Beck – “Ride Lonesome” review

Beck is a 56 year old musician, singer/songwriter & producer from Los Angeles, California who released his full-length studio debut Golden Feelings & Stereopathetic Soulmanure independently until signing to DGC Records for his most celebrated opus Mellow Gold preceding 1 Foot in the Grave. Odelay, Mutations, Midnite Vultures, the Geffen Records-backed Sea Change, his Interscope Records debut Guero, The Information & the Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt were all equally praised although his ongoing Capitol Records tenure has been hit or miss. Coming off Morning Phase as well as Colors & the Pharrell-produced ハイパースペース, the Fonograf Records founder’s back for a self-produced 15th studio LP.

The title track combines singer/songwriter, contemporary folk, Americana & alt-country for a melancholic take on loneliness whereas “Run Away” pleads for this individual not to leave, assuring there won’t be anything left to say whenever the apocalypse comes. “In the Night” explores chamber folk, singer/songwriter, art pop, Americana, chamber pop & folk rock so he can sing about lost love while “Failed Words” yearns to turn the world back to be with this individual 1 last time.

“Disappearing Act” blends singer/songwriter, chamber folk & art pop for the 3rd & final single tackling the unknown just before “For Your Love” kicks off the 2nd half of the album incorporating some strings to sing about wandering ruins only because of the affection Beck has for this person waiting down in the lowlands. “Slow Canyon” acoustically continues from there yearning to meet his lover inside a hurricane while “It Ends Right Here” sings about putting a stop to the search for this person he’s addressing.

Winding down the last leg of Ride Lonesome, the song “Falling Through My Hands” gently describes this lover who Beck met at a point in his life where he felt like he was sinking considering her a martyr of the battle while the piano-driven “If You Don’t Know What Love Is” sings about not knowing anything at all in response to the idea of not understanding the concept of love itself. The closer “Beyond the Light” spends the last 5 & a half minutes taking inspiration from Americana again asking if his partner remembers the dying of the light when the sun set on their love.

Some people didn’t think Beck would make anything as great as Modern Guilt ever again considering the mixed reception of his output in the last 2 decades, but he finally did it with Ride Lonesome. His production ditches the synthpop, alt-pop, dream pop, neo-psychedelia & electropop experimentations of it’s predecessor in favor of embracing the sounds of alt-country, singer/songwriter, art pop, chamber folk, contemporary folk, Americana, chamber pop & folk rock reminiscent of Morning Phase & Sea Change’s rich atmospherics for a reflective return.

Score: 4.5/5

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Yeat – “Cocoon” review

Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat dropping off his 8th extended play. Emerging in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he’s been dominating the mainstream since 2021 whether it be him dropping a plethora of projects or receiving cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë few years ago & its companionable deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. Lyfë, Aftërlyfe, the experimental Capitol Records debut 2093, Lyfestylë, Dangerous Summer and A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love all followed except Cocoon looks to make up for the latter’s disappointing reception.

“Earnëd It” kicks things off with this decent intro talking about buying his girl a Birkin bag & living like royalty whereas “In2That” flexes to find him where all the bitches are. “Miss My Dawg” was better than I had anticipated it being hopping over a Noel Cadastre instrumental calling for everyone who misses anyone in their lives that’ve passed away just before a favorite of mine “Luh Burk” produced by Trgc talks about giving this person a taste of fame since they’re never having it.

The song “Holy Watër” reunites with Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic so he can discuss splitting lids right when he pulls up to the spot leading into Trgc getting behind the boards for the title track talking about poppin’ out wearing all white when he began touring a month ago. “Tënnis” spends the remaining minutes of Cocoon going back-&-forth with this woman assuring her it ain’t as much of a game as she’d initially thought.

