Cordavision Music Reviews

Just when I think I’m out, I’m pulled back in. Okay, hi again. I’m not saying I’m back for good, but I just hit a stride, and I’m not gonna lie, I miss writing for the fun of it. Anyway, I’ve talked about this band on the site before. I might just have to make a tag to link all their albums together. King Gizzard went on a damn-near-perfect streak of three separate projects last October, and knowing that whatever they did next was a spiritual successor to 2019 fan favorite Infest the Rats' Nest , it’d certainly be up my alley. Now, we have PetroDragonic Apocalypse , which I will just shorten it to that because of the long-ass album title you can see at the top. It’s a mouthful, I know. Either way, let’s get into it. PetroDragonic Apocalypse sees the group move into a genre they’ve dabbled in before: metal. Throwing in dashes of thrash, speed, and even stoner metal helps make the Aussie band’s most chaotic, in-your-face, and probably entertaining project as a whole yet. Environment...

American Idol -ass cover. I guess I’d say I’m a fan of Yung Lean. Ever since getting into that Drain Gang circle with Bladee and Ecco2k, I’ve always liked what I’ve heard from Yung Lean’s output, even if his last project Stardust didn’t really live up to the other things I’ve heard. However, I was completely out of the loop on this side project of his, jonatan leandoer96. Out of the other songs I’ve heard from this that I checked out after this project, it has more of an indie folk edge to it. On this album, Sugar World , Lean takes a turn into Bowie-esque glam rock. It’s certainly an interesting experiment that piqued my interest, so let’s ride off into Sugar World . I should start off by saying that I’m a fan of artistic risks, with Lil Yachty’s most recent project being the biggest example in recent memory, and while Sugar World is an overall enjoyable listen, there are just a couple of things holding it back from greatness to me. Lean’s vocals are pretty inconsistent in quality t...

Did you know that King Gizz’s discography is the length of two football fields? How many times have I raved about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard? Like, I shined praise onto them five times last year alone for all of the projects they dropped. What else can they even do? And yet, they continue to surprise. A huge highlight of not only their 2022 but their careers up to this point is playing three 3-hour shows in a single weekend over at Red Rocks, Colorado. Each of them were completely different sets, and while I was excited to hear about this massive achievement for the group, I’m a broke college student and couldn’t get to Colorado, which I bet I’m not the only one that felt this. However, each show they played has now been released as a massive 86-track, nearly 9-hour box set for the fans to enjoy. It took some time, but I actually listened to the whole thing. Let’s dive into it. I’ve had to edit this review down a couple of times, but I’ve slowly realized that this is just gon...

I gotta keep holding to my promises about reviewing. I always love it when an artist takes a risk with their material. Whether or not it works out, I usually admire the risk and appreciate the fact that any artist can do something out of their comfort zone. Either way, the artist in question today is Lil Yachty, a rapper that has basically become a joke the longer his career’s gone on. However, going into a new genre out of left field isn’t totally new to rap. Childish Gambino jumping into the world of neo-soul with Awaken, My Love! , along with later projects from Mac Miller and Tyler, the Creator having more jazz influences, have proven that turning to a new genre for new ideas has worked out pretty well. Yachty, however, has turned to psychedelic rock in the vein of Tame Impala for this new album, Let’s Start Here. to mark the new chapter of his career. Let’s get into it. Having stuck around with Yachty during the rough patches, I can easily say that Let’s Start Here. is his best ...

Honestly, if you’re heart is quite literally glowing, you might have to see a doctor. Okay, hi. It’s been a hot minute. I’m gonna be more consistent with the reviews and do a little catch-up with some other albums I’ve heard, but this is one I’ve sat on for a while. Weyes Blood has been an artist that I’ve fallen in love with. I know I’m not the only one thinking that her last album, 2019’s Titanic Rising , is probably a contender for the best indie rock album of the 2010s. I think it’s a landmark album that set the bar for indie rock/singer-songwriter albums for this decade. Now, we have something that could match the quality of that: Weyes Blood’s next album. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow dropped last month, and I’ve had a good amount of time to sit on it. Let’s get into how I felt about it. The reason why I’ve had to take some time with this project is because I’ve had a hard time putting to words just how nice this is to listen to. This has a nostalgic, old school feeling that...

