Lav's Music Corner

Kim Petras is a pop singer who has been bubbling under for a while. After initially coming up in a hyper-pop parallel underground for years she had her mainstream pop breakthrough last year. As a guest on Sam Smith's single Unholy , Kim and Sam became two of the most successful charting transgender artists of all time. Review by Lav: Figuring out Kim Petras can be a bit difficult. When she broke onto the scene it wasn't just exciting to see a trans girl turning herself into a fascinatingly plastic pop star, but the music was good too. I still have nothing but strong feelings for her debut album Clarity  which featured one great single after another. Since then it's been much more of a mixed bag. Her Turn The Lights Off  series of Halloween albums are stylish but relatively simple. Last year she dropped the Slut Pop EP which many critiqued for its sledgehammer bluntness and repetitive songs. So despite having some absolutely amazing songs in her discography like I Don't ...

5.  Alone  - Kim Petras (feat. Nicki Minaj) Even though I've liked both of these artists a lot in the past, to say I was skeptical of this song would be a huge understatement. While I did think each of their previous two songs were okay it felt like they were both headed for some kind of slump and hearing the relatively lazy sampling on display in the previews for this track didn't help remedy that. Ultimately though this song is also pretty decent with an exciting performance from Nicki and a hook that is sticking with me more and more. It's far from the best either are capable of but it's a plenty serviceable collaboration.  Listen 4.  Undergrowth  - Squid If hearing the funk rock riffs and the repeated Limp Bizkit ass "melt" hook on this song immediately activated your gag reflex, you're not alone. My first reaction to the song was pretty garish as well. In fact it took me a few times of hearing it with completely shifted expectations to realize there a...

5.  Worms  - Ashnikko I can see this not going over well since on the surface this song is a pretty severe aesthetic mismatch with lyrics that don't seem to particularly add up to anything and a plucked bassline placed precariously over a rattling trap beat. Once I gave myself into the theme of the song, having brain worms, it's sonic clashes started to click with me a bit more. Whether this will hold up will be put to the test on the album but I see the potential in what Ashnikko is going for here more than on the first single.  Listen 4.  Since I Have A Lover  - 6LACK The decision to switch from darker, moodier R&B to something brighter and even a bit indie flavored was one I didn't understand at first but it did grow on me ever so slightly. Maybe it's just that I'm so excited for 6LACK to be back but some of the things that normally bother me on songs like the weak hook or the track just bowing out completely out of nowhere at the end didn't really dampen...

One day late, sorry. Lav's quest for stable wi-fi is still an ongoing one and there were so many good songs it was hard to put it all together.  HM. Easy On Your Own?  - Alvvays Normally I wouldn't include an honorable mention on a list like this but I just couldn't leave Alvvays out. The bands turn into a far heavier and more shoegaze-inspired sound is a worthwhile one that I've now enjoyed for back to back tracks.  Listen 5. Saturdays  - Broken Bells Broken Collective? Animal Bells? The year of highlights for Animal Collective manifests itself in a very strange way here with James and DM taking on the band's trademark watery psychedelia and doing a genuinely admirable job of it. While it's far from what I expected I do think it's the best song I've heard from the project in a LONG time and did a significant amount to boost my excitement for their upcoming return.  Listen 4. I'll Fight You  - Open Mike Eagle Another lyrically sharp track from Open M...

No heady observations this week. Given just how much great music came out on albums and EPs this week I'm sort of in full length review mode at the moment but that didn't stop me from engaging with some of the better singles I heard this week as well. 5.  C'mon Baby, Cry  - Orville Peck While I'm not sure this is the BEST song anyone's ever written it's hard to ignore the fact that Orville delivered a sadboy country anthem for what must be a pretty narrow group. His characteristically deep vocals and instantly recognizable voice sounds great flying over these jangly acoustic guitars and the whole song oozes a level of authenticity that most contemporary country falls drastically short of. Listen 4.  Bussin  - Nicki Minaj & Lil Baby After a HUGE whiff on a collaborative single last week Nicki and Lil baby didn't wait long to deliver the track that many had originally hoped they would. This is a confident and uncompromising banger that genuinely does see t...

