Album Review

This record is no doubt an essential for all young adults everywhere — it explores yearning for big dreams, change, starting anew, and the fear of it all. Each song walks with you, understands you through the process of adulthood, deeming them suitable companions to keep trekking and exploring the world like it’s your oyster. […]

There’s something oddly refreshing about Copium, the latest from Bloomfield Machine. It’s not because it’s particularly groundbreaking or life-changing, but because it’s not trying to be either. In a music landscape where every release comes with a glossy press kit, a hype cycle, and some vague promise of “pushing boundaries” or something of the sort,

Let’s talk about ambition; the sleepless, soul-dredging kind. The kind that doesn’t come with a podcast sponsorship or an Instagram-ready quote. I’m talking about the real thing: the 3 a.m. sessions, the coffee gone cold, the DAW staring back like a mirror you didn’t ask for. That’s the kind of ambition fueling BRAINMAZE, the self-titled

If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you’ve probably come across the kind of music that feels like it was grown in a lab: perfectly inoffensive, lightly vibey, and engineered for Spotify’s “Chill Mornings” playlist. It washes over you, frictionless and forgettable, like sonic beige paint. So imagine my surprise of stumbling onto

Stupid Sexy Paulo by Paulo and the Problems doesn’t arrive. Rather, it materializes. Like a mischievous house spirit conjured by the mere presence of snacks, instruments, and unresolved feelings. One moment you’re minding your business, the next your room feels warmer, your posture’s a bit looser, and you’ve been nodding along for two minutes without

There’s a certain kind of album that doesn’t try to be more than it is, and somehow, that’s exactly what makes it more than it seems. The debut LP from The Shields. called Activation is one of those albums. It doesn’t show up in neon and shout about how deep and emotional it is. Rather,

Blunt Blade’s Forgiveness is one of those albums that feels like it was engineered in a lab somewhere deep under Abbey Road Studios with a bunch of old-school rock nerds and orchestral obsessives locked in a room together. It’s a sprawling, thirty eight minute prog-rock epic that’s basically the soundtrack to your existential crisis, but,

There’s something oddly heroic about making a full album yourself. Not in the “isolated genius reinventing music in their bedroom” mythos; more like the quiet, stubborn determination of someone who’s decided that yes, actually, they will play all the instruments, write every track, produce the entire thing, and do it without relying on the usual

Imagine a debut album that doesn’t feel the need to scream for attention, contort itself into viral snippets, or disguise sincerity behind a thousand layers of ironic detachment. Mystery of the Self by Brother Barnaby is precisely that: an album that dares to be earnest, melodic, and a little bit nerdy; in the best way.

You know how some albums feel like a desperate attempt to sound “authentic,” but come off more like a curated mental breakdown in 4K audio? Yeah, Believe is the opposite of that. Instead of trying to sell you pain like it’s a hot NFT drop, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and emotional endurance athlete from Southern California Ehson