February was a fantastic month for music, but also a strange one. All 10 of the albums I selected this month being extremely differently both tonally and sonically. You may not like everything here but I am sure that you will find something to enjoy. $quib - Micros Glitch Pop innovators $quib follow up their fascinating and infectious EP from 2020 with something that stands in stark contrast, something that is confronting and abrasive. This shift in sound suits them surprisingly well as their sonic innovation is only expanded in this more abstract space. But their tendency for killer song writing shines through as well with some extremely memorable and ear catching melodies and vocal lines. The gimmick for this one is songs that are under 2 minutes, on the surface this seems like a dumb limitation but as the saying goes restrictions build creativity, and this leads to some of the most interesting and creative music I have heard from any Glitch Pop artist. I feel this to be the natural evolution for this group, part of me wishes this was a full length, but as it is, I love it. Crawl - Damned Utterly filthy and suffocating Drone Metal. On this release Crawl have succeeded in creating something final in its sheer malice, every note feels like it is pummelling you and you feel completely hopeless under the sheer weight of every part of the mix. So what I am saying is this is an ideal Drone Metal album. This is not a release that you can just pick up and listen to songs on their own, it is something that thrives in the album context, as the tension and intensity is only made greater when you have to digest it as a whole. If you enjoy this style of loud and confrontational music this is not a release you want to skip. Mitsubishi Suicide - Mitsubishi Suicide Being released right at the end of the month it is likely this is going to be missed by a lot of people, which is a shame because this is a damn good debut. This album features a really effective combination of exciting Screamo with Slint inspired Post-Rock which manages to come together pretty effectively. The unrefined harsh vocals only help to make the album feel unique as they add a certain rough edge to the mostly tight and well played instrumentation. For a debut this is really impressive, the band have a habit of wearing their influences on their sleeves (especially the Slint influence) but that is to be expected with most debut albums. I am extremely excited to hear what they do next. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody An extremely exciting and punchy Dance-Punk album that also manages to be remarkably diverse. Fantastic vocals combined with extremely high energy vocals make the more Dance-Punk tracks ideal and the addition of more atmospheric slower tracks help to keep the whole album feeling whole and complete. The confrontational nature of this album may lead it to being difficult to digest for some, but personally I feel it makes for an even better listening experience. As a proper debut this is remarkable, even if I feel the last track is a bit weak the rest of this release is so wonderfully consistent. Negative Blast - Echo Planet Absolutely filthy Hardcore Punk. The grimy production combined with the throat destroying screams keep the energy of this release remarkably high for its whole duration. The album isn't very long, but I believe that works for the style this album goes for, as any longer and the album may have got tedious with its constant aggression. What really makes this album great is its impressive grip on atmosphere as they are able to create an effectively sinister sound when necessary. If what you need is a really great quick blast of Punk rage, I highly recommend it. I am very excited for what they do next. Paramore - This Is Why Paramore continue in their endless quest to make an album in every genre, this time making a jump to early 2000s Post-Punk Revival and I am astounded at how well this sound fits them. Each song is packed with classic Paramore song writing expertly adapted for this new sound with the instrumentals feeling consistently tight and punchy. Hayley's voice fits this sound perfectly, her chameleonic voice always somehow fits whatever sound she attempts but here it is an especially wonderful fit. The one rough spot is "C'est comme ça" which has a really awkward and repetitive hook that I don't really care for, but otherwise this is a wonderful release and another demonstration of just how talented this band is. Rebecca Black - Let Her Burn Yeah I know I'm shocked too. Of all the artists I expected to make a fantastic Pop album, Rebecca Black was maybe the bottom of my list, but after being completely blown away by "Crumbs" I was excitedly anticipating the full release. And it does not disappoint, the album is a tight 10 tracks and each delivers with some wonderful creativity and exceptional hooks. Rebecca Black has really came into her own vocally and has a powerful grip over every song on the album. "Sick To My Stomach" is a bit underwhelming but every other song is brilliant. If there was an award for most improved over the period of a career I think Rebecca Black would win it because this is a triumph. Tee Vee Repairman - What's On TV This is just tightly written and brilliantly performed Garage Rock with the influences from Devo and Egg Punk stylings working to better the project in every way. It is impressive how full and unique every song sounds, everything manages to set itself apart which is something that isn't all that common in Egg Punk circles. This is an album that won't blow you away or anything but it does what it does so well that it should be listened to if you are even remotely a fan of Garage Rock. It has a quirky style and a fun energy that makes the whole album extremely entertaining. Vylet Pony - Carousel Fandom music is a deeply unique strain of modern music. The worries and anxieties other artists face with their art seem more fuel than impediment for these artists. On Carousel, Vylet Pony makes some unrestrictedly creative and inventive EDM with a lot of wonderful variety and fantastic hooks. The album feels both interwoven and unshackled by its source material, as in it is so deeply connected and indebted to it but at the same time someone like me with no investment in that media can still love and enjoy it. The vocals are fantastic and manage to fit seamlessly with any stylistic change the album makes. A fantastic release and a big step up from their last album. Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy Fiercely and unflinchingly creative. This album feels unbound from cohesive structure and uses its entire duration to sprawl and experiment. Each song here feels wholly unique in tone and sound, but manage to say somewhat cohesive by the continuous glue holding the project together, the fantastic vocals. The structure can lead to whiplash in both good and bad ways but mostly good. This is an album that is born of experimentation and getting an idea and expanding on it in the most creative way and for that, I have a fierce respect for it. Check it out if you are itching for something new. Before I finish this here are 5 great albums I originally missed from January Oozing Wound - We Cater to Cowards: Hateful Noise Rock that is a wonderful shock to hear. Profane Order - One Nightmare Unto Another: Fantastic and brutal extreme metal that stays exciting all the way throughout. Reserv - A True Romantic Comedy: An adorable little pop album that while a bit short, has some wonderful ideas. The Tubs - Dead Meat: A great combination of sounds from the past with enough new ideas to give it its own personality. Wreckage - Our Time: Simple but great Hardcore Punk that shows that you don't need to do anything fancy to make great music.

