Cordavision Music Reviews

If it’s not blocked in your country, I reacted to this album live on my YouTube channel. Click here to watch it. Okay, let me start off with this. I don’t have to do an intro to Taylor Swift. Whether you like her or not, she’s one of the most recognizable names on the planet. Hell, a testament to this is that this album, Midnights , is set to be the first album in six years to sell over a million copies in its first week. The last time this happened was Swift again. In an age where it’s tough to reach half of a million, it’s really impressive. But I’m not here to talk about sales, I’m here to talk about the music. During the height of the pandemic, she dropped two indie-inspired albums, folklore and evermore . Both of these albums, especially folklore, opened my eyes on how good she was at writing these relatively complex stories into her songs when she teams up with The National. I was blown away by it and, for lack of a better term, I realized I was a Swiftie. Now, in the middle of...

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...

Well, it’s time to peel back some layers. billy woods is yet another reason why I changed up my review schedule. If you’ve heard anything by woods, you know that you’re gonna get into more of a deep listening experience. I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but that’s really how it is. woods’s lyrics are cryptic and coded, and the songs themselves are pretty out there and experimental. Listening to a billy woods album usually means that it isn’t a background listen, it’s gotta have your full attention. Earlier this year, woods dropped Aethiopes with Preservation, one of the best albums of the year that I’m still trying to dissect. Every now and then, he drops two projects a year, whether it’s a solo project or an Armand Hammer release with Elucid, and this year’s no different. Entirely produced by Messiah Muzik, Church might be one of woods’s most rich projects yet. Let’s get into it. Like his last album, I’ve given this multiple listens. I’m still diving into the lyrical content and p...

I just want this cover framed. Experimental music can be a tough sect of music to get into. I know it’s the basic line for this, but what else do I have to start with? Especially when it comes to electronic and ambient music, it can be very off-putting, yet it can also be hypnotic and genuinely great to listen to in a good amount of settings. If I’m being totally honest, I’ve been dying to talk about this project ever since I began writing reviews like this. Daniel Lopatin has had a hell of a career, with basically pioneering a whole genre with vaporwave over a decade ago under the Chuck Person alias, getting into scoring films with the Safdie Brothers, and also becoming an all-star collaborator with The Weeknd for his past two albums. I’ve written about his last studio album, 2020’s high concept Magic Oneohtrix Point Never , and I still enjoy it. However, this one is, cutting out all the fluff, the one. The first time I heard this album, 2011’s Replica , is one of the only moments in ...

I have a poster of this cover in my room, yet I have no idea why I have this over IGOR . Tyler, The Creator is arguably a superstar now. For the past few months, he’s been on a wildly successful tour, been doing features on some great projects since his last album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST , and he’s actually legally allowed to enter some parts of the world now. Personally, I think he’s one of the best artists working today. I definitely wouldn’t have thought that over a decade ago, mainly because I was a kid, but it’s mainly because he was known for Goblin , an album that I think had great ideas [especially that opening track, holy shit] yet is now plagued with material that hasn’t aged well in many different ways. I thought about reviewing Goblin , its better follow-up Wolf, or even give his first project Bastard a second shot. However, I chose this project, 2015’s Cherry Bomb , which I could safely say is Tyler’s most divisive project as of now. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and...

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...

The moment I found out that this guy has a song called “I Personally Wouldn’t Revive Queen Elizabeth (Pack Watch)” was when I knew I’d like this guy. Most of this new set of reviews is gonna consist of two things: Whatever I heard in my backlog or a newly-released project that I’m excited about. This one lands as more of a backlog entry, but this dropped this past summer and I only found about it last month. I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but Anthony Fantano’s pretty positive review of this gave me the motivation to finally give this a shot. I pretty much have no idea who Ghais Guevara is, and both the title and cover of this already show something unique with the project. Let’s talk about There Will Be No Super-Slave . Right off the bat, I adore the production on this. It’s grimy and tinged with industrial undertones that really began to stand out as I was hearing the project. Even the wild, frantic samples on the intro track introduce Guevara as a producer in an interesting way. S...

I’m gonna avoid using ‘wintery’ as a descriptor because, if I’m being honest, it’s just way too easy. Well, hi everyone. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here. I’ve had some great life updates that gave me less time to write, so I’m gonna accommodate that. I’m gonna review whatever I wanna review, and I’m happy that this was the project that the new era of Cordavision Records is going to kick off. I’ve talked about vaporwave before here, but I’ve never dove into the backlog of albums I have like this so I can write. Either way, let’s get into one of the genre’s most chilling releases, Arctic Circuitry . The first of two releases from Dennis Mikula, a.k.a. Electric Specter 電妖怪, Arctic Circuitry feels most like a soundtrack to an old SNES game, but a blizzard froze the cartridge and corrupted the files. The project’s haunting, cassette-like cover fits this image perfectly, especially with the little hits of static and aged computer graphics. After some extra listens, I even notice...

