Jay Mitta - Tatizo Pesa

7.4

This debut studio album from a Tanzanian DJ and producer redefines what Singeli music means and should be perceived as, morphing into hyper-kinetic takes that feel bassy, menacing and utterly uplifting in equal ways.

Highlights

- The relentless energy that the album possesses.

- MC guest Dogo Janja plays an interesting, refreshing role.

- The attention to detail, repetition and hypnosis.

Lowlights

- Some cuts don't deliver enough great tunes before they abruptly finish.

- I would have prefered more vocals in some tracks instead of pure looped rhythms.

Standouts

- Don Bet

- Sapienz

- Tatizo Pesa

Country: Tanzania

Released: January 11, 2019

Length: 40:50

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

Panda Bear - Buoys

7.7

Indietronica legend Panda Bear lays back and dives fully into bassy atmospherics on Buoys, an album that's as inoffensive and unseen as heavily textured (aquatic, nautical, porous and airy, but also lethargic, remorseful, sly and gloomy).

Highlights

- Once again: textures.

- The cocky attention to detail in the most serene parts of the record.

- Unmistakably Panda Bear-ish in layers, tones, themes and breathy executions.

Lowlights

- Some tracks fall excessively numb and strolled around.

- Lyrics get too cryptic at times to understand them and/or enjoy them.

Standouts

- Dolphin

- Token

- Cranked

Country: USA/Portugal

Released: February 8, 2019

Length: 31:02

Croatian Amor - Isa

6.4

The fifth solo release from the Danish sonic screwdriver not only lacks pace (no matter how abstract that term could get) but also identity, being the vocal guests the ones who bring the only pinches of brain, heart and movement onto the post-industrial sculptures.

Highlights

- Artist Soho Rezanejad might play the most interesting and pulsating role in the record, adding gut and vibrance to the tracks where she's guested.

- The concepts of pop structures are curiously compacted and warped throughout the running time.

Lowlights

- The voiceless tracks lack substance and depth in both meaning and execution.

- There's not a clear reason d'être to the disk and, for that, the experience might get a bit heavy to lift up at times.

Standouts

- In Alarm Light

- Eden 1.1

- Into Salt

Country: Denmark

Released: January 25, 2019

Length: 34:48

Ariana Grande - thank u, next

6.8

Outbursts of empowerment, reflection and resilience are stubbornly paired up with underdeveloped and redundant trap pop tracks. But despite its turbulence and hurry, thank u, next stands as Ariana's most down-to-earth, sonically consistent and laid back record in her ever-ascending career.

Highlights

- It's good to know it's her first album with all songs co-written and produced by herself, and with no vocal guests at all.

- Most of the tracks are greatly formed and are undeniably catchy.

- The artist's emotional versatility and vulnerability pay off, especially on the slower parts.

Lowlights

- As tightly packed as it seems, there's little coherence in motifs and well-thought connectivity between songs.

- Some less impressive standouts seem equal between one another.

- Ariana's voice doesn't seem to be catching up with her full potential, not even by a half.

Standouts

- thank u, next

- needy

- ghostin

Country: USA

Released: February 8, 2019

Length: 41:10

Dawn Richard - New Breed

7.8

Dawn delivers an effortlessly whimsical record that pays homage to her hometown New Orleans, her newly re-found empowerment, her blackability and her unquestionable desire and knack for woozy R&B. It's a subtle triumph for both heart and pace.

Highlights

- The tracks flow wonderfully from each other, making up for a tight concept record.

- Dawn's muscular voice that mumbles and drops whenever she pleases to.

- Tacky production mixed with solid themes and topics.

Lowlights

- At first glances, some tracks may not seem to have an impactful development.

- I would have personally have all the voiced interludes as separate tracks, so that they can flow on the album but let the proper songs be enjoyed without them, just as in "A Seat At The Table" by Solange.

Standouts

- shades

- vultures | wolves

- jealousy

Country: USA

Released: January 25, 2019

Length: 32:32

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

YMA - Par De Olhos

7.5

Straight up from São Paulo, YMA delivers sharp, minimal but strictly confident synth-pop tunes that not only mix languages and tones, but also feelings and changes of perspective. It's a solid, self-aware and continuously odd reflection on tinged love.

Highlights

- Amazing production and mixing of instruments, that feel furious and settle at the same time.

- YMA's voice is as self-assuring and tender in English and in Portuguese.

- The aesthetic of the tracks match up the visual images portrayed in the cover art.

Lowlights

- Only 26 minutes? Come on! They could have added at least two more songs to make the statement even more concise.

- Some song structures seem basic in comparison to others.

Standouts

- Par De Olhos

- Vampiro

- Shake It

Country: Brazil

Released: January 11, 2019

Length: 26:17

Legion Of The Damned - Slaves Of The Shadow Realm

6.0

Yeah, the hooks are good and the drumming is phenomenal, but on the whole there's nothing particularly engaging about this record; and one can't help but feeling it's something we have already heard a trillion times before.

Highlights

- Some dungeoun synths here and there do make the difference at certain points.

- As I said, the drumming is schizophrenic in execution. Love it.

- The cover art matches the music perfectly and is a hell of a picture.

Lowlights

- The song structures are extremely predictable and obvious.

- The lyrics repeat the same motifs again and again, and again.

- Some tracks seem unpurposefully out of rhythm.

Standouts

- Charnel Confession

- Slaves Of The Southern Cross

- Priest Hunt

Country: Netherlands

Released: January 4, 2019

Length: 47:02

ROME - Le Ceneri Di Heliodoro

6.0

Thirteen albums in, it might seem like the Neofolk duo is starting to run out of ideas or, at least, cannot find the same ways to exploit them. Besides some moments of instrumental shining, Le Ceneri di Heliodoro is unable to sustain its diligent intentions.

Highlights

- The album sounds thick in execution and overall engrossing in its concept.

- The voices still feel beautiful to the ears in most of the record.

Lowlights

- There are tracks that simply don't have a clear purpose in the whole.

- The record's concept isn't original or fascinating enough to keep the listener awake for its running time.

Standouts

- Desinvolture

- A New Unfolding

- Uropia O Morte

Country: Luxembourg

Released: January 18, 2019

Length: 44:51