Sky's Music Reviews

Stoney is the debut album by rapper/singer(?) Post Malone, released on December 9th 2016. The album itself is mostly hip-hop with a few other major influences, produced by DJ Mustard, Metro Boomin, and a lot, lot more. The writing credits are also very, very numerous, and I'm really not sure if that's a good thing, considering the actual lyrical content of Stoney . For the review, I'll be discussing the non-deluxe version of the album, even though I do particularly like the 2 Chainz feature on the deluxe. The normal, fourteen track album features Quavo, Justin Bieber, and Kehlani, so it's mostly just Post Malone doing the work himself. Post Malone isn't a particularly loved rapper, but his breakout hit "White Iverson" earlier this year is what opened the path for someone of his caliber to make an entire album. His style is pretty hard to describe, His voice is pretty weak, and his enunciation follows suit, but his flow isn't quite bad. He uses a lo...

Preface: I'm in between semesters for college, so I might try to do two reviews a week. We'll see. Hibachi for Lunch is a free, surprise mixtape dropped by 2 Chainz on October 28th, 2016. It's seven songs long, and it marks his fourth release this year; the full length collaboration album with Lil Wayne, Collegrove, and three mixtapes. The name and art of this mixtape has listeners, myself included, hoping that maybe 2 Chainz will do more Oriental-themed music; however, his last Asian-themed album, Daniel Son; Necklace Don,  barely had any of that style we were promised. This track has guest appearances from Quavo, Gucci Mane (ugh), Ty Dolla $ign, and Future, so I'm obviously not too happy with that feature list, but we'll see how they do. It also features some very prodigious producers, like Mike Will Made It, Buddha Bless, Mike Dean, K Swisha, and much more. As you'd expect, the first song, "Countin", goes pretty hard. The instrumental is pret...

Starboy is The Weeknd's third album, released on November 25, 2016. This album is a mix of pop, R&B, and trap, produced by some of the biggest names in the game right now, including Daft Punk, Max Martin, Cashmere Cat, Diplo, Doc Mckinney, and more. In this album, Abel continues his journey into the mainstream and overall edginess. Don't get me wrong; I like The Weeknd. He has an amazing voice, a unique style, and some great songs. It's just that this album disappointing me. I told myself that I would buy a signed copy of this album if it lived up to it's expectations, but it just couldn't.  It's actually  eighteen  songs long, if you include the interlude, which would be okay if most of the tracks were actually good, but Starboy could be cut in half, keeping the best songs, and it'd still be the same quality. Because of the length and unremarkable quality of about half the album, I'm not going track by track this time. Instead, I'll discuss ...

Mad Love. is am album by the pop singer/songwriter Jojo, released on October 14, 2016. Previously, Jojo's biggest hit was the single "Leave (Get Out)", a song that I absolutely despised, so I didn't go into this album having very high expectations, not to mention her extremely unfortunate name (I mean really, Joanna Levesque is such a nice name compared to Jojo). However, I'm pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed this! A good mixture of R&B and dancepop, Jojo delivers a plethora of great tracks; she certainly has the vocal talent, and her songwriting is quite endearing. The credited producers aren't very prestigious, with the exception of Rock Mafia, but I think that they do a very good job at complimenting her voice and style. "Music." seems like it would be far better as a closer than an opener, but it's a really great piano ballad anyways. It's an ode to music itself and how it has improved her life. At the same time, it ...

Nemesis  is an EP by Bridgit Mendler, former Disney star. She's released on album in the past, Hello, My Name is... , and I think that it was pretty okay, but this EP is really something else. Released November 18th, 2016, this EP precedes a currently un-named full length album. It's four tracks long, which is a bit too short for my liking, but it certainly does fulfill it's assumed goal of being a preview of the upcoming album. I went into this EP already having heard two of the songs (and a live performance of the third), so nothing really surprised me, but I really did enjoy Mendler's work on this. I love listening to every track on this EP, and so far it seems like this next album is going to be ages beyond Hello,   My Name Is....  The first track, and the headlining single, "Atlantis", is a look into just how much Mendler has changed up her style. Right off the bat, it seems as if Mendler has learned to use her voice so much better, actually puttin...

