2025: The 3rd Quarter - Albums

Marking key at the bottom.

Wet Leg “moisturise”

I can’t quite tell if this is a step up or step down from their fiery debut. Perhaps its a side step..... a maturing after hammering all our doors down and streaming at us. The melodies seem more ‘catchy’ but arguably better crafter than before although there are some metal-y outbursts that remind us of their debut. The lyrics, as before, are simultaneously impactful but playful....... sort of political but with a fun cynicism. I’ve written before about how I like ‘balance’ in an album and this certainly has it. They move with ease between pop ballads, rock, indie, punk etc., sometime during a single track, and hold your attention. My only criticism, more as an act overall rather than this particular album, is I’m reminded strongly of the Riot Grrrrl! movement in the 90s (Courtney Love) and such, albeit somewhat more subtle. The problem with that is it a dated movement that does quite hold the same place or have the same impact as it did then. 7

Gwenno “Utopia”

I think what strikes me the most about this album is the various ‘soundscapes’.  I’m not sure if ‘psychedelic’ is quite the right term but its in that ballpark at times. However, at others there’s and orchestral/theatre-like sound. There are also nods towards other genres such as trip hop. It’s all held together by a sort of ambient dream-like texture. 7

YHWH Nailgun “45 Pounds”

There’s debate whether this is an album or EP. It’s only 20 mins but a full 10 tracks. Its essentially heavy rock with a huge emphasis on percussion and rhythm. There’s some fairly complex rhythmic patterns used including one track that features multi-layers of rhythms performed at different speeds. It feels like a intense energetic avant-rock percussive experiment. If it was 30 – 40 minutes long.... it might tire somewhat. But its not. 20 mins is perfect. 7

Japanese Breakfast “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)”

This is pretty good but I was a bit disappointed after reading rave reviews for a previous album “Jubilee”. There’s an ambient backdrop that ties the whole album together well with its lyrical theme (see the title). At the forefront of this a variety of soundscapes are presented with synths, guitars, strings, horns etc. Its definitely lacking something, however. Its good, but sort of passes you by without leaving any mark. 6

Barry Can’t Swim “Loner”

This work from a DJ/Producer sets itself up quite well to start. Its essentially a ‘dance’ album I guess and incorporates both what you would expect – house, drum ‘n’ bass, techno-like elements etc., and a little of what you might not expect – jazz, classical sounding piano, spoken citations etc. My issue is that once this was all ‘set up’ – very little else happened. It was pretty good, I enjoyed listening, but my attention regularly drifted. 6

Justin Bieber “SWAG”

Having recently listened to an album of his from a few years back hoping to find it was better than I expected and discovering it was not, I wasn’t expecting this to be better than I expected..... and it was. It started off very strong – sounding a bit like Enya with a drum track actually, before moving on to plough through a variety of sounds and styles from gospel to jungle. Its the sound and production that is quite innovative, but not so much the song-writing. The melodies mandrel, and the lyrics are predictable. Can you guess what we should celebrate like? Yep, like its your Birthday. 6

Amy MacDonald “Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?”

Without me realising it, Amy MacDonald is a perfect example of an artist who represents my very passive consumption of pop music before starting with project. I knew some of her songs. I really liked them, in fact. “Mr Rock and Roll”, most obviously..... although I didn’t know that was the title. Nor, did I know it was someone called Amy MacDonald. Nor, did I buy, downloads or even select any of it to stream despite liking it.

This sounds exactly the same. That’s fine – aa I’ve said, I liked it. But almost 20 years on, it is just more of the same (but not as inspired). 5

Alex Warren “You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1)” #1

Sounding like he’d from Manchester, although he’s an American who began fame-life making transfer YouTube videos, haha. I’ve said a few times that I think he’s good.... but a little cliché.... but kinda gets away with that. I think that sums this up.

Except this is another example of me being confused and not sure what I’m summing up. I think its just the confused old man in me, looking for something to be the way I’ve known it to be for years and upset when its not. This was released last year. It was an album. It was 11 tracks that clocked in at 33 mins. That’s an album, right? Everywhere listed it as an album. Well..... apparently it might have been an EP. Alex Warren's own social media and website now describe it as so. I’ve not formally reviewed that, but I’d probably give it a 7.

