You have to imagine that one of the most common questions The Weeknd gets is about why he dies so much – often graphically – throughout his music videos and album concepts. On the Toronto R&B/pop icon’s fifth full-length album, he takes his morbid curiosity to an entirely new level – but as it turns out, … Continue reading The Weeknd – Dawn FM
Dance Pop
Alan Walker – World of Walker
As the year winds down, the big releases are starting to become fewer and farther between. Essentially the only one to make a dent on the charts this week, British DJ Alan Walker, still only 24 years old after scoring a massive worldwide hit in “Faded” at age 18, has dropped his sophomore album – … Continue reading Alan Walker – World of Walker
TWICE – Formula of Love: O+T=<3
While everyone this side of the Atlantic held off on their release to avoid competition with Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, nine-member K-pop girl group TWICE continued widely outpacing many of their peers when it comes to the sheer volume of music released and dropped their third album in just over a year. While I’ve … Continue reading TWICE – Formula of Love: O+T=<3
Ed Sheeran – =
Having come a long way from the early days of rapping with a guitar and a loop pedal, Ed Sheeran has racked up some of history’s most impressive touring numbers over the past couple years and has seen his appeal get further and further watered down into industry trend-hopping. Originally a massive breath of fresh … Continue reading Ed Sheeran – =
Coldplay – Music of the Spheres
It was the best of Martins; it was the worst of Martins. After reaching new levels of lyrical banality with Everyday Life, their worst-selling album to date that somehow picked up an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys, UK pop-rock titans Coldplay saw fit to recruit pop’s most successful producer – and a … Continue reading Coldplay – Music of the Spheres
ITZY – Crazy In Love
For the second straight week, a K-pop group outside the leading two of BTS and BLACKPINK with unspeakably massive fanbases has cracked the week’s most popular albums – this time it’s female five-piece ITZY with their official full-length debut, Crazy in Love. While only nine official tracks in length, with instrumental versions of some of … Continue reading ITZY – Crazy In Love
NCT 127 – Sticker – The 3rd Album
One of the many subsets of the 23-member K-pop collective NCT, NCT 127’s profile has been growing worldwide as they latch onto the seemingly nonstop rising wave of the genre’s influence and fandom. Led by wildly popular Canadian K-pop idol Mark Lee, also a member of supergroup SuperM, and blending together aspects of pop, hip-hop … Continue reading NCT 127 – Sticker – The 3rd Album
The Kid LAROI – F*CK LOVE 3+: OVER YOU
Just a couple weeks before his 18th birthday, Australian singer and rapper The Kid LAROI continues adding to his expansive F*ck Love mixtape at a rapid pace, dropping this latest and lengthiest installment while a single from the 2nd version, “Without You,” still resides in the upper region of the charts. A protégé of the … Continue reading The Kid LAROI – F*CK LOVE 3+: OVER YOU
Doja Cat – Planet Her
Doja Cat has come a long way from her “MOOO!” days. Turning internet virality into pop superstardom, her ability to stay in touch with and play to the online world made her track “Say So” one of last year’s biggest hits, mostly thanks to an inescapable TikTok dance. While her past albums have been a … Continue reading Doja Cat – Planet Her
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Acclaimed indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast have been away from the spotlight for nearly four years, taking some time to distance themselves from back-to-back emotionally charged albums that tackled heavy subjects with soft and somber instrumentation. Returning with the aptly titled Jubilee, frontwoman Michelle Zauner has explicitly stated that she wanted an emotional switch-up, focusing her … Continue reading Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 