At an astonishing 7 discs, 49 songs, and over 150 minutes of music, this functions almost like a box set of what A.G. Cook has been working on over the past few years. For those that don’t know, A.G. Cook is the founder of PC Music, the label that has been putting some of the most forward thinking pop and electronic music of the past decade. This is his debut album (although he’s already announced his “second debut album” for next month) and it really shows the different personas and levels to A.G. Cook’s music and production style. Each disc has its own theme, and sticks to it fairly well. The discs normally revolve around a specific instrument including drums, piano, guitar, nord, and more. It really breaks down each element of him and PC Music to its bare bones. So is it the most enjoyable project, not really, but I don’t think that was the point. Since he announced a more normal length album for next month, this seems like a catch up moment for the fans. He’s trying to get them up to speed on what he’s been working on. Not to say that this is all throwaway music, because most of these songs still feel fairly complete, even if they are minimal. But in terms of making an enjoyable and cohesive album, this project is not that in the traditional sense.
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Guapdad is back with six more singles that were released week after week, and then put into this EP as a compilation. This is the second installment of this series and he’s back with more and higher profile features on here including Denzel Curry, Boogie, and Deante Hitchcock. These features all help carry their respective songs, as Guapdad is almost always better when working with other people. This is especially evident on the project opener “Little Scammer That Could” with Denzel Curry. Guapdad’s almost yelled chorus lends itself perfectly to Denzel’s vigorous ending verse. Guapdad proves he can do the quieter songs just as great, with the last two tracks being examples of that. “Deadly Assassination Summer Squad” features some great singing, and “Hairless Horseman” features some quality verses from both Guapdad and Boogie over this downtrodden beat. Just as the other EP he dropped in 2020, these are just some more quality songs that prove he can make some quality songs in quite a few different sounds.
Nubya Garcia is a saxophonist and flautist out of the extremely talented London jazz scene, and this is her debut album. She comes through with one of the top jazz albums this year, and definitely one of the best debut jazz albums this year! One big thing she does is not overpower the rest of her band, she uses them overall to make the best music possible. But don’t let that make you think she’s just in the background, she’s still the star of the show. The opener “Pace" shows both sides of this perfectly. While the song delves into it’s chaos in the middle, there is no mistaking that her saxophone is leading the group. But after it calms down into its theme, the song ends with the piano taking the lead for the next couple minutes. There are plenty of other highlights on here, such as the twelve minute long title track or the powerful "Before Us: In Demerara & Caura". She also incorporates some Afro-Colombian singing and rhythms on this project, particularly on “La Cumbia Me Esta Llamando". I can see this end up being the best jazz album of 2020, so I highly recommend checking this out if you’re into jazz!
I’ve never been the biggest country fan, but I’ve heard too many good things about Orville Peck to not check this out. There’s plenty of really good things about this EP. The songwriting is great on a lot of these tracks, with one of the biggest examples being the ballad “No Glory in the West”. The production and instrumentation provides a great balance of traditional country with a tinge of pop music. There's even a duet with Shania Twain towards the end of the project. Where the project is going to live or die for most people is on his voice. It has a distinct old school feel to it, which helps him stand out among the rest of his peers. There’s something a bit operatic and theatrical to his voice, especially when compared to the older country legends his voice is reminiscent of. It’s really going to depend on the person on if it connects with you or not, but I definitely enjoy it a lot more than the bro-country that rules the charts right now. Hopefully there’s a full length album coming in the next couple years, because this has left me intrigued to hear more.
Vic has had an interesting career, to say the least. After getting popular in the early part of the decade out of Chicago along with Chance, he’s been on a downhill trajectory. His 2016 and 2017 projects were pretty good, but everything since then has gone downhill and climaxing in an attempt at punk rock last year. With this project, he easily redeems the misses that he had the last few years. His rapping is solid all throughout, and he lets the features to a lot of the melody driven aspects of the project. “2HONEST” with SAINt Jhn is easily the highlight on the project, with him going into his own mental problems that he’s been struggling with for a while. The lyrics and subject matter on the rest of the project is dense and shines light on the issues that Chicago is facing. This project is easily a return to form for him, and hopefully he can continue to push himself in the future to create something even better.
After her most personal album last year, Tori returns with a quarantine made EP. It’s not anything groundbreaking, but it gives her fans five more songs for them to have. “Value” provides an energetic opener with these 808 drums over a traditional pop instrumental. The next cut, “Don’t Take Me Home” is a more traditional R&B tune and features the best vocals of the entire project to close out the tune. “Time Flies” is an attempt at a Drake cover, but it doesn’t quite work. It’s impossible to actually imagine Tori “catching a shawty on my Insta. Just threw on my hoodie, it’s a Crenshaw”, especially considering she’s been married for years. “Unbothered” is another slightly upbeat jam that has the grooviest instrumental on the entire project. “Glad” closes out the record as the lone ballad on the project. This project doesn’t blow away anything her or her peers are doing, but it’s just a collection of new songs for her fans to enjoy.
Duckwrth breathes funk and pop into his style of hip hop effortlessly, and SuperGood is no exception! The whole project flows together extremely well and makes the 44 minutes go bye in a flash. “Money Dance” with Jean Deaux is a highlight with it’s easily danceable beat that makes it impossible to stay still while listening. “Quick” with KIAN is another standout and features an instantly catchy chorus. Of course, I can’t not mention the Earthgang feature on “Super Bounce”. Despite what the name implies, the song is actually one of the more subdued cuts on the entire record. Both of the verses feature them meditating on love as a whole. Overall, Duckwrth fits in perfectly with people like Goldlink and Smino that make this brand of funk and groove inspired hip hop.
The Killers are back again with their first album in three years, and it goes over pretty well! They still have their traditional brand of accessible rock mixed with some synth pop. The track “My Own Soul’s Warning” is the anthemic opener that kicks the record off on a great note. “Blowback” shows them going a bit away from the synths and a more acoustic rock sound. The big feature on the project comes on a song called “My God” that features none other than chamber pop extraordinaire, Weyes Blood. After dropping one of the most acclaimed albums of 2019, her feature on here is a bit surprising, but easily a welcome one! Even though she only did the bridge, her harmonies add so much depth to Brandon’s vocals during the chorus. The Killers came through with a pretty solid album on Imploding the Mirage. While there may not be anything to the level of “Mr. Brightside” or “Somebody Told Me”, there’s plenty of quality songs on here that will appease their entire fan base.
16 year-old Redveil has been gaining quite a bit of buzz on social media for his lofi brand of hip hop, and this is his debut album. He does a lot of the production himself, as well as mixed the entire project, so he’s not just the voice behind this project. His influences are very clear, as with most teenage artists. Much of the production are these lofi, sample heavy beats and Redveil’s rapping is heavily reminiscent of Earl Sweatshirt. His rapping is still way more advanced than almost any 16 year-old I can currently think of. The production can be clean and shiny like on “Revolutions” with these glistening synths, but it can also be downright grimey like on “5500”. All of the features some through with some really solid verses, Chris Patrick especially brought some great energy to his respective track. Redveil easily proves that he’s a name to pay attention to with Niagara. Hopefully he continues to improve and perfect his craft, because he can go far.
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