SINGLES…
Good
🏆Daniel Caesar, Rex Orange County – “Rearrange My World/There’s a Field (That’s Only Yours)” is shockingly reminiscent of Dominic Fike (in the best way), harnessing his verse structure and vocal qualities. The songs within this set complement one another and beautifully construct the performing duo’s view of love with a stripped-back instrumental matched with syrupy and meaningful lyricism.
Jack Harlow – “Set You Free” is a fresh return to an older Harlow flow, and at the same time, maintains his more recent production styles, creating a beautiful mixture that highlights an anthology of his strengths. Full of his standard braggadocious lyricism and discussion of romance, this song is embodied and cohesive.
Bon Iver – “Everything Is Peaceful Love” is the perfect title for this beach-drive soundtrack. It feels like a montage of memories projected behind the eyes, just the song to coast off into the sunset to. It’s better than expected, in all honesty; the synth-driven drones behind ear-worm vocalizations diverge from the monotony of some of Iver’s recent projects.
Offset – “TEN” pairs Offset’s melodic rapping style with a smooth synth-focused beat for a flowing song with a strong sense of rhythm and direction.
Mid
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Scared Of Loving You” is an antithetical title, as the song bears a beautiful message from the recently engaged couple. The track, with Gomez’s vocals set over a folksier tune, is perfect for a walk through the park on a gentle day.
Sam Smith – “Love Is A Stillness” and this song seeks to embody this philosophy with its crawling tempo and thoughtful lyricism centering love in all its facets. Additionally, Smith’s voice is backed by a soothing piano, and it creates this beautiful, strong accompaniment.
DaBaby, Yung Miami – “IMA HOE TOO” could’ve been cleaner and more entertaining without Miami’s feature. Surprisingly, DaBaby flows much better on this song than he has in his other most recent works.
bbno$ – “check” follows the trend most notably replicated by Yung Gravy of resampling old classics into modernized hits, this time using “Low Rider.” The song is a surprisingly entertaining one, although not by any means meaningful or emotional.
Cash Cobain, Bay Swag, Rob49 – “Trippin on a Yacht” is surprisingly put-together for a Cobain song. However, it leaves much to be desired beyond its beat and instrumentation. Despite an Internet Money-inspired style, the song is generally lackluster in terms of lyricism and energy.
Japanese Breakfast – “Mega Circuit” sets itself apart from the previous lead single by offering a more driven groove and a Western timbre with its syncopated beats and twangy vocalizations. It was a jarring departure, but the two singles together do show a diverse range of talents.
Logic, Oddisee – “Pipeline” uses an otherwise simple choir & beat foundation to back Logic’s uniquely quick rapping. Though the familiar beat was a compelling listen, Oddisee’s verse dragged what was otherwise a good song into the mud.
Bad
🚮Addison Rae – “High Fashion” just emboldened my confidence in a general sense of disapproval for TikTok stars attempting to become singers. This techno-heavy track had me excited about its potential, but its lyricism completely ruined the song.
Zach Bryan – “Dear Miss” is a miss overall, with generic lyrics and an absolutely flat storyline set to Bryan’s now overdone guitar strums and boring percussive patterns.
Gucci Mane – “Preference” will not become my preference on the aux. With a repetitive and silly chorus backed by a discordant beat and continual ad-libbing, it’s a skip.
Young Nudy – “That’s Not Gangsta” is a rather boring song that follows all of Nudy’s tropes: a laid-back pace of rapping, more generic lyrics, and a forgettable beat.
ALBUMS…
Good
🏆 Alessia Cara – Love & Hyperbole marginally underperforms its lead singles, yet evidently delivers on Cara’s promised style: lovely pop songs that leave listeners pining for more, whether love or music.
PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake – $ome $exy $ongs 4 U is aptly named, with some standout songs in a lengthy album full of mediocre songs. However, these few hits pull the album to a heightened tier, especially with catchy pieces like “Nokia,” “Brian Steel,” and “Gimme a Hug.”
↑ (The Amp will not represented by its staff’s hot takes in The Roster…)
Coi Leray – What Happened To Forever? is a surprisingly fulfilling EP that thankfully differs greatly from the initial lead single. Leray floats on trap-style romantic beats that proves perfect for a Valentine’s Day release and helped to expand the breadth of style present in her discography.
Mid
Westside Gunn – 12 is Gunn’s classic rap flow set against the backdrop of classical and operatic-esque samples. While his voice fits more naturally against this auditory scene, his typical rapping never has sat well with me.
Sabrina Carpenter (Deluxe) – Short n’ Sweet thankfully lives up to its name with only a few additional songs, including a surprising feature from Dolly Parton. However, even this feature isn’t enough to add real continued value to a Deluxe release… the bonus tracks end up feeling like throwaways from the original release.
Bad
🚮 The Lumineers – Automatic is an apt description for the production process of this record. Copy and paste. Copy and paste. These songs sound identical to one another, and differ minutely from the remaining discography. The routine sad boy guitarist vibe is an oversaturated market, and within this, the album doesn’t stand out.
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