Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: NxWorries is the collaborative project of effortlessly smooth singer and rapper Anderson .Paak and prolific producer Knxwledge. The pair first linked up with a full-length project in 2016 with the still underrated Yes Lawd  which played a role in Paak's rapid rise to fame. It's been 5 years since Paak's last solo album, though he did churn out hits on his solid Bruno Mars collab project Silk Sonic, and now he's back with a long-awaited second effort alongside Knxwledge 8 years after their original.  The thing about the debut NxWorries album is how the incredibly smooth demeanor of both artists come together to make a tracklist that glides expertly along throughout the entire tracklist. That isn't the case here as the pair are intent on taking on a variety of subject matter, occasionally quite seriously, and to do it through a myriad of styles. Lead single Where I Go dropped back in 2022 and it's still a song I really enjoy. Paak and H.E.R are...

This week some big favorites dropped duds and the best songs came from a few surprising places.  5.  Life  - Jamie xx (feat. Robyn) Even lacking the variety of his legendary debut album, the singles from Jamie xx's long-awaited follow-up have still been satisfying. Life  sees him teaming up with Robyn, who appears to be fully back in 2024, for what may be the most satisfying of the bunch. Jamie's vibrant house beats combine with Robyn's unmistakable direct swagger for a crossover that meets the moment perfectly. Listen 4.  TGIF  - GloRilla Glo isn't slowing down off the release of her admittedly pretty solid mixtape earlier this year. Her voice continues to be one of the most commanding in all of rap and the sparse popping beats she chooses to lend it to make things hit even harder. Even if this track has one or two lyrical moments that tend to drag down the energy with silly punchlines it's still an absolutely thumping song.  Listen 3.  Favourite...

Review by Lav: Cola are a Canadian indie-rock outfit that emerged from the ashes of Ought, a group that released three albums in the 2010s. I was a huge fan of the band and all three of their albums which is why it was impossible for me to not come into Cola with high expectations. Despite that, I came away with mixed feelings on the band's debut album Deep in View  in 2022. That anticipation returned on this record after a few promising singles. And while The Gloss  may not reach the highest highs of Ought, it's definitely a step in the right direction.  This is a good record, let's get that out of the way. But the 10-song tracklist is split into a mixed bag first half and an absolutely excellent second half. Let's take that first half on, where three of the four singles pop up. Albatross  was a single I loved and still like a lot. The way it slides between a vibrant bright chorus into the more methodical and intense verses is perfect. Those verses really do steal t...

In celebration of Charli XCX's brat  I decided to do a week dedicated to dance music here on the blog. Since brat  didn't turn out to be the nonstop dance record I was anticipating, it's somewhat fitting that this week has blown so far off course. Earlier we discussed Iglooghost and Kaytranada and now were going to cover an actual dance music outfit's new dance album, a dance music producer's new ambient techno effort, and frequent Charli XCX collaborator AG Cook's completely undanceable new album. Enjoy <3 Hyperdrama  - Justice Justice is one of the definitive dance acts of the 2000s whose debut album made a crater-sized impression on the genre's history. Since then the pair have shared two follow-up records neither of which I was particularly head-over-heels for. In fact, it's Gaspard Auge's 2021 solo album Escapades  that stands as my favorite thing to spawn from the duo since their debut. So it's out of respect for the duo and acknowledgem...

Posting this at the last possible minute. (She did not actually post it in time anyway.) 5.  Auguries of Guilt  - The World Is A Beautiful Place & I'm No Longer Afraid To Die  I was inclined to like this song out of the gate because they shout me out by name in the first verse. I will say this song may not have the explosive conclusions and dramatic tension of The World at their absolute best work but it's openly sentimental in a way that my heart is just barely warm enough to enjoy.  Listen 4.  To every squirrel who has ever been hit by a car, I'm sorry and I love you  - Fire-Toolz The best single from prolific digital screamo outfit Fire-Toolz upcoming new album so far is this hilariously named 6-minute odyssey. She continues to combine distant blood-curdling screams with maddeningly glossy splashes of cloudy synths in a messy but surprisingly grounded haze. This song takes that to a compositionally expansive conclusion and I'm happy to go along for t...

Review by Lav: KAYTRANADA is a Canadian DJ and electronic music producer that I've been a fan of for a long time. It really got started with his 2016 debut 99.9%  which was a car-radio staple of mine for years. The record had strong roots in dance music but expanded into the worlds of jazz and funk with a variety of excellent performances from special guests. His sophomore album BUBBA  was a much more straightforward embrace of dance music that still featured some stand-out moments, but didn't quite live up to the extremely high expectations I had for it.  His third album TIMELESS  lands somewhere in the middle. I want to get it right out of the way, Kaytranada's production and beats on this album are consistently very solid. The drums in particular, which are the key to my heart, pop off on most of the songs on this album. His knack for compelling grooves and interesting textures is as strong as ever. But this album is also much more willing to wander off course tha...