 

That’s a small-ass island. I have to admit, I’ve been anticipating this album for a long time. Calvin Harris’s first Funk Wav Bounces album from 2017 is one of my favorite albums of all time, and if I’m being totally honest, I think a second release in this series wasn’t ever going to happen. Either way, here we are. We have a DJ Khaled-esque murderers’ row of features which are Snoop Dogg, Young Thug, Normani, Pharrell Williams, Dua Lipa, Busta Rhymes, Justin Timberlake, Chloe Bailey, 21 Savage, Latto, Charlie Puth, Tinashe, Swae Lee, Stefflon Don, Offset, 6lack, Pusha T, Donae'o, Halsey, Lil Durk, Shenseea, and Jorja Smith. How do I feel about this new entry? Let’s get into it. I went into this not thinking that this was going to top the first one, mainly because it doesn’t come close to hitting the peak that is “Slide” with Frank Ocean and Migos from the first album, but I do think that there are some redeeming qualities here. Of course, the production here is gorgeous. Mixing ...

Honestly, this is one of the best album titles I’ve heard in a while. If you don’t know who Domo Genesis is, that’s perfectly fine. He’s a part of the now-dormant Odd Future collective, which jumpstarted the careers of Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, and Earl Sweatshirt. Other members have been coasting along for a while now, but Domo Genesis really caught my eye now. I don’t even know what he’s been doing outside of featuring on Tyler’s last album, but now he has an album entirely produced by Evidence titled Intros, Outros & Interludes , where he goes in a drumless, more abstract direction with his music. Let’s get into how I felt about it. I think the idea of Domo Genesis doing more experimental rap is a great idea. After being in the industry for this long, it’s great to see him make something that’s finally caught my attention. Evidence’s beats are very dusty and match Domo’s cadence well, alongside the great features from Navy Blue and Boldy James. Obviously, I think Domo’s w...

I see where Drake got his inspiration. Do I need an intro? I feel like I should for the sake of covering Beyoncé for the first time on the site, so I’ll be quick. Beyoncé has essentially built this cult-like fanbase over the years, especially within the past decade with the one-two punch of her self-titled release from 2013 and her last official studio album, 2016’s Lemonade, an event within itself that’s cemented its place in pop culture history. Now, after a semi-productive six years that included an entire album with her husband Jay-Z, starring in and soundtracking the new version of The Lion King , and a film on Disney+, we now have RENAISSANCE , the first release in a trilogy of new projects that will reflect on her mental health during the COVID pandemic. How does RENAISSANCE sound? Let’s get into it. There’s an inevitable comparison to come, so I’m just gonna get it out of the way right now. Earlier this summer, Drake surprise-dropped HONESTLY, NEVERMIND , an R&B album insp...

Ther's a great Hulk Hogan bit on here. Quite frankly, I have no idea who The Koreatown Oddity is. I’ve heard his music, especially one of the best albums of 2020, Little Dominique’s Nosebleed , and that certainly grabbed my attention for his career. To put it in perspective, I think Nosebleed is one of the best releases on the Stones Throw label, which includes classic albums like Madvillainy , J Dilla’s Donuts , and Yes Lawd! from Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak. It’s in very good company, and now, we have an official follow-up to it titled ISTHISFORREAL? , so let’s not waste any time and get into it. I should most likely state that I’m not looking for this project to top Nosebleed in any way, mainly because I think that project’s the closest thing we have to that lightning-in-a-bottle feeling in rap this decade. That being said, I still really fuck with this album. No matter if it’s an entire album or a feature, you can tell that a lot of passion has been put into this and cares ...

Yes, we know what the color pink is made of, Uzi. I think it’s safe to say that we’re past the peak popularity of SoundCloud rap, and I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty fun. Now, I’m just curious to see who will try to break free of the mold and find out how much longevity their careers have. Rappers like Playboi Carti and even Denzel Curry to some extent have shown in their own ways how they can stay relevant and even innovative, but one of the bigger names that still has some way to prove himself, at least in my opinion, is Lil Uzi Vert. Their breakout track, “XO Tour Llif3,” is arguably the best song to come from this wave, but it’s been many ups and downs since then. Now, as a prelude to the long-teased PINK TAPE , we have the RED & WHITE EP. How does this little taster sound? Let’s get into it. I’m just gonna cut right to the chase here: This is the best Uzi has sounded since LUV is Rage 2 . Having viewed his last project Eternal Atake as a massive disappointment, I feel like ...

Nas jumpscare. I’m gonna be honest with you guys: Joey Bada$$ has never stood out to me that much. Maybe I was late to that party, but I do like his last studio album, 2015’s All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ . Maybe I was just not in the right mindset for his breakout mixtape 1999 , and his The Light EP from a little while back just came and went. Luckily, his loose single “The Revenge,” which was pretty awful, doesn’t make his new project 2000 , the sequel to the aforementioned mixtape that put him on everyone’s radar. Does this album bring him back to his own standards? Let’s get into it. What I probably like the most about this project is the beat choices. Nearly every beat complimented Joey’s voice and flow pretty well, so it was a very nice combo of the two. I’ve always been critical of his writing, but I really liked it when he got personal like on “Survivors Guilt” and “Eulogy,” which I think were the peaks of this album. Any track with Westside Gunn is also a little bit of a neuron activ...