Turns Out All He Needed Was A Little More Time As far as full releases are concerned, Skrillex has been gone for a while. Call me a conspiracy theorist but part of me is wondering if he disappeared to allow a growth in support for his style, so that when he returned it would be welcomed in a kinder way. But a major flaw in my theory is how much of a departure this release is. This album is absolutely soaked in a wonderful level of eclecticism, each song sounding like a complete switch up from the last, all tied together with a murky and sinister atmosphere that helps save it from feeling too much like a mixtape. What really helps keep this exciting is the range of collaborators, it almost feels like Skrillex' attempt at the Gorillaz style of having the collaborators help shape the track. Whether that is in the exciting bombast of "RATATA" which Missy Elliott absolutely kills and makes me wish she was still as popular as she was in the 2000s, the suffocating filthy Grime sound of "Rumble", the simultaneous excitement and surrealism of "XENA", or the softer more inviting atmosphere of "Good Space" it manages to both, feel like Skrillex as well as giving the style of the collaborator (or collaborators) a way to demonstrate itself. Skrillex' greatest contribution to this release is his remarkable grip on bass, something he has been known for for his whole career but here the bass is used as an additional weapon for each track, giving a new edge to the style of each song. But thankfully it never gets to a point where it is too much, like in the Brostep that he helped create originally, it can be intense but doesn't really get to the point of tedium. However despite its steps forward it also manages to sometimes trip up. Its looser approach does lead to a lot of exciting innovation but it also brings with it a slight feeling of inconsistency, as most ideas stick the landing wonderfully whereas others end up feeling awkward and stilted. "A Street I Know" being a great example, it never feels like it is going anywhere and remains feeling underdeveloped for its entire duration. The polished production can also be a bit of a hindrance for the attempts at a murkier sound but they don't tend to effect my personal enjoyment too severely. That said this album, for the most part, manages to stay exciting and boundary pushing for such a mainstream artist in EDM, and if this leads to a trend of more producers experimenting and working with outside inspirations and collaborators I think it could lead to a scene that is a lot more exciting. I am not going to pretend I am familiar with Skrillex' entire catalogue or hell EDM as a genre, I know the hits and nothing more, so I can't say if this is his first great album like some are claiming, however what I can say is that this is in fact a great album, and I am looking forward to the next.

Surely We Know Better Than This By Now Rock has been a joke in the mainstream for years. People who are self proclaimed "Exclusively Rock Fans" will flinch at admitting this but they know it is true. Institutions in the mainstream eye have long rewarded the work of nostalgia miners and the creatively bankrupt. Mainstream Rock never evolves because to evolve is to stop being supported by Rock fans and radio, so bands must remain firmly and unremarkably in their own lanes in order to stay relevant. In comes Måneskin. Born of their success in Eurovision they have seen a huge boom in popularity, with them being seen as one of the best bands to come out of the competition. I watched Eurovision the year they won and the rapturous reception the band received always struck me as weird, because I felt like I was feeling a bizarre sense of déjà vu. Which was warranted because this band have continued the endless cycle of "Real Rock" revivalism, previously seen in bands like Wolfmother and Greta Van Fleet, and just like those bands Måneskin have absolutely nothing that sets them apart. Rush! sees a band at their most derivative. Complete with atrocious lyrics (especially on the agonising "Kool Kids") and uninspired instrumentals. This album fails as both a Rock album, as it lacks any grit or intensity and as a Pop album, with some of the most appalling and repetitive hooks I have heard from any band. Especially apparent in painful songs like "Bla Bla Bla", with noxious onomatopoeia being used in the place of any form of clever song writing to create its atrocious hook. The album and band seem proud of this childish vapid writing though, as they revel in it on every chorus, all soaked in reverb, as each attempts to be a war cry for the new generation, delivered with an insincere branding. The production certainly contributes to this intense feeling of insincerity, as everything is polished until glistening to ensure that nobody could possibly be turned away from it for it being "too rough". Another thing that weighs on the listener as the album continues is it's crushing length. This album doesn't seem that long, 52 minutes isn't too much all things considered. But what makes it feel like an eternity is its 17 tracks, and when you have 17 tracks that all sound either the same or make no impression it gets agonising extremely quickly. The album continues in its infuriating unpleasantness as each song drones on at the same level of spite and emptiness for their whole durations. When a song is a "Rocker" it is nothing more, when a song is a ballad you can be assured that it delivers it in the most plain and empty way possible. The albums one redeeming element is found in the song "Gasoline" which is the only time the band manage to find themselves a decent groove, and even then it is spoiled by the vocals. On that topic, vocally this album is equally frustrating. Damiano David has one of the most hateable and snide voices of any frontperson, with every word having the self impressed sneer of the worst of the Hair Metal vocalists. You get the impression that he doesn't feel the need to try because by appealing to close-minded rock dads and hate listeners (which I am sadly feeding into) he knows he can continue to rake in lucrative profits. Sadly he is likely true in his assessment. The stagnation of mainstream Rock is a well known phenomena and I understand I am not treading any new ground here, as this band and those adjacent have been the product of music nerd scorn for years. But here is the thing, we can't do anything, we aren't the target demographic. Rock will continue to be a flat circle while we continue to have people who fear any change and while Rock radio continues to know its own audience. I welcome the day that this changes but this feels pretty far off in the future. As an album Rush! is utterly infuriating and borderline unlistenable and as an advancement to Wolfmother it is nothing but another addition to the constantly ticking passage of time. Godspeed Måneskin, I am sure the truck adverts you will soundtrack will be great promotion.

