The World’s a Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid to Die – “Dreams of Being Dust” review

The World’s a Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid to Die are a midwest emo band from Willimantic, Connecticut consisting of bassist/keyboardist Josh Cyr, drummer/percussionist Steven Buttery, guitarist/trumpeter Chris Teti, keyboardist Katie Dvorak, guitarist Anthony Gesa & frontman David Bello. These guys’ full-length debut If Ever & their Epitaph Records debut more specifically Harmlessness would both win me over as a fan of theirs in high school although Always Foreign was merely ok. Illusory Walls thankfully marked a step in the right direction & hoped they’d continue to head down that trajectory for their 5th studio album.

“Dimmed Sun” makes for an alternative metal intro talking about how it’s merely them in the rudderless world we’re living in whereas the melodic post-hardcore single “Se sufre pero se goza” pulls further inspiration from alternative rock & metalcore feeling as if their prayers for their souls & land have all gone to waste. The melodic elements get ditched on “No Pilgrim” to take on a politically charged approach to the songwriting while the hardcore punk single “Beware the Centrist” sings about biting their tongues until they can feel their teeth.

We get a response to the ongoing famine at the Gaza Strip on “Oubliette” from asking what kind of king uses widespread hunger in the poorest of children as a lesson to the blue tarp used to cover up the corpses of the casualties while “Captagon” embraces the alternative metal vibes once more singing about being high off fenethylline. Alternative rock, alt-metal & metalcore all collide during “Dissolving” taking us into the woods late at night noticing the fuzziness of the boundary between our protagonist & the rest of the outside world while “Reject All & Submit” shows off more influences of melodic hardcore singing for a plot to be sold to help them relax.

“December 4, 2024” conceptually takes it’s inspiration from the morning Luigi Mangione killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last winter embracing the sounds of progressive metal while “Auguries of Guilt” fuses post-rock, alternative rock, post-hardcore, Emo & progressive rock talks about the villains being seen as the heroes. “For Those Who’ll Outlive Us” lastly concludes the LP by referring to themselves as bugs that can think of the most invasive game on Earth without trust.

Pulling no punches in addressing the crises that’ve developed as a result of the world as we know it becoming ravaged & devastated by late-stage capitalism alongside neo-liberalism & neo-fascism, Dreams of Being Dust provides the soundtrack to these harrowing times by having The World’s a Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid to Die focusing more around post-hardcore & progressive metal using alt-metal & metalcore as secondary influences for their most political work ever.

Score: 4.5/5

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Nourished by Time – “The Passionate Ones” review

This is the sophomore effort from Baltimore, Maryland singer/songwriter & producer Nourished by Time a.k.a. Marcus Brown. Beginning under the original monikers Riley with Fire & Mother Marcus until sticking with his current name, he would go on to drop his debut EP Erotic Priobotic followed by the sequel in the spring of 2023 & sign to XL Recordings a year later. His previous EP Catching Chickens would arrive a couple months later, preluding The Passionate Ones nearly 6 weeks after Justin Bieber experimented with bedroom pop over the course of his 7th album Swag in light of him becoming a father.

“Automatic Love” sets up shop in the form of this synthpop intro singing about being loved in a way he’s never known previously whereas “Idiot in the Park” soothingly desires a type of romance that’ll leave him with scars, vocally throwing it back to the days of the late King of Hooks Nate Dogg on certain occasions. The lead single “Max Potential”blends bedroom pop, neo-psychedelia, hypnagogic pop, synthpop, dream pop singing about the stabilization of affection while “It’s Time” admits the only 2 things he has are baggage & a vision of love.

After the “Cult” interlude, the 2nd single “9 2 5”brings together elements of deep house, outsider house, freestyle music & Jersey club singing about life being hateful when that couldn’t be any more accurate regarding the state of the world in 2025 just before the peppy synthpop tune “Crazy People” kicks off the 2nd half of The Passionate Ones suggesting that the insane doesn’t flat out admit it openly. “Jojo” featuring Tony Bontana works in some bass guitar licks singing about never being any worse while the 3rd & final single “Baby Baby” mixes new wave, experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, synthpop, Atlanta bass, electro & political hip hop comparing the murder of Freddie Gray to the ongoing Gaza genocide.

