Critical Thinking


Critical Thinking

Album ∙ Alternative ∙ 2025

Manic Street Preachers

Fifteen albums in, the Welsh icons retain all their grace and incisive wit.

Listen on Apple Music

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Emperor's New Clothes

Image
The Emperor's New Clothes Album ∙ Rap ∙ 2025 Raekwon There’s aging like fine wine, and then there’s Raekwon. The Wu-Tang Clan legend’s solo debut,  Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… , is rightfully revered as one of the greatest rap albums of all time, a benchmark release for the mafioso rap that so many other MCs would attempt to emulate in the decades that followed. But aside from that, his albums from the late 2000s forward unlocked a sharper curatorial ear and are largely more consistent than his works that preceded them. Early Wu-Tang music had an indispensable feeling, and the rapper known as The Chef has found ways to recreate it without allowing it to feel stale. The Emperor’s New Clothes  finds Raekwon delivering more of the lucid street raps that make him great: crystal clear portraiture of characters down to the details of their clothing or the amount of money in their pockets, fluid storytelling, and popping shit while depicting a life of luxury. He’s strongest here while f...
Open Here»

Full Time Job

Image
Full Time Job Album ∙ Worldwide ∙ 2024 Phyno With   Full Time Job , seasoned Nigerian MC Phyno resumes his role as cultural flag-bearer and dons the air of elder statesman. Wielding intergenerational and cross-cultural collaborations, Phyno tasks himself with the mission of a global ambassador. At the heart of this fifth studio album is both an unyielding dedication to the craft and a desire to punctuate moments of gratitude, joy, love, and accomplishment with authentic cultural expression. As the project traverses these and other emotions, the artist christened Chibuzo Nelson Azubuike highlights his sonic inventiveness through the album’s invitees. Building on the Afroswing explorations of yesteryear, Phyno reaches across the pond for an array of styles served up by Chip, ArrDee, and the collective NSG. Closer to home, frequent collaborator Flavour joins the homegrown contingent of Cheque, FAVE, Burna Boy, and Johnny Drille in crafting sounds drawn from across the Afrobeats songbo...
Open Here»

Veronica Electronica

Image
Veronica Electronica Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025 Madonna During the extra-long recording process of her 1998 magnum opus, Madonna came up with an alter ego drawn from her confirmation name—a character she felt so strongly she nearly named the album after it, though ultimately she decided on  Ray of Light . Her entrancing seventh album introduced electronica to the American mainstream and reignited the relevance of the 39-year-old new mother at a time when pop music was trending teenage and perky. It was a pivotal moment for the icon both spiritually and creatively, and she’s often cited the record as her proudest work. Back then, she planned to follow up the original album with a companion disc of harder-hitting remixes, though the project was ultimately sidelined due to  Ray of Light ’s runaway success. (The boundary-pushing original would become one of the best-selling albums by a woman of all time and earn Madonna three Grammys, including Best Pop Album.) More than two and a half de...
Open Here»

Damaged Thoughts

Image
Damaged Thoughts Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Bay Swag Bay Swag has tangentially been related to the rap game since he was a young boy, but his career took off in earnest in 2024 when he was featured on Cash Cobain’s New York City takeover hit, “Fisherrr.” Hip-hop devotees will also know Bay from another source: His father is Lloyd “Bay Lloyd” McKenzie, a legendary New York rap figure who has been incarcerated since 2017. It was about this time that his son began rapping, and on Bay Swag’s 2025 LP,  Damaged Thoughts , he goes about forging his own identity while still paying homage to the person he most wishes was by his side. On the Meek Mill-assisted “Seventeen,” Swag quickly establishes the way he operates in the game, spitting, “I don’t just think for self, I put on the whole damn team.” Elsewhere, the Queens native continues to help pioneer the sexy drill subgenre he helped galvanize, like on “Billie Jean,” which features a link-up with fellow New York mainstay Sheff G. ...
Open Here»

The Art of Loving

Image
The Art of Loving Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025 Olivia Dean   ثمانية App ∙ Entertainment ∙ 2025 Thmanyah, LLC Thmanyah is the platform for the best Arabic content. Films, docuseries, and entertainment shows created with heart and produced with intent. And it’s the exclusive hub to catch Saudi football championships live: the Saudi Super Cup, Roshn Saudi League, King’s Cup, and Yelo League. All streamed as you’ve never seen before, at the highest broadcast quality in their history, with features making their debut in Saudi football. Thmanyah features for mobile and smart TVs: • Inside the Match: real-time, in-depth stats for Saudi championships, updated moment by moment. • Crowd & commentary control: set the perfect balance between the commentator and stadium atmosphere, or let the crowd noise take over. • The best Arabic content library: 30+ interests, from sports and culture to comedy and lifestyle. • All the highlights: key moments, match recaps, and goals from Roshn Saudi League, t...
Open Here»

Aymen

Image
Aymen Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Aymen Die Hood im Blut: Ein Debüt zwischen Straßenrealität und Starpotenzial
Open Here»

Less Trouble

Image
Less Trouble Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025 Shekhinah In 2021, Shekhinah made a sharp pivot from the dreamy, optimistic soul pop that had defined her output up until that point. That was  Trouble in Paradise , a 12-track project filled with songs about the gloomy spectacle of grief, the crippling anxiety brought on by insecurities, and the shifting landscape of her romantic life. The Durban singer is as inspired on her third album,  Less Trouble , finding riveting new ways to ruminate on matters of the heart. Arriving four years after  Trouble in Paradise ,  Less Trouble  is similarly intimate and rich with details about the inner workings of Shekhinah’s emotions. Still, as the album title suggests, she’s low on bandwidth for emotional landmines and the inconveniences they produce. Across  Less Trouble , Shekhinah transforms her innermost thoughts on romance and attraction into sharp commentaries on modern dating dynamics while reinforcing her desire for clarity and no...
Open Here»