pop music
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Acting as Functional – “Tick Tock Bump and Boom” review
This review was paid for by Acting As Functional. If you too want me to review your music, or any other release of your choosing, please place a commission here. Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★☆☆ Ladies and gentlemen, today I present you with what might be the most impressive redemption arc in all of music history; do you… Read more
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Danjul – “Dirty Playground” review
Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆ Danjul is an up-and-coming artist hailing from the land of all that is peculiar – Los Angeles, California. The singer-songwriter has a humble-yet-mighty backlog of singles in his arsenal, but I would say that his recent release “Dirty Playground” is his most promising display of pop craftsmanship to date, all by a… Read more
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KIES – “You’re Golden” review
Final verdict: 6/10 ★★★☆☆ There are two types of “space music” out there: Louis Armstrong (space age), and Guernica (alien transmissions). Then there is KIES’ new single “You’re Golden,” which is rather preposterously queering the binary. Listen, I cannot understand what the guy is saying. His singing style can most aptly be described as “slurred mumbling”… Read more
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Victor Ferrer – “Morningstar” review
This review was paid for by Victor Ferrer. If you too want me to review your music, or any other release of your choosing, please place a commission here. Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆ Artist spotlight Sunday! Artist spotlight Sunday! Dear everyone, behold Arizona-based singer-songwriter Victor Ferrer and his fresh new LP, “Morningstar.” Now I know what you… Read more
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Kaori Mochida – “qq” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ 2025 has been a much promising year for music. I admit I am not one to routinely seek out new releases, but it appears to me that the popstar archetype is back in full force (see: Lady Gaga and her brilliant new album “Mayhem,” Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, both of which… Read more
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Seiko Matsuda – “North Wind” review
Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆ It is that time of year again, folks – December, final round! There’s a lot of things to reminisce upon, many a blessing and equally many a lovely memory, but there are also quite a few regrets I exit the year bearing; I suppose everyone feels that way to some extent, way… Read more
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Amber Gomez – “I’m Not Black and Blue” review
Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆ I’m not sure whether I’ve ever expressed this opinion out in the open, but man, I’m really not a fan of Taylor Swift. Questionable ethics aside, her music is… nothing to me, and that is her greatest sin in my humble opinion. To my ears, it is a big, meaty slab… Read more
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Maya Mendez – “Through and Through” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ It’s been a while since I’ve last reviewed a nice, comfortable pop song, so here we go. The information my research provided me with is that Maya Mendez first hit the scene in February 2025 with the song “Have Your Fun” (which is a really pretty folk-pop tune, by the way! Check… Read more
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Yumi Matsutoya – “流線形 ’80” review
Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆ Trust me when I tell you that I really wanted to kick this review off by cracking a joke about how this album is just outtakes from “紅雀” that failed to make the cut due to being too interesting for that project – but man, this is just not that. What this is,… Read more
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Yumi Matsutoya – “紅雀” review
Final verdict: 7/10 ★★★⋆˙⟡☆ You know, the pessimist in me craves something to complain about. And initially, this album would have been it – oh no, would you look at that, Yuming, THE Yuming, fell off! This album is BOOOO-RING! The demise of who was arguably the greatest figure in the 1970s Japanese music scene is upon us!… Read more