“Tossed Away” begins the LP’s final act incorporating some heavy synthesizers with a Stevie Wonder twist to it feeling disillusioned by many Americans having difficulty of paying rent & buying groceries due to everything becoming more expensive while “The War’s Over” sings over a piano instrumental that the only case scenario of him surrendering is if the woman he’s addressing gets with him. The neo-psychedelic title track finishes with one of the most gratifying outros I’ve heard all year, skillfully tying up all loose ends culminating it’s core themes & prominent sounds feeling like he’s lost his reflection or pondering if the future will be in his favor.

Laying out the blueprint for building your own altar in the ruins of the American Dream, what Nourished by Time has done for the bedroom pop subgenre of indie pop in the 45 minutes The Passionate Ones has to offer is far more groundbreaking than Swag earlier this summer & could go down amongst the greatest albums to ever come from that style of music. Marcus’ production further explores alternative R&B, neo-psychedelia, hypnagogic pop, synthpop, sophisti-pop, UK street soul, deep house, outsider house, freestyle music, Jersey club, dream pop, experimental hip hop, Atlanta bass & electro powerfully tackling subjects including love or labor & everyday existential pressure.

Score: 4.5/5

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Paul Cornish – “You’re Exaggerating!” review

This is the full-length debut studio album from Houston, Texas pianist Paul Cornish. Known for working with the likes of Terrace Martin or Robert Glasper & Herbie Hancock, he would go on to sign with the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records this past January after solidifying himself by blending post-bop with blues & gospel. Coming off the heels of 3 singles with in the past 7 weeks or so, You’re Exaggerating! looks to carry the torch for all the pianos players who began an 86 year tradition that’s still going strong.

“DB Song” comes out the gate blending these settle piano passages with Jonathan Pinson on drums & Joshua Crumbly on bass hence the “DB” in the title whereas “Queinxiety” expresses Paul’s habit of chronic overthinking the 3 & a half minutes. “Star is Born” references the formation of literal stars instead of the composer himself leading into “Slow Song” removing the drums & bass from the equation.

As for “5AM”, we have Paul looking back at his days in college where he used to wake up very early to work out just before the lead single “Dinosaur Song” takes inspiration from his girlfriend’s nephew. Jeff Parker plays guitar on 2nd single “Palindrome” complimenting the Monkian keys & after the final single “Queen Geri” pays tribute to the late Geri Allen, the closer “Modus Operani” shows off a bit of a baroque influence to end the LP.

Inspired by Robert Glasper’s sophomore effort Canvas & it’s follow-up In My Element, all 9 of the original compositions that Paul Cornish conceived throughout the course of his 42 minute debut continues a historic lineage of local pianists by taking out a few pages from his story leaning towards the styles of post-bop & jazz fusion with an approach that tends to entice the audience rather than impressing them.

Score: 4/5

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Tezzus – “King Phønk” review

This is the 5th EP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus. Introducing himself with his first few EPs Hard2Kill as well as Hellraiser & Everyday’s Halløween, his debut mixtape Tezzus Khrist last holiday season would significantly elevate his profile locally as did the handful of appearances he made on The XA Tape earlier this year. Coming off his new Søufside collaborative EP with Percaso & more recently Backrooms, there’s still no signs of King Phønk slowing down anytime soon.

“Heroin” gets the party started with some dirty south-esque horns & hi-hats keeping all blues in his pockets along with encouraging the women to get addicted to him whereas the rage-inducing “Scream!” talk about it either being “Øway or no way”. “Bleeds” featuring Percaso finds the pair taking 107 seconds to reflect on making bitch boys shed blood for a bag of weed just before the pluggy “172M” featuring 10KDunkin talks about being showstoppers.

Moving on from there, “Don Dølla” goes for a minimalistic trap direction instrumentally talking about having real problems & the legitimacy of being a crime boss leading into the phonk-inspired “Me & Gang” looks back on the paper plate days when he knew he’d be in the position he’s currently in doing good financially. “Balling” talks about going off so hard to the point where he might as well get himself a jersey while “Damn” finds himself waking up next to a hoe he doesn’t even know.

