Category: Reviews
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On “art Pop * pop Art,” ZayALLCAPS croons alongside the Los Angeles breeze with a LogicPro trial and a Crunchwrap Supreme on his lap
Sun dressed in an off-white skirt, orange tarnish a patina. With scooters scanning the cul-de-sac, where parents walk with their phones like a pair of gloves. Where chalk marks stretch their limbs on the concrete, and the bedrock sandpapered into a sandbox. Where boys come from the hood and under…
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“Brat” flashes Charli XCX’s entire night out to the world until the very last eyelash’s pulled out, and it’s fucking astounding
Half-full vodka handles, Funyun bags, and oversized jorts clogged the backseat. Every weekend, the items shuffled. Candy wrappers replaced 7-Eleven hot dog foil. A left Twix that melted to fudge on the floor; not one person noticed. Our friends piled their limbs over one another, like mannequins taken down from display.…
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On the unexpected “Girl, So Confusing” remix, Charli XCX and Lorde declare friendship over a decade of pop culture speculations with unhinged frustrations and apprehensions
(6/21: I’m writing amidst both drafting my Brat review and moving out, the latter making it incredibly difficult to set aside time to research, write, and edit. Many times during this year, I doubted my ability to consistently draft and post my work because of everything that life has thrown…
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Erika de Casier, “Still,” and the Reappropriation of Self-Identity
Erika de Casier has long established her brand of quiet love songs. The ones that evoke glasses of Prosecco on the nightstand, the comforter showered in petals. Or a bouquet sent to the office, with a letter detailing their next date. Essentials and Sensational define these intimate spaces, a luxury…
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“Erotic Probiotic 2” augments the shelf life of ‘90s dance and R&B with ease as it searches for answers to everyday survival
You’re told that nothing lasts forever, that this life subsides to the sediments masking the earth. But on Erotic Probiotic 2, the premise’s mystified and transforms to vapor. What’s life without notes from the past, at least not from a recent one? You flipped through your parents’ old record stacks…
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On “Quaranta,” Danny Brown accepts his position as a veteran with potential galore amidst a losing battle against time and the ever-changing rap scene
On “Bass Jam,” a spacey medium of clouds and angel wings ascend to picturesque memories. A white staircase awaits, but the supercut elongates this specific moment. Anita Baker, Mary J. Blige, and Sade all play on the cassette. Financial burdens gloom over the bass guitar, but it’s music as an…
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“VROOM VROOM” sightsees city grounds for another chance of a dopamine rush
4 a.m. clicked, and the city sent its citizens to sleep, all but a few: the drivers seeking nightclub addicts, and the ones on an after-hours expedition. On a lonely intersection, BEBE YANA surged past the red lights. No consideration for the law, no thought about the consequences. She claimed…
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On “Soft Spot,” JMSN scratches his fix for progression with sandpaper, sex, and smog
On his seventh album, “Soft Spot,” Christian Berishaj, known as JMSN, explores the philosophy of ‘letting the groove speak for you.’ Retaining a focus on feeling, the Detroit musician’s latest record indulges in sensuality and roughness. Tracks vary from the dirty shrugs on ‘Cherry Pop’ to the reflective ‘Outsider’, suggesting…
Michael's Cut 