Review by: Aditya Thiyag Artist: Khalid Rating: 1.5/5 Khalid’s debut mixtape is an underwhelming effort from an artist seemingly incapable of growth with a star-studded feature list and warbly, soul-hop production. Almost immediately, the tracks all start to bleed into one another, with Khalid doing nothing to elevate the identically low tempo instrumentals and continuing to harmonize with middling lyricism […]
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Review by: Aditya Thiyag Artist: Silk Sonic Rating: 5/5 Pop king Bruno Mars and musician Anderson .Paak linked up to produce an album of the year contender. An Evening with Silk Sonic clocks in at a concise 31 minutes, but the amount of variety packed into this runtime is absurd. Segueing from love ballad to disco jam, none of the […]
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Review by: Isabelle Paley Artist: Taylor Swift Rating: 4.5/5 Taylor Swift’s re-recording of a majority of her discography is a monumental feat for her career as an artist. The rerecording of Red, the perfect fall heartbreak album, combines Swift’s 2012 lyrics with her 2021 voice. Swift merged her country roots with songs such as “Everything Has Changed” and modern pop […]
Read moreReview by: Sean Spiedel Artist: Kanye West Rating: 4/5 Easily the most anticipated album of the year, Kanye West’s Donda did not disappoint. West was first rumored to release Donda, named after West’s late mother, following a live listening party in Atlanta on June 22; however, West left his fans disappointed and delayed the album release. West then hosted another […]
Read moreArtist: girl in red Rating: 5/10 Review by: Della Johnson On her new record, if i could make it go quiet, Marie Ulven — better known as girl in red — is inexplicably much more aggressive than we’ve ever seen her. Having risen to fame on a platform molded with the serenation of young, queer romance, her newest songs draw […]
Read moreBy Raghav Raj In 2021, a musical year that hasn’t really had the sort of star-studded, critically adored releases that the year before it did (not yet, at least), the underground and independent music scenes have never been more important. We’re only five months into this year, but luckily, there’s been no shortage of great music from the fringes of […]
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Review by: Della Johnson Artist: Lana Del Ray Rating: 8.5/10 Following what might be her most problematic year yet in the eyes of the internet, Lana Del Rey has released a quiet, gentle record, perhaps more vintage than any of her other works. Experimenting with folk (and even teetering on country with a feature from Nikki Lane), her lyrics embody […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer The Parisian electronic music duo Daft Punk, who called it quits after nearly 30 years on February 22, looked about as larger than life as bands in this musical era usually get. Obviously, this was visible at first glance: both Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de-Homem-Christo donned metallic helmets, which were gleamingly futuristic and effortlessly iconic […]
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Review by: Rachel Cai Artist: Julien Baker Rating: 8.5/10 Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions, is a heart-wrenching chronicle of substance abuse, her struggle with faith, and her path to recovery. Her third solo album — and her first project since 2018’s collaborative Boygenius EP — is a self-produced, multi-instrumental affair, one where most of the performances are by Baker herself. Most […]
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Review by: Della Johnson Artist: Haley Williams Rating: 8.5/10 Hayley Williams, of the alternative rock band Paramore, purveys a vulnerable and gentle side to heartbreak in her album FLOWERS for VASES / descansos, surprise-released on February 5. She longs for past lovers, opening up about her insecurity with the question, “I wonder how you view me?” in the vocalization-riddled “HYD”, […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer SOPHIE, who tragically passed away at the age of 34 on January 30 while climbing a rooftop in Athens, Greece to get a better look at the moon, was not just simply one of the greatest musical innovators of the 21st century, terraforming the landscape of pop music into something new. No, SOPHIE — who […]
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Della Johnson | Staff Writer As the world becomes more cognisant of the severe importance of mental health, it’s probably best that everyone issues a formal apology to Britney Spears. Sprouting into massive fame at only age 17, Spears seemed to have all media attention set upon her. She became a symbol of pop culture and current trends–and, as a […]
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By Raghav Raj (Staff Writer), Scott Reckers (Staff Writer), and Ann Vettikkal (News Editor) On the last day of 2020, it was announced that Daniel Dumile, better known as rapper MF DOOM, had passed away two months prior on Halloween. As mercurial in death as he was in life, DOOM was one of rap’s greatest enigmas, hiding his brilliant gift […]
Read moreArtist: Playboi Carti Rating: 8/10 Review by: Raghav Raj In many ways, Playboi Carti’s latest album, Whole Lotta Red, is unlike anything else happening in mainstream hip-hop right now. Despite its affinity for sticky melodies and even stickier hooks, it has no obligations towards any of the viral trends that artists have latched on to. It barely has anything that […]
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Della Johnson | Staff Writer 17-year-old Olivia Rodrigo has become an overnight sensation. It’s not that she wasn’t already famous. From her starring role as Nini on Disney+ original High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and Paige on Bizaardvark, she has gained quite a following. Even still, no one could’ve predicted the sort of response that her newest song, […]
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Artist: Megan Thee Stallion Rating: 8/10 Review by: Della Johnson Riding the high of a viral 2020, Megan Thee Stallion has rounded out her year with a 17-song album, a conglomeration of intricate rhymes and cheeky adlibs. She features chart success and single “Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé)” and already-popular “Body,” among other fast paced tracks like the Biggie-sampling opener, “Shots […]
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Review by Della Johnson Artist: Ariana Grande Rating: 6/10 Review: Ariana Grande’s highly anticipated sixth studio album Positions released Friday, October 30th, following the drop and chart success of her lead single by the same name. In this album, she experimented more with R&B–something she had been called to do for years by her large fanbase. She also features heavy […]
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As 2020 finally nears its end, the Chronicle Staff is taking a look back at all of the truly fantastic music that was released over the past year. Without further ado, here are a few staff picks for the best songs of the year. “Key West (Philosopher’s Pirate)” by Bob Dylan By Raghav Raj The penultimate track from Bob Dylan’s […]
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