Ivinyls

  All set to ignore this until a blend of sound pundits across the Atlantic named her their mid-year pick, I am eternally content to remain humbled and hooked by Rodrigo’s crisp songwriting and the eminence grise who makes it all memorable. His name is Nigro. But she’s no figurehead - as a songbird, she flits from soft-hearted to damnably bitter with aplomb rivalling Eilish, down-to-the-bone depth on par with Khalid, only Rodrigo’s husky growl outplays them both.  The slice-of-life details undercut the melancholy that would otherwise queer this as overblown, and they’re deployed with the kind of vocal sensitivity that makes one thing clear - this love thing, she’s really thought about how it works. See for yourself: “Got a broken ego, broken heart”, “Ain’t it funny how you ran to her the second we called it quits”, “Maybe I’m too emotional/But you’re apathy’s like a wound in salt”, “I wore makeup when we dated ‘cause I thought you’d like me more”. Envy’s fantastic. And then there’s the

  2018 was certainly a surgical summer, as said by King Push himself on the absolutely scorching The Story of Adidon, one of the best disstracks of all time aimed at resident sad boi Drake. You see, Drake heard this record and the closing track Infrared  got to him. "How can you ever right these wrongs when you don’t even write your songs?" baits Pusha T. Drake, being the reasonable young man he is, decides to bring down the hammer in the form of Duppy Freestyle.  Unfortunately for him, Pusha Thanos was unfazed and his clapback has since echoed across the Internet like a universal calamity. He revealed Drake’s child from a pornstar, compares him to his own deadbeat dad for not acknowledging said son and mocks his sick friend. As you do. At the centre of all that nonsense was this precious little record.    Produced by Kanye West during the Wyoming Sessions which brough us Kids See Ghosts  and Nasir , DAYTONA finds Pusha T destroying anyone and anything that stands in his way.

  Heaviest beats first, Lipa’s confident stroll through a parade of love letters seems skin deep on first listen. But when she’s all “Don’t start caring/About me now”, “I don’t want to live another life/This one’s pretty nice” and ditching loverboy once sex is off the table, which I guess is plausible, her spunk leaves a lot to admire. Necessarily PG, every track slots effortlessly into its 3 minute groove, sporting some hooky touch to remember it by: there’s the peppery chords of the title track, the breathless falsetto of “Don’t Start Now”, to the chintzy verve of “Levitating” and it keeps going, tied together by the yawning intensity of her soprano. The Lily Allen pastiche is a benison, so when it’s followed by an on-the-nose misandric potshot it’s a bit of a cheat. And it’s less to her credit said potshot happens to be the closer. Still, a producer's paradise, with ascendant hooks and a thrush who knows how to make it sound significant. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia ; 4/5

Believe me, the absurdity of reviewing a Nirvana record in 2021 is not lost on me. And the fact that I ackowledge said absurdity does not make it any less pretentious. So then why are we raising Kurt's bones? What can yours truly possibly say that hasn't already been said about In Utero?  It's a complete sonic departure from Nevermind?  Check. It's the band's response to their success and a subsequent attempt to distance themselves from it? You know it. The answer, as with all musical landmarks, is simple. It hasn't been surpassed.  The first half mirrors that of  Nevermind  where one can find all the ''hits'' such as  Heart-Shaped Box  and the moody acoustic trip of  Dumb.  Once this record is flipped over however, the noise invades your eardrums and refuses to ever leave. This is rage, this is pain, this is Nirvana at their best and most honest. Kurt's screams are destructive, yet soothing. You hope that he's let it all out only to be s

                                                Simple is as simple does, so she’s a genius. I don’t like the bits about God. The only skit worth a giggle is the one where the kid dreamily utters ‘love…’. And she’s always functioned better as a world-beating rapper with witty rejoinders to boot than a dextrous if soul-lacking singer looking to diversify. Especially now Pras and Wyclef are off the leash.  The main difference between this and The Score is in the production; in the fine and organic beats straddling through “Lost Ones”, to the fiery pain of “I Used To Love Him”. From the sparse coos of “Nothing Even Matters” to the trickling piano coda signalling delight in the closer, it all wins. What’s here is immense, broad and clear, but she’d do well to spread the dextrous voice she sees fit to deploy only when she’s sharing the mic.  As of now we’re nearing a quarter century since Lauryn’s first and only release. As a refuge of pleasant listlessness it works. But there’s no denying

                                               Nostalgia is a funny thing. Three Days Grace's One-X  turns fifteen years old today and it falls under a very specific category of things that we once considered the best ever. The Star Wars prequels and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man  trilogy come to one's mind. Memorable and iconic, but are they particularly good? Upon revisiting this record, in its glorious limited edition white vinyl which I bought from Ukraine, I can safely say that out of those examples this one is certainly the one that has aged the best.  The 2000s were a cesspool of some really cringy post-grunge bands but 3DG were significantly above the rest in terms of their creativy and iconic leading vocals. Adam Gontier's raspy, gnarly voice and personal demons are the most defining features of this thing and they are certainly capable on pulling out some heartfelt emotions from every listener. You don't have to be an edgy teen watching Naruto vs.Sasuke AMVs on Yo