This ‘new’ release that contains more tracks is now the album. Expect that I’ve heard it described twice on the radio as a ‘deluxe’ version of the ALBUM released last year. In some ways that makes more sense to me......... except its doesn’t. A deluxe album usual just contains the full original album, then ‘bonus tracks’ that may be new tracks, live tracks, demos, alternative versions/takes or whatever. They are also usually identified as ‘bonus tracks’ in some form or other. But this isn’t that. The order in which the original tracks appeared has changed and the new tracks are embedded within the track listing and not identified as something additional to the original. Furthermore, it also counts as the same thing on the Official Chart.

That’s the main problem. My brain NEEDS to know what this is. I guess I’m going to have to change this way of thinking somehow. It won’t be easy though. I’m still baffled by all the releases of Charlie XCX’s “Brat” last year!

Assuming THIS is the album and last year’s wasn’t...... I'll give this a 5. That’s not because I’m being negative about the whole thing. I genuinely think this is more of a mixed mag. There are lots of great tracks but also lots of weak ones. 5

Burna Boy “No Sign Of Weakness”

This opens superbly intriguingly with its hi-hat, pulsating slow staccato noise, then bongo rolls before its usual beat kicks in with an MC shouting at us in the distance telling us to ‘take it easy’ – which I’m happy to do but listening very intently. The track is called “No Panic” and is a great juxtaposition of sounds. The gentle acoustic guitar does indeed invite us to take it easy and although the singing vocals are fast and repetitive, they assure us there is ‘no panic’ with quite a gentle timbre. But this is set that shouting MP and very urgent percussion. The track ends fairly abruptly with no sense of conclusion to clear up the confusion – which gives a great sense of heightened and mixed emotions.  The next track (the title track) does almost the opposite. The percussion (and all the music) has a fairly ‘chill’ feel to it. However, although the tone of the vocal is still gentle it feels more urgent with its half sung of rapped quick syllables and turn more detached as the track progresses. There’s something quite unique about the sound that is sadly destroyed by the 3^rd track “Buy You Life”. That acoustic guitar figure and chord progression will be very familiar to many. Its definitely a ‘wait – haven’t I heard this before’ moment. On the plus side this one is more melodic than the 1^st two.

After keeping the tone gentle with “Love”, “TaTaTa” completely changes the tone again. Its got a great blend of not being quite anything. Not quite pop, mot quite dance, not quite R&B, not quite Ska, not quite Reggae, not quite Afrobeat. In fact there’s a bit towards the very end that seems to have quite an ‘Eastern’ influence to it. But before that gets anywhere – the track ends. I say that track is not quite anything. Other tracks are on contrast to this however. For example, “Sweet Love” could quite firmly be called a Reggae track.

“Update” features the famous ‘back to life, back to reality’ line from Soul To Soul’s “Back To Life” although the track is nothing like that song. Collaborations with Travis Scott, Shaboozey, and Mick Jagger all add an extra dimension to the proceedings. It kinda goes all over the place. Songs contrast greatly and there is a clear act of ‘genre-bending’ going on. This is somehow both the strength and the weakness of the album. Overall, it works well – although it has to be listened to as a whole. Individually, some of the tracks are a little weak and drag things down a little, as much as their place on the album can be understand. For me, this one just misses out on 1 mark higher by a smidge. 6

Tyler, The Creator “Don’t Tap The Glass”

I enjoyed the album released last year, “Chromakopia” so much I gave it an 8. After an intriguing intro with a robotic voice (that’s actually also singing in harmonic progression) giving a welcome and explaining the house-rules (including ‘don’t tap the glass’), “Big Poe” begins. It sounds like the proceedings are going to be a bit less inventive and a more conventional hip hop style. Perhaps even a little more pop hip hop (think Run DMC), with a ‘jump, jump’ section (there’s also an ‘I love you, I love you’ chorus in “Stop Playing With Me” later on).

“Sugar On The Tongue” seems to confirm this although it might not be as disappointing as it sounds. There’s a distinct 80s feel to the music. Although there’s a drum track there’s also voices being used to make percussive sounds. The chorus has a catchy feel to it and a chromatic improv-sounding keyboard figure. Its a pretty pleasing sound and not devoid of noteworthy points.  “Sucka Free” continues in a similar vain. The album sets itself up to keep the sense of creativity alive, but go a bit ‘pop’ with it. “Mommanem”, for example, is quite childish – but actual quite unconventional as a pop-track.