“In the Hills” featuring southsidesilhouette pushes further towards the conclusion of King Phønk with both of them embracing a hypertrap vibe to talk about going brazy with friends out in the west coast hills & once the raging “20K Bitch” flexes the amount of money he made in only 7 days’ time, “Bones” caps everything off with a dark plugg outro talking about his trust issues.

Tezzus shifts his focus back to the music only 24 hours after being hacked, leaked, lied on & almost having his spirits killed to seamlessly continue this run he’s been on these past couple weeks by dropping off his 2nd EP of the month if you count Søufside separately & one that I find myself leaning towards more than Backroomsmerely 10 days ago. Stronger production based around the modern trap sounds of rage & dark plugg, tighter contributions from the guests & the phonkiest himself delivering angrier performances.

Score: 4/5

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Brigid Bites – “Lil Tart” review

Davenport, Iowa rapper & dancer Brigid Bites coinciding the Gathering of Legends or the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos with her 4th EP. Creating the juggalette burlesque troupe in 2017 called Juggalesque, they’ve have since become a drawing attraction at the Gathering since then with her eventually joining Chapter 17 Records CEO/Psychopathic Records recording artist Ouija Macc on stage quite a few times since. However, she made a pretty solid introduction into the music world with Hatchet Girl & Pumpkin Spice respectively. She just dropped Hot Honey back in February during Juggalo Weekend & is following it up with Lil Tart.

The title track hops over a hip house instrumental to get things started talking about her shine being unstoppable whereas “Never Forget” takes a more industrial approach speaking to those thinking they could have a chance of avoiding her. “Neon Nightmare” combines hip hop & house music again comparing herself to a puppet master leading into “MCL (Mad Clown Luv)” showing her appreciation towards the juggalo family.

6 months to the day since Hot Honey marked Brigid Bites’ official return after a year & a half of not releasing a project, Lil Tart already reveals itself as my favorite EP of the 2 we’ve gotten from her this year. The production’s more experimental than what I’ve heard from her previously & ditching the trap sounds of her earlier material to emphasize the electronic influences a lot more prominently. Particularly hip house & even giving industrial hip hop a chance at the halfway point.

Score: 3.5/5

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Shaggytheairhead – “Secret World” review

Las Vegas, Nevada producer, rapper & fashion designer Shaggytheairhead dropping his 5th EP without warning. Peaking my interesting after producing one of my all-time favorite Ouija Macc songs “Nardwuar Glocc” back in 2018, he would back that up with 4 EPs before becoming an in-house producer for Chapter 17 Records & Psychopathic Records alongside his Mythic Mindz cohort Devereaux. Shaggy dropped his debut Wakin’ Up during the 21st annual Gathering of the Juggalos, which was the only Gathering I’ve ever been to & a weekend that I’ll never forget. As far as the actual music on Wakin’ Up, it’s my favorite of his thus far because of how much he improved his lyricism & that he dabbled with a wide range of sounds to show his influences. Grin to the Grave, Coffee, Blood Sweat Tears and Lazy & Crazy have all followed since to equally warm reception & looks to embark on a trip to a Secret World.

“Cursed” begins our exploration with a g-funk instrumental feeling like he wouldn’t make it as far as he has whereas the depressive “Never That Deep” talks about shit getting annoying to him. “Ghosts Ride” pulls a little inspiration from the Memphis scene sonically getting high in his zone leading into another g-funk cut “Relax” talks about needing to chill out. “Animosity” embraces a boom bap vibe to discuss antipathy & “I Ain’t Happy” angrily finishes the EP by dissing the crowd trying to stop his shine.

A little over 15 months since he & Darby O’Trill got with Devereaux to deliver their celebrated 10 Bandz collaborative effort, Shaggytheairhead first solo offering in over 2 years over 24 hours since the current GCW World Tag Team Champions YNDP became the new JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions during The 2 Day War between Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) & Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) coping with the personal issues he’s gone through since we last heard him on Lazy & Crazy by solely killing a deft batch of beats that range from g-funk to boom bap & Memphis rap.

Score: 4/5

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Bret McKenzie – “Freak Out City” review

Bret McKenzie is a 49 year old musician, songwriter, comedian, actor & music supervisor from Wellington, New Zealand whom I know for portraying Figwit in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Lindir in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He also signed to Sub Pop Records in 2022 & put out his sophomore effort Songs Without Jokes, marking his first since Prototype almost 2 decades earlier. He recently wrote “Could This Be Love?” for A Minecraft Movie this spring & has released his 3rd studio LP merely 4 months later.

