Hello, hi. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted. I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and talked to my audience directly, so this could get really messy. But as some of you have noticed, my release cadence has been a bit hit or miss lately, and I think it’s time to tell y’all what’s going on.

Sigh, where do I start? First, I want to apologize. I know I’ve been MIA recently, but I’ve been in severe autistic burnout. There’s more to it, obviously. But I’ve just really had a hard time getting my thoughts together and putting pen to paper. As of right now, I currently have maybe half a dozen articles that are all partially written, none are completed or coherent in any way possible (including other drafts of this exact post).

My plan is to go back to those eventually and get them completed once I’m not so burnt out. I’d love to get them done as soon as possible. There are some serious hot takes in there that y’all are not ready for.

But that’s just part one. The main reason I’m taking a break is that I’m currently going through a divorce. Those who know me personally already know this. But this is my first time saying this publicly. I very wrongly assumed I’d be able to maintain work throughout the process.

I’m sure it’s noticeable through the few posts I’ve managed to get out over the last few months. I strive to put out the best work I could possibly produce. If anything wasn’t up to par lately, I am sorry.

How long am I taking a break for? That, I’m not quite so sure. I would love to get writing again as soon as possible. But I need to focus on not being burnt out. My hope is to be back sometime in December. To at least get my annual top et. al posts out. I’ve always enjoyed writing those posts. They are a lot of effort, but a lot of fun, and y’all really enjoy them.

Of course, I want to thank all of my subscribers, both paid and free. Y’all have given me the space to grow and learn. The space to express my thoughts and opinions. For all of you, thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me.

Y’all have given me constructive criticism where needed and, in many cases, helped me explore new music. Have all of them been a banger? No. But that’s to be expected. We all have our tastes and preferences. I’d rather y’all recommend something and I not like it versus never hearing it in the first place, y’know?

While I’m away, I’d like to open up the floodgates. Please shoot me an email or leave a comment on what you’d like to see next. It doesn’t have to be a specific album. It could be a topic you want me to explore or a product you want me to review. Please let me know!

But for real, thank you. Thank you all for supporting me through the last two years. It’s been a journey. While that journey is currently on pause, I look forward to going back to the regularly scheduled content soon.

- Peter

Lots of folks, including myself, really loved AirPods Pro 2. They were great, especially as an audio enthusiast. Was it the most balanced in-ear monitor (IEM) in the world? No. But it was the combination of features and decent sound quality that really made me fall in love with them.

So with that being said, I was cautiously optimistic about AirPods Pro 3. Especially considering the language Apple used during its announcement of the product. The company specifically called out "better bass," and that got me really concerned.

With that caution in place, I did not optimistically pre-order the AirPods Pro 3 like most others. I waited until after launch and have spent the last week with the earbuds, and boy do I have a lot of thoughts.

Sound Quality

Let’s tackle the elephant in the room. The new sound signature is problematic as an audio nerd. The tonal balance is more V-shaped and has notable peaks in the treble that cause a lot of harshness in the upper frequencies. On the other side of the spectrum? The bass, most notably the sub and mid bass, are boosted as well, giving it an overall warmer tone compared to a slightly warm and dark AirPods Pro 2.

But there is a saving grace here. The mids (middle frequencies) are near perfection. It’s just a shame you can’t really enjoy them (stock) as they are buried by massive boosts in the bass and treble regions.

The best way I can describe its sound signature is very dark with a hint of treble peak. Maybe not classic Beats level of bass, as some have described it, but a few notches too much for my personal taste.

These are my subjective opinions, of course. Sadly, Apple’s headphone accommodations settings can’t fix this sound signature. Specifically, the treble peak. That’s forever stuck with this generation of AirPods Pro. None of Apple’s headphone accommodation settings tones down the treble, sadly. Of course, I could always apply a parametric EQ through something like Roon, but that’s application based. I’d rather Apple expand on headphone accommodations and give us full EQ that applies to the AirPods themselves. That way, we’re not reliant on application-side EQ or a system that only applies to Apple’s own devices (headphone accommodations).

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is exactly why even a 2-band "bass" and "treble" EQ would do wonders. I get not having parametric EQ, as that might be seen as "too advanced" for the average user. But unfortunately, the tonal balance really turned me off this generation. I greatly prefer the sound signature of the AirPods Pro 2.

Beyond tone, the AirPods Pro 3 also seem to have a lower max volume. Does that matter when you’re playing stereo content? Unlikely. But the extra overhead from AirPods Pro 2 was great for when I’d use them for Dolby Atmos/Spatial audio content (both for music and video). Surround sound audio tends to have much more dynamic range, which equates to a much lower noise floor. Which then means I’d want to turn the volume up in louder environments.

With AirPods Pro 2, my comfortable listening volume was around 55-60%. Now, with AirPods Pro 3, I’m up at around 70-75%. This is regardless of using headphone accommodations or not.

Beyond tonal balance, the AirPods Pro 3 are overall a better sounding set of earbuds. The biggest improvement is its soundstage. With or without headphone accommodations, the extra spaciousness is notable. Not quite "over-ear headphones" level like Apple claims, but it is an improvement over the outgoing generation. I definitely notice the more boxed in sound when moving between AirPods Pro 2 and 3.

The other thing would be overall detail retrieval. We’re still talking about 256kbps AAC Bluetooth compression (although one could argue Bluetooth compression isn’t a problem in the environments you’d use AirPods in anyway). What do I mean by that? Cause yes, there’s soundstage, but I think there’s a slight boost in dynamic range that’s helping with the clarity and detail of the buds.

And that’s a huge compliment because if tonal balance is the only issue? That can at least be temporarily fixed with app-based EQ.

Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode

This review won’t be all negative, I promise. Because beyond sound quality, there’s a lot to love. First things first. Active noise cancellation (ANC). Talk about a very obvious improvement. What kind of wizardry is this?

While AirPods Pro 2’s ANC was really good, one of my biggest complaints was primarily wind noise, whether that came from being outside, an AC unit, or purely noise from the propeller on a plane. Those still cut through a decent amount on the outgoing generation. With AirPods Pro 3, this is fixed almost entirely. You still get a slight hum, but it is very quiet.

Voices and the human vocal range have also been silenced a substantial amount. With the previous generation, if you were standing next to a group of people having a conversation, a lot of that would bleed through. Similarly, if you were in a room where someone was watching TV, the same thing would transpire. It’s still there with AirPods Pro 3, but the amount of noise it cuts is greatly improved.

Transparency mode, on the other hand? It’s a bit of a mixed bag. On first impressions, there was an artificialness to the transparency mode compared to AirPods Pro 2. It’s great in the sense that it helps with hearing human voices. But on the other hand, it’s awful when there isn’t anyone talking because it presents an unnaturalness to what was previously a top-tier transparency mode.

In my subjective opinion, I think it partially has to do with the new tuning. That bumped up treble sounds like it’s carrying over to the transparency mode. It’s to the point where I strongly believe this has got to be a bug and not a feature.

Comfort and Ear Tips

This is arguably the most important thing about headphones or earbuds. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It doesn’t matter how a set of cans sound if you can’t wear them for more than 10 minutes. Thankfully, for me every single generation of AirPods Pro have been comfortable for me and AirPods Pro 3 are the first set where that comes into question.

Forgoing the medium ear tips as always, I went ahead and popped in the large ear tips and those fit decently well in my ears, just like the previous generation. When Apple announced another ear tip size, I was really hoping for an extra large size. That was not the case. Instead, Apple doubled down on the small size by introducing an XXS size. Shame, but the large size seal my ears well enough.

One reason (of many) that had me stuck to AirPods Pro over other true wireless earbuds was the silicone tips. I was cautiously interested in the so-called "foam infused" ear tips. About a week later, they seemed to settle. I find the old pure silicone tips much more comfortable. The new foam tips are comfortable for about the first 30 minutes or so, but become slightly uncomfortable beyond that.

The new earbud design does help AirPods Pro stay in your ear if you had an issue with them staying in your ears in the first place. I never did, so it’s effectively a wash. But I definitely feel them sitting deeper in my ears.

Battery Life

Similar to the ANC improvements, battery life is notable from day one. Yes, there’s a level of battery degradation on my old pair of USB-C AirPods Pro 2, but the new set will absolutely last you longer.

I was able to clock 9 hours and 45 minutes in pure ANC mode. Never did I switch over to transparency mode during this test. That’s a long time and far exceeds Apple’s 8 hour battery claim.

Transparency mode pushes that even further. I’m effectively able to use the AirPods Pro 3 all day in transparency mode and not have to worry about them dying.

The only real downside to battery life is with the charging case. That goes from 30 to 24 hours and all that really means is that I’m charging the case more frequently. That’s a bummer as the case this generation got slightly, but not noticeably bigger in every dimension.

Conclusion

AirPods Pro 3 weren’t a home run as I and probably many others were expecting. Beyond tonal balance, the AirPods Pro 3 are a substantial improvement in the sound quality department. That’s a big fucking one, though. Combine that with the slightly less natural sounding transparency mode and I’m not quite sure how to feel.

The problem with the AirPods Pro 3’s tonal balance is that Apple swung too much into the V-shaped sound signature. The AirPods Pro 2 were great because while not completely neutral, there was only a slight bass boost and were a bit dark in tone. That was perfectly fine and inoffensive. Especially when you were in a loud environment, the extra bass helped.

