Sean Sharp's Diary

Roosevelt has seemed to tighten the bootstraps on his work over time. I recently listened to his debut and this feels like a more refined and intentional version of that album. It does what it sets out to do well with several good tracks, including one of my favorites of the year, "Strangers". The interlude "Montjuic" is a real sign of the musical growth he's gone through compared to the interludes on his self-titled work. The only real downside is a lack of variety. The last three songs on the album don't really bring anything new to the table but without them, this might feel a tad short. Having a bit more time in the oven to whip up some more creative ideas could have served the album well.

James has a knack for making some of the most unique soundscapes possible. Specifically the first half of this thing contains some great sound design while keeping it minimalist at least at the start of each track. Perhaps it's something specific with James voice but it's so haunting that is works perfectly for the style that he achieves here. "Death of Love" features some gorgeous backing vocals over a fairly modernized beat. The bass that holds this insane tension is so cool as well. Very simple but effective. His atypical use of instruments and sound effects is so fun and capitalizes on the unique vision he aims for. "Make Something Up" does this in a similar way with just as much impact. The downside is that the highs are so good to start the album that the latter half struggles to hold up on that same level. It's not that it's bad but after "Doesn't Just Happen", the songs miss that same quality and punch that the predecessors have. To me, this has always been the downside of his work. Some stuff just hits so hard and effective that some of the rest of the album can become a bit dull or bland in comparison. It's almost like if he left off the best tracks the album as a whole would have came out better. Now, I'm not serious with that of course but I hope that gets my point across.

Over his last several EP's I've felt less and less interest in his music since when I discovered him. He has a powerful voice that makes him seem like he should be featured on some mainstream hits. Yet his music has shifted more and more towards traditional R&B. Not that that's a bad thing, but the production has been lacking interesting features. "MEMORIA, In Blue" has me relieved as instead of going harder into traditional R&B, he has woven in more smooth synth textures in a creative way. First things first, having a debut album under 30 minutes is a bit of a letdown in my eyes. If fans really want to eat up your work and you create something that they will like, give them a good-sized plate. This comes in a small portion, which sounds expensive, but it's tasty. The growing distortion on "HIGHER" is unlike anything I've heard in an R&B song before and brings a rich layer of uniqueness to the album. There is this goldilocks streak where everything is just right with "GREEN VOWS", "AGAIN", and "THAT'S MY...". All three of these have great use of his vocals and production to make one of a kind songs. The other drawback his music suffers from is memorable choruses. His vocal flairs are gorgeous but I think he gets a bit lost in the sauce on songs and exemplifies what his voice is capable of over what would be well-written melody. Once again, this album does fix this on the aforementioned tracks. It's not like this is completely gone however as some of the remaining tracks do struggle with this common pitfall. I hope that this is really the beginning for him and not just a side step given his track record of simplifying the production until now. Perhaps it was a budgetary restriction and the fact that this is an album finally allowed him to raise the level of quality but we will see.