The album concludes with the robotic voice thanking us. It also suggests we might stay longer next time. This draws attention to the fact the album is short and sweet at half an hour long. I think that was a smart move and makes this more to a pop-leaning sound work very well. 7

The K’s “Pretty On The Internet” (#1)

It’s fine. Plus points = high energy, not bad song-writing, good band. Criticisms = heard it all before, nothing new, yawn. 5

Alice Cooper  “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper”

This is one of those rare occasions where you could have written a review without listening to the album and still be spot on. So, just to be clear, this is Alice Cooper the band. Not Alice Cooper the individual...... who IS in the band. There are common misconceptions here, so let’s clear them up for anyone who isnt familiar. Alice Cooper was a band, popular in the early 70s and best known for their theatrical shows and the hit “School’s Out”. The lead singer was Vincent Furnier who adopted the stage name Alice Cooper. Following their split, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper. This was arguably a shrewd move. Furnier could forge a career using an already established name. There may have been serious legal issues with this had it simply been a stage name........ but its much more difficult to legally challenge someone for using their actual name, I imagine.

Anyway, here they are 50 years after their split. The presentation is great. Its like the billboard for an old horror movie, with ‘the cast’ names across the top and the slogan ‘The Return Album The World Was Afraid Of’. The music? It’s very standard but well done classic rock. The intro is fantastic, dramatic, sinister but numerous, before a hard rock riff kicks in. The guitar riff is great, the band solid, and the song-writing/melody is very. There’s great balance to the album. “Wild Ones” a fast paced rock out. “Famous Face” is a slow motion head banger. There are classic sounding guitar riffs like that on “Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams”. There’s great fun, such as “Kill The Flies”, and some more serious moments like “See You On The Other Side”. There’s a couple of fantastic rock ‘n’ roll tracks – “What Happened To You” and “I Ain’t Done Wrong”. My favourite track is “What A Syd” that kicks off with an intro that sounds like “The Addams Family” theme, before turning into an excellent bluesy funk/swing track. Its a group of old rockers seeing if they can still pull it off. And.... I’m on board. I don’t think its worth a higher mark than I’m giving it, however. 6

Reneé Rapp “Bite Me” (#1)

A genuine unexpected surprise – this is really good. An American singer/actor known for the Mean Girl franchise. Looking at the stats, she seems to be better in the UK than at home. I would say both the popsters, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus etc., and the more alternatives, Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo etc., should all take note. Its bold, edgy, refreshing, and has a great balance. It opens with loud, firm statement of ‘leave me alone bitch, I wanna have fun’ over a distorted bass-y mix in “Leave Me Alone”.  It has power ballad style offerings like “Mad” against more soulful R&B leanings like “Why Is She Still Here?” “Kiss It Kiss It” is the ‘indie’ number which contrasts slower solo voice and one instrument arrangements like “I Can’t Have You Around Me Anymore” (guitar) and “That’s So Funny” (piano). I’d say the best track is “Sometimes” but, despite the short running time of 33 minutes, there are some throwaway moments like “Good Girl”. 7

L. S. Dunes “Violet”

This is good. Its standard rock music. If you imagine a rock album..... this will be pretty much what you imagined. There’s some attempts at innovation which I don’t think even amount to anything very much but they do prevent the album from being boring. My main criticism would be that there’s a tendency to fill voids with ‘screaming in the background’. 6

The Royston Club “Songs For The Spine”

It’s not bad. Its just another indie band doing indie music. When it comes to indie bands the phrase ‘flogging a dead horse’ springs to mind. But not just flogging a dead horse. Flogging its long-rotting corpse. All you're doing it disturbing the flies. 5

mgk “lost america”

It’s a skill to pull off coming at hard rock / punk and similar style from a ‘pop’ angle. Imagine It has been pulled off. Imagine a pop version of Green Day. Acts like Busted and McFly (there are others) are examples of what I'm talking about. Essentially, you have to produce kick-ass tunes. That’s what is lacking here. Rap is thrown into the mix to add another dimension. Its not bad but its not doing a lot for me in this case. 5

Ethel Cain “Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You”

