Cordavision Music Reviews

Gonna be flexing some religious/Renaissance painting knowledge here. Halsey has been an artist that’s been incredibly hit or miss for me. Her first couple albums really didn’t do too much for me, if I’m being honest, but her last album, 2020’s Manic , really caught me. Unlike the title, that album seems very refined and ended up really intriguing me to see if Halsey was going to progress as an artist. Right as this album was announced, though, I felt that there was something new happening. I mean, that’s with most albums, but this was special. Before any other details came out about this album, it was revealed that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from Nine Inch Nails would be producing the entire album. Then, the title got revealed to be If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power , and with that, I was pretty excited about this. There’s even an IMAX short film, but I personally haven’t seen it yet. There really weren’t any expectations for this since there weren’t any singles released before it,...

I can’t honestly think of a good intro joke, so I’ll say that Westside Gunn blocked me for saying the cover art for “Easter Gunnday 4” was cool. I’ll never get over that, Alvin. I feel like I say this for every single Griselda album, but I’ve covered the label enough to say that none of them need an introduction. Westside Gunn definitely falls under that category, since he’s the co-founder of the label. He’s dropped a shit ton of projects over the years, but out of his studio albums, this is only his seventh studio album. Saying that this is only his seventh album says a lot. Either way, this new project here is the latest release in his Hitler Wears Hermes series, Sincerely, Adolf , which is the first half of a double album, with the second half allegedly releasing this October. Along with that, this is the end of the HWH series, Gunn hopefully will be going all out on this double album. Let’s see how the first half holds up. I feel like a broken record saying that the production on...

I know that Ty’s seeing this review, so hi there, man. How’ve you been? While Ty Dolla $ign has been an artist that I’ve admired for a few years now, but dvsn is a whole new artist for me. I know that they’re a producer-singer combo that’s signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label, but that’s pretty much where it ends. This is one of the first times I’ve reviewed an album where I don’t really have any expectations about it. There are features from YG, Rauw Alejandro, and even the late Mac Miller has an appearance here. Let’s not waste anymore time and just get into Cheers to the Best Memories . I have no clue how dvsn sounds outside of this album, but I feel like Ty washed the singer of the group here on this. Either way, I’d like to point out that Ty and the dvsn singer have the same skill set as singers, and it kind of made that redundant in some ways. Plus, I think that Ty Dolla $ign doing pop-leaning music is such a treasure and there’s quite a bit on there. Sadly, I do think that outside ...

Being a fan of both Kanye and Drake, I’m just sitting back and watching Trippie Redd flourish over all the hype that song’s getting. I call myself a casual Trippie Redd fan. I know his most popular songs and, yes, I’ve heard a good chunk of his albums, but I don’t think he has a genuinely great project yet. His last album, Pegasus and its expansion Neon Shark , is by far the worst album of his career so far and would probably be career suicide for any artist that isn’t already established. It’s that bad. Now, we have his new album, Trip at Knight . We have a pretty star-studded feature list here too, with names like Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Ski Mask the Slump God, Juice WRLD, XXXTENTACION, Lil Durk, and Polo G appearing here, among others. Is Trip at Knight the bounce-back that Trippie needs to stay in the limelight? Let’s find out. First, let’s get into the production. Good god, this is a cohesive-sounding album. Every single beat here sounds like it was made on a Game Bo...

I wonder how much this review is gonna be shadow-banned because of the cover… So, everybody knows who Lorde is. I don’t have to get into it that much, but I’m gonna talk about how I feel about her. Her first two albums, Pure Heroine and Melodrama , are both pretty great, even if it’s a bit of a hot take that I prefer Pure Heroine for its left-field pop. Well, left-field for 2013 mainstream pop. Melodrama , though, turned into baroque pop and ended up being one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the 2010s and beloved by her fans. After that, it’s been four years of complete radio silence from her. Then, out of nowhere, a new single called “Solar Power” was announced and released, along with the announcement of the album of the same name. While I did enjoy it, there were some… interesting choices for its personnel. It has background vocals from Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo, and the entire album will be produced by Jack Antonoff. That was met with pushback, with Lorde even saying ...

