André 3000 - New Blue Sun
Genre: Ambient; new age; spiritual jazz
Review
I never thought it would happen, but André 3000 has finally released his debut solo album! Sure, it’s not a rap album and is instead almost 90 minutes of ambient, improvisational jazz music, but I’m still so happy that we finally got an album from him! He was direct with the audience and made it clear with the first track title what we would be getting here, “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time”. (Sidenote, this song also became the longest song to ever make the Billboard Hot 100 chart at 12 minutes and 20 seconds long.) The music here is hard to review because it is so minimal. It’s focused on helping the listener feel calmer and more in touch with their surroundings and themselves. I also don’t listen to tons of new age music, so it’s hard for me to tell you if this is good or not, but I did enjoy it. Either way, having the visionary of André 3000 finally putting out an album in any capacity is reason for celebration!
Favorite Tracks: “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time”, “That Night in Hawaii When I Turned into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control ... Sh¥t Was Wild”
If You Like…: New age music
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
Genre: Blues Rock
Review
Yup, you’re not misreading this. The Rolling Stones are back with their first album of original tracks in almost two decades. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, I thought this was going to be unlistenable. Yes, I know they’re arguably one of the greatest bands of all time, but they are also each 80 years old and haven’t written an album since the IPhone was invented. Even with people like Elton John, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Lady Gaga being attached to this album, I still was expecting garbage. Thankfully, it was listenable! Of course, it’s still 80-year olds making blues rock, but it is surprisingly ok. A song like the single, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” with Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder brings their classic sound into the modern age with a seven-minute epic. Even something like “Live By The Sword” and “Depending on You” have pretty good elements to them, whether it be the lyrics of the latter or the groove on the former. But then there’ll be something like the closer on here, which is a poorly recorded cover of one of music’s most covered blues classics. There’s just no replay value for a song like that unless you’re a hardcore Rolling Stones fan. Either way, Hackney Diamonds is surprisingly listenable considering the circumstances.
Favorite Tracks: “Depending on You”, “Live By The Sword”, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” (Feat. Lady Gaga & Stevie Wonder)
If You Like…: The Rolling Stones
Blink-182 - One More Time
Genre: Pop-punk
Review
Speaking of things that I was worried I would hate, Blink-182 are back with their first album with all three members in almost a decade. I felt obligated to check this out after being lucky enough to see one of their first shows back with the full crew, as they did a surprise Coachella performance each weekend early in 2023. Thankfully, this also wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Honestly, this one definitely has my favorite song between this and The Rolling Stones’s new album. The title track for One More Time is a genuinely beautiful and introspective look at the band and how their respective tragedies have brought them together. It goes into detail about how they broke up, but things like Travis Barker’s plane crash or Mark Hoppus’s battle with cancer brought them back together. Sure, it’s a bit soppy, but for a band like Blink-182, everything they do feels a little over the top anyway, so why wouldn’t a ballad be like that. But outside of the great title track, everything else on here is what you would expect from the band. It’s not bad or anything, it’s just another helping on their usual sound.
Favorite Tracks: “One More Time”, “When We Were Young”, “Other Side”
If You Like…: Blink-182’s previous albums; pop-punk
Poppy - Zig
Genre: Industrial-pop; Electro-pop
Review
Zig shows Poppy going against everything she’s done the past few years. She’s gone from a weird internet meme to a genuinely great musician that was combining metal and pop music beautifully. These projects were more metal and rock music with a little bit of pop elements, whereas Zig is a pop-oriented project with a little bit of that industrial influence. I do miss the crazier rock elements, but that doesn’t mean that Zig is a bad album. It’s not as great as her last few albums, but it’s still a good project. She balances these dark sounds with pop choruses really well, especially on singles like “Flicker” and “Knockoff”. “Linger” is also another highlight, especially with how the instrumental and her vocal layering progress throughout the track. It’s a beautiful track! But there are a few moments on here that feel almost too corny, such as the choruses for “Motorbike”, “Zig”, and “1s + 0s”. The repetitive choruses here of seemingly nonsensical things are annoying to have stuck in your head. Fans have been theorizing that there will be another album called Zag to complete the saying, but we’ll see. It may not be as essential as her previous albums, but it’s still a good pop release.
If You Like…: Industrial pop
Kevin Abstract - Blanket
Genre: Alternative; alt-rock
Review
Brockhampton’s de facto leader, Kevin Abstract, is back with his first solo album since the group’s demise, and he’s changing things up quite a bit! Instead of the pop-oriented hip-hop that the band had made before, or even the indie-pop that he himself had made before, this one goes into an alt-rock direction. The change of sounds isn’t always a success, but there are still enough highlights that make me think he can take this sound even further. “What Should I Do?” is a fantastic single with a chorus melody that will instantly burrow itself into your mind. The instrumental progresses beautifully as well! The closer on the album, “My Friend”, is absolutely heartbreaking. He brings on MJ Lenderman and Kara Jackson to help with the vocals, and each of them add so much to the track. The lyrics about reminiscing on a great day at Disneyland with his friends are both vivid and vague enough for the listener to apply to their own circumstances. I’m not going to pretend like everything on here is fantastic, it’s not, but there is enough to keep me excited to see where he goes from here.