They’re just farming for XP to level up by the end of the year, don’t worry about quality over quantity. Since I literally wrote about these guys a few weeks back, I have no idea how to properly introduce you other than to link you to my Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava review so you can get the full picture. However, there’s even more context behind this release. In 2017, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard put out five albums, just as they did this year with this album, Changes . This album, however, was meant to be the fifth album of 2017. With most King Gizz releases, there’s a core concept, with this one having every track in D major / F# major chord changes. I’m not even sure if I worded that correctly, but you get the idea. There’s also a pretty visual reference to the track titles, if you’ve got a keen eye. King Gizz have continued to raise the bar all this year and this shouldn’t be any different. Let’s get into Changes and see how I felt about it. As I looked ...

I’d like to throw this cover into the fray of one of the most recognizable cover arts of the 2010s. Alright, this may be a surprising revelation to some, but I’ve never heard an Arctic Monkeys album in its entirety. Sure, I’ve heard a couple of songs and most of their last album, Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino , but never a whole project. The only song I’ve heard from this project, AM , is “R U Mine?,” which I think is a pretty good song. To my knowledge, AM is considered to be the sellout album in Arctic Monkeys’ discography, and that’s mainly why I decided to pick this as my first dive into the group. On top of their first album in four years releasing this Friday, I figured now would be a better time than ever to finally see what this group’s about. Let’s get into AM . I’ll say this off the bat: you can tell that most of these were singles or really wanted to be. Six of these songs were singles, that’s half of the album. It’s not as bad as the last Joyner Lucas album where there w...

This is proof that AI art can sometimes be beautiful. I recently hit a milestone that I’ve been wanting to hit with my music-listening journey: I’ve gotten through every single studio album from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, just in time for them to ANNOUNCE THREE MORE ALBUMS RELEASING THIS MONTH. Yeah, that’s how these little Aussies roll with their music. King Gizz’s previous release, this past April’s double album Omnium Gatherum , is one of the best rock albums of the decade so far, in my opinion, so they’re setting the bar pretty high. With their third album of 2022, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava is tackling a pretty big concept: Seven tracks that are built around the main 7 Greek modes of music. It’s an interesting idea, so let’s see what tricks these little goblins have up their sleeves. As I mentioned earlier, each track on the album is built around and/or inspired by the seven major Greek modes of music. I’m not someone who knows about music theory or a...

First off, Tinker Bell isn’t overrated. Honestly, I’ve always liked the sound of beabadoobee. The first time I’d even heard of her, like most of us, was being sampled on that one Tik Tok song about a cup of coffee or something. I’m not even bothered to look up what that song is because I’m not even a fan of it. Either way, it helped me discover bea, and her debut album, 2020’s Fake It Flowers , is actually pretty good, so I’d be tuning in to whatever she did next. Lo and behold, we now have Beatopia in our grasp, so let’s just get into it. What I like the most about this is the production and overall vibe of the album. It reminds me a lot of the radio hits of the late 90s and early 2000s, and quite frankly, the rose-colored nostalgia glasses are on for that era. The use of genres like folk, indie pop, singer-songwriter, and dream pop keep the sound of this album evolving throughout to keep the listener on their toes. Combining that with the impressive vocals from Bea makes for a dream...

Luckily, this didn’t sound like hell was engulfing my eardrums. There was a little phase last year where there were a bunch of post-punk albums that really clicked for me. One of my more controversial takes is that I thought that black midi’s Cavalcade , which is considered by many to be one of the best albums of last year, was just a little bit overrated. I understand the raw talent from each member, but I thought that it didn’t gel as well as their first album, Schlagenheim . However, this might be a different story. I haven’t heard any of the singles ahead of Hellfire , so I’m going into this completely blind. This is getting even higher praise than Cavalcade , not that that matters to me, but it’s worth pointing that out. Let’s not waste any more time and get into Hellfire . Since I never went into detail about it, I prefer Schlagenheim over Cavalcade because the more chaotic sound suits the group much more. I think that was sacrificed with more complex tracks on the latter, whic...