We get some pianos & drums intertwining on The Beatles-inspired intro “Bethnal Green Blues” placing us into the shoes of a person experiencing bad luck whereas the title track sings about a conversation he had with his father regarding absurd health science articles. “The Only Dream I Know” acoustically asks why it’s difficult for a dream to come true leading into “All the Time” singing about the love he has for his 3 kids.

“That’s the Way the World Goes Round” the halfway point of Freak Out City by telling the story of a man he knows who has a lot to lose over another acoustic guitar leading into “All I Need” pulling inspiration from Paul McCartney specifically for a profound love letter directed at his wife Hannah. “Eyes on the Sun” goes for a folkier direction singing that he’s got his hands on his soul while “Too Young” suggests he’s not here to suffer whilst giving flowers to Paul Simon.

The warmly calm “Highs & Lows” sings about our ups & downs continuously coming & going while the final single during the LP’s rollout “Shouldna Come Here Tonight” finishes it all off with a sequel to both “Stuck in the Middle” by Stealers Wheel & “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim except for the late George Harrison & Gerry Rafferty twists it respectively contains.

Straying further away from the electronic vibes of his debut Prototype, Bret McKenzie’s artistic comparisons to Harry Nilsson & Randy Newmanare exemplified during Freak Out City’s near 40 minute run by passionately returning to his signature sense of humor that Songs Without Jokes lacked & embracing the singer/songwriter, pop rock, adult contemporary & piano rock styles that he began exploring all over the most serious entry in his discography had employed a few years earlier.

Score: 3.5/5

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Protect – “500 Days of Summer” review

Buffalo, New York rapper Protect hitting us with his 3rd studio LP almost 9 months since his last one came out. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me & the sophomore effort Ball Hog for Life under Atlantic Records a year earlier, the latter being significantly more well received than its predecessor & some of the producer credits throughout 500 Days of Summer garnered my interest in giving it a proper chance almost a month until fall begins.

“Think About Ya” starts with a woozy trap instrumental talking about calling his girl 1,000 times & for his young slime to pick their head up whereas the blissfully rage-inducing “Hasta La Vista” suggests to come check his swag down. “Gossip Girl” produced by Cade gives a nod to The CW’s hit teen drama of the same name while “IfUGotMe” talks about his preference of having no one around because a lack of social battery.

Moving on from there, “Count Up” brings the hypertrap influences back in effect flexing that he has a kind of swag others would kill for leading into the trippy “Jumbo” comparing himself to King Kong & talking about being on fire. Rio Leyva & Vendr of Internet Money Records both killed their shares of the beat they made for “Redeye” wanting the world to watch him blossom while “Vlad” chaotically suggests to do what his gang says.

“Sip in My Room” ends 500 Days of Summer’s first half by talking about wanting to consume lean by himself in a bedroom while “Cartoon Network” named after the Discovery Global subsidiary of the same name flexing that he’s on TV & the channel can’t be changed. “Peyton List” talks about being in love with the racks in addition to asking for his twin to not break the code while “New Jeep” shows off his new whip, taking it for a quick spin.

As for “Sly Cooper”, we have Protect talking about not needing a discount for whenever he pulls up to the club bouncin’ while “Gee Wizz!!!” finds himself continuously trappin’ & being so geeked that he can’t even feel his face. “.Tor” makes a sick reference to the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon series Danny Phantom while “ICU” talks about seeing the way this unnamed individual stays moving.

“Lifeline” nears the conclusion of 500 Days of Summer advising that you don’t wanna fuck with him & having demons watching him despite lying about being ok while “World is Yours” explains that a cold day in Hell is more likely than him switching up. “Betray Ya” ties up the LP with him looking to race in an open road & waking up with a smile on his face because his life at this point has been nothing short of amazing.

