Sean Sharp's Diary

Listen 1: Has me going "hmmm". I appreciate the experimentation of raw sounds in their music. Nothing almost ever sounds that muted or soft. They tend to go all in with their sound design and production which can often lead to some legitimate bangers or lead to tinnitus. This album embraces this style in full force but more often than not ends up feeling a bit over the top. Leaning into hyperpop territory, it's an acquired taste that I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy. Listen 2: Found a bit more enjoyment in it this time around. Also found some more specific things I wanted to touch on. That hyperpop sound I described in my first listen almost borders on older EDM like Sandstorm. Nostalgic which I appreciate they took that path. The major thing that rubs me wrong is some of the vocal performances. She has a good voice but sometimes more takes could have been taken to find the right one. What's particularly irritating is that some of the catchiest songs, which I would dare say is one of the main draws of this style of music, is right next to some horrendous singing of a different melody. American Bitch, Parking lot, Jackie, JAM !, DJ all have this in common.

They only made 3 songs and they literally sound identical. What was the point? When the third song started and I glanced at Spotify, I thought I somehow skipped one or had shuffle on. How are you going to do a 3 song EP and have no variety.

Dominic Fike has always gave me the vibe that he would be really great at mixtapes given how his sound feels so laidback so a more relaxed, unpressured format for a project would be best. Yet in practice, I really prefer his more fully fleshed out work. Without some of that extra attention that a bigger budget or team, it lacks some of the same flare that gives his albums such a memorable spark. Maybe it's a bit of placebo if his mixtapes aren't really mixtapes and more of a marketing tool somehow.

I get that EDEN has taken a path that a lot of people might like cuz it's a bit edgier than how he used to be. In my eyes, I feel he was one of the biggest fumbles of the Electronic Pop of the 2010's. Dude has a ravenous fan base and followed it up with a decent album after ityttmom but since then he will have an occasional song that slaps but overall, I've lost grip of the vision. He still has a fan base but it's much more niche and there is nothing wrong with that either. I feel isolated I suppose. I wanted to be into his music cuz I loved it so much as a teen now I can't really appreciate his new stuff and that frustrates me!!!

Where'd Druski go?

Man what a pretty lackluster outing. I recently got into some of his hits and was wondering if this would have some more of that spice but unfortunately, it gets pretty pretty pretty generic here.

An unfortunate offshoot. My favorite part of this whole thing is the end of 'between you and shadows'. It was the first moment I darted to see which song I was on so I could remember it once I finished the album, only to find that it was just a detached outro of the song. Womb will always be my favorite, and the long wait may have left me several years ago. I may have grown out of this style of music, too. When I compare this to what I'm listening to in 2025, there isn't much that is similar. I used Womb as well as The Weeknd's 'After Hours' as my main points of inspiration for my own music for a year. As many others have said, there is a bit more acoustic in here than anything else they've done. I'm open to the idea, but they don't do much in terms of blending the acoustic sound into it, and it just feels like it was placed near the more traditional Purity Ring songs.

I miss the days when Mura Masa dropped, and I was storming to see what crazy production he whipped up. I support artists who change their style as it shows growth, but like a doomed relationship, I have not grown with them. Neat little sound pieces here and there, but it seems to be catering to an audience that doesn't include me. That, or he has lost a lot of inspiration and is just pumping out anything he can think of. It's not like it's bad; it's just a more standardized style of dance music. Some of this I would imagine playing at a decently cheap club somewhere tropical, and instead of dancing, people are more socializing. Like a mixer, or something similar. No hate, just not much love either.

At this point, you know if you're going to love or hate this. Never go into listening to a Martin Garrix album expecting something new, but if you love the 2010s radio-tailored sound he creates, he's your guy. Ten years ago, I would have loved this because it is well-made. A lack of innovation can kill a large fan base, except for those few diehards. EDM is represented by artists like this, and Martin is one of its poster children. I hope one day EDM can regain some variety, returning to a more mainstream sound, but trends are cyclical. Since EDM had its time in the spotlight last decade, it'll probably take some time for that to happen as all the previous A-listers continue or fizzle out and others look to mimic their style.

A real everything bagel of an album. Love what DJ Snake did for mainstream EDM in the 2010s, but it's Groundhog Day for him. He can't escape. Every song on this album features a different popular EDM style from the 2010s. It runs as a good resume track sheet, but doesn't show any depth. I can definitely tell he knows how to make just about any style of EDM-influenced music, which is impressive, but it really only scratches the surface of what these different genres have to offer. No one ever becomes a diehard fan of someone who just genre-jumps every song.

