Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes releases his third self-titled studio album at the age of only 19, expanding his musical influences to explore genres past his trends of safe, acoustic pop balladry. Working with a high-profile set of collaborators, Mendes delivers a solid set of pop tracks that splits about half and half with … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Shawn Mendes, Father John Misty, Kanye West)
Rapid Fire Reviews
Rapid Fire Reviews (James Bay, BTS, Pusha T)
James Bay - Electric Light James Bay completely revamps his image on sophomore album Electric Light, linking up with Adele producer Paul Epworth to take his music in a much poppier direction, while still maintaining the soulful, almost gospel-influenced delivery that lent itself well to his stirring rock ballads. The transition isn’t always seamless, the album … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (James Bay, BTS, Pusha T)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Rae Sremmurd, Charlie Puth, Playboi Carti)
Rae Sremmurd - SR3MM/Swaecation/Jxmtro Brotherly hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd embrace their inner OutKast on the third in their Sremmlife album series, branching out and turning into a sprawling triple disc edition that allows a full album for each member to shine individually. Rae Sremmurd’s youthful, jubilant cloud-rap sound is often a joy to listen to, … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Rae Sremmurd, Charlie Puth, Playboi Carti)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Tinashe, J. Cole, Bishop Briggs)
Tinashe - Joyride Joyride is a project that frequently underrated R&B artist Tinashe has been promoting since 2015, delayed multiple times as it was apparently held back by label deman 2016’s Nightride album was a catchy, ethereal teaser, but it may have ended up being better than the final product. The label intervention is evident … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Tinashe, J. Cole, Bishop Briggs)
Rapid Fire Reviews (The Weeknd, Kacey Musgraves, Hayley Kiyoko)
The Weeknd - My Dear Melancholy, Canadian pop/R&B superstar The Weeknd releases a 6-song EP a year and a half after the successes of Starboy that sees him return to a sound that many fans have been missing. My Dear Melancholy, is much darker than we’ve heard him get in a while. While it’s difficult … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (The Weeknd, Kacey Musgraves, Hayley Kiyoko)
Rapid Fire Reviews (The Decemberists, Jack White, Diplo)
The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl The Decemberists return with a delightfully melodic and cynical take on the state of the world, taking a much more electronic path than their previous works and relying more on synths. The band named New Order as a major influence for the project and it definitely shows. While the … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (The Decemberists, Jack White, Diplo)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Logic, Lil Yachty, XXXTENTACION)
Logic - Bobby Tarantino II The newly minted king of woke rap enters another instalment into his less formal series of mixtapes after breaking through to the public in a major way with his latest album Everybody. While Logic does show both a hilarious level of self-awareness at how annoying his preachiness can be and … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Logic, Lil Yachty, XXXTENTACION)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Vance Joy, Tory Lanez, Tech N9ne)
Vance Joy - Nation of Two Indie-pop singer-songwriter Vance Joy returns with his second studio album, almost 4 years after the runaway success that was “Riptide”, a song which was run into the ground to a rather annoying degree for this reviewer personally. Joy’s sentimental songwriting and catchy falsetto melodies are back on this project, and … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Vance Joy, Tory Lanez, Tech N9ne)
Rapid Fire Reviews (6ix9ine, MGMT, Nipsey Hussle)
Bensbeat is back for the summer and I'll be catching back up to the present with a lot of these quicker posts. 6ix9ine - Day69 Controversial Brooklyn rapper 6ix9ine delivers a debut project infused with the unique scream-rap energy he brought to the singles that made him famous, but it lacks the lyrical content and … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (6ix9ine, MGMT, Nipsey Hussle)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Eminem, N.E.R.D., Charli XCX)
We've finally reached the last review post of the year, which means it's time for Year-End Lists! My top 50 songs and top 25 albums of the year should be out before the new year, stay tuned. Eminem - Revival Best-selling hip-hop artist of all time Eminem returns after a 4-year break with his ninth … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Eminem, N.E.R.D., Charli XCX)
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 