Apparently, Sargent House knows who I am, so hi there! :) For those that don’t know, Deafheaven is a San Francisco post-punk group that have been praised for their work in the black metal genre. Their second album, Sunbather , isn’t only one of the most critically acclaimed black metal albums of the 2010s; it’s also typically revered as a favorite in the genre as a whole. They did that for a couple other albums, but like most bands, they gotta do something to keep themselves in the conversations, right? Well, they certainly did that. For their newest album, Infinite Granite , they mostly avoid black metal and move into a more shoegaze and dream-pop genre. It’s quite interesting and it’s been dividing their fanbase in a way that hasn’t happened in a while. So, where do I land on this? Let’s find out. So, let me get out of the way that Deafheaven is a divisive band in general. They really don’t fit in either the black metal or the shoegaze genre, and whatever you want from them is what y...

This is the perfect review to say that you should always support indie musicians if you can. That’s why I linked his website below, just in case you like it enough to pay for it. There are many different reasons why fans of indie/underground hip-hop seem to call Texas rapper KA one of the best technical rappers ever, both underground and mainstream. He certainly has the repertoire and discography to be called that. His last four albums alone ( Descendants of Cain , Orpheus vs. The Recluse , Honor Killed the Samurai , and The Night’s Gambit ) are considered masterpieces in the underground rap arena, and it’s pretty much an event when he drops. Now, in a surprise release, we got his seventh album, A Martyr’s Reward , in our hands. There’s not much else to explain, so let’s get into it. Like his past albums, the production here is pretty minimal, but it works incredibly well for him since he’s such a lyrical rapper. KA himself, Preservation, and Navy Blue handle the there, and with every ...

I don’t know what it is about this cover art, but this is just hitting for me. Look, I’ve talked about Benny the Butcher quite a few times here, and it’s no secret that he’s one of the best rappers working right now. He’s been hard at work with his next massive project, the double-album that is Tana Talk 4 , and he’s dropping small EPs to satiate the crowd as he works on his next album. He’s already dropped The Plugs I Met 2 with Harry Fraud this past March, and while I don’t think it lives up to the first, it seems like a big hit with his hardcore fans. Now, possibly the final project before Tana Talk 4 , we have material that was recorded back in 2018 repurposed into Pyrex Picasso . How does it stand? Let’s see. Unlike some of the Griselda camp projects, there are really two producers on this project: Rare Scrilla and Chop-La-Rock. They handle the entire project and it’s produced incredibly well. The title track has quickly become one of my most-listened-to songs of the summer, main...

I’m about to be the Bo Jackson of e-sports. As I’ve said quite a bit before, I’ve covered The Alchemist already on this page, so I won’t get into him too much, but I’ll just say that he’s most likely my favorite producer right now. Boldy James, on the other hand, I’ve been mixed on when it comes to his 2020 album run. I’m in the minority on his last album with The Alchemist, The Price of Tea in China , in that I just didn’t care for it that much. I also do think that Manger on McNichols is one of the best rap albums of that year. His albums with Jay Versace and Real Bad Man, The Versace Tape and Real Bad Boldy respectively, also didn’t do too much for me, even if The Versace Tape has a good amount of replay value for me. Now, Boldy and Alc reteam for their third album together, Bo Jackson . With absolutely stacked features from Benny the Butcher, Earl Sweatshirt, Roc Marciano, Stove God Cooks, Freddie Gibbs, and Curren$y, this is shaping up to be a highlight in hip-hop this year. Let...

Donda may not be out yet, but we have this instead. For those that don’t know, Abstract Mindstate is a Mississippi duo comprising of EP da Hellcat and Olskool Ice-Gre that’s legendary for pushing the boundaries of underground hip-hop in the early 2000s. They haven’t put out a bunch of content, mainly because this is only their second album as a duo, their first coming out all the way back in 2001, titled We Paid Let Us In! . Now, we have Dreams Still Inspire , which is a pretty big deal for the underground. There’s another big part of this album that’s nabbing headlines: It’s produced entirely by Kanye West. For those that miss the old Kanye, this should grab your attention. So, let’s not waste any more time and get into Dreams Still Inspire . I’m pretty sure that all the attention on this album is because of the presence of Kanye here, so I’ll touch on the production first. It reminds me a lot of the album that West produced for Nas in 2018, NASIR . There are a lot of chopped-up soul...