Her 2^nd album this year and quite a contrast to the disturbing “Perverts” (2025). Its still very dark, fairly innovative, but has standard structures and song-writing at its core. Its more ‘traditional’ if you like. At times you’d think you were listening to the Cranberries or Cheryl Crow (there are probably better examples). There’s also a more polished production and less of a ‘raw’ sound to the tracks you’d describe as ‘songs’. There are still long musical interludes which are always a win with me. There’s even a bit of jumping on the country bandwagon going on in “nettles”. Apparently, its a prequel to her album “Preacher’s Daughter” (2022) but I’m yet to listen to that so I can’t really comment. 7

Conan Gray “Wishbone”

I was quite impressed with his album last year (which I gave a 6) and it featured one of my favourite album tracks of last year. This is quite different. The former was very 80s electro style. This one is more singer-songwriter indie -pop. I think I described last year’s album as something like ‘if Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and Adam Ant had a baby’. This is more like if every member of a boy band in history that went solo had a baby together. I really like the fact that he's gone in a different direction with this one. It does have some good tracks. Its not particularly doing it for me though. I preferred the neo-80s effort. 5

Tom Grennan “Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didnt Want To Be” (#1)

Tom Grennan. He gave me a little victory moment in this project. A few months ago, myself and my Dad Alan were off on a day out. I had Radio 2 on and a song was playing. I said to my Dad ‘I’ve not heard thos track before but it sounds like Tom Grennan’. Sure enough, the DJ came on with ‘and that’s new from Tom Grennan’. YES. I’m getting good!

That track was the 1^st one on this album which is a very strong opener. There’s a half spoken half sung voice in a low register stating ‘I just wanna give you my’..... before “Full Attention” blasts in with its string catchy melody. A fast bit of funk follows with “Cool With That” – a strong 2^nd track. “Shadowboxing” is perfect pop. Cool, catchy and infectious. “Boy’s Don’t Cry” continues along the same lines.  Unfortunately by the time we get to track 5 it all starts to flatline and the final mediocre track gives us a very disappointing ending with a fade-out. That said, “Dirty Dishes” is a great track. Its like if Prince and Queen had collaborated. I also like “Drama Queen” with its swing beat. 6

As December Falls “Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine”

It’s rock music and its great. Its largely fast-paced with high energy. Its not especially original or innovative although they do keep you kind of guessing as they suddenly double the tempo or switch the style. I guess, thematically its about our political times and a sense that there’s so much to be angry about..... but is there any point wasting your energy. There’s definitely a kind of ‘calm rage’ to it, as the title suggests. Actually my favourite track is “Rewrite” which is a sort of interlude that ditches the rock format momentarily. A moment of tranquillity among the chaos. Its better than good. So.......... 7

Jane Remover “Revengeseekerz”

Now! Right! Here we go. This one genuinely stumped me. I think its the 1^st time its happened in this project. I don’t understand it. This absolutely fascinates me. It seems to have a tonal organisation that’s like nothing I can think of having heard before. Its tonal. Its using the traditional western tonal system but it somehow loses the hierarchy to a degree. Not to the extend that it ‘serial music’, a 20^th century atonal musical system that uses the same 12 notes but removes any hierarchical organisation so that all 12 notes are of equal value. It somehow stays tonal while significantly loosening the rules of tonal structure. It would take a lot of analysis for me to get to the bottom of this. So........ I consulted google to see what was being said about this. Its described as ‘progressive pop’. Its described as ‘hyperpop’ – which mixes pop subgenres and merges pop and avant-garde sensibilities. Its described as ‘EDM’ (electronic dance music). Its, described as ‘showgaze’ – which I always described as very heavily distorted indie rock. Most reviews use the word ‘challenging’ but are very positive even when they use phrases like ‘difficult to enjoy’. A line in Pitchfork’s review about one of the tracks sums it up well for me ‘Every empty inch is thronged with chants and record scratches and video game samples that sound like personal heirlooms.’ I'm going to give it the mark I’ve given it although I suspect if I had time to get my head around it properly I would end up going for higher. 7

sombr “I Barely Know Her”

I’ve commented before that my feelings about this are very similar to Gigi Perez. Its the sort of thing that I really like....... or DID really like. The trouble is that I’ve heard it all so many times before – for decades now. Its got an indie (even Britpoppy) vibe to it. Its good song writing. Its even seems to have an old-school production feel to it. It sounds like its been recorded live in a village hall – with the echo-y vocal a little further back in the mix than you would expect from the vocal normally. It is good. But its also tired.