With the AirPods Pro 3, there’s too much bass to the point where in those same loud environments, there’s still too much bass. The treble? I hate to say it, but I’m gonna have to give Apple some leeway here. We as humans are terrible at hearing the upper frequencies. We’re all over the map. And that’s not even considering hearing loss. Humans are just bad at hearing terrible consistently.

To me, there’s a slight harshness to the treble that wasn’t present in AirPods Pro 2. But for others, you might not hear the harshness on the AirPods Pro 3, but may hear it on the older 2s.

With all that said, sound is hugely personal and varied. That’s why EQ is a thing. I’m beating the dead horse again here, but the entire AirPods lineup could benefit from some sort of EQ customizability. Again, that’s a huge compliment as every other part of the sound is a notable upgrade.

Apple’s adaptive EQ is already great at ensuring a consistent sound across most, if not all, ear shapes. Apple also applies some level of the Equal Loudness curve where the bass and treble are boosted at lower volumes for a more consistent sound.

I’m not asking for a parametric EQ, that’s never coming to AirPods, I know this already (although it would be very cool). But can we at least have what Sonos has and have a generic "bass" and "treble" slider? That would, at the very least, solve for AirPods Pro 3 in my book. Because the midrange on these earbuds is perfect. Just let me turn down bass and treble a smidge.

Beyond sound quality, the ANC and battery life improvements are excellent. Comfort and fit took a few days to adjust, but they’re equal if not better than the outgoing generation. AirPods Pro 3 very obviously block out more sound than the 2s and last substantially longer as well.

To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. I use my AirPods Pro 2 everyday for at least several hours a day. They are part of my every day carry. For now, I don’t think those will be replaced by the AirPods Pro 3 or any other earbuds, for that matter. I’ll happily continue using my AirPods Pro 2 until maybe AirPods Pro 4 or some other earbuds that catch my attention appear.

Also, one last note: the clank for the charging case is substantially better with AirPods Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro 3. The 3s have a higher pitched, cheaper sound.

This album was actually recommended to me by a reader who wanted to remain anonymous. So to you, thank you. I’m always looking to discover new music and not stay within my own comfort zone. Things might not always work out, but I’m almost always wanting to take the risk.

And that’s the truth. I even checked my library just to make sure. I’m going into this completely dark. As far as my records show, I’ve yet to hear her voice or anything she’s ever been featured in. Both you and I are in for a treat, hopefully.

So, without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full album review for Emily Burns’ Die Happy.

Die Happy

Oh wow, we’re kicking things off with the title track. I was not expecting that at all. Hopefully, we’re starting off with a banger?

Okay. It’s a ballad. I can vibe with that. Not what I was expecting (if anything), but maybe it’s setting the tone for the album?

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Imma keep it 💯 with y’all. Short n’ Sweet is the first Sabrina Carpenter album I didn’t immediately fall in love with. And not only did I not fall head over heels for it, but it became an album where I would often skip a lot of the tracks when I’m doing a library shuffle.

For those who know me, that’s huge fucking news. Because before that album, I (probably annoyingly so), was easily one of the biggest Sabrina fans out there. Every single, every cover, every movie, TV show, and interview. It didn’t matter, I knew everything about her work.

I’m not making any promises yet, but I’m really hoping this new release brings me back into the fandom.

So, as always, without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full album review of Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend.

Manchild

I heard this track when it was first released, but don’t remember much of it. The way I listen to music nowadays means that it really hasn’t been played ever since it was released.

I do love that the album opens up with a voice note because after what I mentioned in the opener of this review? Oh boy, indeed.

I love how tight that snare, hi-hat, and kick drum are. That’s in stark contrast to the toms that come later in the track and that are spread out. Those give more of a spacious vibe, panning between the left and right channels.

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Imma keep it 💯 with y’all. I think Reneé Rap is cool, but I hardly, if ever, play any of her music. I’ve listened to a decent chunk of what she’s released in the past, but it’s hardly ever in my rotation.

I’m just setting expectations. I’d love for that to change, but it might not happen. And that’s a shame, cause I genuinely do love her vocals and adored her performance in the Mean Girls movie.

With all that said, here’s my first reaction and full review of Reneé Rap’s BITE ME.

Leave Me Alone

Kicking things off with a sassy beat, I love it. The call and response is 👩🏼‍🍳😘, in combination with the distorted electric guitar and bass groove.

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Yes, we’re back with yet another Hayley Williams album review. This time, we’re taking it all the way back to her second solo studio album. Yeah, you read that right, today we’re gonna be taking a look at Hayley Williams’ FLOWERS for VASES / descansos.

I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest Paramore fan, but I know all the hits plus a few deep cuts. All that to say, I have a pretty decent knowledge of her work and am looking forward to giving it a listen.

So without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of Hayley Williams’ FLOWERS for VASES / descansos.

NOTE: I’ve heard the second track on the album, 'My Limb' before. It’s in my library, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard it.

First Thing To Go

Right off the rip with an acoustic guitar? If this is gonna be the theme for the album, I will be in for a pleasant surprise.

I’m loving the plucked guitar in the pre-chorus. And no, I’m not crying, you are. We’re already at that stage? This album is gonna be a rollercoaster.

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I’ve heard exactly one track from Daisy the Great, ever, and that track is The Record Player Song. So when I saw that the band was releasing a new album soon, it piqued my interest.

To say I’m a fan of hers would be an overstatement. While I’ve heard the one track before, it’s not a song I play frequently. But it’s a great song, in my humble opinion.

With that said, I’m very excited to give this album a listen. I have no idea what to expect, which means it should be a blast. So without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of Daisy the Great’s The Rubber Teeth Talk.

Dog

Like I mentioned in the intro, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I’m loving the soft-rock/folk/pop vibe already. I’m digging the muted tonality of the track. The pre-chorus/chorus harmonies are excellent. The vocal mix overall is fantastic.

I’m still being surprised. I was not expecting a guitar solo after that first chorus.

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If I’m being real, Solar Power was a flop album. I’m a huge fan of Lorde’s work. I’d go as far as to say that Melodrama is on my top 10 albums of all time. That album is near perfection: an absolute masterpiece with no skips.

So when I say I’m stoked for her next album, I really do mean it. I’m hoping she can rebound from Solar Power. But at the same time, I can’t really blame her. Solar Power came out during the pandemic and for that, it was a pretty decent album. Not the best, not the worst. It was okay.

I even attended the Solar Power world tour. It was great, for the time. Again, the album had a time and place... which was the pandemic.

I have high hopes for Virgin. From the few singles I’ve heard, it sounds like it’s going to be a really solid album.

So without further ado, here are my first reactions and full review of Lorde’s Virgin. (Disclosure: I’ve heard Hammer, What Was That, and Man Of The Year before the full album review as they were singles.)

Hammer

I love the vocoder effect being used at the beginning of the track. It’s unique and hopefully sets the tone for the album.

The vocoder continuing into the first verse, with only a soft synth being added is a very interesting choice. Likewise, the grand piano for the pre-chorus is excellent. I’m already loving the new Lorde sound and I’m only on the first track.

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With everything going on in the world, I think it’s fitting that I take a step back and review an old, (maybe underrated), legendary album. This week, Michael Jackson’s HIStory: Past, Present, Future - Book I turns 30. In a very sad kind of way, this album holds up exceptionally well.

Unlike my other album reviews, this one will be different. This one comes from the perspective of someone who’s listened to this album hundreds if not thousands of times within their lifetime.

But don’t you worry, it’ll still be through the lens of a disabled audiophile. So without further ado, here’s my review of Michael Jackson’s HIStory: Past, Present, Future - Book I. (I will be skipping the first CD/volume, as that’s just previously recorded hits. I will be focusing on the second CD/volume in this review.)

Scream (featuring Janet Jackson)

This track does two iconic things: be the only track that MJ and his sister Janet have ever collaborated on officially; and two: still hold the record for the most expensive short film recorded, period.

Opening the album with this emo-rock track sets the stage for the rest of the album. MJ is announcing to the world that he’s tired of its shit. So much so that, It makes me wanna scream.

The Janet Jackson feature was perfect. The sibling pair riff off of each other exceptionally well, filling in the vocal pockets when necessary. This track is also the first time we’ve heard Michael swear in a song (and it wouldn’t be the last).

The beat demonstrates Michael in his experimental era. The snare just oozes, "Hey, go out and start banging on shit," which many producers have mentioned over the years.

They Don’t Care About Us

Unfortunately, no track has held up as well as this one on this album. With all the injustice going on in the world, I can safely say, Michael had it right all along, even 30 years ago. They don’t really care about us.

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Your pop girlie is back and ready to tackle another pop album. But before I start this week, I wanted to say... finally. I’m finally in a space where I’m mostly caught up on my backlog of albums I’ve been wanting to get around to. Now, I’m at a place where I can more broadly start taking suggestions from the community on what album I should look at next.

For this week, however, I’m looking at an album that came up on my Tidal suggested new albums. Usually, that list consists of albums from artists in my favorite artists list or artists that have appeared in my library.

That’s not the case today, this one is completely new to me. I’ve never heard of the artist before so y’all should be in for a treat. Let me know if you know of her or hell, if she’s your favorite artist!

So without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of yeule’s Evangelic Girl is a Gun.

Tequila Coma

I love the distorted drum kit. I’m not certain, but it does sound like a bit crusher was used. The bass is pretty cool, too. Practically sitting in the upper bass range, with no mid- or sub-bass frequencies. The bass is effectively invisible to the listener.

As I mentioned above, this is my first time listening to her music and I have to say, those layered vocals for the first verse are excellent.

