Kendrick Lamar - GNX (Album Review)

Photo: pgLang In many ways, 2024 has been Kendrick Lamar’s year. From his high-profile beef with Drake and the slew of accompanying (some might say career-defining) diss tracks he gave us, to being announced for this season’s Super Bowl halftime show, it’s been impossible to avoid him. It only makes sense, then, that he’s closing it out with ‘GNX’, a surprise album that’s also one of the best things released in the past 12 months.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Tuesday, 26 November 2024

070 Shake - Petrichor (Album Review)

Photo: Gianni Gallant ‘Petrichor’ is the third album from New Jersey native and former Kanye West protégé 070 Shake. Now signed to Def Jam Records, the rapper-turned-singer has delivered an album of thrashy pop R&B synth dirges that are sometimes angry, sometimes tender, but frequently quite low-slung, stodgy and a bit difficult to listen to.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 25 November 2024

Warmduscher - Too Cold To Hold (Album Review)

Photo: Babycakes Romero If a monologue from Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh about DMT doesn’t sell you on an album, then perhaps Warmduscher’s fifth outing isn’t for you. But if you are in the market for a bit of maximalist surrealism, then look no further.

Written by: Jack McGill | Date: Monday, 25 November 2024

Westside Gunn & DJ Drama - Still Praying (Album Review)

When Westside Gunn announced that he wouldn’t be making albums anymore, many fans probably thought he’d go quiet musically. But in fine hip hop retirement tradition, it turns out the Buffalo rapper and record exec isn’t going anywhere. His new collaborative mixtape with DJ Drama serves as a bit of a victory lap.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Friday, 22 November 2024

Mary J. Blige - Gratitude (Album Review)

‘Gratitude’ is the latest album by the self-styled queen of hip hop soul Mary J. Blige, and it sees the multi-time Grammy winner deliver rich storytelling and vocal expertise while retracing some of the musical motifs of her 1990s heyday. But, despite its talented and varied cast of collaborators, it sounds like she’s phoning it in a bit.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 21 November 2024

Freddie Gibbs - You Only Die 1nce (Album Review)

Photo: Nick Walker Freddie Gibbs has been one of hip hop’s most consistent artists for 20 years now. The Gary, Indiana native has long stood out for his singular ability to fashion his flows and lyrics into wicked tools of destruction, entertainment and insight. He’s a rapper’s rapper, if ever there was one. ‘You Only Die 1nce’ continues that legacy, but it also threatens to undo it at times, with some questionable and unfocused moments blotting his copybook.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Linkin Park - From Zero (Album Review)

Photo: James Minchin III Linkin Park’s ‘From Zero’ faced an uphill battle from the off, with sky-high expectations in place as the band sought to uphold a tremendous legacy. It’s telling, then, that their first record since reuniting isn’t a continuation but a reset. 

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Ab-Soul - Soul Burger (Album Review)

‘Soul Burger’ is the sixth studio album from Ab-Soul, and it finds the Californian rapper, singer and Kendrick Lamar collaborator spit dynamic, versatile bars over an understated range of beats, motifs and samples. It is a decent enough hip hop album, with the occasional avant-garde flourish, but it doesn’t really deliver any bangers or live long in the memory.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 18 November 2024

Gwen Stefani - Bouquet (Album Review)

Gwen Stefani’s early solo work slotted into a vibrant era of pop music, with the infectious energy and bold attitude of songs such as Hollaback Girl and What You Waiting For? offering a refreshing extension of her latter-day work with No Doubt. If her new album is anything to go by, though, the past couple of decades have eroded the rebellious spirit that once defined her music. 

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Friday, 15 November 2024

Primal Scream - Come Ahead (Album Review)

Photo: Peter Johnson If Primal Scream somehow ended up amid the tea towels, mixers and gingham of Bake Off, ‘Come Ahead’ wouldn’t put them in line for a handshake. Their 12th studio album, much like their entire career, is an inconsistent series of 11 bakes. Some are burnt, some underdone, and a few are cooked to perfection. They simply can’t weigh their ingredients.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 2 (Album Review)

