july 24 album review
with summery indie hits and a live rap scene, everyone’s fighting for a spot on our summer playlists
Charm - Clairo
Clairo is the one indie nepo baby brunette white girl I don’t play about. I have been waiting with bated breath for this album to continue the summer soundtrack for girls with whimsy in their hearts (Raveena kicked it off with Where the Butterflies go in the Rain, and trust Ravyn Lenae will bring it home with Bird’s Eye). Clairo’s third studio album, Charm, is aptly titled. It’s a charming record brimming with life yet wrapped in softness, and it speaks to her evolution as an artist. The lush 70s soft rock influence lends a nostalgic atmosphere to the album, yet the record still resonates with the present and feels like its own creation. The instrumental is absolutely gorgeous throughout — especially those drums. The piano on “Terrapin,” (best track, mind you) is so good my mouth was hung open first listen. “Juna” offers a diverse soundscape and a quirky use of the mouth as a trumpet. The queer production on “Echo” adds a mysterious edge to an otherwise sweet album. Clairo’s soft vocals manage to display passion in their own peculiar way, and they meld well with the cozy instrumentals.
Favs: “Slow Dance,” “Thank You,” “Terrapin,” “Juna,” “Echo”
Verdict: consider me charmed!
Big Ideas - Remi Wolf
Remi Wolf’s sophomore album, Big Ideas, is the fun music the industry has been needing! Big Ideas is full of kooky pop with a 70s/80s persuasion to scratch the itch in your brain. The instrumentals are funky and loud, the vocal performances are groovy and fresh. The music is eccentric without feeling gimmicky or derivative, i.e. the “big ideas” were executed.
The funk-infused opener, “Cinderella,” is a banger with cheeky lyrics and instrumental quirks and a sassy vocal performance. There’s something so addicting about the way Remi Wolf sings “me and the boys in the hotel lobby!” Next on the album is “Soup,” which is kind of the perfect pop song: the strained, yearning vocals in the chorus, the open expanse of the instrumental in the verses, the groovy bassline and synths. I need y’all to walk with me when I say this — get Remi Wolf and Chappell Roan in the studio together now!
I’ll admit that the vocals and songs themselves being so … loud… did become draining, but it made me appreciate tracks such as “Cherries & Cream.” The song takes a break from the very loud, very poppy music, and mellows out with a more 90s alternative feel. There is still a lot of complex and fun sound, but the moodier and slower vibe fulfilled my craving for a different sonic palette.
Big Ideas is rich in ambition and sound and proves Remi Wolf is one to watch.
Favs: “Cinderella,” “Soup,” “Toro,” “Cherries & Cream,” “Wave”
Verdict: music Mrs. Frizzle would play on that damn bus
MINISERIES 2 - SUMIN & Slom
Korean producer duo SUMIN and Slom team up for their second project together, MINISERIES 2. I wasn’t a huge fan of their first album MINISERIES; it had some fun songs – “YOGIJOGI” comes to mind — but it mostly blended in with other k-rnb type albums and nothing particularly stood out to me. MINISERIES 2, however, is an improvement from the previous record and a lovely, chill summer album.
“JUST A BREAKUP” is probably my favorite song off the album. The bossa nova inspired track feels like a flower petal unfurling to open up towards the sun. The instrumental and the vocal harmonies slowly build as the song continues, culminating in a very full, wistful song. The melancholic tinge in the vocals float along the steady guitar and melt into the strings. This album moves away from the dancier sound of the first MINISERIES and enters a bright, bouncy sound ripe of life. The city-pop infused “ENDLESS NIGHT” is more upbeat with a groovy instrumental and stronger vocal performances from SUMIN.
Also, I just love the album cover.
Favs: “JUST A BREAKUP,” “TIC TOC TIC TOC,” “GOODBYE,” “ENDLESS SUMMER”
Verdict: slick summer sweat and a salt air evening
Bando Stone and The New World - Childish Gambino
Donald Glover releases his final album under Childish Gambino, Bando Stone and The New World, which doubles as a soundtrack for his upcoming film. In his final project, Glover swings for a lot of different genres and experimentations, with mixed results in success. I do like the dark electronica and nature sounds on this album, which build a vast and slightly foreboding atmosphere. The breadth of features on this album mostly worked. Each song seemed crafted for a specific feature, rather than someone being thrown in to fill the space. Both Glover and the different featured artists’ styles blended to serve one another and expand each other’s sound. “Survive” fits Chlöe very well; her vocals become their own haunting instrument in the background, and when she takes over the melody, it’s gorgeous. She is undoubtedly talented, I need her to do more weird music. Flo Milli ate on “Talk My Shit,” her hook is so cute and perf and I need her singing and doing melodic stuff more often.
Favs: “Survive” ft. Chlöe, “Steps Beach,” “In the Night” ft. Jorja Smith & Amaarae, “A Place Where Love Goes”
Verdict: 2am lying on the bed with my titties out
King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 - Denzel Curry
I don’t think Denzel Curry has ever made a bad album. Or even a “just okay” album! It’s been hit after hit and he’s kind of crazy for that like I am scared of him. I don’t have much to say except that this is just very good! Denzel blends the sounds of his earlier music and the dirty south sounds of rap that influenced him with a newer trap sound, and it works really well. This album demonstrates how comfortable Denzel Curry is in his craft. While I sometimes get weary of albums overloaded with interludes as the interludes often lose purpose, here it was done so seamlessly and worked to build the world of the album. I loved TiaCorine’s feature. She is one of my favorite new girls and it’s nice to see her get some love. The Project Pat feature … yeah I needed that I needed that.