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A lot of you are probably surprised at what album I’m looking at this week. However, those who know me personally know that I have a soft spot for EDM. It’s not a big spot, but it’s a spot nonetheless.

With that being said, it’s been a long time since I’ve delved into a Skrillex album. And even then, I believe I’ve only ever been an avid fan of his work. So to set expectations from the get go, I don’t expect to love every song, or even add much of it to my library.

But I’m still excited to give it a listen. Thank you Tom for the recommendations, and without further ado here’s my first reaction and full review of Skrillex’s F*CK YOU SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3.

SKRILLEX IS DEAD

Off to a great start with that fucking title, eh? Better be a banger of a track with that title.

Okay. Off to a great start. I’ve mentioned it in the past, but I absolutely love album openers. This one is no exception. Although, it’s not what I expected. It very much sends me back to my childhood when radio hosts would talk over the intro of a song.

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Here we are... again, with an artist I’ve never heard of. But thanks to various requests through social media and the excitement I’ve seen around the album when it first came out, I figured it was time to give her a listen.

When I say I’ve never heard a single track from her, it’s the truth. I have no idea what to expect, let alone what genre she might be. I am jumping into this completely blind.

So without further ado, here are my first reactions and full review of Lucy Dacus’ Forever Is A Feeling.

Calliope Prelude

I don’t think I’ve reviewed an album on my blog before that has an album opener track, but just know that I’m a sucker for them. I love it when an artist spends the time and really sets the mood.

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To be quite honest, I thought it might be a while before I heard another AURORA album. I have many other things on my list that I’ve been meaning to get around. My feelings for A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) were generally positive. But I don’t think I was expecting to really fall in love with that album in the way that I did. I play it at least once or twice a week now. It’s just an album that I vibe with on a deeper level.

So I guess I shouldn’t be too terribly surprised I’m reviewing yet another AURORA album in such a short span. But we all have our favorites I suppose and I shouldn’t assume that I’ll fall in love with this one as well. There are plenty of artists where I love just one album and not really vibe with any other.

But I’m rambling on for way too long now. Let’s get into my first reactions and full review of AURORA’s What Happened To The Heart?

Echo Of My Shadow

Wow. I’m only a minute into the track but her vocals are exceptional. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she’s definitely showing off range that I haven’t really heard from her before.

That second verse is quite spacious. I wanna say that’s a harp that gets introduced but I can’t be quite sure. But it has all of its top end cut off and much of its low end as well with a ton of reverb added. It gives it an overall luscious and intimate sound. The synth coming out of the left channel is giving similar vibes, too.

Looks like I was wrong, sounds like that’s just an acoustic guitar and its definition is slowly getting resolved as the track progresses.

Oh my god, that second chorus is to die for. That drum kit with only its low frequencies present is so good. It’s a great contrast to her vocals and the rest of the instrumentation.

The outro to this is so... angelic. I suppose it fits the title of the track as the song echoes out.

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When I last reviewed Tate McRae it was for her album THINK LATER. I highly encourage you to read it. I remember reviewing it and then about six months later thinking (ha!) to myself not only how little I played the album, but how little I remember from it at all. All I really remember are the singles and hits. Everything else hasn’t gotten much plays.

And that’s a shame because I actually find her music very enjoyable. I’ve actually had a few friends tell me how shocked they were that I don’t listen to her music super often because her music styles fit exactly the genres I listen to the most.

With that being said, I am very excited to listen to her latest release. It was actually recommended to me by my dear friend Justine.

So without further ado, here are my first reactions and full review of Tate McRae’s So Close To What.

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Miss possessive

First off, and I’m not sure if this was the case with her last album as well, but I noticed that her track titles aren’t title cased. Not that they have to be, but it stood out to me.

Strong start. I love the voice memo intro with the synth. That kick drum is absolutely killer, too. It’s taking front stage with a ton of body, but not much depth or warmth. That 808 bass fills out the bottom end quite nicely. In stark contrast to the kick drum, it has a ton of depth and warmth, filling out the sub frequencies quite nicely.

That secondary backing vocal makes for a fantastic transition between the chorus and the second verse.

The final chorus is super cool. Everything gets stripped away besides that lovely 808 bass, the claps, that secondary vocal, and of course, Tate McRae’s main vocal. It’s a risk, especially in pop music. But I’m here for it. It’s not something I was expecting, but I love it.

Great first track to start the album, in my humble opinion.

Revolving door

I gave the track a full minute before I decided. But I think it’s safe to say this song is a skip for me. Just didn’t connect.

bloodonmyhands (featuring Flo Milli)

First of all, love the title of the track. Bad for voice search? Absolutely. But it’s different and I’m all for standing out.

In that intro, I’m digging the pitched up vocals. That bass line is so deep and sub-bassy. Love it. As usual, I’m listening on headphones but I’m sure this would hit even harder on a proper speaker and sub setup.

Ooof, her harmonies near the end of the first chorus are fantastic. I love the pitch change.

I didn’t even notice that this track has a featured artist, Flo Milli. So that was a pleasant surprise. She comes in on the second verse and fills it out with a very nice rap.

This is likely one of those tracks that I like right now, but only time will tell if it has any replayability in my library.

Dear god

The vibe of this track is completely different than the first few I’ve heard thus far. This has a more R&B vibe, and I’m here for it. It’s a certified head bopper, that’s for sure. Her vocal pacing is excellent throughout the first verse. Very stabby.

I love the breakdown beat in the second verse. It’s subtle and I’d wager most people would miss it. But it’s slightly stripped back compared to the first verse and chorus. I also love the kick drum on this track. It’s a peculiar thing to say, but I like the slight reverb added to it.

Her chorus vocals are to die for. What I’m learning here is I’m a huge fan of her vocal range, especially in the higher octaves.

The breakdown beat comes back for the bridge, but it’s slightly different from the verses. For the lack of a better term, I love how quietly chaotic the bridge is. Of course, there’s structure here. That’s modern pop music. But it sounds like there’s no structure and that’s even more impressive.

And again, I love the unique final chorus/outro. Seems to be something she loves to do.

Purple lace bra

Those strings in the intro. Color me hooked. I’d love to hear this track live purely for that reason.

Another certified head bopper, the beat is absolutely killer. The beat plus strings though? Yeah, pinch me cause I think I’m in heaven. Specifically, for the lack of a better term, I love how gritty the drum kit is on this track. It blends well because the strings are so smooth.

Omg, the bridge is great. She says, Would you hate me more if I whispered in your ear? and does exactly that.

This track is a perfect example of a little goes a long way. I can confidently say it’s gonna make my top three and we’re only five songs in. It’s just that good.

Sports car

The groove on this track is chef’s kiss. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. My personalized mix on Tidal kept recommending this song to me and I had to keep skipping it every time it came up because I was waiting to listen to it for the first time. Justine, you were right. This song is a banger.

The whispered chorus is very good. Again, Tate McRae’s vocal range is underrated. But more than that, her production is too. I love what her and her team are doing with the vocal production choices. That did not go unnoticed.

Not much to say but is it another top three song? Yeah, absolutely.

Signs

Yeah, it’s another one of those tracks. I’m sorry. This one is gonna be a skip for me. I gave this one a minute as well and I was just not vibing with it at all.

It’s okay. I’d rather be honest than say I loved a song even though I didn’t hear it in its entirety and it’s not going to be added to my library.

I know love (featuring The Kid LAROI)

Starting things off very strong as the beat is killer here. It’s interesting that they’ve decided to blend the kick drum and the bass guitar starting in the first chorus. Not that that’s never done before, I’ve done it in songs I’ve mixed as well.

The Kid LAROI’s feature is perfect. No notes, seriously. Right smack in the middle of the album too? Yeah. No notes.

The vocal chops near the middle of the song between the both of them are so playful and fun.

This track won’t make any lists of mine but it’s a pretty solid song overall.

Like I do/It’s ok I’m ok/No I’m not in love

I hope there aren’t too many more of these, but this one is a skip for me as well. Just like the others, I gave it a fair shot. About 90 seconds of listening, or first verse plus first chorus. And it just did not connect for me.

It’s another one of those cases where I was not a fan of a few songs in a row. Sorry.

Means I care

Her vocal chops at the beginning are fantastic and so are the claps in the first verse. The subtle hi-hats in the pre-chorus are great, too. Very low in the mix and low-pass filtered out the wazoo.

I love the relative simplicity of the production here. For the most part, it’s just that low clap, hi-hats, synth, bass, and her vocals. Nothing really changes. But it doesn’t need to. The choruses add a snare, but that’s pretty much it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Pop music doesn’t need to be complex. This track is a perfect example of this.

Awesome way to close out the song, too. She’s reintroducing her vocal chops from the beginning.

Greenlight/2 hands

Hate to do it to her again, but here’s another batch of songs I skipped. Same deal as before. I gave both tracks the first 90 seconds and neither really pulled me in.

We have two tracks left (one being a bonus track). Hopefully, we can end it on a high note.

Siren sounds (bonus)

Oh yay, a bonus track. That kick drum is killer. What it lacks in definition (mid- and upper-bass) it makes up for in its sub-bassy-ness. So good. Same goes for that snare. I’d be willing to bet that 99% of people miss it, but that snare is hiding within that kick drum. It’s not in your face, it’s not present, nothing. It’s mixed and buried super well within that kick drum.

That carries through the chorus as well. The kick drum is slightly more notable, but the snare drum is still mixed exceptionally well and is extremely low in the mix.

The bridge in this track is absolutely killer. The term is escaping me right now, but it’s the equivalent of a vocal chop, but for the synth. That’s what’s happening here and it’s done very well.