Sometimes? Forever? What’s the difference? I’ve always liked Soccer Mommy’s brand of lo-fi, indie rock and what she’s gone for in terms of her content. I like all of her albums, but my personal favorite is 2020’s color theory, mainly because I think that it took her biggest strengths and concentrated it into a project. Now, we have Sometimes, Forever , a new album with a pretty big shake-up behind the scenes. Producing the album in its entirety is Daniel Lopatin, better known as Oneohtrix Point Never, who’s essentially a pioneer in electronic music and has currently found a second wind in his career with film scores and producing nearly the entirety of The Weeknd’s last project, Dawn FM . How does this clash sound? Let’s get into Sometimes, Forever . I still think Soccer Mommy’s writing and vocals are just as good here as in her past projects, and she has a way to capturing sadness into a song that’s unmatched by anyone else in the genre right now. I already think that this is her most...

Cuomoville? More like Cumville… I have the humor of a literal child. Earlier this year, prolific band Weezer announced the SZNZ series of EPs, one project released on the first day of the new season. Back in March, we got the spring installment, which was a set of acoustic tracks that, well, felt a lot like springtime. Now, we have the summer DLC of Weezer. How does SZNZ: Summer hold up? Let's get into it. It’s no secret among my group of friends that I think the worst Weezer project is Van Weezer, and in a weird way, I feel like the sound of this is a spiritual successor to that project. I may be a little hypocritical with this, but I actually think this is one of the most I’ve enjoyed a Weezer project so far. Before you go crazy, I’m not that familiar with Weezer’s discography just yet, so this is coming from very limited knowledge. The alternative/surf rock vibe of this album just defines summer perfectly, and the closing track is one of my favorite Weezer songs period now. Li...

Honestly, this cover’s just pretty. It’s no secret that I’ve been a Harry Styles fan for a while now. Well, at least since the hiatus that One Direction is currently on, which probably won’t stop anytime soon. Even since those times, I could tell that there was more to Harry Styles. While most of the other 1D members’ solo careers have floundered, Styles has been absolutely killing it, even outside of the music industry with being a full-time actor at this point now. Now, about three years after his last studio effort, the incredible Fine Line , we have Harry’s House , which I think is gonna be something more intimate than we’ve gotten in the past. Let’s get into how I feel about it. Let’s do a fun comparison. If Fine Line was Harry’s funk album, this is Harry’s synthpop album, and this is a sound that fits him pretty well. In a couple of places, especially in the first half of the album, there were many parts that reminded me of Prince in a couple of ways. The 80s-rock-inspired produ...

Sometimes all you have to do is smile, you know? The idea behind The Smile is actually pretty good. You have two legends in the music business, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, teaming up with jazz band Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner to form a new band. They’ve spent the past year teasing some tracks live and even released some studio versions of them, but I’ve avoided them because I’ve been pretty excited about how this album would turn out. It ended up being a while, but we now have the first album from the group, A Light for Attracting Attention . Let’s get into how I felt about it. It should be known that most of the Radiohead members’ side projects and even solo careers haven’t truly taken the world by storm like Radiohead has. Sure, Thom Yorke has his solo career and Jonny Greenwood’s film scores have been great, but they’ve never gotten the public eye gripped. I feel like The Smile is going to be the first side project that does this, mainly because this is as good...

Hahaha, we? I’ve always respected Arcade Fire more than I’ve actually liked them. Honestly, the first time I’ve even heard of the band was when I was watching Saturday Night Live a few years back, and my dad came in and asked why there were so many people on stage. After doing research, some of them perform all the instruments on tour with the group while it’s actually only six members on the studio albums. One of the members actually announced his departure a few days before this new album, WE , released. I’ve only heard a couple of their albums, and I thought they were okay, so I guess I’m expecting the same from WE . Let’s get into it. You want me to be honest with you? I just don’t have a lot to say about this. Just like the rest I’ve heard from the group, they just sound so so pretentious here. One of the other albums from them I’ve heard in full, Reflektor , is a good example of not overstaying your welcome when it comes to music. Yes, fans will know that Reflektor is nearly hal...