Favorite Tracks: “What Should I Do?”, “My Friend” (Feat. Kara Jackson & MJ Lenderman), “Madonna”
If You Like…: Melodramatic alt-rock
Drake - Scary Hours 3
Genre: Hip-hop
Review
This six-track addition to For All The Dogs was only recorded in the six days leading up to its release. It’s like he had listened to everyone saying they wanted a more hip-hop focused project and actually took it to heart. Instead of having his usual producer, 40, produce everything, he reached out to some of the best names currently in the underground. The Alchemist, Conductor, and Ovrkast tackle most of the beats on here, which are each fantastic! Drake’s writing isn’t perfect, but it’s clearly a step up thematically and lyrically from a lot of For All The Dogs. He also brings back J. Cole for the song, “Evil Ways”, where they go line for line throughout the entire track. It’s a project like this that makes me wonder what Drake could actually do if he had an executive producer and took time to write a full album like this. Because while this isn’t incredible, he managed to make a more enjoyable project in six days than the entire album he was teasing for months.
Favorite Tracks: “Stories About My Brother”, “Red Button”, “The Shoe Fits”
If You Like…: Rapping Drake
Peekaboo - Eyes Wide Open
Genre: Electronic; bass
Review
This is the debut album from electronic artist Peekaboo! His music is very bass-heavy and slow paced for electronic music. I first learned about Peekaboo from his multiple collabs with Skrillex this year, one of which ends up as the debut track for this album. The track, “Badders,” is a great combination of hip-hop and electronic music with UK artist Flowdan, who provides a fantastic verse. He could really be saying anything, but his deep voice just fits this sound so well! The rest of the album is full of meandering, bass-led music that is fairly minimal. None of the songs are that complex, but the simplicity allows you to really sit with all the individual sounds that are there. It does get a bit monotonous towards the end, but the album itself is still really entertaining! Eyes Wide Open is a good debut album from Peekaboo, that hopefully he can improve on in the future.
Favorite Tracks: “Badders” (Feat. Skrillex, Flowdan, and G. Rex), “Like That” (Feat. LYNY), “Riddle”
If You Like…: Skrillex’s minimal tracks; bass
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1
Genre: Jazz; ambient; classical
Review
This is a mammoth work of art! There are 52 songs here that total 3.5 hours of music. They range from 30 second electronic soundscapes to 14-minute long jazz and ambient epics. The album has many high-profile names from this scene; including Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, DOMi & JD Beck, Jeff Parker, Carlos Nino, and more. The reason the album is so long is that it has been over a decade in the making! He’s reportedly worked on over 500 movie and television scores for everyone from Ray Charles to Dr. Dre. With all that time working on scores, he was also making and collecting his own music. Even though this is three-and-a-half hours long, this is also only volume 1. According to Miguel, this is going to be a trilogy that will total around ten-and-a-half hours of music. So while I do think this is worth diving into, I understand that it will require a significant amount of time to fully comprehend what is happening here. Heck, I myself have only gotten one complete listen so far, but I do hope to continue to return to this album and let it sink in, because it feels otherworldly. Also, just look at the cover art here, absolutely gorgeous!
Favorite Tracks: “Kairos (Kefi)”, “Ano Yo”, “Scar”
If You Like…: Otherworldly soundscapes
Larry June & Cardo - The Night Shift
Genre: Hip-hop; west coast hip-hop
Review
After his stellar project with The Alchemist, Larry June is back to his roots with another project produced by Cardo. Cardo is known for quite a few Drake hits, but he’s also known for timeless, laid back, west coast hip-hop beats. This is their fifth project together and the chemistry is as good as ever. Having the more bass-heavy production works well for Larry. This is a project to ride around in, but now that it’s winter time, I’m not sure it’s the right time to fully enjoy this project. Either way, everything on here is still fantastic, even if it is a bit too long. Larry’s status has become elevated the past few years, which leads to artists like 2 Chainz, ScHoolboy Q, and Too $hort being featured on here, each of which gives an outstanding verse. The Night Shift is another perfect album to soundtrack laid back drives in the car!