Nostalgia

Is this the only ballad on the album? I’m okay with that. And I’m perfectly okay with it being the last track on the album, too.

What a beautiful way to end an album. I genuinely have no notes for it. The track is absolutely lovely.

Conclusion

This one was a rough one for your homie. But still, the batting average is over 50%. I feel as though there was a period near the middle where I was just skipping songs left and right. And that sucks, always. With that being said, there were definitely some good moments on the album as well so it wasn’t all bad.

Will this album make any of my lists at the end of the year? No. But it’s a solid pop album. What I’ll remember most about it is its interesting production choices. There was a lot of that. A lot of surprise and delight moments in that regard.

So Close To What solidifies this one fact for me. That I’m just an avid Tate McRae fan, and that’s okay. I will never be a super fan of her music. But she makes great music that resonates with me some of the time.

NOTE: This reaction and review was completed after listening to Tate McRae’s So Close To What on the Tidal desktop application (24-bit, 48 kHz) with an active Tidal subscription.

Alrighty, let’s keep er goin’. Back at with part two of my SZA SOS reaction and full review.

If you missed the first part of my reaction, you can read it here.

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Ghost in the Machine (featuring Phoebe Bridgers)

I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Phoebe Bridgers, I have a few of her songs. It’s been a while but I’ve tried getting into her music before but was largely unsuccessful. That’s a lot of words to effectively say this could go either way and I don’t really have a leg in this race.

The plucked guitars at the beginning are great, though. Definitely more banjo than acoustic guitar, but they’ve had their highs cut off and gives it a very home-y feeling.

I love SZA’s vocal pacing here. I’ve only heard the first verse, but it’s very good. Her chorus vocals are exceptional. I love the use of reverb there. Phoebe Bridgers bridge is great. I forgot how much passion and grittiness is in her voice.

The voice note at the end is lovely. Just adds to the ambiance that I loved so much about this track.

F2F

I love how forward and treble-y that acoustic guitar is in the intro. Oh shit, we’re getting a punk-pop track. Let’s go.

The first chorus demonstrates that exceptionally well. It’s definitely giving early 2000s punk-pop, especially since the track (thus far) has a very compressed sound. The kick drum and bass are bottoming out like crazy and the treble after the first few seconds of the song is cut significantly.

This track is a certified head bopper, full stop. Admittedly, it might be because of nostalgia but I don’t care. It’s so good. It’s definitely a top three track for me on this album.

Nobody Gets Me

An acoustic ballad? I’m here for that, too. So far, I’ve appreciated how diverse this album is. It seems like she’s going for an "there’s something for everyone" approach and I can’t say I hate it.

Her backing vocals during the chorus are exceptional. So is the if-you-blink-twice-you’ll-miss-it bass here. It’s very low in the mix and blends exceptionally well with the acoustic guitar.

I’m not sobbing, you are. Different situations, but I definitely feel this track in my soul. Feeling left out and feeling like Nobody Gets Me. I relate to this so much.

The soft ending is just the icing on the cake. Another absolute banger of a track.

Conceited

Love the heavy bass there, so much sub bass. I probably say this a lot, but this track would absolutely slap on a proper speaker setup. I, however, am listening on headphones. That sub-30-ish Hz bass is killer. My headphones don’t quite do it justice.

Sadly, this track is a skip for me, I think. That sub-bass production is absolute perfection, but I couldn’t connect with the rest of the track.

Special

I love the soft opening with the muted acoustic guitar and the treble-y synth.

I’m not crying, you’re crying. This track is so incredibly sad. If it means anything, I think you’re special and are not a loser, at all. The complete opposite. But what they did to you? That’s fucked up.

Yeah, I just love how comforting and soft this song is. Nothing too sub bassy, and nothing on the top end either. It’s a great track.

Too Late / Far

Hate to say it, but this track was another skip. Same reasons as before, just couldn’t connect to it. I didn’t find the track terribly interesting during my listen. Nothing really stood out, sorry.

I’ve never combined tracks like this, but I had the same feeling with Far as well. I just could not connect to this track.

Shirt

Oooo, that bass line in the intro is fantastic. So much definition and detail there. I love the hi-hats, too, with its high-pass filter to cut off much of the top end. And then her vocals split the difference and cut that midrange? So good.

It’s the first track in quite a few tracks, but this is a certified head bopper. I find myself tapping my foot to this track.

This track is a perfect example of why sometimes a simple production is all you need. I’m in love with it.

Open Arms (featuring Travis Scott)

This track has a slow burn to it. I’m about a minute in and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. It’ll probably be one of those tracks that need a second listen.

For now, I’m staying neutral. I’m not sure if I love it, but I don’t necessarily think I hate it. I will say though, that Travis Scott rap is very good. I’ve admittedly not heard much of his music, but I feel like his feature on this track felt very natural.

I’m not going to claim I know the significance of what’s being played through the last 45 seconds of the track. Not at all. If anything, please enlighten me. But I think it’s a cool sample to close out the track.

I Hate U

Killer beat. I’ll add this track to my library purely for the beat. The pre-chorus is excellent, her layered vocal harmonies are so good here. I love that her main vocal is fairly dry, and her harmonies not only add that reverb layer but are EQ’d to give it that midrange forward effect.

The chorus vocals take on a completely different effect. It’s her usual vocal, but with a backing vocal with little effects added. Very satisfying.

Yeah, this could easily be in the top three tracks on the album for me. It’s a certified head bopper. I think what I’m figuring out while listening to this album is that I’m becoming attached to some of her more simple tracks.

Good Days

That intro sequence is... wow. I heard the first kick and was expecting another, but it never came. Very ambient, I think is the best way to describe it. I like that that chaotic energy continues into the first verse a bit.

To be honest, I got lost in the sauce on this track. I feel like I connect to this song on a spiritual level. Everything just came into place. Needless to say, I’m adding it to my library and this is easily a top two track for me.

This song is lovely in every possible sense of the word.

Forgiveless (featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard)

It’s the last track, let’s make it a great one. Yes! I straight up hip-hop track? I’ll take it. I’ve admittedly never heard of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but kicking the track off with a rap was an absolute power move and it paid off big time.

The bass is so subtle here, with it occupying a small portion of the sub bass range. That kick drum is taking most of those lower frequencies. Also, those oooh’s scattered throughout the track are a fantastic voice-as-an-instrument play.

I feel like a broken record, but her simple tracks really do resonate with me more than the more complex ones on this album. But more on that coming up in a minute.

Conclusion

Wow. It’s done. I’ve finally listened to SZA’s SOS. My feelings are mixed if it weren’t obvious. Firstly, I completely understand why this album was so popular. There are a lot of good tracks on this album.

I came into it with an open mind, and as a pop girlie I’m honestly surprised how much of the album I ended up loving. Sure, 66% is still a D grade, which isn’t great. But that only tells one part of the story.

The songs that I did end up adding to my library were absolute bangers. They were exceptionally strong. And the ones that I didn’t? Well, I can’t like everything. And just cause I didn’t like it doesn’t make it a bad song. We may just have differing tastes, and that’s okay.

With all that being said, I would still highly recommend SZA’s SOS. Even if you don’t love every single track, it’s worth a listen.

NOTE: This album reaction and review was completed after listening to SZA’s SOS on Tidal (24-bit, 44.1 and 48kHz mixed) on the Tidal desktop application with an active Tidal subscription.

Those who know me know that I have a pretty big musical gap that effectively spans the entirety of the 2000s era of music. I know the hits, but not much else.

That also means that I’ve never heard a Lady Gaga album in full. Just in bits and pieces with singles and whatever’s popular on the radio. But I’ve seen enough of my friends be excited about this album and the general hype after it came out to ignore it.

In fact, I had a different react and review planned for this week, but it’s now being sidestepped.

So, without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM.

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Disease

Vocals acknowledged. Beautiful, and I’m only six seconds into the track. I’m most certainly in for a treat. I love the slightly left panned snare drum. It is very minimal.

The intro and first verse have a very interesting sound. I wouldn’t say boring, far from it. But very flat and neutral in the sense that every instrument and vocal sounded like it was on an even playing field. It’s a very interesting production choice as someone who likes to listen to music on headphones and speakers with subjectively neutral sound profiles.

The chorus takes that same formula and cranks it up a notch. The hi-hats are sharper, and the bass digs a bit deeper (although, I would love for that bass to hit even deeper).

Speaking of bass, that bass line is killer. It goes against what I just said but I love how funky bouncy it is. I love that it’s more in your face than sub-bassy.

That Cure your disease line transitioning us from the bridge to the final chorus is to die for. So much grit and emotion in that one line. Love, love, love that.

Abracadabra

I remember this one when I saw the music video for it at The GRAMMYs. I was really into it at the time to the point I was frantically trying to Shazam it to no success.

Turns out, I needed to wait about 12 hours before it appeared on streaming. But I was fucking addicted. Again, not too familiar with Gaga’s music overall, but this song is a bop. A certified head bopper, for sure.

It definitely gives me modern 80s pop vibes. I say that in the most positive way possible because I have some nostalgia for that era of pop music. I am so here for this era of pop music. The dance pop aesthetic, the underlying synths? Yes, please.

Garden Of Eden

That kick drum is fantastic. Her music is definitely surprising and delighting me right off the rip and I honestly want it to continue because wow. I love that. Her stabby vocal pacing is exceptional, as well (only 11 seconds in, at this point).

Those pre-chorus backing vocals are perfect. The same can be said about her crowd vocals near the end of the first chorus.

