Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night isn’t dull, but it plays more like an album of what other, better artists sound like. After a highly…
Billie Eilish “Do you know me?” Billie Eilish asks listeners at about the half-way point on her ironically-titled sophomore release, Happier Than Ever. She sounds…
Soulja Boy seems content to perform with general indifference, as long as he’s still in the spotlight. OK, hear me out: Soulja Boy’s Big Draco…
Clairo continues to trod the same thematic territory, but Sling gets an aesthetic upgrade that hints at something more up her sleeve. When the world was first…
Happier Than Ever proves there’s plenty Eilish and her brother still have yet to reveal. “Do you know me?” Billie Eilish asks listeners at about the…
25 swerves hard into newfound mature and vulnerable terrain for G Herbo, an organically-implemented pivot that only witnesses occasional missteps. On his latest album 25, G…
Gold-Diggers Sound is a record of newfound honesty, a major step forward for the heretofore bed-hedging Bridges. After exploding on the scene six years ago, Leon…
Ry Ry World is the best kind of sophomore album, one that improves and expands on Mariah the Scientist’s debut while retaining its singularity. Mariah…
Stand for Myself reflects Yola’s next phase of healing after her debut, a sophomore effort that is equally confident and vulnerable. Stand for Myself is…
The House is Burning finds Rashad asserting personhood over persona, to mostly career-stabilizing effect. The frequency and speed with which musicians are now expected to release…
G Herbo On his latest album 25, G Herbo is attempting to pivot into something greater than his current self — that is, a successful…
Faith’s attempt at a post-mortem celebration of Pop Smoke’s artistry is undermined by the record’s structural incoherence and arbitrary collabs. When was the first time…
Sob Rock finds John Mayer effecting something between self-effacement and contrition, but it’s all couched in just more of the same soft-boy bravado. John Mayer may…
Laura Mvula’s latest proves that nostalgic throwback records can still feel fresh, even if its artificial construction keeps things mostly, if pleasurably, surface-level. Listening to…
Ain’t That the Truth continues Drakeo’s winning streak, his loosest, most aesthetically confident work yet. The concept of “The Truth” links Drakeo the Ruler’s recent…
If Spiral doesn’t quite strike the same welcome murkiness as Psychic, it still suggests future destinations worth following Darkside to. Darkside, the musical duo composed of electronic producer…
Pop Smoke When was the first time you heard Canarsie rapper Pop Smoke’s hulking, husky battle cry of a voice? It was probably over the…
F*ck Love 3 proves The Kid LAROI is still just as basic as he seems, seeking celebrity and fleeting pop trifles at the expense of artistic…
An umotivated album that never sparks to life, Vince Staples continues the rapper’s post-Big Fish Theory downward slide. When Big Fish Theory dropped in 2017, it…
Exit Wounds proves more rollicking that Dylan’s more introspective solo work, not a full success but still a testament to the easy pleasures of his roots-rock…
Hideaway is simply more of the same for Wavves, a band that feels past their expiration date. So great was the thirst for music festival-friendly indie…