Ian Ureta

A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.

Malin’s Cover of Rap God Isn’t Trying to Out-Eminem Eminem

Covering Rap God is one of those ideas that sounds brave until you remember exactly what you’re dealing with. Eminem’s 2013 original is less a song and more an aggressive display of linguistic parkour; a six-minute speedrun where the man shoves so many syllables into a single breath you half expect his lungs to file […]

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One Thing Is Undeniably Clear: Liri Dais’ Born in a Landslide Works Like a Charm

In indie rock, debut albums usually fall into one of two camps. There’s the “here’s a couple of songs I’ve been playing since college, please like me” variety, and then there’s the “I have emerged fully formed from the void, armed with riffs, hooks, and just enough self-awareness to make you think I’m your friend”

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If Lily Galin Keeps Making Songs Like “What’s Your Story,” She’s Not Just Telling Her Story; She’s Building a Campfire Where Everyone Else Can Tell Theirs Too

You know how most debut singles feel like they’re trying really, really hard to sound like something you’ve already heard? This isn’t that. Lily Galin’s “What’s Your Story” somehow lands with the kind of clarity and emotional weight you normally only get from an artist on their third or fourth album; the point when they’ve

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Like Someone Refusing to Answer Your Last Text; You Can’t Stop Thinking About I’d Be a Fortune by Dedrick Soul

Some songs burst into the room like they’ve just kicked the door down with a confetti cannon. I’d Be A Fortune by Dedrick Soul is not that. This is the musical equivalent of someone sidling up to you at a crowded party, starting a story in a low voice, and by the time you’ve realized

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It’s a Refreshing Work of Perfection That Setsuna Works This Well as Either a Happy Accident or the Beginning of Something Bigger

Some collaborations feel like they were cooked up in a marketing department: everyone in matching outfits, smiling in front of a banner that says synergy, while someone in the corner is already working on the press release. SETSUNA is not that. SETSUNA is the musical equivalent of two strangers meeting at a bus stop, realising

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Wild Stuff. But Hey, The Walrus, the Ninja, and the Gypsy From Sydney Is Just as Wild

So, I listened to an album called The Walrus, the Ninja, and the Gypsy from Sydney, and I’m pretty sure I accidentally unlocked a third eye I wasn’t aware I had. It’s by Black Astronaut Records, which is apparently not a record label but a collective, a consciousness, or possibly just one very determined person

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“Little Game” by Kris Kolls Offers the Perfect Soundtrack for Your Next Emotional Plot Twist

The new song “Little Game” by Kris Kolls is cheeky, charming, and just the right amount of chaotic. It’s the musical equivalent of a slightly toxic situationship you know you shouldn’t be in but can’t help loving anyway. It captures the playfulness of a flirt gone too far, the emotional whiplash of texting someone you

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“I Found a Monster” by Seth Schaeffer Is for Staring Into the Abyss at 1 A.M. While Your Reflection Blinks First

So there’s this track. It’s called “I Found a Monster.” It’s by Seth Schaeffer, and listening to it is a bit like being emotionally waterboarded by your inner child. You know, the one who’s still mad you never learned to skateboard and occasionally dreams in grayscale. But, weirdly, in a good way. Like therapy, if

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Normal Saturday’s Twohandtouch Might Just Be Your New Favorite Project

There’s something uniquely chaotic about rebranding your hip-hop duo by putting on color-coded gloves and announcing your creative rebirth like a pro wrestling tag team emerging from an extended nap. And yet, that’s exactly what Normal Saturday; the once-quiet, now-very-much-not-quiet duo of Crumbs and DK 4 Now, have done with their return album TwoHandTouch. Orange

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