August’s albums: A review of this month’s album releases

Featuring albums by Khalid, Kanye West, and Sabrina Carpenter

Mitchell Eng, Web Sports Editor • Sep 2, 2024

“Sincere” – Khalid, August 2, 2024

I liked “Sincere,” Khalid’s third studio album and his first project since his 2021 mixtape “Scenic Drive.” Khalid, who has stayed largely out of the public spotlight, announced his new album on April 5 of this year. This album, with slower and more intimate songs, is a contrast to the pop-inspired tracks that made Khalid first successful. The album is a mix of trap soul and R&B, and has many songs with very smooth production, my favorite being “Broken.” Khalid’s vocals with a percussion heavy beat, in my opinion, contributes to its “late night vibe.” However, the LP becomes monotonous towards the end as Khalid doesn’t experiment much with his music, falling back into the R&B sound that he is known for.

Khalid’s voice is consistently strong throughout the album, further proving why he has become a go-to feature artist of this generation. While “Sincere” is a solid album, I think Khalid could benefit from trying to experiment more with his sound, particularly by incorporating more soul influences.

“VULTURES 2” – Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign, August 3, 2024

Kanye West has been a musical innovator for more than two decades; however, his most recent project with Ty Dolla $ign, “VULTURES 2,” is astonishingly awful. The sequel to “VULTURES 1,” “VULTURES 2” is an incomplete and poorly mixed collection of songs, many of which feature insufferable rapping from West. As of Aug 16, West and his team have been updating and editing tracks, but, in my opinion, they are all unsalvageable. Songs like “Husband” and “Bomb” are some of West’s worst, characterized by lazy production and uninspired bars delivered by West. Track “530” was completely copied from a YouTube channel with barely over 200 subscribers, before West revised the mix and distorted the vocals. The best song, “Field Trip,” was mostly ruined by West when he cut off Ty Dolla $ign in the middle of his verse with silly, meaningless lyrics like “this ain’t no regular cheddar, this quiche.” Not much in the album is listenable, and I doubt I will ever replay any songs from “VULTURES 2.”

For an album promised by West and Ty Dolla $ign to be released in March, it still feels like a completely unfinished project five months later. I think that Kanye West has been out of form for three years, but I hope he can find his musical touch that made him one of the most revered artists of the 21st century.

“Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter, August 23, 2024

In my opinion, Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album, “Short n’ Sweet,” lives up to its title. With only 12 tracks and a 36-minute runtime, Carpenter puts an exclamation point on 2024, her most successful year yet. After releasing the song “Espresso,” Carpenter headlined the music festival Coachella before dropping another song on June 6, “Please Please Please,” which became her first number one single. This LP is a pleasant listen that I think many people would enjoy. My favorite song, “Coincidence,” showcases Carpenter’s range of vocals with lyrics delivered at a high register. The album’s short runtime keeps it engaging, though “Don’t Smile” is my least favorite due to its standard pop sound that lacks originality.

Given 2024 being Carpenter’s most successful year commercially, I expect her rise to mainstream popularity will only continue exponentially. If she maintains this consistency in music quality, I can imagine her topping the charts again soon.

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About the Contributors

Mitchell Eng, Web Sports Editor

Mitchell is a junior and serves as Web Sports Editor for the Oracle. Outside of school, he enjoys playing soccer, listening to music, and spending time with his friends.

Ava Li, Web News Editor, Social Media Manager

Ava is a senior and serves as Web News Editor and Social Media Manager for the Oracle. Outside of school, she enjoys dancing, drawing, and running hurdles for track.