The term concept album has become such a trivialized term. Without trying to sound like an old head, back when I was younger, a concept album used to mean something! I'm only half joking though. Now it's gotten muddled with "eras" when a new aesthetic drops for an artist. But just the aesthetic isn't what makes someone conceptually different. It's like a watered-down version of what used to be a concept album because half the time now, the music doesn't really have a main theme or storyline. Melanie has been the modern gold standard, at least in mainstream pop, for what a real concept album looks like. While she does embrace the whole "eras" thing, it goes hand in hand with what she is aiming to communicate on each album. "HADES", her fourth album, sticks with this but broadens the scope a bit. It may be a bit of a cop out to still call this a concept album, as it comes off like she wanted to rant and point out hypocrisy in media and society. Which is nothing new for her but again, this double album has a wide lens. People always seem to have an issue with her music and it seems like almost everyone has a different reason. Her childish vocal aesthetic is definitely off-putting at times, her lyrics can often be too on the nose, and her full-fledged pop-electronic production is not everyone's cup of tea. Luckily for me, the genre is right up my alley. The other point's do stick out me as flaws. Practically every album she has released, there is at least one song that I don't add purely due to the lyrics. Not like I disagree with what she is saying but it's sometimes blunt or unnerving, which I think is kind of the purpose sometimes. "HADES" has so many of these songs compared to her other albums. Like so many. "WHITE BOY WITH A GUN", "DISNEY PRINCESS", "THE VATICAN", "CHATROOM", just to name a few. Meanwhile, there are others that I put up with a bit more and sometimes grow to like. "POSSESSION" and "WEIGHT WATCHERS" for example. Then there are the times where it actually comes together nicely. Where off bat, the lyrics may still sound bold or intense but it doesn't pull me out of the music whatsoever. Those songs include "IS THIS A CULT?", "THE PLAGUE", and "UNCANNY VALLEY". While I can certainly nitpick on lyrical work, I adore the production and melodies. Whatever team she uses to both write these earworms and produce this super-polished electronic pop is doing wonders. In tandem with the production, it only makes sense that the vocal mixing and editing is dialed to the max. Besides her childish sound at times, they do a great job of mixing different styles of her vocal ability to create dense and rich choruses or verses that distinctly differ as the song goes on to keep it fresh. In popular EDM there is this stutter effect that a lot of producers use on synths or vocals and Melanie has adopted this pretty heavily over the course of this thing. It's almost overdone but it does give some extra flare. (For examples of this, see "SIRENS" by Flume, "The Fall" by The Chainsmokers, "2gether" by Mura Masa, or "The Last Goodbye" by ODESZA.) This overall is likely my least favorite project of hers since her debut. The first half of the album is pretty disappointing compared to the second half, and I think they easily could have cut 4-5 songs off of this.

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.

Thematically, it seems Harry set out to make a pure-blood disco album, but he and his team ran out of workable ideas and ended up making a few artsy pop songs. Then decided to give the album this title to make it seem intentional. The vibe throughout this thing is pretty unique to say the least. It seems only Harry, Kid Harpoon, and Tyler Johnson had input on this, and so I decided to do a little bit of digging on the background of the producers. Kid Harpoon is, historically, a pop producer. Tyler Johnson seems to be more on the writing side of things and has had a long history of working with Harry. Meaning that these three focused their efforts on a disco album, something that none of them seem to have any experience with, based on my little bit of research. Because of this, they harness some of the elements but completely miss at other points on the direction of this thing. The unique vibe is probably also attributed to their lack of experience in the genre. Their experience as a whole in the industry does serve them well, however, as it does provide as a one-of-a-kind listen. To quickly run through some of the track list to drive the point home, "Aperture" is long, which is not an uncommon thing in disco, but it loses a lot of its grip when it's not peaking at its chorus. "Ready, Steady, Go!" has some very cool vocal details and layering but the production as the song progresses seems like they flew a little too close to the sun as it begins to become a bit of a jumbled mess. Then heading down to "Paint By Numbers", it abandons the style of the album altogether. Truly no idea what they were even thinking by including this track on here. But... the album is good. As much as it seems like it shouldn't work, something about it does click. They knew they had a gem with "American Girls," with it being one of the more pop-focused but still embodying a more disco core. "Taste Back" through "Season 2 Weight Loss" finds a more consistent groove with some songs that are both catchy but features little electronic touches that are typically associated with disco. Then there is "Pop". Despite the name, it really is a crisp example of how this unique style comes together well. A roaring chorus and production that shows the skills of the producers. This song to me seems like the refined version of "Aperture". The closer "Carla's Song" has an excellent ending as well which really is a nice bow and tie to the ambitious project from the trio. While I imagine we will never get something like this from Harry again, I am happy that he took this detour.