I don’t have much else to say, however, this is easily a top three for me on this album. I’m really vibing with this track. And that’s saying a lot since I’m only three songs in.

Perfect Celebrity

That intro (first 18 seconds or so) is so good. Again with the surprise and delight. I love the mid-heavy intro there.

The hi-hat pattern introduced in the second half of the first verse is very good. That’s in addition to the quiet, centered hi-hat in the first half.

Wow, that chorus. I know this is a pop album, but this is giving classic rock vibes. Her vocals have so much grit and energy. I’m here for it. Combine that with the relatively tame verses? It’s a fantastic contrast.

The bridge is a great mix of both the verses and choruses. It’s giving quiet chaos.

I don’t think this track will make the top of my list, but it is very good.

Vanish Into You

I think this is the first track that didn’t really catch me off guard. That’s fine. Not every song has to. But her vocals are stellar, as always.

That first verse is so good though. Definitely getting 80s modern pop vibes. The synth bass, drum kit, guitar riff, and her vocal pattern are exceptional. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the track based on the intro, but the verse did it for me.

Similar to the l last track, I like it a lot. But it probably won’t make any top lists for me. Not a bad song, but nothing really stood out to me.

Killah (featuring Gesaffelstien)

I don’t think I need to repeat myself, but I’ve never heard of the featured artist. Always a treat, however, discovering new artists through a feature. That sometimes converts me into a fan of the featured artist. I guess I’ll have to listen and see.

Omg, I love how this track starts. It’s so funky, that synth is absolutely killer. Automatic head bopper. Her vocals are so sassy, I love it. The vibe of this track is so fucking good and I’m only a minute in. Lady Gaga, you are killing it.

I think this track is gonna shoot to number one for me, easily. I can’t stop bopping my head to it, it’s just that good. Of course, the bridge is great, too. Because of course it is. That synth in the bridge is to die for.

No notes, just pure pop perfection. Again, just funk and sass. I love it.

Zombieboy

The beginning of this track reminds me of Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stafani.

Okay Lady Gaga, you got me hooked and I’m only 13 seconds into the track. I’m already bopping my head and we’re not even in the first verse yet. I’m sensing we might have an album of the year, but we’re only in March. But it’s definitely a contender thus far.

Her backing vocals—both in the pre-/chorus—are so good. So lush and smooth. I love how she’s using backing vocals as emphasis in the verses and as harmonies in the pre-chorus.

My only critique on this track, really, is that I wish that guitar solo spanned more than about eight bars. She should’ve let it breathe. It would’ve made for a killer bridge. I felt like I got blue balled there.

I think this track is a contender for the top three on this album for me. It’s just so fucking catchy.

Oh and that fucking outro? Yeah, definitely a top two for me.

LoveDrug

Very interesting start to the track. I’m only about three seconds in but I had to triple check if my player didn’t cut off the first half second or so of the song. It didn’t.

Another certified head bopper. I was joking about it on the last song, but I genuinely do think this might be album of the year. I’m only 23 seconds in, too.

The vocal effect on the backing vocals is cool. There’s actually two layers to it. Her regular backing vocal, but another one that sits underneath that’s probably using a vocoder effect or something similar.

It’s either a reverse clap or a clap with a reverb slapped on it, but I love its use. It’s every other snare starting in the second verse.

I love the electric guitar in the final chorus of the song. It’s the same problem as last time, can we get a proper solo? I’m really wanting it now.

I have a feeling I’m going to have a really hard time picking my top tracks for this album. It’s starting to get really difficult.

How Bad Do U Want Me

The vocal chops in that final line at around 20 seconds are cool. She took the me? and played with it. I like it. Scratch that, I love it. Very cool. Cool execution from the engineers on that one.

I think I may have heard a sample or a snippet of this song on social media or something. All I know is I’ve heard it before, somewhere.

I don’t quite have the same connection to it like the last few tracks. But I’m still vibing to it, just in parts. It’s not a dance-pop single, but it lets me really appreciate the production choices. I love that they chose to not fill in the pockets. It gives the track some space to breathe.

That quick bridge though? I need more of her "deep voice."

Don’t Call Tonight

Dude. Whoever’s producing Gaga on this album needs a raise. Because almost every single intro to a song has been an absolute banger. How is it that I’m only nine seconds in and I’m already bopping my head? She’s only managed to get exactly one line out? That’s insane and that’s putting it lightly.

That beat is... interesting. I kind of love the persistent clap, even if the rest of the beat disappears in certain portions of the song. The pulsing synth in the second verse that appears to only be used once is very cool, too. I love those one-off ear candies.

Yes! A vocoder-infused bridge. I didn’t know I was missing it before, but her bridges so far have been fairly instrumentation heavy. I’m here for a more lyrically-forward bridge. Also, when she sings, Don’t call tonight, tomorrow you’ll desert me? So good. I can really hear the emotion coming out in this bridge. (Full transparency: I’ve listened to this bridge at least half a dozen times. I rewound and listened to it that many times, yes.)

I think the bridge sealed the deal for me, this is a top three song.

Shadow Of A Man

I love how this track starts, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s made it this far. The mid range effect sets up the mood/vibe for the song quite well. The effects added to the vocals are great here, too.

I love how the line ’Cause I won’t be used for my love and left out to cry, which comes right before the first chorus strips all effects such as reverb and echo away. Sounds like an unedited, dry vocal take to my ears. Again, I feel like a broken record, but it just gives you a glimpse into how passionate she is when she sings.

That thick bass line is awesome. It kind of fades into the background in the chorus in favor of a synth bass. I do wish it dug slightly deeper, though. I feel like it could have a little bit more impact with a slightly sub-bassier bass.

The bridge is a lovely callback to the intro of the song, just with an additional vocal layer on top. I love that the bridge starts with that mid range audio effect, but progressively adds in more of the treble regions, while still leaving out the bass until it drops for the final chorus.

Ugh. I’m going to have to rank the tracks and this is going to be really hard. Something something, we need a full guitar solo. So far, this outro is the closest to that.

The Beast

Starting this track off not only with a vocal but a call to action. I’m intrigued. Yes, Lady Gaga, Turn on the music.

Okay. This might be my number one favorite on this track and I’m only 22 seconds in, fuck. This groove and her vocal pacing are so infectious. This song might not be for everyone, but I feel this one so deeply.

I’m so in love with and am here for the melodramatic ballad. I can’t stop bopping my head to it. The high pass filtered hi-hats, the snare drum with a shit ton of reverb, and the fucking muted electric guitar are so good.

Yeah, this track fucking slaps. I will not be answering any questions and don’t at me. This is my favorite track by a long shot.

Blade Of Grass

Not gonna lie, this will be very hard to top. But as they say, the show must go on. Sounds like we’re gonna get a ballad here, I’m excited to see how Lady Gaga’s ballads stack up.

I’m not crying, you are. I love the combination of an acoustic guitar and piano in the first verse and chorus. The guitar is buried a bit deep there, so you might miss it. But it’s most certainly there. The muted kick drum introduced in the second verse is a nice touch, too.

I’ve been saying it from the start but this track really elevates her vocals. So raw, honest, and emotional. Absolutely no notes.

Again, I’m not crying, you are. The final chorus is 👨🏼‍🍳’s 😘. Everything is cranked up to 11 just to give an already great track a sense of epic-ness to close out the song.

For a second there, it did sound like we might get a transition into the next track. Sadly, it fizzled out.

Die With A Smile (featuring Bruno Mars)

For once, I actually do know the featured artist. But super interesting the track starts with Bruno Mars instead of Ms. Gaga.

Oh yeah, I’ve definitely heard snippets of this track in the past week. No disrespect to Bruno, I love his music. But I’m kind of waiting for Lady Gaga’s vocals to kick in.

Probably a hot take, but it’s my fucking blog so I can say whatever I want. This is easily my least favorite track on the album. I’m glad it’s the last song. I love them both separately, but I don’t think this collaboration did it for me.

From the get go, I wasn’t a huge fan of the reverb added to Bruno Mars’ vocals. It’s very distracting and is centered right down the middle. My best guess is they wanted to use that reverb as a substitution for a backing vocal?

I said what I said. It’s a shame this is how the album ends.

Conclusion

Despite closing the album on a bit of a bummer, I think the overall album was nothing short of fantastic. The other 13 were all truly exceptional. Hell, I think I might add the version of the album without Die With A Smile to my library.

I’m pleasantly surprised how much I really fell head over heels for this album. MAYHEM was it, for me. I’m glad it’s the first Lady Gaga album I’ve heard from top to bottom. I’m at a loss for words about how good it is.

All the tracks are in my library, and I currently have seven of them hearted/favorited. 13 for 13 is one hell of a run. Pop never went anywhere, but the genre is much stronger than it was ever before.

Congrats, Lady Gaga, on the new album. MAYHEM is an album you should absolutely stream and it’s easily going to be one of my top contenders for album of the year.

NOTE: This album reaction and review was completed after listening to Lady Gaga’s Mayhem on Tidal (24-bit, 44.1 kHz) with an active Tidal subscription via the Roon desktop application.

I’m a bit late to the party. But as they say, better late than never. As far as I’m aware, I’ve only ever heard one SZA track and that would be Kill Bill. Otherwise, I’m a complete novice. And yes, I completely missed the original release of this album from a few years ago.

I am, however, very excited about this album because I’ve heard nothing but good things from peers and friends. It’s been high up there on my list of albums I needed to get around to. And now is a better time than ever to get that done.

