Fracture - 8/10
Distance and Meaning - 8/10
Hell to Pay - 8/10
Homewrecker - 8/10
The Broken Vow - 8/10
Bitter and Then Some - 8/10
Heaven in Her Arms - 8/10
Phoenix in Flight - 9/10
Phoenix in Flames - N/A
Thaw - 7/10
Jane Doe - 9/10
Listening to this album for the first few times today was an unforgettable experience. I'm not really a metal fan. In fact the main reason I even listen to any metal at all is because one of my best friends loves it and is always telling me to check bands out. While I try to like every album he tells me to check out, a lot of the time it's just something that I could never see myself returning to. But it's albums like this one that truly sell me on the genre. Admittedly, on first listen it took about five or six songs to really start to get a grasp on what I was listening to, but after three listens I'm hooked. While some of these bands came or peaked after Jane Doe, the album sounds like the lovechild of Swans, Queens of the Stone Age, Deafheaven, and Electric Wizard. It's extremely heavy, but they still find a way to differentiate between chords and bring out the beauty in some of the chord progressions and riffs (something that I feel other bands like Nails have struggled with). Other things that really hook me are some of the odd time signatures and the diversity in sound. "Concubine" sounds like a song off Dillinger Escape Plan's Calculating Infinity, "Phoenix in Flight" sounds almost like an Electric Wizard song with the slow drums and sludgy guitar tone, and "Jane Doe" sounds like a heavier Swans song. While it's impossible to understand what he's singing, the lyrics shocked me because of their beauty (although I've read that some of the lyrics they have written aren't actually the lyrics that are sung, a concept that intrigues me). Overall, while The Dusk in Us urged me to look more into the band, Jane Doe demonstrates that Converge truly is something special. 8/10, Best Song: Jane Doe.

[Space-Dementia]

December 5, 2017
Is The Is Are by DIIV
Out of Mind - 8/10
Under the Sun - 8/10
Bent (Roi's Song) - 7/10
Dopamine - 7/10
Blue Boredom (Sky's Song) - 7/10
Valentine - 7/10
Yr Not Far - 7/10
Take your Time - 7/10
Is The Is Are - 7/10
Mire (Grant's Song) - 7/10
Incarnate Devil - 7/10
(Fuck) - 6/10
Healthy Moon - 7/10
Loose Ends - 7/10
(Napa) - 6/10
Dust - 6/10
Waste of Breath - 6/10
This would have been much better if it was about half an hour. At this rate, this is one hour-long song that doesn't change the whole time. It sounds like they found a sound that sounded nice on a song and instead of moving on from there they just thought of 16 other riffs they can play with the exact same sound on the guitar and not change anything int the production. It's not often that I dislike such a straightforward rock album this much, but by the time track 4 or so came around I realized I wouldn't like this album, and by the time I was 12 tracks in i could barely take it anymore. I'm glad they found a sound that works for them, but they need to do something else to keep their music interesting. 5.5/10, Best Song: Under the Sun.

[Space-Dementia]

December 9, 2017
No Shape by Perfume Genius
Otherside - 8/10
Slip Away - 8/10
Just Like Love - 8/10
Go Ahead - 7/10
Valley - 8/10
Wreath - 8/10
Every Night - 8/10
Choir - 8/10
Die 4 You - 8/10
Sides - 7/10
Braid - 7/10
Run Me Through - 8/10
Alan - 7/10
I hear some Talk Talk, some Van Morrison, and some Pink Floyd. This is a big step forward from Too Bright. Besides the fantastic "Queen", there wasn't much on that album that held my interest. But here, while there's not a standout track like before, there's more depth. From a compositional standpoint there's not much going on in these tracks, but the lush and incredibly detailed production adds so much to the project. Those first few piano notes on "Otherside" sound like they're in the room with you. While I think he could have written some more fundamentally interesting songs, Perfume Genius is growing as an artist. 7/10, Best Song: Wreath

[Space-Dementia]

