~ANNOUNCEMENTS~

-Tom Verlaine, the frontman of 70’s punk band “Television”, has passed away at 73.

-David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash has passed away at the age of 81.

-Gangsta Boo of Three Six Mafia has passed away at age 43.

-Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker’s (boygenius) first album “the record.” set for Mar. 31.

-Yves Tumor’s new album “Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply: Hot Between Worlds)” will be released Mar. 17.

-Kali Uchis’ “Red Moon In Venus” announced for Mar. 3.

-Xiu Xiu’s “Ignore Grief” to be released Mar. 3.

-Brendon Urie has announced he is done with “Panic! At The Disco”.

-Coachella line-up has been announced with headlines from Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK, and Frank Ocean.

~SINGLES~

“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus

Genre: Pop

Rating: [7/10]

A loose and well-written pop tune with a catchy chorus, not much more to ask for.

“I Wish You Roses” by Kali Uchis

Genre: Neo-Soul

Rating: [8/10]

A slick look into Kali’s upcoming third album, “I Wish You Roses” shows her in top form.

“Maybae Baeby” by Xiu Xiu

Genre: Industrial

Rating: [8/10]

The harsh, terrifying industrial soundscape Xiu Xiu continues to push to its limits gives me a lot of hope for their upcoming album.

“Oceans Niagara” by M83

Genre: Electronic

Rating: [7/10]

Glitzy, glamorous, a true return to form from one of the most intriguing producers.

“Same Problems?” by A$AP Rocky

Genre: Neo-Soul

Rating: [9/10]

Commemorating the eighth anniversary of Rocky’s close friend A$AP Yams passing, “Same Problems?” is an emotional and meaningful track showing a new side of Rocky.

“Six-Pack” by shame

Genre: Post-Punk

Rating: [8/10]

“Shame” continues to find their footing in the scene with their expressive structure and intriguing concepts.

“Emily I’m Sorry” by boygenius

Genius: Indie Rock

Rating: [8/10]

Phoebe’s signature sorrowful singing and songwriting is amplified through the beautiful backing from Lucy and Julien.

~ALBUMS~

“2100年” by Mega Shinnosuke

Genre: J-Rock

Rating: [7/10]

As the album I started off the year with, it’s sweet and simplistic.  “2100年” is an easy to follow J-Rock, Electronic album filled with light ideas, punchy guitar, and highly altered vocals rarely doing much more than that. Its runtime is brief and it might just be a flash in the pan, but it’s still an album that is enjoyable and light.

Favorite Tracks: “SONiC,” “I Love You More.” and “Eien No Shonen”

Least Favorite: None

“Bin Reaper 3: The New Testament” by Babytron

Genre: Detroit Trap

Rating: [6.5/10]

The newly mainstream Detroit Trap rapper’s second half to his 2022 album is not nearly as concise. Last year’s “The Old Testament” was a loose and entertaining trap album showing Tron’s progression, but “The New Testament” tends to be less interesting and more bloated. 25 tracks is already more than enough even for the best artists, so with someone as novelty as Babytron it gets tiring.  If it was cut down to just the best tracks it would be on par with its counterpart, but instead you have to sift through the more meddling parts to get to the good stuff.

Favorite Tracks: “Gimme Dat,” “CatDog,” “Mr. Hanky,” “Ricky Henderson,” “Mainstream Tron 2,” and “Tronalation 28/27”

Least Favorites: “Sunday School,” “Dirty Draco,” and “Zap Zone”

“EVERY LOSER” by Iggy Pop

Genre: Punk Rock

Rating: [4.5/10]

Iggy Pop’s new album is laughably bad.  As a musician who’s been around for nearly 50 years you would not be able to tell.  Not only are the mixing and production clumsily thrown together, but the lyrics are unbelievably childish. Iggy is whiny and obnoxious on this project, not punk.  The only few highlights come from him trying to do his best David Bowie, and even then those tracks can tend to fall flat on their face.

Favorite Tracks: “Strung Out Johnny”

Least Favorites: “Frenzy,” “Modern Day Ripoff,” “Neo Punk, “All The Way Down,” and “The Regency”

“Five Easy Hot Dogs” by Mac Demarco

Genre: Instrumental Rock

Rating: [6/10]

A decent instrumental rock album faltering through its simplicity.  As something Mac threw together on the road for his tour it’s passable. The main downside is that it’s a batch of instrumentals that would have benefited from more time in the oven. Most of them stick to the same chord progression, and often they just lack a driving force to keep one invested.

Favorite Tracks: “Gualala” and “Edmonton”

Least Favorite: “Victoria”

“Let’s Start Here.” by Lil Yachty

Genre: Psychedelic Rock

Rating: [8.5/10]

A great way to start.  Leaving behind his trap rap roots and describing this album as a “new chapter,” born from feeling he wasn’t taken seriously enough. “Let’s Start Here” is a groovy, catchy Psychedelic Rock project, filled with transcendent instrumentals and expressive performances.  It’s just fun to see Yahcty take a chance and have it pay off so well.

Favorite Tracks: “the BLACK seminole.” “the ride-”, “running out of time,” “pRETTy,” “THE zone~,” “sHouLd i B?,” “The Alchemist,” and “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”

Least Favorite: “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!”

“MANSION MUSIK” by Trippie Redd

Genre: Trap

Rating: [5.5/10]

A simultaneously overdone and under-performed behemoth of an album.  Among the varying outputs of Trippie over the past two years, “MANSION MUSIK” falls relatively low.  Executive produced by Chief Keef and coming in at over an hour, it is terribly bloated.  With only four of the 25 songs here not having a featured artist, Trippie often finds himself being carried by the feature.  Not to mention that it seems to try and capitalize and cling on to trends, as a whole it lacks reason with very few tracks being salvageable.

Favorite Tracks: “PSYCHO,” “KNIGHT CRAWLER,” “KRZY TRAIN,” and “BIGGEST BIRD”

Least Favorites: “VAN HELSING,” “FREE RIO,” “KILLIONARE,” “HIDEOUT,” “TOILET WATER,” “ARMAGEDDON,” “NUN,” and “COLORS”