RL Grime is an American DJ, producer, and music programmer. His debut EP Grapes was released in April 2012 and he has been creating music ever since, with his second album released in July 2018 titled NOVA. NOVA falls under the genres of trap, electronic, and future bass, with a hint of pop. I will be reviewing this album and stating whether I recommend it or not.

Feel Free: This is a lyric-less song, and has the strongest electronic sound out of the whole album. It’s the kind of music that would be playing at an electronic music festival or at a club. It’s not my personal favorite, but I can see why people would like it. 6/10.

Shrine: This is a really catchy song with a cool, upbeat but also mysterious vibe to it. The lyrics are repetitive and not the most poetic, but they match very well with the instrumentals. I’d listen to it on the regular. 7.5/10.

Light Me Up: Miguel’s and Julia Michaels’s voices are both gorgeous individually, and they manage to blend just as beautifully in this song. The lyrics are also really nice and flow with the song very well. This is one of the more pop-like songs on the album, as well as one of my favorites. 9/10.

Undo: Drastically different from the last song, this one is significantly more provocative and has more trap elements to it than the other genres of the album. Especially when one listens to the lyrics, it’s less poetic and flowing than some other songs on the album, and it’s not a song that I particularly like. 5/10.

Take It Away: Although this song also has more of a trap music feel to it, it has a catchier and better sound to it than the previous one. Traces of electronic music come through in this one as well, and the beat works really well with the voices of Ty Dolla $ign and TK Kravitz. 7/10.

OMG: This is another pretty repetitive song with two stanzas of lyrics just repeating over and over again throughout it, but the beat is very catchy and I don’t mind listening to it as much. I would still qualify it as a good song. 6.5/10.

Shoulda: This is a sadder song without a whole lot of creativity regarding lyrics, as the lyrics are extremely repetitive. However, the music is really cool to listen to and immerse yourself in through your headphones and I’d still recommend it. 7/10.

Reims: There are no lyrics in this song, it’s solely vocals and instrumentals. It sounds a lot like an instrumental track to an fantasy adventure movie mixed with an EDM concert, and for that reason alone I am rating it pretty highly. 8/10.

Pressure: Another solely instrumental track, this song is super cool and sounds like the soundtrack to a cyberpunk film or video game, and it has a really nice, consistent beat throughout the song. 8/10.

Era: This might be the most chaotic of the instrumental tracks, but it has that quintessential bass drop that really makes the song work. All in all, the song has a lot of elements that might not work on their own but when mixed together, create something really cool. 7/10.

Run For Your Life (Interlude): This is the most peaceful instrumental track, and almost sounds like those songs on Spotify meant to help lull people to sleep. It’s calming and nice to listen to, which is why I’m giving it a 7/10.

I Wanna Know: Daya’s vocals add to the song in such a powerful way, and although the lyrics aren’t anything particularly special, the way she delivers them in a way that matches the instrumentals is absolutely fantastic. 9/10.

UCLA: This is the most popular and well-known song by RL Grime, so I was very interested in listening to it and seeing what I thought of it. It’s catchy and has a great beat, with 24hrs’s voice helping tie the lyrics to the music. It’s likely not my favorite song on the album but it has good vibes and I see why so many people like it. 7/10.

Rainer: Similar to Run For Your Life (Interlude), this one is one of the more calm ones starting off, but unlike it, it has a build up as the song goes on and gets stronger as the bass comes in and starts amping up the song. 6/10.

Atoms: Typical of Jeremy Zucker, this song is very chill but is still a sad love song. This song is more lo-fi than anything else, and the vocals mixed with the lyrics make the whole thing work extremely well. 9/10.

Overall, I would maybe recommend it to people who are open to listening to new types of music and/or are already electronic/trap fans, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people whose taste is strictly pop. I’d rate it a 7.5/10!