Just gotta say that Rate Your Music is scared of hi-hats. Welcome to another round of ‘Artist I Haven’t Researched Thoroughly Before Reviewing.’ So, I first heard of Pink Siifu from his feature on The Avalanches comeback album We Will Always Love You and since then, I’ve heard his two projects with Fly Anakin, FlySiifu’s and $mokebreak . I’ve liked both of those projects, but I have yet to hear a full album from Siifu. I’m about to change that with GUMBO’! , which I had just found about this past weekend. So, you know, might as well review it, right? Let’s get into it. I can say for a fact that this is unlike anything I’ve heard this year, maybe even ever in the modern rap landscape. It’s pretty mellow and gloomy, and with that, it’s a pretty good experimental trap album, if one even exists. I think “Wayans Bros.” with Peso Gordon and “Roscoe’!” are heavy contenders for some of the hardest songs of the year with their bass-heavy trap beats and wild performances from Siifu on both tra...

I mean, the three’s have to do with the third eye on the cover, right? Tinashe is an artist that I feel needs so much more credit. She has a lot of talent and is incredibly versatile, but for some reason, her albums just haven’t clicked with me. After hearing that she had left her old label, RCA Records, in 2019, I feel like that this would open the floodgates to hear what she’s been wanting to make. I saw glimpses of that in her best album yet, 2019’s Songs for You, and I feel like she can go beyond that album. After 333 got announced earlier this year, I was pretty excited for it. I really didn’t have an idea what to expect from it, but that’s the best feeling for an album like this. So, how was 333 ? Let’s find out together. What really won me over about this album is the experimentation. Given the singles from this album, “Pasadena” and “Bouncin’,” it didn’t seem like it was gonna be too wild with its sound. I’m happy to say that I was happily surprised by it. In terms of the soun...

I seriously cannot believe that A Boogie wit da Hoodie is on a Nas album. Look, if you know anything about rap, you know that Nas doesn’t need any kind of introduction. One of the most legendary figures to ever be on the mic, he’s also one of the most hard-hitting writers in the mainstream as well. This album here is the sequel to last year’s Grammy-winning project King’s Disease , but I think it’s a hot take when I say that this album didn’t do much for me. Yeah, it’s good and a fun listen, but that’s all it was to me. Whether I like it or not, we now have King’s Disease II . Just like the last one, it’s entirely produced by Hit-Boy and it includes features from Eminem, Ms. Lauryn Hill, EPMD, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, YG, Charlie Wilson, and Blxst. New Nas always gets me excited, so let’s get right into it. I’m a sucker for some good jazz rap beats, and there’s a crazy amount of them here. Hell, I’d say that this includes some of the best jazz rap of the year so far. My favorite song of...

I cannot express enough how terrifying this woman is to me. For those that don’t know, that is a positive. Kristin Hayter, known professionally as Lingua Ignota, is someone I’ve had trouble explaining why she’s one of my favorite artists. It’s not every day that your parents ask you what you’re listening to and you answer with “DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR” or All Bitches Die , the name of her breakout album. Hell, I actually credit her for why I decided I wanted to write about music like this. Her last album, the mind-blowing and all-too-real CALIGULA , is a devastating look into abuse and misogyny. In her own words, she stated that CALIGULA takes the listener “through a cycle of abuse," along with looking at "abusive power, madness, depravity, narcissism” that are prevalent in politics and communities alike. I could write a college paper on how visceral CALIGULA is just from Hayter’s lyrics alone, but now, we look to the future. Her newest release, Sinner Get Ready , is here an...

