Sean Sharp's Diary

Joji historically has songs that kind of fall under the banner of being half-demos. They're fully created and mixed and mastered, but are way too short. It really depends on the specific album if they have more or less of these but "Nectar" was the first time this might be a problem with his music. "SMITHEREENS" even had this issue to a degree despite the low track count. Now "Piss In The Wind" returns more to the former's style with it's length. If 21 songs in 45 minutes doesn't tell you what you need to know about this, I don't know what will. The songs themselves are well made but don't really bring to life many of the ideas. "Past Won't Leave My Bed" is probably the closest we get here to a fully functional song acting closer to "Glimpse Of Us". Not meaning that I think he should continue making songs that sound like that, it's just a coincidence that they do, but more so that it feels like a real fuuuulllll song. It has progression. Lots of these other songs are simply ideas. I still liked this as a whole since it does sound good overall. I just hope one day, Joji can dive a bit deeper into some of these and actually finished them.

This was pretty cool. Especially after it really finds it's groove in the second half. For some reason the first half feels so much more disjointed. Maybe it's just because it takes time to adjust to the many changes each and every song has. I think this "adjustment period" may make the run time seem like nothing. Once I was finally acclimated to how the songs were structured and I could find some interesting moments, it didn't feel like it would take a marathon to get to the end. The sound design and array of production as a whole is also a main factor in this. It is so all over the place instrumentally that it's hard for it to become dull. Somehow in all it's madness, it does maintain a certain style. "Oh! Frenchy" was what brought me here so much love for that song. I also have got to give props to the end of "Roll Up". When it gets all fast paced, it's just a great ending. "Three-Prong Sing-Along" also has a nice softer style to it that broke up a lot of the crazy production. The real star here though is the first half of the closer, "Clementine (Ain't No Clean)". What a great off-beat song that is cultivated in pure fun. Doesn't really seem like Mosie is coming back anytime soon but I'm glad I got to listen to this 8 years late.

Amir floated around the hype of Drake and PND throughout the 2010s but never really broke out despite it seeming inevitable. It's pure speculation from the public's part on what happened considering that he did have some decent success with some of his work during that time. Fast forward several years and he has released two albums in back to back years. Technically his debut, "after." released in 2024 which I wasn't a huge fan of. Now "LOOKING FOR THE NEAREST EXIT" has arrived and I think Amir is stuck a bit in the past. When he was supposed to find his success. Some of the songs here are downright forgettable or generic but I don't think that those summarize the project as a whole. "CRASH" has an addictive melody while paying homage to some of vocal styles of the 2010s melodic rap scene. Meanwhile, "LAST TIME" slows down a bit for a softer ride that you don't often see within the genre. "SOS" also serves as a nice outro, really emphasizing on the use of processed vocals to the point where you can't quite understand him but I see this in a way similar to Kanye's humming at the end of "Runaway". The dullness of the rest of the album combined with these highlights balances out quite heavily. I'm not sure if it's rust or just living a bit in the past, but Amir seems to be slowly tinkering away at creating some good songs, just a decade too late.

Very dreary. Today I mourn with Ritchie & Parker, but I also mourn the style of their self-titled effort. I have been hoping they would return to that form at least here or there but since the passing of Groggs, it seems they have taken a different path permanently. I always support change within an artists or bands history as I think that is how the most interesting musical careers take place, but unfortunately the emphasis on experimental and abstract has left me in the dust a bit. I can appreciate some of the production and choices here and there but overall, I either find myself not enjoying what I'm hearing or bored. Parker Corey's production is very distinctive as you can tell there isn't really a default template that he pulls up in whatever DAW they use. This complete freedom in production is cool but often leads to beats or songs as a whole that are way off the mark for my ears.

Labrinth is tough to pin down as I can tell he has a massive creative mind but it seems he needs someone to reel him in a bit more. I suppose there is a reason why most of the stuff I like by him is in collaboration with other artists. This album is the most out there project that I've heard by him. I mean the ending of "S.W.M.F." is just... lol. He constantly looks to switch up the composition of songs and how they evolve but it feels pretty jolting at times. In comparison to Quadeca's "Vanisher, Horizon Scraper", Labrinth takes abrasive horns paired with almost random synths and tries to ping pong back and forth with the occasional more full orchestral composition. The jumping back and forth feels like a headache. Quadeca is the example of how to do this constant transition well with everything flowing in and out with it never living in a consistent state. Labrinth did task himself with something much harder sonically though. A cosmic opera is a far harder challenge to achieve than the swaying of the ocean that Quadeca goes for. (Not to discredit Quadeca's work. Just pointing out that the idea was something more achievable.) I don't mean for this to turn into a Quadeca glaze. I just think Labrinth could take a few pointers from a macro level and see how he could apply them even though he is obviously musically talented as is.