@liner_notes
3 days ago
Less of an album than a mood piece. Works front-to-back in a way most modern records don't. Best on a rainy afternoon at low volume.
0View full review →
@liner_notes's
reviews.
@liner_notes
3 days ago
Reference points: late-period Stevie, the quieter Steely Dan records, anything Larry Levan would've spun at 4am. Doesn't sound like any of them — sounds like it learned from all of them.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
11 days ago
Less of an album than a mood piece. Works front-to-back in a way most modern records don't. Best on a rainy afternoon at low volume.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
11 days ago
Pacing is the real story here. The first three cuts feel like the band still finding the room, then it locks in and doesn't let go until the closer. The mix prioritises bottom end and it's all the better for it.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
12 days ago
Texture-first record. Not a lot of melodic hooks but the way the synths breathe through the second side does the work. Headphone music in the best sense.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
13 days ago
Song two onwards is a clinic. The arrangement builds without you noticing it building, which is the hardest trick in the book. I haven't been able to stop revisiting the bridge on the title track.
TOP SONGS
- 01Foreword (feat. Rex Orange County)5.0
- 02Where This Flower Blooms (feat. Frank Ocean)3.5
0View full review →
@liner_notes
16 days ago
Mastering is loud — almost too loud — but you can tell every choice is deliberate. The drums are the star: live, dry, tucked behind the bass. Not for everyone but I'm in.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
18 days ago
Texture-first record. Not a lot of melodic hooks but the way the synths breathe through the second side does the work. Headphone music in the best sense.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
20 days ago
Sequencing is everything here. The label could've front-loaded the singles but they trusted the album. The patience pays off by the time you hit the title track.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
27 days ago
The production sits between Madlib's haziness and J Dilla's percussion sensibility. Track 4 is the centerpiece — that bassline is going to live in my head for months.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
28 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
37 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
38 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
41 days ago
Composition is dense and rewards re-listens. There's a counter-melody on the third track that I didn't catch until the fourth spin. That's the mark of writing that has more underneath it than the surface lets on.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
42 days ago
Mastering is loud — almost too loud — but you can tell every choice is deliberate. The drums are the star: live, dry, tucked behind the bass. Not for everyone but I'm in.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
51 days ago
Lyrically uneven but the writing carries. There's a four-track stretch in the middle where every song feels essential. Closer is the kind of statement that makes the whole thing land harder retroactively.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
55 days ago
Sequencing is everything here. The label could've front-loaded the singles but they trusted the album. The patience pays off by the time you hit the title track.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
57 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
58 days ago
Texture, restraint, and a willingness to let songs end when they end. Three things modern records keep getting wrong. This one gets all three right.
TOP SONGS
- 01Straightenin4.5
- 02Avalanche4.0
- 03Having Our Way (feat. Drake)4.0
0View full review →
@liner_notes
60 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
64 days ago
Mastering is loud — almost too loud — but you can tell every choice is deliberate. The drums are the star: live, dry, tucked behind the bass. Not for everyone but I'm in.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
67 days ago
Texture, restraint, and a willingness to let songs end when they end. Three things modern records keep getting wrong. This one gets all three right.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
69 days ago
Pacing is the real story here. The first three cuts feel like the band still finding the room, then it locks in and doesn't let go until the closer. The mix prioritises bottom end and it's all the better for it.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
70 days ago
Song two onwards is a clinic. The arrangement builds without you noticing it building, which is the hardest trick in the book. I haven't been able to stop revisiting the bridge on the title track.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
71 days ago
Mastering is loud — almost too loud — but you can tell every choice is deliberate. The drums are the star: live, dry, tucked behind the bass. Not for everyone but I'm in.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
71 days ago
Mastering is loud — almost too loud — but you can tell every choice is deliberate. The drums are the star: live, dry, tucked behind the bass. Not for everyone but I'm in.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
72 days ago
Composition is dense and rewards re-listens. There's a counter-melody on the third track that I didn't catch until the fourth spin. That's the mark of writing that has more underneath it than the surface lets on.
TOP SONGS
- 01Wishing Well5.0
- 02Papillon4.5
- 03Gasoline4.5
0View full review →
@liner_notes
73 days ago
The vocal performance is the centerpiece — restrained where lesser singers would oversing. The arrangement gives it room. That's the whole game.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
74 days ago
TOP SONGS
- 01The Game of Love3.5
- 02Give Life Back to Music1.5
0View full review →
@liner_notes
74 days ago
Reference points: late-period Stevie, the quieter Steely Dan records, anything Larry Levan would've spun at 4am. Doesn't sound like any of them — sounds like it learned from all of them.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
75 days ago
TOP SONGS
- 01Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 15.0
- 02Ultralight Beam4.0
0View full review →
@liner_notes
77 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
TOP SONGS
- 01Second Best4.0
- 02Dreamer3.5
- 03Haunted3.5
0View full review →
@liner_notes
78 days ago
Ambitious arrangement throughout. The strings on the back half could've felt overwrought but the producer sits them low enough that the vocal still leads. Reminds me of mid-period Talk Talk if you squint.
TOP SONGS
- 01Beef Rapp4.0
- 02Hoe Cakes3.5
0View full review →
@liner_notes
78 days ago
Song two onwards is a clinic. The arrangement builds without you noticing it building, which is the hardest trick in the book. I haven't been able to stop revisiting the bridge on the title track.
0View full review →
@liner_notes
87 days ago
TOP SONGS
- 01SWAT TEAM4.5
- 02FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS) (feat. Tyler, The Creator & Jozzy)4.0
0View full review →
@liner_notes
88 days ago
The drums are mixed flat and dry and it's the best decision on the record. Modern drums are too compressed to swing — these breathe. Track 6 is a masterclass in pocket.
0View full review →
