Deafheaven: New Burmuda
I know I'm most likely playing into the ultimate hipster stereotype by saying this, but I think this new LP from Black metal/ shoegaze/ anything they decide to do band, Deafheaven is actually pretty awesome. A lot of people want to immediately compare it to their last LP, and while that is fair, I think this album is going for something different, and simply saying it's not good because it's not like Sunbather is just kind of a crappy way to view things. However, this album isn't perfect; most of the transitions here are pretty clunky and don't always work out so well, but that stuff doesn't detract too much of the enjoyment for me. Simply put, this album has the hardest and softest songs Deafheaven have ever done, and that extreme contrast actually works pretty well for the most part, making it a really enjoyable listen overall.
8.5/10
Grimes: Art Angels
Ugh... okay, I have to get this off my chest. I've been looking forward to this album for a long time, especially since Grimes dropped the track "RealiTi" a few months back, saying it was a demo from an album she scrapped because she thought it was terrible... I'm convinced at this point that she threw out the wrong album, because not only is that track ON this album, (in a far inferior form) but the tracks on here are some of the most bland and sterilized songs Grimes has ever put together. Aside from the first single "Flesh Without Blood" growing on me, and the track "Kill V. Maim" being legitimately good, this album was a pretty big letdown. I can only hope I enjoy whatever she puts out next, because I really do like Grimes as an artist.
4/10
Destroyer: Poison Season
Going into this album I was a little worried that I would simply be getting Kaputt 2, and I say that as an avid fan of that album. But I wanted to hear Destroyer push that sound FORWARD, and not just revel in it. Luckily, that is exactly what happens on Poison Season. This album still features a lot of the 80's style synths and bass grooves, but it's a far more subdued album overall, and is, aside from the track "Dream Lover" a much quieter album as well. This leaves room for front-man Dave Bejar's abstract lyrics and voice to be front and center, which I quite enjoyed. The only major detractor is that the songs here aren't as instantaneous as they were on his last album, but that just means you'll have to do a bit of digging for your gold this time around.
8.3/10
Drake & Future: What A Time To Be Alive
This album kind of dropped out of nowhere, and that's probably for the best, because if I had any time to anticipate it, it would have been a letdown. Don't get me wrong, there are good tracks here like "Big Rings","Diamonds Dancing" and "Jumpman", but Future just has the ability to completely suck the energy and momentum out of a track, and he does it on pretty much every track here. Not terrible, but definitely not as good as either artists recent solo efforts.
5/10
Wavves: V
I guess I'm the only one who sort of liked how these guys were trying to be Nirvana on their last album? And I understand why people like Wavves' old sound, heck, I still enjoy me some King Of The Beach every now and again, but this album is that album with every ounce of joy and brashness sucked out of it. Overall, this album just didn't scratch my slacker-punk itch and kind of dragged on, despite only lasting like 30 minutes.
5.5/10
Fetty Wap: Self-Titled
To be fair, I wasn't expecting greatness from this LP, but I was at least expecting to have fun. In short, I didn't. Aside from notable (and viral) singles like "Trap Queen", "679" and maybe "My Way", this album is boring, boring, boring. And honestly, I don't know where Fetty Wap is going from here, this album gives zero indication of who this guy is, aside from someone who likes to Trap and have sex... TEACH ME HOW TO JUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGG.
3/10
And that's it for albums that I've actually taken the time to analyze in any meaningful way. There are of course LP's that I'm still listening to that would have made this list if I'd given them more time, but I'm hoping to start doing proper reviews again, so maybe I'll save them for that.
I hope you enjoyed my abbreviated opinions! Peace.
