Music, with streaming services, is spreading faster than ever. We are lucky to be living in an age where we can just look up an album and listen to it. What was played and released over the summer? Here are some of the big hits of the summer, and some deeper cuts that deserve some attention.
“Hit Me Hard And Soft” by Billie Eilish – 6.7/10
This album was received very well by pretty much every music critic in existence. My general consensus was that instrumentals were a lot stronger than Billie’s actual vocals. Finneas is an excellent producer, and his production definitely shines in the album, and it is admittedly the only reason I kept listening to it. The soundscape, in the runtime, feels like a dream.
There are stronger and weaker tracks scattered throughout the run. Weaker tracks, such as “Lunch” tend to be more energetic, and in my opinion don’t work well with Billie’s vocals. Her tone in singing, and the rhyme/rhythmic scheme just feels far too pompous for me to actually enjoy what I’m listening to.
But when the tracks hit, they hit, and they hit hard as a boulder dropped from a hundred feet above you. The melancholic and slower tracks, the first and last tracks, are incredible and are effective in drawing me in, simply because the songs aren’t designed for radio play. If Billie and Finneas team up to do an album that is only like these songs, I would be very happy. But in the grand scheme of things, the album is very much like a dream. Nothing much actually stuck with me.
“Brat” by Charli XCX – 7.1/10
“Brat” is commonly cited as one of the best albums of summer 2024 and became a massive phenomenon. Even Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign took part in it, adopting the signature neon green and font from the album cover. Naturally, I had to give it a listen to see what the deal was. My expectations were sky high, but did the album live up to the hype?
Absolutely. Going into the album, I was expecting just a generic pop vibe. While at times the vocals played into generic pop, I got a lot from the actual production itself. I loved all of the synthesizers in it, and it really plays into a club feeling. I was kind of surprised by how clubby this was.
My favorite track, “I might say something stupid,” has a dreamy synth accompanied by really sad vocals. Really amazing track that just works, especially with a surprisingly unique chord progression that really carries it.
My only complaint is that sometimes the vocals and lyrics can be a little annoying and repetitive in certain tracks like in “Talk talk.” Despite that, Brat is a really enjoyable and just fun album to listen to.
“Clancy” by Twenty One Pilots – 8/10
From the first track, I was locked in. Everything in the album has this intensity that pulls you in as a listener and just demands your attention. Even if I’m not the biggest fan of some more hip-hop inspired verses, whenever I lose interest I immediately get back into the album with a good hook or chorus, or just noticing how fantastic the instrumentation and arrangement is.
Even better, the album is a concept album to try to understand, meaning there’s a story to unpack in it. It adds a unique depth to the listening experience as you listen. It is a great album to close your eyes to and try to picture what is going on in the world of the protagonist.
My only critique is it feels just slightly too long in its run. But a good backing beat, catchy vocals, and my favorite synthesizers, can easily make up for that.
Looking forward to listening to this one on repeat.
“Loom” by Imagine Dragons- 3.2/10
This album literally went the exact way that I thought it would. There’s almost nothing of substance to even talk about other than the fact that most tracks just feel formulaic and follow the typical Imagine Dragons song structure: quiet verses and loud, overblown, predictable choruses.
A track that I thought I really would like at the beginning, “In Your Corner,” immediately turns me off with over-processed vocals that kinda make me want to puke.
“Kid” is one of the worst songs that I’ve heard in my life…the lyrics are embarrassing and actually gave me second hand embarrassment. If my name was attached to this song, I’d be extremely ashamed.
“Loom,” as an album, does nothing, and makes no improvement on the band’s sound. It doesn’t do anything exciting in its runtime. Imagine Dragons as a band, as a project, has gone extremely downhill considering they’ve made incredible tracks in the Night Visions and Smoke and Mirrors era circa 2012-2014. And I would say they were getting closer to a resurgence with the Mercury albums, but they blew it.
But I’m not gonna blame the Dragons for this, and instead blame the producers for allowing this absolute monstrosity to be released. The only good thing about it is that they kept it short.