The first month of the year is usually a dumping ground for mediocre releases but this month had a surprising amount of really strong releases and especially impressive debut releases from brand new artists. I thought at the end of the month (and every month following) I would do a short roundup of my favourite releases that I think you should check out. Angel Electronics - Ultra Paradise I often feel as if Ada Rooks work falls too far into one sonic direction becoming somewhat homogenous in its aggression. Angel Electronics doesn't fall into that trap. With Ash Nerve as primary collaborator, Rook takes a hard pivot into electronically tinged Pop Punk. Which to my knowledge is a new sound for the musician and she handles it very well, the sound allows the catchier elements of her song writing style to come through much stronger, with some really impressive hooks throughout the whole album. Instrumentally the album dips firmly into a maximalist approach with a wide range of different instruments suffocating the mix, a sound that works really well. This album contains some of the catchiest and most easily enjoyable music by the musician yet and I can't wait for the follow up if it ever happens. Bootlxgg & Camden Parr - Hookless A fantastic release that is not getting nearly enough attention. Bootlxgg is once again proving to be one of the most promising new producers as all their work so far has been great and this shows an entirely new avenue to their producing prowess. Their partner on this project is also great, Camden Parr has a great manner and style of delivery that pairs with the production excellently. The main issue I have is once again length, I would love to hear Bootlxgg on a full project but none of their releases have given them the chance to sprawl and it always feels like their imagination is slightly restricted. Regardless this is a great release that I recommend anyone who likes creative and imaginative Hip Hop check out. Brainiac - The Predator Nominate EP What a way to go out. What we are greeted with is by far the most synth driven Brainiac release, bordering once again on the sonic palettes of EBM and Synth Punk. I was astounded mainly by how complete these songs sound, if you gave this to me as the secret unreleased Brainiac EP, I would believe you, each song feels fully formed and wonderfully crafted, with Taylor's unique brand of song writing oozing from every element of each song. The vocals are expectedly equally effective, the demented wails have been toned down and have instead been replaced with a creeping snarl that leads every song into this hypnotic atmosphere, making the listener feel as if they are being hunted. When the wails return they are used as a strike against the listener, jarring them at their most uncomfortable. A satisfying and brilliant ending to a band who could have taken over the world. Cute Door - Revenge EP I often feel as if I have desensitised myself to music, so it is refreshing to hear music that genuinely unsettles me. This EP is seething with hatred and it is presented through this terrifyingly sinister sound, each element of the mix feeling as if it is trying to attack you. The unflinchingly real lyrics only help to make it even more of a difficult listen. However despite its difficulty it still manages to be utterly inventive and passionately creative. This is an artist you absolutely need to look out for, they are going places. Guided By Voices - La La Land A common complaint I hear about modern Guided by Voices albums from fans is that they lack the heart of the old stuff. I can't really comment on that (I've only heard one GBV album) but I guess I feel like I can understand what they are getting at. But to me this is a pretty damn fun Indie Rock album with some great hooks and a very earnest delivery. It is nothing mind-blowing by any means, it's fairly standard in fact, but it does it very well. The only major downside is the song "Cousin Jackie" is pretty terrible. Metaroom - OXIDIZED ARCHIVE Exciting and energetic music that confuses as much as it does delight. This is very cryptically constructed but in a way that doesn't hide any of its enjoyable elements. The album also flows together wonderfully, which can sometimes be a downside as songs can feel as if they don't have individual identities but it primarily works to strengthen the album as a whole. It is also sadly a bit short, though I do feel this was a deliberate act to keep the quality consistent, I am still a bit disappointed there was not more of this. An overall great debut album from Metaroom and I think they can only go up from here. Paranoid Americans - Thanksgiving Square Playing from the rule books of Talkshow Boy and Tonetta before them, Paranoid Americans manages to craft a wonderful exploration of simplicity and grime. None of the songs on here are too complicated but they are remarkably effective in crafting the grimey and angsty atmosphere they were aiming to create. Sometimes the vocal pitchshifting can get a bit much but as a whole this is a really great EP and plays into some really exciting sounds. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Paranoid Americans because this is a really exciting proof of concept. Space Camp - Gold Star This album, by the group Space Camp, is one of the most effectively eclectic albums I have heard this year so far. The band manage to effectively balance a wide and quickly changing set of genres with a crushing and menacing overall sound. The vocals are also fantastic, having a harsh grip on the sound at all times. The way that this album manages to explore and improvise in different styles while also staying focused throughout makes it an excellent release that you should hear if you have any interest in the genres it pulls from. This group has an incredible skill at what they do. Tamagotchi Massacre - i guess i'm a woman now... I've had a lot of conversations about Hyperpop becoming a fad due to a stagnation of sound. Well colour me surprised because this Tamagotchi Massacre album is a genuinely exciting and creative and pushes the genre into a new world of sounds just by bringing in a wider range of influences. The instrumentals are tight and satisfying, the HexD influence through the bit crushing is far better executed than I had anticipated and the lyrics are beautifully earnest. It isn't perfect, the eclectic nature of the album can lead to a bit of tonal whiplash and sometimes the hooks can get a bit repetitive but as it stands this is the most excited I have been by a Hyperpop album in a long while so I recommend it. Yajaira La Beyaca & Genosidra - Safriska Utterly bizarre with some fantastically strange production. This EP has some of the coolest and oddest music I have heard in a while within it, with each track having a wonderful bounce to them. All the vocals complement the instrumentals greatly, with a surreal bite to every verse. What is the craziest part of all of this is both of them seem to be first timers and if this is what they can do on their very first attempt then imagine what their second could sound like. Wild to think about, keep an eye out for these two.

