Hi and hello, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a great albums video, basically me going over a bunch of records that I had some strong feelings on over the past month or so, just reminding you guys that they exist. I reviewed them, I've chatted them out in some form or fashion, and I don't want them to slip through the cracks on you. And I feel like these projects are very much worth your time.

Starting with the new Earl Sweatshirt, Live Laugh Love.

One of his best records, yet, to me, really like the other side of the Some Rap Songs coin, where Earl's abstract style is still quite personal as it was on that very modern classic record, you could say at this point. But instead, the vibes and a lot of the lyricism on this record, in comparison, are much more mature, are, I would say, much more positive.

Earl is most definitely in a very different part of his life here on this record than he was on the Some Rap Songs album as a point of comparison. Yeah, it makes just for a very intriguing listen, really great loopy production all around on this record. Again, it's very abstract, a lot of shortcuts, a lot of short songs on this thing, but still one of his strongest and most potent and most emotional releases yet, for sure.

All right, moving on from there, we have this new Horror record or HO9909, Tomorrow We Escape, a record that's a really cool and interesting amalgamation of industrial rock, of hardcore punk, of hardcore, of hardcore hip hop, also alt metal. It goes further from there, like the amount genres that these guys touched down on on this very, very trim, very, very direct and to the point album. It's a lot of bases being covered on this thing.

And in my opinion, this being their third full-length LP, from what I remember, is their most versatile and I think most creative yet in terms of fusing all of these sounds and ideas together in a way that is seamless and exciting and unique to them, some of their best and most hard-hitting songwriting. So far, too, the choruses really pop across this record. The riffs sound great. And again, I feel like these guys do meld these hip hop and metal and punk elements without falling into some of those same problems and issues that you may typically get with a lot of bad nu metal revivalist and rat metal revivalist stuff. It's all of that, but the cringe factor is completely thrown to the side and tossed into the shredder. But yeah, really great record from H09909. Again, I feel like their best yet, and a really fun, thrilling, hard-hitting project that for sure is going to be exciting to see them take out on the road.

We also have the new JID, God Does Like Ugly. Banger record, obviously, "Prelude Edition" over here that has all the additional tracks and everything around this album cycle. And yes, Atlanta rapper JID does it again. He is handily one of the most lyrical and technically talented spitters on the game right now, and this record continues to prove why he is as relevant as he is to this day, because it's been a while since he really broke through on J. Cole's Dreamville records. A lot of excellent collaborations on this LP, a lot of thoughtful verses, a lot of great quality wordplay.

I mean, again, JID just continues to be one of the best rappers out there point blank period. And while I didn't enjoy this one as much as his last. It's still a completely excellent record with a lot of mind-blowing moments.

Next, Ninajirachi, I Love My Computer. If you're looking for a very peppy, hard-hitting, and colorful EDM release with a lot of thematic songs that explore feelings around the personal and the way tech influences that, whether it's romance and existentialism and various social dynamics and so on and so forth. You want to give this album a listen. It's a very fun, catchy, playful little record with a lot of thought that clearly went into it.

And yeah, also liking the versatility across the album as well in terms of the various fusions of electronic music and pop across its tracklist. A very good quality album, a great debut from Nina for sure.

All right, we have also one over here from really one of my favorite records. Honestly, I'm loving all these albums, but this one especially has been getting a lot of repeats. It's the new Nourished by Time album, The Passionate Ones. If you're looking for some underground, grimy, creative R&B, neosoul with a bedroom pop twist, you definitely want to hear this record out.

I mean, the songs, again, are a little fuzzy and rough around the edges, but once they click, they really, really, really do click. They are incredible songs with fantastic moments, melodically and lyrically. Again, I know the production is a little rough around the edges, but the songs are so goddamn good, and the vocals are so damn interesting that they shine through that muck pretty much all the time across this tracklist.