Moody as ever, Two Feet strikes a chord with this one. Like a literal single chord, not a whole lot of variety here, but if you like Two Feet's signature style, you'll like this. I'm not sure if it was accidental or intentional, but I'll give him props for it either way. The ooo-ing on "Remember Us?" is just slightly different from the ooo-ing on "Nostalgia". If this was intentional, I love the clever idea of a slightly adjusted melody from one song to the next when "Nostalgia" is looking back at a previous time that "Remember Us?" refers to. The downside to this is that the two songs sound EXTREMELY similar. I mentioned earlier that Two Feet doesn't branch out much creatively here, but these two songs are nearly exact copies to my ears. The rest of the songs could be a (two)footnote.

I hate to say it, NF, but you might be WASHED UP. As I grow older and listen to these albums and EPs by artists I grew up with, it becomes readily apparent which ones are evolving with the times and which others will serve as checkpoints along a few-year span. With this EP, NF strikes me as the ladder. Some voices are perfectly suited for a certain style of music, and NF excels at this melodramatic rap, which can sometimes slow down for a sad song. Unfortunately, that is not part of the zeitgeist in the 2020s. Much like many artists from the 2010s who have fallen off, it's not that they've forgotten their craft; rather, both the public and individuals move on from certain styles as they grow. So yes, NF can still have a long-lasting career, but his fans will come and go as they grow since NF's music style refuses to evolve.

So he disappears for 7 years, drops an EP with a complete tone switch, but it's pretty quality, then returns 6 months later with a new EP and a new tone switch. This one keeps it short and sweet, only featuring 4 songs this time around. "UP" was oddly the first track he released after his hiatus last year, even before "SHARK", and I absolutely loved it, finding it odd that the song and its style were not found anywhere on "SHARK". For whatever reason, he delayed "UP" from appearing on "SHARK" and instead it shows up here, and it is much more fitting in all fairness. While "SHARK" embodied a darker synth experience, "GRACE" plays as its counterpart. "GRACE", the song, is quality. A fantastic use of vocal mixing and ambience in the glittery synths. Reaper has almost nailed down the art of slow-moving production. He finds ways to keep the music interesting while maintaining certain chords or noises for a good length of time, and "GRACE", the song, is a great example of this. The middle two tracks, "HEAVEN" and "LIBERATION," do falter slightly, not matching the same quality as the opener and closer. They suffer a bit from not capitalizing on the same strengths as the other songs do. The slow production I mentioned earlier hinders these a bit. It's not like they are unlistenable, but a bit more time in the oven, and I think these could have at least neared the quality of the others. I hope Reaper sticks around and continues doing whatever he's doing. It seems every time he releases something, it's pretty different, but I am consistently a fan. While I wish this could have been a song or two longer and a few tweaks to keep the interest in a few songs, I'm still satisfied with the EP, especially considering how close together he released this to his previous outing.

This return to their roots is quite satisfying, as they display a significant amount of new evolution in how they represent pop punk. Resting at the heart of one of the main themes of the album, their transformation over the past decade is evident. The Neighbourhood just came out with "Ultrasound," which I feel this review will echo many of the same feelings as I have towards that one. 5SOS is the first mainstream boy band I have ever seen age gracefully. Adding new elements, synths to the instrumentals, and fun chord progressions, this shows that 5SOS is making music for the beauty of the art. 12/20 Update: After a week, I have had a hard time wanting to relisten to much of this. While I think the album works well as a whole and do appreciate the unique application of standard pop in this more punky style, I don't think the songs are as gripping as I first thought.

On the positive side of things, it's nice to see 2010's EDM artists that haven't changed a bit work together as it may produce some new ideas. The realistic side is that this mainly just sounds like Alan Walker's brand. Only in slight moments can you see any influence of what you would call Steve Aoki. This may be due to the fact that Alan Walker's music is so recognizable and Steve Aoki tends to make more "generic" EDM in the sense that you would likely not know it's his song if you didn't know beforehand. These artists know their craft and are good at it but seem to be too comfortable to make something that may interest anyone but diehards.

This thing is bizarrely R&B coded. Like so far at certain points where it begins to circle around to jazz. Not fully, but you can feel it. The jazz bar vibes are there. Love a good switch up from an artist and I think Jack has done the genre well here. From my POV this album is probably better from a technical or objective standpoint, but from a more subjective standpoint, I think it can be a little dull here and there. I would absolutely love for him to take another stab at this though. Definitely some great foundations to build off on. While not a 1 to 1 in the styles but this reminds me of Mac Miller releasing Swimming before his death. It was an adjacent step to his typical style but it just felt right. "Lonesome" and "All Of My Friends" are the two that deliver the absolute most while staying minimal in their styles. It blends his catchy vocals perfectly into the full R&B tracking. "Trade Places" works on a different level. While the vocal melodies are good, the real highlight is the production, which pops at different points in the song. The other songs simply don't have the same addictive qualities these three do but work well in the album as a whole. Worldbuilding songs in a way.