17-year-old Memphis rapper – and recently announced member of the 2020 XXL Freshman Class – NLE Choppa has been gaining attention after sending hit after hit to the Billboard charts through an engaging blend of raspy and rambunctious bars and a serviceable singing voice. His debut album comes after a couple of high-profile mixtapes, and … Continue reading NLE Choppa – Top Shotta
Glass Animals – Dreamland
UK psychedelic pop-rock band Glass Animals have been steadily growing their profile with each subsequent release, even after needing to shrink back from the public eye for a while after a devastating car crash involving their drummer. It seems as though the band have reached the point in their careers where they offer a bit … Continue reading Glass Animals – Dreamland
Brandy – B7
Legendary vocalist Brandy has returned with her first studio album in eight years, and has given interviews detailing her goal to approach this one as if it was her last. Featuring much more personal themes of self-discovery, mental health, and thoughts on motherhood, anyone who has been missing Brandy’s spellbindingly technical vocal acrobatics will not … Continue reading Brandy – B7
Dominic Fike – What Could Possibly Go Wrong
After sparking a huge amount of buzz with his 2018 EP, Don’t Forget About Me Demos, genre-hopping upstart Dominic Fike has finally released his debut album, continuing to blend the worlds of rock, pop and hip-hop on a project that … essentially still sounds like demos. Fike’s frenetic sound is certainly something admirable in theory, … Continue reading Dominic Fike – What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Logic – No Pressure
It’s always difficult to believe rappers when they announce their retirement, but after a series of streams featuring Logic speaking candidly to his fans, this album might genuinely be his last. For a while, at least. A sequel of sorts to his excellent debut album Under Pressure, No Pressure is apparently the end of the … Continue reading Logic – No Pressure
Taylor Swift – folklore
Who knew that when the music industry’s biggest mastermind at the game of marketing dropped the months-long promotion cycle and released something spontaneous that it would result in her masterpiece? It seems as though the real marketing strategy is great music, as Taylor Swift’s surprise “indie” album folklore is now the 2nd biggest streaming debut … Continue reading Taylor Swift – folklore
Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue
Keeping with the spirit of the chaos of 2020, here we have yet another excellent pop album from a somewhat unexpected source. Ellie Goulding has been absent from the music scene since 2015’s Delirium, and has since returned with a variety of interviews where she discussed the stresses of fame and feeling like a manufactured … Continue reading Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue
The Chicks – Gaslighter
Back with a new name and one of the best producers in the business, The Chicks storm back onto the musical scene. Their first album since winning the 2007 Album of the Year Grammy with Taking The Long Way, a somber and reflective look at a world that had recently sent them a firestorm of … Continue reading The Chicks – Gaslighter
Quinn XCII – A Letter To My Younger Self
“What a great album, 10/10,” a voice, presumably one of Quinn XCII’s friends, proclaims as his latest album fades out. Not quite, but it’s pretty good. The Detroit pop singer-songwriter’s third studio album sees him continuing to blur genre lines with a generally upbeat and soulful vocal delivery, firing off a number of catchy tunes … Continue reading Quinn XCII – A Letter To My Younger Self
Juice WRLD – Legends Never Die
How strange is it that we’re getting back-to-back number one albums from rappers who have left us far, far too soon? Juice WRLD’s death at the age of only 21 last December was, once again, a tragic loss of an artist who was only getting started and well on his way to being one of … Continue reading Juice WRLD – Legends Never Die