Favs: “ULTRA SHXT” with Key Nyata, “HOT ONE” with TiaCorine & A$AP Ferg, “SKED” with Kenny Mason and Project Pat, “COLE PIMP” with Ty Dolla $ign & Juicy J
Verdict: still king second time around
City Cinderella - JT
With her first solo mixtape, City Cinderella, JT aims to carve out her own space in the rap scene separate from the City Girls. I was never a big fan of the City Girls; I’d listen to some of their popular songs, but I never felt inclined to sit down and listen to a full album from them.
On this mixtape, JT demonstrates potential. She has the braggadocious bars down pat and you believe her confidence and believe she has every reason to talk how she does. She’ll surprise you with a funny ass line out of nowhere. That said, JT occupies an awkward space. There are other rappers where the music may not be “good,” but it’s certainly fun: fun to listen to at a party (Sexyy Red) or fun to listen to getting ready for said party (Ice Spice). With JT, there’s not quite the earworm factor that makes it catchy and fun to listen to, but there’s not the musical merit that demands I sit down and listen to it. “OKAY” being the strong exception, most of her hooks don’t stick.
I also find some of her songs are a bit too slow (“Oh” ft. DJ Khaled comes to mind). JT’s cadence can drag the song, and she’ll sound tired on the record. When the tempo picks up, I feel far more engaged. “Uncle Al” was a silly ass song but I did appreciate it being more upbeat, and it was just super fun! I see the vision… she wants a hit among the lgbtqs. The production across the record was all over the place but it sometimes paid off — “All Stars” ft. CLIP was a new sound but it fit JT surprisingly well.
City Cinderella didn’t need to be as long as it was (16 songs), and I won’t come back to most of it, but I look forward to what JT does in the future.
Favs: “Intro (Hope)” , “Uncle Al” , “All Stars” ft. CLIP
Verdict: it’s OKAY.
Y2K! - Ice Spice
Viral sensation and Bronx native Ice Spice has released her debut album Y2K!, and I’m left with one feeling: confusion.
I found Ice Spice’s first EP, Like..?, decently enjoyable. I didn’t take it too seriously because Ice Spice isn’t a serious rapper; I don’t say this as a diss, but simply as an observation. She makes fun music to get ready with your friends to and have in the background of your Instagram story and lipsync to on TikTok. While some may lament on how foreboding that is for the state of music, I personally don’t find it an inherently bad or good thing. With Y2K!, however, I get the feeling that Ice Spice wants to be taken seriously. And so I am left perplexed.
She begins the album with “Phat Butt,” which sports different production and different flows from the usual Ice Spice tracks. On “Phat Butt,” she raps “got these bitches bitin’ on my flows” – incredibly ironic, considering the entire song sounds like a poor Nicki Minaj impression. “Popa” feels like a poor imitation of Chief Keef, and the delivery really doesn’t match Ice’s voice. I audibly laughed out loud when I first heard the second verse because of how goofy it sounds (“like I’m anemaaaa”), but the smile wiped off my face once I realized I wasn’t supposed to be laughing. This is an earnest attempt at making music from Ice Spice. I am genuinely befuddled.
Ice Spice often gets made fun of for her weak (and poop-filled) bars and for reusing the same flow. One of my biggest issues with her, however, is her delivery and cadence. Ice Spice raps as if she’s reading the words for the first time. It’s like she got popcorned in class when she wasn’t paying attention, so she takes forever to find the passage and gain her footing, and with each word she sounds slightly confused because she hasn’t kept up with the story since eight pages ago. By the end of the album, when she starts yelling on the tracks, I was over it… girl lower your voice.
I’m saying so many things and a lot of it is negative, so let me be nice twice. (1) The beat for “Did It First” with Central Cee is an earworm, and even though the rapping doesn’t add anything, it’s not egregiously distracting, so there’s that. (2) “Plenty Sun” is another diluted Chief Keef track, but I do like the production and her delivery is different from other songs. It’s cute and confident and the bars are funny, which I think fits Ice Spice best. That said, I don’t see myself listening to these songs on purpose again.
Ice Spice didn’t have an extensive music catalog before she was thrust into the spotlight, and so she is left with the modern day overnight sensation dilemma: rather than slowly growing a fanbase as she hones her craft, she has a large audience already expecting a certain standard. When artists start out, they may suffer from same song syndrome before they identify the range and complexities and strengths of their musicianship. As they work to define their own musical identity, they may wear their influences on their sleeve a little too blatantly and they may try new things that don’t quite work. I can sympathize with this struggle. Unfortunately, however, I finished the album learning nothing new of Ice Spice’s capabilities or who she is as an artist or even an understanding of her potential. So I’m just left confused.
Favs: “Did It First” ft. Central Cee …. instrumental
Verdict: Y2K? more like….. Ywasthismade.