“The Death Of Slim Shady” by Eminem – 6.2/10
Admittedly, this is my first ever hip hop album, and first Eminem album for that matter, so I had to do a good amount of digging to figure out what was actually going on in this album. From what I gathered, Slim Shady is Eminem’s alter ego, who is trying to be politically incorrect and offensive to get Eminem canceled. Really interesting (and funny) concept.
There’s no doubt Eminem is extremely good at rhyming and rapping. I was extremely impressed by his skill throughout the album. Certain tracks are also really epic and cinematic sounding, like the opener. But in the mix in the first third of the album, vocals felt a bit too light and quiet in the mix of things.
Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t there for me in the first half or so. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what was going on. This might be because I’m not very familiar with any background on Eminem.
The narrative also didn’t feel tight and felt overlong until the absolute chaos of “Guilty Conscience 2.” It then calms down a bit and delivers some surprisingly soulful moments in the last third which balance out the edge of the album.
“Some Ep” by deadmau5 & TESTPILOT 7.3/10
Canadian electronic producer deadmau5 finally gives his fans what they actually wanted: solo material galore. deadmau5 returns back to his roots with plucky synths, and chill melodies with “Quezacotl.” Despite his throwbacks to his progressive house era, he throws in a bit of techno material. “Wet” is the greatest example of this, with thumping beats and absolutely insane sound design that somehow manages to balance out the absurd amounts of reverb.
Although, the techno portions also feel like a weak point in “Sever.” It just feels kind of weaker, and that’s really bad to say for a track that’s seven minutes long. Production, however, is genuinely amazing for every track. Everything in the mix just makes sense, and every element comes through and comes together to create an amazing experience.
The best track on this EP, “Input Output,” makes up for the weak point of “Sever.” The song’s nearly 10-minute length is beyond justified. Every element of this track just works so well, despite its minimalism. The chord breakdown in the middle of the track is definitely one of the most beautiful moments I heard this summer. Overall, “Some EP,” despite the signature lazy title, is an excellent project from deadmau5.
“SMILE! :D” by Porter Robinson – 6.5/10
Electronic musician and DJ Porter Robinson dropped his highly anticipated third record this summer to near universal acclaim from critics and fans alike. The one thing anyone can take away from the album is endlessly uplifting melodies and positive messages. In addition, the energy in the first few tracks took me by surprise. Especially “Cheerleader.” The track is super energetic, and I really enjoy it.
Despite incredible synths and beautiful melodies, the album is structured poorly, with all of the exciting tracks at the front, and the more gentle ballad ones clumped at the end. To a certain extent, cohesiveness is important in a project like this. With this structuring, the slower tracks feel comparatively worse when they are good tracks on their own.
In addition, some tracks on the record suffer from poor, sometimes outright bad creative choices. Sometimes the autotune can feel too in your face, sometimes there’s a really annoying sample that brings an otherwise good track down.
However, it’s overall OK as an album, but it’s not a masterpiece by any means. Porter’s autotuned vocals are the weakest point, but good instrumental tracks pull it back up.
“I Contain Flashing Images” by No Mana – 7/10
The second album from No Mana, “I Contain Flashing Images,” is a standard club album. Expectedly bright synthesizers, incredible bass and vocals shine in it. The album, right after a meta content warning, gets into the groove right away and naturally urges your body to start dancing.
“Digital Friends” with SOFI is an obvious highlight here, with killer bass and rap-influenced vocals. It feels similar to early 2010’s electro house, which is a great throwback to that era. However, “Luxor Aeterna” is my personal favorite track. The end of the song, a dark and thumpy instrumental after the vocalist calls out for help, is very well done. The situation seems unresolved and tense, sort of like a horror soundtrack for the club.
In terms of actual content, it’s not really deep or personal, it’s just a fun and danceable club album, and fans of club music are certain to love it. Every track works well together, it’s cohesive, and it would make for an excellent driving soundtrack. Just try not to speed.
