Album Review

There are albums that feel like products, meticulously assembled, smoothed down, calibrated for Spotify algorithm friendliness and then there are albums that feel like someone just slammed their whole life onto a hard drive and dared you to keep up. Keep On, the new album from British rapper Leo Tea, sits closer to the latter. […]

There are two kinds of debut albums. The first kind is safe: a glorified LinkedIn profile set to music. Everything’s buffed smooth until it squeaks, the tracks so harmless they could sneak onto a playlist called Indie Sunrise Vibes and no one would notice. It’s music as networking; polite handshake, nervous smile, please don’t rock

It really goes to show that you can create something meaningful when it’s filled with purpose, fun, and personality. Amara Fe regards “Reborn” as a new wave of creativity, which she believes welcomes new ideas and listeners with it. This record is a thirteen-track gem, a supply of strength, resilience, and inspiration. Think Rihanna and

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”

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

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

For a record with an almost niche concept, we can’t get enough on how “God Of The Dead” sounds and feels. It explores the extensive range of rock, from folk, blues, funk—you name it, the album probably has the type of song you’re looking for. Think of a Flying Dutchman sort of scene, with the

Whoever said hip-hop is dying is clearly not paying attention. Because the release of $OMETHING NEW does not simply disprove it—it defies this claim. Released on July 21st, this 9-track album is a collaboration between 2009 XXL Freshman Charles Hamilton and rising NJ artist Tony Newbury. If you’re after music that isn’t half-baked, $OMETHING NEW

This one’s for those who know how to appreciate the art of metal music, or if you’re looking for a change of genre, or perhaps if you want some well-arranged noise in your system, “Fear Reigns” is an album to consider. It takes metal as a type of experience, something that shouldn’t be considered as

Let’s be honest: the music world isn’t short on reinventions. Every month some former background character from the ‘90s pops up in an NPR article about their “new sound,” usually involving synthesizers, a leather jacket, and an existential crisis. But Johnny Batchelor is doing something different with Ain’t Nobody. He’s not reinventing anything. He’s simply