Honestly, Logic always has some badass cover art. I can always rely on him for that. Logic has had a pretty inconsistent career to me. He has some pretty good projects out there like Under Pressure , No Pressure , and my personal favorite of his, The Incredible True Story . Everything else has just been okay to me, but not my favorite. It’s obvious that he’s had a couple missteps like most artists do, but I guess I’m willing to give him a little less pushback. After a pretty cool beat-tape and an interesting album underneath the Doc D moniker, Logic is back, possibly for the last time, as Bobby Tarantino III is meant to get him out of his contract with Def Jam. So, let’s see how the Bobby Tarantino trilogy ends. Let’s start off with the good stuff. I do like that Logic is back on more of his melodic stuff. I think he’s a little overhated in that area sometimes, but those tracks on here are pretty fun. It also makes up for the fact that most of the songs on here just didn’t click with...

Fun fact: This is the first Bleachers album cover to not just be in black-and-white. I really don’t need to speak about superproducer Jack Antonoff. I’ve already mentioned him in multiple reviews and I already plan on talking about him in future ones, so let’s just get into this. Bleachers is the pseudonym for Antonoff’s solo work, and this is the first time he’s released an album under this name since 2017 and granted, I’ve been pretty excited for this. I’ve only heard one single from this, and it’s the behemoth of a track “Chinatown” with Bruce Springsteen, and it’s pretty much my favorite rock song of the year so far. Along for the ride with Antonoff and The Boss are St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey, who have production and writing credits, respectively, along with a pretty long album name: Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night , which comes from a lyric from the aforementioned “Chinatown.” How’s this looking in the pretty strong space for indie rock this year? Let’s find out. There’s ...

The art department could’ve at least photoshopped out the chair smh. Whether you like it or not, Billie Eilish is one of the biggest stars on the planet right now. Regardless of whatever press she’s getting as a person at the moment, she knows how to make a good song. When Happier Than Ever was officially announced, I was worried mainly because it was April. I may be on the younger side, but that’s quite a while for an album to drop. Either way, the singles didn’t stand out to me either. The only single I genuinely liked from it was “Lost Cause,” which has a whole different thing happening but we don’t have to talk about that now. Now, that album is here, one of the most anticipated albums of the year at that. There’s a lot of hype and industry backing here, and don’t get me wrong, I’m nervous about this album. So, let’s not waste any more time and get into Happier Than Ever . I just gotta say this in both a positive and a negative way: This is a mess. There’s a lot happening here wit...

(A/N: I figured I shouldn’t have to say this, but my ratings are based on pure enjoyment of the music. I’m not gonna sit here and shit on everything because I’m trying not to go out and find the bad stuff anymore. Sure, if I get a request to review something and I end up not liking it, I don’t like it, but I won’t say a song is bad because the mixing is off. I just needed to get that off my chest.) Zay, call the fire department, man. You gotta put this fire out. I’ll just let the cat out of the bag right now: There was a time where I never really cared for Isaiah Rashad’s music. I’ve listened to his past two albums, and while I thought that Cilvia Demo was a cool TDE debut and The Sun’s Tirade was pretty ambitious, it just never landed with me. Not to say that it was bad on any level, but I understand why he has such a dedicated fanbase. When he officially announced his next album, The House is Burning , I was pretty excited for it mainly because both of his albums had really grown o...

I was gonna have a ‘society if ____’ joke here, but I just noticed the distortions on the wall and I can’t take my eyes off it. Well, TWICE is getting up there for me as one of my favorite K-pop groups. A good amount of their singles have that secret sauce that I don’t think any groups in K-pop can replicate right now, and that includes from this new album here. Their latest EP, Taste of Love , was pretty good, and when I was planning to review that, I just saw that they announced this album and just made a bite-size review for it instead. Now, they have just released their newest mini-album, Perfect World . Are they still that hit-making machine that they’re known so well to be in the industry? Let’s find out, shall we? I was talking with some friends about wanting some type of concept for this album and granted, I think it’d be cool for the group to go in that direction, but that really doesn’t happen here. I feel like “PIECES OF LOVE” would’ve been much more at home in Taste of Lov...