Paying tribute to “Oxnard”
From his debut album, rapper Anderson .Paak challenged the “trendy” trap realm of hip-hop by placing funk and jazz into a rap perspective. His music changed the rap game, radiating a soulful, lighthearted, and casual […]
Album Reviews
“A Love Letter to You 3” Review
Dear hip-hop-heads-buried-in-the-sand, Listen up. On Friday, Nov. 9, Canton, Ohio native Trippie Redd dropped his fourth full-length project, “A Love Letter to You 3.” Since May 2017, the ALLTY series has exploded the 19-year-old emo-rapper’s […]
Breathing new life into a classic
This week marks the 10th anniversary of La Dispute’s instant classic debut album “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair.” To celebrate, the band – with the help of prolific engineer […]
Machine Girl proves being ugly isn’t always a bad thing
“The Ugly Art” is the fourth album by digital hardcore duo Machine Girl. It’s loud, lo-fi, aggressive, fuzzy, futuristic, disorienting, and, as the title suggests, often ugly. What I just described may sound horrible to […]
“You Won’t Get What You Want”: Daughters breaks 8-year recording hiatus
The evolution of Providence industrial/noise-rock outfit Daughters has been one of the most interesting and exciting in recent rock music. The band’s 2003 debut, “Canada Songs,” was a fast and chaotic grindcore album, which featured […]
Failure to move forward: Basement’s “Beside Myself”
The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a renaissance of alternative and punk rock bands. Some prominent acts spearheading this movement were Balance and Composure, Title Fight, La Dispute, and Basement. These bands defined the […]
“Trench” will quench your thirst for new music
It seems that 2018 is the year of pop-punk or emo album releases. The year started off with Fall Out Boy’s new album, “Mania,” and Waterparks’ new album, “Entertainment.” Mania is the definition of mainstream, […]
Lil Wayne “Can’t Be Broken”
*Iconic lighter flick* What comes to your mind when you think of the modern rap game? For many people, the current image involves face tattoos, autotune, drugs, and choppy flows. Whether these progressions are good […]
An untitled double-feature: mewithoutYou releases two projects
Eighteen years since the release of their debut EP, Philadelphia post-hardcore band mewithoutYou released two companion pieces, which serve to highlight how the band has evolved over nearly two decades. Over the summer, a press […]
“Do you want to start the game again?”: Brockhampton changes its pace with “iridescence”
After the success of their “Saturation” trilogy and the departure of rapper and alleged predator Ameer Vann, “America’s favorite boy band,” Brockhampton, is trying to reinvent itself with “iridescence,” the first entry in a new […]