If I end up liking it enough (and I probably will), next up on my list will be the deluxe version of the album.

So without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of SZA’s SOS (Part 1).

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SOS

Okay, right off the rip I do love how they played into the SOS theme. Obviously, a song has a name for a reason, but wasn’t expecting it that early, I suppose.

The contrasting production is fantastic. The instrumentation is high-pass filtered, letting her vocals truly shine.

I’m in love with the first rap verse as well. A ton of different references signaling that she’s really fired up. For what? I’m not quite sure. But we’ll undoubtedly find out in the coming songs.

Kill Bill

This is the only song I’ve heard on the album before. But it’s been a hot minute since I’ve last heard it. So, maybe think of it as a second first impression.

I definitely understand how this track made it to my library in the first place. The groove, even within the first verse, is so catchy. It’s a certified head bopper for sure.

Her backing vocals in the chorus are very interesting. It’s not quite adding another layer to the main vocal as much as it is filling it out if that makes any sense. Let me try to explain. Her main vocals are very centered and dry to my ears, while her backing vocals are panned left and right and are lower in the mix, but have much more reverb and energy to them. It makes for a really wide sounding overall vocal mix.

The half time beat on the second verse is killer, combining that with her vocal pacing getting much quicker. Again, really awesome production ideas at play here.

Seek & Destroy

That synth is absolutely killer and so is the deep, sub-bassy pulsating bass. I think this is another certified head bopper and I’m only 15 seconds in. The drum kit is a great contrast here, too. And I feel like I’m going to say that a lot on this album. Just a hunch.

The panning hi-hat starting in the second verse is very fun. I’d argue it is a bit pulsating there too, which, again, is super fun.

I couldn’t find any information on this, and obviously I’m new to SZA, but the bridge did not sound like her to my ears at all. But great on her for having a wider vocal range. Or maybe it’s just a really cool vocal effect? That’s possible, too.

The winding down outro is fantastic, too. While simultaneously adding some instruments back in. It definitely sounds like we’re going to get a smooth transition into the next track. But am I right?

Low

Nope. In fact, far from it. We got an audio version of a fade in. Damn. But the vocal effects for the first few lines of the song are fantastic, though.

Oooooof, once again with that sub-bassy bass. Whether it’s in R&B, pop, hip-hop, or whatever other genre, I’m always a sucker for very deep bass. Especially when it’s done well.

I’m gonna keep it 100 with y’all. I didn’t really get a feel for this song at all. As of the writing of this react/review, it’s not going in my library. Things can change, but didn’t really vibe with this track much.

Love Language

That guitar with reverb and panning for the intro is great. I’m not usually a fan of artificial snaps (I vastly prefer actual snaps that are left in from the vocal tracks), but this one is solid. I love how laid back this track is, very practical and simple instrumentation.

The messaging in the track is great, too. Effectively, "I’m telling you what you need to do to keep me because I really like you." Obviously, an oversimplification, but it’s such an awesome message to convey.

I love the strings that come in for the last 40 seconds or so. It lets the song breathe. And there’s that SOS message again.

Blind

Woah, a smooth transition into the next track. I was not expecting that at all. But again with that guitar, this time an acoustic one.

This is a solid skip for me. I did not connect to this song at all. (I skipped about halfway through the song.)

Used (featuring Don Toliver)

As per usual, I’ve never heard of the featured artist. This time this will be Don Toliver, so this should be a treat.

It’s a good change of pace. I like the less gut wrenching and more bouncy bass here. The high-passed hi-hat fills the space quite nicely as well, giving the track a more warm and inviting sound.

Honestly, not much to say on this track. But that’s not a bad thing. I loved it and I’m glad it introduced me to Don Toliver.

Snooze

So far, the thing that sticks out to me the most about this album is how SZA and her team are able to do so much with so little. Her vocal pacing is fantastic here along with the backing vocals with reverb in the first verse.

This track feels like home to me. It’s not warm and soothing, but it’s very welcoming. It’s a certified head bopper.

The phased vocal effect at around the two minute mark is exceptional. Again, her production is very dynamic with just the simplest tools. That needs to be celebrated.

Notice Me

Yeah sorry, this one will be another skip. I just couldn’t get into it. I gave it a shot through the first chorus and was not feeling it.

Gone Girl

The ooooh’s at the beginning are fabulous. Absolutely gorgeous. So is that electric piano. Fantastic.

Hate to say it once again, but this is a solid skip from me as well. Listened through the first chorus and second verse.

Smoking on my Ex Pack

Can’t help but notice how short this track is. That’s fine, even better, honestly. I love me some short tracks.

The groove and that distorted sub-bass are scratching an itch in a really good way. I’m a huge fan.

It’s short but definitely a top five track for me. Certified head bopper. Some may say it’s overdone, but I think the fade out was a great choice.

Conclusion

That’s a wrap for the first of the album. There are a handful of hits in there, but in the same vein, there were more skips than I had originally anticipated. It’s still way too early to give an overall rating or anything, but I will say that it’s going a bit rougher than expected.

I’m splitting this one into a two parter because it’s taking me a bit longer than expected to get through this album with some personal stuff going on in my life currently.

Whatever the case may be, get subscribed and tune back in next week as I wrap up and finish the second half of this album! (I will update this post with a link once it’s published!)

NOTE: This reaction was completed after listening to the first 11 tracks of SZA’s SOS (24-bit, 44.1 kHz) on Tidal with an active Tidal subscription on the Roon desktop application.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Sabrina Carpenter fan. I’ve been there since Girl Meets World and Eyes Wide Open. Hell, I remember years ago when I told people who my favorite artist was (her) and people would tell me they’d never heard of her, her music, or any of her other work.

Nowadays, she’s effectively a household name. Practically anyone who listens to modern music knows who she is. Short n’ Sweet was one of my favorite albums last year and to this date, I still play it frequently. It’s just that good. I’m hoping my streak of disliking deluxe variants of albums ends as I haven’t really loved them this past year.

But enough rambling, here is my first reaction and review of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe).

NOTE: I’m only going over the deluxe tracks. Click here if you’d like to read my full reaction and review of the main Short n’ Sweet album.

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15 Minutes

With Sabrina, I never know what to expect. She’s never really stuck to one style or genre of music. What did surprise me, however, is starting the deluxe track off with a mood boost, especially after Don’t Smile.

Especially with how sharp and treble-forward the production is. I’m only 10 seconds (haven’t even made it to the second line of the first verse yet) and I’m baffled by the change. Those hi-hats are just 🧑🏼‍🍳😘 with how sharp and detailed they are. The bass and synth are great, as well, giving the track a bit of a retro vibe.

The title and overall theme of the track, I thought, was an obvious innuendo. But I think the bigger picture is that she’s terrified that this is all going to blow over really soon. That she might be a one hit wonder. As a long time fan, I’m obviously biased. But I don’t think that will be the case.

The pre-bridge reminds me a lot of Fast Times, just without the guitar taking center stage. Instead, the guitar is moved to the right channel and the strings are on the left.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a banger of a first track on the deluxe side. But I can’t help but comment on the overall production. It unfortunately sounds very boxy and compressed. I’m listening to the stereo mix on Tidal in lossless (24-bit, 44.1 kHz) quality, and even then, there seems to be a lot of compression going on. Everything sounds crushed to death.

Please Please Please (featuring Dolly Parton)

Being one of the singles on the main album, I’d be surprised if most people haven’t heard of this track yet. I don’t expect many changes beyond Dolly Parton taking a verse here and there, but I’d love it more than anything to be wrong.

I wrote too soon. I was wrong. Right off the bat, the track has a more country vibe (please, Sabrina, release a country/jazz album!). Less drums and synths and more acoustic guitar and strings. We also hear Dolly’s voice from the get go.

I guess I’m zero for two so far because what is going on with the mixing here. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me in saying that Sabrina and Dolly have wildly different voices and vocal ranges. Both vocalists coming straight down the center sound like a complete mess to me. I think it would’ve been better to double Dolly’s vocals and pan them left and right, or vice versa. Because this just does not work in my humble opinion.

Together, combined with Sabrina’s backing vocals makes it very difficult to decipher not only Dolly’s vocals but the various layers within Sabrina’s own backing vocals.

Otherwise, the various verses and scattered lines where it’s one or the other are great. In theory, it’s a great collaboration. I love the country take on this already great pop album.

Couldn’t Make It Any Harder

Oooof, the grittiness and the sheer rawness of that acoustic guitar are fantastic. Great start to a track. I love it already. Once again, a country/jazz album would be nothing short of exceptional.

In my eyes, the song is a bit tongue and cheek. Again, there are some obvious innuendos like, ’Cause I will not let you touch me. You say you can take it. But you don’t know how hard I can make it. No explanation is needed there.

The song has its raw moments, too. For example, there’s some self reflection here: But I couldn’t make it any harder to love me, and I know you’re frustrated.

In terms of production, this is my favorite track thus far. It’s not compressed to death and nothing inherently sticks out. Her vocals have space to breathe and the instrumentation doesn’t sound overbearing.

Busy Woman

I’ve heard this track before. I purchased it when it was exclusively available on her web store. It’s the song I was most looking forward to when she announced the deluxe.

I love every bit of it. I can’t really give a reaction to a song I’ve heard hundreds of times. But I will say it’s a certified head bopper. It has a great 80s vibe to it. I’m just glad to have it in a high quality FLAC vs the truly dog shit 192kbps compressed MP3.

Her vocals have space to breathe and the hi-hats and strings don’t sound compressed to hell anymore. That’s always welcome. I already loved it before and the higher quality makes me love it even more.

