August Albums Round-up

August Albums Round-up

Travis Scott – ASTROWORLD

Unfortunately, in recent years, Travis Scott has become a bit of a joke. Countless memes, a Jenner marriage/baby and ultimately disappointing releases have made him the media’s enemy and a bit of a scapegoat. But, just like a coaster at his resurrected fictional theme park ASTROWORLD, a ride that goes down, also needs to come back up, and Scott certainly manages this on his latest record. ASTROWORLD is a hip-hop record full of depth that displays Scott’s ability to be able to present an introspective side within his music, a trait that is bound to shut the critics up for a while. I was happily surprised with ASTROWORLD and no matter what your opinion on Travis Scott is, I would advise you to listen.

Overall Rating – 8/10

Listen to – Sicko Mode, Stop Trying to be God, Carousel, 5% Tint, Astrothunder, Who? What!, Houstonfornication, Coffee Bean

Mac Miller – Swimming

On his latest album ‘Swimming’, Mr Miller certainly has his musical sat-nav aimed at one destination, and he will refuse to divert from its route. Every song on ‘Swimming’ seems to follow the same structure, a chilled beat, a funky baseline, melancholy styled rapping and occasionally a catchy hook. Unfortunately, over 13 songs this becomes a bit tiresome. It’s a solid album that is easy to listen to but it lacks something special to help it stand out from the crowd. Pity.

Overall Rating – 6/10

Listen to – What’s The Use?, 2009, Come Back to Earth, Ladders

Miles Kane – Coup De Grace

If anything, Miles Kane’s first studio album for over 5 years proves that he’ll never be as good as his Last Shadow Puppets bandmate Alex Turner. The record is 10 scrawled love letters to 70’s glam rock with some flutterings of punk and rock n roll with a David Bowie karaoke singer signing the words by the sounds of it. ‘Coup De Grace’ is a definitely unperfected retro concoction.

Overall Rating – 4/10

Listen to – Cold Light of the Day, Loaded, Something to Rely on

Nicki Minaj – Queen

Nicki Minaj has long been the top of the female rap game, but in recent times, she has faced stiff competition from new and upcoming lady rappers who have stormed and attempted to dethrone Minaj. ‘Queen’ was therefore designed to be a statement of intent, a display by Minaj of her talent and why she deserves to be the best of her gender. The album has its moments  but overall disappoints, points made get lost in a sea of unorganised, incoherent tracks that make ‘Queen’ a bit of a muddle really.

Overall Rating 5/10

Listen to – Chun LI, Barbie Dreams, Rich Sex, Good Form, Miami

Bad Sounds – Get Better

Funk, hip-hop, jazz, electronica, inide-rock and art-pop vibes are all crammed into the silbing duo of Bad Sounds’ debut record. ‘Get Better’ is 13 tracks bursting at the seams filled with crazy, catchy fun and this album to certain these brothers into a household name, especially if they carry on this trajectory.

Overall Rating – 7/10

Listen to – Wages, Avalanche, Milk It, Evil Powers, Honestly, No Luck

Ben Khan – Ben Khan

Ben Khan’s titular debut offering is a trippy voyage into the unknown. Khan’s deft manner as to which he beautifully caresses his way through electric, house and lo-fi music makes for a truly blissful listening experience. It’s difficult to find fault with this album and I thoroughly enjoyed having the pleasure of listening to it, and I whole-heartedly recommend that you do to.

Overall Rating – 8/10

Listen to – 2000 Angels, Do It Right, Monsoon Daydream, Our Father, Fool for You, Love Faded, Waterfall

Slaves – Acts of Fear and Love

The Kent punk rock duo Slaves are better than ever on their latest studio album. ‘Acts of Fear and Love’ is a massive improvement compared to the group’s 2 previous efforts. Gone are the ill-thought lyrics and lack of cohesion and in it’s place are well-designed punk tracks that clearly have an agenda, a million light years away from the band’s previous stuff, however their latest album still incorporates what their fans love most, big riffs and catchy choruses. A solidly good effort.

Overall Rating – 7/10

Listen to – Cut and Run, Magnolia, Bugs, Daddy, Chokehold

Blood Orange – Negro Swan

Dev Hynes’ latest display of talent as alter-ego Blood Orange is a dreamy, lush trip into a landscape of his own creation. It’s a dark and mysterious setting filled with violence and political upheaval, yet Hynes is able to present it in such a manner that it almost becomes appealing and nice to visit. Negro Swan tackles tough modern issues whilst interlacing them with sweet moments of pure bliss. Bravo Mr Hynes, bravo.

Overall Rating – 9/10

Listen to -  Charcoal Baby, Chewing Gum, Smoke, Runnin’, Orlando, Hope, Jewelry, Dagenham Dream, Nappy Wonder

Ariana Grande – Sweetener

As many of you may already know, I’m a sucker for a good pop record, a real guilty pleasure, and Ariana Grande’s ‘Sweetener’ certainly fits the bill for me. Considering how she suffered one of the toughest experiences that is humanly possible last year, I came into this record predicting ballad after ballad, but it’s not like that at all. ‘Sweetener’ is incredibly positive, fun and above all carefree. It’s joy for the senses and should be treated as such. ‘Sweetener’ certainly succeeded into turning this rather sour individual into a sweet little midget gem.

Overall Rating – 8/10

Listen to – Blazed, Everytime, God is a Woman, Sweetener, Breathin, No Tears Left to Cry, Borderline

The Kooks – Let’s Go Sunshine

Just bad, really bad.

Overall Rating – 2/10

Listen to – Don’t Listen to it.

Spring King – A Better Life

The Tarek Musa fronted UK rock group Spring King’s 2^nd studio album incorporates a much heavier sound than its predecessor whilst also utilising catchy pop-styled melodies, however it doesn’t leave much of an impression. ‘A Better Life’ is distinctively meh, it doesn’t really go in any clear direction and isn’t anything different to the current crop of up-and-coming indie groups.

Overall Rating – 5/10

Listen to – Let’s Drink, Us Vs Them, No More, Radioactive!, Thicker Skin

IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance

Many rock bands struggle to make 2 excellent records throughout their career, yet alone 2 excellent records back-to-back in the space of a year, however Bristol based rock/punk group IDLES have successfully managed just that feat. Their latest album follows much of the blueprint to their debut record ‘Brutalism’ with extremely cathartic rage outlined across the record’s running length tied together with cleverly developed lyrics and frontman’s Joey Talbot anger-fueled vocals to make a record that is desperately needed in this post-Brexit Britain we live in.

Overall Rating – 9/10

Listen to – Never Fight a Man With a Perm, Television, Danny Nedelko, Great, Colossus, Samaritans, Gram Rock, Cry to Me

Eminem – Kamikaze

Now then. Eminem has been one of the hip-hop legends of the past twenty years. Yet, his past few albums, albeit very good in terms of sales, have been poor compared to his earlier work. Many fans were hoping, nay praying to the rap gods, that this surprise album would change the trend, however, in my opinion, he’s still way of the mark. On ‘Kamikaze’ Eminem takes shots at pretty much everyone in the rap game and states he’s the best, and that’s literally it, for 45 minutes. There’s no profound messages, no deep insights, and with modern rappers like J Cole and Kendrick utilizing their gift as an output for their message, you would like to think that Eminem would do the same. Sadly, he’s more content sprouting gibberish about how amazing he think he is. Basically, if you’re 45 year old dad made a rap album, this would be it.

Overall Rating – 3/10

Listen to - Kamikaze (the song, not the album lol)