December 17, 2017
A Hairshirt Of Purpose by Pile
Worms - 8/10
Hissing for Peace - 8/10
Rope’s Length - 8/10
No Bone - 7/10
Milkshake - 8/10
Leaning on a Wheel - 8/10
Texas - 8/10
Hairshirt - 7/10
I Don’t want to do this anymore - 7/10
Dogs - 8/10
Making Eyes - 8/10
Slippery - 8/10
Fingers - 8/10
I saw Converge last night and Pile opened for them and I was blown away during their performance. They reminded me a bit of Slint with the spidery guitars, but heavier, but still not nearly as heavy as Converge. They would effortlessly switch from a jazzy chord progression to a metal-like breakdown all the while throwing in math grooves and lots of dissonance. Unfortunately, my first impression of their latest record says to me that they’re not nearly as energetic and intense in the studio as they are live, but I still really like the weirdness about this album. Pile has their own sound, they just have to work on their studio recordings a bit. 7.5/10, Best Song: Dogs

[Space-Dementia]

December 20, 2017
Habit by Snail Mail
Thinning - 9/10
Habits - 8/10
Static Buzz - 8/10
Dirt - 7/10
Slug - 8/10
Stick - 7/10
The production just isn’t there for these guys, but it’s forgivable since it’s just their first album and it’s not even really a full length and they’re also like 18. The songwriting is hit and miss though. It sounds like they’re going for somewhat of an R.E.M. sound mixed with some dreamy vibes from 90s dream pop bands, and it’s going alright for them. The guitars are a bit out of tune on some parts and the singing needs some work, but what’s important is their passion and their potential. “Thinning” is a wonderful song with a really catchy hook so as long as they can write a few more songs as good as that one and also find a better producer then they might have a real breakthrough album in their future. 7/10, Best Song: Thinning.

[Space-Dementia]

December 21, 2017
4eva is a Mighty Long Time by Big K.R.I.T.
Big K.R.I.T. - 8/10
Confetti - 8/10
Big Bank - 8/10
Subenstein (My Sub IV) - 8/10
1999 - 8/10
Ride Wit Me - 8/10
Get Up 2 Come Down - 8/10
Layup - 8/10
Classic Interlude - N/A
Aux Cord - 8/10
Get Away - 8/10
Justin Scott - 8/10
Mixed Messages - 8/10
Keep the Devil Off - 7/10
Miss Georgia Fornia - 8/10
Everlasting - 8/10
Higher Calling - 7/10
Weekend Interlude - N/A
Prince of Fame - 8/10
Drinking Sessions - 8/10
The Light - 8/10
Bury Me in Gold - 8/10
Wow. I’m usually a firm believer in an album that can get its message across in less than an hour, preferably around 45 minutes, but Big K.R.I.T. outdid himself with this beast of an album. It’s almost an hour and a half long, but while a double album like this one would usually have loads of filler, 4eva literally only has two songs I would skip and even those aren’t awful. While his lyrics aren’t anything incredibly praiseworthy, he manages to keep up with the outrageousness that is meeting my ears. There are hooks that instantly position themselves in my head and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon, there’s tons of soul in this thing, especially in the second half, and these instrumentals are some of the smoothest, funkiest, chill-inducing, nastiest things I’ve ever heard. It’s clear through songs like “Big Bank” that this is a modern hip hop record, but there are so many wonderful throwbacks to acts like UGK and OutKast through the flow, the beats, and just the feel. And some of the production decisions on here almost bring me to tears, like the string outro to “Miss Georgia Fornia” or the dreamy instrumental while a chorus sings the title of the album in “Justin Scott”. It’s clear that there’s a theme here where the first half is Bug K.R.I.T. and the second half is Justin Scott, and I think I can see how the second half is a bit more serious than the first half, but that doesn’t mean either half is better or worse than the other. The K.R.I.T. half is probably more consistent while the Justin half has higher highs and lower lows, but the album is meant to be heard full through and it definitely keeps me interested throughout. This is a tremendous introduction to Big K.R.I.T. and I’ll be sure to check out his last album, Cadillactica, as soon as possible. 8/10, Best Song: Miss Georgia Fornia.