wasn't there a thread for this on ktt1

6.5/10

bliss is 10/10 tho

James Ferraro - Troll /10

Prism – Katy Perry [2013]
pop

After her marriage ended, Katy started dating John Mayer and that's what this album is all about: Katy coming out from a bad place and letting the light in. And this is definitely told very well through the lyrics and music – surprisingly very mature. I'm also surprised by how well these songs hold up after 10 years. This is Katy's best album.

Fav songs: Birthday, Roar, Legenday Lovers, By The Grace Of God

Chow Lee - Hours After The Club

7.5/10
Prob the best Jersey club album I’ve heard yet. It tends to cater more towards lyrics about b****es and f***ing but the production is really well done and I think I like this Chow Lee’s voice something about it that clicks for me

Joni Mitchell - Shadows and Light (1979) DVD

Overall Thoughts:

Joni doubles down on jazz with an all-star roster behind her: Pastorius, Metheny, Brecker, Mays, and Alias. This is right after she released Mingus, so jazz makes sense, but she also flips tracks from The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira. There's a cover of Why Do Fools Fall in Love and The Persuasions come out to do backing vocals a couple of times. She's dressed like the joker, mostly leaning on her smoky low register. Really chill stuff. Some kooky production for the DVD as well.

Fav Sequence(s):

Jaco's solo 25 minutes in, leads right into The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines where Joni gets in the pocket and Brecker spazzes. They also made a coyote chase a mouse for nature doc footage to play during Coyote- and the coyote loses interest immediately.

7/10, love Joni, love the roster, and just the right amount of montage to break up the performance footage. Could do without some of the quietest moments/songs in the middle. The titular Shadows and Light should be the down note at the end.

Trippie Redd - Trip at Knight

6/10

Pretty nice I like the melodies and still vibe with Miss the Rage and Holy Smokes ofc. It’s a shame these are the best songs here. Points off for beats sounding too similar / corny lyrics. But overall fun and energetic and the sound suits his voice.

ya I'm tryna restore the feeling on ktt2

Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan: 7/10

Wouldn't call myself a fan of country music whatsoever, so take my opinion on this album with a big grain of salt, but I enjoyed this album. I like Zach's voice and penmanship, and he feels really authentic and not over-the-top like a lot of country acts tend to sound sometimes. Really pleasing and pretty album overall.

Marcos Valle – Marcos Valle [1983]
pop, funk, soul

The greatest Brazilian pop album of all time made by the greatest Brazilian musician. Released in the beginning of the 80s, the album perfectly encapsulates the sound and vibe of that decade, especially in Rio de Janeiro. 🏋🏻‍♂️ The last good decade before the fall...

Fav songs: Para Os Filhos de Abraão, Estrelar, Samba de Verão

VOIR DIRE - Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist: 6/10

Pretty boring album overall. I like the two Vince features and Earl is pretty good throughout the project, but most of these songs go absolutely nowhere and most of these Alchemist beats do absolutely nothing for me. Some of these loops are just not working. Don’t really have any more to say about this album other than it’s not terrible but not great and I’ve heard much better from both artists.

Live at Bush Hall - Black Country, New Road: 9/10

First time listening to a BCNR project start to finish, they’ve been on my radar for a few years, just never got around to them. Read up a little bit on their history up to this point, so I know that this album was more of a transitional piece for them. With that being said, I loved this! I wish more artists did live projects in this vein, where all the songs are brand new but just performed live. I really like how each song had a different of three vocalists, and each vocalist has their own unique energy that they bring. The instrumentation here was master level, and I enjoyed this so much I’m gonna go see them in April when they hit my state. Big recommend.

When Will We Land? - Barry Can’t Swim: 9/10

Another record that was my first experience with the artist, had never heard of him before but this is also his debut album so it makes sense. This album is PHENOMENAL. It’s house/dance/electronic pop music, and every single song is so sticky and infectious both rhythmically and melodically. Strongly recommend for anyone who’s a fan of Jamie xx and looking for another artist to scratch that itch.

Spirit World Tour - Sword II: 7/10

Yet another first time with an artist, but this group is an up-and-coming band from Atlanta who’s relatively unknown right now (they only have 5,000 followers on IG currently), but I managed to stumble upon them online the other day and decided to give them a listen. Super interesting debut album, it’s like a mix of alternative and shoegaze and punk and pop, all combined into this one really unique but raw & heavily distorted package (there’s even a song with a dancehall drum pattern). Definitely gonna keep an eye on them moving forward, a lot of potential here for sure.