Bad Reviews

I’m gonna keep saying it until the end of time: Sabrina for the love of everything, please release a jazz/country album. We’d all love it, promise.

The acoustic guitar plus the strings in the left channel are great. Her vocals are definitely pointing to a more country-esk vibe. This track is an instant hit for me. It’s a certified head bopper. To be fair, Sabrina tends to pick excellent album closers. That bridge is to die for, again with the country vibes.

I think it’s fairly obvious what the song is about. In my head, it’s: no matter who I’m with, I still get hate. That’s always sad but the unfortunate reality for most women in the entertainment industry. People like to gossip and speculate.

But the good news is that regardless of what people think, she’s going with her gut. She’s not going to lose a friend over what other people think. And I think that’s the best outcome. I love that for her.

Conclusion

The bottom half was better than the top half. I really fell in love with Couldn’t Make It Any Harder and Bad Reviews. Of course, I was already a fan of Busy Woman before this release.

15 Minutes could’ve been a really good track if it was produced better and sadly the Dolly Parton feature on Please Please Please is my least favorite deluxe track.

Overall, it’s a net positive. Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) shows us a different side of Sabrina Carpenter I’ve been wanting since forever now. I wouldn’t say the streak is over, but the tides are turning for my deluxe track distastes. Did it have to come from my favorite artist? Yeah. But that’s saying a lot because I wasn’t the hugest fan of the emails i cant send: fwd deluxe tracks, either.

I said what I said and I stand by it. But three out of five is a win in my book.

NOTE: This album reaction and review was completed while listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) [24-bit, 441.kHz] on Tidal via the Roon desktop application with an active Tidal subscription.

I’d be lying if I said I’ve heard of this artist before. I’ve never heard of AURORA before, nor do I believe she’s ever been featured in any songs I’ve heard of. AURORA was actually a recommendation from my best friend, Andraya.

I have no idea what to expect other than this is allegedly a left-field pop album. Which, if you know me, is right up my alley. Dance-pop, alt-pop, whatever you want to call it. That’s me and it’s calling my name.

So without further ado, here’s my first reaction and full review of AURORA’s A Different Kind Of Human (Step II).

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The River

Spacious, very spacious. That soundstage is insane. I love how low the kick drum and bass are. It gives a sense of "low definition."

If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure if this track is for me. It’s not quite hitting for me. But I’ll reserve my final opinion for later. Sometimes a first track doesn’t hit, even if it’s from an artist I know and love.

Animal

I love the intro to this track. The synths are great. The percussive instruments are great too. The first verse is to die for. I think I’m in for a treat.

I am falling in love with the pre-choruses. It slows everything down and strips everything back to the basics. We all know I’m a sucker for those.

The bridge is to die for, though. The pulsating bass/synth doesn’t have a ton of sub-bass to it, but packs quite a punch.

I just realized that her vocal productions are fairly pure. Doesn’t sound like much de-essing was done. I’ll let you decide if that’s a positive or a negative cause you could poke an eye out with those S’ and T’s.

This track is a certified head bopper. I can’t get enough of it, especially the outro. 🙂

Dance On The Moon

Okay, of the three songs I’ve heard so far, I’ve found it really interesting that her and her production team tend to tease you at the beginning of every song and then completely throw that sound out completely. It’s definitely a vibe.

Her vocal production is exceptional, and I’m only 15 seconds in. Very spacious and has a ton of reverb to give it that extra sense of space. The trail off is insane. Combine that with the kick drum which is probably one of the softest kicks I’ve ever heard. Oh my god, those vocal chops in the chorus. I’m in absolute awe. Again, I want to congratulate the vocal producer here.

It’s going to sound super repetitive but the bridge just sounds so spacious. It scratches my brain in a very satisfying way.

And of course, it does. Of course, the song ends with even more vocal chops/ad libs. I know we’re only three songs in so far, but this track really resonated with me.

Daydreamer

This might become a recurring theme but the spaciousness absolutely got me here, too. The percussion and her vocals both have a wetter sound with an absolute ton of reverb, making it very satisfying to listen to.

That kick drum being as deep and as defined as it compliments the rest of the production thus far (I’m only 32 seconds in). Then, of course, there’s the bass which is even lighter and is pushed way underneath everything else.

I’m almost questioning if she actually has a backing vocal on this track or if it’s just a single vocal track that’s doubled and panned. It’s hard to tell.

Yeah, let me just walk all that back because there’s the pre/chorus with a very obvious backing track. Oops. The claps are very well done here, too.

The bridge is so smooth. The subtle ramp into the final chorus is fantastic. And of course, the vocals on the final chorus are truly exceptional. The ad lib work is fantastic.

Hunger

The vocal pattern is very interesting. I’m only about 25 seconds in, but it’s definitely a vibe. We’ll see where it goes but that’s the best way to put it: interesting.

For me, the power of this track is its abstractness. If you’re like me who’s seeking a pattern in music, this song might break your brain.

I’ll have to revisit this track for that reason. I’m not quite sure whether or not I like it. But I find it interesting enough that I think I want to give it another shot. I have it hearted for now.

Soulless Creatures

Can’t help but notice this is a five minute track. This is all. Let’s continue.

The scratching is quite interesting. I can’t quite put my finger on what it’s emulating, but it’s an interesting way to start a song.

Let me be the broken record but that vocal production is straight up awesome. No notes. The echo at around the one minute mark is equally as awesome.

The abstractness is what’s drawing me into this track. In a way that the Hunger did not. This song feels a bit melodramatic as well.

And of course the vocal chops at around the 3:15 mark. I’m dead and feel like I’m ascending.

I think I’m learning that she’s a very vocal centric artist. Not to say that her vocals carry the tracks I’ve heard thus far, but it’s by far the thing I’m appreciating the most.

In Bottles

The ad libs at the beginning of the track makes this an instant add to library for me. It’s the first track it’s happened on the album. But I almost want to say it’s an instant certified head bopper as well. The beat is killer, too.

Nothing new, but her vocals are fantastic. I just don’t know what else to say.

The pre-chorus is great with the hi-hat pattern, soft kick and bass, and again, her vocals.

It, in fact, is a certified head bopper. I’m finding myself jamming out to the track in a way I haven’t done with any of the other tracks thus far. I’m also falling in love with the way her and her production team do bridges, too. Some may say it’s repetitive, but I disagree. They all do it in a similar, yet unique way. It’s like laying down on the softest pillow you can find.

Will it be in my top three on the album? More than likely. I love it.

A Different Kind Of Human

Ah yes, the title track. Y’all already know I have a love/hate relationship with title tracks. Some of them are really good, others I avoid completely. Let’s see how this goes.

I’m about a minute into the track and I have no idea what to make of it. Nothing’s really standing out at the moment.

That chorus is insane, though. I love the kick drum pattern, most commonly used in EDM/dance music. Very quick and in rapid succession. It blends well with the long bass note as well. Or maybe I have that reversed, I’m not quite sure.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an AURORA track without very nice vocal chops. I’m in love with the vocal chops, but that’s nothing new at this point. The slightly pushed back reversed vocal at around the 2:15 mark is a very cool effect, too.

More vocal chops at the 3:05 mark... I’m ready to be put to rest because holy wow. Again with the reversed vocals, very well done.

Apple Tree

Of course, the in-your-face intro is killer. I am in absolute awe of her syncopated vocals here.

Another certified head bopper, I think. I’m about a minute in but the beat and percussion are really speaking to me. And it sounds like for the first time, we’re getting a really sub-bass bass. I might even say that might be an 808. If anything it’s making me want to give this a listen on my speaker setup with a proper subwoofer.

This is by far one of her more mainstream pop-forward tracks. Not a bad thing, not at all. I think it’s slowly becoming one of my favorite tracks on the album, and fast.

The bridge keeps the same structure as all the other tracks. A sense of ambiance and space, stripping things back to the absolute essentials.

This track kept my attention the entire time. I was bopping my head the entire time. It’s a truly exceptional track in my book.

The Seed

Naturally, after a very pop-forward track, we have a much more laid back track. Those synths are very good. Her backing vocals are icing on the cake. The build up before the chorus is absolutely insane. It pays off super nicely going into the chorus.

This track actually reminds me a lot of Lindsey Stirling’s Til the Light Goes Out. But obviously, it has a lot of similarities with other tracks, too.

But again with her vocals here, truly on a whole different level. Everything from her raw vocals, the vocal effects, and her overall vocal production on this album have been really stellar so far.

I do think this track will ultimately be in that top half as well. Not a head bopper, but I really enjoyed it. The production is excellent.

Mothership

Alrighty, the last track on the album. Notably, one of the shorter tracks, too, coming in at only 2:16.

Her raw vocals on this track are a step above everything else. Unlike the rest of the songs, her vocals here sound very intimate, close, and most importantly: raw.

I didn’t need to be convinced that her vocals are incredible, but this track just showcases it even more in the most beautiful way possible.

Conclusion

I really liked the second half of the album a lot more than I did the first. The vibe completely changed. I still like the first half of the album quite a bit, but the second half is really where I felt at home.

Even so, looking back, 10 out of 11 tracks hearted is pretty high praise from me. I’d be really surprised if A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) makes it to my top five at the end of the year. But, Animal, A Different Kind Of Human, Apple Tree, The Seed, and Mothership are most certainly the standout tracks from my initial listen.

But even beyond that, the thing that stood out to me the most was her vocal performance. Her vocals are the highlight of the album and whoever was mixing and mastering it really knew how to dial everything all in. To say I’m in love with her vocals is an understatement. It’s next level.