Am I saying I would give it a higher mark if it was exactly the same but the release date was 30 years earlier?........................... probably. Strange, innit? 6

Wolf Alice “The Clearing” (#1)

I had already heard and enjoyed the single “Wild Horses” which I had added to my playlist as part of an attempt to branch out (as it was not a charting single). That was a bit of a misfire because.... well..... #1 album. Furthermore, I discovered all 4 of their albums have been top 2 hits! I mentioned T Rex, Inxs, and Dandy Warhols in relation to that specific track. However, I think Fleetwood Mac (circa “Rumours”/“Tango In The Night”) is a more apt comparison to their overall sound. String backdrops, layered harmonies, catchy tunes, and that rock/pop fusion make up the sound, while lyrics based on the struggle between deep human connections and vulnerabilities make up the lyrical content. 7

Model/Actriz “Pirouette”

This is really good. Interesting, different, innovative. We have distorted techno beats, handicaps, heavy-guitar, acoustic guitar, soaring vocals, spoken word, middle-eastern influences, traditional song structures, experimental disjointed structures. The only reason this doesn’t get a mark higher is because there are a number of passages that, as interesting as they are, go on and on but lead nowhere. 7

Halcyon “Kingfishr”

A guess you’d describe it as an ‘indie’ version of Irish folk. The Irish factor does come across very strongly with broad Irish accents coming through in the vocals, which is excellent. I feel like the more ‘Irish folk-y’ they are being the better it is and the more ‘indie’ they are being the duller it is. I’m not one to join the debate about ‘authenticity’ that has been hotly debated in music discourse since at least the late 80s. But I do think the over-production, the big orchestral-like backdrops, the reverb vocals etc., take away from the authenticity of the Irish folk somewhat. 6

Sabrina Carpenter “Man’s Best Friend” (#1)

This is the album artwork that has caused all the controversy. It is a photo of Carpenter on all fours (like a dog, completing the man’s best friend pun) in front of what appears to be a man (I would like to point out that there is no certainly that it is a man) with her hand on his leg and face close to his crotch area. The ‘man’ also has her by the hair. Now, when I 1^st saw this my reaction was that this was meant to be ironic. It was portraying that but saying ‘yea, right’. Its not so much pampering to a male fantasy as it is saying ‘if thats your fantasy that’s all its ever gonna be’. I also thought it was deliberately attempting to provoke a reaction. Which it did. So if that was the mission then 10/10. Mission accomplished.

On to the music. I gave 2024’s “Short ‘n’ Sweet” a 6 and was fairly complimentary. I like the fact it starts with a laugh and sigh of ‘oh boy’ before the 1^st track begins. Given the fact she suddenly dominated the world of pop last year, and the controversy that followed, I imagine it was all a personal whirlwind for her...... so this little opening seems apt. Following that, it starts with the country-influenced “Manchild”, which was a #1 single. As country music has surged and is something of a trend I suppose jumping on it is a smart move although I am tiring of it a little. The song is pretty good. My favourite thing is the lyric. And I think is solidifies the notion that this is NOT a project of feminist regression. In fact the whole album has a bit of a ‘strong women mocking the male species’ vibe to it. In the case of “Manchild” we have unsubtle and hard hitting lyrics. The singer suggests the words ‘stupid’ and ‘useless’ but decides to be kind and land on a word they think is ‘cuter’ – ‘manchild’.

‘Why so sexy if so dumb?’

And how survive the Earth so long?

If I’m not there it won’t get done

I chose to blame your mom’

Ouch!

“Tears” is a strong second track and is kind of like a harder version of “Espresso”. The problem with the album (which is a problem I’m generally finding with Carpenter) is that there are lots of ‘m’eh’ tracks. “A Man On Willpower”, “Sugar Talking” “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night”, and “Go Go Juice” all pass me by without much to comment about. The big problem there is that the 1^st three of those are consecutive tracks. So, thats an extensive weak run on the album.

