Lav's Music Corner

Justin Bieber is a Canadian mega pop star who first blew up off of some viral singles in the beginning of last decade. Even though it has been five years since his last studio album he has maintained a consistent presence in the news as well as on the charts as he has featured in a number of major hits. Review By Lavender: I never really hated Justin Bieber as much as the basic ass tasteless dudes who shit on his personality for internet points when he was famous as a 15 year old. Rather I just thought his music was a bit too boring and generic for me to really grab onto it. This definitely got better on his 3rd proper record Purpose  which at the very least had some defining personality that made the tracks actually sound like Justin Bieber music rather than computer generated pop tunes. But the 5 years since then clearly hasn't helped the problem, as Changes  sounds as devoid of anything defining as any of Bieber's previous works. The singles did not have me excited...

Caribou is one of the monikers of electronic music producer Dan Snaith, and it is considered by many to be his primary project. Started up in 2005 Suddenly  is his 5th record under the Caribou name and comes six years after the last Caribou record and less than a year after the most recent release from Daphni, another of Snaith's projects. Review By Lavender: I have always enjoyed Caribou's music and that very much includes the two records Dan dropped over the last decade. So while I wasn't anticipating this thing being the most groundbreaking or expansive record I've ever heard, I was really excited for it. And I'm happy to report that Suddenly  lives up to expectations. The record was off to a pretty great start after I enjoyed all three of the singles released in the lead up to the album starting with the excellent Home  which made my singles of the year list last year. The slick simple percussion pattern is the surface for a perfect blend of live and sa...

$uicideboy$ are a New Orleans based underground hip hop duo who have developed a cult following off of SoundCloud mixtapes full of self-produced lo-fi beats and a harsh extreme rap style. They were incredibly prolific throughout the 2010's but Shadows  is the duo's first release of 2020 and first since a collaborative EP with Blink 182's Travis Barker last year. Review By Lavender: The longer time was put between some of my favorite of the Kill Yourself  series of singles the less I enjoyed the boys new releases. That was until 2018's I Want To Die In New Orleans  my favorite of their full length projects so far and an album that saw the duo blending their sound with some new and refreshing angles. And after I gave a very harsh review to their cosplay nu metal EP last year I was expecting misguided experiments to be the downfall of any new $uicideboy$ music that I didn't like. But on Stop Staring At The Shadows  the biggest offense is surprisingly boredom. ...

Nicholas Jarr preceded his second Against All Logic record with a strange and indulgent EP that has some high profile names attached to it, but lacked the immediate charm that his music under the moniker has so often had. Review Dan Beyar is back in his stride with yet another excellent entry into the long running sophisticated piano pop legacy he has built the Destroyer name under, Have We Met  is an absolute treat. Review Torres unique approach to singer-songwriter music brings a sharp electronic edge and the beauty of chamber pop instrumentals to her intimate and passionate vocal performances to make for one of the genres more unique listens in recent memory. Review Funeral  shows off some of Wayne's creativity across its tracklist but it is ultimately a wildly inconsistent set of songs that runs on well past the point where it stops being interesting, Review The follow-up to Nicholas Jarr's surprise 2018 hit came sooner than anticipated but once again...

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a New York MC who has had a meteoric rise to success starting with a prominent spot on XXL 2017 freshman list. He released his debut record to moderate critical acclaim and commercial success later that year, and followed it up with his sophomore record Hoodie SZN  which spent multiple weeks at #1 in the beginning of last year. Now after a run of singles and feature Boogie is gearing up to release his third album Artist 2.0  a sequel to his debut record. Review By Lavender: I enjoyed Boogie's debut album The Bigger Artist , it didn't blow me away but as far as trap records go I found much more of it interesting than mundane. Unfortunately I could say the exact opposite for the follow-up Hoodie SZN  which came out late in 2018 and underwhelmed me to the point of where I didn't even give it a formal review before my list week. What had me worried coming into the album was the success Boogie found with Hoodie SZA  commercially, and wonde...

Huey Lewis & The News are a California new wave band that played an absolutely essential role in the popularizing of new wave in the 1980's with hits like The Power Of Love  and Hip To Be Square.  They have released records here and there ever sense but have been on a break from new material for about a decade leading up to Weather . Review By Lavender: I will be the first person to admit that I have a soft spot for Sports  and Fore!  a pair of often overlooked new wave records that had more attention to detail and decade defining swagger than they ever get credit for. That being said the rest of their output can be pretty hit or miss and that is exactly the best way to describe Weather . When the record is good its because its groovy, funny, tongue-in-cheek and most importantly catchy. The opener While We're Young  is a kooky love song about doing it right here right now before we get any older. Aside from a bridge that is so silly its painful the ...

Sightless Pit is a new experimental rock super group made up of Kristin Hayter the mind behind Lingua Ignota, Lee Buford percussionist for experimental metal band The Body, and Dylan Walker frontman of grindcore band Full Of Hell. The three musicians came together to record this industrial noise and post-hardcore record that takes a really unique approach by not including any guitars on the record. Review By Lavender: After last years expansive, unique and encapsulating Caligula  I was willing to listen to just about anything Lingua Ignota's name was attached to. Despite having never been a fan of just about anything Full Of Hell did and having an on and off relationship with The Body I was still excited for this record given the unique concept and the sheer creativity Kristin Hayter put together just last year. The lead single to this record really got me excited and it's the first song on the record here. Kimgscorpse  starts the record off interesting from its very ...