7
ratings logged
September 2026
22 feels like HYUKOH really starting to find their sound. Compared to 20, they fit into their indie rock style much more naturally, while the production has noticeably improved. The writing is also more pop-oriented and generally stronger, although it still has that youthful feeling. Gondry is probably my favorite, alongside Comes and Goes. The music video for Gondry fits the song perfectly too. It still has some of the limitations of 20. Big Bird didn't really do much for me, and some of the riffs aren't quite as catchy as the songs seem to want them to be. But even when it doesn't fully land, the band sounds much more confident. For me, 22 feels like a clear step forward. And maybe I'm biased because I listened to HYUKOH so much when I was younger, but these early albums are nostalgic for me.
Fantasma feels like listening to an artist's sketchbook that somehow got turned into a full album. There’s this constant excitement of hearing someone just try things without worrying about fitting into a specific mold. The sampling and production are probably my favorite part. Sounds keep reappearing in clever ways, and the transitions make the whole thing feel connected rather than like a collection of unrelated experiments. Mic Check and Surf Rider were some of my favorites, but honestly I kept finding little production details that made me want to go back. It does still feel like a sketchbook at times though. There are a couple moments where I feel like a song drags on slightly, almost like you can hear where a jam wasn't quite edited down. But the transitions and constant ideas more than make up for it.
I love this album. Gasoline is a great opener and immediately sets the tone. A Tale by Quincy into Out of Time is probably my favorite part of the album. It turns this weird sense of dread into something you can actually dance to. The production is amazing and fits the concept perfectly. I can kinda see why The Weeknd ended up working with Kavinsky and in a way this must have been a sort of full circle moment. Jim Carrey also does an amazing job narrating it. The whole album feels like you're listening to a radio station in purgatory. Lyrically the writing is still very pop, but with it the Weeknd accomplishes a very strong concept and as always the lyrics never match the danceability of the album The writing dips a bit around Best Friends for me, but overall this is definitely a cut above the rest of The Weeknd's albums. It makes me a little nervous about dying, but at least I know there's a good radio station waiting for me.
There’s something nostalgic about listening to 20. I listened to HYUKOH a lot when I was around 15, so even their earliest material brings me back to that time. As a record, though, I found it easy to listen to without being particularly interesting or exciting. You can hear the rawness and youthfulness in the writing, but sometimes it feels like the sound isn’t quite developed enough to fully convey the ideas behind it. Some of the writing also felt a little uninspired to me. Our Place was the exception. The fuller production really stood out to me and gave the song a lot more presence. It’s interesting hearing the beginnings of a band I love, especially knowing how much more interesting their sound would become on albums like 24 and Through Love. There’s definitely something special about the roughness of 20, but I’m not sure it fully holds up on its own as a record. I don't speak Korean, though, so maybe I'm missing something in the lyrics.
The Beatles went out with a bang. Knowing the story behind this album, it’s hard not to feel like they covered their entire palette here, giving every member a place to shine both in writing and performance. It sounds like four masters finding the overlapping part in their craft. The transition from I Want You (She's So Heavy) into Here Comes the Sun is one of my favorite moments. It feels like refinding motivation after a really trying night. And the entire second-half medley is perfectly paced. This is especially true for the vinyl since to get to Here Comes the Sun the vinyl needs to physically be flipped to the B-side. Everything blends together while each song still manages to feel individually unique. Just listening to this album leaves me exhilarated. It feels like they couldn't have made another album after this. They had said everything they needed to say at this point in time.
Porter continues to reinvent himself, this time diving into 2000s electro-pop and emo-pop. On this album, Porter tries to blend emotional songwriting with the danceability of artists like MGMT. While Year of the Cup has some really raw and personal lyrics, the production unfortunately wasn’t that interesting to me. Russian Roulette, on the other hand, is a highlight. Here, Porter finds a way to combine that emotional songwriting with much more interesting production, creating a track that feels both incredibly vulnerable and fun to listen to. It’s that contrast between sincerity and playful, energetic production that makes the album work for me.
This album reminds me of the pandemic days, when I was glued to my PC for hours on end. There’s something really nostalgic about the production, but somehow it still feels fresh rather than dated. It captures that strange feeling of being stuck inside and immersed in the digital world, without feeling like it’s simply looking back.
