Lav's Music Corner

Rap is one of those genres where I'll never be able to keep up with all the relevant releases. I do my best and there are still way more than just these 5 records that slipped through the cracks, so let's try and catch up.  The Thief Next To Jesus  - Ka This one hurts. I wanted to cover this record but it came out in a busy week and slipped past me when I took vacation but I certainly would have prioritized it if I could go back in time in the wake of the news of Ka's tragic death. Through that lens it's worth looking at this record with a closer gaze than what I'm able to here. In fact, it's probably worth pouring over his entire excellent discography to pull out highlights. His finale album The Thief Next To Jesus  is fittingly soaked in Christian themes, something he's indulged in before on records like 2020's Descendents Of Cain . But in particular on this record through both his own lyrics and several perfectly selected samples, he examines the hist

Review by Lavender: Tyler, The Creator really needs no introduction. The rapper, fashion designer, and one-time TV-comedian has been a pop culture staple since the early days of his edgelord rap collective Odd Future. He first broke through as a critical darling on 2017's Flower Boy  an album that embraced pop sentimentalities and personal vulnerability in a far more digestible way than Tyler had ever done before and was rightly a massive success. It's what happened following that record where I get off course with Tyler's fans and rap fans in general though.  To many his follow-up album IGOR  in 2019 is seen as his true masterpiece, something I couldn't disagree with more. My middling review of the record got me in a LOT of trouble at the time and yet I stand by pretty much every word of it. In fact, I even prefer Tyler's follow-up CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST  which dropped a few years ago and delivered an equally strong collection of features with a much more consis

Yes LCD Soundsystem are back and yes there was a pretty good chance going into this list they would be at the top spot 99 out of 100 times, see whether it came to fruition.  5.  Punish  - Ethel Cain I still get some dolls unhappy with my review of Ethel Cain's breakthrough Preacher's Daughter  where I pointed out how inclined she is to senselessly waste time with both too many songs and songs that wander on for way too long. With her even longer follow-up, I can already feel similar instincts creeping in but this lead single does have me biting my tongue a bit. Despite definitely being both longer and slower than it needs to, the subtler cracking darkness that the Ethel Cian persona has always been wading through is very much intact and it's clear why she's made a name for herself by doing it so well.  Listen 4.  AAA  - FLO R&B girl group FLO have as much potential as anyone right now and they've been showing it off with great singles for a few years. Despite th

This is a special review written by my friend and go-to emo and pop-punk coinnessoir Sasha Prudence. You can check her out on Instagram here. Review by Sasha: Origami Angel is a 5th wave emo band from Washington DC that made their big break on the scene with their acclaimed 2019 album Somewhere City . The album consisted of lyrics ripe with nostalgia for late 2000s childhood delights, blisteringly fast mathy riffs, and themes about a hopeful future full of emotional growth and self-improvement. However, the band’s hopes to tour behind this album were dashed with the arrival of Covid 19. Their tour was canceled, and the momentum the band had gained was all but lost.  They returned with a follow-up album, Gami Gang , which was as unorganized as it was experimental. The album ended up feeling like a mixtape full of wild ideas such as "Bossa Nova Corp," which combines easy listening bossa nova with powerful pop-punk chords, and it’s one of my personal favorites of the band. Thei