Yeat preludes his upcoming 7th album Reborn next year with an EP he made on the road that debunking the washed claims that were emerging when A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love came out roughly 5 months earlier, which has me hoping this step in the right direction. It feels more aggressive & less commercial than the last full-length, revisiting his artistic origins rather than trying to make something that appealed more to the masses than his earlier stuff.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mike D – “Thank You” review

Mike D is a 60 year old MC, musician, songwriter & producer from Manhattan, New York who blew up back in the 80s as 1/3 of the Beastie Boys alongside Ad-Rock & of course the late MCA. They would go on to drop 8 consistently praised full-lengths together preceding their disbandment towards the conclusion of my freshman year of high school following MCA’s death. Nobody in the group has ever put out any solo material until this point, so for Mike to recording a full-length studio debut under Capitol Records peaked my curiosity.

“Switch Up” combines breakbeat, experimental hip hop & experimental rock for a lead single talking about changing things every now & then whereas “What We Got” goes for a more standard east coast hip hop vibe speaking of self-doubt & having a backup plan once he retires from music. “True Colors” fuses breakbeat & neo-psychedelia for a reflection of when the Beastie Boys were younger just before “That’s Right” embraced an electro vibe talking about receiving confused looks regardless of what he does.

Continuing from there with “Secrets”, we have Mike D coming through with a 2-parter with a danceable opening & a lyrically repetitive counterpart revealing little to no secrets whatsoever leading into “I Don’t Care” taking a swampier approach instrumentally talking about being the guy to count on. “Make It Stop” speaks of our worlds being filled with drama because of everyone having their own traumatic experiences while the 4th & final single “Crypto” satirically pokes fun at greed.

“Here We Are” wraps up the final moments of Thank You talking about being lost in the dark looking for the door while “Back to Start” strips things back singing not to pass go if one’s looking to return to where they began. “It’s Time” talks about there being so much shit he wants to do despite all these things he needs to complete & the title track spends the remaining moments of Mike’s solo debut looking back at his youthful days 1 last time.

If anyone’s expecting Thank You to sound anything like what the Beastie Boys have done as a trio, then you’re probably not gonna get a kick outta this album so much but I applaud Mike D for trying something different with the help of his sons. The breakbeat, experimental hip hop, electronic dance music, experimental rock, neo-psychedelia, indietronica, electro & swamp rock production paired with his vulnerable lyrics feels like a bridge between the gap that was left when MCA passed & this new creative direction he’s following.

Score: 3.5/5

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The Rolling Stones – “Foreign Tongues” review

The Rolling Stones are a blues rock trio from London, England, United Kingdom comprised of rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood, lead guitarist Keith Richards & frontman Mick Jagger. A band who dropped some of the greatest rock music recorded throughout the late 60s-early 70s like Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. & Some Girls. Their previous full-length Hackney Diamonds under Geffen Records made for a tolerable comeback after 2 decades & the Stones joining Capitol Records for their 24th studio LP had me intrigued since the material dates back to 2019.

“Rough & Twisted” begins with a blues rock single incorporating further elements of electric blues & boogie rock singing about flashing jewelry being a false pretense to them whereas “In the Stars” takes the pop rock route stylistically with some bluesy undertones admitting to feeling a heavy hand meddling with their plans. “Jealous Lover” goes completely smooth soul singing about a relationship going sour while “Mr. Charm” starkly reminding the world of life being as short as it is.

Meanwhile on “Divine Intervention”, we have the Stones singing about our existence being a gamble within it side just before “Ringing Hollow” brings a bit of a country twang into the fold observing all the political turmoil in the United States for a year & a half. “Never Wanna Lose You” reaches the halfway point of the full-length taking back to the pop rock style not wanting to lose the love of their lives whiles “Hit Me in the Head” has a more traditional rock flare acknowledging they won’t be here eternally.

“You Know I’m No Good” takes back to their blues rock origins reminding this woman who’s interested in them cautioning that they were trouble from the very beginning & after “Some of Us” brings a summery atmosphere to the table singing about all of us needing some love in troubling times like these, “Covered in You” continues to make it clear that they’re fed up with the rise of fascist autocracy. More specifically Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder, Twitter owner & Nazi Elon Musk.

The song “Side Effects” hits us with a powerful rock ballad singing about there being a price to pay for literally everything pondering whether if it’s the drugs fucking with their mood or not while the 6 minute “Back in Your Life” treads the Americana waters a bit singing about doing whatever it takes to for this individual to let them in their good graces once more. The closer “Beautiful Delilah” sends off the album with a passable cover of the late Chuck Berry’s track of the same name.

