the hirsch effekt: easily an AOTY contender, this is just them basically keeping up the same level of quality they've previously adhered to while still sounding fresh and creative as heck. i don't know if this is quite their best, it's about on the same level as Agnosie and maybe a slot higher but not quite at Anamnesis' level. But heck. What does it all matter. I'd put every one of their albums between the 8.5-9.5 range and scoring a very solid 9 even once is an impressive feat by itself. the three song run at the start is easily my favorite part but the rest doesn't disappoint either. the last two tracks are maybe the weakest - lysios is unsurprisingly a bit too drawn out at points - first five minutes can be a bit one-note and the song coming to a halt at the 10 minute mark for a bit breaks up the pace a bit too much as well, and the last song doesn't feel quite satisfying as a finale like datorie does on anamnesis. but hell. that's nitpicking.
lorde: this is such a different album from pure heroine but it's still pretty dang good. a lot of the singles ended up being my favorite tracks even if i wasn't too hot on them at first, though i think the absolute highlight of the album is the stretch from the louvre thru hard feelings - the last of which may just be her best track, and liability isn't far behind either, really beautiful stuff. a few tracks i'm not huge on as a whole - homemade dynamite and loveless are both pretty lacking in substance - and a few tracks i half like, half meh - writer in the dark, supercut, sober II - but overall still a damn fine pop record
white ward: the big issue i have with this is that the songs feel like they're lacking in identity a little bit, even with repeated listens i can only really identify a few parts of each track on their own, aside from the short all-jazz interlude. but holy hell. the sound of this record. is just wonderful. some of the best-integrated sax metal i've heard yet and with a creative spark to keep it instrumentally interesting throughout. some electronic vibes, a lot of black metal influence, it all meshes well to make a unique but cohesive album. definitely still wanna keep spinning this one a while yet
as always since it's the first set of albums i ended up handpicking a few of the ones i was most excited about and they definitely delivered. can't say i'm gonna be quite so positive in my next batch of these reviews because malina is among them and it has as of yet not grown on me much at all since my first listen. a few tracks have gotten worse, even. so look out for that