6/10
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Grizzly Bear returns from a five-year hibernation with a mirror image of their previous album, Shields.
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The latest Everything Everything album finds the UK art pop outfit taking their songwriting in a moodier and somewhat more conventional direction.
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NY rapper A$AP Ferg delivers a slight return to form with his latest mixtape.
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Ski Mask the Slump God’s outlandish and sometimes gross lyricism is sure to put off some listeners, but his animated performances left quite an impression on me over the short runtime of this latest mixtape.
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Vic Mensa’s long-awaited debut album delivers its fair share of grand and thoughtful highs, but also some cringe-worthy lows.
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Nine Inch Nails follows up last year’s Not the Actual Events EP with a moodier and more atmospheric set of tracks, which I don’t find to be quite as well-written or exciting.
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The first half of Raskit is some of the most hard-nosed grime you’ll hear all year, as well as some of Dizzee Rascal’s strongest material since Boy in da Corner. Unfortunately, things go downhill fast shortly thereafter…
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While Lust for Life might be Lana Del Rey’s weakest attempt at reconciling her old school and new school influences, it’s also the first time I’ve come away from one of her albums with more highlights than lowlights.
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Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory is the Long Beach rapper’s most eclectic project yet, but still exposes major songwriting deficiencies.
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Murder of the Universe might be King Gizzard’s most musically and conceptually ambitious project to date, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
