Latest Reviews

Last Friday saw the release of Jon Batiste’s new album, World Music Radio, and on it was a New Orleans anthem entitled, “Uneasy” featuring Hip-Hop legend and fellow Louisiana native, Lil Wayne. Jon Batiste is a music titan of his own, having worked with Stevie Wonder, Prince, Trent Reznor, Lenny Kravitz, and Ed Sheeran, and not to mention his several Grammys, Academy Awards, etc. The all-star list doesn’t end there, with production credits from Pop music mainstay, Jon Bellion, who not only has a growing list of his own hit songs, but has written and produced hits for Maroon 5, Halsey, Eminem, Rihanna, etc. With such a stellar cast of musical prowess, it only makes rational sense that these gentlemen would craft a masterpiece of a song. “Uneasy” can only be described as such. 

Last week, the rapper, singer, producer extraordinaire, Russ, released his fifth studio album entitled SANTIAGO. Described in a hand-written note ahead of this album’s release, Russ pens the album as a “journey to self love + self mastery,” then goes on to list some of the recurring obstacles he’s faced, not only in the last few years, but lifelong turmoil that he’s chosen to face head on. SANTIAGO runs at a solid 41 minutes and is a remarkably easy listen. Such an admirable characteristic is likely due to the seamless transitions between every track and the accessible nature of the music itself. This is perhaps Russ at his most honest and vulnerable. With a tracklist full of notable songs, the most streamed track thus far is the song, “No More”. 

Hozier is an Irish musician who needs little introduction. He is a phenomenal song-writer, hit maker, and has a decade of music under his belt. This past Friday, he released his third studio album, Unreal Unearth. Amongst the highlights for me is a song called, “Damage Gets Done” featuring the 9x Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Brandi Carlile.

Has the taste and smell of a particular home cooked meal instantly transported you to a different time and place? Has one bite of an unsuspecting dish, shockingly revived a memory you had no idea you could still feel and touch? The force of nostalgia is unwavering and powerful. One whiff can immediately and immensely immerse you in a memory, a feeling, or a faint image of the past. The processes that occur when neurons fire are unfathomably complex, yet emphatically simple. It’s about the way that a pasta dish from a hole in the wall, mom and pop shop could bring you right back to being a kid with freshly scraped knees and a dirty Yankees shirt with a fresh plate of pasta, cooked by your mother, in front of you. This experience is difficult to articulate, but it's one that we’re all familiar with in some shape or form. It’s one of the many gifts of multi-sensory memories. For me, the most potent way to experience this phenomenon is through well-crafted music. Saturday Night Gym Club’s The Distance is just that. The soundscape that this album inhabits is like a tangible bridge to both nostalgic memories of my childhood and the memories of which I have yet to experience. The latter, being a truly mysterious phenomenon I have yet to derive meaning and or an explanation out of. The Distance in many ways, is a sonic portal, a time capsule, that upon opening it and immersing oneself in it, they are likely to be taken to another realm. As flowery as that sounds, it is an accurate description of the experience. Even the most untrained ear can recognize the amount of hours and effort that was spent, in attempts to tailor this album to each listener’s brain networks in a way that would fire synapses and carry them ‘the distance.’ Regarding an untrained ear, I am just that in this scenario. Electronic/Dance music is not a pocket of music that I am familiar with. Yet, this album works all the same. From the opening track, “U.V. Smile”, the album’s synths scratch a certain part of my brain, embellishing a classic 80s Sci-Fi movie. It gives me a world to live in that I don’t want to leave. Thankfully, this atmospheric energy is built into the very sonic foundation of The Distance. 

Hailing from Seattle with Japanese roots and musical prowess, UMI has released a new single entitled, “happy im”. I was digging into the depths of newly released music and felt like I was wandering hopelessly. I went from song to song, listening to each multiple times without getting an ounce of motivation to write about any of them. That all changed when UMI’s “happy im” entered the rotation. My ears were immediately captured when the layered acoustic guitars and lo-fi drums seemed to pour out of my speakers. I leaned forward in my chair, beyond intrigued. If nothing else, I knew this song had stellar production. And then UMI started her first verse. With a bright and warm voice with such a soothing timbre, UMI sings about the distinction between running from and accepting love. The moment you make the choice to stop running and allow yourself to be happy. In an interview with Numero, UMI described this type of love and happiness as, “the type that can be felt in many ways; love for a dream, family, career, a place, or a person. I wrote this song to remind myself, and those who listen, that it’s okay to be happy.”

LANY's latest track, "XXL-," delivers a delightful blend of wistful melancholia and heartwarming memories that instantly wraps you in a cool, indie pop embrace. The song opens with a guitar intro that chimes like distant bells, setting the perfect atmosphere for the emotional journey that's about to unfold.

Let me lay it down for you. "STRINGS" by MAX featuring JVKE and Bazzi is like this sweet musical mashup that's breaking all the rules and leaving us all in awe.

Founded in 2013, Jungle is a British Electronic group, started by producers, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. This past Friday they released their fourth studio album, Volcano. The album’s outro, “Pretty Little Thing” features Dreamville signee (J. Cole’s music label), Bas. Uncredited and pitched-up vocals from Lydia Kitto are also provided for the hook of the song. 

Emotional Oranges is a duo that formed in 2017 between the members, V and A. Given that V was a vocal coach for Adele, and A was an audio engineer for Drake, one can expect an immense display of musical talent when the two join forces. V and A have expressed the desire to live normal lives, given the pseudonyms they release music under. For a while there, their real names and faces were largely unknown, but now that they’ve toured the world and grown to be quite successful, their identities have become public. This past Friday saw the release of their new album, STILL EMO. At just 8 tracks, all but 3 were released as singles ahead of time. Such a marketing run is no doubt an experiment motivated by our single-based industry. Among the 3 songs that were collected in the official project, the outro, “Better Apart” is a psychedelic gem. 

Viral TikTok sensation, Stephen Sanchez has dominated the internet over the last few months. His breakout 2021 single, “Until I Found You” is a song you can neither deny, nor hide from. Fast forward to now, Stephen seems to be working towards his first full length LP since his 2022 release, Easy On My Eyes. For this upcoming album, titled Angel Face (a title shared by a 1953 American noir film), Stephen has built a time machine for his listeners. Under the guise of an early 1960’s Pop Rock album, Stephen is telling a story of two fictional characters, ‘The Troubadour Sanchez’ and Evangeline. Based on the singles, cover art, and marketing, Stephen is borrowing the aesthetics from one of the greatest eras of music. That era being, late 50’s and early 60’s Pop Rock, be it Elvis Presely or The Beatles. The album art depicts the story’s two main characters. The framing, colors, even down to the text fonts used, reflect all the traits of a classic black-and-white romance film, or a dusty record you might find in your grandmother’s old vinyl collection in the attic. This past week, Stephen Sanchez released the third single for this upcoming time capsule of an album, “Be More”.