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BROCKHAMPTON – the family / tm
Hip-hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON put themselves out of their contractual misery with a two-project dump. ‘The Family’ is an uncomfortable tell-all from Kevin Abstract, with the rest of the group virtually nowhere to be seen. Intimate details about the demise of their friendships are spilled over chipmunk-soul beats of varying quality. Meanwhile, Kevin checks his watch, […]
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$ilkMoney – i don’t give a fuck about this rap shit, imma just drop until i don’t feel like it anymore
Like a King of the Dot championship rap battle, IDGAFATRSIJDUIDFLIA has a flurry of words, loaded references, and a meaty flow. $ilkMoney sounds rattled, but stays on top of his ailments and points of anger. It is a unique quality of abrasive, creatively sharp performers that they can claw us to their side with magnetism […]
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weyes blood – and in the darkness, hearts aglow
Weyes Blood began life as a DIY, acoustic venture, where Natalie Mering’s voice fluttered above a sound collage of tape recorders, saws, bells, and whistles. This is Natalie’s fifth album performing under the moniker. The opener could be on a spacier version of Bowie’s Station to Station: it’s not just that well-produced, it’s that sweeping. […]
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doon kanda – galatea
I don’t know if Doon Kanda’s music sounds more like a crude, AI-generated amalgam of all the clubs in Berlin, or a rave for deep sea creatures. His artwork is certainly a grotesque mix of the two. *snaps fingers* You know what Doon’s art is like? It’s like if a 12th century sacrilegious nightmare was […]
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elliott smith – either/or (1997)
Elliott Smith packed more melody into a double-tracked whisper than would be expected in a Glee cover of Mariah Carey. He can also say ‘fuck’ with more power than any outlandish, testosterone-steaming ‘rockstar’. Either/Or is like the shadow of a pop hit—Brian Wilson might have written it if he spent the 1960s leaning musically into […]