Harder Than Ever is a polished, effortless listen that shows off his full range as an artist. If nothing else, it's great proof as to why Lil Baby might just be next up.
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JoinedJuly 18, 2016
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Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino can be best described as hallucinogenic lounge music that's left-field, inventive, and smoldering. A highly unexpected direction from an established band that could've easily played things safe, but instead chose to take major risks that paid off in one of their most exhilarating albums to date.
Dada Life's "Our Nation" is enjoyable in that it's more Dada and they do those monster, face-melting songs as good as anyone out there, but the album as a whole feels a bit too formulaic and at times outdated compared to where everyone else is in EDM.
Lord Huron's latest is a beautiful nighttime blend that's at times cinematic in nature - with the best way of describing it is as psychedelic sci-fi folk western. They may not be as commercially or critically recognized as say a Bon Iver, but they're quietly putting together an impressive discography and Vide Noir is further evidence that they're one of the most interesting acts in folk.
What could have been a unique, inventive experience came off as more generic and safe than anything. There's some flashes of something truly special throughout Primal Heart, but ultimately Kimbra is unable to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
While "Activated" is still full of bangers and hard-hitting rhymes, it at times feels like Tee Grizzley is trying to escape his image as a 'street level' rapper and tap into more commercial success - which is understandable, but it's not when he's at his best.
Check out some of this past weeks most talked about and interesting film trailers like Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Predator, Luke Cage Season 2, Arrested Development Season 5, Eating Animals, and more.
In this week's episode we talk about Spotify removing R. Kelly and XXXTENTACION from their playlists, the ongoing Kanye roller coaster, and Donald Glover's (aka Childish Gambino) turn as a SNL host, his mind blowing new video for "This Is America", and question whether he should be considered the greatest multi-talented artist we've ever seen. Then we end things by talking about a bunch of new albums to drop from Desiigner, Post Malone, Styles P, Rae Sremmurd, Janelle Monáe, Steve Angello, and BlocBoy JB. With Royce da 5'9", Janelle Monáe, and Steve Angello, in particular, taking their careers in new and exciting new directions with their most introspective albums yet.
On Caer, for every moment of true brilliance there are moments of head scratching mundanity, but regardless of these concerns, it's still an extremely smooth listen and another lesson from Twin Shadow in crafting sparkling pop hooks.
Top tier lyricism, strong production, great use of features, and revelatory storytelling make Book of Ryan THE definitive Royce da 5'9" album and a must listen.
Although it's titled Life of Desiigner, we don't learn much about him as a person but we do get a much better feel for who he is as his own musical entity. None of the seven songs here are as good as even the loosies he's released over the past year but their even to keep me interested in a proper debut.
Swae Lee just solidified the claim that he's the most talented out of Rae Sremmurd with a project full of lush cruising music and pop/R&B experimentation that paid off far more than one might imagine. Out of all 3 offerings, "Swaecation" is by and far the real standout of the bunch.
Getting our latest collaboration between Axcess and ourselves together has taken a bit longer than expected but great news, we finally got the samples right and worked out everything with the embroiderers. We didn't want to leave you guys hanging in the dark so here's some sample shots of the final designs. Check back very shortly we'll finally have these bad boys ready for preorders soon!
Voicenotes isn't the most exciting or original album to come out of pop but it does provide a much stronger argument as to why we should care about Charlie Puth as an artist outside of an occasional big feature.
Check out some of the past weeks' most talked about and interesting music videos from Anderson .Paak, SZA, Aloe Blacc, Russ, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, and more.
At times it can be as hokey as you'd expect, crossing off a checklist of myriad Caribbean and reggae cliches, but damn if it isn't an enjoyable listen nonetheless. I can't remember the last time we've heard Sting having this much fun and their clear natural chemistry together makes for good vibes.
Playboi Carti's debut album is definitely aimed at a certain youthful demographic that's only 'rap' in title, and while it has a handful of enjoyable 'vibes', it doesn't have anything that'll disassociate him with anything but "Magnolia."
BlocBoy JB's album is a safe project that triples down on everything that's gotten him to this point, but it still remains to be seen if he has what it takes to outlast his own dance craze.
Check out some of the past weeks' most talked about and interesting music videos from Sam Smith, Tory Lanez, Enrique Iglesias, Parliament, Towkio, Gallant, and more.
Human feels like an awakening, a new direction in life, and a result of a search for deeper understanding. It's an album that's full of spirituality and (at times overtly) religious overtones that sees Steve Angello pull out all of the tools in his deep tool kit, and while it's a clear departure from the music that thrust him to the upper echelons, it's a glorious new beginning to something special.
ZHU's music has always been fairly chilled out but he seems to crank that sultry, expansive vibe to another level here and that makes his airy vocals pair even better with the backing soundscapes. I like what I'm hearing so far and can't wait to see what else he has in store for this year.
Styles P just low key may have just dropped the hardest album to come out this year. Hip-hop will always be a young man's game but Styles P shows that he's still got 'it' and then some with the most relevant album to come out of the D-Block click in years.
Rae Sremmurd has proven that they sound fine as solo artists but "Sr3mm", while not musically as good as "Swaecation" and a bit better than "Jxmtro", shows that they still sound at their best when feeding off of each other's energy and what they both respectively bring to the table.
I wasn't sure I'd want to hear an entire project of just Slim Jxmmi rapping but he proves that he's more than competent by today's standards, if not a bit repetitive. But who are we kidding, we don't come to Rae Sremmurd for the lyrics and artistry, we come for the turn up; and in that regards Jxmtro has the most to offer in terms of pure turn up out of the three.