A Unique and Incredible Talent I am in awe of this album. It is not often that I am genuinely in awe of something but this album is so immaculate and lush in every aspect of its execution I am in utter disbelief that something this incredible could be made. Instrumentally this album is pretty much perfect, every aspect fits together flawlessly and each individual piece is delivered with a mastery that somehow keeps its humanity intact. On top of that the vocals are absolutely gorgeous, every single note is delivered with a deep and thoughtful passion that makes every song so much better. This is an album that has to be heard, by everyone, it is such a unique and borderline perfect album in every aspect that I would recommend it to everyone who loves music. The issue comes in the availability of this album. As it stands right now there are two options if you want to listen to it, a vinyl rip and a remaster. The remaster sounds incredible, it lets the mix breathe in a way that adds to the already phenomenal sound, however, it is missing two songs and not just that but two of the best songs on the entire album. The vinyl rip on the other hand is a lot rougher, it still sounds musically immaculate but there are occasional vinyl skips. Having listened to both versions I can say that the vinyl rip is the superior option. The luxury of the better sound of the remaster is not worth losing those two incredible songs and until a new version is available that has both the sound quality and the full track list, I will recommend you seek out the vinyl rip. But regardless of how you listen to it, you will be greeted with one of the best pieces of art you have ever heard, so I urge you to seek it out.

Ada Rook Shows Just How Well She Can Work With Others Ada Rook is one half of the duo Black Dresses, who I have become really familiar with. Rook tends to lend a more abrasive edge to the more lose and easy going song writing style of McCallion, because of this I feel they work off each other very well. What they contribute is made all the more apparent when listening to their solo work, McCallion's solo work is often soft and emotional where as Rook more often dips into harsher genres while being equally emotional. Because of that I often feel as if Ada Rooks work falls too far into one sonic direction becoming somewhat homogenous if still great, though I am not familiar with everything she has made. Angel Electronics doesn't fall into that trap. With Ash Nerve as primary collaborator, Rook takes a hard pivot into electronically tinged Pop Punk. Which to my knowledge is a new sound for the musician and she handles it very well, the sound allows the catchier elements of her song writing style to come through much stronger, with some really impressive hooks throughout the whole album. The normal Ada Rook trappings do pop their heads at moments though, jarring screamed vocals and the occasional seemingly improved vocal element or spoken word can cut through the mostly polished sound which can be quite frustrating at points though it often works well. Instrumentally the album is pretty great. it dips firmly into a maximalist approach with a wide range of different instruments suffocating the mix. This mostly works for me with the implementation of harsher instrumentation from her usual sound being done quite organically though it can sometimes be awkward in a way that doesn't complement the song, similar to the effect some of the harsh vocals have. Ash Nerve is a name I am not very familiar with, other than their features on the last Ada Rook solo album, and despite me primarily discussing Rooks work on this album they are actually the primary vocalist on the project and they do extremely well. They have a vocal style that is very unique to anyone Ada Rook has collaborated with before which really helps to set this project apart from anything else Ada Rook has been involved in. I know I have sounded mostly uncertain throughout the majority of this review but I do really like this album, I just feel like on occasion its execution can be a little bit lacking. That being said a lot of this album contains some of the catchiest and most easily enjoyable music by the musician yet and even with issues only take up a small part of the albums mostly fantastic runtime.

The Last Breath of the Greatest Band of All Time As a writer I feel it is important for me to make my biases extremely clear, Brainiac are at this point my favourite band of all time, or at the very least tied closely with Cardiacs. Every single thing that has ever been released under the Brainiac name has been at the very least great, and that extends to the archival releases that have been steadily released since the resurgence of the bands popularity. "Attic Tapes" and "From Dayton Ohio" are both beautiful tributes to the genius of Tim Taylor and the rest of Brainiac so when it was announced that another archival release was to be put out and that it was to be demos to the planned follow up to "Electro-Shock For President" (the greatest EP ever made) it is safe to say I got a bit excited. Not only that but this was to be the final archival release, the last release to ever be put out under the Brainiac name. What a way to go out. What we are greeted with is by far the most synth driven Brainiac release, bordering once again on the sonic palettes of EBM and Synth Punk. I was astounded mainly by how complete these songs sound, if you gave this to me as the secret unreleased Brainiac EP, I would believe you, each song feels fully formed and wonderfully crafted, with Taylor's unique brand of song writing oozing from every element of each song. The vocals are expectedly equally effective, the demented wails have been toned down and have instead been replaced with a creeping snarl that leads every song into this hypnotic atmosphere, making the listener feel as if they are being hunted. When the wails return they are used as a strike against the listener, jarring them at their most uncomfortable. The synths are used to just as great an effect as they were on "Electro-Shock For President" with songs like "Come With Me" having these repetitive droning synths that surround the vocals and give each song an astonishingly sinister feeling to them. The more varied use of synths is also obvious, as the instrumental title track "Predator Nominate" demonstrates, as it is this swirling and pulsating collage of different electronic elements building to this wonderful and thunderous conclusion. The traditional instrumentation is also given its time to shine on songs like "Smothered Inside" with the ominous chord strumming just as effectively creating an alienating effect as the synths on the surrounding songs. Each song pushes the limits of what the band were capable of and it makes the listener wonder what masterpiece the band could have created if they had been able to finish off these songs. As a fan this is the best ending I could have possibly hoped for, an unbroken expression of the bands creativity and a real glimpse of what could have come next. Despite it's short length and despite it's rough recording this is just what I wanted. God bless Tim Taylor.