Australians are fucking crazy, man. That’s the biggest takeaway I got from this. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard really have it going for them. They’ve been a functioning band for ten years now, and not including live albums, they have twenty studio albums. Twenty. I’m on a trek to listen to all of them right now, and I think I have about seven down. Their third release this year, Omnium Gatherum , is their longest studio effort yet with 80 minutes in length. The Aussies gave us a lot to unpack in this album, so let’s not waste any time and get into Omnium Gatherum . At this point, it’s predictable for King Gizz to be unpredictable, and I’d say that this is one of the most all-over-the-place they’ve released yet. If they were throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck, they did everything and included the wall. The elements of rock, metal, pop, electronic, soul, and even rap just combine to make a smorgasbord of sound. Even one of the band member’s grandmother plays the role of a ...

Why is there no blur on the tomatoes? Aren’t they being thrown at him? I’m not gonna get into the Machine Gun Kelly discourse because if I’m being honest, I really don’t care about it. MGK’s time as a musician has been genuinely weird. From pop-rapper to pop-punk rocker who claims to have brought guitar-driven music back, it’s certainly been an interesting timeline for him. When it comes to his last album, Tickets to My Downfall , I’m actually in the minority in the music-nerd space when I say I kind of liked it. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it seems like MGK tried to justify this new direction. He’s now giving it another go with Mainstream Sellout , so let’s get into what I thought about it. This might be considered a hot take, but I don’t think this is all that good. Then again, I really don’t know what I expected either. Even if Tickets to My Downfall seemed somewhat genuine to me, this just all seems fake. Even if some people can’t accept it, MGK is the biggest rock musician in the...

Rivers Cuomo’s really in his elven bag for the promo. So, we have an interesting project here. Beloved indie rock group Weezer, who recently put out one of their best projects [ OK Human ] and one of their worst projects [ Van Weezer ] in the same year, are putting out four seven-track EPs this year, each of them representing one of the four seasons. The series is called SZNZ , which I finally learned the actual spelling of. They’re all set to drop on the first day of that corresponding season, and we’re starting off with springtime. Not really that much of an intro, so let’s get into SZNZ: Spring . If I’m being honest, there’s not a lot to say about it since this is part one of a project. For lack of a better term, this very much sounds like springtime. It’s more acoustic and inspired by folk music, and I think that’s a good direction for Weezer to go in for a full-length album outside of this project. The Shakespeare lyrics on “Opening Night” are pretty bad, though. One of the other ...

Oh, the Ho99o9! Ho99o9 [an absolute joy to type] are a group that are genuinely unique in a big crowd of unique musicians coming out these days. The first time I had heard them was on clipping.’s amazing 2020 album Visions of Bodies Being Burned , and since their feature on that album, it’s been a wild listen for me. I think that their debut album United States of Horror is pretty good, and ever since their next album Skin was announced, I’ve been ready. I haven’t heard any of the singles, so I’m fully ready to dive into this without warning. Let’s just do it right now and get into Skin . It’s worth noting that Travis Barker from blink-182 produced this entire album and is the first official release on his own label, DTA. Admittedly, that kind of worried me for a second because of Barker’s inconsistency recently, but I think his production nailed it. The mix of trap, metal, and industrial music is a damn-near perfect blend of each genre. Even with the features from Bun B and Slipknot...

Pretty sure I gotta learn how to skateboard to listen to this now. The 2000s were truly something else. I was too young to remember a little of it, but there are a couple things that stand out. Since nostalgia typically goes back for two decades, it seems like 2000s style is coming back, especially in the music. We have the good stuff like WILLOW’s last album, and we have the bad stuff like nearly everything Machine Gun Kelly has done within the past two years. One artist that seemed prime for a *huge* career resurgence is Avril Lavigne, where her songs like “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi” have been etched into the style so much that it’s become that style. Lavigne seems to know this since we have her return to that 2000s pop-punk sound with Love Sux . I haven’t heard any of the singles beforehand, but with MGK and blackbear as features on this, it’s not like I have that high of expectations to begin with. Let’s just get into it. If you’ve been living under a rock, pop-punk is mainstream...