Pop
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i,i is in a sense a refinement of 22, A Million‘s innovations, but Justin Vernon still doesn’t seem particularly interested in tying up his songs’ loose ends.
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Part-man/part-meme Oliver Tree continues to find common ground between pop rock, rap, and electropop.
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Immunity is at its best when Clairo manages to find power in simplicity and subtlety, which happens only some of the time.
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Flamboyant is a distillment of what has made bubblegum bass so interesting over the past few years, as well as an apt commentary on gender politics.
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There are quite a few good ideas on Angel’s Pulse; unfortunately they aren’t fleshed out enough, nor do they reinforce one another.
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Choke is a welcome continuation of the darker themes and genre bending of Am I a Girl?
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Ed Sheeran’s exploitation of feature culture on No.6 Collaborations Project is second only to DJ Khaled.
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Case Study 01 sounds much less polished and labored over than Freudian—perhaps in an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle—but, more often than not, the results are less than electric.
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Clarity is a likable pop album that is carried by Kim Petras’ singing chops, though I’m hoping to hear her develop a bolder and more distinct sound going forward.
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Return to Center finds Kirin J. Callinan putting a unique and hilarious spin on the covers album, somehow resulting in his most effective character portrait yet.