An Undiscovered Gem When you dig deep into music like I do you often find yourself asking "Why aren't people talking about this?". This can be for a number of reasons, it could be ahead of its time, it could be a genre defining classic or in the case of Tot Taylor's 1981 album "Playtime" it could just be damn good. Tot Taylor is a name I was not familiar with prior to listening to this album but upon doing some research he has seemingly had a very prolific career in a number of different fields and despite this only being his debut it feels like something only a fully lived life could have made. Sonically it fits into a number of different sounds and styles. A number of late 70s and early 80s tropes are explored but are all shown through the lens of misshapen Piano Rock. Every song has a very full sound, with all 20 songs feeling unique and individual with the excellent performance on piano tying everything together. The songwriting is wonderful with every single piece of every single song written as if it is the hook leading to every song being extremely memorable and infectious. That combined with the danceable instrumentals and satisfying vocals leads to this being an extremely satisfying full listen. Lyrically the album is equally compelling as each song is about intentionally nerdy and mundane topics delivered with a crushing sincerity, but despite their apparent mundane nature each song is elevated to a level of grandiosity through the punchy vocals and quirky yet full instrumentals. How an album this entertaining has not become a staple of music fan discussion I have no idea. This feels like a 70s Singer-Songwriter being enveloped into the developing styles of the 80s and using these sounds to their fullest. As a whole this is a wonderful album I highly recommend giving some time.

2022 was the year I finally started paying proper attention to new releases, I managed to listen to around 300 releases this year. As a whole this has been a pretty fantastic year for music. There have been some incredibly creative and imaginative albums this year and I was blown away by a lot of them. Before I get into the list proper I want to give a quick list of my top 5 favourite EPs: 5. White Suns - Dead Time: One of the gnarliest and noisiest projects of the whole year. 4. Bootlxgg - BLIZZARD: Some brilliantly imaginative production with fantastic performances by all of the features on board. 3. DJ Premier - Hip Hop 50: Vol 1: This really feels like a fully realised celebration of Hip Hop by one of the best producers and the features all bring their all. 2. Stabscotch - Honeysuckle Flood: One of the craziest and least comprehensible projects of the year but also probably the most accessible release by Stabscotch. 1. KayCyy - TW20 50: Some amazingly inventive production matched with fantastic performances by KayCyy and a project that will hopefully lead to even greater things in the future. Now that that is done we will start with the list. 15. Viagra Boys - Cave World A fantastic comeback. After a somewhat disappointing release last year Viagra Boys have come right back to being one of the top bands in their scene. The filler that brought down the last album is all but gone and replaced with wall to wall bangers and the electronic elements are a fantastic fit for their sound. Not only that but the hooks on this album are fantastic and the whole project has some of the catchiest choruses of the year. The themes on this album also make this their most cohesive lyrically and the way these songs complement each other makes the album very compelling. This is just another brilliant album from Viagra Boys and I am so glad they have bounced back so much because this may be their best. 14. Gavin Caine - Mouth A Jar A pop album at breakneck speed. What is a year for me without a short, eclectic yet barely discussed pop album. The amount of incredible hooks on this album is astounding and they slam in at such an incredibly exciting level. Not just that but Gavin Caine has an absolutely remarkable understanding of pop song writing that makes every note of this album engaging and enjoyable. It also helps that the vocal performances on this album are great and the power and delivery just adds to the overall sound brilliantly. One of the most underappreciated albums of the year and it deserves far more attention than it is currently getting. 13. Surface To Air Missive - Shadows Leap Immaculately made Indie Rock. An extremely wonderful and pleasant Indie Rock album, as tight as it is eclectic. The way this manages to combine so many Indie Rock sounds into a completely cohesive work is a marvel. Pretty much every song on this album is at the very least great and some select songs like "Violet" are among my favourites of the whole year. This is a great album and another that I feel have been underappreciated this year. Fantastic melodies, choruses and instrumental performances, if you are at all a fan of Indie Rock this is one you need to check out. 12. Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes Well what else were you expecting? Danger Mouse is a great producer, Black Thought is a great rapper, put them together and fill in the blanks. Of course this album is good, there was no universe where this project was going to be bad, the production is expectedly top notch and the verses and features are consistently solid; the features especially are worth praising, there are some truly top tier performances from Run the Jewels, the late MF DOOM and more on here. Every now and then there is an awkward bar or song that doesn't hit as hard but it doesn't detract from the fact this is two of the best in their fields getting together and making something truly special. 11. black midi - Hellfire More quality music from one of the most consistent bands right now. Last year black midi put out one of my favourite albums of the whole year and, even if this one is not quite as good, it is still excellent. This feels like the perfect fusion of the abrasive style of their debut and the more eclectic and detailed sound of Cavalcade. The story telling on this album is also fantastic, each song tells an insular story yet they all weave together in a natural and seamless way. This is just further proof that this band is only going to keep releasing amazing stuff and based off the few songs they have been playing live I'm sure the next album will also be great. 10. Special Interest - Endure One of the most exciting bands right now as well as one of the tightest and meanest albums of the whole year. Special Interest have taken what worked about their prior sound and escalated it expertly. This is one of the noisiest, grimiest and brilliant albums of the year with some incredible vocals to boot. I expect great things from this band going forwards as this is a fantastic showcase of what they can do when working at full power, even if "Love Scene" is fairly weak the rest of the album more than makes up for it. This is more proof that this has been a fantastic year for exciting, genre pushing music. 9. Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future Holy shit this is so fucking good. Let 2022 be known as the year that I finally properly got into Hip Hop, so it definitely helps that 2022 was a great year for Hip Hop and this is absolutely no exception. Denzel's flow on this sound amazing, the word play is smooth, the features mostly work and the production is incredible. I went into this expecting it to be fantastic, I mean it has "Zatoichi" and "Walkin" which I also loved but somehow I was still surprised by how good this ended up being. Not every song works for me completely and I really wish "The Smell of Death" and "Mental" were longer but otherwise I liked pretty much everything here. Genuinely amazing, I cannot recommend it highly enough. 8. Quetzal Tirado & Theo Hayes Two amazing talents making some of the most compelling music of the year. This is such a fascinating collaboration, the range of soundscapes and ideas on display here is incredibly impressive. To name one; the fifth track on this album has the instruments split across the headphones in three ways, as the instrument tracks are played both forwards and backwards, so one ear has the guitar played backwards, the other ear has it played forwards and the centre has the saxophone being played both ways. Ideas like the one previously mentioned are just one of the many reasons I enjoyed this, with the main one being just how well it is all played by both people. To put it simply this album is two incredibly talented people working at their best and I highly recommend it. 7. Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack - Total Swarm For Young Men Utterly mangled and rearranged Post-Punk that is easily one of the most exciting things I have heard in the genre in a while. The glitchiness of this album leads to some incredibly cool sounding textures. Vocally the artist shines, using a lot of power and consistency in his vocals to juxtapose the more unpredictable instrumentals. Some songs may drag a bit but this is an album I would highly recommend, especially in a year so filled with by the numbers or just plain dull Post-Punk. The sheer majesty of the creativity on display in this album is stunning. Absolutely one of the best things of the year. 6. Macula Dog - Orange 2 One of the freakiest pop albums I have ever heard, so of course it was my favourite pop album of the year. It feels like an actual pop album that has been waterboarded in sprite and fed through a steamroller. I mean all of this in the best possible way. The almost indecipherable vocals in combination with the sparse, mangled and disorienting instrumentation creates an utterly alienating feel that just makes the album even more compelling. It's shocking that despite its cryptic nature it also manages to be infectiously catchy. One of the most fascinating projects of the year and one I highly recommend. 5. Gilla Band - Most Normal A surprise favourite from a band I haven't given enough time to. A hulking beast of an album and one of the only times in recent memory where an album actively hated the listener. Both of these are huge complements as well, it uses this hatred as a means of creating a feeling of completely overpowering you and suffocating you in this intoxicating wall of sound. The production on this album is the real highlight, there is absolutely no space to breathe but you know exactly what is killing you at any given time. The songs themselves are also brilliant as they manage to balance being memorable with being completely unpredictable, with some demented vocal performances to boot. One of the finest albums of the year and proof I need to give this band more time. 4. Park Zero - Tunnel Vision Kids The best that Digital Hardcore has to offer. Goddamn I love this. This spits in the face of any Digital Hardcore and Power Noise adjacent project that came before it and goes "You think you are loud? Watch this". This takes its volume and uses it as the clay with which to form its music, it somehow manages to take these utterly skull crushing sounds and makes them catchy. This whole project hits you with entirely new textures on every song while managing to keep its utter brutality completely intact. This is one of the most brutal and engaging albums of the whole year and I absolutely recommend it. 3. Billy Woods - Aethiopes An utterly fascinating listen. The production feels cramped and abstract in a way I haven't really heard in hip-hop before. In some strange way this reminded me of Dälek, or at least the sort of suffocating sound that Dälek songs give off. I first want to highlight "NYNEX" which is a fascinating song, it featured a very busy yet sparse beat, with horn blasts and heavy ominous percussion with a group of collaborators exchanging verses all combining to make you feel trapped in a corner surrounded by a group of people who will not let you leave, a definite highlight for sure. The rest of the album follows in a similar regard with that energy but the way that is executed is always different, keeping the listener on their toes, each collaborator adding to it in a very different way. That's not even mentioning that every single rapper on this album kills it, with fantastic lyricism and flows; not a single rapper drags this down with Billy Woods himself being the absolute standout. The flow from track to track on this album is also phenomenal; each track goes to the other seamlessly. This is not an inviting album, but I don't think it is trying to be, and for that I truly applaud it. 2. Courting - Guitar Music One of the most inventive and unique albums of the year. These past two years have been saturated with Post-Punk so when an album releases in that genre that truly does something different I take notice. Guitar music does a lot different, the way it pulls from the aesthetics of Indie Rock, Hyperpop, Glitch and more makes for an album that as a whole sounds like nothing else that exists right now. On an individual song basis the album thrives with every song being brilliantly written with almost every song being among my favourites of the whole year. The album is also wonderfully earnest and it is clear that the band loved every step of the creation of this. I adore this album. It has its flaws of course, "Jumper" does feel like a bit of a tonal shift, and while I still enjoy it a lot, it does feel like a weird pacing change. But these flaws really do not detract from the fact that this is a truly inventive and utterly new album. Courting have a bright future and I cannot wait to hear what they do next. Emperor X - The Lakes Of Zones B And C Just faultless in every aspect of its execution. Emperor X is an artist I have only recently become familiar with due to their exceptional 2011 album "Western Transport", and this new one is just as phenomenal if not more so. Almost every song on here is gorgeously written and arranged and everything remains just as tight as ever. Tracks like, "False Metal" manage this beautiful balance between the satirical and the sincere and the tracks are so beautifully punchy to go with it. The instrumental performance, the vocals and the songwriting are all absolutely perfect with some extremely minor drawbacks holding it back from being among my top 20 albums ever. This is my undisputed album of the year and I urge you to listen to it.

