Inkspot Term 2 2017

!ALBUM REVIEWS!

By Taylor Crooks

Harry Styles - Harry Styles You all definitely should have expected that this album would be featured. It’s absolutely no secret that I’m obsessed with this album (the limited edition white vinyl is so beautiful, trust)

and I have so many reasons as to why. The whole album serves a kind of 70’s Brit rock that popular music has been missing since Bowie was on top of the charts, and I am one of many that are welcoming it back with open arms. Despite the well established vibe, killer vocals and outstanding lyrics, it’s really obvious that this is Harry’s first album. Each song is so wildly different that it’s hard to outline any common theme between them all, but thankfully every song is a bop on its own, so it’s pretty easy to justify any missteps as “debut album blunders”. In saying that, I hope and pray that Harry’s next solo album not only exists, but is a bit more polished. He has proven to the world that he is capable of great things, so his next objective is to take it

one step further. Top Track: Kiwi

DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar (explicit) So, we already know that Kendrick Lamar is an all round cool guy, but this album honestly blows it out of the water. This is definitely an album that I could listen to on repeat for a long time, because it keeps you interested the whole way through. Each track is vastly different to

the rest, while still maintaining a cohesion to the overall theme of the album as a whole. I find that it can be really easy, especially in the rap world, for artists to rely on a certain formula for success, but Kendrick Lamar has had no trouble breaking away from the similar sound that has plagued the “gatho scene” for so long. The attention to detail is evident, so there was no point in which I questioned why he had used a certain sample, or why he delivered a certain lyric. This album gets you feeling like a badass in LOYALTY . to feeling kind of soft and cute in LOVE. , to feeling empathetically terrified in FEAR. . The album is overall really well produced and put together, and should definitely be given a chance.

Top Track: DNA.