If I have to be serious with myself, Hackney Diamonds still remains a decent comeback for The Rolling Stones after nearly 2 decades exclude the Blue & Lonesome covers but I came away from Foreign Tongues confident that it could be the most gratifying entry in their extensive catalog since Tattoo You. The bluesy pop rock production refines what they tried to do 3 years earlier mixing elements of electric blues, boogie rock, smooth soul & hard rock for a politically charged hour.

Score: 4/5

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BNYX – “Genesis FM” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania producer, songwriter & occasional rapper BNYX. Mentored by Jean Baptiste & later joining the Working on Dying production team known for pioneering tread music, he’s also known for being an extensive collaborator of Yeat, signing to the latter’s Lyfestyle Corporation imprint under Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records distributed by Universal Music Group. His debut extended play Loading… made for a decent prelude & Genesis FM has arrived 7 months afterwards.

After the titular intro, “HunchO Step!” by Quavo begins with what I consider to be one of the stronger singles getting all the baddies to dance whereas “squEEze !i” by Lancey Foux was another track I enjoyed from the instrumental to the lyrics about being on go. “luv yoU right” by Chromeo stylistically shifts gears so the latter can confess to meeting their match just before “what’s happenin?” by Ledbyher talks about being with a woman thicker than his accent at the end who loves fake acting.

“Telepathy Love” by Clara La San goes for a poppier R&B sound so she can describe a relationship that feels rather psychic leading into “Fuëgo” by Peso Pluma & Yeat reaching the halfway point for a bilingual anthem about going loose off the alcohol. “OVERLOADDD” gets the 2nd leg of Genesis FM going on a more compositional note embracing an EDM sound while “I wanna know :)” by Big Sean & Clara La San links up for a pop rap duet where they’re trying to hear the truth.

Alt-pop, Atlanta bass, synthpop, electro, alternative R&B & indietronica all collide on another highlight single “Everywhere I Go (Remind Me)” by KiD CuDi interpolating the Röyksopp track “Remind Me” while “Science” by Nippa sings about his lover’s being a test subject for analyzation. “FANatic” by Beau Nox expresses a desire to touch the sights that’ve been speaking out & once “Fallen” by Don Toliver sings about falling for someone, “Time’s Slipping Away” by Anatole Muster bittersweetly ends yearning for 1 more day with this person.

I went into Genesis FM expecting to enjoy it more than Loading… because I adamantly believe BNYX is one of the greatest mainstream producers of this decade & as much as it pains to me say it, his debut album isn’t much better in terms of consistency. Happy an instrumental version happened since the pop rap, electropop, alt-pop, alternative R&B, electro hop, EDM trap, freestyle, indietronica, Atlanta bass & synthpop production is magnificent. However, the guest list once more feels hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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PlaqueBoyMax – “Crash Dummy” review

West Orange, New Jersey recording artist, producer, audio engineer, media personality & streamer PlaqueBoyMax is back with his 6th extended play. Catching on to him at the beginning of the year after calling out DJ Akademiks for being a child groomer, he has since stayed busy by churning out 5 EPs in the quick amount of time he’s been in the spotlight signing with Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records. 5 Forever almost last year wasted some genuinely solid production on Max’s weakly performed raps. The same can be said regarding Too Much Music, which didn’t raise my anticipation for Crash Dummy.

“Bussin’” made for an underwhelming intro talking about not needing any handouts whereas “Elastiboy” explains the new nickname he gave himself now that he’s got all these bands on him. “Break the Bank” reaches the halfway point redundantly talking about his wealth while “Get Off Me” tells a bitch to hop off his dick. “Different Bag” hilariously talks about being in a whole other category than everyone else & “Bad Bitch Addiction” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Rio Leyva details his obsession for baddies.

Since we got Too Much Music this past winter, PlaqueBoyMax has already comforted that he’s in the midst of working on his full-length debut Prince & an entire body of work fully produced by Metro Boomin’ afterwards. There’s only a few problems with that however: His rapping hasn’t improved at all compared to 5 Forever almost a year earlier or Crash Dummy’s predecessor 5 months ago despite his production choices & Atlanta proving himself to be better at curating.