Gonna say this right now & I don’t give a fuck if anyone disagrees with me on it: I could definitely imagine Protect crossing paths with local underground icon, Griselda Records founder & 4th Rope founder Westside Gunn on either Heels Have Eyes II or FLYGOD is an Awesome God III since And Then You Pray for Me was West’s example of holding down trap production similarly to his Hall ‘N Nash cohort Conway the Machine & of course Benny the Butcher. Anyways, I feel like 500 Days of Summer ditched the rage & plugg aesthetics of Ball Hot for Life in favor of cloudy pop rap to result in his strongest album currently.

Score: 3.5/5

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1300SAINT – “NewDrug.” review

Here is the 4th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist 1300SAINT. Known for staying out of the box with a versatile sound & style drawing in listeners from all walks of life painting pictures of all colors & shapes to create a true experience for his audience, the heavy 808 based instrumentals he lays his smooth vocals over on his full-length debut Noir makes you feel every song a little more than usual & led to Young Thug signing him to YSL Records not too long after he came home last Halloween. All Hail marked his debut for the label, preluding Savior with Saint Season as well as 4 & now New Drug.

“Worry ‘Bout Yours.” opens with a guitar & hi-hats pleading for the girl he’s seeing to not say that she loves him whereas “Bloodsucker.” talks about pulling up too way. “Set.” featuring ApolloRed1, Diorvsyou & Sk8star finds the quartet rocking out together for a monumental collaboration while “Kutta.” derives itself from some of Playboi Carti’s material. The song “Not @ All” talks about not going back to being broke & finally, “Pray2theLord.” made for a decent outro flexing that his success was all done his way.

1300 has already put out an album & 3 EPs since joining the YSL umbrella, but I found New Drug to be a slight improvement over the 4-pack we got from him earlier in the summer & whether we get Savior within the coming months or next year, I still enjoy everything he & 9 Vicious have put out more than Gunna’s final offering for the label last weekend. Production’s not as good as All Hail or Saint Season, but at least it’s more detailed than The Last Wun’s & the guest list is more consistent.

Score: 3.5/5

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KAYTRANADA – “Ain’t No Damn Way!” review

Port-au-Prince, Haiti born albeit Montréal, Québec, Canada raised DJ, producer, singer/songwriter & rapper KAYTRANADA returning for his 4th studio LP. Starting as 1/2 of The Celestics alongside his younger brother Lou Phelps, he’s has been widely recognized as being amongst the most popular & in-demand producers in all of music for the past decade working with everyone from Mobb Deep to Mach-Hommy. KAYTRADAMUS even has 3 solo efforts under his belt in 99.9% through XL Recordings, the RCA Records-backed Bubba, the eponymous debut from KAYTRAMINÉ & more recently Timeless last summer. 13 months have passed since the predecessor & Ain’t No Damn Way! has arrived 4 days after it’s announcement.

“My Life” by Latrelle featuring Kelis gets sampled for the deep house intro with “Space Invader” throwing hints of contemporary R&B in the mix whereas “Championship” continues the house vibes with an 115 second instrumental piece. “Home” sticks out as one of my favorite beats here due to it’s carefree atmosphere just before “Target Joint” pulls inspiration from the funky house subgenre.

Nearing the end of Ain’t No Damn Way!’s first half, “Things” samples “Things Fall Apart” by Steve Monite for a futuristic house composition with some synthesizers leading into “backstABs” getting back in his deep house bag instrumentally. “Good Luck” definitely feels reminiscent to my all-time favorite production duo The Neptunes in terms of sound, but then “Shine Your Light for We” samples “Black Boy” by Cappadonna & makes it into a disco highlight of it’s own.

“Goodbye Bitch!” combines characteristics of both synth funk & funky house for an infectious beat that won’t make you stop nodding your head while the deep house cut “Don’t Worry Babe (I Got U Babe)” makes an irresistibly soulful use of sampling. Speaking of which: The last song “Do It (Again!)” after “Blax” continues to display KAYTRA’s ear for chopping up samples, this time repurposing “Let’s Do It Again” by TLC.

As opposed to having a cast of guests performing over his instrumentals like on all 3 of his predecessors, KAYTRANADA returns out of nowhere 14 months later for Ain’t No Damn Way! as a welcoming return to his electronic roots. Ditching the primary alternative R&B influences of Timeless last summer to emphasize the deep house side of it’s predecessor, he gets to sprinkle additional hints of funky house & synth funk over the 30+ minute course.

Score: 3.5/5

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