But I could also see an appeal to the fact that there is something very spacey and mysterious to the presentation on these songs, too. I mean, as I listen to this record more and more. I mean, there is definitely an appeal to that vibe. There's a hypnogogic quality to it as well. I believe in my review, I said something about likening this to something along the lines of this old '90s R&B demo that is now seeing the light of day. You know what I mean? So really interesting, really great record from Nourished by Time over here.

All right. Also, and on top of that, shout out to Tyler Childers for his Snipe Hunter album. Really my country record of the year thus far, filled with great tunes, and really a bold and exciting record from Tyler as well, not only because of the way Hinduism ties in with the last couple of tracks, philosophically, to create some really beautiful moments, but also all of the interesting country and rock fusions across this record as well.

I've never heard Tyler so fired up on so many tracks back to back to back to back. Again, just really incredible record from Tyler, a banger country album that I feel like people who maybe are not always into country music, you should give it a shot, even if you're a little country averse.

All right, moving on from there, I want to give a shout out to a few shorter, smaller projects, EPs and the like that I have been really enjoying. Just to touch down on them real quick.

And Beyond, If You Only Knew. These guys are an Australian duo and beyond. If only you knew. They're a hip hop duo that have a range of influences across the genre. I feel like the lyrics and production on this new EP of theirs really stands out. I mean, a majority of the tracks, I will say, have a bit of an old-school flair to them, but there is something refreshing and really cool and sharp about the way they've modernized a lot of these throwback sounds. It's been a while since I've heard Australian hip hop that sounded this good, frankly.

Moving on from there.

Also, Deki Alem, Forget In Mass. This is a new EP from a Swedish duo who are really throwing it back to the '90s in terms of giving us some pop and hip hop fusions, a lot of trip hop, too. If you're huge into Gorillaz, huge into Massive Attack, I think you're really going to get a lot out of this EP, and their influences and the musical ideas they touched down on extend even beyond that. Actually, I'm really loving what they're doing on this EP. There are some moments where, again, the influences are really quite, quite, quite obvious, but the production and the songwriting across the entire thing, regardless of how original any sounds or ideas are, are completely killer. And again, even with the trip hop vibes being so strong and so apparent, it's been a while since I've heard a newer artist do them this well. It's something that is rarely done this well in modern times. So really enjoying this EP, too. Give this one a listen, especially, again, if you're into Massive Attack, if you're into Portishead, all that. All right.

Also, quick shout out to the new Yeat EP, Dangerous Summer. It's not a perfect EP, and obviously, it's just setting up for his next full-length album, but I do think there's a lot of really good quality bangers on this EP, honestly. This is the most excited I've been about Yeat's music since 2023, which I know was not that long ago, but I mean, simultaneously, it doesn't feel like just a repeat, merely a repeat of everything he was doing on that album. There's a clarity to the material on this record that I'm really enjoying. The beat choices are fantastic as well. I feel like he's really in his bag when it comes to the hooks on this thing, too. Really enjoying this EP, too. All right.

Shout out to a Gingerbee for this Apiary project. This video, this project is the first I'm hearing of this band and their Bandcamp page. From what I understand, they are literally an internet band whose members are dispersed across the globe, as it were, just everybody is from a different place, so they're all working together and recording together remotely in a way. And what they're doing is the most frilly, technical, noisy, abrasive, and chaotic combination of emo, punk, noise rock, and baroque pop, too, because there's some really wonderful and interesting arrangements that are placed all around the music on these songs as well, which again makes for a very harsh and crazy contrast with some of the more abrasive rock instrumentation and the scream vocals and so on and so forth. And the band seems to have a bit of a jokey self-awareness about themselves and what they do. I mean, after all, their Bandcamp says that this project is essentially the "fakest and gayest emo music ever made," which, I mean, obviously is said in jest. But yeah, it's like a very unique sound. I'll give it that. And the more I listen to it, the more intrigued about it I was, even if it was like lo-fi and quite harsh on the ears. But yeah, Apiary from Gingerbee.

And that is going to be it. Those are the great albums I wanted to shout out for this video. You guys are the best. Hopefully, you got some good recommendations here.

Anthony Fantano, great albums. Forever.