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...