Monday, February 7, 2022
PONY (2019) 😊 – Orville Peck
Rating: 8.3/10
Favorite song(s): “Dead of Night”
Favorite lyric: “Scratch on the moon, like a familiar smile / Stained on my mind” – “Dead of Night”
The Wild West-inspired production and Orville Peck’s deep, Presley-like voice make PONY a worthwhile listen that stands out from other run-of-the-mill country albums.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
KILL SASSY 009 (2019) 😊 – Sassy 009
Rating: 8.5/10
Favorite song(s): “Okay” and “Maybe in the Summer”
Favorite lyric: “How can you say / That we’re gonna be okay? / Okay with the lies we’re living / Okay with the dreams and the nightmares through dimensions” – “Okay”
The techno, fast-paced beats of KILL SASSY 009 are both stimulating and mind-bending; it grabs your imagination and pulls it on a journey through space and time. While listening to this album, I felt like I was in an inter-galactic club, surrounded by strobe lights and bopping to the beats of the extraterrestrial DJ.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD (DELUXE) (2015) 🤩 – Troye Sivan
Rating: 9.4/10
Favorite song(s): “WILD” and “HEAVEN” and “YOUTH”
Favorite lyric: “Kiss me on the mouth and set me free / Sing me like a choir / I can be the subject of your dreams / Your sickening desire / Don’t you wanna see a man up close / A phoenix in the fire” – “BITE” and “My youth is yours / Tripping on skies, sipping waterfalls” – “YOUTH”
After listening to BLOOM, I was hungry to hear more of Troye Sivan’s discography, and BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD did not disappoint. In my review for BLOOM, I pointed out the similarities in Troye Sivan and Lorde’s music, and to continue the comparisons, BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD is to BLOOM as PURE HEROINE is to MELODRAMA. BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD is heartache and growing pains; it’s youthful naivety and young love. It’s impossible to listen to without having a visceral and emotional experience, and picking my favorite lyric from this album was difficult because each line is packed with meaningful poetry. Plus, the accompanying BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD TRILOGY (DIRECTOR’S CUT) is one of the most beautifully composed and painful music film’s I have seen.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
LILY WE NEED TO TALK NOW (2021) 😊 – Lily Konigsberg
Rating: 7.8/10
Favorite song(s): “Beauty” and “True”
Favorite lyric: “You got a lot of fucking things to be proud of” – “Proud Home”
LILY WE NEED TO TALK NOW feels like the soundtrack of a Y2K coming-of-age film with its nostalgic rock sound; it’s funky, catchy, and perfectly edgy. If you like Olivia Rodrigo’s “brutal” or anything by Remi Wolf, LILY WE NEED TO TALK NOW is an album to check out.
Friday, February 11, 2022
GOLDEN HOUR (2018) 🤩 – Kacey Musgraves
Rating: 9.0/10
Favorite song(s): “Slow Burn” and “High Horse”
Favorite lyric: “Born in a hurry, always late / Haven’t been early since ’88” – “Slow Burn” and “Cause everyone knows someone who kills the buzz / Every time they open up their mouth / Yeah, everyone knows someone who knows someone / Who thinks they’re cooler than everybody else” – “High Horse”
It is no wonder GOLDEN HOUR won the 2019 Grammy for Album of the Year. Kacey Musgraves’ voice is a sip of sweetened ice tea, and her songwriting is sassy yet sophisticated. GOLDEN HOUR is sunlight and the sweet scent of roses, perfectly capturing that giddy feeling of love.
Saturday, February 12, 2022
SAWAYAMA (2020) 🤩 – Rina Sawayama
Rating: 8.9/10
Favorite song(s): “XS” and “Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)”
Favorite lyrics: “Hot like a fever / Make you a believer / Write my name up in the sky / From Paris to Shibuya” – “Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)”
SAWAYAMA is confident, aggressive, and empowering. While its heavy metal rock elements are a little too obnoxious for my taste, the rest of its production is unconventional, and its lyrics are rebellious. I highly recommend listening to “XS” and “Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)” while strutting down a makeshift runway, preferably a long hallway or sidewalk, like this is your world and everyone else is just living in it.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
ESSENTIALS (2019) 😊 – Erika de Casier
Rating: 7.5/10
Favorite song(s): “Little Bit”
Favorite lyric(s): “Have a lot of questions what’s your / Favourite color and – are you a / Gemini?” – “Puppy Love”
Similar to the works of Jhené Aiko and Frank Ocean, ESSENTIALS’ production is soft and soothing, making it perfect for an intense study session or an evening stroll. The samples integrated into the songs, like the water droplets in “Little Bit” or the tropical beats in “The Flow,” transport you to a better place, stripping away the busy hubbub of everyday life.