That is followed by a 3 track ‘peak’ of the album, however. “Nobody’s Son”  has a strange but cool switch between synth-reggae and synth rock. “Never Getting Laid” has a blend of 70s/80s soul and pop. Its very traditional song-writing with a good melody – but quite edgy lyrics! Theres also a coda (..... a musical ‘epilogue’) which sounds very ‘Disney musical’ and includes the lyric ‘abstinence [to sex] is just a just a state of mind’. Its almost like Mary Poppins is telling us sex can be whatever we want it to be. Haha. “When Did You Get Hot?” is a good track and I thought ‘Alanis Morrisette’ whilst listening to it.

There are few more 'OK' tracks before a somewhat disappointing ending in “Goodbye”. I say ‘somewhat’ because the music is underwhelming, especially for a closing track but the lyric is very edgy and amusing. ‘You used to love my ass but now you won’t see it anymore’. ‘But I’ll say, ‘Arrivederci, au revoir’. Forgive my French, but, fuck you, ta-ta’. 6

Laufey “A Matter Of Time”

Absolutely brilliant. This is an Icelandic artist that seems to blend of jazz pop (think Ella Fitzgerald/Billie Holiday) modern pop (think Adele/Taylor Swift), classical (think romantic/early 20^th century composers (Chopin/Ravel)), and occasional Bosa Nova (think......... ok you got me -Think Bosa Nova). Lyrically there is also a mix of traditional subject matter (love, relationships) next to those that are about negotiating modern society. The melodic writing is well ahead of the artist’s contemporaries. You might argue there’s not much in the way of originally here beyond the genre-bending. You’ve heard it all before with the artists mentioned above. However, its so good that its hard to criticise it very much based on that. My favourite tracks are “Touch Love” (which actually falls more towards modern melodic writing – so its interesting that I would pick that one...... I’ll have to think more about that) and the final track “Sabotage”. The latter has a smidge of unexpected-ness about it with a little bit of word painting. Little bursts of discordant tremolo strings ‘sabotage’ the calm beauty of the music. It also ends the album with a huge playout of big choir-like harmony, orchestral backdrop, loud drums with heavy fills that crescendo that leads to an abrupt cut-off reminiscent of The Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy). 8

C-MAT “Euro-Country”

This blends rock, Irish pop and Country, which makes it a little interesting. The song-writing is good. I like the political stances taken. There are a few outstanding tracks, particularly the closing “Janis Joplining”. Apart from that I dont have a lot to say. It didn’t really grab me. 5

JADE “That’s Showbiz Baby!”

Read my review in the 'Lengthier Reviews' section

Red Rum Club “Buck”

It delightfully good. Good quirky song-writing, melodies, fun lyrics..... its basically Britpop. Its good. The problem for me is a personal one. I was a 90s kid/teenager. I was right there in the middle of the 90s Britpop surge – lapping it up – buying the records – seeing big acts live – experiencing the crème de la crème. For me, this sort of thing is a literal ‘been there, done that’. 6

Spirit Box “Tsunami Sea”

A bit of heavy metal to balance things out a bit. Its alright too. I mean, there’s a lot of screaming. That’s interesting because the vocalist (I’m assuming its one person) can pull off a tune and hold a note brilliantly...... but boy can she do guttural screaming. Probably the most impressive I've ever heard. And the music is quite interesting at times too. I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘progressive metal’ – but its got a bit more to it than your standard heavy metal. 6

Suede “Antidepressants”

Ah – one of the 90s Britpop giants. “Coming Up” (1996), although have 1 tiny issue with it, is likely in my top 5 albums of the 90s (possibly in position 3). “Suede” (1993) and “Dog Man Star” (1994) also ride high on that list. Many were disappointed with “Head Music” (1999), but I wasn’t particularly. Its probably the ‘worst’ of those 4 but that’s very relative. I’ll be honest, because of music snobbishness that developed in the late 90s (and the whole reason for The GWIM Project) I haven’t heard any Suede albums since apart from Bloodsports (2013) which was a ‘come back’ album after a decade away, and I thought was quite good.