Her vocals make me very excited to listen to some of her other albums and material. It’s just that good.

NOTE: This reaction and review was completed after listening to AURORA’s A Different Kind Of Human (24-bit, 48 kHz) on the Tidal desktop application with an active Tidal subscription.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since the Apple Vision Pro launched. It was highly anticipated and I was super excited to finally get my hands on it. There was most certainly a lot of hype riding on it.

So where does it stand today? Do I still use it? If so, what do I use it for? Has it been sitting in a closet for months? These are all questions I plan on answering today in my one year Apple Vision Pro review.

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visionOS 2

I think many people, including myself, were hoping visionOS 2 would be a huge upgrade—similar to how watchOS 2 was a complete overhaul from its predecessor. That was not the case.

It felt like a small, but noteworthy update with a ton of improvements coming from user feedback. The biggest change for me was the relocation of the control center.

You don’t realize how awkward and in some cases, fatiguing it was to try and stare upwards for a few seconds for a much-too-small arrow to appear for you to tap. The new gesture isn’t perfect, but it’s a huge improvement—put your hand out for a virtual home indicator (yay, accessibility!), and flip it over for control center. It takes a few days to get used to, but once you do, you’ll never want to go back.

visionOS 2 also made huge improvements to travel mode. You can now use it on a train, in addition to on a flight. It now enables by default when it detects motion. Versus, as before, it would show a popup that was almost impossible to tap on when in motion. I took exactly one flight in the past year, and it was a two hour flight. But it was much improved over when I tried it last year with visionOS 1.

But something Apple doesn’t really mention in its release notes is that visionOS 2 also makes huge strides in low-light and "other" non-stationary environments. I discovered this the other week when I tried to use the Vision Pro at night. Instead of flat out telling me I couldn’t use the device, it said that my hands wouldn’t appear while in environments and that I should try and stay as still as possible.

It’s not super ideal, but it’s way better than telling me I flat out can’t use it. The device functioned fine otherwise.

But that’s about it. There were Guest Mode improvements, which is great. The Vision Pro can remember guest users for up to 30 days, that way they don’t need to constantly re-do eye and hand tracking when I let others use my Vision Pro. visionOS 2.2 added support for wide and ultra wide capabilities with Mac Virtual Display. I have more on that later.

It’s a Consumption Device

I have to apologize to myself. I was really hoping I could use Vision Pro as a productivity device, especially when my needs are relatively straightforward. All I needed was a way to cast my Mac’s display to the Vision Pro. While it does that very reliably, I’ve found that text in Mac Virtual Display isn’t very sharp. The feature strains my eyes after using it. That’s after the new visionOS 2.2 implementation of Mac Virtual Display as well.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in the standard, wide, or ultra wide modes, they all strain my eyes due to the blurry text.

But to nobody’s surprise, Vision Pro is an excellent consumption device. 2D, 3D, or immersive, it’s easily my favorite way to consume video content.

Immersive content is by far the most impressive aspect. It’s a 180-degree video format that fills your field of view (FOV) and enables you to look up, down, left, and right while still being fully immersed in the content. It’s easily the most impressive thing about Apple Vision Pro. However, the big problem lies in the availability of the content. There’s just simply not enough immersive content to go around.

Hell, I’d go as far as to say that you could probably watch all the available immersive content on Vision Pro within a few hours. And that’s just unfortunate. Apple’s been slowly releasing more content within the last few months, but it’s still not enough. They’re leaving breadcrumbs, but we’re wanting a full meal.

I think the longest immersive video Apple’s released is about 15-20 minutes. I’d love to watch an entire movie in this format. Sadly, this is not the reality we live in.

Next up, we have 3D movies. These are great too, but suffer from a different situation. When I find a great 3D movie, it’s fantastic. Easily the best way to watch 3D content, there’s no question about that. But there aren’t many of those. A lot of 3D movies feel like an afterthought. Like, they produced and edited it for 2D and added 3D effects afterwards.

So that leaves us with 2D content. I spend most of my time in Vision Pro watching 2D content. That’s great, too. Especially if the app supports immersive modes through environments. I watch a lot of Apple TV+, and I love sitting back in Mount Hood at night. The much larger video window combined with the reflections over the lake makes the whole experience feel super immersive.

For content that doesn’t support immersion, I tend to use Haleakala. I love the view, but it’s also one of the few environments that don’t have a floor/ground that gets in the way if you want to make the videos very big.

What Changed?

I wouldn’t say I use it daily, because I don’t. But I still get regular use out of it. A few hours a day, maybe three to four days a week. It’s my favorite way to relax after work.

Compared to when I first reviewed Vision Pro last year, I rarely use it for extended periods (usually only 3-4 hours in one sitting, now). But I’m finding myself using it more frequently. That’s mostly thanks to Mac Virtual Display being inadequate for my eyes. But a good portion of it is just the passthrough not being that good (even though it’s among the best today). I still can’t read text on my phone with passthrough and anything that’s super close is super blurry due to camera physics.

I still maintain that having an external battery isn’t a problem. Should Apple work on building it in? Yeah. But for a product where you primarily use it stationary, it’s not that big of a deal. I’d rather it be external then adding even more weight on the current Vision Pro. Similarly, would it be better for the battery to last more than two to three hours at a time? Yes. But (and it’s probably for the best), I take frequent breaks. After an episode of a show or a two hour movie, I’ll just take it off for a few minutes. Usually, that’s to use the restroom, grab a snack, or to take a sip of water.

Because yeah, the passthrough isn’t that great. And I’d rather take the headset off to do something and use my actual eyes to see the world, rather than trying to navigate with Vision Pro and its array of cameras.

Eye and hand tracking have significantly improved and to me, respond much faster than visionOS 1.x. I’ve also found that it’s much easier to tap on smaller UI elements. visionOS isn’t freaking out when two small items are right next to each other, trying to decipher which item I’m looking at. With the original visionOS software, I felt like I practically had to re-do eye setup every time I used it. It’s the equivalent of stick drift... but with your eyes? But nowadays, I rarely have to recalibrate. Maybe once a month or so at most.

In terms of audio, I’d love to say that the situation has improved, but it hasn’t. The audio pods still sound pretty okay, but not the best. But they excel at soundstage and your sense of spaciousness. Using the USB-C AirPods Pro 2 is the best experience but you don’t get that wider soundstage. And practically anything else is pretty bad due to the audio latency introduced with Bluetooth.

I’d still prefer a wired audio mode, but it seems like Apple isn’t interested in letting you plug anything in via USB (even though they sell a Developer strap that literally adds a USB-C port for development. I don’t think it would be that hard to enable extra functionality via USB here). I can keep dreaming, I suppose.

Weight is surprisingly not a problem for me, either. Especially now that I’ve been using a third-party contraption that allows me to run two solo knit bands. It allows me to transfer a lot of the weight that normally would sit on my cheekbones to the top of my head. Is it still heavy? Yeah. But the weight disappears after the first few minutes with my setup.

Conclusion

Hate to break the news but yeah... it’s just a consumption device for me. It’s an iPad Pro Plus Max Ultra. And I’m perfectly okay with that. It offers a viewing experience like no other, even with just standard 2D movies and TV shows.

It has its quirks, which you can read a more in-depth version of that in my original review. But I’ve been overall very happy with the Vision Pro. I plan on using it frequently for the foreseeable future. If I had to buy it again, I would.

I think my only real gripe with the device isn’t with the hardware, but it’s with the lack of native applications. The big handful of entertainment apps are there but notably missing are YouTube and Netflix. And even within the native apps, a lot of them haven’t been updated in a while so they can’t adopt the newly-introduced ability to have the same immersive video environments Apple TV has (minus the Apple TV theater, which I was never really a fan of). It reminds me a lot of watchOS and the Apple Watch. Lots of excited developers in the beginning, but nowadays, most people hardly use watch apps.

Vision Pro is by far Apple’s most flawed first generation product. But that’s saying a lot because Apple’s first gen hardware is usually pretty solid, even if it changes dramatically with its second generation. Its flaws are obvious (weight, external battery pack, pace of software updates), etc. But it also felt like Apple wanted to throw everything at the wall with its first gen product on a new platform.

What I’d like to see with a second generation is a lighter build, possibly stripping the front display entirely (notice how I didn’t mention it at all?). In the entire year I’ve had Vision Pro, the front display has remained practically useless, even when others are around. I think the obvious thing is if they are planning to keep that front outer display, that it would get substantially larger. It currently has huge bezels around it. It also needs to get substantially brighter. While it’s cool that you can practically see it from any angle due to the lenticular display, its current implementation makes it too dark to see in most cases.

Its only downfall, for me is that I can’t really be productive with it. I understand it’s a huge amount of pixels to wirelessly transmit from my Mac to the Vision Pro. But even when I turn the resolution down to make things larger, text is still blurry. I get too much eye strain trying to focus and read what’s on screen. Maybe the text is smoother if you buy the Developer Strap and plug it in to your Mac directly? I don’t have $300 lying around to test it out.

But overall it’s an exceptional content consumption product. Vision Pro is definitely a luxury item so I’m not saying everyone should go out and buy one. I’d even say most people shouldn’t. There’s just not enough immersive video content that warrants getting it over an iPad for most people. Especially at more than half the cost. Right now, it seems like Apple and its partners aren’t ready to produce long-form immersive content.

My recommendation for most people would be to visit your local Apple Store and book a demo. You’ll get a ton of enjoyment out of it without spending all that money.