Stitch O’Donovan

The pacing is super slick (smooth like butter, even) and the record feels like a unit that knocks it out of the park where it matters most (mainly the beginning, middle with "Check the Rhime" and end with "Scenario"). Can't say enough good things about it (4/4)

Secondly, these tracks are ripe with the best that jazz rap has to offer, with iconic and cool (in both senses of the word) beats that stick with you but don't hijack the texture (3/4)

Firstly, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg have such complimentary stiles and voices, like a well-cast comedy routine or film with a duo protagonist (2/?)

The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest

9.7/10

There's a lot to love here and I'm only going to touch on a few main points lest I make my micro-review too macro (1/?)

Finally, I like how weird they get on some of these tracks, with some atonal horn sections punctuating an otherwise "normal" track (3/3)

The drums used on this album feel particularly treated or have intentionally loose membranes to give them a definitive character. The melodies and song structures are also at their peak, with triumphant and soaring vocal lines (2/3)

Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes

9.2/10

There's a really cohesive sound world to this record that goes beyond the stereotypical tight harmonies and lush acoustic orchestration that Fleet Foxes usually bring to the table (1/?)

It can be hit or miss in the 3rd quarter of the record for me, but the rest of the record is braced enough with interesting things that I feel comfortable saying I like it despite the weak points (3/3)

Some of the beats on here remind me of the post-alpha era of Street Fighter music, which is super hype if you're into that (2/3)

DON’T TAP THE GLASS - Tyler, The Creator

8.3/10

Tyler takes a bigger swing here than his previous few releases with a guerrilla release on a random Friday. I admire a lot of the more zany production choices (1/?)

Here is why the second half of October looked like for me

What have you been listening to?? Any favorites here?? #musicsky

殴り合い陀仏 - 人畜乱弾

8.7/10

While brutal and crazed when it comes to the pacing and force behind the music, the vocal harmonies/parts are surprisingly complex and engaging. It's a tight punk EP that ends in an anthemic closer about how they are stinky women and I think that's kinda great (1/1)

Here’s my October A-side

What have you been listening to?? Any favorites here??

#musicsky

They've got some good riffs and some pretty basic commentary, but that's part of what makes punk what it is; simplicity for the sake of solidarity. You have to be in the right mood for it, but it's a staple in the punk canon (3/3)

This record certainly has the drive and energy of punk, but these solos feel like they could be off of an AC/DC or Clapton record (2/3)

Mommy’s Little Monster - Social Distortion

8.0/10

One of *the* punk bands that come up when someone asks you for a short list of them from this era, it took me a while to appreciate their more classic rock approach to guitar parts in this group compared to some of their contemporaries (1/?)

It's approachable and whimsical but not in a talking down way, rather, in a way that invites you to participate at a level that suits you and your younger, former self (3/3)

The schoolyard chant-like delivery also brings a comforting feeling to the compositions, while also being about more complicated things like loving someone who isn't a good match for you or how confidence can be hard to find as a woman in a still male-dominated world (2/3)

Get Up Sequences Part Two - The Go! Team

9.4/10

There's such a playful style to the "Sesame Street-core" beats and instrumentals about this project (1/?)

I'd rather be listening to any of the other three artists I've mentioned than this Swift effort. I will say though, there are two just good songs that I actually enjoyed on here, but they were nearly bookends and didn't make up for the rest for me to enjoy this project as a complete unit (3/3)

It's self-serving even in its own lyrical content. She fails to capture the fun of those artists and rather takes a turn for the venomous side, which is not a bad thing in a vacuum, but comes off resentful that she actually has competition (see her song about Charli XCX) (2/3)

The Life of a Showgirl - Taylor Swift

3.6/10

This project generally reads to me as Taylor saying “hello fellow pop stars" and trying to adopt the ethos of popular modern contemporaries like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan to no avail (1/?)

The rest is mostly just fine pop music that satisfies the space needed by a general pop song, but some of these songs are really hard to get through and are on wildly different ends of the spectrum for the quality that is proven on those peaks. It's also pretty long for what it is (2/2)

Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party - Hayley Williams

6.8/10

The peaks are high on this one, but there's really only one to write home about per act of the record (1/?)

I can't say I'm terribly intimate with the Deftones extended catalog, but from my knowledge I don't know if any tracks are soaring highs for me. It might sound like I'm calling the record boring, but I enjoyed it for what it was and that's kinda it, ya know? (2/2)

private music - Deftones

7.4/10

It's a good enough record from a band that could very well have phoned one in at this stage in their career. I don't think there's any re-inventing of what they do or how they sound here (1/?)

September B-side in no particular order (that black spot is supposed to be “Ugly” by Screaming Females)

What have you been listening to?? Any favorites on here??

Well, it depends who posted that. If it’s Kyle, TJ, Jake, Matt, or Louis, we can be friends. If it’s Stitch, forget about it.

Oh no not you

#musicsky I need more mutuals to talk about albums and music with, tell me your favorite artist or something and let’s talk about it!