Score: 2/5

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Yeat – “A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love” review

Brand new double album & the 6th overall from Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat. Emerging in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he’s been dominating the mainstream since 2021 whether it be him dropping a plethora of projects or receiving cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë few years ago & it’s companionable deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. Coming off his 5th mixtape Lyfë a few summers ago alongside Aftërlyfe & the experimental Capitol Records debut 2093, he went back to his roots to rep the Lyfestylë & came off a Dangerous Summer to describe A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love.

“Purpose General” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying atmospherically begins the 2-disc adventure talking about paving checks after paving the way for others whereas “Face the Flame” featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again finds the 2 teaming up so they can describe getting geeked off ecstasy, going for a more trap vibe. “Lose Control” samples “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John talking about passing the wheel to God leading into “Griddlë” admits to falling in love with a freak.

We have BNYX bringing the bells back for “What I Want” boasting that his sales double every time he puts out new music just before “Liv Likë Dis” asks his girl why his wealth got her acting funny over an Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & Sonny Digital instrumental. “Tallër” has a more lively vibe to it courtesy of Cade talking about him trying to make his money larger than the rest while “My Way” tritely tells his partner that she has to make up her mind & take as much time as she needs.

“Let King Tonka Talk” was a disappointing single largely because of the unnecessary Kylie Jenner feature, which is a shame because I like the way Dylan Brady fuses jerk & industrial hip hop with pop rap. “Dangerous House” however picks up with a 2-parter that Shlohmo cooked up talking about keeping things hazardous around his parts while “No More Ghosts” featuring KiD CuDi ends Disc 1 with both of them fed up with everything that isn’t real.

To begin Disc 2, the song “2Nite” embraces a more standard trap sound once again talking about waiting at the fire & his detractors not wanting to see him catching Ws while the self-produced “Geek Luv” describes a kind of love where the sex feels like a drug. The beat on “Naked” is ok except it could be my least favorite track here because it feels like a repetitive 92 second interlude, but then “Went Wrong” decently talks about him & an ex waitin’ for their relationship to fail.

“Real Life Shit” incorporate some heavy synthesizers admitting that he’s been looking for a reason to tweak & after “My Time” instrumentally gives props to The Neptunes talking about going bigger than he can imagine since he was destined for this music shit, “2Planës” reunites with Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic sampling the 2023 leak “Wanna be më” flexing that he has a couple airplanes respectively carrying money & his own people.

The song “Silk Facë” brings the synths back in full effect to push closer near A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love’s conclusion talking about feeling the same & looking to run shit up again while “Back Home” featuring Joji returning to their respective cribs because something at the function feels off to both of them. “Up From Here” ends the LP talking about going rock bottom & elevating past that point.

Originally announced nearly 2 years ago already, A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love has since evolved into a double full-length that I’d sincerely have to put behind Lyfestylë as the 2nd weakest project Yeat has ever put out. I can appreciate him telling 2 completely different stories across the hourlong runtime, although the predominant trap production feels like he’s playing it safe & a few of the guest appearances were pointless.

Score: 3/5

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PlaqueBoyMax – “Too Much Music” review

Here we have the 5th EP from West Orange, New Jersey recording artist, producer, audio engineer, media personality & streamer PlaqueBoyMax. Catching on to him at the beginning of the year after calling out DJ Akademiks for being a child groomer, he has since stayed busy by churning out 4 EPs in the quick amount of time he’s been in the spotlight signing with Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records. 5 Forever a little over 6 months ago wasted some genuinely solid production on Max’s weakly performed raps & looks to end the year with Too Much Music.

“Instahoes” made for an underwhelming intro talking about women on Instagram fuckin’ around too much whereas “RealSpill” takes 88 seconds to get on his young & rich shit except his flow reminds me of Tony Shhnow, who’s far more entertaining lyrically. My favorite beat on the extended play goes to “InTheMorning” produced by Maajins telling his girl he’s coming home from Chicago soon while “WakeUp” talks about being a rockstar.