DaBaby is a Charlotte based rapper who has blown up in 2019, scoring a top 10 single on the hot 100 with Suge  a number of high profile features, and an impressive spot on the XXL 2019 Freshman list. Baby dropped a record earlier this year Baby On Baby  that was commercially successful and turned around quickly to transition into Kirk . Review By Lavender: I've wanted to like DaBaby since he first showed up on the hip hop scene, he's from my home town of Charlotte after all and I have to represent. However I have been pretty mixed by what DaBaby has brought so far. I'm not in love with his breakout hit Suge  and I ended up choosing to skip reviewing his first record Baby On Baby  because it didn't do nearly enough to stand out from the sea of trap records that come out seemingly every day now. I have enjoyed a few of his tracks and a handful of his features this year though so now that he is more popular than ever I figured I would give this album a fair shot,...

1. Tool - Fear Inoculum For the first time in months a singles week has produced 15 new debuts all in one week and it is headlined by the first new single from legendary metal band Tool since their last record in 2006. After finally releasing their back-catalog on streaming services last week they have taken the next step to dropping the newest song in promotion of their highly anticipated upcoming album. 2. Lana Del Rey - Looking For America Lana Del Rey follows up the announcement of her fifth studio album with the release of one of the songs that didn't make the cut, but addresses America in the wake of yet another two mass shootings. The track will certainly turn heads and help build up hype for Norman Fucking Rockwell  two weeks before its release. 3. Iglooghost - Lockii  (Feat. Kai Whinston & BABii) Iglooghost is back with his first release in 2019 and he recruits some featured artists he has worked with before resulting in a track that will likely reel many o...

Chance The Rapper is a Chicago based rapper who blew up earlier this decade with his gospel inspired style and youthful energy on his 10 Day  mixtape. The very next year after this debut mixtape Chance dropped his second tape Acid Rap  to universal critical acclaim and it became his breakout project. With numerous marquee features and an unmistakable style the mixtape turned Chance into an overnight sensation and is considered by many to be one of the best rap records of the entire decade. Chance took his time crafting a follow-up record, ultimately dropping "Chance 3" Coloring Book  in 2016. The album featured a historic list of features from acclaimed and popular artists across the board and was met pretty positively from critics. After another three year wait Chance spent most of 2019 teasing his upcoming "debut album". He dropped the single Groceries  earlier this year but the track doesn't land on the record and ultimately the album was released with...

1. Ride - Repetition The legendary shoegaze band steals a #1 in what may be the weakest week of 2019 so far. On the back of a great lead single Ride is gearing up to drop their second album of the 2010's 2. Rosalia - Millionaria Rosalia continues building up her namesake in 2019 with a split single calling back to the ever growing popularity of latin pop music on the charts. 3. Post Malone Goodbyes  (Feat. Young Thug) Post Malone is back with what will likely be another nondescript chart topper, but thankfully he has brought along Young Thug this time and hopefully Thugger can give a little bit of life to a track we will all grow to hate quickly. 4. Dreamville - Costa Rica  (Feat. Bas, JID, Guapdad 4000, Reese LAFLARE, Jace, Mez, Smokepurpp, Buddy & Ski Mask The Slump God) Sneaking in before the Friday release of ROTD3 is this massive posse cut that features some Dreamville favorites and some of traps brightest young faces. 5. Cupcakke - Ayesha Cupcakke return...

1. Nicki Minaj - Megatron Nicki takes a storming #1 with the highly anticipated MEGATRON  that arrives after a huge viral marketing campaign and a quick turnaround from last years Queen  era. 2. Spoon - No Bullets Spent Spoon returns after a two year absence likely to continue their reign as indie's most consistent band with more sharp riffs and catchy tunes. 3. Poppy - Choke Poppy is playing the genre bender game once again and by dropping the title track to her upcoming EP she asks the question what do you EXPECT her music to sound like? 4. Lupe Fiasco - Run Game Out of nowhere Lupe Fiasco returns with a new single looking to build off of a solid release last year and potentially building to a third album in the Drogas  series. 5. YBN Cordae - Bad Idea  (Feat. Chance The Rapper) Cordae scores his highest chart spot since last years J. Cole response song, by recruiting in demand feature Chance The Rapper and ramping up for his big debut solo release. ...