Preface: Thank you SO MUCH for all of the support for the last review! It honestly inspires me so much. Collage is the second extended play from the dynamic duo themselves, EDM producers The Chainsmokers. Everyone and their uncle has heard their mega-hit "Closer", so this EP had a very reasonable amount of hype. Since then, The Chainsmokers have established themselves as overgrown fratboys, with ridiculous interviews, shade at other artists, and general immaturity. However, they surprised us all with this. Collage is an absolute masterpiece, with some of the most original and innovative EDM tracks since Skrillex himself! Just kidding. It sucks. Final Verdict: 17.34/100 Okay, fine, let's be real. The Chainsmokers has delivered some of the most radio-friendly, cliche, formulaic EDM/pop songs in a long time with this four-track EP. The first track, "Setting Fires", is a good example of this. The first verse and the intro are rather good; XYLO (Seriou...

Preface 1: welcome, popheads Preface 2: I'm so so sorry that it's been so long since I wrote a review! Hurricane Matthew knocked my internet out for 19 days, and I haven't had a chance to write. I really wanted to review this album on the day that it came out, but I'm back in full force. Here are a few of the next albums and EPs I plan to do: Mad Love, Nemesis, Emotion Side B (a bit late, I know, but I want to do it), and Lady Wood (maybe). Joanne is a rock/country/dance pop/gagacore(because really, some of these songs can't be grouped into an existing genre) album released by Lady Gaga, on October 21st, 2016. It's completely unlike any of her past albums, with some great production on every track from Mark Ronson and BloodPop. The lead single was "Perfect Illusion"; a track that received very mixed reviews, and left me kind of cautious about where Gaga could go with an album led by that. I certainly didn't expect what Joanne turned out to be...

The Altar is the second studio album by the dark, alternative pop singer known as Banks. This 13 song LP was released on September 30, 2016, following the release of three amazing promo singles. A quick glance at the cover of The Altar may leave you expecting a lighter album, perhaps pop, country, or maybe more of a folk style album. However, this deceptive opinion is ever so wrong. Banks, by using her grungy songwriting, wide vocal range, and unique voice, crafts a dark, rhapsodic mixture of R&B and alternative pop, with a synth-heavy foundation. It's hard to find other artists to compare her to, and even though her voice may appear bizarre to some first listeners, it can work wonders. It is true that I knew and liked Bank's music before now. However, I found her previous album, Goddess, to be a bit tiring to listen to; it didn't have a lot of highs, and the darkness just seemed a bit shallow to me, with the exception of a few songs. However, the three songs releas...

Sremmlife 2 is an 11 song hip-hop album by the dynamic duo themselves, Rae Sremmund. It is the sequel to the horrible Sremmlife . It was released on August 20, 2016. Rae Sremmund are a very, um, interesting duo. Swae Lee is the real showpiece of this album, because even though his voice can be kind of annoying, it's really unique and adds character to Sremmlife. Slim Jimmy, on the other hand, is very average, with a slightly boring voice and delivery. "Start A Party", the first song, is an amazing start. From the very first second, this amazing hip-hop rave mood is set, with perfect production by Pluss and P-Nazty. This song is perfect at what it sets out to do: start a party, and the intro is legendary. "Real Chill" doesn't captivate on the precedent set by "Start A Party". It sounds like a discount 2 Chainz song, with lazy production by Mike Will Made It. Kodack Black's feature really doesn't add much to the song, and this just ends...

Sunday is a 4 song extended play by singer/producer Dawin, released on July 28th. I was first introduced to Dawin with his semi-hit "Dessert", a fun, sweet song with a highly unexpected and fun drop. It got popular a long time after it was released (and ruined with Silento), which drove Dawin to release slightly underwhelming songs "Just Girly Things" and "Life of the Party". Regardless, I was looking forward to listening to Sunday, and interested in seeing where Dawin's musical style is heading. The first song, "Bikini Body", featuring R. City, is a happy body-positivity song that I can totally imagine being played at a beach party. Throughout the EP, Dawin showcases his vocal talents more than he has previously. The drop to this song, like "Dessert" is slightly unexpected and very different form the rest of the music in the song, but that's what makes it so good. This song is a great start to the album, and I even like R. ...