Favorite Tracks: “Love of Money”, “Pop Out” (Feat. ScHoolboy Q), “Made A Way” (Feat. Payroll Giovanni)
If You Like…: Easy-going west-coast hip-hop to ride around to
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - Welcome 2 Collegrove
Genre: Hip-hop
Review
Everything on here is great besides one thing, the production. The overall production on here is extremely hit or miss, and even the beats that are great feel dated at least a decade old. But besides the production, everything else on here is fantastic! Both 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne deliver big time on almost all of these songs. Even when they make the radio/club songs like on “Crazy Thick” or “Transparency” with Usher, they are still able to deliver with their flows and choruses. It feels like they actually sat down and created an album, instead of one person taking the reins and the other standing back. Heck, they even have 50 Cent give a brief introduction to each section of the album. It’s clearly a throwback to the early 2010s, but both 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne make this a fantastic listen throughout!
Favorite Tracks: “Oprah & Gayle” (Feat. Benny the Butcher), “Long Story Short”, “Big Diamonds” (Feat. 21 Savage)
If You Like…: Early 2010s hip-hop
RXKNephew & Harry Fraud - Life After Neph
Genre: Hip-hop
Review
Having a producer like Harry Fraud helped reign in RXKNephew just enough to make one of his most enjoyable projects! RXKNephew puts out lots of music, likely too much so. According to Spotify, there were nine full length projects put out by RXKNephew in 2023! He is someone that has a plethora of incredibly entertaining hip-hop tracks, but I wasn’t sure if there was a full album worth listening to, until now. Life After Neph is a bit simpler than most of his iconic tracks. There are no 10-minute epics, but the more consistent song structure helps the replayability of many of these songs. Harry Fraud’s production here fits Nephew really well, including on “All Gone” where I’m pretty sure he samples Japanese Breakfast. There are still plenty of hilarious bars on here, Harry Fraud doesn’t change Nephew’s rapping itself, but he just helped him organize his thoughts into what is my personal favorite project from RXKNephew so far!
Favorite Tracks: “All Gone” (Feat. Z Money”), “Hunnid On The Dresser”, “Fine Wine” (Feat. Valee)
If You Like…: Weird trap music with a stream of consciousness rapper
Terrace Martin & Gallant - Sneek
Genre: R&B
Review
Even though Terrace Martin has been dropping music all year, Sneek is the first release on the newly made R&B label created by Terrace called O’Connor. This was the most traditional R&B feeling of any of the collaboration albums he did this year. Songs like “Bend” and “Devil’s Advocate” are slower ballads that rely a lot on Gallant’s vocal performances to make them stand out. They feel like staple R&B tracks. Terrace does get his chance to shine though on tracks like the single “311” with Robert Glasper, or the 2000s-inspired groove of “Tandem”. The whole project only lasts 30 minutes over 9 songs, so it’s a fairly easy listen for people unfamiliar with either one of them. If you like timeless, traditional R&B, this is one of the best projects from Terrace Martin in 2023 that you need to listen to.
Favorite Tracks: “Bend”, “Tandem”, “Devil’s Advocate”
If You Like…: Classy, traditional R&B
Terrace Martin & Calvin Keys - The Near North Side
Genre: Jazz-fusion
Review
The Near North Side was released the same day as Sneek, but this one came out as a complete surprise! He didn’t want to distract from the rollout that Gallant was doing for his project, but judging from his words about this album, this one was more special. Calvin Keys is an old jazz player that’s played for everyone from Ray Charles to Pharoah Sanders. Most importantly, Calvin Keys is Terrace Martin’s uncle. He tells stories about Calvin coming over when he was a baby and how his guitar playing would be the only thing to calm him down. And now, more than 40 years later, they made a full album together! It’s a beautiful album that just missed out on my top projects of the year list! It’s a calming jazz album that is full of covers of classic jazz tracks, but there are a couple originals in there. Calvin’s guitar and Terrace’s saxophone work together so well, even though they’re from completely different generations. The Near North Side is yet another great album from Terrace Martin in 2023.
Favorite Tracks: “Invitation”, “In A Sentimental Mood”, “The Near North Side”
If You Like…: Calming jazz music
Mike - Burning Desire
Genre: Experimental hip-hop
Review
I’ve always appreciated Mike’s music more than I actually enjoyed it, but Burning Desire might be the turning point for me! He’s been very influential for people like Earl Sweatshirt and the entire sLUms Collective with his brand of spoken word-esque hip-hop and soulful production. Burning Desire feels like a step up from everything that I’ve heard from Mike before, but it’s not that different from the rest of his discography, so I’m not sure why this one stands out to me more. I think it’s that the production is a bit more accessible here than his previous work. The songwriting on here has also improved. Before, it would feel like just a really good rapper giving some verses, but this one feels more like complete songs. I’m still not really sure why this is sticking out to me more than Mike’s other projects, but it’s still a fantastic underground hip-hop project.
Favorite Tracks: “Ho-Rizin”, “African Sex Freak Fantasy”, “Plz Don’t Cut My Wings” (Feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
If You Like…: Earl Sweatshirt; weird underground hip-hop
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