Lav's Music Corner

Now that I'm done undergoing the album rush leading up to my mid-year list video, it's time to cover some EPs that I've been neglecting in the past few weeks and there's three big ones we need to talk about first.  CMYK 002  EP - James Blake Having a "favorite" artist feels like an emotional distinction, to me at least. But if you look at my entire output as a critic it's hard to identify any single artist I've directed more praise towards than James Blake. That's come from numerous albums he's dropped both as they're released and in retrospect as well as numerous singles and shorter projects that have been equally as satisfying. In fact, the last time he indulged in the EP format with new original material came on 2020's Before , a stroke of absolute brilliance that is still among my favorite EPs of this entire decade.  So its no surprise that I was pretty excited for this surprise drop and spoiler alert, I like it. That's right ou...

This is my attempt to cover some projects that get RAVE reviews from critics and are beloved by indie fans. While I like all three of them I've never been nearly as crazy about their work as fans. Space Heavy  - King Krule Archy Marshall's King Krule project is one that I've enjoyed in flashes. There were moments across the projects first EP and following two albums that I thought were uniquely dense despite their minimal sound. But it was always met with waves of uninteresting space in between. The first King Krule project I can really say I liked was the third album, 2020's Man Alive! . That's why I was looking forward to this album, at least at first.  At the very least I'll say this album does one thing REALLY well. A handful of songs on the record have this brooding romantic sensation of watching the world burn while hand in hand with someone you love. It isn't always exactly the same sentiment but the songs that dabble in this medium are wonderful. Sea...

Here is a quick summary of all the records I reviewed this month. With some major production issues and a lack of true highlights Shadows  is one of the most inconsequential rap albums of the year Review After a long break fro releases under the Caribou moniker Dan Snaith returns with a bright, catchy and relentlessly sweet series of glittery electronic songs that sound so refreshing this year. Review The biggest fault on Changes  is that no part of who Justin is as a person or an artist makes into any of these generic focus-grouped contemporary pop tunes. Review Eternal Atake  may have sounded cool in 2017. But three years past Uzi's peak the record is bloated, behind the times and is filled with songs that sound like nobody involved even tried. Review The Uzi record that did a much better job at living up to expectations was his surprise second release. Filled with great features, much improved beats and a newfound swagger in Uzi's delivery LUV ...

King Krule is a London based singer songwriter who has found success blending together genres like post-punk, indie and electronica. Man Alive!  is his fourth record and the follow-up to his most successful record to date 2017's The Ooz . Review By Lavender: King Krule is an artist I've long been waiting to finally fall in love with. His unique vocals and depraved post-punk sound palette are haunting on their own. But when it all comes together I have been bored or confused by the final product far more often than not with his music. When The Ooz  came out a few years ago and was met with a ton of critical acclaim I was excited to dive in but what other people described just didn't translate to me. I was hoping that a new record and a few years to re-align his sound would make King Krule appeal to me, but while Man Alive!  is better, some of the same problems persist. The records first two singles were decently strong and I still enjoy them on the record. (Don'...