Lav's Music Corner

Review by Lavender: Lady Gaga is a caliber of pop star that really needs no introduction. Throughout the early 2010s, she was elevating to and then occupying a platform of pure superstardom scoring hit after hit after hit in the process. Though her previous record Chromatica  performed decently in 2021, it was a significant step down from expectations for her studio output that left me and many others wondering if her time in the brightest lights was over. It isn't. On the back of some of her biggest hits in years, Gaga returned triumphantly with a record that stylistically throws it back to her earliest days and is surprisingly rewarding doing it.  To say that this record started off on unsure footing would be an understatement. Last year Gaga shared "Disease," a single that didn't perform extraordinarily well. I think that's a shame cause the song is an absolute fucking jam with an utterly infectious hook and thumping dance beat that I think is great. On the opp...

These are three electronic music projects that I have a lot of respect and admiration for. Had I not been so sick and busy I would have definitely covered these albums in full but I still want to get my feelings out there on all of them.  Three  - Four Tet Even though I've been a Four Tet fan for a long time it's been a while since I was truly blown away by something he released. He's pretty consistent, but I find myself always hoping for more high-end material. That seemed like it would continue to be the case when I came away from the record's singles feeling just okay. That was made even worse when I realized that my favorite Four Tet single in years, Mango Feedback , also wasn't appearing on the album, though it seems like elements of it were reworked into the single Daydream Repeat, although I'm not positive.  After beginning with a dancier cut in Loved  the album shifts its focus towards ambient. That's not a complaint as I've enjoyed quite a bit o...

The truly great EP is becoming a lost art form, at least if 2019 is any indicator. Far less notable artists dropped EPs than we were used to over the past few years and many more of them turned out to be disappointments than ever before. With a lower ceiling and a much lower floor than my lists over the past few years I do have to wonder going forward if artists are just moving away from the EP in broad strokes, but these 10 artists either truly wowed me in the short form, or did just enough to get by with their releases in 2019. 10. Kero Kero Bonito - Civilization 1 KKB are no strangers to this list and have nearly topped it before, while Civilization 1  isn't the bands most shining moment it does show off a ton of creativity as they continue to push their sound and increasingly interpolate socially conscious lyrics and more features of contemporary indie music, where so little of the J-Pop the group originally blew up on remains. The short EP is highlighted by its amazing ...

Gesaffelstein is a French house and electronic music producer who emerged earlier this decade with his work on Kanye West's Yeezus . Since then he has dropped two studio albums to moderate acclaim and scored another high profile production credit on The Weeknd's My Dear Meloncholy  EP last year. Gesaffelstein released his seconds studio album Hyperion  earlier this year which featured numerous features and a number of stylistic shifting, but Novo Sonic System  promises to be a return to house. Review By Lavender: I have long thought that Gesaffelstein was a talented producer who has underachieved in his studio album discography. While there are solid tracks on both of his records neither of them really establish themselves as great electronica album like he clearly has the talent to assemble. Songs like Kanye West's Black Skinhead  and The Weeknd's Hurt You  prove that Ges is beyond talented, yet when Hyperion  came out earlier this year I gave it a ...