Choosing to do this album was hard. It's more than six months old, which is more than I'm usually willing to do, but I wanted to critically experience Panic! at the Disco in a manner that I could express my feelings about them with. They've infatuated so many teenagers like myself, but I've never really been a fan of male vocal, teen angst bans like Panic! at the Disco, even though I do enjoy some Fall Out Boy every once in a while. Death of a Bachelor was released by the rock band and teen/emo sensation Panic! at the Disco (yes, you have to write the exclamation mark every time or people get mad). It came out on January 15, 2016, making it the oldest album on my blog if you're judging by time difference. However, it's still #41 on Billboard, so I guess it's still kind of relevant? When reviewing an album with such a huge fanbase like PatD has, it's important for me to remember that the reason that the fans stay around is likely not just this album...

2 Chainz has built such a huge legacy and custom for himself, in the past few years, with this being the third major release by the rap artist just this year. Daniel Son; Necklace Don  was released on August 5, 2016, and it was mostly produced by DJ Spinz and TM88, as well as a few others. It's a  9 song + intro mixtape. 2 Chainz has never been the most personal, creative, or skilled rapper, and he's never claimed to be. The purpose of 95% of his songs is to create a mood; they're mostly turn up songs, meant to be played for fun at a club, to listen to with friends, or to just give that energetic, "lit" feeling to listeners. This album certainly succeeds at this mission, but as always, people wonder if 2 Chainz will ever take the rap game seriously. In a way, that's what makes him so good. The intro is quite interesting. It is a stereotypical East Asian martial arts announcement, and it seems to set a theme for the album; maybe more Asian inspired instru...

First off, I'd like to make it clear that I accept and encourage review requests. A very decent amount of people view my blog every day, and I'm sure that some of you guys have some great requests for me. Just make sure that it's from 2016, please :) Whitney Peyton is a female, underground rapper from Philadelphia. She's not too popular, but she has a lot of amazing potential that is showcased very well on Break the Frame , no matter how bad the album cover art is. In fact, her following is so small that I cannot find much information about Break the Frame; I have no idea who produced it. Regardless, Break the Frame is a underground rap album with EDM and rock elements that dropped on January 5th, 2016. It consists of 10 songs, with 7 out of 10 of those songs having credited features. Not many people would know her, but any rap fan can quickly tell how amazing her flow and delivery is right off the bat. The intro, eponymously called "Break the Frame", ...

New English is a trap/drill rap mixtape released by Desiigner, the new G.O.O.D music signee. It was released on June 26, 2016. My format for reviewing mixtapes will be different then my format for reviewing albums or EPs, for many reasons. I feel like I won't be able to do a track by track review of every song, especially because mixtape songs are traditionally far shorter than album songs. Instead, I'll be focusing on an overall mixtape verdict, notable songs, and about the artist themselves. As far as the content on the album goes... it's pretty okay? The first track of the mixtape, "Intro", is so extremely unfitting. It sounds like the start of a Disney movie, even though the rest of the album has a darker, more grungy theme. Somehow, it leads to the next song, "Caliber", very well. It is in this song that Desiigner starts his theme of repetitive drill rap. To be honest, the majority of the album sounds like it's one song, and that's r...

Dangerous Woman is a pop/R&B album from the massively famous singer Ariana Grande. The album was released on May 20, 2016. It falls into the category of "low-risk" albums, with multitudes of different producers and writers.  I've been a fan of Ariana since My Everything, and this album does not disappoint at all for me. It's catchy, sassy, creative, and really showcases her amazing vocal talent. I'll be reviewing the normal edition, not the deluxe version, and I'll probably be uploading more album reviews than normal this month because I'm between college semesters. I'm also aiming to make album reviews a wee bit shorter. This album is far more mature than My Everything, and it handles this new maturity in a very satisfying way while still maintaining an air of fun in the majority of songs. The album starts out great with "Moonlight", a happy little ballad. This song just seems... pretty, I guess? It's very sweet, ...