2022 was the year I finally started paying proper attention to new releases, I managed to listen to around 300 releases this year. Because of this quantity I also found myself subjected to a lot of bad music, which was inevitable, but some of the albums this year surprised me with just how bad they were. Before I get into the list proper I want to give a quick list of my top 5 least favourite EPs: 5. Guns n' Roses - Hard Skool: Do people even remember that this released? Packed with generic writing and awful vocal performances it is definitely the worst release of their career. 4. Demondice - Shut Up, Get Happy: Another Pop Rap embarrassment from Demondice, however it may be the second best of her whole career. 3. Gayle - a study of the human experience volume two: A slight improvement from the first part with tighter instrumentation but still lacking any personality. 2. Gayle - a study of the human experience volume one: Bitter and boring in all aspects, an absolutely terrible start to a career. 1. Salem Ilese - Unsponsored Content: Utterly miserable corporate circlejerking with some of the most drab and creatively bankrupt Alt-Pop as a backdrop. Now that that is done we will start with the list. 10. Charlie Puth - CHARLIE Musical prodigies make the most boring music. That might seem harsh but CHARLIE is proof. Charlie is a remarkably talented musician, you can immediately tell that from watching any interview with him or seeing any of videos of his creative process. Sadly for Charlie technical talent isn't all that's needed when it comes to making good art. Throughout this whole album you can hear novel and creative ideas turned into overthought and overproduced mush and then get combined with vocals, that while technically sound, are utterly devoid of any personality or charm. This whole album feels as if it was focus tested to death and it is worse for it. 9. Pixies - Doggerel The downward spiral of the Pixies career continues. A band who used to be known for their great hooks and infectious and imaginative songs have been turned into a band who pump out hookless stock music. Sometimes there are some okay songs but they are doing the bare minimum to be good. Structurally and lyrically this album is utterly devoid of any aspects that would make music compelling and interesting. Frank Black has also worsened significantly as a vocalist in the years since the bands prime and that combined with all of the aspects that I have previously mentioned makes this one of the most depressing listens of the year. 8. FNKPMPN - Subatomic This should have been good. Kool Keith and Del the Funky Homosapien are two of the most respected names in Hip Hop so a collaborative project has to be good right? Sadly no, on this album we see both artists phoning it in. Del is definitely better off, he is clearly not interested in the project but he is mostly okay, however the main issue here is Kool Keith's production. Every beat is either, lazily put together attempts at experimentation or worse, offputting and ugly in a really obnoxious way. There was a lot of promise in this album conceptually but as a complete package I cannot call it anything more than a let down. 7. The Black Keys - Dropout Boogie A never ending Ford truck commercial. Truly some of the most creatively bankrupt rock music to ever be released. If you enjoy listening to the same droning, thudding and boring rock song over and over and over and over again then this is the album for you! The performances in themselves are okay, but they are okay in the same way that the camera work in a Hallmark christmas movie is okay, this whole album is so utterly devoid of soul that it does not feel like human beings made it. This is music for spotify rock playlists, this is not music for people. 6. Korn - Requiem Why would you make a Korn album with quiet bass? This one pained me to include, I am known as a Nu Metal defender and that title of course extends to Korn. I stand by the fact that a lot of early Korn is exciting and bouncy music, but what made it so bouncy was the prominent bass. So when Requiem starts and I hear barely any bass I am immediately given a bad omen for the rest of the album, and it is one that somes true. Every song on this album is low energy, generic and utterly dull. Nothing stand out and it leads to it being the worst album in Korns whole catalogue, it's a shame because their past few albums felt like somewhat of a return to form, but I guess it was false hope. 5. Disturbed - Divisive Well at least the title wasn't a lie. This may sound rude but why do we still need Disturbed? Their style of repetitive thudding Metal is around 15 years out of date by now and I cannot see why we could possibly still need it. But even for Disturbed this is especially generic, every song sounds practically identical and the vocals are terrible. It isn't even lyrically decent, every song has some of the most melodramatic and laughable lyrics of the whole year. This album feels like you fed an AI every previous Disturbed album and forced it to make another one, if you drink Monster Energy and make Call of Duty kill compilation videos I'm sure this was your album of the year but otherwise I would avoid it. 4. BoyWithUke - Serotonin Dreams The Ukulele is the worst instrument in Pop. What happened to Bedroom Pop? Seriously what happened? Why are all Bedroom Pop albums now completely devoid of interesting hooks? This is perhaps the worst offender of this trend, mindless Ukulele plucking combined with utterly soulless modern production and lyrics straight out of the edgy shower thoughts playbook. I was made aware that this artist is known because they are big on TikTok, which makes sense because any good elements of their songs are in extremely short bursts and I'm sure that the people on TikTok have isolated them. 3. Rings of Saturn - Rings of Saturn This style of metal has well and truly run its course. This album perfectly isolates all of the elements of modern metal that I find dislikable. The same tone that every band uses, mindless shredding, repetitive chugging and every song sounding exactly the same. Djent has consumed Progressive Metal into itself and it has been one of the worst things for Metal, instead of Progressive Metal attempting to do new and exciting things they find it far more viable to directly copy another band and the band that Rings of Saturn have decided to copy is Polyphia (Another band I can't stand). Because of their "influence" this album devolves into nothing more than a mindless display of how good at guitar they are with absolutely no attempt at any form of interesting or compelling songwriting. 2. BBCROW - Satan in the Suburbs Sometimes an album comes around that surprises you in its sheer incompetence. Seriously how did this get released, this is without a doubt the most laughable attempt at extreme metal I have ever heard, midi guitars with awful virtual distortion, the weakest drum sound ever and worst, the imitation metal voice that people who hate metal do. This cannot be made by someone who earnestly loves the genre, this feels like a bitter parody and if it is then I am sorry but that is not an excuse. I have listened to other releases by BBCROW and it is clear that their skills lie outside this sonic palette and I hope they know enough to stay within what they are good at. 1. Negative XP - Gamer III Potentially the worst album ever made. In my time listening to music I have only heard 3 releases that feel like they are by someone who hates music as an art form. The first two are by Doug Walker, being his interpretation of The Wall and his Adam Sandler song, the third release is this. Because wow, this thing is humiliating. I have never been a fan of Negative XP, their style of repetitive pop punk is something that has just never appealled to me but someone with over a dozen releases should be able to put together a coherent song. I genuinely cannot understand how someone with this little of an understanding of song writing has been able to build a fanbase, and this is not a lack of understanding out of innocence, because that is understandable and can be extremely compelling (some of the wonderful outsider and self taught musicians come to mind) this is a lack of understanding that feels bitter and deliberate. Every song is packed with atrocious instrumentation and awful vocals and lyrics. This is the only release that feels entirely worthless and I cannot comprehend why anybody would want to listen to it.

