Lav's Music Corner

Four Songs EP - Blood Orange Dev Hynes AKA Blood Orange is an artist that I can honestly say I've never been that crazy about. When he was breaking out with projects in his early days I didn't really love them, but when he dropped 2018's Negro Swan  I totally changed my tone. That record's dark R&B stylings were completely irresistible to me and I hoped it would signify the start of a run of music that I enjoyed more. That record was followed up the next year by his Angel's Pulse  mixtape which I can't say I was crazy about and since then it's been radio silence for projects of any kind. When this EP was announced and the lead single was dropped and I still wasn't crazy about that song, I didn't go into this necessarily thinking it would knock my socks off. That lead single Jesus Freak Lighter  combines a pretty beautiful New Order-style bassline with some rickety drums that sound pretty out of place. An even bigger issue with the song is how few...

It's been a while since I did an EP round up and the year has honestly seemed kind of slow in that department, but hopefully we can pick back up to covering these short projects more frequently. SZNZ: Summer  - Weezer Part two of Weezer's promise to release four seasonal EPs this year has arrived and after I wasn't crazy about the first collection of songs I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. Turns out it's an improvement on all fronts but there is one way in particular that it makes itself a more high impact listen and that's by turning up the intensity. Seriously even compared to their butt rock renditions of Van Halen rock a few years ago they really have genuinely upped the impact of the tracks in the mix here. Occasionally this comes to fruition in typical Weezer pop rock fashion on songs like the life-affirming music tribute Records . It also comes in songs that compositionally and sonically step out of Weezer's comfort zone like the strange tra...

EPs come and EPs go. As long as the music industry keeps lining them up I'll keep doing my best to knock them down. Did any of that sound cool? Reading it back I don't think so. Let's just get to the reviews. Enjoy <3 Raving Dahlia EP - Sevdaliza Sevdaliza is an Iranian singer-songwriter, who I was late to. The first time I heard her music was on her 2020 album Shabrang  but it didn't take much engagement with her fanbase for me to realize that her EPs are a very important part of her discography and that's why I was really excited for this one. After reading about the concept of the "Raving Dahlia" and the projects attempt to take on unrealistic standards women in music are held to. One thing that clearly hasn't changed in two years and is impossible not to notice on the record is just how dominant of a vocal force Sevdaliza is. The EP wastes no time getting you introduced to her vocal prescence as the opening song is a very spark piece of chamber ...

Weezer is a California rock band. If you're not familiar with them, getting you up to speed would take a lot longer than just one introductory paragraph. The short is that they are a frequently memed band whose material in the 90's is universally respected as classic, but everything since them lands with a high variance. Earlier this year they dropped a baroque pop and rock record OK Human  that was met with generally positive reviews.  Review By Lav: Well here it is, Van Weezer . The dorky but incredibly loveable rock band taking on the late 70's hair rock and guitar heroism era felt like the punchline of an elaborately planned joke but it is very much real. Like 10 tracks and half an hour real. Honestly with Weezer you really never know what you're gonna get. I have to say that Van Weezer  is very entertaining, the merit of its musicality however is much more up for debate.  Honestly as hesitant as I was to the concept of this album when it was originally announced...

Weezer is kind of in a world all their own. The California alt-rock band became one of the most loved acts of the 90's with a debut and sophomore record that are both still massively revered to this day. Since then however Weezer has gone through numerous stylistic changes the results of which are often highly up for debate. From maligned mainstream pop efforts like Make Believe  and Rattitude  to power pop revivals like The White Album  it's basically impossible to make any definitive statement about Weezer's entire discography. Despite this frontman Rivers Cuomo's delightfully un-cool demeanor and songwriting has allowed the band to persist with a cult like following and maintain popularity through each phase of the bands career. Review By Lav: When I first started writing about music back in 2016 Weezer and I were on very good terms. 2014's Everything Will Be Alright In The End  had impressed me with its willingness to include more complex compositions and strang...

The Avalanches are an Australian trio most well known for their heavy use of sampling and their critically acclaimed 2000 album Since I Left You . The band waited 16 years to follow the record up with the feature heavy Wildflower  in 2016 and have thankfully taken a shorter turnaround releasing this, their 3rd album, 20 years after Since I Left You . Review By Lav: I love The Avalanches. I have loved Since I Left You  since I first heard it sometime around 10 years ago and I was thrilled to see the band return on Wildflower  which I also thoroughly enjoyed.  Despite my love of the bands work I wasn't expecting quite as much from this record. The primary reasons being that it was less sample based than either of their first two projects and I thought the singles leading up to the album were a bit of a mixed bunch despite some major highlights. As it turns out there are still plenty of samples used perfectly all over the record, the original instrumentals are used...

Weezer is the legendary California alternative rock band that rose to fame in the 90s after dropping two universally acclaimed albums. Following into the 2000's commercial success continued to find its way to Weezer becoming an alternative radio staple and culminating in the biggest hit of the band's career the often maligned Beverly Hills. In the 2010's Weezer traded out their commercial success at large for a return to critical form beginning with the well received Everything Will Be Alright In The End  and peaking with the fantastic Weezer (The White Album). But the stylistic approach changed rapidly in the wake of The White Album  and its follow-up became a much hated return to form making Pacific Daydream  largely viewed as a disappointment, with prominent critics calling out its lead single Feels Like Summer  as being a particularly disastrous pursuit. So with the dropping of largely varied and critically confusing singles in the lead up to The Black Album ...

We're back. And what a shitty week to be back. Some real digging had to be done to assemble 10 tracks I can genuinely reccomend to you this week, but I've done it nonetheless so let's get started. 10. "The City" YG Hootie (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) YG Hootie shows his lack of experience as an MC all over this track. Barely stumbling through offbeat meaningless bars the song actually turns out pretty good for what it is. Kendrick is quality as always but nothing special for his status. The chorus really brings it home, it's simple and catchy, which is really what makes this one worth returning to. YG Hootie by himself doesn't seem like an appealing proospect and his next track may not even make enough noise to come across my glance, but this song is just good enough. 9. "Blue Pill" Metro Boomin (Ft. Travis Scott) Blue Pill is exactly what it is. Metro Boomin produces just like he always does  distant, base heavy, and trap flavored. Travis Sc...