Damn he's your #1 goat from Brazil eh I heard 3 albums from him and really liked them all but should peep more

Qendresa - Midnight Request Line

8/10

Really great callback album to 80’s/90’s R&B. It’s a 20 minute album but these songs burn on slow and funky. I’m super late realizing this came out in 2020 but I can’t wait to bump these songs at night next summer.

his versatility makes him the goat for me

Lee Ritenour And Friendship - Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (1979)

Overall Thoughts:

This is jazz fusion on the crest of the 80s. A couple of these are Lee Ritenour songs from his album Feel the Night, and the others are from an upcoming group project called Friendship. Dave Grusin on the piano is a long time collaborator and cosongwriter. Ernie Watts, the saxophonist, is typically on Ritenour records as well. Abraham Laboriel, the Afro Latina bassist from Mexico isn't I don't believe. The percussionist Steve Forman isn't even in the band.

Montreux is a legendary Swiss jazz festival and there's no frills in the production. These guys just tear s*** down. Super professional. Super tight. The music speaks for itself.

Fav Sequence(s):

Track 2 "Uh Oh" is prob my favorite just because Laboriel opens it with that bass riff and scats some catchy incoherent lyrics. Then Forman comes in at 17:40 with whatever that is. Ernie Watts' solo on Feel the Night is crazy as well.

8/10, overwhelming musicianship with amazing vibes

When I Hear Your Name (Live) - Maeta: 8/10

Really enjoyed this album when it released earlier this year, really solid collection of contemporary mature R&B, so I was stoked when I saw she released a live collection of a few of the songs. I think every song is elevated here with the live performances. The band is incredible and Maeta's vocals are so beautiful, my favorite by far is the first song with James Fauntleroy. I enjoy this package slightly better than the studio album it originated from.

Ooh Rap I Ya - George Clanton: 7/10

Been a mild George Clanton fan for a few years now, Slide is one of my favorite albums of the 2010s. This album isn't quite as good, but still enjoyable overall. Definitely worth a listen for anyone who likes the vaporwave sound, but at times on this album it can feel a little by-the-numbers. Still, some really good songs on this project, George is one of the most talented producers alive.

Broken Glass - Who Parked The Car: 9/10

I kept intending to check out this album after seeing @tradez401 post it in a thread earlier this year, and it took me a while to get around to it but I am so glad that I did. This album is ridiculous. I thought this was some popular French band I had just never heard of, so I was shocked when I searched them on IG and saw that they only had 1.5K followers. This band deserves to be outta here, this is elite soul music. The vocalist is superb, the band is impeccable, and this feels like an album that would've been sampled thousands of times by now if it had came out in the 70s or 80s. This instantly went into my Top 10 of 2023, and I strongly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of soul/jazz music!

dope that u checked the broken glass album out and enjoyed it.

i agree with u on the earl/al project seemed like it should've been so much more but was just meh.

its cuz alchemist got hella lazy recently
im ah need him to consider bringing back drums to his beats cuz his loops aint it anymore.

Lone Catalyst - "Good Music" (2005)
underground, boom bap, jazzy rap

Fire / 10

This is the last album I believe I listened to in its entirety. It has a remarkable antidepressant effect on me.

The vocal is soothing and the guitar work is homey.

Something I would go to when suffering from ennui. Perhaps not a landmark or groundbreaking record, but highly enjoyable nonetheless.

10/10.
I also listened to sufjan's new record javelin.

I think the opening track made me cry. 6/10.
Ad-based models have destroyed my album listening proclivity. I mainly listened to Alice in chains albums for a year straight though.

What is the album lol

Blind faith - blind faith

Dangerous Woman – Ariana Grande [2016]
pop, R&B

I was surprised by how big this album feels. Primarily pop and R&B, Ariana incorporates reggae, electropop, trap and more. The production feels expensive and she's SINGING, very different from her next albums which have a more chill and dreamy soundscape. I think this is her best album so far with Into You being her greatest song ever.

Fav song: Into You

MID AIR - Paris Texas: 9/10

Finally got around to listening to this. These guys are special! Truly a breath of fresh air among the newer generation of rap acts. Rock/rap fusion isn't some new creation, but I really have never heard it done as genuinely and as seamless as they make it sound here. The production is captivating, the rapping is actually really good, and the sound never gets stale or tiresome as the album progresses. Really interested in keeping up with what they do next and with what major mainstream rappers reach out to them for collaborations.

History - Bokanté: 9/10

This was an album I stumbled across looking at the upcoming Grammy nominations for Best Engineered Album. I had heard of the other four nominated albums, but not this one, so did a little research on the group and saw that they were a worldwide group that mix world music with blues and jazz so I decided to check it out. The lead vocalist is also trilingual, so most of this album is sung in Creole, with a few songs having some English moments. I really enjoyed this thoroughly! A really unique mix of African styles along with the other genres I mentioned earlier. It's just a really pleasing, soothing, and meditative listen overall. The percussion also really stands out to me all over the album, and the engineering is also superb which would explain the Grammy nod. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys the various genres that this album encompasses, or just wants to try something new.