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  'brutal', a track of teenage angst, is a decent opener to Olivia Rodrigo's debut album 'SOUR.' The guitar riffs are nicely punk-flavoured while Rodrigo does fine in emoting angst within her vocal delivery. After 'brutal, it does not take long for Olivia Rodrigo to begin the melodramatic break-up nature of the album with 'traitor', a mediocre break-up ballad where Rodrigo feels betrayed by her former love interest. Now, she has to bear witness to her former love interest showing off his new love, someone Rodrigo was paranoid about, 'like a trophy.' Despite its pleasant piano pattern and low-key synths, percussion and claps, Rodrigo's breakthrough single 'drivers licence' does suffer from her ending the chorus in an anti-climatic fashion. Following '1 step forward, 3 steps back,' an alright track of Rodrigo reflecting on a toxic relationship with her former love interest, the album does spark some momentum at 'deja vu.'

  'The Off-Season', the sixth studio album from J.Cole, begins decently with the opening '95. South.' Over a serviceable instrumental, sampling Jay-z's 'U Don't Know,' J.Cole is humorously braggadocious. Anyone that tries to 'fuck with Cole' would be 'impeding on their health', as the North Carolina rapper 'could put an M right' on their heads, making them feel like 'Luigi.' Furthermore, the sampling of Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz' 'Put Yo Hood Up' in the track's outro is a hyping force. After the short and satisfactory track in 'Amari', J.Cole calls upon 21 Savage and Morray to deliver a sonically pleasant beam of perseverance in 'my. life.' Over a soulful vocal sampled instrumental, J.Cole is satisfyingly intense and passionate in his flow as he is 'spiralling up like a rich person's staircase,' rising from a family tree with a 'history of users that struggle with demons

  'Fred Again...', the British producer, has crafted the instrumentals of some of the highlights of Stormzy's 'Heavy is the Head' album, such as 'Own It' and 'Pop Boy.' Additionally, he has worked with the likes of Headie One, notably through the collaborative mixtape, 'Gang,' and Ed Sheeran. So, how does Fred deliver here with this solo debut effort? After the short and sweet opener 'April 14th 2020,' Fred delivers the pleasant love ballad with 'Kyle (I Found You)'. Interestingly, FRED samples the spoken word poem 'Love in the Time of Undeath' by Kyle Tran Myhre. A fruitful practice, as the sample corresponds well with the track's satisfyingly euphoric production. In 'Dermot (See Yourself in My Eyes)', the revving percussion, broken piano pattern and the sampling of Dermot Kennedy's 'Lost' is a sonically compelling combination. Following the relaxing 'Yasminah (See Your Face Again)' and

  KUCKA is a recognizable name, especially to anyone that has listened through Flume's past few projects. Notably, her soothing vocals helped complete the euphoric "Voices" in the "Hi, This is Flume" mixtape. Additionally, her warped vocals were a satisfying presence in the marvelling 'Hyperreal', part of the 'Skin Companion EP II.' However, her performance in Vince Staples' 'Yeah Right' from the 'Big Fish Theory' is by far the most memorable. Her bridge was a rather blissful calm between two thunderous storms of verses from Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar, supplemented by SOPHIE's earth-shattering production. So yes, KUCKA is a reliable feature vocalist. So how does the Australian songstress fare in a full-length project such as her debuting 'Wrestling' album? After a modest synth-wave cut about self-conflict in the self-titled opener and a rather forgettable 'Contemplation', the album does reach its most

  New name. New era. Shelley begins his self-titled album with an entrancing "All Pride Aside" with Summer Walker. Shelley is vocally blissful here (and for the rest of the record), supplemented by a seductive bassline and aided by a decent guest performance from Summer Walker. Shelly continues to touch my soul in "Exposure", a glistening R&B ballad. His bridge is a luxurious force, making me love him 'over and over again.' After a decent cover of Daft Punk's "Something About Us", Shelley is pleasantly cuter in his delivery in "Beautiful",  as he charms a love interest that is the "one exception" to the many girls that he has seen. The instrumental in "Beautiful" is almost nostalgic, as it would fit into the soundtrack of any classic Walt Disney animation film. "The Lay Down" with H.E.R and Watt is an explosion of rapture. The wonderous harmonisation of Shelley's and H.E.R's voices in the chor

  It is a decent start for DJ Khaled's new album, 'Khaled Khaled', with 'THANKFUL.' Jeremih and Lil Wayne are satisfactory in their performances over inspiring horns, guitar riffs and with a blissful choir. However, 'THANKFUL' is too long with its 5 minutes and 38 seconds runtime. In 'EVERY CHANCE I GET', both Lil Durk and Lil Baby deliver satisfying, braggadocious verses over Tay Keith's nocturnal trap instrumental. Unfortunately, the track's hook, delivered by Lil Baby, is underwhelmingly drab. Another poor hook appears in 'BIG PAPER'. Cardi B is frustratingly off-beat as she phones in the hook. Fortunately, the album does somewhat immediately recover with 'WE GOING CRAZY'. The parade of horns within the track's instrumental is enjoyable, likewise for Migos' triplet flow verse. Additionally, H.E.R's vocal performance here is satisfactory. In 'I DID IT,' the sampling of the guitar riff from Derek and The D