Finding Meaning Where There Is None Music inspires a lot in people, it can bring us to joy, tears, laughter and all those general sweeping emotions. In many ways we as people rely on music as a safety net to remind us that what we feel is valid, for better or for worse. But as you sat absorbing Camoufleur you found yourself reminded of these emotions, but yet, none of them were sticking. It was clear why it was feeling like that, the album has a massive feeling of grandiosity and power to it, yet it feels tangled and cryptic. The acoustic and traditional instrumentation is suffocated and juxtaposed by pulsing and breathing electronic elements. The vocals, when there are some, are equally powerful, holding each note and dragging you through the maze of distorted yet soothing sonic aesthetics created by the instrumentation. Nothing ever feels like it stays for too long or too little, like a meeting a friend where you both feel content at the end, but just like that meeting you get home and your mind begins asking what that should have made you really feel. So you continue hopelessly to understand this album, you listen again, more and more things catch your ear, the repetitive beeping on "Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder", that are panned to each direction is a fantastic touch, creating that utterly alienating effect while the instrumentals taking home between them fill you with comfort. Yet those lyrics, again you are reminded of your own inner conflict, you feel like you know the emotions that the song is moving you to feel but they don't seem to mean anything, the vocalist muses around things that sound profound yet that trick taunts you. You keep listening, the beautiful strings, the harsh glitches, the nagging feeling that you are missing something deeper. You keep listening. You know you love the album, it fits well into your personal sonic aesthetics at times, yet it doesn't, things you deride other albums for just work here. It feels like this whole album is a trick being played on you. You still try to understand, the building instrumentation on every song, the building emotion, the building questions in your mind, you almost get it surely, you must be close. Track 4 comes around again, "Each Dream Is an Example", the droning synth combined with the piano and horns in the intro feel like an introduction to a show you watched as a child but can't place in your mind. You begin to feel as if the album is creating false memories in your brain, yet you don't feel upset because the song writing is brilliant, the way the album manages to perfectly balance repetition and evolution to keep you constantly focused in the way that you have been striving to achieve in your own music. Elements being constantly used, reused and replaced leads you to feel both safe and unsafe. The songs lyrics are the closest you have been able to get to placing an emotion as they deal with the loss of a partner through the eyes of creatures that will feed into the decay of it after death. They feel both deeply nihilistic and yet morbidly positive, continuing your feeling of uncertainty. The tracks continue and you still feel no closer to the questions your brain needs answered, and then that last song comes in. It all connects, you have been approaching this all incorrectly, as the instrumentals wax and wane and the final section jolts in with no warning you realise what you have missed this whole time. There is no meaning, intentionally so, the album says a lot and yet says nothing, it brings you to tears and you don't know why. You don't understand and that's okay, maybe you don't need to.

The Sadness Of Undiscovered Talent I recently watched the Defunctland episode on the disney channel theme, a piece that touches on legacy and the unsung heroes of the industry. Music has a lot of these unsung figures, people whos work is loved yet they are never discussed like the big stars. Even sadder than that is the fully undiscovered talent, acts that worked hard and yet never received any of the love they deserved. Often these artists are discovered years later in retrospective compilations and archival releases, finally being able to receive the love they always deserved. To me Robert Hinrichs is a perfect example of one of those. Bob's Old Songs 1982-1993 is an archival compilation that spans over 11 years of creative expansion and features around 4 hours of music and within those 4 hours potentially 6 perfect albums could have been created. It is immediately clear that Hinrichs has an absolutely perfect understanding of pop songwriting and every song is him honing his craft to an absolutely astonishing degree. But despite this proficiency it never feels plastic or fake, it all feels beautifully earnest, this is someone who adored what he did and this 62 song opus is a testament to that. This project covers a lot of musical ground, from synthpop to R&B to New Jack Swing to Dance-Pop, this feels like a beautiful recap of this era of pop music through the lens of a musical prodigy with a totally singular and defined identity. This singular identity helps make every single song feel like his, even the songs that feature guest vocalists. Hinrichs also has a fantastic voice, the amount of power and charisma in every part of his delivery helps every song feel even more exciting. Each song on here feels like a fully explored world despite each relying on only a small amount of digital instruments, the sheer scale and depth that was able to be acheived here is truly mind blowing. The addition of several versions of the same song from years apart is equally compelling, it's almost as if you can see in real time the development of his skills and who knows what he could have created if he was given even more time to chip away at these songs, perfecting perfection even further. I digested this album over one evening and I don't regret a second of it, this truly is a masterpiece, I was never bored during this despite its seemingly crushing length which is a testament to the masterful writing on display here. This has immediately become one of my favourite musical projects of all time and I recommend it to anyone. However this album is coated with an air of sadness, Robert Hinrichs never became the pop star these songs could have turned him into, I can almost guarantee a lot of you reading had never even heard about him prior to reading this. But legacy is not a fixed thing and fame is not a timed game so I urge you, every single one of you, listen to this album. You don't have to do it in one evening like I did, break it up into more managable chunks, because I guarantee that this is a talent you do not want to leave undiscovered.