The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Posts by Ellie Wolf

REVIEW: Lana Del Rey – ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ (Polydor / Interscope)

Never before have Lana Del Rey’s various aesthetics sounded more genuine, and in service of a singular sentiment, than on ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’

REVIEW: Two Door Cinema Club – ‘False Alarm’ (Prolifica / P.I.A.S.)

Two Door Cinema Club’s fourth album ‘False Alarm’ sees them effortlessly turn the same indie-pop bop-along tricks – but it becomes grating after a short time.

REVIEW: Yeasayer – ‘Erotic Reruns’ (Yeasayer)

They were so bizarre when they emerged back in 2007, but Yeasayer are losing their edge with every passing album in 2019 on ‘Erotic Reruns’.

REVIEW: Holly Herndon – ‘PROTO’ (4AD)

Meshing her avant-garde and pop sensibilities into a coherent and striking insight on AI learning, ‘Proto’ is another incredible album by Holly Herndon.

REVIEW: Nick Murphy – ‘Run Fast Sleep Naked’ (Downtown / Future Classic)

Having dropped his Chet Faker moniker five years ago, Nick Murphy finally returns with a reinvention of sorts in ‘Run Fast Sleep Naked’.

CLASSIC ’90s: Nas – ‘Illmatic’

Arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time, Nas’ 1994 debut ‘Illmatic’ is a perfect distillation of the genre’s essence.

REVIEW: Weyes Blood – ‘Titanic Rising’ (Sub Pop)

Natalie Mering’s fourth Weyes Blood album ‘Titanic Rising’ is a significant leap forwards, an exercise in the application of nostalgic influences to create something thrilling, moving and contemporary.

CLASSIC ’80s: De La Soul – ‘3 Feet High And Rising’

One of the greatest monuments to hip-hop’s golden age of the late Eighties, De La Soul’s colourful and idiosyncratic 1989 debut ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ remains seminal.

REVIEW: Beirut – ‘Gallipoli’ (4AD)

Zach Condon’s latest Beirut album ‘Gallipoli’ finds him failing to re-capture the enthusiasm of his early efforts, but not maturing enough as a songwriter to move on either.

REVIEW: The 1975 – ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ (Dirty Hit / Polydor)

Listening to The 1975 trying to actively forge an intelligent, overarching statement in an era when sincerity has long since died makes ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ arguably the most relevant pop album this decade.