Review by Lav: Iglooghost is an electronic music producer that I've been following for quite a while now. He had a pretty spectacular start to his career with a debut album bookended by three EPs packed full of jittery, bombastic, and slyly conceptual combinations of drum and bass with bubblegum-tinged hyperpop. Since 2018 though, Iglooghost has begun to wander in different directions than the sound that made him. That came through on side projects like XYZ , Amber Eon Micro , and Lei Disk. His sophomore album Lei Line Eon  dropped in 2021 and hit me and many other fans as a mixed bag despite high anticipation. The album is much more compositionally abstract and sonically shrill than his first and it's a record that I still struggle to feel sometimes despite my admiration for the styles and genres it is clearly inspired by.  By comparison,  Tidal Memory Exo  is a return to the essence of dance music but filtered through the lens of industrial and deconstructed club. ...

Review by Lav:  Beth Gibbons   is the stunning vocalist behind Portishead, who she made 3 albums with between 1994 and 2008. I'm a big fan of both the band's first and third albums and I've been following the prospect of Beth's solo album for a long time. Part of the promotion of Lives Outgrown  has included the claim that the record has been 10 years in the making, with the original announcement of her intention to release a solo album coming back in 2013. The record that resulted truly does feel like it has 10 years of labor under its belt. With masterful sonic arrangements and many of the best performances of her entire career, Beth's debut solo album is an odyssey that's among the most impressive feats I've heard all year.  The mastery of this record and my high anticipation for it began with the incredible singles. Floating On A Moment  is a mystifyingly good song. The guitar riff, while simple, is absolutely infectious and the children's chorus tha...

One of the busiest weeks of the year for new singles resulted in a hotly contested top 5 where I had to make some hard cuts. Here's what soared to the top.  5.  Del Oro  - Floating Potins Del Oro  builds on the already exciting promise of a strong single Floating Points dropped last year. Once again its the combination of irresistible house drums that keep me moving from start to finish and the progressing dance synths fluttering in every which direction over top of them. The album serves up one breakdown after another eventually leading to its last and final moment sparking the spectacular final minute of the song.  Listen 4.  Purple Gas  - Zach Bryan Zach Bryan seemingly just can't miss right now and this song is even more proof. Just a few weeks after dropping one of the best country singles of the year he's back with a breezy, chemistry-filled duet. He continues to master his ability to pull from vintage folk and country styles and presentation but...

My review of Charli XCX's BRAT  was published in Ringtone Magazine and it's avaialable to you to read in its entirety  here. For more pop music check out my review of Billie Eilish's  HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Review by Lavender:  Arooj Aftab is a singer and composer who was one of the best-kept secrets of neoclassical music fans for years. Her breakthrough into the broader music scene came in 2021 when she released her album Vulture Prince . The album was a massive critical darling and one that I liked more and more every time I heard it. She followed it up last year with Love In Exile , an experimental jazz collaboration that played with spacious compositions and live performance, which I also enjoyed. But now Night Reign , her 4th album and the proper follow-up to Vulture Prince  has arrived on the back of quite a bit of hype.  That hype was generated largely by two great singles that pop up on the second half of the record. Raat Ki Rani  came first and I liked it at the time. It has one of the closest things to a true hook on the record and it does a great job reinforcing the song. It's also one of the only Urdu tracks here with actual translations available online and...

Another stacked week of new singles, let's get into it.  5.  So Lo  - Pond I went back and forth on this track a bit because it really it so indebted to specific styles of 80s synth pop and new wave that it's almost parody. But it's almost like they've combined inspiration from many different places all into one and that attempt sort of forms its own originality in its wake. What results is something impressively catchy even if I can't shake the fact that every moment feels like I've heard it before.  Listen 4.  Frogs  - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds With a decade of releases that can be seen as often solemnly focused by Nick Cave Frogs  is a reminder that he can be as theatrical as anyone. This soaring and anthemic cut features belting to the rafters backed by dramatic sweeping baroque instrumentation and a chorus of supporting vocals guiding the songs ebb and flow. He continues to be remarkably interesting and refreshing even this late into his caree...

Review By Lav:  Vince Staples   is a California rapper who broke through around a decade ago with a unique voice and a seemingly infinite saga of street tales woven impressively into cleverly written raps. After dropping his critically acclaimed debut in 2015 he's had a strange career ever since. It's marked primarily by the divisive Big Fish Theory  which saw him defying rap conventions with the help of producers like Sophie, Flume, and Jimmy Edgar, as well as his somewhat maligned self-titled album with wall-to-wall production from Kenny Beats. He's had multiple short projects released in the mean time to varying degrees of acclaim, but I still can't say I've ever seen him as focused and consistent as on his debut Summertime 06 .  Delightfully, two of the biggest strengths of Dark Times  is its consistency and focus. The album is fitting dark, but also surprisingly soulful throughout something set up by its great lead single Shame On The Devil . It's got a sa...