It seems they’ve ditched a lot of the trademark Suede traits. Brett Anderson’s distinct nasally alien-like voice seems more normal (I mean, it was always ‘put on’ to a degree), the dreamy synth backdrop behind a pseudo-glam rock front seems to have been replaced with simple ‘indie-rock’, and the lyrics are less imaginative and quirky. That in itself isn’t a problem for me. I think long-stay bands should move on if they want. Oasis, for example, suffered massively from being trapped in a brilliantly unique but creatively stifling sound. Of course, you have to ‘go somewhere’, ‘be interesting’ etc. I’m not quite sure that’s happening here. There’s nothing massively wrong with it. But, it lacks spark, there’s nothing much noteworthy happening, and it just sort of chugs along. I’ve alluded to the fact they don’t sound like 90s Suede anymore. Interestingly they do sound like, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, and Manic Street Preachers at times. Sadly, always a 2^nd rate version of those acts, however. 5

Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Perimenopop”

Here’s the thing. There’s absolutely no way you’re ever going to get me to say anything negative about SEB. I’ll give you an honest mark. Sure! But. Seriously. Try it. Ain’t gonna happen. Ever. I refuse. I do really like “Freedom Of The Night” and “Layers”. The former melodically switches between use of major and minor (as does the harmony), modal, monotonic, and chromatic scales. The latter is a great disco-driven pop complete with hilarious string, brass and keyboard figures. By the way, someone asked me what I meant when I said ‘figures’ – I think they are more affectionately known as ‘twiddly bits’. Oh and SEB, if you’re reading (I’m pretty sure she will be) – fantastic title. Love always. 5

Ed Sheeran “▶️” (#1)

This was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed it. This far, throughout this project I’ve been finding Sheeran ‘good....... but not THAT good’. He's a versatile pop artist which is probably his biggest plus point in my book. Here, he seems to have gone for a ‘world music’ feel. Its fairly interesting. However, I can imagine some of his adoring critics claiming its a ‘bold fusion of world music and western pop’. Its not. There’s just a little world music influence sprinkled around. Its not even for all the album. I’d say less than half the tracks incorporate world music elements. Its also nothing new. We’ve heard this sort of thing before. Also, he does a bit of rapping here and there. He's not bad at it and adds yet another aspect. Although I worry that, because we here it a few times, there may be a future ‘rap album’ in the work . .... which I do not think would be good at all. All this said, the song-writing is strong, the touch world music is welcomed and done well, and the whole tone of the album is light, upbeat, and enjoyable. So, you cant say fairer than that, can you? 7

Lola Young “I’m Only F**king Myself”

I feel like its not quite as innovative as her debut but it is great. I sits fairly firmly around an indie vibe but plays around with acoustic, punk, electronic, even a little light-jazz etc. This also means there’s a great balance. While she has developed a signature style, no one track is overly similar to another. The album is bookended quite nicely with spoken work – her debut ended like that – but this is a different voice. The opening is like a voicemail and the closing a recited poem. Lyrically, like her debut, she sings/speaks quite candidly about life-experiences, sex, alcohol, drugs, relationships, usually from a fairly negative angle and with a ‘....but who cares?’ philosophy. To a certain extend, I find I relate to it – and that’s probably why I have become a fan of Young. I’m praising “d£aler” as one of my favourite singles of 2025 and I think its the best track. However, “Penny Out Of Nothing” is a contender. This is because its analytically fascinating and I will have to sit and dissect it at some point. Its tonally ambiguous. The vocal melody, the piano, the melodic bass line, and various other aspects are all fairly straightforward in isolation. But its quite difficult to pin down how they are all meant to be interacting harmonically. This gets more and more difficult and more parts are introduced throughout before the track concludes with a single unexpected and seemingly unrelated chord....... and laughter. 7

Doja Cat “Vie”

I’ve been enjoying Doja Cat during this project. She perfectly blends the serious side of R&B style pop with the sort of fun that's normally reserved for bubble-gum pop. I hadn’t heard an album yet, though. This does exactly what I described and was very enjoyable. It wasn’t quite as good as I’d hoped for, however. 6

Biffy Clyro “Futique” (#1)

This is an fairly enjoyable album that feels rooted in 80s rock. However, while the song-writing isn't bad at all and the album drives along nicely I never feel like we’re headed anywhere amazing and there’s nothing for me to really sink my teeth into. 5

Olivia Dean “The Art Of Loving” (#1)