The song “MalibuTides” starts the 2nd leg of Too Much Music boasting that he’s out in the Los Angeles beach city catching a vibe by watching the ocean tides while “Do2Much” has another great instrumental from Four3va this time telling a woman he fumbled that he wishes she got to know him a lot better. “FellOff” sends it all off continuing the themes of heartbreak, wanting the chick he fucked things up with that he misses her.

I still think Atlanta is the best thing that PlaqueBoyMax has ever put together & it was a step-up from London in terms of showcasing what he can do as a curator, which I’d tell you is his strongest focal point musically because I didn’t really care for Too Much Music any more or less than 5 Forever & it doesn’t make me excited for the sophomore effort Prince in a couple months. It all goes back to my critiques of that inaugural LP: Great production with subpar rapping.

Score: 2/5

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ИF – “Fear” review

Gladwin, Michigan recording artist ИF dropping off his 3rd EP. Coming up 15 years ago off his debut mixtape Moments, he eventually signed to Capitol Records & made his full-length debut during my senior year of high school with Mansion. This was followed up with Therapy Session & Perception, the latter of which spawning his biggest hit “Let You Down”. Coming off The Search & Hope however, he’s decided to face Fear head-on as we reach the halfway point of November 2025.

The self-produced title track opens with him talking about his OCD being worse than ever and asking God, if this fire and his life was started by Him & after “Home” finds himself pretending this chick’s actually here leaving a voicemail and telling her to call him back, “Who I Was” featuring MGK brings 2 of the corniest artists together talking about everything they care for being burnt up in front of them.

“Gimme a Reason” talks about forgetting what the hustle & struggle was like despite the cosign from UFC fighter Michael Chandler while “Sorry” featuring James Arthur starts the final moments of Fear with both of them coming together for a pop rap crossover apologizing to exes for the way things ended with them & not trying to start any more issues than Necessary. “Washed Up” concludes the EP regressing to a more negative mindset that was seen prior to Hope.

Unfortunately as much as I really want to like ИF’s music, Fear merely faulters at an attempt to shift towards singer/songwriter with minor elements of conscious hip hop along with pop rap & folk pop. There’s not really a whole lot for me to complain about in regards to the production since it’s merely decent at best, it’s that some of the lyrics can be irritatingly corny & the flows aren’t really all that interesting to me either personally.

Score: 1.5/5

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BNYX – “Loading…” review

BNYX is a 30 year old producer, songwriter & occasional rapper from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania mentored by Jean Baptiste & joining the Working on Dying production team known for pioneering tread music. He’s also known for being an extensive collaborator of Yeat, signing to the latter’s Lyfestyle Corporation imprint under Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records distributed by Universal Music Group. In preparation for his upcoming full-length solo debut Genesis FM, he’s dropping off a taste of what’s to come with a debut EP.

“Room of Smiles” by Dayne Jordan & UHMEER co-produced by BNYX’s brother BEAUTIFULMVN begins by talking about meeting a woman who happens to be incredibly fashionable & once the sample drill-influenced “Telepathy Love” by Clara La San describes a kind of love that feels telepathic hence the title, “Interstellar” by George Clanton & Jahvor finds the pair talking about a man & a woman being unified by yearning for one another.

Fortunately the 2nd half is where things start to pick up, with Johnny Yukon delivering an alternative R&B banger called “Water” hoping the door’s open when comes back once he picks up motion while my favorite track “Proud of Me” by Earl Sweatshirt talks about hoping his mother Cheryl Harris is happy for him, which meant a lot as someone who was around during the Odd Future era in light of Twitter trying to cancel Tyler, The Creator. As for the closer “Switch It” by Yeat & Zukenee, both of them unite for an outro staying more dangerous than ever.

Some of you may remember that I praised BNYX near the end of 2023 as the best mainstream producer of that year & as happy as I am for him getting a label dark, his inaugural EP preluding his upcoming debut LP gives the impression that it could be average at best. I don’t have any complaints in terms of the trap, cloud rap, pop rap & rage production. However, my biggest criticism regarding Loading… is easily the consistency amongst the guest performers & sometimes that tends to be the case with producer albums.

Score: 3/5

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