Review Roundup #10

Ten more albums from this year that I thought were great and deserve your attention (links to the albums are embedded in the album art).

Cool World

Chat Pile

Noise Rock

Chat Pile's Cool World expands on the visceral themes of violence and existential dread introduced in their debut, God’s Country. This, their third album, incorporates a wider sonic range, blending sludge-metal with gothic new wave and ’90s alternative. While it is more varied in tone and sonic palettes than their earlier work, the standout tracks really standout, and act as a brilliant showcase of the band's knack for blending brutal imagery with melodic experimentation. Cool World paints a haunting picture of collective human suffering.

Highlights: “I Am Dog Now”, “Funny Man”, “Masc”

brat and it’s completely different but also still brat

Charli xcx (and guests)

Electronic Dance Music

Charli XCX’s brat and it’s completely different but also still brat is a remix album that builds on her hit brat by blending harsh noise with pop and featuring a wide array of collaborators like A.G. Cook, Billie Eilish, and Lorde. The themes the original album explores: isolation, friendship, and hedonism; are viewed through and new experimental and genre-blending lens. Here, Charli revisits her sonic roots, similar to Pop 2, offering a deeply personal, polished—yet incredibly chaotic—pop sound that defies industry norms and captures her unfiltered artistic vision…again.

Highlights: “360 featuring robyn & yung lean”, “Everything is romantic featuring caroline polachek”, “Apple featuring the japanese house”

Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me

Porridge Radio

Indie Rock

Porridge Radio's Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me is an intense exploration of burnout, heartbreak, and deep reflection. Dana Margolin’s raw vocal delivery of poetic lyrics conveys a world of grief and fury. With a mix of delicate arrangements and explosive emotion, the album captures Margolin’s struggle with the pressures of success and personal turmoil, making it a cathartic and contemplative listen.

Highlights: “A Hole in the Ground”, “God of Everything Else”, “Sick of the Blues”

Songs of a Lost World

The Cure

Gothic Rock

The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World, their first album in 16 years, explores the usual themes of rockers staring down the long arc of time: mortality, existential dread, and legacy; showcasing their classic gothic and brooding style. The album delivers an atmospheric blend of slow, haunting tracks, with Robert Smith’s lyrical reflections on loss and aging ring more true with each listen. And, no, it doesn’t dramatically push their sound forward: it’s the Cure, you know what you’re getting; but the album feels particularly pointed, deliberate and resonant today, thus solidifying The Cure’s legacy of evocative, melancholic music in a mature, demure release.

Highlights: “Alone”, “A Fragile Thing”, “All I Ever Am”

Dreamstate

Kelly Lee Owens

Progressive House

Kelly Lee Owens’ fourth album, Dreamstate, refines her electronic sound to its essentials, trading dense layers for vibrant clarity. The album focuses on rhythm and texture, featuring massive, glimmering techno tracks and her typical stunningly understated production. Owens’ voice, more prominent than on prior albums, adds an emotional anchor while keeping the simplicity seemingly required for the electronic genre. Lean and sonically clear, Dreamstate is a work that pushes Owens’ dreamy, ethereal dance style forward.

Highlights: “Love You Got”, “Higher”, “Sunshine”

Patterns in Repeat

Laura Marling

Chamber Folk

Patterns in Repeat finds Laura Marling exploring the subtleties of domestic life and motherhood with a quiet, intimate tone. Crafted in her home studio, the album offers soft, string-centered arrangements, with Marling’s restrained vocals evoking the very personification of vulnerability. Many tracks reflect the beauty of repetition and routine, while others explore themes of monotony and a desire for change. With delightful wordplay and ruminative lyrics, Patterns in Repeat finds profundity in life's simplicity.

Highlights: “Patterns”, “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can”, “Caroline”

The Thief Next to Jesus

Ka

Drumless

Ka’s final album before his untimely death, The Thief Next to Jesus, aptly dives into the complex relationship between Black Americans and Christianity, set to a minimal, gospel-inspired production. Using his personal journey, Ka critiques how faith has both uplifted and oppressed, blending autobiographical storytelling with religious allegory. His verses are packed with intense one-liners that resonate like philosophical musings, delivered with a restrained, almost pastor-like intensity. The album’s sparse beats and reverent organ samples amplify Ka’s immersive and reflective voice, making for a powerful, soul-searching work.

Highlights: “Bread Wine Body Blood”, “Collection Plate”, “True Holy Water”

Night Palace

Mount Eerie

Slacker Rock

Night Palace, Phil Elverum’s first journey back to his Mount Eerie person in five years, reflects grief, love, and nature over the course of his career. The album spans a massive 26 tracks, combining poetic reflection and experimental sounds with meditative themes, blending folk and metal. Elverum brings his family life into focus, balancing serene nature with raw musings on topics like colonialism and personal legacy. Night Palace is an exploration of continuity and transformation, evoking both darkness and tranquility in its expansive thematic and sonic scope.

Hightlights: “Broom of Wind”, “I Walk”, “I Saw Another Bird”

Chromakopia

Tyler, The Creator

West Coast Hip Hop

Tyler, the Creator, the internet’s favorite music industry disrupter, is back. Chromakopia delves into the darker sides of self-discovery, race, and legacy (a lot of that going around…for some reason) with intense introspection. Guided by the character St. Chroma, the album mixes haunting tracks with ego-driven anthems, featuring inward-looking lyrics about fatherhood, fame, and accountability. Not one to believe there’s ever too many genres, Tyler also incorporates gospel elements, ominous guitars, and African musical influences, crafting a uniquely layered sonic experience. Contending with his past and present identity, balancing humor and humility in a compelling narrative on maturation, Tyler, The Creator has delivered another stunner.

Highlights: “St. Chroma”, “Noid”, “Thought I Was Dead”

Passion Depression

Cold Cave

Darkwave

On their continuous, never-ending mission to make New Order-but-goth, Cold Cave returns with another fantastic set of deliciously addictive darkwave beats, Passion Depression. It’s their most potent release in years, blending gothic rock and synthpop with brooding themes. The album features eight tracks of atmospheric despair navigating societal disillusionment, personal introspection, and romantic allure. The record's emotional depth and shifting tones make it a standout in Cold Cave’s catalog, cementing its place as a modern darkwave classic. Plus, they just have a way of making the most banger frickin’ songs.

Highlights: “She Reigns Down”, “Blackberries” (this has been on repeat for weeks), “Hourglass”

As always, happy listening!