My is so goat is back... sort of. Although not a purebred Denzel Curry release, putting his name on the album and every track despite no full appearance on each track is a bit of a letdown. KOTMSV2 was by far from my least favorite of Denzel's and this album definitely returns to a level of quality that I expect from him. I would still heavily like to here a Denzel heavy album, which apparently we will be getting later in 2026. As for what's here in March, it's pretty great. Short and sweet, The Scythe shows out in grade A form. Legends like Juicy J and A$AP Ferg are on here as well as a few up and comers like BKTHERULA and TiaCorine. TiaCorine is the real standout newbie on here. Her verses are the definition of swag, just like she says on "THE SCYTHE". My favorite track is "MUTT THAT BIH". The production is bouncy and energetic and Denzel's verse is fun but, and this is probably a hot take, 1900Rugrat's verse is oddly addicting to me. Typically whiney rappers like him have no part in my listening habits but something about that verse is just fun. The production here though is done to perfection, nearly front to back. There is unique touches around every corner that still fit a typical gritty hip-hop style but are still unique in ever sense of the manner. The only track that loses me a bit on the production side of things is "HOOPTY" with has a pitched up vocal as part of the beat that doesn't do it any favors. Sadly it features TiaCorine and Smino which should have been a great song on here. Otherwise, the last half of this features some of the best production I've here in a hip-hop album in years. A true chef's kiss.

Man the production value here is off the charts. That is always the nice thing about having a movie budget backing an album. The quality can be insanely good and the distraught strings on here are gorgeously unsettling and lovely. My favorite production on the whole thing is "Dying for You". The more staccato strings do wonders with the wavy synth that floods the song. The travesty of it is the chorus is just meh. Could have been a song I loved by the chorus and verses in general are extremely weak which is a real let down. The opening track is the most artsy of the bunch and it's crazy strings and production that begin treating your ear like a punching bag is pretty neat. That leads me to my only major issue here. There is a few times where the album is just too loud. I'm sounding like old man Jenkins here but honest to god, "House" along with one or two others were just difficult to listen to at my normal volume then when Charli would start singing on the next sound, she sounded quiet. The second half of this is where I think the pieces finally start to come together a bit better. The filter masking Charli's voice on "Seeing Things" is a good one off on here. The song feels more traditional in it's production without as much of the crazy strings staying more elegant. The following song "Altars" is another highlight. The production is the most pop-centric but the chorus is by far and away the best. The way her voice floats with the reverb on the strings on the chorus is mixed to perfection. Finally, the track "My Reminder" embraces glitchy vocals on the chorus while keeping the beat a bit more subdued which is a nice change in combination with the gritty synths. Overall a strong soundtrack to accompany the film but I wish they would have revisited the first half a bit more.

Pretty good overall. 1nonly has certainly found a niche in the gritty rap scene that has been unexplored and he's living up to it's potential. The first half of this album is almost all quality. Loved "GRAILED" on it's release as a single and "LATELY" with Pouya is an excellent change of pace. My main critic is that it doesn't vary much. "LATELY" diverts slightly from the rest and "MOVE FAST" has a bit more of a rock feeling to it even though I wouldn't say it nears rock. The haunted aggressive vibe is abundant here and sounds slick. The production is top notch and works perfectly with his voice. A match made in heaven. "PUSH UP" with Project Pat and 870glizzy struggles. I don't really like 870glizzy's voice and Project Pat on this type of beat feels wrong. Like one of those intentionally bad meals you see on social media. I know 1nonly's still very fresh to the scene but I hope he doesn't get pigeon holed into this forever because I think there is a bit more variety he can explore but it's a solid first outing.

A very colorful album. The rapping & singing isn't really the forefront. These energetic beats are really the draw here. The opener "eva" is a prime example of this as the main melody is mixed so much higher than the vocals and I really hope it was intentional because this might be one of the only songs I've ever heard where this unorthodox mixing style works perfectly. The wacky ideas sometimes lose me here and there like on "that's right daddy" and "The Iron Giant" but generally speaking it's pretty fun overall. "Sabine" is also a nice closer given the more R&B choice over the pop rap scattered throughout the rest of the album.