Really great! I enjoyed the previous album “Messy” (2023) but claimed it lacked something and nothing particularly stood out to me. This one has that missing something (whatever it is) and has ‘standouts’. The album keeps the soulful feel of “Messy” but gets a little more light-hearted with it. While sounds like the results may not be so good it actually works the better for it. “Loud” is my favourite track with its acoustic guitars, piano, vocal, and strings.  “Baby Steps” may be a close 2^nd with is funky bass line. “Nice To Each Other” and “So Easy (To Love In Love)” are also standout tracks. I’d definitely recommend this one. As I write this, the album is performing well in the mid-week chart indicating it could crash straight in at #1. It would be very deserved so I’m rooting for it. 7

Night Tapes “portals//polarities”

This is sort of ambient dance/electronica/indie – ish. It is really good. I heard the single “storm” recently and really liked it. I sounds similar to a number of dance acts or DJs/producers (with guest vocalists)  from the 90s. I’m also reminded of All Saints when they had William Orbit as their producer. Its good. Each individual track is good in isolation. It becomes more difficult stretched across an album. This is a problem genres in this area generally. Unless you are either so so unbelievably good (Prodigy, Chemical Brothers), or very interesting/innovative/creative with it, then it doesn’t really work on record for extended lengths the same way as it does for individual tracks or lie. 6

Perrie “Perrie”

Its hard not to make comparisons with her Little Mix colleague Jade Thirlwall. And that’s not really a fair thing to do. So let’s get that out the way and passed it. ........... its not as good. Not by a long shot.

With that out the way – there are things I like about this album. I like the way the beat is held off at times to allow the music and vocals to shine through. I like the heavy percussion in places such as the track “If He Wanted To He Would”. “Bonnie and Clyde” is a pretty impressive track and the final number “Goodbye My Friend” (a touching Ode to her Little Mix band-mates) is a good close to the album. However, generally speaking, this is very basic pop at its most unimaginative. Its full of barely melodic churnings with painfully predictable lyrics. “You Go Your Way” is the best demonstration of this. The lyrics ‘you go your way I’ll go mine’ would be blatant plagiarism if you could decide which one of the thousands of songs with that or similar lyrics it has lifted it from. The melody is a dull and awkward sounding falling scale from the fourth note to the 1^st – followed by a pitiful ‘Ok. Ok  Ok’ that sounds like the composers felt the line had not yet finished but had long ran out od any ideas for melody and lyrics. 3

Arm’s Length “There’s A Whole World Out There”

Its rock. Its alright. The trouble with this is its the sort of thing I’ve heard (possibly literally) a million times before. Because it does have some moments of interest, like “Funny Face” where they keep changing things up during the track, it just crosses the line to a.......... 6

Coheed and Cambria “The Father Of Make Believe”

This is an older act whom I've never really listened to – which is surprising because they are known for being quite ‘progressive’. This is good – its rock that veers into heavy metal at times and plays around with all sorts across the rock/pop spectrum (and has a big orchestral opening and closing). There are times when you feel like you are listening to Metallica – but at others you could be fooled its Ed Sheeran. 6

Taylor Swift “The Life Of A Showgirl” (#)

My initial reaction before listening was ‘YES!! She’s made an album under an hour long!!!’. That was definitely a plus before even starting. It sits exactly where all but one of the Swift albums I’ve heard so far sit. Good but not brilliant. This one is telling a story and there’s always a danger that you concentrate more on that than writing great songs. There’s no “Lover Story”, “Shake It Up”, “Blank Space”, “Anti-Hero” on here (nor was there on “The Tortured Poet’s Society” (2024)). There’s a nice variety of sounds on here. I prefer it to the 2024 album. It has that trend I’ve previously identified on modern pop albums, where it gets better later in the album. Here, there are 12 tracks. The best ones are “Wood”, “CANCELLED!”, “Honey”, and “The Life Of A Showgirl”. That’s tracks 9, 10, 11, & 12. 6

And that’s it. December is largely filled with Christmas streaming and, consequently, very few bothering with new releases. That means........ just a couple more months left in 2025!!!

Marking key (in a nutshell)

10 – Perfect (only 3 albums in history)

9 – Basically 10/10 (I just don’t quite view them in the same way as the 3 albums)

8 – Outstanding (possible nit-picking criticisms)

7 – Brilliant

6 – Good

5 – Average

4 – Has potential but below average

3 – Some good points but not very good overall

2 – Poor (possibly a few good points)

1 – Abysmal