Photo: Garrett Bruce It’s been four years since Lil Uzi Vert’s much-anticipated second album ‘Eternal Atake’ landed, delivering on the promise shown throughout the rapper’s mixtapes and on their debut record ‘Luv Is Rage 2’. The intervening years have been a mess of dramas and beefs and it seems that all of that has become distracting — the terrible ‘Eternal Atake 2’ is the work of someone who has forgotten what made them such a hot commodity in the first place.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Friday, 08 November 2024

Tyler, The Creator - Chromakopia (Album Review)

Photo: YouTube Tyler, the Creator is 33, and you can tell. Proof that the rapper has settled into the fourth decade of his life can be found throughout ‘Chromakopia’, a record that is just as textured, challenging, exciting and rewarding as that period of time can be.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Thursday, 07 November 2024

Autre Ne Veut - Love, Guess Who?? (Album Review)

Photo: Bellamy Brewster Autre Ne Veut first emerged from the New York underground scene in 2010 as a bruised but soulful solo artist, and over three albums developed a sound and persona that was one part Usher, one part Justin Timberlake and one part Frank Ocean. They made a name for themselves in a scene that is referred to semi-pejoratively as PBR&B — a pun on the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that is often associated with hipster dive bars and warehouse gigs.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 06 November 2024

Kelsea Ballerini - Patterns (Album Review)

Photo: Nyk Allen While on 2022’s ‘Subject To Change’ it felt like Kelsea Ballerini was pulling her punches, the following year’s ‘Rolling Up The Welcome Mat’ EP found the country-popper hit the reset button with a right hook. Stepping off the genre’s customary carousel of songwriters by choosing to write and produce solely with Alysa Vanderheym, Ballerini channelled a divorce-sized stack of feelings into six stripped-back numbers.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Tuesday, 05 November 2024

Soccer Mommy - Evergreen (Album Review)

Photo: Anna Pollack On ‘Evergreen’, Sophie Allison takes us back to the start. The singer-songwriter has been making music under the name Soccer Mommy since she was 17 and first began uploading her home-recorded songs to Bandcamp. In the years that have followed she’s become known for her dreamy, shoegazey sound and sentimental lyrics, but here she trades indie-rock bite in for a stripped-back sound akin to her lo-fi early days. 

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Tuesday, 05 November 2024

Underworld - Strawberry Hotel (Album Review)

Since forming in 1987 Underworld have helped redefine British electronic music with a style that is hard to put your finger on but familiar and easy to get lost in. ‘Strawberry Hotel’ is their 11th studio album and their first since 2019 and, with 15 tracks spanning close to 70 minutes, it is another highly ambitious project that shows the duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 04 November 2024

Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat (Album Review)

Photo: Tamsin Topolski Laura Marling’s no longer playing house. On 2020’s ‘Song For Our Daughter’,  the singer-songwriter made the transition into starkly sparse arrangements as she wrote guidance for a fictional daughter. Its follow up, ‘Patterns In Repeat’ follows its title’s lead — delving into motherhood again, but for real this time. Despite pulling zero punches, it still offers the warmth of a winter morning’s freshly roasted coffee.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Monday, 04 November 2024

Beth Hart - You Still Got Me (Album Review)

To listen to Beth Hart's music is to know her. Pouring her experiences into songs that reflect the daily emotional roller coaster of living with bipolar in an increasingly turbulent world, there’s a level of necessity to her songwriting that moves beyond simply processing complex feelings. More than ever, music feels like her salvation on this thrill ride of a record.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 01 November 2024

Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness (Album Review)

Photo: John Angus Stewart We already know that Amyl and the Sniffers are loud and boisterous, and that they have a penchant for a trip to the pub. But thanks to ‘Cartoon Darkness’ we also know that they haven’t been too busy clowning to stop and take notice of the slowly deteriorating world around them. On album three their gritty punk vibrancy remains firmly intact, but there are added shades of grey that make any washes of bright colour pop even more.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Friday, 01 November 2024

Halsey - The Great Impersonator (Album Review)

Halsey’s ‘The Great Impersonator’ was introduced with a bit of hero-worship. Recreating  iconic photoshoots from Fiona Apple, Aaliyah, Dolores O’Riordan, Britney Spears, Stevie Nicks, and Bruce Springsteen, she provided a fascinating peek into the musical influences that informed album five. Equally, though, it was shaped by her experience of living with lupus and a rare T-cell disorder while being a young mother. As a result, this is a profound exploration of identity, illness, and the power of music.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Thursday, 31 October 2024