Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center

8.0

The duo composed by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst is calculatingly successful because it manages to foresee what's best in each other and still find a sense of implicit communion. The tracks are breathy but complex and the atmosphere serene but pulsating.

Highlights

- The singers' voices go so well together, letting space for the other to spotlight and also shine in harmony.

- Lyrics are cynical, realistic and simplistic; they still hold captivating messages of mortality and bittersweet delight.

- The effects and little details on the songs make them stand out even more.

Lowlights

- While "Exception To The Rule" is a good tune, it certainly ruins the momentum and pace of the record.

- Tracks where Phoebe takes the more active role are slightly better.

Standouts

- Dylan Thomas

- Chesapeake

- Didn't Know What I Was In For

Country: USA

Released: January 25, 2019

Length: 37:21

Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs

8.3

Alike female folk heroines Nico, Vashti Bunyan, Joni Mitchell or Sybille Bayer, Jessica Pratt unfolds quiet but concise, tender but menacing psychedelic songs that are cryptic and embracing, accompanied by nothing more than a guitar and a couple of windy effects now and then. It's a surprisingly good example of grandeur made into solitude and coyness.

Highlights

- Jessica's voice is mesmerising, drenched into reverb and lo-fi microphones to create a sordid, intimate effect that's at the same time distant and disturbing.

- The record is so laid-back and low-profiled but still shines and swings in mood and volume.

- The lyrics are modern poetry, and are as difficult-to-classify as universally-inclusive.

Lowlights

- A couple of tracks fall pale in comparison to others.

Standouts

- This Time Around

- As The World Turns

- Poly Blue

Country: USA

Released: February 8, 2019

Length: 27:50

Pavo Pavo - Mystery Hour

6.6

Indecipherable quintet Pavo Pavo once again defies pop and psychedelic laws presenting something as odd as accessible. This time, with Mystery Hour, some experiments linger on your mind while others simply leave you unaffected. An overall charming mixbag, I'd say.

Highlights

- Continuous challenges to the song structures and moods. It's good to have uneasiness every now and then.

- The voices do play important roles, and they humbly deliver.

- The instrumentals awe, discomfort and comfort at same times.

Lowlights

- The album relies a lot on already established stereotypes of break-up anthems.

- The pace of the record is not fully kept throughout its running time.

Standouts

- Close To Your Ego

- 100 Years

- Around, Pt. 1

Country: USA

Released: February 1, 2019

Length: 34:30

Beirut - Gallipoli

7.6

Beirut's fifth release sees them coming back to their original formula and staying for most of its running time in their comfort zone, blending Balkan, African and Middle-Eastern instrumentals with longing lyrics in ways that might never get exctinted after all.

Highlights

- There's urgency in the tracks, each of them fulfilling a purposeful role in the record.

- Zach Condon's melancholic tune will always be something to aspire at.

- Once again, the guys make you fly through different geographies with their musical decisions.

Lowlights

- In some ways, it seems like their most experimental album and, as with every experiment, there's a certain amount of error in the trial process.

- While the instrumentals play a heavy part in the record, one wishes they would explode more easily or substantially.

Standouts

- Landslide

- Gallipoli

- Varieties Of Exile

Country: USA

Released: February 1, 2019

Length: 44:36

Juan Wauters - La Onda de Juan Pablo

6.2

Inoffensive, insignificant blend of Latin American pinches and samples curated into a somewhat naïve, somewhat tenderly elusive portrait for and of reality. Sometimes though, less is less.

Highlights

- Its liberating execution and choice of instruments and harmonies.

- Juan's breathy, airy vocals and nihilistic lyrics.

- A true respect for traditional rhythms.

Lowlights

- Most of the songs exist just to fulfil space, without much topic or function to the record.

- Repetition sometimes gets overtiring in the tracks.

Standouts

- Blues Chilango

- Guapa

- A Volar

Country: Uruguay

Released: January 25, 2019

Length: 29:28

Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow

7.5

Sharon comes back to propel fire into the quietest storm. Her songwriting seems sharper than ever, while producer John Congleton once again demonstrates he's one of the most prolific figures in independent music to collaborate with. Candid and ever-longing.

Highlights

- The precious storytelling, recounted with gut and tender paranoia.

- The beats feel opressed, and the coy noise infiltrates tension to the songs.

- The immense love for life, love and music that the singer portrays all throughout.

Lowlights

- Some tracks are patience-defiers, and the record could have still gone well with 5 minutes less.

- While lyrics are fueled by longing and melancholia, some are heavy to understand.

Standouts

- No One's Easy To Love

- Seventeen

- Comeback Kid

Country: USA

Released: January 18, 2019

Length: 41:17

Joey Walker - Supersoft

7.3

Just as Perfume Genius, Joey Walker converts twink stereotypes into forceful pieces of art rock that sweat gut, anger but also compassion, introspection and self-deprecation turned into personal bravura.

Highlights

- Lyrics are explicit, in-your-face, but carry enormous sentiments and double entendres.

- Instrumentals get suffocating and airy all at once, as if they were not only fighting but coexisting.

- It's pretty consice; however, it lets itself license to sometimes broaden and indulge.

Lowlights

- Some tracks look like half-baked ideas that could haven been better-developed.

- Lowness can at times narrow down listlessness.

Standouts

- Hollow

- Crater

- On Top

Country: USA

Released: January 18, 2019

Length: 35:58

Pedro The Lion - Phoenix

5.3

The ideas behind Phoenix hardly ever catch up with the artistic expressions and outfits presented, both lyrically, instrumentally and melodically; and, when they do, they feel nothing but imprecise and dull.

Highlights

- It's breathy and breezy and, thus, easy-to-listen-to.

- There's an element of mundane nostalgia that makes the lyrics kind of empathetic.

- Certain parts show half-hidden angst and volume. Would go to that direction.

Lowlights

- There's nothing that drops your jaw anywhere; not even interesting motifs or stuff.

- The record might be 3-song, 10-minute too long to bear full consistency.

- For a comeback release, it seems the guys didn't have much to say this time.

Standouts

- Quietest Friend

- Model Homes

Country: USA

Released: January 18, 2019

Length: 45:01 

Angelo De Augustine - Tomb

5.7

While the emotions expressed are sweetly intertwined with paced catharsis and bleak optimism, the record can't sustain its snail-like developing and suffocating over-impressions for that long.

Highlights

- Angelo's voice melts into the ears lullabying you to a serene atmosphere and place.

- It's good to see lyrical directness and complexity in acoustic folk music.

- Some non-analog details in some tracks show off slight versatility and willing to experiment.

Lowlights

- The guitars and the high-pitched phrases turn out boring after a couple of songs.

- There's too much Sufjan Stevens influence here.

- Nothing particulary impressive appears throughout its running time.

Standouts

- All To The Wind

- Bird Has Flown

Country: USA

Released: January 11, 2019

Length: 46:18